University | 8:49 pm | January 28, 2013 | By Yale Daily News

Tuesday’s Buzz: 1.29.13

Provost Benjamin Polak
Provost Benjamin Polak Photo by Maria Zepeda.

THE NEWS

  • Four years after the recession, Yale’s operating budget is still in recovery mode. The University budget model for the 2013-’14 academic year indicates a gap of approximately $40 million between expenses and revenues, said newly appointed Provost Benjamin Polak. Though this gap is significantly smaller than the $350 million budget hole Yale faced following the financial crisis, Polak said faculty and administrators involved in the budget planning process — which will continue until the end of this spring — must not only find ways to close the gap, but also ensure that Yale has more funds to put toward growth and innovation going forward.
  • When roughly 40 more students enrolled in “Artificial Intelligence” in fall 2011, professor Brian Scassellati knew he would have to find teaching assistants fast. But when he asked every graduate student in electrical engineering, mechanical engineering and computer science, only one volunteered. Yale’s recent focus on science recruitment and a growing interest in computer science nationwide have combined to yield skyrocketing enrollment in computer science courses at Yale in the past two years. Although computer science faculty are excited to see growing interest in their field, the department is already feeling the strain on its teaching capacity. Record-breaking class sizes have overloaded graduate students and professors, who hope that the administration will allow the department to hire more faculty and fund more graduate students in the near future.
  • Donned in semiformal attire, roughly 180 women participated in the annual sorority recruitment held over the last week. Though sorority recruitment used to occur during an intensive three-day period, this year sororities stretched recruitment events over a five-day period from Wednesday to Sunday. The change in the schedule, an initiative that the Yale Panhellenic Council first approved last year, resulted from an effort to reduce academic stress and to allow participants to meet their other commitments during the rush period.
THE WEATHER

High of 42 degrees, low of 35 degrees, mostly cloudy and chance showers.

THE FOOD

In the colleges

Breakfast: Steelcut Oats, Waffle Bar, Cranberry-Orange Tea Bread (no nuts)

Lunch: Pork & Hominy Soup (Pozole), Roasted Tomato & Black Bean Soup, Chipotle Tomato Salsa, Chilaquiles Verdes, Chile-Cumin Shredded Beef Tacos, All-Natural Grilled Chicken Breast, Grilled Garden Burger, Mexico City Chicken Sandwich, The Mexican Wrap, Peruvian Cilantro Brown Rice, Quinoa with Roasted Jalapenos, Brazilian Black Bean Salad, Oatmeal Cranberry Cookie, Raspberry Coconut Bar

Dinner: Pork & Hominy Soup (Pozole), Roasted Tomato & Black Bean Soup, Southwest Pasta, Mexican Grilled Vegetable Flatbread, All-Natural Grilled Chicken Breast, Grilled Garden Burger, Lime & Cilantro Carne Asada, Diri et pois coloes (Haitian Rice & Red Beans), Quinoa with Roasted Jalapenos, Brazilian Black Bean Salad, Apricot Pistachio Cardamom Ring

In Commons

Breakfast: Cream Of Wheat Without Milk, Waffle Bar, Zucchini Frittata, Omelets To Order, Texas French Toast, Cage-Free Scrambled Eggs, Scrambled Egg Whites, Shredded Potatoes, Cranberry-Orange Tea Bread (no nuts)

Lunch: Escarole & Sausage Soup, Cream Of Fresh Mushroom Soup, Turkey Mango Chili, Vegan Shepherd’s Pie, Spaghetti, Bean Burger, BBQ Beef On Bun, Pepperoni Pizza, Fresh Tomato & Basil Pizza (Vegan), Cheese Pizza, Broccoli & Tofu, Shrimp Fried Rice, Jasmine Rice, Vegetable Curry, Italian Deli Zep, Dirty Rice, Roasted Butternut Squash, Quinoa with Roasted Jalapenos, Brazilian Black Bean Salad, Oatmeal Cranberry Cookie, Raspberry Coconut Bar

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