Cross Campus: 3.28.13

Tag Archive: XC

Cross Campus: 3.28.13
March 28, 2013 4:50 am Leave a Comment
Lawful activism. Members of the Yale Law School community have submitted amici curiae briefs to the Supreme Court in Hollingsworth v. Perry, which will decide whether the Equal Protection Clause prohibits California from defining marriage as the union of a man and a woman. Law professors Harold Koh, William Eskridge LAW ’78 and Bruce Ackerman LAW ’67 joined alumni and legal experts to defend same-sex marriage and urge the Supreme Court to do the same.

It’s not so lonely at the top. Roughly 83 percent of candidates accepted to Yale Law School for the 2012-’13 academic year decided to matriculate, making Yale Law the most popular law school in the country, according to U.S. News and World Report. At a time when many law schools are witnessing a significant drop in application numbers, Yale’s yield continues to rise. According to an annual survey of 190 U.S. law schools, Yale’s yield is more than three times the national average. Boola boola.

Frat city? Rumor has it that rapper Tyga will bring his “Rack City” moves to Harvard on April 13 to perform at the school’s spring concert, Yardfest. According to The Harvard Crimson, the news of Tyga’s possible appearance was leaked after two undergrads wrote a computer program to access a hidden image of the rapper on the Yardfest website. Tyga is also scheduled to perform at UPenn’s Spring Fling just one day before going to Harvard.

In memoriam. Applications are currently being accepted for the Marina Keegan Award for Excellence in Playwriting, an annual award established to honor the memory of Marina Keegan ’12, a prolific writer and activist who died last May. The award is jointly sponsored by the English and Theater Studies departments, and is open to graduating seniors in both departments as well as those who have studied playwriting at Yale. Applications are due at noon on Monday, April 8.

Safety alert. When a fire alarm goes off, people are typically expected to run away from the potential danger. But not at Yale — at least, not yesterday afternoon in KBT Café when an impromptu fire alarm had almost no effect on nearby students. According to one eyewitness, café workers had to step in and force students to leave their studies and flee from impending doom.

THIS DAY IN YALE HISTORY 1929 The League of Nations Model Assembly rests after a productive meeting held the day before in the Trumbull common room — as planned — in which participants discussed foreign policy with N.J. Spykman, a professor of international relations and the “godfather of containment.”

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Cross Campus: 3.27.13
March 27, 2013 5:32 am Leave a Comment
Campus crime. In addition to the acts of vandalism that hit Jonathan Edwards and Berkeley colleges earlier this week, Davenport has also faced its fair share of thefts and graffiti. According to an email from Davenport Operations Manager Carolyn Haller to the Dport community, the college doesn’t need “no stinkin’ thieves or vandals!”

Getting a facelift. SigEp has a new website, and it’s looking pretty trendy. With an enormous photo of SigEp’s front door splashed across the home page and headshots of each fraternity brother, it seems like SigEp has may have discovered its most effective recruiting tool yet.

Thoughts on grading? The Yale College Council will be holding an open forum on grading at 7 p.m. tonight to gauge student opinion on proposed changes to Yale’s grading system before the faculty vote on April 4.

On guns. Connecticut Sens. Richard Blumenthal LAW ’73 and Chris Murphy offered harsh words to the National Rifle Association in a Monday letter to the organization’s executive vice president, Wayne LaPierre. The letter, which requested the NRA cease automated calls pushing its pro-gun policies to Newtown, Conn., residents, called the organization’s behavior “inappropriate” and its agenda “extreme.”

Fly no more. The control tower at Tweed New Haven Regional Airport will close May 5 due to sequestration-related cuts, according to The New Haven Register. But a Tweed representative said the airport would continue to operate without its control tower, which is not currently manned at night.

Cookie fever. Two Yale students are opening a pop-up cookie shop to sell everybody’s favorite snack: Girl Scout cookies. The miniature store, which will open at 97 Audubon St. today and tomorrow, will offer Thin Mints, Samoas and Tagalongs. So dieters, beware.

Sharing is caring. The surplus of supplies donated to Sandy Hook Elementary School after the shootings will be donated to Milford, Conn., schools, the New Haven Register reported. The supplies include crayons, markers, notebooks and other school materials.

THIS DAY IN YALE HISTORY 1929 The League of Nations Model Assembly plans to meet in the Trumbull common room tonight to discuss international affairs and diplomacy.

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Correction: 4.4.13

An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that Tweed will close due to sequestration-related cuts. In fact, Tweed will continue to operate without its control tower and US Airways will continue with daily flight operations.
Cross Campus: 3.26.13
March 26, 2013 4:05 am Leave a Comment
Another city race. The race to replace Mayor John DeStefano Jr. is not the only ongoing race in the Elm City. Ward 26 Alderman Sergio Rodriguez has launched an active campaign to be New Haven’s next city clerk, the city’s top administrative position. The city clerk handles all public documents, including claims and suits against the city, liquor permits, and absentee ballots for local elections. Rodriguez launched a walking tour campaign on Saturday and has already hired a campaign manager and social media point person.

New kid on the block. The former Hot Tomato’s restaurant next to Shubert Theater is getting a replacement: Roia Restaurant & Cafe, a 1920s-themed restaurant, according to food blog Bite of the Best. Fingers crossed that Jay Gatsby makes an appearance.

Buy you a drank. Or maybe not. The Yale College Council is hosting an open forum today with the University Council Committee on Alcohol, a committee comprised of experts and Yale alumni and parents, to discuss alcohol use at Yale. The committee will submit its recommendations regarding Yale’s alcohol policy to University President Richard Levin, President-elect Peter Salovey and Yale College Dean Mary Miller over the summer.

Rethinking health care. Yale journalism instructor Steven Brill’s ’72 LAW ’75 36-page health care exposé, published March 4 in Time magazine, has continued to make waves weeks after its publication. The Time cover story, which at 24,105 words was the longest ever printed in the magazine, revealed inflated medical charges that account for the 11.7 percent average profit margin for nonprofit hospitals nationwide. The story has been shared by more than 4,000 people on Facebook, and at one point, peaked at 32,000 simultaneous page views.

Trouble in Tennessee. The University of Tennessee has pulled funding for its student-produced “Sex Week” after conservative lawmakers complained about several planned events, including one on oral sex called “How Many Licks Does It Take” and a “Golden Condom Scavenger Hunt.”

Keep your eyes peeled. There’s something fishy in Berkeley. According to a Monday afternoon email to Berkeley students, a vacant storage room in Berkeley’s subbasement was “inappropriately accessed” over break. The identity of the culprits is still unknown.

THIS DAY IN YALE HISTORY 1924 The 24th annual exhibition of the New Haven Paint and Clay Club, held at the Yale School of Fine Arts, opens to the public today.

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Cross Campus: 3.25.13
March 25, 2013 4:58 am Leave a Comment
Welcoming YTV. With the end of spring break, the News is proud to announce the launch of YTV, a Yale Daily News weekly video broadcast. Starting March 31, YTV will broadcast on the News’ website on Sunday evenings at 5 p.m. with weekly headlines, original broadcast reporting and interview segments with major campus and world figures. Check our home page for more information on this new and exciting feature.

Republican Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio reversed his stance on same-sex marriage earlier this month after reassessing the issue when his son, Will Portman ’14, told his parents he was gay. Sen. Portman, who voted for the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act as a member of the House of Representatives, told reporters that he began to see the same-sex marriage issue from a “new perspective” after his son came out to him two years ago.

Beauty and brains. Yale has long been known for its sterling academics, but now, it appears the Bulldogs are making waves for their stupendous looks. According to a list published on Business Insider from data compiled by College Prowler, Yale is the 15th-best school in the country for its combination of good looks and good learning. Guess you really can have it all.

Celebrity professor. NBC News’ chief science and health correspondent Robert Bazell announced on Friday that he will be leaving NBC to serve as an adjunct professor in the Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology Department at Yale. Bazell has produced over 4,000 reports for NBC since he joined in 1976 and has won four Emmys and a Peabody Award.

Double dipping. It looks like Yale was not the only Ivy League school eyeing Cory Booker LAW ’97 as a Class Day speaker: The Newark mayor will also deliver a speech at Cornell University’s convocation on May 25. Booker has spoken at eight commencement ceremonies since 2009.

Pushing for free speech in Singapore. A group of over 30 students, staff and alumni at the National University of Singapore wrote an open letter to NUS administrators urging them to hire Cherian George, a Singaporean journalism professor known for criticizing Singapore’s media regulations. George, who was refused tenure at Nanyang Technological University for a second time, claimed he was denied because of his outspoken views.

THIS DAY IN YALE HISTORY 1914 Signers of the “Senior Society Resolutions” meet today to decide whether they are eligible on Tap Night for election to senior societies.

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Cross Campus: 3.8.13
March 8, 2013 2:17 pm Leave a Comment
Spring break: It’s finally here. As midterm season wraps up and the snow finishes melting, take advantage of this time to wind down and relax before the cycle begins again.

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis & company. This Spring Fling, it looks like Yalies will get a chance to thrift shop and rock out. Indie band Grouplove, best known for its hit song “Tongue Tied,” will perform at Yale on April 29 — the same day as Spring Fling — according to a concert listing on Grouplove’s website Thursday afternoon. As of last night, the listing had been taken down.

Those three words. Yalies across campus were greeted Thursday morning with a standard email from the Student Employment Office informing that they had received their payment for a student job. Normal enough, but the subject line of the email? “You been paid.” That’s right, and don’t you forget it.

Check your academics. Midterm season is rough, guys. That’s why this is a friendly reminder that today is the last day to drop a class without receiving a “W” on your transcript. It’s also the deadline to apply for double credit in a single-credit course.

Hail to the chief. In a Thursday email to the Yale community, Secretary and Vice President for Student Life Kimberly Goff-Crews ’83 LAW ’86 and music professor Daniel Harrison announced a series of inaugural festivities that will take place in October to celebrate Peter Salovey’s ascendancy to the presidency. The inauguration ceremony will be held from Oct. 10-13, though inaugural festivities will happen throughout the week.

Science superstars. Eight Yale science professors have been named to the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering. Election to the academy is based on significant contributions in theory or applications to scientific and engineering fields. The fabulous eight will be celebrated at the Academy’s 38th annual meeting and dinner on May 22 at Quinnipiac University.

Globe changer. Yale senior Sejal Hathi ’13 has been awarded a 2013 Jefferson “Globechanger” Award for her work in establishing the international nonprofit organization “Girls Helping Girls,” which works to bridge international cultures and focuses on issues concerning poverty, education, public health and peace.

THIS DAY IN YALE HISTORY 1887 The newly formed New Haven Camera Club meets for the third time to discuss the use of the “swinging back” in the camera and the principles of proper photography.

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Cross Campus: 3.7.13
March 7, 2013 3:50 am 2 Comments
Is it chicken tenders day? Yes. Go crazy.

Ouch. The Yale School of Management will not be listed in this year’s U.S. News and World Report rankings of the top 10 business schools in the country. Though the full list will not be published until March 12, a teaser released Tuesday indicated that Yale — which took the No. 10 spot last year — has been pushed out in favor of New York University’s Stern School of Business. Harvard, UPenn, Stanford and Dartmouth business schools all made the top 10 cut.

Part of a healthy breakfast? Looks like Columbia students have expensive taste. Ever since Columbia Dining began offering Nutella in the cafeteria, officials say the chocolate-hazelnut topping has cost them $5,000 per week, in part due to dining hall thievery, according to the Columbia Spectator. Thievery or not, that’s up to 100 pounds of Nutella per day.

Get rich quick. Yale Law alumnus and New Haven lawyer Dan Alterbaum LAW ’12 SOM ’12 took home $1,000 in winnings after appearing on Wednesday’s episode of “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire.” Alterbaum correctly answered questions about Alfred Hitchcock, television shows and Tumblr speak before missing a question on the punk music genre.

On gun control. A new poll released by Quinnipiac University on Wednesday found broad support for many gun proposals currently being debated in the state Legislature. The poll, which sampled 1,009 Connecticut residents in early March, found that the majority of the state supports tightening general gun-control laws. In particular, a proposal to institute universal background checks proved especially popular with 93 percent support.

Remembering Newtown. The Connecticut General Assembly unanimously passed legislation during their meeting on Wednesday to create a special fund for first responders, teachers and others who suffered psychological trauma from the Sandy Hook shootings. The fund will be backed by private donations and will, in part, supplement workers’ compensations for those who have missed work due to mental trauma.

THIS DAY IN YALE HISTORY 1960 The Trumbull College Council votes to resurrect its snack bar, which had been suffering from neglect and periodic shutdowns. As part of renovation efforts that are all “oriented toward the creation of a cool atmosphere,” a horde of Trumbull students decide to freshen up the basement and repaint the walls.

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Cross Campus: 3.6.13
March 6, 2013 3:30 am Leave a Comment
Public service announcement. For those of you who will be on campus during spring break, today is the last day to register for a spring break dining plan. Fingers crossed every day will be chicken tenders day.

Thriftshopping spree. It looks like Macklemore & Ryan Lewis are making their rounds at college campuses this year. In addition to performing at Yale’s Spring Fling this April, the hip-hop duo will also make an appearance on April 7 at George Washington University alongside indie rock band Walk the Moon. And before canceling its shows, the pair was scheduled to sing at Columbia University and Williams College.

One in six female Princeton undergraduates have reported experiencing nonconsensual vaginal penetration during their time at the university, according to 2008 survey results published Monday in The Daily Princetonian. In addition, according to the survey, more than 28 percent of female undergraduates said they were touched in a sexual manner or had their clothes removed without their consent. The survey was completed by 1,595 Princeton students from the classes of 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011.

Preparing for Class Day? Yale alum and Newark mayor Cory Booker LAW ’97 — who will deliver this year’s Class Day address — got some solid speech-giving practice on Tuesday night when he delivered his annual State of the City address, touting more affordable housing and reduced crime.

Speaking of graduation speakers, Harvard announced on Monday that popular talk show host Oprah Winfrey will speak at the school’s 362nd Commencement on May 30. Winfrey has previously spoken at Stanford, Duke and Spelman College. As one astute online observer noted, “The Lance Armstrong interviews have proven that Oprah is always the perfect choice for an institution in the aftermath of a cheating scandal.”

THIS DAY IN YALE HISTORY 1943 The newly elected Whiffenpoofs, representing members from the class of 1944, announce that they will discontinue all activities until the end of the war.

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Cross Campus: 3.5.13
March 5, 2013 3:38 am Leave a Comment
Celebrity sighting. Ever since former Yale graduate student James Franco left the University, Yalies have been starved of Hollywood royalty sightings. But that changed on Monday, when director M. Night Shyamalan was spotted casually eating peanut butter noodles in Berkeley dining hall for lunch. Though the reasons for the Yale trip are still unknown, one SigEp fraternity brother speculated that “all the Signs point to [Shyamalan] coming to The Village of New Haven so he could witness The Happening of daily activities at Yale.” Just sayin’.

It’s not Moon Yale, but still. Starting this Friday, Undergraduate Career Services will open a “satellite” office in Dwight Hall to give students a more convenient location to seek career and internship advice. The office will feature a UCS adviser who will host open hours in the Dwight Hall library every Friday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. for the rest of the year.

Ouch. Things got a little heated when a man in a white Ford Explorer attempted to rob a Dunkin’ Donuts in West Haven this Saturday. After the man in the car attempted to enter the restaurant via the drive-thru window, the fast food chain’s fast-thinking clerk doused him with a cup of hot coffee.

What’s in a name? Not sure, but Gawker may have discovered something. A Monday article from the website compared the most popular names among babies born in 1994 and Yale undergraduates, finding a handful of shared names across both groups. For males, common names included Alexander, David and Christopher, while for females, common names included Elizabeth, Hannah and Rachel.

Green living. President Barack Obama named Gina McCarthy — the former commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection — as the nation’s next head of the Environmental Protection Agency. McCarthy currently heads the EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation, where she tightened limits on soot and mercury emissions.

Marrying Yale to QPac. Quinnipiac law professor Jennifer Gerarda Brown has been named the next dean of Quinnipiac Law School, effective July 1. Brown is married to Yale Law School professor Ian Ayres and has been a senior research scholar in law at Yale since 1998.

THIS DAY IN YALE HISTORY 1917 Yale Treasurer George Parmly Day announces plans for a “freshman quadrangle” dormitory by York, Elm and High streets. All tenants are asked to move out on July 1 and leave their property vacant for the University.

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Cross Campus: 3.4.13
March 4, 2013 12:24 pm Leave a Comment
More on the DoD. Following conflicting accounts over a proposed Department of Defense training center at the School of Medicine, Yale psychiatry professor Charles Morgan told the New Haven Independent that he thinks he has a “good defamation suit” against The Yale Herald for its Jan. 25 story about the center.

And they canceled. Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, this year’s Spring Fling headliners who are scheduled to perform on April 29, have canceled their upcoming concerts at Williams College and Columbia University — scheduled for April 13 and 14 — to perform on MTV, according to The Williams Record.

Zombie apocalypse. Amid the University’s push for an increased social media presence, Yale’s popularity among an online Chinese audience on microblogging website Sina Weibo has attracted lively attention for its curiously large number of “zombie” followers — that is, dummy online accounts made to inflate an account’s follower numbers. After debuting in December 2012, Yale’s Sina Weibo account has attracted more than 140,000 followers, far surpassing other institutions which attracted only several thousand followers after being on the website for over a year.

Sharing isn’t caring. A University of Pennsylvania admissions officer has been fired after mocking applicants on her Facebook page, according to The Daily Pennsylvanian. Nadirah Farah Foley, a Princeton graduate, allegedly posted excerpts of applicants’ essays on her page adding inappropriate remarks to certain passages. In one Facebook post, Foley made fun of an applicant who wrote about his “long and deep” connection to Penn, where he had been circumcised at Penn Hillel years ago.

Snakes under a desk. State Sen. Ernest Hewett has been stripped of his leadership position after turning a 17-year-old girl’s testimony about overcoming her fear of snakes into a sexual innuendo. “If you’re bashful, I’ve got a snake sitting under my desk here,” he said to her, according to an audio recording posted on CT News Junkie. Hewett has since apologized, claiming he only meant to point out that the girl had overcome her fears.

Technical difficulties. Yale Law School moved its application deadline from March 1 to March 4 due to a glitch with the Law School Admissions Council’s online system.

THIS DAY IN YALE HISTORY 1924 Yale alumnus James Penniman 1884 donates bound volumes of sermons by famed Rev. Timothy Edwards.

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Cross Campus: 3.1.13
March 1, 2013 4:50 am Leave a Comment
Beyond downtown. On Thursday night, the Yale-New Haven Hospital held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new clinic space in North Haven, marking an end to the three-year effort to build the community-based outpatient facility. The center will offer a full range of services, including lab work and radiology.

If you thought flying couldn’t get more rough, think again. New Haven’s Tweed Airport has been placed on a list of 238 small airports around the country that might face $86 billion in automatic, across-the-board federal budget cuts scheduled to take place today. If so, the cuts would take effect in April, according to a joint statement by the Federal Aviation Administration and the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Urban design. Five Yale graduate students have been named finalists in the Urban Land Institute’s annual urban design competition, a venture that may win them $50,000 and the opportunity to contribute to the city’s long-term development. Titled “MinneDi,” short for “Minneapolis Millennial Innovation District,” the group’s proposal centered on the city’s thriving creative industry and aimed to attract recent college graduates.

Fifteen minutes of fame. Both WYBC General Manager Konrad Coutinho ’13 and the radio station’s studio made a special guest appearance on “Made,” a self-improvement reality television series broadcast on MTV. In the clip, students discuss the work of anti-bullying organization “Mean Stinks” against the backdrop of WYBC’s studio.

Life of a diplomat. Yale alum and recently confirmed Secretary of State John Kerry ’66 announced on Thursday that the U.S. government will provide the Syrian opposition with nonlethal aid — including food and medical supplies — as well as $60 million in assistance to rebel forces. The decision marks a significant policy shift in the American position regarding Syria.

Rap city. Yale rapper Da Legend has continued the Elm City’s thriving rap scene with a new music video titled “Anything Goes Down.” In the 3:10 minute video, Da Legend drops some beats next to a number of Yale locales, including Old Campus and the walkway by the Yale Bookstore.

THIS DAY IN YALE HISTORY 1919 The Academic Student Council votes to review the cases of each major team athlete who has been placed on probation. Council members will speak with each athlete and see whether tutoring arrangements can be made for those struggling with their academics.

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Cross Campus: 2.28.13
February 28, 2013 3:44 am Leave a Comment
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.

Yes, he still sings. Teenage 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.”