The Emory Wheel
index
Emory Events Calendar, Page 2
Police Record, Page 2
Trendy Tuesday, Page 10
Crossword Puzzle, Page 8
Staff Editorial, Page 6
On Fire, Page 11
Since 1919
The Independent Student Newspaper of Emory University
Volume 94, Issue 8
www.emorywheel.com
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Every Tuesday and Friday
event
Department changes
Quad Session Focuses On Future of Depts. By Dustin Slade Contributing Writer
Thomas Han/Contributing
Students enjoyed sampling a variety of different, hearty chilis at the Chili Cook-Off yesterday— an event that started this week’s homecoming celebrations.
Chili ‘Cook-Off’ Kicks Off Homecoming Free. Chili. Are there any two words tastier than those? The sun was bright, the air was crisp and Smokey’s Farmland Band set the tone with live bluegrass music as Monday’s Chili Cook-Off kicked off Emory’s Homecoming Week on Asbury Circle. This year’s Homecoming theme is “Swoop’s County Fair.” At the Cook-Off, students enjoyed chili samples from many different area restaurants — which competed for recognition as having the best chili in addition to a certificate, a blue ribbon and bragging rights. Local eateries in particular — The Highlander and Grindhouse — emerged as two student favorites in the competition and went head-to-head in order to convince attendees that their chili was the most mouth-wateringly deli-
cious. Students voted on which chili they preferred at a special booth at the Cook-Off. Necol Ronda, a senior in the College, claimed that her preference for spicy foods led her to vote for the Highlander’s chili — which, in her opinion, had a remarkably stronger kick. However, some other students did not share her sentiments. Tyler Brown, a senior in the College, said he chose to vote for the Grindhouse due to what he felt to be the unique combination of spices and ketchup that the restaurant used in its chili. Restaurants offered numerous other tasty treats — after braving painfully long lines, students could munch on fried Oreos and Twinkies that were drizzled in chocolate syrup and powdered sugar. In addition, the Chili Cook-Off — which was organized by the Student Programming Council (SPC) —
Library
construction
By Harmeet Kaur Contributing Writer
included many other attractions for those who attended. Students could dunk SPC members in a tank of water or have their fortunes told by a psychic. Event organizers set up a photo booth, complete with costumes and accessories, as well as a beer garden. College juniors Carly Cindrich and Meena Iyer — who serve as the co-chairs of the SPC Homecoming Committee — were in charge of organizing the event. Cindrich said the extensive preparations and planning that went into the event began last May, right after finals week. She said she and Iyer began brainstorming ideas and eventually came up with the idea for the Chili Cook-Off. “Way more work went into this than you would ever imagine,” Cindrich said of the planning process. “People don’t realize the logistical work involved.” Homecoming Week continues with SPC’s next event on Wonderful
Thursday Comedian Amy Schumer will perform at Glenn Memorial Auditorium.
Friday
Cazzette will perform at the Homecoming Ball on McDonough Field.
Saturday Slightly Stoopid will perform for students and alumni on McDonough Field.
James Crissman/Staff
Wednesday. Be on the look out for a mechanical bull, a petting zoo and, of course, more fried food.
—Contact Harmeet Kaur at hbhagra@emory.edu
By Karishma Mehrotra Staff Writer
See TWEETS, Page 5
James Crissman/Staff
BGI, a sub-contractor for Atlanta Gas Light, has began construction near Few and Evans residence halls, involving flushing out gas lines in preparation for Phase Five of the Freshman Quadrangle.
Gas Lines Re-Routed for Construction Students living in Few and Evans residence halls have had to deal with a bit of gas recently. Construction around these two residence halls — involving flushing out gas lines to prepare for Phase Five of the Freshman Quadrangle — began on Sept. 17 and ended Sept. 21. BGI, a sub-contractor for Atlanta Gas Light, completed the construction over the course of the last few days. The project is an example of a routine procedure that is done in many places across Atlanta and the rest of the country whenever old gas lines
News Emory to begin
construction on hospital expansions...
A strategy session on the Quad included plans to move forward following announcements regarding department shutdowns and suspensions.
AWARD
Grant Aims to Fund Chemistry Research By Celia Greenlaw Contributing Writer
By Minah So Contributing Writer
PAGE 3
are retired. The only disturbances students living near the construction faced were a minor gas smell near their residence halls and temporary sidewalk closures along Eagle Row. Because the gas lines are located near the new residence hall, the construction company needed to re-route them around the job site in order to proceed with grading activities. The project began with the installation of a new gas line so that the old gas lines could eventually be removed. The construction left some students wondering whether the project could be harmful, but because the gas was vented at the end of an eight-foot
OP-EDs Chik-fil-A de-
bate unnecessarily polarizing...
PAGE 7
See strategy, Page 4
Upcoming Events
Library Archives Protest Tweets Emory Libraries’ Digital Scholarship Commons (DiSC) completed their collection and visualization of over 10 million tweets from the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement, according to a Sept. 21 University press release. The collection includes topic-based charts, word clouds and heat maps on the first anniversary of the protest. The archive, which began in October of 2011, documents what project coordinators feel is significant and new research territory — the relationship between historical events and the social media that chronicles them. Researchers hope that their venture, the Tweeting #OWS project, will provide an aggregate view of time, place and networks regarding the movement showcasing a unique understanding of OWS. According to the press release, the DiSC graduate fellows initiated the enormous undertaking with multiple
The #EmoryCuts movement held a strategy session Friday afternoon in front of the administration building on the Quad. In light of the recentlyannounced department changes, students and faculty voiced their concerns and constructed a blueprint for moving forward. The movement developed in response to College Dean Robin Forman’s plan to reallocate resources and eliminate certain departments within the College. He unveiled this plan on Sept. 14. The University will shut down the Division of Educational Studies and the Department of Visual Arts, in addition to Emory’s journalism program. The Laney Graduate School, the economics and Spanish graduate programs will be suspended while the Institute of Liberal Arts (ILA) will no longer house full-time faculty.
Members of the #EmoryCuts leadership council planned the strategy session through social media such as Facebook and Twitter whereby they were able to publicize the event to students, faculty, and community members interested in the departmental changes. Graduate students held a similar rally last Monday, where students and faculty expressed their frustrations with the departmental changes. About 70 students and faculty stood outside the administration building as speakers once again discussed their individual grievances with the decision. “Today we wanted to finalize our leadership and our organizational structure and solicit representatives from as many departments as we could who would take responsibility for organizing and mobilizing the affected departments,” said College junior David Mullins, a member of
pipe stack, the gas released dissipated very quickly, according to Glenn Kulasiewicz, the project manager of planning, design and construction at Emory. In addition, gas is lighter than air, which aids in the dissipation of the gases that are released, Kulasiewicz added. “I feel like there are always maintenance projects like these going on around campus, so I don’t even notice them anymore,” said College sophomore and Few Sophomore Advisor Diane Ryu. “I’m more excited to see what the new freshmen [residence halls] will look like.”
— Contact Minah So at rina.so@emory.edu
A&E Missed out on Music Midtown? Catch the PAGE 9 review...
Emory University’s Center for Selective C-H Functionalization (CCHF), which manages a research team focused on changing the method for organic synthesis, was awarded a $20 million grant by the National Science Foundation (NSF) earlier this month. According to the director of The CCHF, Emory chemistry professor Huw Davies, the grant will support the center’s research to improve organic synthesis — which is a scientific procedure used during experiments that involve chemical reactions. Davies said that the research team hopes to make the process of organic synthesis faster, safer and more environmentally sustainable. Traditionally, the NSF awards one grant each year to what they consider to be a deserving chemistry laboratory. The Emory team’s first phase of research began in 2009 when they received another NSF grant of $1.5 million. Davies explained that with the help of their new grant, the team is now working on their second more involved and challenging phase of their research. According to Davies, the center’s research is designed to create “a paradigm shift in how we put molecules together.” Organic synthesis is fundamental in creating the materials people use everyday, so having the best pos-
sports Men’s soccer
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sible process to do it is essential, Davies said. He added that the CCHF method of using organic synthesis is different from typical synthesis because it approaches molecules from their backbone, the carbon-carbon and carbon-hydrogen bonds. Typically, scientists have targeted the outer, less stable, functional groups during their experiments. Simon Blakey, another Emory chemistry professor and member of the CCHF, said the center utilizes organic molecules in a way that has rarely been done before, minimizing the number of steps required to create a chemical while broadening the possibilities for synthesized materials. “There is always a drive in organic chemistry to make things more effective, make the syntheses shorter, and in the process also avoid pollutants by making the chemistry much more clean,” Davies said. Blakey explained the center’s vision as “trying to take C-H functionalization, which is still in the realm of very basic science, and move it forward into some exciting application-based research areas.” The professors emphasized what they felt to be the importance of this research for not only the future of organic chemistry, but also for its potential impact in areas such as pharmaceuticals, material synthesis and molecular electronics. Davies shared how the research helps create educational opportuni-
See Emory, Page 5
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Admins discuss budget behind dept. changes... FRIDAY