The Week in Brief

Ivy League Notebook

Intro to martial arts

Martial arts star Jackie Chan took time off from shooting Rush Hour II to emcee the Cultural Rhythms show at Harvard on Sat., Feb. 24. To the disappointment of the audience, he refused to show off his moves, saying, "I'm tired of being a martial artist. Right now, I'd rather be a singer!" Chan, who was named Harvard Foundation for Intercultural and Race Relations Artist of the Year, discussed his consciousness of his status as a role model. He said that the scenes added on at the end of his movies are intended to remind children that his violence is a fiction. Many audience members came from Social Behavior 101 and were frustrated by Chan's refusal to teach them cool kicks.

Got `lemonade?'

A student changed the contents and labels of Snapple bottles in a residential college at Cornell last week, according to the Cornell Police Department's report. Seventeen bottles were found filled with an "unknown liquid" and labeled "urine" with a picture of a man with lemons. The culprit later confessed, saying she had just wanted to send a message to her fellow residents about the use of vending machines. The woman who came forward is said to be the bastard child of the CEO of Nantucket Nectars.

The lofty mission of liberal arts

The Princeton chapter of the National Negro Council of Women (NCNW) held a forum on Mon., Feb. 26 titled "Does Race Matter at Princeton?" Panelist Laura Coates '01, former president of the NCNW, would answer "no," at least not as long as she is leeching, or at least benefiting, from the privilege surrounding her in the predominantly white pastures of her suburban school. "I could care less about making friends with other races," Coates told the Princetonian. "The reason why I came here is not because I thought it wasn't elitist, it was because I thought it was and because I thought I could have opportunities to go into careers that make enough money to be financially independent."

—Compiled by Lise Clavel and Ewan MacDougall from the Harvard Crimson, Cornell Daily Sun, and the Daily Princetonian

Balancing (or not) on the white lines

Scientists have confirmed yet another ill-effect of drugs. Yale researchers, using a groundbreaking method called transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to measure brain responsiveness, have discovered that a cocaine addict's response to stimulation decreases during use, giving evidence that cocaine may cause permanent brain damage.

For the study, Nashatt Boutros, the principle investigator of the study and an assistant professor of psychiatry at Yale, observed 10 cocaine-dependant subjects who had not used cocaine for at least three weeks and were addicted to no other drugs. A magnetic stimulus was delivered by TMS using a hand-held magnetic coil over the part of the brain that moves hands and figures. The amount of the magnetic stimulus required to move the fingers is an indicator of sensitivity in that part of the brain.

In a press release, Boutros stated, "Contrary to what we expected, the results showed that cocaine-dependent individuals displayed increased resistance to brain stimulation. We expected them to be jumpy or more responsive because of the sensitizing effects of cocaine, but it took much stronger stimulation to get them to respond."

So perhaps Duran Duran was on to something when, in their '80s hit "White Lines," they sang, "My white lines go a long way/Either up your nose or through your vein/With nothing to gain except killing your brain."

—Alexis Swerdloff

Wojewodksi decides to stay in the play

Some of the pressure to find a replacement for Stan Wojewodski Jr., the Dean of the Drama School, has been lifted since Wojewodski announced he would stay on for up to one more year. The search has been on for a replacement for this prestigious position, whose duties involve directing the Tony award-winning Yale Repertory Theatre, since when Wojewodski announced last springhe was planning to leave. Wojewodski has agreed to plan and schedule the upcoming 2001-2002 season for the Repertory Theatre, by far the most pressing matter facing any incoming dean.

Despite the prominence of the Deanship, President Richard Levin, GRD '74, and Yale have had difficulty finding a replacement for Wojewodski. The committee assigned to the task came up with a list of fewer than 10. Three potentials, JoAnne Akalaitis of Bard College, Oskar Eustis of Trinity Repertory Theatre, and Jon Jory of the University of Washington, have already turned down the position.

However, Wojewodski's agreement to plan the Rep's next season and to stay on as long as needed has given Levin an extra tool with which to bargain. It is often difficult for members of the theater community to take on positions immediately since they are often committed for the following year.

At the same time, the incoming Dean would be forced to work with the past artistic director's style and choice of next year's program, which could cause some negotiating difficulties. Despite this possibility, Levin is hopeful to name the new Dean by the end of the year.

—Katie Aldrich

Digitalization: saving today for the future

This week, the Yale University Library and Elsevier Science, the world's largest scientific information supplier, announced a plan to create a digital archive for electronically published scientific journals. The process should take one year, and both the library and Elsevier Science hope to have a model archive ready within two years. Using digital archiving, they are aiming to demonstrate how digital archiving will be able to preserve today's scientific information for the future.

The year-long process for planning the digital archive will concentrate on how to best manage the preservation of digital information. The project will explore different formats for the encoding of digital information, as well as the infrastructure necessary to maintain the archive. If the process secures a good plan, a digital archive could be created by 2003.

The process is being funded by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Some of the participants in the project include Scott Bennett, University librarian, Ann Okerson, associate University librarian, and Paul Conway, head of the library's preservation department.

—Josh Lockman

Brown tightens admissions policy

The college admissions scene must brace itself for another change. Addressing overwhelming increases in the number of early applicants, interim Brown President Sheila E. Blumstein announced on Sat., Feb. 24 that the university will drop its non-binding early action admission policy in favor of a binding early decision policy starting this fall with the Class of 2006. "External changes in admissions practice and a dramatic increase in early applicants to Brown have altered the rationale for early action," Blumstein said in a media release issued by the Brown University News Service. "While an early decision policy now seems closer to Brown's original intent, it is fair to say that Brown is making this change with some reluctance."

Brown originally operated under a non-binding early action option that precluded candidates from applying to other early action schools. Upon a ruling two years ago by the National Association for College Admission that universities could not impose such a restriction on applicants, though, Brown started allowing prospective students to apply to more than one early action school. The result was a disconcerting leap in early applications that placed excessive strain on admissions staff and alumni volunteers.

"Now early action is more like a strategy, an early testing of the waters—getting three of four schools out of the way early, but without making an indication of first choice," Brown's Director of Admissions Michael Goldberger said in a question and answer session with George Street Journal's Mark Nickel. "One of the nice things about going to early decision is that we will still have a remarkably strong pool, and I think we'll really know the kids who see themselves as a good match for Brown."

Early action also "provides an advantage to the wealthy applicants" whose schools can marshall the resources to compile multiple application files in a shorter amount of time, Chancellor Stephen Robert told the Brown Daily Herald.

Decisions are being demanded even as the admissions scene is becoming more confusing and competitive.

—Emiko Sheard

Heard

"Turn of the Screw! I read the Cliff's Notes for Taming of the Shrew!"

—Overheard during midterms

"Intellectuals are just big egos with small cars."

—Allesandro Brogi, Americanization of Europe

Yale Index

1. Travel time from my room to Cancun, in hours 8
2. Travel time from my room to Rudy's, in minutes 4
3. Distance between Rudy Giuliani's eyes (iris to iris), in centimeters 7
4. Approximate number of hearts won by plucky Notre Dame rookie Rudy 250,000,000
5. Number of Yalies who say "erudition" so it seems to contain the word "Rudy" 0
6. Number it takes to make a thing go right 2
7. Number it takes to make it out of sight 2
8. Number of Valentines who spent the night 356
9. Number of dining hall bananas with blight 12,376
10. Men in tights: Robin Hood

—Compiled by Aaron Jakes and Sky Schouten

1) travelocity.com; 2) mapquest.com; 3) The Psychic Friends Network; 4) Kant's Groundwork; 5) We can only pray; 6,7) Rob Base & D.J. E-Z Rock; 8) DUH Valentine's Wrap-Up Statistical Sampling Chart 9) dininghallbananablight.com 10) SAS

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