The Week in Brief

Harvard

As of this week, 25 percent of undergraduates at Harvard have logged on to Datamatch, the Harvard Computer Society's (HCS) online matchmaking service. Participants can choose to be matched with females, males, or both sexes, and will receive e-mails about those who entered similar answers. Scott Golder, Harvard '03, HCS president, praised the project saying, "It's really gratifying to see the team do something cool." To log on, go to www.hsc.-harvard.edu/~datamatch—enter your GPA and the kind of acne medication you use.

Brown

The Afro-American studies program at Brown has put forth a petition to become a full department, renamed the Africana Department. As it stands, the program can only hire visiting professors, forcing it to rely on other departments for permanent faculty. Since the creation of a Modern culture and Media department in 1993, Brown's percentage of Eurotrash has skyrocketed. Many of these students now work in the administration and are themselves petitioning for a Pass/Fail department. Wait...

Princeton

Spring Bicker (Princeton-speak for eating club rush weekend) ended last weekend with 396 students being accepted into Bicker clubs and 226 joining sign-ins. Cottage Club accepted the most new members of any of the elite clubs—94 of 114 applicants—and had an even split of men and women for the first time. The president of one of the Bicker clubs admitted that the selection process is good practice for his dream job on the Princeton admission committee, since the criteria are mostly the same—Brooks Brothers sweater sets and Tiffany's heart necklaces.

 —Compiled by Lise Clavel from the Harvard Crimson, the Brown Daily Herald, and the Daily Princetonian

New Haven says YES to Y50K Competition

In only its second year of existence, interest in the Yale Entrepreneurial Society's (YES) Y50K contest has grown precipitously. YES received 92 first-round applications this week as compared to 41 last year. "I am ecstatic about the turn-out. It is even greater than we expected. The tremendous growth story [of YES] continues," Dave Pozen, TC '02, declared.  

Y50K is a contest that offers $100,000 in prize money to be divided between teams with winning business ideas in the "for-profit" and "social entrepreneurship" categories. YES provides extensive assistance, beyond the merely fiscal, to help the winners realize their business plans. From the preliminary rounds to the final stages of the competition, which concludes on Sat., Apr. 14, participants may benefit from educational sessions and mentorship provided by experienced professionals. At the end of the contest, finalists can take advantage of YES's extensive network of contacts in the venture capitalist world to pitch their ideas.   YES has taken pains to make Y50K an educational experience for all participants. According to Pozen, "In the end, it's not all that important who wins. All finalists who want to pitch their idea will be given broad access to people who can help them. It shouldn't be all about the prize money." Whether one succeeds in becoming a finalist or not, Y50K offers a unique opportunity to forge contacts and receive advice and feedback from successful alumni, professors, and top-notch venture capitalists.

—Katie Rigney

Another blow for Napster

The embattled Napster was dealt another blow on Mon., Feb. 12, from an appeals court ruling that upheld an injunction against the controversial company for copyright infringement. Reactions from recording industry executives were enthusiastic, while Napster stated that it was not shut down yet, "but under this decision it could be."

The ruling by a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco confirmed District Judge Marilyn Patel's previous ruling, stating that the plaintiffs, a coalition of record companies, "presented prima facie evidence of direct copyright infringement by Napster's users." Napster is one of many services that allows the free exchange of MP3s among members who have downloaded the appropriate software. The court confirmed that such activity violated both the distribution and reproduction rights of the record companies.

However, the appeals court also ruled that the preliminary injunction by the district court was too broad and remanded the decision back to Patel for revision.

In a prepared statement, Hank Berry, president of Napster, said, "The court ruled on the basis of what it recognized as an incomplete record of the facts."

Recording industry executives were pleased with the outcome. "The Court's decisive ruling is a victory for all creators. The Ninth Circuit Court affirmed our position on every point," Hilary Rosen, president of the Recording Industry Association of America, said.

Though the decision paves the way for shutting down Napster, Yalies have not had access to the site since ITS shut it down in April 2000. Other web-sharing services, such as AudioGalaxy and BearShare, have become popular among students.

"The ruling won't change anything," one sophomore who asked to remain anonymous said. "People will just use another site."

—Luke Habberstad

A mouse in the house

In Welch Hall there is more action going on inside the walls than between them. Residents of Welch A21 returning from Thanksgiving break were surprised to find that some uninvited guests had moved in. Since late November, complaints of a mouse infestation have come from all over Welch.

As soon as the mice appeared, Molly Lewis, MC '04, and Diana Cieslak, MC '04, made phone calls to Custodial Services' Old Campus Supervisor Michael Roberts. When they did not hear back, the Morsels took action. "I chased one out of our room. We were trying to catch it but it fell down the stairs—well, it plummeted to its death" Kat Pustay, MC '04, said.

The boys of WA31 had their own adventures with the mice. "We brought up the mouse problem at the Morse College Counsel, but nothing came of it, so a couple of us took out our lacrosse sticks and tried to catch the mice. They're really fast," Frank Walsh, MC '04, said. The boys have since resolved to buy some traps.

Two weeks ago, Custodial Services did respond to the complaints. "They brought glue traps—we thought they were gross and inhumane, but the custodial staff said it was the best way to deal with the problem," Lewis said. "Most of the mice avoided the traps—they'd just run around them—but Wednesday morning there were two mice in one trap. After that, we sent out another e-mail, this time to Michael Roberts as well as Betty Trachtenberg. The next day Custodial Services came back, but they just had more traps. Our main concern is that it's so unsanitary." —Ellen Thompson

Alternate currency

Starting Sat., Feb. 17, the Freshman Class Council (FCC) and Yale Hunger and Homelessness Action Project (YHHAP) will sell vouchers, redeemable for food and other products at local stores, which students can give to the needy instead of money.

Vouchers provided by New Haven Cares, a non-profit organization, will be on sale in residential college dining halls and at Commons. Currently run by Law School students, New Haven Cares was founded in 1993 by Matthew Lieberman, TC '89, (son of Senator Joe Lieberman, MC '64) in response to growing community problems with homelessness and hunger.

Sarah Sherblom, TC '04, an FCC member who volunteered to be the undergraduate liaison for New Haven Cares, said she hopes many students will opt to give panhandlers vouchers instead of money. "When I see panhandlers, I don't know what to do because I want to help, but I don't want to give irresponsibly," she said. "I am very comfortable with the New Haven Cares vouchers."

Sherblom helped plan and coordinate the voucher sale and also convinced the FCC to support this cause. "It is not one of the FCC priorities, but they just recognized how important it was and resolved to make a commitment to revitalize this program on campus because of its benefit to students and the community," she said.

Sherblom also maintains a website at www.newhavencares.homestead.com. —Amsalu Dabela

Yale Index

1. Year James K. Polk became the first U.S. President photographed while in office: 1849
2. Year I was first photographed while being "Polked in the orifice": 1987
3. Year Oregon ("The Beaver State") became 33rd state in the Union: 1859
4. Year my organ first "entered the Beaver State": 1994
5. Year ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer) began working at UPenn; could do complex calculations in seconds: 1946
6. Year I was called a "MANIAC" for doing in seconds what takes most men hours: 1994
7. Year Esther Morris became world's first female justice of the peace: 1870
8. Year an aging yet spry Esther Morris became the first female to "do justice to my piece": 1996
9. Year Wilt Chamberlain broke NBA career scoring record at 20,884 points: 1966
10. Year I broke my own "career scoring record" by having sex with a woman 1.5 times in the same night without wilting: 1999

Sources: 1, 3) Encyclopedia Britannica, History of United States; 2) Uncle Josh's family photo album; 4, 8) Tall Tales of the American West; 5, 7, 9) These really happened. Look them up; 6, 10) My frustrated girlfriend

—Compiled by Zander Dryer

Heard

"If you can't fantasize about your neighbor's wife, what are you gonna think about when you jerk off?"

—George Carlin, Master's Tea

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