The Emory Wheel
INDEX
Emory Events Calendar, Page 2
Police Record, Page 2
Staff Editorial, Page 6
Arts and Entertainment, Page 9
Crossword Puzzle, Page 8
Sports, Page 11
Since 1919
The Independent Student Newspaper of Emory University www.emorywheel.com
Tuesday, March 31, 2015 AWARDS
Emory Ranks First in NIH Fellowship Recipients By Lydia O’Neal News Editor
This year, for the first time, Emory had the most graduate students who were awarded National Institute of Health (NIH) Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) predoctoral fellowships than any other university, according to the NIH. “Emory is always striving to be number one in things as much as possible, and we are number one here,” said Anita Corbett, a professor of biochemistry at the School of Medicine, who added that this ranking could aid both graduate student and faculty recruitment efforts. According to Corbett, 50 Emory applicants received the competitive research fellowship — more than the University of Pennsylvania, Harvard Medical School and Johns Hopkins University. This is despite the University’s ranking at 14th in total NIH funding, according to the NIH. Each fellow receives a $23,000 stipend, tuition funding and other costs, such as health care, according to the NIH. Together, the Emory fellows won a total of roughly $2 million, around $850,000 of which will go to the University in the form of tuition, according to Corbett. Corbett and biochemistry professor Richard Kahn said this year’s successful rate is due to a grant writing graduate course. After Kahn was “shocked” that there was no formal process for writing grants when we arrived at Emory, he developed a second-year graduate “Hypothesis Design and Scientific Writing” course in 1998 that Corbett now teaches. Before the course, Kahn said, Emory received close to zero fellowships like the Kirschstein NRSA. The course, he said, is “very laborintensive” for both students and professors, requiring students to submit
one writing assignment each week, to think critically of their research projects and to improve their English skills. “The hard work comes not from spitting out 10 to 12 page papers — most of us did that the night before [they were due] as undergraduates,” Kahn said. “This is about writing it, rewriting it, often throwing away what you wrote and then rewriting it multiple times.” Kahn cited one issue with the course that he said he hopes professors will avoid in the future: the temptation to rewrite a student’s grant request for them in the hopes of winning the University some extra funding. “I started this as a student exercise, but too often, the student’s mentor views it as an opportunity to make money,” Kahn said. “One has to constantly point out that this is a class — this is not the NIH.” The course’s success has coincided with a proliferation of NIH grant offerings in the past few years, according to Kahn. With so many more NIH institutions, such as the National Cancer Institute and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Kahn said he expects other institutions to follow Emory’s footsteps in creating a grant writing course. The course is now required for second-year graduate students in the School of Medicine, according to Corbett. Students must write a proposal in the style required for the Kirschstein NRSA fellowship, work closely with a mentor, cover other components of the application process and eventually submit a version of their application. Corbett and six other School of Medicine faculty teach “Hypothesis Design and Scientific Writing.” Kevin Morris, a second-year medical school student and 2015
See FELLOWS, Page 3
SGA Toughens Attendance Policy
EVENT
Erin Baker/Staff
Hip hop artist J. Cole performed on McDonough Field on Saturday night as part of this year’s Dooley’s Week. J. Cole’s performance, which was organized by the Student Programming Council (SPC), was opened by Bas, Cozz and Omen.
J. Cole, The Knocks Draw Thousands By Samantha Goodman Staff Writer After much anticipation, hip hop artist J. Cole and house music duo The Knocks brought throngs of Emory students together to close Dooley’s Week with their weekend concerts. Hip hop artist J. Cole was nominated for the Best New Artist award at the 54th Grammy Awards in 2012 and his most recent album 2014 Forest Hills Drive was his third to
debut at number one on the Billboard 200 chart. The Nu-Disco group The Knocks are an electronic music duo from New York City consisting of Ben Ruttner and James Patterson. They have played alongside numerous top artists, including Ellie Goulding and Diplo, and their 2014 hit song “Classic” has been supported by numerous DJs across the world. Bright lights lit up McDonough Field, and screams of excited students echoed around campus, while students, alumni and guests danced
Doors opened at 7:00 p.m., but students began lining up as early as 4:00 p.m., as SPC advertised that students would be turned away after the concert reached capacity. At John Mulaney’s show on Thursday evening, SPC reached capacity before dismissing more than 100 students. College freshman Emme Luck said she and her friends worried that they would not make it through the gate and decided to get in line around
See DOOLEY’S, Page 4
ENVS Dept. Introduces Minor in Sustainability decision, Donaher wrote in an email to the Wheel. This announcement followed the Students can declare a new addition of an Earth and Atmospheric minor — Sustainability Sciences Sciences (EASC) minor to the (SSC) — in Emory’s Department department’s offerings earlier this of Environmental Sciences (ENVS) spring, according to a Jan. 30 Wheel article. Along with the existing this fall. “One of the big goals of this is to Environmental Sciences minor, the prepare students to be able to under- department now has three minors. stand and have creative solutions Although the minor was initially toward the global challenges we are developed with ENVS students in going to face on this planet,” ENVS mind, Donaher noted the minor is Lecturer and Coordinator of Minors also available for other majors. Shaunna Donaher said. “This would really allow them The minor’s six required courses ... to show that they have a core include an introductory course, a understanding of the science and the methods course, the Service Learning way that it interacts with their social course and three ENVS-approved science backgrounds,” Donaher said. natural and social science electives. To establish the minor, Donaher After the department adminis- and Hall submitted their proposal to trators began to hear about student the Curriculum Committee. interest in the field of sustainabilThey also had to examine whether ity, Senior Lecturer and Director of the ENVS courses already in place in Undergraduate Studies Anne Hall the department were sufficient, or if and current ENVS Professor and for- the development of new courses was mer Chair of the department Lance needed, and found the former to be Gunderson began working on the true, Hall said. minor’s proposal in fall 2013, accordHall noted that the only significant ing to Hall and Donaher. change that will be made for the “This minor allows the opportu- minor is that the Service Learning nity for [students] to really show that course will be taught by a full-time [sustainability] is a true interest and faculty member, ENVS Senior something that they’ve really got a Lecturer John Wegner, instead of background in,” Donaher said. alternating professors. Recent external reviewers from Hall said that as the minor grows, institutions with strong programs in the department will develop new sustainability — such as Stanford courses and increase the availability University and Dartmouth College of the courses. — recommended that the departHall added that the College would ment add the opportunity, which was See SUSTAINABILITY, Page 3 “instrumental” in the department’s
By Annie McGrew News Editor
The 48th Legislature of the Student Government Association (SGA) convened on Monday evening for its last legislative session before the newly elected legislators take over and passed two bills to approve funding for a gender-neutral bathroom and to alter its attendance policy.
See BILL, Page 3
to the hip hop and electric sounds coming from the stage. Student Programming Committee (SPC) President Michael Nathin reported that J. Cole attracted approximately 5,000 students and guests to Dooley’s Frolics on Friday night and just under 2,000 to The Knocks’s performance at Dooley’s Ball on Saturday night. J. Cole’s performance featured members from Dreamville, his independent record label, including Bas, Cozz and Omen.
ACADEMICS
By Luke White Senior Staff Writer
College senior and SGA Collegewide Representative Aaron Tucek submitted Bill 48sl26, which proposed that SGA implement a stricter attendance policy for its representatives. The original version of the bill proposed that all representatives have a maximum of four absences per legislative term, after which their status with SGA be at the discretion of the speaker. Representatives who are absent from a meeting are expected to find suitable replacements to take their spots so that SGA can reach quorum. “The idea behind this bill is to take a stab at solving the attendance
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Every Tuesday and Friday
HOLI 2015
STUDENT GOVERNMENT
Attendance Policy
Volume 96, Issue
E
Hagar Elsayed/Photo Editor
mory’s Indian Cultural Exchange and Rollins Association of South Asian Health hosted Holi 2015 on McDonough Field this Sunday. During the event, students celebrated Holi by listening to music, throwing water ballons and covering themselves and others in color.
LECTURE
Economist Talks Income Inequality By Zak Hudak Managing Editor Gregory Mankiw, former economic advisor for President George W. Bush and Mitt Romney, spoke about tackling income inequality in the United States to a nearly-full 280-seat White Hall auditorium on Friday. “One question to leave with is, what
NEWS Laptop stolen at Starbucks and more in the Crime Report ... PAGE 2
makes the typical rich person rich?,” Mankiw said in his lecture “Income Inequality: Facts, Hypotheses and Policy Prescriptions.” “That’s the right versus left debate,”he said. The Robert M. Beren professor of economics at Harvard University served as the 21st chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers under President Bush and as an economic
OP-EDS University
makes the right move with
Sodexo ...
PAGE 6
advisor to Romney during his 2012 presidential bid. Mankiw authored two introductory economics textbooks and an intermediate one, all of which are widely used by the Emory faculty. He began by discussing the introduction of the working-class ste-
See FORMER, Page 5
A&E J. Cole’s energetic
performance, overly short set, not satisfying
...
PAGE 9
SPORTS Men’s track
and field wins the
Classic ...
Emory Page 11
NEXT ISSUE
Incoming Class of 2019 admissions numbers ... Friday