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NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT · THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2013 · VOL. CXXXV, NO. 99 · yaledailynews.com
INSIDE THE NEWS MORNING EVENING
RAINY RAINY
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CROSS CAMPUS
W. LACROSSE YALE TAKES DOWN QUINNIPIAC
TASK FORCE
HARTFORD COURANT
GILT GROUPE
Legislators propose refurbishing school security infrastructure
PAPER’S WEBSITE COULD INCLUDE A FUTURE PAY-WALL
Entrepreneur talks how time at Yale influenced e-commerce business
PAGE 12 SPORTS
PAGE 3 CITY
PAGE 3 CITY
PAGE 5 NEWS
Applied physics, post-SEAS
False alarm. When Yale alum and “Colbert Report” darling Akhil Amar ’80 LAW ’84 sent his “Constitutional Law” students an email with the subject line “midterm attached,” the Sterling Professor of law forgot one important thing: the midterm itself. But you can breathe a sigh of relief. After realizing his error several moments later, the noted legal scholar rectified his error with a second, attachment-bearing email.
CENG
ENERGY
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BY JANE DARBY MENTON STAFF REPORTER
MENG ENGINEERING AND APPLIED SCIENCES
In many respects, however, little has changed for the faculty, said applied physics and physics professor Daniel Prober. The department — which is comprised of 13 core faculty members — still occupies many of the same offices and laboratories. Multiple research collaborations continue to involve faculty from both departments — the Center for Research on Interface Structures and Phenomena, led by applied physics professor Charles Ahn, includes more than a dozen engineering faculty, for example.
Inspired by President-elect Peter Salovey’s commitment to make Yale more innovative and accessible, the Yale Information Technology Service is unrolling a University-wide initiative to enhance its technological resources. In a Wednesday email to the campus community, University Chief Information Officer and ITS Director Len Peters released a draft of the first Universitywide three-year information technology plan and solicited comments from students, faculty and staff through March 8 to help ITS create a final proposal to be published in May. The effort to develop the three-year plan began in the fall and aims to assimilate information and feedback from throughout the University to strengthen its technological capacities. Recommendations in the draft address topics that include technology in the classroom, web and email strategy, and digital storage. Salovey and Peters said they are enthusiastic about using technology to make Yale’s resources more accessible both on campus and across the world. “What we’re seeking is a plan that when people read it, they recognize that this is a direction that will help enable the University to meet its objectives and its goals,” Peters said. “Technology needs to be an enabler for enhanced teaching, enhanced research, enhanced learning and enhanced university experience.” Peters said the process of developing the three-year plan began when Peters and members of ITS put together working groups of IT staff and faculty members to address specific features of the University’s technological capacities — teaching, learning and research, University-wide enabling technologies, emerging technologies, IT foundations, and administrative and core services. Peters said he hopes to establish a strat-
SEE APPLIED PHYSICS PAGE 4
SEE ITS PAGE 4
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eenage heartthrob and “I Want Candy” superstar Aaron Carter graced the Elm City with his presence Wednesday night, performing in front of a starstruck crowd of Yalies and New Haven residents alike. But it looks like attendees weren’t the only ones excited: Just four hours before the concert, Carter tweeted an Instagrammed — and shirtless — photo of himself “getting ready” for the big night. The tweet garnered 58 “retweets” and 71 “favorites” as of press time.
Entrepreneurism. Peter
Thiel, founder of PayPal and face of the prestigious Thiel Fellowship, has invested $1 million into Thinkful, an online tutoring company founded by Thiel Fellow Dan Friedman ’13, a former Yale student who dropped out when he was named a fellow. Thinkful has also received funding from venture capital firms RRE Ventures and Quotidian Ventures.
Trouble in Singapore.
Controversy has erupted in Singapore after a journalism professor who wrote extensively about the country’s lack of media freedom has been denied tenure for the second time. Cherian George, who teaches at the Nanyang Technological University’s School of Communication and Information, has insisted that the university’s reluctance to grant him tenure is due to political reasons and directly linked to his critical views of the Singaporean government. Rising fees. The University of Connecticut Board of Trustees voted to increase fees by $116 next year to cover the costs of technology and other services. THIS DAY IN YALE HISTORY
1928 The Sheffield Student Council votes to eliminate signed integrity pledges previously included at the exams, arguing that the statements were an “unnecessary detail.” Submit tips to Cross Campus
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BY DAN WEINER STAFF REPORTER Nearly three years after the Yale School of Engineering & Applied Science decided to move the Applied Physics Department out of the school, professors in the discipline said the change has been one for the worse. All three applied physics professors interviewed said the split hurt the department by limiting interaction with their collaborators in the engineering departments. Robust research collaboration continues between the applied physics and engineering departments, Applied Physics Chair Douglas Stone said, citing a roughly sixfold increase in grant expenditures in applied physics over the last decade. But applied physics is no longer part of critical administrative discussions with engineering
as result of this new arrangement, he said. For students in the Applied Physics Department, the impact of the split is less clear. Some claim the change has had little effect on classes and research opportunities, but others feel removed from valuable SEAS resources and the burgeoning engineering culture at Yale. While science administrators maintain that the move — which occurred after applied physics faculty unanimously rejected a 2009 SEAS proposal to dissolve the department — has not disadvantaged the Applied Physics Department, faculty members in the department said the move has posed problems. “It’s led to a very artificial situation that makes it very difficult for us in applied physics,” said professor of applied physics and physics Robert
Yale to offer summer bridge BY JANE DARBY MENTON AND AMY WANG STAFF REPORTERS In an effort to mitigate the rocky adjustment period some students face when they first come to college, Yale will debut a brand new summer program this year. During the second Summer Session, which will take place in July, Yale will invite roughly 30 rising freshmen to participate in a five-week summer bridge program designed to introduce them to Yale’s academic and social environment. The initiative — which covers all tuition, transportation and housing fees for participants — is a three-year pilot program that was initially conceived in 2008, but financial constraints forced Yale College to put the project on hold until fall 2012, Yale College Dean Mary Miller said. Though William Whobrey, assistant dean of Yale College, said he and the Admissions Office have not decided how they will select an initial cohort of students for the invitation-only program, he added that they will look for students whose high school backgrounds might not have fully prepared them for Yale. “I think we want to make sure that Yale College and
the Admissions Office work together to develop and create a set of opportunities that will make it possible for a whole range of students to take full advantage of the offerings in Yale College,” Miller said. Students in the program will live in residential colleges with student counselors and be enrolled in English 114, an introductory writing course. Miller said a report by the Committee on Yale College Education showed that students who took English 114 in their first semester at Yale performed more strongly in subsequent semesters than those who had not, adding that the course helps students develop critical reading and writing skills for a college environment. Whobrey said administrators considered similar programs at peer institutions, such as Princeton and Stanford, while it was designing Yale’s summer bridge. Whobrey, who is also dean of Summer Session and Special Programs, said the summer bridge program aims to give students experience in a Yale classroom, in addition to familiarity with University resources including libraries, archives and tutoring programs. SEE SUMMER BRIDGE PAGE 6
ITS plans to improve services
Schoelkopf. “Our traditional home and the people we should have the most synergy with are in an organization that we are not a part of.”
THE FACULTY EXPERIENCE
YEI expands programs, sees app increase BY PAYAL MARATHE STAFF REPORTER Six years after the Yale Entrepreneurial Institute was created, two business projects that began as part of the institute’s summer fellowship program have recently been sold to large companies — an achievement YEI staff said is symbolic of the institute’s upward trajectory. Stage Grade, which YEI Program Director Alena Gribskov ’09 described as a “Rotten Tomatoes for theater in New York,” and YouRenew, a platform for recycling electronics, were acquired by Davenport Media Enterprises and Clover Wireless, respectively, in December 2012. Gribskov said the acquisitions are a sign that YEI is growing, and she added that applications for the summer fellowship program — which provides funding and mentorship for students or teams of students to launch startups — have risen to an all-time high of 85 this year, a 20 percent increase over last year’s appplication count. YEI Director James Boyle GRD ’94 said the fellowship has started drawing better-qualified students than it was able to in 2007, when the program began. “When we first got started in 2007, what we saw more often than not were students with very raw ideas but no proof that their ideas would address a defined problem or fill a defined opportunity,” Boyle said. “Now we can count on teams to put ideas together and de-risk them before they come to us, which is a good situation for us.” In addition to drawing greater numbers of students to the summer fellowship pro-
gram, YEI began a workshop series in September called Start Something for people unsure of how to launch a new venture, Gribskov said. Boyle said YEI hopes to expand its programs to include more faculty in the coming months, adding that professors can currently take advantage of YEI’s year-round mentorship services and participate in the Start Something workshops.
Now we can count on teams to put ideas together and de-risk them before they come to us. JAMES BOYLE GRD ’94 Director, Yale Entrepreneurial Institute Boyle added that the institute has also been expanding its staff to include graduate students, who he said make up “an important cog in the YEI strategy.” He said the staff now includes School of Management students to help summer fellows plan market strategy and School of Engineering students to brainstorm solutions to technological problems. Gribskov said YEI’s growing program offerings cater to people with a variety of entrepreneurial backgrounds, ranging from students who have had their minds set on careers in business to students who have only just started contemplating entrepreneurship. SEE YEI PAGE 4
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YALE DAILY NEWS · THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2013 · yaledailynews.com
OPINION
.COMMENT “To rant is not to engage in dialogue.” yaledailynews.com/opinion
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VIEW Opening the gradebook
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he first of two views on Yale College’s grading policy. of classes and majors they perceive as grading too harshly. Releasing a grade report will debunk false perceptions, aligning student expectations with reality. But if huge grade disparities do exist amongst the majors, department chairs and professors will need to consider how their individual choices in grading compare to those of their colleagues. Publicizing the distribution of grades across the majors might lead to downward pressure on departments with higher grades. But at the same time, it can exert an upward force on grade point averages in departments with overly rigorous grading. Finding an equilibrium in grading across the College should not require instituting grade deflation, nor should it mean having department chairs and directors of undergraduate study impose arbitrary standards on their professors. What it does mean, however, is encouraging professors and chairs to address their department’s grading standards frankly, defending their policies when necessary. Most importantly, though, a grade report will free students to choose majors and classes they truly love, without the burden of perceived academic reputation or grading disparities. Releasing a grade distribution report is a simple step toward transparency. Such a gesture can signal an administration that wants to include its students in a conversation about grading — before the University irrevocably harms our academic culture.
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COPYRIGHT 2013 — VOL. CXXXV, NO. 99
OPPORTUNITY'
For a communal contribution
NEWS’
When it comes to grading at Yale College, our administrators would do well to remember the old adage: “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” And with the information we currently have, we cannot be sure what’s actually broken, if anything, about grading at Yale. The humanities and social sciences have a reputation for easy grading, but without data, we cannot be sure where grade inflation actually exists. We see some Yalies flock to “gut” lectures in political science and economics, but without data, we cannot be sure how easy these classes really are. We hear students in the hard sciences complain about harsh grading and opaque standards, but without data, their concerns cannot be verified. These rumors pervade our culture, creating stigmas and stereotypes that manipulate the classes we chose and majors we declare. It is time to get the data we need. We must pull back the curtain and expose the mystery that is grade distribution at Yale College. By releasing an annual report to the public — detailing the overall distribution of grades and mean grade point average in each major — we can talk honestly and openly with each other and University administrators about the culture of grading we see. This report must be released before any decision is made, especially in light of the recently proposed 100-point scale and guidelines governing grade distribution. As last week’s report from the Ad Hoc Committee on Grading discussed, students may switch out
'NYLAWYER' ON 'A MISSED MILITARY
ecent pieces in the News have sparked a long overdue conversation on the role of class and pre-college academic preparation in determining a student’s Yale experience. Such issues require charting a delicate balance. On the one hand, we wish to maintain uniform academic standards, in admissions and in classes. On the other, we hope that a student’s success here is determined by her own drive, ability and future promise, and not by the time and money her parents were able to invest in her education. But while Yale could certainly take further steps to ensure that economic disparity doesn’t undermine a student’s academic and social experience, Yale can’t correct for every external factor. At a certain point, Yale runs up against a larger, unequal world. Until that world changes, a far larger proportion of our student body will come from the top income quartile than the bottom. Given limits to Yale’s capacity to make up for inequities beyond its control, we should at least ensure that Yale isn’t actively contributing to those inequities. Our need-based financial aid system is among the most generous in the world; it enables every qualified applicant, regardless of family background, to study at Yale. Still, mandatory self-help and student income contributions create
an unfair and unnecessary division in the student body. The $3200 self-help portion of a student’s financial aid packHARRY age is supposed LARSON to come from term-time Nothing in student jobs. A further Particular $2900 student income contribution is expected to come from a summer job. Especially given Yale’s generous minimum wage and the abundance of student jobs, neither contribution is hugely onerous. Moreover, a part of Yale’s calculation of financial need covers “personal expenses,” which most of us would agree that Yale has no real obligation to finance. Still, travel expenses and textbooks are less optional. And while working a student job is hardly incompatible with a successful (or fun) Yale career — many of us hold a student job at some point — it can’t always be realistically combined with some of the paths which Yale claims are open to every student. A large part of the Yale experience now takes place outside the classroom, and whether one is rehearsing for three plays simultaneously or editing
articles every weeknight for the News, some activities are barely compatible with four classes, let alone a student job. The same can be said of the summer contribution; Yale encourages its students to look at non-paying summer options in the arts, government, and academic research, while at the same time requiring certain students to use those summers to fund their Yale career. One could fairly ask why such tradeoffs are Yale’s problem. After all, some students who can count on parental support after college might be more likely to pursue low or even non-paying career options. At what point should Yale stop being held responsible for the varied ability of its students to pursue different options? If Yale were simply a place where we took classes, requiring that students work a few extra hours each week wouldn’t be a problem; however, so long as Yale markets itself in terms of a culture of extracurricular activities and, to a lesser degree, summer internships or study opportunities, it has a responsibility to ensure that all students can pursue those options. But the financial questions remain. At a Monday night forum, University President-elect Peter Salovey said that the cost of eliminating student contributions would be prohibitively high. I’m
skeptical of such a claim, both because the increase in financial aid would be far less expansive than previous increases, and also because Yale funds so much of the student contribution anyways, through paying students an above-market wage in far more jobs than it probably needs to provide. So the change would cost money, and it would also increase Yale’s generosity to students — requiring that they give less and less back to the university. Many argue that requiring students to partly fund their education is a fair demand — one that asks students to give back a little to an institution that gives them so much more. It’s a perfectly fair point, but one that’s true for affluent students at well. It might be good policy for Yale to require its students give back to the university, but then it’s good policy for Yale to ask that of all its students. If every student worked some number of hours for Yale unpaid, Yale might be able to realize savings while creating an ethos of collective contribution. Such a policy wouldn’t eliminate inequality at Yale, but at the very least, Yale could stop creating it. HARRY LARSON is a junior in Jonathan Edwards College. Contact him at harry.larson@yale.edu .
I L LU ST R AT I O N S E D I T O R K A R E N T I A N
G U E S T C O L U M N I S T E L I Z A B E T H C H RYS TA L
Small potatoes T
he mountain of books in my room currently stretches about 3 feet high. “The Savior of Europe.” “The Famine in Ireland, 1845.” “A History of the Propitious Esculent.” The “propitious esculent” is not, in fact, one of those spells that Harry Potter nerds memorized after their 18th reading of “The Prisoner of Azkaban.” It actually means “opportune edible,” and the edible in question is the potato. The same humble potato that’s made into French fries or Lay’s potato chips or, on particularly happy occasions, roasted with duck fat. The same vegetable that is peeled and shredded and cooked into hash browns to accompany a thousand diner omelets. That same subdued and unassuming legume that gets transformed into ethereal puffs of gnocchi or hearty pillows of pierogi. It is time to come out and say it: I am writing my senior thesis about potatoes. Potatoes. Specifically, about the introduction of the potato to France and two works of literature entirely devoted to potatoes. And when I tell people, their reactions range from amused laughs to blank gazes of confusion. Potatoes? You’re spending nine months of your life studying the most unglamorous of vegetables, the lowliest peasant of
the edible kingdom? Sure, since I’m a French major who not so secretly seeks to imitate Julia Child, the fact that I’m working on a food-related thesis is no surprise. But why not Proust’s madeleines, those charmingly plump scalloped cookies that have made their way into every corner Starbucks? Why not something as frilly and fanciful as Emma Bovary’s multi-tier wedding cake, which features pools of jam, boats made out of nut shells and a chocolate Cupid on a swing? Or, more seriously, why not write about something established and credible/inedible — like structuralism or deconstructionism or some other dry serious -ism? My friends’ disbelief might stem from the notion that food, unlike obscure academic thought, isn’t worthy of serious academic study. Hogwash. Way back in the Roman Empire, the historian and senator Tacitus warned his countrymen of the influence food could have on political events — something that he believed strongly enough that he used his own money to buy grain for the Roman people during a shortage. Not enough for you? Check out the role the “Flour Wars” played in the French Revolution (even now, the price of bread is regulated by the French government), or, more
recently, the importance of food prices in the Arab Spring. Ask your friends with Irish ancestors why their families came to America. Food starts wars, explodes population sizes, changes immigration patterns and sparks political crises. The baguette may not yet have its portrait alongside Napoleon in the Louvre, but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t played just as critical a role in shaping world events. There’s also a sense that studying food must be delightfully pleasant, filled with endless accounts of fabulous meals in books that smell of freshly baked cookies. If only. Studying food can also mean finding oneself kneedeep in demographic data, poring over agricultural statistics from the 1700s or wading through long political petitions in illegible handwriting. Studying potatoes does not entail going home and making a nice golden gratin every night. Food is a window into culture, history and economics. But the very nature of this multiangle approach, the lack of a clearcut methodology, presents its own challenges. And why potatoes? Well, as it turns out, because their modest stature and plebian roots mask a pretty interesting history. (Did you know you can live on a diet
of nothing but potatoes and milk for three years, in perfect health? It’s true.) I’m curious why France adopted potatoes with only great reluctance, and even when it did, why chefs tended to disguise them in bread or porridge rather than fry them up as we do today. The literature written about potatoes is similarly colorful and strange and thought-provoking. After all, what kind of author makes a dirt-covered tuber the hero of his novel? After all, every Yalie has his or her own potato: that strange something they’re passionate about, whether that’s a little-known Italian playwright or a subspecies of kangaroo in Australia. That’s not only what drives our academic study, it’s what makes our dinner conversations interesting and our debates lively. It’s what sends us all over the world doing research and prowling the stacks of Sterling at eleven o’clock at night. It’s the kind of passion and expertise that floors me when I hear my friends talk about their lab work or my roommate discuss her archival research. And ultimately, that potato is what brings us together. ELIZABETH CHRYSTAL is a senior in Davenport College. Contact her at elizabeth.chrystal@yale.edu .
YALE DAILY NEWS · THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2013 · yaledailynews.com
PAGE 3
NEWS
“Half of the American people have never read a newspaper. Half never voted for president. One hopes it is the same half.” GORE VIDAL AMERICAN WRITER
Arts and revitalization funding approved BY SEBASTIAN MEDINA-TAYAC STAFF REPORTER The Winchester Revitalization Art Project, which holds open art and cultural community events throughout the year, received a $75,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to expand its programs and events. WRAP received the grant in January, but the Board of Aldermen Human Services Committee first discussed the funds at a Wednesday evening meeting, passing a measure to accept the funding unanimously after a brief deliberation. The committee also considered a state grant given to Project Storefronts, which provides funding for artists to open their own businesses. The public portion of the meeting consisted mostly of a testimony and Q-and-A session with Vivian Nabeta, the city’s director of arts, culture and tourism. In her testimony in support of WRAP, which was initiated by Nabeta’s department, she said the project aims to use investment in the arts as a method of community development and neighborhood revitalization. In his testimony, Ward 6 Alderman Frank Douglass Jr. urged the committee to accept the WRAP funding. “They’re doing a wonderful thing there in Winchester, and it’ll be wonderful if they expand it to [other neighborhoods],” Douglass said. “I really want to see this pass.” WRAP has operated in the pre-
viously abandoned Winchester lot by Science Hill for a year and a half, attracting a total of 500 people over that period, said Nabeta. The organization held outdoor “arts on the avenue” events three times a week in warmer months, featuring live music, spokenword poetry and art classes. In colder months, WRAP has hosted 15 smaller, more infrequent coffeehouse-style open mic events.
They’re doing a wonderful thing there in Winchester, and it’ll be wonderful if they expand it to [other neighborhoods]. FRANK DOUGLASS JR. Alderman, Ward 6 “Everything I’ve heard about the funding so far has been great. I know people who have really enjoyed WRAP’s coffeehouses,” said Human Services Committee member Ward 1 Alderman Sarah Eidelson ’12. In her testimony, Nabeta stated that the funds would be used in part to fund a project manager, professional artists and catering. The organization plans to expand its programs to the Hill and, as suggested by Ward 11 Alderman Barbara Constantinople, the Bella Vista senior living community. During the hearing, the com-
SEBASTIAN MEDINA-TAYAC/CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
At a Wednesday evening meeting, Ward 1 Alderman Sarah Eidelson ’12, left, discusses the grant awarded to the Winchester Revitalization Art Project mittee also questioned Nabeta about a similar, even larger grant that New Haven’s Project Storefronts received from the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development. Artists who apply and receive funding through Project Storefronts
are given a storefront to run their business, and the city pays for the first three months’ rent as the artists establish themselves. “Many artists want to be entrepreneurs, but it’s a large investment upfront,” Nabeta said. After that time, some choose
Task force pushes school security
to keep running the business independently, and others leave their storefront. Either way, said Nabeta, the goal of Project Storefronts is that participants gain business experience. Nabeta said The Grove, an Orange Street social enterprise initiative, is an
EMMA GOLDBERG/CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
BY MICHELLE HACKMAN STAFF REPORTER Two months after the shooting at Sandy Hook, state legislators are moving forward with efforts to fortify Connecticut schools against future threats. A part of the state’s Bipartisan Task Force on Gun Violence Protection and Children’s Safety, the school security subcommittee put forward a set of recommendations last Friday aimed at refurbishing current security infrastructure and providing additional mental health resources in the state’s schools. The recommendations fall under four broad categories — school infrastructure, personnel, emergency plans and violence prevention efforts. Though the full bipartisan task force had originally planned to deliver an omnibus bill by the end of February, the school security working group is the first and thus far only one of the task force’s three groups to submit its proposals. State Sen. Toni Boucher, the Republican co-chair of the working group, said that support for the proposals was unanimous among subcommittee members. As part of updated infrastructure systems, the group has proposed re-establishing the School Security Competitive Grant Program — first begun in 2007 — that would allow schools to compete for additional money to update security systems. If a particular district is awarded with funds from the program, it will then have to devise fortification measures that comply with new security standards dictated by the Department of Education. The group recommended that additional security renovations — including ballistic glass, electronic locks and double-door vestibules at the entrance of a school — be eligible for funding. Boucher said the Newtown shooting
changed how parents see school safety and has led to a renewed focus on security. “Everyone thought that, when they sent their kid to school, that was the safest possible environment,” she said. “But that’s no longer true. What we can do is be as prepared as possible and prepare for that eventuality.” In addition to new infrastructure standards, the group’s plan calls for schools to implement crisis drills that would test the school’s readiness to shield its students from harm. If implemented, crisis drills and other preparedness measures would be reviewed by local police and fire department officials to ensure their effectiveness. Notably, Boucher said the subcommittee decided against proposing arming school staff and teachers, which is a solution that has been floated by leaders of the National Rifle Association. She estimated that 80 percent of the group’s members were opposed to such a measure. Diane Harp Jones, the CEO of the American Institute of Architects Connecticut Chapter, who testified at the working group’s public hearing in January, cautioned that the working group should not make uniform recommendations to schools across the state. She said different schools — especially those in urban areas in contrast to rural areas — require very different security measures, which must account for various campus layouts and surrounding areas. When considering upgrading security standards at a school, she added, it is crucial to first gather input from the community. “We urged the committee to understand that one size doesn’t fit all,” she said. “You cannot say, ‘You should implement A, B and C, because those strategies will only benefit school A, school B and school C.’”
For its part, the New Haven Public School District does not stand to benefit greatly from the working group’s recommendations. NHPS spokeswoman Abbe Smith said that many of the proposed standards already exist for the Elm City. Through the district’s school construction program, it has ensured that all new schools are equipped with updated security technology, such as camera systems and remote buzzer systems. All teachers working for NHPS are trained in the latest security procedures. The district was considered so far ahead of the curve, Smith added, that NHPS Superintendent Reginald Mayo testified at the January hearing to provide insight and guide the subcommittee’s efforts. In addition to physical safety measures, Boucher’s working group recommended greater access to mental health resources in schools. Specifically, her school required that greater systems be put in place to provide individualized therapy to students exhibiting violent tendencies and to hire behavioral intervention specialists. But Glen Gollenberg, an architect at the Glastonbury-based firm SLAM Collaborative, suggested that all the updates combined cannot guarantee schools’ safety against a freak occurrence such as Sandy Hook. “You can’t design for every event that might happen,” he said. “And at some point there are cost implications for what might be achievable, as well.” The gun violence prevention and mental health working groups are due to deliver their recommendations to the full bipartisan task force in early March. Nicole Narea contributed reporting. Contact MICHELLE HACKMAN at michelle.hackman@yale.edu .
Contact SEBASTIAN MEDINA-TAYAC at sebastian.medina-tayac@yale.edu .
Courant launches website sans pay-wall BY MATTHEW LLOYD-THOMAS STAFF REPORTER
A crowd of over 5,000 gathered in Hartford two weeks ago to demonstrate for stricter gun laws in the wake of Sandy Hook.
example of a successful business started by the program. The $100,000 DECD grant runs until the end of December.
Struggling to define its place and make a profit in a rapidly shifting media landscape, the Hartford Courant, Connecticut’s largest newspaper, launched a new website last week. The website, CourantPlus.com, requires free registration and is an addition, not a replacement, to the paper’s longstanding free website, courant. com. Advertised by the Courant as free of clutter and ubiquitous advertisements, the new site emphasizes more in-depth political and business news. Some see the site as a forerunner to a pay-wall site, where readers will need to buy subscriptions for access, including Matt DiRienzo, group editor for Journal Register Company’s Connecticut papers, who described the Courant’s experiment as a “version of a paidaccess website” on his blog. The Courant’s owner, the Tribune Company, however, insisted that the long-term direction of the site is undetermined. “[The Courant is] in the process of testing a variety of different approaches to meet [its] customer, reader and advertiser needs,” Gary Weitman, a senior vice president for corporate relations at the Tribune Company, said Wednesday, “so I wouldn’t make any predictions about where it’s going to go.” Although Rich Graziano, the Courant’s publisher, did not respond to multiple requests for comment, he insisted that the Courant was yet to implement a pay-wall in an email to journalism nonprofit Poynter. Graziano instead called the site “market research.” The Courant, like other metropolitan and local newspapers across the country, has struggled in recent years to retain readers in light of the proliferation of news on the Internet, with its circulation down over 26 percent from 179,066 in 2006 to 131,564 per week this year according to figures from the Alliance for Audited Media and the Harvard Business Journal. In 2011, the paper laid off an undisclosed number of employees. This came after long-running financial difficulties whittled the paper’s news staff down to 135 in 2009 from a high of 400 in 1994. Bennie DiNardo, a deputy managing editor for multimedia at the Boston Globe, said CourantPlus.com bears a strong resemblance to the Boston Globe’s pay-wall website, BostonGlobe. com, which offers a potential model for the Courant to follow. Launched in the fall of 2011, the site shifted much of the paper’s strongest journalism from Boston.com, where it had previously presented articles in a cluttered but free manner much as Courant.com now does.
“The content from BostonGlobe.com is from the Globe, and that’s the journalism from our newsroom,” said Ellen Clegg, executive director of communications for the paper. “Boston.com is more of a public portal, with short tidbits, and we’re working on differentiating the two brands further.” More than a year later, BostonGlobe. com is largely considered a success, with 28,000 online-only subscribers, according to DiNardo. DiNardo added that although many are still resistant to paying for online content, the prospect of having to close the paper, which the Boston Globe faced in 2009, led readers to support the move. “People value the journalism,” DiNardo said, noting that print newspapers are still the most reliable source of news for metropolitan and smalltown communities alike. “The idea of not having really excellent journalism caused a lot of people to come out and say, ‘We’ll pay more, we’ll support you.’” At present, the web presence of the New Haven Register, the Elm City’s only printed daily, consists of a single site where it provides all of its content free of charge, albeit with advertisements covering the top and sides of virtually every page. Nevertheless, financial difficulties continue to plague the Register. The Journal Register Company, which owns the Register, has filed for bankruptcy twice in the past four years. Last year, the Register laid off 105 employees when it closed its printing press, outsourcing the operation to the Courant. The move was part of the Journal Register’s “Digital First” plan, which attempted to shift scarce resources to writing and editing from printing and the labor it required. DiRienzo, Register publisher Tom Wiley and the Journal Register Company did not respond to repeated request for comment Wednesday. Despite the struggles of local print outlets, DiNardo emphasized that newspapers, through effective market research, can attract readers and in turn regain profitability. “Readership in print is down, but people overall are consuming more news than ever on all of their devices. In a world where there are hundreds of sources, the fact that you’re the trusted source makes you more valuable, not less valuable,” Dinardo said. “There are not that many sources of information coming from New Haven, so the New Haven Register has a tremendous opportunity.” The Courant is the oldest continuously published paper in the U.S. Contact MATTHEW LLOYD-THOMAS at matthew.lloyd-thomas@yale.edu .
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YALE DAILY NEWS · THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2013 · yaledailynews.com
FROM THE FRONT ITS releases three-year plan ITS FROM PAGE 1 egy that will sustain Yale IT over a longer period of time, adding that some initiatives such as overhauling and updating Yale’s payroll software will take more than a year to properly implement. Over the past three months, the working groups conducted research to generate one- to three-page recommendations, which ITS has made available to the public through its strategic planning website, said Jane Livingston, the director of governance strategy and policy for ITS. She added that in the past, student surveys have helped ITS identify where its services needed improvement and that she hopes larger-scale involvement will help the University lay out a better road map for future growth. “We think the best thing we can do is bring people in, listen to their voices and be as transparent about making decisions as possible,” Livingston said. “We want to make decisions that align with expectations of students, faculty and staff.”
Staff and administrators involved in the project said they were enthusiastic about the University taking a large-scale approach to information technology that involves the libraries, professional schools, Yale College and the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Michael Dula, chief technology officer for Library IT and head of the working group on information and digital asset management, said there are many isolated pockets of technological information and innovation at the University, but little sharing of information. “Getting some commonality of practice will be a big step forward,” Dula said. “This information is fairly decentralized, and it would be useful to understand what everyone is doing and put together some best practices.” Len Peters was appointed as ITS director and chief information officer in May 2011. Contact JANE DARBY MENTON at jane.menton@yale.edu .
“Everybody gets so much information all day long that they lose their common sense.” GERTRUDE STEIN EXPERIMENTAL WRITER AND ART COLLECTOR OF SEMINAL MODERNIST PAINTINGS
Applied physics still reeling APPLIED PHYSICS FROM PAGE 1 Prober added that independence from SEAS has also given the applied physics professors “the ability to determine our own fate,” citing in particular more liberty in conducting faculty hires. But professors said the separation has stunted the department’s growth. “On the whole, life isn’t dramatically different,” Prober said. “But new research initiatives that might bridge between applied physics and engineering departments probably won’t develop as spontaneously or as quickly as if we were seeing those folks at lots of meetings and just intersecting over more lunches and more coffee and donuts.”
Our future would be much more secure if we were part of engineering. DOUGLAS STONE Chair, Applied Physics Department Though research collaboration has continued, Stone said applied physics is no longer part of many important administrative conversations within SEAS. For instance, applied physics is not consulted on engineering facilities issues even though the department is “key” to them. Stone added that applied physics has been much more wiling to include engineering professors
on its faculty search committees than SEAS has been to include applied physics professors on theirs, citing a recent applied physics search in which two of six faculty members were from SEAS. Stone said applied physics’ current lack of involvement at the “higher level” of SEAS decision-making hurts the department, the school and Yale. “Our future would be much more secure if we were part of engineering,” he added. “The facilities are going to be critical — they are going to have to be improved, upgraded and expanded. If we are not in the planning, it certainly seems possible that we won’t get the resources that our success seems to indicate.” SEAS Dean T. Kyle Vanderlick was unavailable for an interview for this article. Deputy Provost for Science and Technology Steven Girvin said he does not see dramatic advantages or disadvantages to the shift, as there are strong intellectual ties between applied physics and engineering regardless that he hopes will continue to grow. “I don’t think applied physics has come out somehow strongly affected by this,” he said. “They are a stand-alone department instead of a department within a school. There was some emotional distress within the department, but I don’t think there has been any actual problems caused to the department as far as I can see.”
STUDENT PERSPECTIVE
Stone said one line of communication lost through this split affects students in both departments.
The directors of undergraduate studies in SEAS used to meet as a group to discuss teaching assignments for a range of courses — discussions that no longer include applied physics. But applied physics major Andrew Goldstein ’13 said the move from engineering has not significantly affected him — he said he senses the classes and research opportunities provided by the department have remained largely unchanged. Stone said he also believes the shift has not negatively impacted the undergraduates in the department, citing the continued ability of senior projects to be conducted in the labs of engineering faculty. On the other hand, applied physics major Doug Steinberg ’13 said he thinks the department should rejoin SEAS in large part because it is losing out on all of the investments SEAS has made in recent years. More students would be attracted to the major — which only has three students in its graduating class this year — if it were attached to SEAS, he said, adding that he thinks being in SEAS would help applied physics students secure both funding and spots in labs to conduct research. “We deserve to be in engineering,” Steinberg said. “All the prerequisites are the same, and I personally took most of my electives with engineering students anyways, so I am doing the same work as engineering students, but I don’t get to consider myself part of the department, and that’s kind of unfair.” Contact DAN WEINER at daniel.weiner@yale.edu .
YEI sees steady growth since founding in 2007 YEI FROM PAGE 1 Siddharth Banerjee ’13, a former YEI summer fellow who created the Guide Finder, a platform for the online reservation of hunting and fishing guides, said he was not particularly interested in entrepreneurship when he joined YEI in summer
2011. The experience “definitely changed my inclination,” he said, adding that he now naturally tends to evaluate ideas in terms of startup potential. Xan Tanner ’13, who worked on the elementary and high school teacher evaluation platform called Panorama Education during the summer pro-
r e c y c l e y o u r y d n d a i l y
gram in 2012, said fellows who are further along in the process of developing their businesses can also benefit from the resources provided by YEI. Panorama Education continued to expand after the summer fellowship and now serves over 800 schools in six different states, said co-founder Aaron
Feuer ’13. Feuer added that he attributes Panorama’s success partly to what he and others working on Panorama Education learned during its YEI experience. Hearing speeches from successful entrepreneurs, having advisors for every aspect of the team’s business model and
having a structured schedule to work with were all helpful in developing Panorama Education into a full-fledged company, he said. “It’s easy to underestimate how many questions you’ll have, and it was great to have an office near other companies going through the same pro-
cess,” Feuer said. YEI will select between 10 and 12 teams from its 85 applications for the 2013 summer fellowship program. Contact PAYAL MARATHE at payal.marathe@yale.edu .
YALE DAILY NEWS · THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2013 · yaledailynews.com
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NEWS
“Hell, there are no rules here — we’re trying to accomplish something.” THOMAS EDISON INVENTOR OF THE PHONOGRAPH, THE MOTION-PICTURE CAMERA AND A LONG-LASTING, PRACTICAL ELECTRIC LIGHT BULB
Crime tech quickening forensics analysis BY LORENZO LIGATO STAFF REPORTER As new developments in forensic science lead to easily portable police technologies, law enforcement agencies nationwide will be able to attain lab testing results immediately and thus speed up criminal investigations, according to forensic scientist Peter Massey. A Wednesday afternoon talk on the future of forensic science drew a crowd of roughly 25 people to the University of New
Haven’s Marvin K. Peterson Library, located at 300 Boston Post Rd. in West Haven, Conn. Speaking in front of students and colleagues, Massey — a former detective in the Hamden Police Department and now a lecturer at the University of New Haven — said recent advances in forensic science have concentrated on developing devices that can be easily transported to the crime scene and yield immediate analysis results. “The goal is to bring the laboratory out to the crime scene,”
Massey said. “This is where the future of forensic science is going.” Many of these newest instruments in forensic science can provide a solution to old problems, Massey said. For instance, a spectroscopic technique called Raman spectroscopy can be used to detect molecular vibrations in suspicious powdery substances and determine if they are potentially explosive. “Two days ago, Gov. [Dannel] Malloy received a letter with powder,” Massey said. “Less
than 10 years ago, that situation would have been handled much differently.” Until approximately 2006, the common protocol for situations involving potentially explosive powders required law enforcement agencies to destroy the substance with bleach. However, this line of action often led to losing potential evidence such as the fingerprints left on the letter, Massey said. Today, he added, Raman spectroscopy allows investigators to identify “almost immediately” dan-
gerous powders and explosives, without destroying potentially significant evidence. Other technologies have been developed out of the same advances in spectroscopy. One example is the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, or FTIR, a technique used to identify drugs in a variety of gases, liquids and solids. For decades, this procedure could be performed only in forensic laboratories with the aid of voluminous and weighty equipment. Today, Massey said, engineers have been able to fabricate devices that collect spectral data from items found at the crime scene but are easily movable and lightweight. Similarly, Massey added, X-Ray diffraction methods have been significant for the analysis of spectra of powders, solids, drugs, paints, pigments and explosives.
The goal is to bring the laboratory out to the crime scene. PETER MASSEY Forensic scientist and lecturer, University of New Haven
LORENZO LIGATO/CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
In a Wednesday talk, forensic scientist Peter Massey explained how advances in portable police technologies can accelerate criminal investigations.
Several of the most recent crime technologies have found their application in the ongoing fight against illegal consumption and distribution of alcohol and psychoactive drugs. From handheld electronic narcotic sniffers to flashlight sensors detecting alcohol levels in the air, many devices have become new tools for police departments across the nation to combat problems like drunk and drug-impaired driving, according to Massey. He added that another area of advancement in the past several years has been biometric technologies, or identification of humans by their facial traits and other characteristics. Massey said that engineers have developed portable devices that can match up the position of facial characteristics, scan fingerprints and then transmit the
data acquired wirelessly to governmental databases for further investigation. Widely deployed in military settings to identify terrorists in the Middle East, trait-recognition devices have been filtering down to federal and state law enforcement agencies as the technology behind them has become more affordable, he said. Some of these devices, he added, are available for roughly $2,000 dollars. Similarly, some companies have developed tools that use near-infrared light to produce a digital image of a person’s veins, which can help identify a potential suspect during investigations. Some of the newest technologies discussed during the talk are already in use in several federal and state law enforcement agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation and many police departments in Alabama, Mississippi and Utah. Police departments in Connecticut have been slower in following suit, Massey said. “With the exception of big incidents, our lab people don’t leave the lab to go to the crime scene,” he said. “The technology is there: It’s just a matter of whether we are going to adopt it or not.” Wednesday’s talk on new advances in forensic science was the first lecture in a series sponsored by the University of New Haven Library this semester. “It’s great how the crime scene is now becoming the real laboratory,” said Hanko Dobi, the university librarian at the University of New Haven. “The library is happy to give faculty members like Massey a forum to present their research and discuss their ideas.” Massey retired from the Hamden Police Department in June 2003 to serve as the training coordinator for the National Crime Scene Training and Technology Center at the Henry C. Lee Institute of Forensic Science of the University of New Haven. Contact LORENZO LIGATO at lorenzo.ligato@yale.edu .
Gilt CEO explains path to entrepreneurship BY KAMIL SADIK CONTRIBUTING REPORTER Gilt Groupe CEO Kevin Ryan ’85 broke down conventional notions of entrepreneurship by describing his success in the e-commerce sector in a talk Wednesday evening. The lecture, sponsored by the Yale Business Society, showcased Ryan’s career as a successful investment banker who decided to work in e-commerce in the mid ’90s as the industry began to gain momentum. During his presentation, Ryan — the founder of Gilt Groupe, a fashion resale website — told an audience of roughly 40 students about the entrepreneurial skills he gained as an undergraduate at Yale. “I was involved in a lot of extracurricular activities on the leadership side,” Ryan said. “I was always running student organizations, and I guess I’m still doing that now, just with older people.” He said the managerial skills he learned while participating in extracurricular activities at Yale established the foundation for his career in business. The term he spent abroad in Paris was crucial to his college experience, he said, adding that a business in Paris eventually gave him the idea to start Gilt over 20 years later. Beyond managerial skills, the ability to detect trends and to catch them when they are viable but not yet obvious distinguishes successful entrepreneurs, Ryan said. “If you’re a surfer, you want to be in that perfect position on the surfboard so that the wave just pushes you along,” he said, adding that in the case of DoubleClick — his first Internet startup that helped businesses advertise online — he “hit the wave perfectly.” Ryan urged the audience to consider the benefits of seeing a business venture through despite major obstacles. After joining the newspaper syndicate United Media in 1994, he helped to turn the organization from a failing enterprise to a profitable company with a website ranked in the top
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10 most visited in the United States in 1995. Following the success of United Media’s website, he realized that “this Internet thing is going to be big,” he said, but he met resistance from United Media’s parent company when he suggested developing an online division. Ryan said he then left United Media and sought out existing Internet companies to find a way to deliver services substantially better than competitors’.
Entire industries that are now worth trillions of dollars, not only did not exist, but nobody had even thought of them. KEVIN RYAN ’85 CEO, Gilt Groupe Ryan said students should pursue the sciences and a foreign language while at Yale to prepare for a competitive and rapidly evolving global market in which the most sought-after careers of the future may not even exist today. “Entire industries that are now worth trillions of dollars, not only did not exist, but nobody had even thought of them,” he said. Students need to adapt to “industries that you don’t think of as being technology industries becoming technology industries,” Ryan added. Ben Gordon ’16 said he agreed with Ryan that interpersonal and executive skills are essential for an aspiring entrepreneur. Kellen Svetov ’16 said he found Ryan’s willingness to discuss the current state of Internet retail candidly particularly engaging. Ryan also started the online publication Business Insider. Contact KAMIL SADIK at kamil.sadik@yale.edu .
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JENNIFER CHEUNG/PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
Gilt Groupe CEO Kevin Ryan ’85 discussed the skill sets valuable for aspiring entrepreneurs at a Yale Business Society lecture Wednesday.
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YALE DAILY NEWS · THURSDAY, FRBRUARY 28, 2013 · yaledailynews.com
FROM THE FRONT
“There is a land of the living and a land of the dead and the bridge is love, the only survival, the only meaning.” THORNTON WILDER FROM HIS NOVEL “THE BRIDGE OF SAN LUIS REY”
Summer program to debut in July HURDLE S TO OVERCOME ACADEMIC ADJUSTMENT
Yale will offer academic courses to 30 invited students over the summer, which will introduce them to the academic rigor of college before their freshman year. NEW SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT
The program invites the participants to stay on Yale’s campus during the summer, encouraging them to build relationships with other Yale students early in their college experiences.
SUMMER BRIDGE FROM PAGE 1 “We know from the college deans that some students run into trouble because they don’t ask for help soon enough or think things will get better on their own,” Whobrey said. “There are all sorts of people out there who are ready and able to help, but of course you have to know who they are.” Jamieson Bilella, president of the North American Association of Summer Sessions, said an important aspect of summer
programs — and especially of bridge programs such as Yale’s — is relationship building. Being on campus with other Yale students will allow the summer bridge participants to preview the college social experience, he said, in addition to getting a feel for the academic environment. Aaron Fulk, associate director of college counseling at St. Margaret’s Episcopal School in California, said he thinks any large university with the resources and funding available should aim to offer bridge programs. Fulk —
who has worked with the nonprofit Questbridge program, which pairs low-income, firstgeneration college students with top U.S. colleges — added that for students coming from comparatively disadvantaged backgrounds, social preparation is almost more important than academic preparation. “Any students who are admitted to Yale are obviously pretty bright students,” Fulk said. “I think any student admitted to Yale is going to be fully capable of doing the academic
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work. The challenges those students encounter are typically the result of being thrown into a social atmosphere that in no way resembles their home life.” Steven Mendoza ’14, who was the first person in his family to attend college, said he would have loved to take advantage of Yale’s summer bridge program had it existed in the year he was accepted. Freshman year felt “like a bomb was dropped on me,” Mendoza said, adding that it took several semesters for him to become as comfortable on cam-
pus as other students seemed to be from the beginning. Mendoza also said he thinks offering a program in the summer is a good idea because students will not have all the distractions of the school year and can truly focus on adjusting to college. In 2012, a study by the National Center for Postsecondary Research found that summer bridge programs significantly benefit students’ academic work in their first year of college. By the end of their sophomore year, however, the students’ work
showed no significant difference in comparison to a control group of students who did not receive pre-college summer academic support. Admissions decisions for regular decision applicants to the Class of 2017 will be announced online March 28. Contact JANE DARBY MENTON at jane.menton@yale.edu. Contact AMY WANG at amy.wang@yale.edu .
YALE DAILY NEWS · THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2013 · yaledailynews.com
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BULLETIN BOARD
TODAY’S FORECAST
TOMORROW
Scattered showers. Patchy fog before 9 a.m. Otherwise, cloudy, with a high near 47.
High of 43, low of 30.
ANTIMALS BY ALEX SODI
ON CAMPUS THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 28 4:30 PM “Dueling Sounds, Contending Tones: The Pronunciation Wars of the 1920s in China” Janet Chen of Princeton University will discuss research from a new book titled “The Sounds of Mandarin: The Making of a National Language in China and Taiwan, 1913–1965.” Sponsored by the Council on East Asian Studies. Free and open to the general public. Luce Hall (34 Hillhouse Ave.), Room 202.
FRIDAY, MARCH 1 12:00 PM “Chipotle: Marketing, Sourcing and Transparency at Scale in the New Food Movement” For most fast food companies, the less the consumer knows, the better. However, Chipotle Mexican Grill isn’t most companies: Chief Marketing Officer Mark Crumpacker wants you to know what’s in your burrito. Learn about Chipotle’s sustainability initiatives as well as their unorthodox marketing campaigns built on the idea that food production should be healthier and more ethical. Free Chipotle burritos will be provided at the event. Co-sponsored by the Center for Business and the Environment at Yale. Kroon Hall (195 Prospect St.), Burke Auditorium. 12:30 PM “The Quagmire of American Health Care and Suggestions for Radical Change.” Join the Public Health Coalition for lunch with professor Sherwin Nuland, a surgeon and Yale professor of bioethics, history of medicine, and medicine. Nuland has published several books, including the awardwinning “How We Die: Reflections on Life’s Final Chapters” and “Lost in America: A Journey with My Father,” and has also written extensively for publications such as The New Yorker and The New York Times. Silliman College (505 College St.), Dining Annex.
NUTTIN’ TO LOSE BY DEANDRA TAN
THAT MONKEY TUNE BY MICHAEL KANDALAFT
SATURDAY, MARCH 2 5:30 PM “Edwardian Modernities: Art and Music in London, 1901–1910” Tim Barringer, Paul Mellon Professor of the history of art, will give the keynote lecture for the “Art, Anxiety and Protest in the Edwardian Belle Époque” symposium. Free and open to the general public. Yale Center for British Art (1080 Chapel St.).
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Questions or comments about the fairness or accuracy of stories should be directed to Editor in Chief Tapley Stephenson at (203) 432-2418. Bulletin Board is a free service provided to groups of the Yale community for events. Listings should be submitted online at yaledailynews.com/events/ submit. The Yale Daily News reserves the right to edit listings.
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Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle
CLASSIFIEDS
CROSSWORD Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Lewis ACROSS 1 Send with an email 7 With 22-, 37- or 48-Across, familiar line 14 It has its charms 15 Password accompaniment 17 Mail for King Arthur 18 “Pull it together” 19 Fed. management and support agency 21 Fabric 22 See 7-Across 29 Ken and Lena of Hollywood 30 Tell-all account 31 Mosquito-borne fever 33 Islet 34 Preschool downtime 37 See 7-Across 41 Disapproving sound 42 Ballpark fig. 43 Two-__ 44 Shrill laugh 47 Bookkeeper’s deduction 48 See 7-Across 50 Literature Nobelist __ Bashevis Singer 52 __ Lanka 53 Words often said with a fist pump 57 Easy pill to swallow 62 Where a shopping list may be jotted down 63 Word of exasperation 64 Probable response to 7-/22-, 7-/37- or 7-/48-Across 65 Saved DOWN 1 Gardner of “The Killers” 2 NYY opponent, on scoreboards 3 Cat on the prowl 4 Excitement 5 Forks over reluctantly
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By Steven J. St. John
6 __ trade 7 An O may symbolize one 8 Odessa-to-Austin dir. 9 To this point 10 Leaflike parts 11 “Life of Pi” director 12 Unseen “Red” character in “Peanuts” 13 Give off 16 N.T. book 20 “All bets __ off” 22 Buffalo Bill and the Wyoming city named for him 23 Kitchen spreads 24 Frigid forecast word 25 Tech sch. grad 26 “Bingo!” 27 Andy’s TV son 28 Pics 32 To-be, in politics 34 Capone associate 35 Words after crack or fry 36 1996 role for Madonna or Jonathan Pryce 38 Sets a price of
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2 3 6 5 9 3 1 6 7 9 2 (c)2013 Tribune Media Services, Inc.
39 Adjust, as to a new situation 40 Prey for a Hauskatze 44 Alpine dwelling 45 Battery not included, perhaps 46 Aurora, to the Greeks 48 Refrain from claiming 49 Prods
1
2/28/13
50 Like Vivaldi’s “Spring” 51 Joined the choir 54 Scooby-__ 55 Tape speed unit: Abbr. 56 Hanoi holiday 58 John of London 59 Nasty mutt 60 Birthday candle number 61 Prof’s deg.
1
4
2 8 3 8 7 1 7 6 9 5
SATURDAY High of 44, low of 28.
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YALE DAILY NEWS · THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2013 · yaledailynews.com
NATION
T
Dow Jones 14,075.37, +1.26%
S NASDAQ 3,162.26, +1.04% S Oil $93.15, +0.42%
Rosa Parks statue unveiled
S S&P 500 1,515.99, +1.27% T T
10-yr. Bond 1.90%, +0.02 Euro $1.32, 0.11
Transgender girl fights school district BY P. SOLOMON BANDA ASSOCIATED PRESS
J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE/ASSOCIATED PRESS
President Barack Obama and congressional Republicans set aside their political battles at a ceremony to dedicate a statue of Rosa Parks. BY SUZANNE GAMBOA ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON — The nation’s most powerful politicians honored Rosa Parks on Wednesday by unveiling her statue in a permanent place in the U.S. Capitol. President Barack Obama praised Parks as an enduring reminder of what true leadership requires, “no matter how humble or lofty our positions.” Parks became the first black woman to be depicted in a full-length statue in the Capitol’s Statuary Hall. A bust of another black woman, abolitionist Sojourner Truth, sits in the Capitol Visitors Center. “We do well by placing a statue of her here,” Obama said. “But we can do no greater honor to her memory than to carry
forward the power of her principle and a courage born of conviction.” The unveiling brought Obama, House Speaker John Boehner and other congressional leaders together in the midst of a fierce standoff over automatic spending cuts set to go into effect on Friday. Setting that conflict aside, Obama and Boehner stood on either side of a blue drape, tugging and pulling in opposite directions on a braided cord until the cover fell to reveal a 2,700-pound bronze statue of a seated Parks, her hair in a bun under a hat, her hands crossed over her lap and clasping her purse. Obama gazed up at it, and touched its arm. At the same time across the street, conservative Supreme Court justices voiced skepticism about the relevance of the Vot-
ing Rights Act, one of the major legislative victories of the movement to which Parks devoted her life. Parks’ civil rights movement colleague Jesse Jackson, whose son former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. sponsored the bill to place Parks’ statue in the Capitol, said Parks “fought her way into history,” and on three occasions, took literacy tests required of blacks who wanted to vote. She passed all three, Jackson said. Parks’ statue is positioned between those of suffragist Frances E. Willard and John Gorrie, considered the father of refrigeration and air conditioning. Boehner, R-Ohio, pointed out that Parks’ gaze seems to fall directly onto a statue of Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederacy.
FOUNTAIN, Colo. — At first, Jeremy and Kathryn Mathis didn’t think much of their son’s behavior. Coy took his sister’s pink blanket and shunned the car they gave him for Christmas. Then, Coy told them he only wanted to wear girls’ clothes. At school, he became upset when his teacher insisted he line up with the boys. All the while, he was becoming depressed and withdrawn, telling his parents at one point he wanted to get “fixed” by doctors. When the Mathises learned he had gender identity disorder — a condition in which someone identifies as the opposite gender — they decided to help Coy live as a girl. And suddenly, she came out of her shell. “We could force her to be somebody she wasn’t, but it would end up being more damaging to her emotionally and to us because we would lose the relationship with her,” Kathryn Mathis said. “She was discussing things like surgery and things like that before and she’s not now, so obviously we’ve done something positive.” Now, her family is locked in a legal battle with the school district in Fountain, a town 82 miles south of Denver, over where Coy, 6, should go to use the bathroom — the girls’ or, as school officials suggest, one in the teachers’ lounge or another in the nurse’s office. Her parents say using anything other than the girls’ bathroom could stigmatize her and open her up to bullying. Fountain-Fort Carson School District 8 declined to comment, citing a complaint filed on behalf of the Mathises with the Colorado Office of Civil Rights that alleges
a violation of the state’s anti-discrimination law. School officials, however, sent a letter to the family, explaining their decision to prevent Coy from using the girls’ bathroom at Eagleside Elementary, where she is a first-grader. “I’m certain you can appreciate that as Coy grows older and his male genitals develop along with the rest of his body, at least some parents and students are likely to become uncomfortable with his continued use of the girls’ restroom,” the letter read. School districts in many states, including Colorado, have enacted policies that allow transgender students to use the bathroom of the gender with which they identify. Sixteen states, including Colorado, have anti-discrimination laws that include protections for transgender people. Legal battles such as the one the Mathises are facing are rare, said Michael Silverman of the New York-based Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund who is representing the Mathises. He sees about a dozen cases each year. Silverman refers most cases to social workers who work with districts to work out a solution to a well-recognized medical condition. Psychologists don’t know what causes the condition, but it was added to the American Psychiatric Association’s diagnostic manual in 1980 — some three decades after the psychological concept of gender began to be developed. The manual’s fifth edition, due out in May, changes the name to “gender dysphoria” — which refers to the distress from the gender conflict — partly out of concerns that the current name is stigmatizing, said Dr. Jack Drescher, a New York psychiatrist who serves on the working group that suggested the changes.
NY gun law to exempt TV, movies BY MICHAEL GORMLEY ASSOCIATED PRESS ALBANY, N.Y. — New York sought to combat violence by rushing the nation’s toughest gun control measure into law after the Connecticut school shootings that killed 26 people, but the state is now carving out an exemption to make sure movie and TV producers can stage running gun battles on Manhattan streets. Movie and TV productions have long been courted by New York and other states with tax breaks in exchange for the jobs and glamour of the industry. Hollywood is also a major campaign fundraising stop for New York politicians. “We spend a lot of money in the state bringing movie production here, postproduction here, so obviously we would want to facilitate that,” said Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who wants to expand the film and TV tax credit. He said movies and TV may use fake guns that wouldn’t be subject to the new
law but the industry wants “certainty.” The revised law would allow them to use real weapons without real ammunition. “There’s no reason not to make a change like that to give an industry comfort, especially when it’s an industry we want to do business in the state,” the governor said.
We spend a lot of money in the state bringing movie production here. ANDREW CUOMO Governor, New York Film and television producers have spent more than $7 billion in New York since the state began offering tax breaks in 2004, the governor’s office says. New York has been the stage for recent films including “Spider-Man 3,” “The Nanny Diaries,”
“Sex and the City 2” and “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.” Most of Woody Allen’s films are made in New York City, and many TV shows including “Louie” turn to the city for their backdrop. The Hollywood exemption is just one of the revisions planned for the state law that was passed in January before the Obama administration and other states offered their legislative responses to the Dec. 14 rampage in Newtown, Conn. Other changes to the New York law would allow police officers to keep their high-capacity handguns and take a loaded gun on school grounds without permission from school officials. However, the need for a “cleanup” bill also means the fight over the law may not be over after all. An estimated 10,000 opponents of the new law are expected to descend on Albany on Thursday to try to persuade lawmakers to take advantage of an unexpected second shot at the law critics claim is unconstitutional.
BRENNAN LINSLEY/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Six-year-old Coy Mathis, who has been diagnosed with gender identity disorder, is biologically male but identifies as female.
YALE DAILY NEWS · THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2013 · yaledailynews.com
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WORLD
PEOPLE IN THE NEWS CELESTINE V Celestine V was the first pope to abdicate. A known hermit, he was elected to the papacy in 1294 but soon felt overwhelmed. Five months into his papacy he issued a decree declaring it permissible for the pope to resign and then did so himself weeks later.
US, Europe move to expand role in Syrian conflict BY MATTHEW LEE AND BRADLEY KLAPPER ASSOCIATED PRESS
RICCARDO DE LUCA/ASSOCIATED PRESS
The United States is looking for tangible ways to support Syria’s rebels and bolster a fledgling political movement.
House pushes for tougher Iran stance BY DONNA CASSATA ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON — House leaders are pushing for tougher penalties on Iran to thwart its nuclear ambitions, introducing a bipartisan bill Wednesday that would pressure the U.S. to work with the European Union in cutting off Tehran’s access to the euro. Rep. Ed Royce, R-Calif., chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Rep. Eliot Engel of New York, the panel’s top Democrat, said their measure builds on current laws that have undercut the Iranian economy, causing high unemployment and inflation while daily oil production and the value of the country’s currency, the rial, have dropped. The legislation would extend penalties, targeted now at financial entities, to human rights violators and individuals who transfer technologies to Iran that are used by human rights abusers. The bill would penalize individuals involved in censorship or corruption. Under the measure, the secretary of state would be required to determine whether the country’s hard-line Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is a foreign terrorist organization. If that decision is made, the president would impose additional penalties. “Iran’s continued march toward nuclear weapons is the gravest threat facing the United States and our allies,” Royce said in a statement. “We must build on existing sanctions to maximize economic pressure and prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapons capability.” The legislation comes as world powers meeting in Kazakhstan offered broad concessions to Iran to maintain diplomatic channels that aim to rein its nuclear program and prevent it from building an atomic weapon. Iran says its nuclear program is geared toward peaceful purposes such as generating electricity and producing nuclear medical radioisotopes for medical use. The legislation urges the Obama administration to work closely with European nations on finding a way to stop Iran’s access to hard currency such as the euro. “We will continue to tighten the screws on Iran until the regime abandons its nuclear weapons program,” Engel said in a statement. “I hope this crisis can be resolved through diplomacy, but words cannot be a substitute for action, and the U.S. must keep all options on the table.” Mark Dubowitz, a sanctions expert and executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said that provision also sends a strong message to the European Central Bank ahead of its March 7 meeting in Brussels to “make it much more difficult for Iran to repatriate those euros back to Iran or use those to euros to fund commercial trade.”
ROME — The United States and some European allies are edging closer to direct involvement in Syria’s civil war with plans to deliver meals, medical kits and other forms of nonlethal assistance to the rebels battling President Bashar Assad. The U.S., Britain, France and Italy aren’t planning to supply the Free Syrian Army with weapons or ammunition. But moves are afoot to significantly boost the size and scope of their aid to the political and military opposition. Such decisions could be announced as early as Thursday at an international conference on Syria in Rome. Britain and France are keen to give the rebels the means to protect themselves from attacks by Assad’s forces, including Scud missiles fired in recent days against the city of Aleppo, U.S. and European officials say. Assistance could mean combat armor, vehicles and other equipment not deemed to be offensive, the officials said. It could include training in battlefield medical care and the protection of human rights, they said. For now, the Obama administration is advancing more modestly. It is nearing a decision whether to give ready-made meals and medical supplies to the opposition fighters, who have not received direct U.S. assistance. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry was expected to announce
the new contributions at the Rome conference, in addition to tens of millions of dollars intended for rule of law and governance programs. The shifts in strategy are part of a step-by-step process that could lead to direct military aid to carefully screened members of the Free Syrian Army if the nearly two-year conflict continues. Some 70,000 people have died in the fighting. The European Union last week renewed an arms embargo against Syria for three months. But foreign ministers made clear that the decision could be reviewed while they look at ways to increase pressure on Assad to leave. Washington has provided $385 million in humanitarian aid to Syria’s war-weary population and $54 million in communications equipment, medical supplies and other nonlethal assistance to Syria’s political opposition. The U.S. also has screened rebel groups for Turkey and American allies in the Arab world that have armed rebel fighters. No U.S. dollars or provisions have gone directly to rebels. That decision reflects concerns about forces that have allied themselves with more radical Islamic elements since Assad’s initial crackdown on peaceful protesters in March 2011. Kerry said Wednesday in Paris that both the U.S. and Europe want a negotiated solution to the crisis and would speak to the leaders of the Syrian National Coalition about that. He also said the world must be prepared to do more to support the rebels and he accused
Assad’s government of engaging in “criminal behavior.” “We want their advice on how we can accelerate the prospects of a political solution because that is what we believe is the best path to peace, the best way to protect the interests of the Syrian people, the best way to end the killing and the violence,” he said at a news conference with French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius. “That may require us to change President Assad’s current calculation,” Kerry said. “He needs to know that he can’t shoot his way out of this. And so we need to convince him of that, and I think the opposition needs more help in order to be able to do that.” Fabius offered a similar assessment. “The situation is unbearable and we need to find the means to a transition and for Assad’s departure,” he said. “We agree all of us on the fact that Mr. Bashar Assad has to quit.” Britain’s Foreign Office also said it would increase its support for Syria’s opposition. The possibility of a sudden change in U.S. strategy comes as President Barack Obama begins a second term and Kerry succeeds Hillary Rodham Clinton as the top U.S. diplomat. Freed from the constraints of a re-election campaign, administration officials say there is greater leeway now for new approaches than last year, when Obama rebuffed a plan by Clinton, thenCIA Director David Petraeus and then-Defense Secretary Leon Panetta to arm the Syrian rebels.
Pope recalls ‘joy,’ difficulties in final audience BY NICOLE WINFIELD ASSOCIATED PRESS VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI bid an emotional farewell Wednesday on the eve of his retirement, recalling moments of “joy and light” during his papacy, but also times of difficulty when “it seemed like the Lord was sleeping.” Some 150,000 people, many waving banners proclaiming “Grazie!” flooded St. Peter’s Square, eager to bear witness to the final hours of a papacy that will go down in history as the first in 600 years to end in resignation rather than death. Benedict basked in the emotional send-off, taking a long victory lap around the square in an open-sided car, and stopping to kiss and bless half a dozen babies. Seventy cardinals, some tearful, sat in solemn attendance — and gave him a standing ovation at the end of his speech. Benedict then made a quick exit, forgoing the meet-and-greet session that typically follows his weekly general audience, as if to not prolong the goodbye. Given the weight of the moment, Benedict also replaced his usual Wednesday catechism lesson with a heartfelt final address, explaining once again why he was retiring and assuring his flock of 1.2 billion that he was not abandoning them. “To love the church means also to have the courage to take difficult, painful decisions, always keeping the good of the church in mind, not oneself,” Benedict said to thundering applause. He noted that a pontiff has no privacy — neither as pope, nor in his future role as emeritus pope: “He belongs always and forever to everyone, to the whole church.” During his eight years as pope, Benedict said he had had “moments of joy and light, but also moments that haven’t been easy. … Moments of turbulent seas and rough winds, as has occurred in the history of the church, when it seemed like the Lord was sleeping.” But he said he never felt alone, that God always guided him, and he thanked his cardinals and colleagues for their support and for “understanding and respecting this important decision.” The pope’s tenure has been beset by the clerical sex abuse scandal, discord over everything from priestly celibacy to women’s ordination, and most recently the betrayal by his own butler, who stole his private papers and leaked them to a journalist. Under a bright sun and blue skies, the square was overflowing with pilgrims and curiosity-seekers. Those who couldn’t get in watched on giant TV screens set up along the main boulevard leading to the square. About 50,000 tickets were requested, and in the end, the Vati-
can estimated that 150,000 people flocked to the farewell. “It’s difficult — the emotion is so big,” said Jan Marie, a 53-year-old Roman in his first years as a seminarian. “We came to support the pope’s decision.” With chants of “Benedetto!” the mood was far more buoyant than during the pope’s final Sunday blessing. It recalled the jubilant turnouts that often accompanied him at World Youth Days and events involving his predecessor, Pope John Paul II.
Benedict has said he decided to retire after realizing that, at 85, he simply didn’t have the “strength of mind or body” to carry on. “I have taken this step with the full understanding of the seriousness and also the novelty of the decision, but with a profound serenity in my soul,” Benedict told the crowd. He will meet Thursday morning with his cardinals for a final time, then fly by helicopter to the papal residence at Castel Gandolfo south of Rome. There, at 8 p.m., the doors of the
palazzo will close and the Swiss Guards in attendance will go off duty, their service protecting the head of the Catholic Church over — for now. Many of the cardinals who will choose Benedict’s successor were in St. Peter’s Square for his final audience. Among them was retired Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony, the object of a grass-roots campaign in the U.S. to persuade him to recuse himself for having covered up for sexually abusive priests. Mahony has said he will be among the 115 cardinals voting for the next pope.
OSSERVATORE ROMANO
Pope Benedict XVI basked in an emotional sendoff Wednesday at his final general audience in St. Peter’s Square.
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YALE DAILY NEWS · THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2013 · yaledailynews.com
AROUND THE IVIES
“A budget tells us what we can’t afford, but it doesn’t keep us from buying it.” WILLIAM FEATHER AMERICAN PUBLISHER AND AUTHOR
C O R N E L L D A I LY S U N
D A I L Y P E N N S Y L VA N I A N
Cornell to join MOOCs
Admissions officer mocked applicants
BY AKANE OTANI STAFF WRITER At the urging of faculty members, Cornell has decided to join a MOOCs consortium — a step that will allow professors to offer massive open online courses to thousands of students, Provost Kent Fuchs said Tuesday. MOOCs have seen a surge in popularity over the last several years, as schools such as Harvard and Stanford University have taught students topics ranging from quantum mechanics to Greek mythology through the online courses. While some critics of MOOCs argue that their large scale mitigates the quality of education they promise to offer, proponents — including Cornell administrators and professors — say MOOCs have the potential to transform higher education. “It’s a great opportunity,” Fuchs said. “It gives our faculty a way of experimenting with new ways of teaching using social learning and peer rating.” Cornell is currently deciding whether to offer its MOOCs through edX, a Harvard and MIT-owned not-for-profit, or Coursera, a Stanford-owned for-profit, according to Fuchs. The University is in the process of negotiating how many courses Cornell will promise to offer through the consortium, which entity will control the courses and how much revenue, if any, will be generated through the courses. The University will most likely make an announcement in March about which consortium it will partner with, according to Fuchs. Regardless of the consortium Cornell decides to join, Fuchs stressed that he does not view MOOCs — which people can enroll in, free of charge — as a mechanism by which the University will gen-
CORNELL
erate additional revenue. “My goal is to break even … to bring revenue in through certificates [of completion for the courses] and through other ways,”
Fuchs said. To help interested professors participate in the MOOCs movement, the University will offer some funding to faculty who want to create their own MOOCs, Fuchs said. That list of interested faculty may be substantial — as, according to Fuchs, “there’s a growing interest among [Cornell’s] faculty in MOOCs.”
If [a high school student] takes an online course with Cornell, it will bring positive publicity to the University. KENT FUCHS Provost, Cornell University In fact, Fuchs said, faculty — not the administration — urged him to pursue a partnership with a MOOCs consortium. “They’re eager and enthusiastic,” Fuchs said. “I just spent an hour talking with a group of faculty who work with the chief information officer on [MOOCs]. They were very pleased. Many of them want to have a course that they can put up that is free.” Computer science professor Eva Tardos, who chaired the faculty committee that recommended the University adopt
MOOCs, said she is “thrilled” Cornell is joining a consortium. “We have to support MOOCs and help faculty experiment with this new form of teaching,” said Tardos, who is also the senior associate dean of Computing and Information Science. “I think the first step of the process is joining a consortium, which helps a group of universities that are essentially together trying to develop technologies to support this kind of education.” With “a number of faculty who are very interested in teaching MOOCs,” the University stands to reap numerous benefits from joining a consortium — including producing online materials that may complement courses held in person on the Ithaca campus, Tardos said. Fuchs added that the University, in joining a consortium that will partner it with top schools across the nation, will have the opportunity to collaborate with other colleges offering MOOCs. “It gives our faculty a set of other universities that are participating [in the consortium] with them so we can learn from them,” Fuchs said. The use of MOOCs will allow faculty to break from the mold of traditional lecture-style courses, Fuchs added. “They can enhance their lectures with MOOCs by breaking them up into segments instead of holding a 50-, 60-minute-long lecture,” he said. By offering free online courses that allow anyone with an Internet connection to participate, Cornell also has the potential to expand its educational reach, Fuchs said. “It will bring publicity. If there’s a high school student who takes an online course with Cornell, it will bring positive publicity to the University,” he said.
H A R VA R D C R I M S O N
Faust warns Capitol against sequestration BY NIKITA KANSRA AND SAMUEL Y. WEINSTOCK STAFF WRITERS With only a few days left for Congress to avert sequestration, University President Drew G. Faust will travel to Capitol Hill this week to sound the alarm about across-the-board budget cuts that would likely slash millions of dollars in funding for Harvard researchers. “What made the trip feasible and timely was the threat of sequester,” said Christine M. Heenan, Harvard’s vice president for public affairs and communications. Congress has until Friday to reach a deal to avoid sequestration, automatic cuts to the budgets of both defense and nondefense federal agencies. Without such a deal, Harvard’s researchers, who received a total of over $650 million in fiscal year 2012 from the federal government, will be forced to find ways to offset the drastic cuts to their sponsored revenue. Starting on Wednesday morning, Faust will meet with congressional leaders and freshman representatives from both parties. She will also lobby members of the Obama administration, including military officials. In these conversations, Faust will
warn leaders of the h a r m f u l e f fe c ts that she believes research funding cuts have on the nation’s intellectual and innovative vitality, which she HARVARD has said in the past is closely linked with the health of the economy. Sequestration threatens to trigger “a 10-year reset of American priorities,” said Kevin Casey, Harvard’s associate vice president for public affairs and communications. Casey said that in addition to arguing against sequestration, Faust will push for a “growth agenda to help innovate our way out of the deficit.” “Research universities might be providing a resource that is part of the solution,” said Casey, who is Harvard’s chief lobbyist. “We like to be a resource to members across both sides of the aisle.” Faust’s research advocacy trip to the Capitol this week will be far from her first. In 2008, after five years of stagnant research funding from government agencies such as the National Institutes of Health, Faust testified on the Senate floor against reduced federal funding for
academic research. Faust’s previous visits to D.C. have also included conversations with business leaders and executives from other universities intended to “broaden our work in coalitions,” according to Casey.
Research universities might be providing a resource that is part of the solution. We like to be a resource to members across both sides of the aisle. KEVIN CASEY Associate vice president for public affairs and communications, Harvard University In addition to her talks with politicians this week, Faust will attend an event at the Library of Congress, an announcement of a Civil War project by the American Repertory Theater and the American National Theatre, and a lecture and Q-and-A session at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
DESIGN
BY SETH ZWEIFLER STAFF WRITER A former Penn admissions officer who had shared excerpts from applicants’ essays on her personal Facebook page is no longer employed by the University. Near the end of 2012, Penn’s Office of Admissions was made aware of a series of online posts written by Nadirah Farah Foley — a 2011 Princeton University graduate who had been responsible for coordinating Penn admissions in Connecticut. In the posts, which were made available through a collection of Facebook screenshots sent anonymously to Dean of Admissions Eric Furda and The Daily Pennsylvanian on Dec. 3, Foley mocked a number of student essays she had come across in her work. In one essay, a student had written about his “long and deep” connections to the University, citing the fact that he had been circumcised at Penn Hillel years ago. “I look forward to engaging in the academic, social and Orthodox Jewish communities on campus,” the student wrote, according to Foley’s post. “Stop the madness,” Foley said in response to the essay on Facebook. In another excerpt, she quoted an essay in which an applicant had described the experience of overcoming his fear of using the bathroom outdoors while camping in the wilderness. “Another gem,” Foley wrote of the student’s topic choice. Apart from confirming that she is no longer employed at Penn, Foley declined to comment for this article. Furda and the University also declined to comment, citing Penn’s policy of not discussing personnel issues. Although the exact circumstances surrounding Foley’s departure remain uncertain, the Office of Admissions removed her name from its online listing of admissions officers soon after learning about the Facebook posts. As of press time, Foley’s LinkedIn page indicated that she has not been with the University since the end of 2012 — just weeks after the Facebook incident was brought to light. She began working at Penn in 2011, according to her LinkedIn profile. In discussing Foley’s situation at Penn, dozens of admissions counselors, officers and experts interviewed for this article agreed that the case raises a number of unsettling — and timely — questions about the impact of social media on the admissions process. “What happened here is an interesting case study, and really among the first of its type that I’ve heard of,” said 1989 Graduate School of Education alumnus Steven Goodman, a Top Colleges educational consultant. “As admissions has jumped into the social media world with more fervor than ever before, there’s certainly the possibility of something like this
happening elsewhere. I think the question of what rules we’re going to put in place to prePENN vent this is going to be on our minds a lot more as things continue to unfold.”
‘A QUICK LAUGH AFTER WORK’
“When a mom just doesn’t understand why I denied her kid.” “When a high school counselor [recommendation] says a C student is excellent.” “When seniors come for tours and realize all our application deadlines have passed.” Each of these excerpts represents the description of a different Internet meme on a relatively new — and increasingly popular — Tumblr page called “Admissions Problems.” In recent years, much of the admissions-related conversation about social media has focused almost exclusively on applicants — posing the question of how, if at all, a student’s Facebook profile should help or hinder their admissions prospects. With Foley’s posts and the Admissions Problems page in mind, however, some now believe that the social media question needs to be treated as more of a two-way street. “If we’re telling students to be careful about what they’re posting on Facebook, I think admissions officers need to go above that and be even more scrupulous about what they’re discussing online,” said Bev Taylor, founder of college consulting firm The Ivy Coach. “I don’t know if you’re going to stop people from having a casual conversation about an essay they read, but something as open as going onto social media with that information is absolutely wrong.” While Engineering junior Cristina Sorice, a member of the Admissions Dean’s Advisory Board, expressed similar views, she believes it is important for admissions officers to have a place where they can go to “laugh off” some of the more unique things they experience. A current Penn admissions officer, who spoke under the condition of anonymity because of concerns over job security, told the DP that she has written to Admissions Problems — which also has more than 4,000 Twitter followers — a number of times with suggested posts. Although the officer declined to say whether any of her suggestions have made their way online, she believes the site offers a creative outlet to “vent” without violating the “sacred trust” admissions officials have with applicants. “It’s an online community that I’ll sometimes go to for a quick laugh after work,” she said. “It’s nothing more than that for me, and I think that’s the case for most of us.”
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PAGE 11
SPORTS
“Ninety percent of hockey is mental and the other half is physical.” WAYNE GRETZKY ALL-TIME LEADING POINT SCORER IN THE NHL
Elis top Bobcats
Yale falls to Harvard in season finale WOMEN’S HOCKEY FROM PAGE 12 Compared to last season, though, the team has made huge strides. The Elis’ average margin of defeat this year was just 1.44 goals, helped tremendously by the emergence of Leonoff as the starting goaltender. She finished the season ranked 13th in the country with a .925 save percentage. The Elis’ outlook for the future is rosy as well. Four of the team’s top five scorers, as well as the top three goalscorers, are freshmen. “I’m super excited for what my class has to offer,” Haddad said. “We all came in fired up and ready to play, but I don’t think any of us expected to contribute that much. It speaks a lot to the direction the program’s going to go in the next four years.” However, despite the abundance of
youth on the roster, the Bulldogs will have to fill a leadership void caused by the departing seniors. Seven seniors will be leaving the program, including captain Alyssa Zupon ’13. “It’s been so motivational playing with [the seniors], and they’ve done such a great job guiding us in the right direction,” Leonoff said. “I don’t think this year could have been a success without them.” As for what’s in store next year and beyond, Haddad is upbeat. “I’ll be sad to see the seniors go, but I’m still extremely optimistic about what the future holds for the team.” The Bulldogs finished the year tenth in the ECAC, four points behind Colgate for the final playoff spot. Contact GRANT BRONSDON at grant.bronsdon@yale.edu .
JENNIFER CHEUNG/PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
The Bulldogs were able to come out with a strong performance and a 19–12 win against the Quinnipiac Bobcats. WOMEN’S LACROSSE FROM PAGE 12 the day. “I think another major take away from this game offensively is how good we can be at possession and then continue to score off of it,” DeVito said. “If we get long possessions each time we get the ball, it gives the defense more of a break and less time for the other team to score, and I think today was the first time that we really showed that side of us.” Although Quinnipiac won the groundball battle and committed fewer fouls, the Elis recorded four more shots, three more draw control and three more clears than their Bobcat rivals. “We’ve been focusing on upping our intensity and competition in practice all week and I think that it made a huge difference in how we performed,” Rhodes said. “We’ll continue to keep up the fast pace and high
energy of our practices to prepare for Dartmouth.”
Dartmouth is a really strong team, and I think this is our chance to set the standard for how good we want to be this season. JEN DEVITO ’14 Attacker, women’s lacrosse Seven Quinnipiac players registered points on the day, led by sophomore Kyra Ochwat (5-1-6) and junior Michaela Tinsley (4-0-4). In a bright spot for the Bobcats, senior Sarah Allen handed out two assists on the day to become the program’s all-time
leader in assists with 112. Yale has a chance to go for two straight wins this coming Saturday in the season home opener against Dartmouth. “We have always had very close games with Dartmouth and this could be our year if we play as well as we did today, if not better,” DeVito said. “Dartmouth is a really strong team and I think this is our chance to set the standard for how good we want to be this season.” No. 12 Dartmouth (1-0, Ivy 0-0) will travel to Yale after its Thursday matchup against New Hampshire. The Big Green, defending Ivy Tournament Champions, will be a challenge for the Bulldogs, who lost 9-8 in last season’s match. The match will face-off at 1 p.m. on Saturday at Reese Stadium. Contact FREDERICK FRANK at frederick.frank@yale.edu .
JENNIFER CHEUNG/PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
Forward Patricia McGauley ’14 scored the Elis’ lone goal against Harvard on Tuesday.
No shots for #TeamSober MEN’S BASKETBALL FROM PAGE 12 and he said, ‘Nah I’m cool. I’m with Team Sober.’” The two further discussed the idea and decided to turn #TeamSober into something more tangible. They received a grant from the Yale Christian Union to buy t-shirts and wristbands to promote the cause and developed a pledge for prospective followers. Those under the age of 21 promise “I commit to abstain from the consumption of alcohol or other drugs,” whereas those above the legal drinking age commit “to not over-indulge in the consumption of alcohol,” according to Sherrod. #TeamSober decided to increase its publicity this past weekend, advertising an “Orange Out” — the #TeamSober paraphernalia is as orange as the sunset over the flag — at this past Saturday’s home men’s basketball game against Harvard. Although the Elis fell 72–66 at the hands of the Cantabs, Sherrod and Duren considered the “Orange Out” to be a great success. Sherrod stated that he and Duren received between 10 and 15 requests for shirts for the event, adding to the approximately 35 to 40 who have already taken the pledge. Sherrod and #TeamSober member Tanner Allread ’16 added that the sea of blue Yale shirts in the John J. Lee bleachers helped to make the orange #TeamSober shirts stick out in contrast during the nationally-televised game. #TeamSober then hosted an after party at the La Casa cultural house. A recent signer of the pledge, Allread said that he was drawn to the program when he rushed Beta Upsilon Chi (BYX), a Christian fraternity that opened its doors on campus just this year. After talking with Sherrod and Duren, two of the founding members of the fraternity, Allread said that he made the decision to join the movement. “For me, I did drink last semester,” Allread said. “I didn’t go all crazy and out all the time, but if there was a social event and there were drinks I would have a few … The pledge now for me is just to stop drinking … until I’m 21.” Although Allread found the pledge
Searching for an identity COLUMN FROM PAGE 12
MARIA ZEPEDA/PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
Many #TeamSober participants have joined the program through the Beta Upsilon Chi fraternity, of which Brandon Sherrod ’15, right, is a founding member. through his involvement in a Christian organization, Allread and the #TeamSober founders all said that the movement is not inherently tied to Christianity. “We would lose a lot of possible members [if we were just a Christian organization],” Sherrod said. “Whether it’s a religious decision or just a personal choice, we want people of all faiths.” While many of the current pledges have come through Sherrod and Duren’s connections to BYX and Yale Faith and Action,
Duren said that the group plans to reach out more to the student body at large, especially once it completes the paperwork to become a recognized student organization. Duren and Sherrod will be in New York City on Friday night to lead the Bulldogs as they take on Columbia. Contact CHARLES CONDRO at charles.condro@yale.edu .
school loyalty, I adopted the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. It seemed like a good fit for the young me searching for an identity. They’re an engineering school; hey, I like math. They’re located in Midtown Atlanta; no kidding, my dad works there! But what gave Tech the most luster was its juxtaposition as David against the Goliath that was the Bulldogs of the University of Georgia, a school and fan base multiple times its size with an athletics program with multiple times its success, especially in recent years. Make no mistake; I hold no qualms with Georgia fans, many of whom are and will always be my good friends. However, one would be hard-pressed to proclaim the two schools are on equal footing. A recent USA Today poll found that Georgia fans outnumber those of Georgia Tech 4-to-1, something I can personally confirm counting Bulldog license plates driving through I-285. But it is exactly this reason I adopted the other side, a stubborn act of counterculture and a decision that, some 10-plus years later, holds to this day. Now, my appreciation for Georgia Tech has evolved to define itself not by its rivalries, but by its own excellence; not from its underdog status but from its spread-option offense in football and a basketball program that produced the likes of Chris Bosh, Stephon Marbury, Matt Harpring and countless others. In my decision to attend Yale, I was faced with the grim prospect of leaving my haven of sports fans and entering a “new haven,”
whose sports allegiances would counter my own. It was my Yale admissions interview, in which the interviewer and I discussed the Atlanta Falcons’ playoff chances over lattes at Starbucks, that assured me I could survive in faraway lands with my loyalties intact.
IT IS HUMAN NATURE TO IDENTIFY WITH UNDERDOGS Some Yalies point to poor attendance at athletic events as lamentable. And they’re not incorrect; the efforts and long hours of student-athletes could be met with better recognition by the rest of the student body. But this should not be confused with a lack of passion at Yale. The student body’s collective pursuit of excellence in a mind-boggling number of fields, some of which students create themselves, serves as a point of pride. You can spot me wearing Georgia Tech shirts and Braves snapbacks paired with Yale sweats as I walk up Science Hill or study at Bass. But apparel by no means defines one’s passions. Anybody that dedicates his or herself to whatever he or she chooses to relate with, whether it be sports, studies, career aspirations or other pursuits, can create positive identities that stand the test of time. That is to say, anybody can “put on.” Contact SUNNY KIM at sun-kyu.kim@yale.edu .
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NCAAM 2OT Georgetown 79 UConn 78
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WOMEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING IVY LEAGUE WILL LIVE STREAM CHAMPIONSHIPS FOR FIRST TIME Along with its seven other Ancient Eight counterparts, the Yale women’s swimming and diving team will visit Princeton from Thursday to Saturday this weekend for the Ivy League Championships.
MATT NUSSBAUM ’15, MEN’S TRACK AND FIELD ELIS EARN ACADEMIC AWARDS The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association named sophomore Nussbaum an individual All-Academic honoree and selected the entire Bulldogs squad as one of 145 All-Academic teams nationwide. The Elis’ 3.56 cumulative GPA was third in the nation.
NBA Detroit 96 Washington 95
[After being asked at a party if he wanted a drink] “Nah, I’m cool. I’m with Team Sober.” BRANDON SHERROD ’15 MEN’S BASKETBALL YALE DAILY NEWS · THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2013 · yaledailynews.com
Bulldogs take down neighbors
SUNNY KIM
Put on for your city
’15 opened up her scoring account emphatically, registering five goals and three assists, while team captain Devon Rhodes ’13, returning top scorer, posted another multipoint game, with seven on nine shots. Attacker Jen DeVito ’14 (2-3-5), midfielder Erin Magnuson ’15 (2-2-4), attacker Kerri Fleishhacker ’15 (4-04) and midfielder Christina Doherty ’15 (0-1-1) also registered points on
To “put on for your city”, explains Grammy-nominated and self-proclaimed champion rapper Young Jeezy in his aptly named track “Put On,” is more than purchasing copious amounts of top-shelf liquor and foreign rides. It is a saying that I use, for better or for worse, to describe my allegiance to Atlanta, the hometown Young Jeezy and I share, even while I pursue my studies nearly 1,000 miles away. Standing at 5 feet 10 inches while weighing 130 pounds, should I decide to dedicate myself to competitive athletics, I have a mountain to climb (perhaps literally — climbing is a full-body workout). Not to say I never tried. I still keep fond memories of tossing buckets of wiffle balls to my plastic bat-wielding brother on hot summer afternoons in our backyard, imitating the stances of Chipper, Sheffield and Lopez. I still keep my baseball card collection, all 2,000-plus, under my Johns Creek, Ga., bed, rifling through them on occasion. My most prized possession is a baseball autographed by Julio Franco, placed next to those of hometown heroes Jeff Francoeur and Brian Jordan. It is human nature to identify with underdogs, as is validated by the success of films such as “Rudy,” “Remember the Titans” and “Miracle.” As a young lad growing up in Atlanta, a city which the New York Timesemployed statistics wizard Nate Silver calculated as college football’s second largest in total fans, a common test of adulthood is one’s knowledge and devotion to his or her college team. As one who was not born into a
SEE WOMEN’S LACROSSE PAGE 11
SEE COLUMN PAGE 11
YDN
Attacker Kerri Fleishhacker ’15 scored four goals against the Quinnipiac Bobcats on Wednesday afternoon. BY FREDERICK FRANK CONTRIBUTING REPORTER The women’s lacrosse team made the short trip across New Haven on Wednesday afternoon to face local rival Quinnipiac. The Elis were able to come out on top in their first win of the season. Notching a big 19–12 win, they recovered from a tough 16-13 loss in last week’s match against Holy Cross. “The key difference between this
game and last game was our intensity from the start. We came out strong and kept that tempo throughout the whole game,” defender Flannery Carney ’16 said.
WOMEN’S LACROSSE The Bulldogs (1-1, 0-0 Ivy) came out firing, looking to prevent the slow start that hurt them in their first game, and scored the first six goals of the contest. Although Quinni-
piac (0-1, 0-0 NEC) was able to put some points on the board, it entered halftime down 12-8. The Bulldogs increased their lead in the beginning of the second half with three unanswered goals, and with 10 minutes left in the second half, the score read 18-9 and the contest was effectively over. Of the Elis’ 17 players featured in the match, six registered points against the Bobcats. Sophomore midfielder Cathryn Avallone
#TeamSober is trending
Elis close season with loss BY GRANT BRONSDON CONTRIBUTING REPORTER In its final game of the year, the Yale women’s hockey team was unable to stop No. 7 Harvard in the third period, losing 3–1 to cap a season marked by improvement.
WOMEN’S HOCKEY
MARIA ZEPEDA/PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
Javier Duren ’15, above, and Brandon Sherrod ’15 organized an “Orange Out” in support of #TeamSober at Saturday’s Harvard game. BY CHARLES CONDRO STAFF REPORTER A lot of people come up with “brilliant” ideas at frat parties, but not many of those involve the word “sober.” That’s exactly the kind of idea that men’s basketball players Brandon Sherrod ’15 and Javier Duren ’15
had at one such party last year, however.
MEN’S BASKETBALL The teammates have joined together to start #TeamSober, a group dedicated to promoting a non-drinking alternative to the social scene at Yale. The movement
STAT OF THE DAY 19
was born in what Duren called a “classic story.” “This guy came up to me at a party and asked me if I wanted a drink and I said no,” Duren said. “He looked at me like I wasn’t cool. Then he offered a drink to Brandon SEE MEN’S BASKETBALL PAGE 11
Despite failing to make the ECAC playoffs, the Bulldogs (5–21–3, 4–15–3 ECAC) finished the year having been much more competitive than last season, when they won only one game and lost each game by an average of 4.17 goals. “If you take our first weekend of games and compare that to our last few weekends, you would have no clue that we’re the same team,” forward Jamie Haddad ’16 said. “It highlights the progress we’ve made so far.” In the first period against Harvard (21–5–3, 17–3–2 ECAC), the Crimson took the lead 5:54 into the first period on a goal by Mary Parker. However, the Elis clawed their way back into the game when forward Patricia McGauley ’14 was able to convert on a rebound with 8:01 left to play
in the frame. After a scoreless second period that saw goaltender Jaimie Leonoff ’15 make 12 of her 35 saves, Harvard was able to go ahead for good when Leonoff could not get enough of Kaitlin Spurling’s shot at the 4:30 mark in the third.
It’s been so motivational playing with [the seniors], and they’ve done such a great job guiding us. JAIMIE LEONOFF ’15 Goaltender, women’s hockey A late Yale power play proved unsuccessful, and after the Bulldogs pulled Leonoff for an extra attacker, the Cantabs converted on an empty net goal to make the final 3–1. It was the fourth empty-netter yielded by the Elis this season. The Bulldogs have been outscored 15–6 by their opponents in the third period in the month of February. SEE WOMEN’S HOCKEY PAGE 11
THE NUMBER OF GOALS THE YALE WOMEN’S LACROSSE TEAM SCORED AGAINST QUINNIPIAC. The Bulldogs crushed the Bobcats Wednesday, 19–12. Captain Devon Rhodes ’13 recorded six goals and midfielder Cathryn Avallone ’15 scored five goals.