Daily
Herald
the Brown
vol. cxlviii, no. 17
Grad School sees small decline in overall applications
INSIDE
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Canvassing
After this semester, Canvas will fully replace MyCourses
One percent fewer prospective graduate students sought admission to Brown By mark valdez SEnior staff writer
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Zombie zeal Standardized test instigates an un-dead student protest Page 7
Bit of a problem Dorris ’15 advocates caution around BitTorrent networks today
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since 1891
thursday, february 14, 2013
tomorrow
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Applications to the Graduate School decreased by 1 percent this year, wrote Graduate School Director of Communications Beverly Larson in an email to The Herald. While applications to the University’s Ph.D. programs dipped 5 percent, applications to master’s programs received thus far have risen 8 percent compared to last year, Larson wrote. Deadlines for master’s programs vary, so applications to some programs could still come in, she added. Some programs, such as the master’s program for engineering, have already reached their deadline for accepting applications. Others, like the master’s program in American studies, have deadlines up to July 1
“or until the class is full,” according to the Graduate School’s admission site. It is too early to say how many applicants will be admitted this year overall, Larson wrote, but she added that Graduate School administrators expect the number of admitted students to be similar to last year’s. In a survey of the class of 2011 conducted by the Center for Careers and Life After Brown, 22 percent of respondents indicated they planned on heading straight to graduate or professional school following their graduation from the University. Director of CareerLAB Andrew Simmons said information about the class of 2012’s post-graduation plans should be released around April. But he said the percent of Brown students in the class of 2012 headed to graduate and professional schools will probably be consistent with past years, somewhere between 23 and 25 percent. “It may go up a little bit in times of economic crisis,” Simmons said. The Graduate School anticipates receiving notice by April 15 from
EMILY GILBERT / HERALD
Compared to last year, the University has received fewer applications to Ph.D. programs and more applications to master’s programs. admitted applicants as to whether they will attend the University, Larson wrote. The Graduate School works with
department chairs and graduate study directors to accept varying numbers of students depending on each de/ / Grad page 2 p a r t m e n t ’s
Students examine independent study options Gate will Many independent move to study programs remain popular academic Andrews options for students Hall By molly schulson senior staff writer
When the New Curriculum was created, its progenitors “envisioned independent study as a cornerstone of the Brown academic experience,” according to the Curricular Resource Center’s website. More than 40 years later, though the College Curriculum Council approved only eight Independent Study Projects and 16 Group Independent Study Projects this semester, 1,730 students are currently participating in Departmental Independent Study Projects, and the number of independent concentrators has increased in recent years according
to data given to The Herald by the CRC. The wide range of courses Brown offers provides students with more options that may lessen motivation to design independent study projects, Associate Dean of the College Kathleen McSharry wrote in an email to The Herald. When the New Curriculum took off in the 1970s, the University had fewer class offerings, said Peggy Chang ’91, director of the CRC. Many standard courses or concentrations originated as GISPs, including the American sign language and neuroscience concentrations. “Back then there were around 100 GISPs a year, but that was a time when there were not 2,000 classes, 700 professors or 78 concentrations,” Chang said. Undergraduate Teaching and Research Awards and fellowship programs sponsored by the Watson Institute for International / /Study page 3
The renovated eatery is scheduled to be completed by January 2014 By Hannah Loewentheil senior staff writer
EVAN THOMAS / HERALD
Run out of the Curricular Resource Center, independent study programs aim to give students the chance to expand the scope of their learning.
Art shows love’s evolution
D OR M L i f e
Depictions of romance throughout history inform understandings of love in the modern era By Katherine Cusumano Senior staff writer
Come February, one can hardly enter a drug store without experiencing a visual assault of walls lined with mass-produced cards, chocolates and pinks of every shade — ubiquitous evidence of the commercialism with which Valentine’s Day has come to be associated. But the Valentine — and romance itself — has a long and illustrious history beyond Hallmark sales. Courtly love first made an appear-
arts & culture
ALAN SHAN / HERALD
Miller and Metcalf halls were renovated last semester. In the fall, the dorms will host first-years.
ance in the 12th century as a way for women to seek out “fulfilling love” despite politically arranged marriages, wrote Elizabeth Bryan, associate professor of English, in an email to The Herald. Literature of the time depicts conflict between heterosexual and homosocial relationships, she wrote. This “dilemma fuels many a narrative plot in the Romance genre.” In the early modern period before the French Revolution, art was completed on commission, said Evelyn Lincoln, associate professor of history of art and architecture and Italian studies. Chests, or cassoni, were gifted to a couple upon their marriage. They were inscribed with scenes of weddings and mythology. The underside of the lids portrayed a nude man or woman, as if sexuality were an object to be kept safe along with the riches of a marriage, Lincoln said. Early mod/ / Love page 9
The Gate will be relocated to Andrews Dining Hall and expanded into a new eatery and social space, said Richard Bova, senior associate dean of residential life and dining services. Construction is scheduled to begin in June, with an estimated completion date of January 2014. There is “a lack of space on campus where students can meet, talk with classmates and eat at the same time,” Bova said, adding that the Gate is limited in its seating capacity and food offerings because of its current size. The new Andrews Dining Commons will serve as an eatery, as well as a study and meeting area for students. “We are currently looking at an area with about 200 plus seats,” Bova said. The construction project will eliminate the wall currently separating the kitchen from the main area to create an expansive space where students can see the activity in the kitchen, Bova said. “We are utilizing a lot of glass so students will enjoy the openness of the space,” he said, adding that it will retain its 15- to 18- foot ceilings. Other features will include new seminar classrooms and access from Andrews Commons to a new 24-hour study center. “If you think about mushing several floors of / / Gate page 4