Daily Herald the Brown
vol. cxlv, no. 49 | Thursday, April 15, 2010 | Serving the community daily since 1891
Graphic novelist muses on comics, art By Claire Peracchio Senior Staf f Writer
Ever ything Art Spiegelman P’13 learned, he learned from comics. The Pulitzer Prize–winning graphic novelist, comic ar tist and one-time Simpsons character spoke to a packed List 120 yesterday about his education in comics. The medium that became his life’s passion was the subject of his sweeping lecture on comics past and present, entitled “What the %@&*! Happened to Comics?” The lecture’s colorful title — particularly its suggestion of profanity — captures the irreverent “essence of comics,” according to Spiegelman. “It’s such a f— great word!” Spiegelman declared of the jumble of characters. Spiegelman’s whirlwind lecture navigated the histor y of comics from pop art to Peanuts, a legacy he described as “a battle zone” shaped by a tug-of-war be-
By Talia Kagan Senior Staf f Writer
release from the United Way, a nonprofit organization that addresses emergency relief, along with a number of community issues and individual needs. The fund was created specifically to aid those affected by flooding in Rhode Island with “needs that will not be covered by other sources,” such as the Federal
Peter Weber, professor and chair of the chemistr y department, will replace Sheila Bonde as dean of the Graduate School beginning July 1, according to a Wednesday University press release. Bonde, whose five-year contract as graduate school dean terminates at the end of June, plans to return to full-time teaching and research, Vice President for Public Affairs and University Relations Marisa Quinn wrote in an e-mail to the Herald. “I am honored to be asked to serve in this manner,” said Weber, who was chosen by a committee within the Grad School. Weber has taught chemistr y at Brown since 1989 and ser ved as department chair since 2005. As chair, he hired over half of the department’s present faculty and oversaw growth in graduate student enrollment, according to the press release. Weber studies “chemical reactions on ultrafast time scales,” according to the press release. His promotion of collaborative research on energy has helped strengthen Brown’s reputation for scholarship in this field, according to the press release. He has taught introductor y chemistr y classes as well as quantum mechanics, and currently teaches a first-year seminar on energy.
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Nick Sinnott-Armstrong / Herald
“Comics are the medium that gets past your critical radar and goes straight to the brain,” Spiegelman told a packed List 120.
While growing up in a lowermiddle class household in New York City, Spiegelman didn’t have
tween “tradition and transgression” and the worlds of children and adults.
much interest in museum art, he continued on page 2
Pre-frosh U. donates $50,000 for flood relief invade campus By Anita Badejo and Emily Rosen Contributing Writer and Staff Writer
By Anne Artley Contributing Writer
For the next two days, Brown’s population will increase by about 700 as admitted students invade campus for A Day On College Hill. More students are expected to attend this year than last year, after Brown received a record number of applications. “Since applications were up, maybe students are really taking time after they are admitted to visit campuses and see which one is best for them,” said Eleanor Brennan, assistant director of admissions. At ADOCH, prospective freshmen and their families have the opportunity to attend lectures, panels and an activities fair. They will also get a chance to stay in the dorms and meet other admitted students at social events such as a dessert social, a barbecue dinner and a talent show. Last year, the ADOCH planners added the Wednesday night barbecue to the program and brought in
inside
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News.....2–9 Metro...10–11 Sports..12-13 Editorial....14 Opinion.....15 Today........16
www.browndailyherald.com
Chem. Prof is new Grad School dean
In response to historic flooding across much of Rhode Island at the end of March, the University donated $50,000 last week to the United Way of Rhode Island’s Flood Recovery Fund. Brown community members affected by the flood have also begun to take advantage of
University emergency relief programs. “They are calling this the 500year flood,” said Tony Maione, United Way of Rhode Island’s CEO and president. “This was a very, very unusual event.” Funding relief Brown was among the top five financial donors to the recovery fund, according to an April 8 press
Branding Brown Third in a five-part series
On TV and the Web, sifting through images of Brown By Claire Peracchio Senior Staf f Writer
For the more than 30,000 students who applied to Brown this year, the popular college admissions Web site College Confidential, whether reliable or not, acted as a prime source of information about the school. On the site’s Brown forum, students post everything from standardized test scores to impressions of the University, mentioning the litany of stereotypes and press attention that Brown has received — liberal students, celebrity children,
a unique curriculum and even Sex Power God. Will my conservative beliefs be attacked if I matriculate? Does Brown value the sciences? Concerned students ask questions and await responses that fluctuate between petty and informational. College Confidential is only part of a larger trend. For prospective students, parsing media coverage of Brown — good and bad — is particularly daunting. Stereotypes about Brown are the fodder of blogs and college guidebooks, television shows and campus reviews, with continued on page 5
Kim Perley / Herald file photo
University Hall got a rainbow-colored makeover for the 2008 Sex Power God party, an event that attracted plenty of media attention for Brown.
Metro, 10
Sports, 13
Opinions, 15
EAST SIDE TREATS Investigating ‘snuggery’ and cupcakes at a Wickenden eatery
top dog Baseball team loses to No. 25 UConn Huskies at home
freedom isn’t free Nida Abdulla ’11.5 finds faults in the looseness of the New Curriculum
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