Monday, March 31, 2014
Volume LVII, Issue 22
sbstatesman.com
SBU relives the 1920s through Great Gatsby
Physicist Michio Kaku captivates student audience By Sandhiya Kannan
By Hunter Frederick and Francesca Campione
Staff Writer
Contributing Writers
On Wednesday, March 26, Dr. Michio Kaku captured the minds of all 1,000+ students who attended his lecture at the Staller Center. Dr. Kaku is a highly renowned theoretical physicist, teacher and promoter of science. He is the co-founder of string field theory. Additionally, Kaku is one of the scientists working closely to complete Einstein’s final unfinished work—the unified field theory. Kaku discussed concepts from his latest book "Physics of the Mind," touching upon the future of areas like telekinesis and telepathy in our daily lives, implementation of brain pacemakers to record memories for Alzheimer’s patients and the overall importance of understanding the inner workings of the brain. His presentation alternated between keeping the audience laughing at his plethora of quips and intrigued as he explained the latest applications found in modern physics. When the lecture was over, students were able to ask questions, which Kaku answered in detail. Hundreds of students waited on line to meet him and ask him to sign tickets or copies of his book. Before the lecture, members of the student media were invited to speak with Kaku to pick his brain about science, his accomplishments and his work. Below is an edited version of the interview. For the full version, visit sbstatesman.com. S: The Statesman I: The Stony Brook Independent P: The Stony Brook Press SBN: Stony Brook News MK: Dr. Michio Kaku I: Why did you decide to come speak at Stony Brook, having taught—still teaching—at the prestigious CUNY? Do you expect to get something different from our audience? MK: I have a strong relationship with the physics department here. But basically, I’ll go where people invite me because I want to try to excite young people to go into science. Science is the engine of prosperity, and we can’t create enough scientists...we have one of the worst science educational systems in science known to science… Our colleges are not bad—they’re top rank—but our high schools are abysmally bad. P: In your words, what is the value of science communicators with a level of celebrity, like yourself, Bill Nye, Neil DeGrasse Tyson? What do you see your role as?
JESUS PICHARDO / THE STATESMAN
Stony Brook students dressed in 1920's attire in spirit of the F. Scott Fitzgerald book "The Great Gatsby" and the popular Hollywood adaptation of the novel. MK: I’ve interviewed a lot of scientists in my time, and I always ask them: how did it start? What got you on this great voyage? And they always say the same thing. You know, when I was around 10, it was a telescope, a microscope, a visit to the planetarium—something got them going...Then, we hit 15, and it’s all over. It’s all over. The greatest destroyer of scientists known to science is junior high school. That’s when we lose young scientists left and right by the millions..Junior high school makes science nothing more than memorization, giving names to things. That’s why we need role models: to tell people that science could be exciting, you can get a job doing science, you can pursue your dreams, and it’s not about memorizing things, it’s about learning concepts. S: You’re known for your role as a theoretical physicist—you’re a popularizer of science, as the title as given, but you’re also a teacher, foremost a lecturer. How would you say your role making science a more popular, more public field interacts with your role of teaching science and making it more open to students? MK: Well, there used to be a conflict—a conflict between trying to popularize science, trying to become a professor, and also trying to do research...But then, several things happened. First, Stephen Hawking became famous, and he’s a research activist scientist. Second, our supercollider got canceled...Why? Well, among other reasons, on the last day of hearings, when Congressmen asked a physicist, ‘Will we find God with your machine? If so, I will vote for it.’ The poor physicist didn’t know what to say, so in front of Congress he said, ‘We will find the Higgs Boson.’...I would have answered it
News
Continued on page 7
Stellar defense leads Stony Brook women's lacrosse in win over UMBC By Andrew Eichenholz Staff Writer
On a dreary day at a nearly empty Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium, the only problem that the Stony Brook Women’s Lacrosse team faced was a delayed start due to the referees being late. In every other department, the Seawolves were firing on all cylinders in their dominant 12-1 victory over UMBC. Getting off to a good start in America East play, Stony Brook left no doubt that they were the favorites in the conference on Saturday afternoon. UMBC did a solid job keeping arguably the two best players on the Seawolves, freshman Dorrien Van Dyke and senior Michelle Rubino out of the action. That didn’t complicate much for the Seawolves, who moved to 8-2 on the season. Leading the way for Stony Brook wasn’t a single player, or their offense in general, rather their energy. From the very first face-off, it looked like nobody would stop coach Joe Spallina’s team. On both sides of the ball, everybody was swarming the Retrievers as if the rain wasn’t coming down. UMBC had a mere six shots on goal, while Stony Brook scored 12 goals. It is hard to lose a game when your defense does not give the other team a chance to even put the ball on the net. When they did, star goalkeeper
Arts & Entertainment
ANUSHA MOOKHERJEE / THE STATESMAN
Freshman Dorien Van Dyke is tied for fourth in the nation in goals scored.
and senior Frankie Caridi did her job, only allowing one goal on the four shots on goal that the Retrievers managed. Amber Kupres and freshman Kristin Yevoli, who are more known for being among the team leaders in ground ball pickups and draw controls, both had three goals in the win. Van Dyke, who is now tied for fourth in the nation in goals scored managed to tally three goals herself, even with the UMBC defense concentrating on shutting her down. Spallina was very happy with the all around effort for the Seawolves in their conference opener, praising the energy that everybody showed. “Our kids came out with a lot of energy," Spallina said. "And with the way we play and the style of lacrosse we play we’re able to bring that. It’s unmatched energy, we’re going to be a tough team to play.” However well the team played, there is always more to work on, as Spallina said, “I’m happy with the way we played but I would never tell them I’m satisfied.” Opinions
“The Great Gatsby” might have hit the big screen last year, but that did not stop Stony Brook students from filling the Student Activities Center Ballroom B Saturday night with the sound of decadence and Roaring Twenties fun. RA Lisette Nuñez of Hand College and Weekend Life Council co-hosted a 1920s themed party, dubbed “What Would Gatbsy Do?” The event featured a photo booth, a DJ, a fashion show and live performances. Ballroom B was transformed in 1920s fashion, featuring gold, black and silver balloons, DJ Enclave, sparkling cider (in lieu of champagne) and electronic swing/jazz music. Nuñez came up with the idea for a Gatsby-like party and reached out to the Weekend Life Council. “We kind of used the movie as inspiration for the theme,” Marielle Rodriguez, a member of the Weekend Life Council who helped plan the event, said. “Then it was a matter of planning, purchasing supplies and setting this whole thing up.” First up was SB Live, the campus’ live performance band, who played a medley of songs. Next, RA Hiba Hashim of Dreiser College and Steve Morel performed an acoustic selection from the soundtrack of The Great Gatsby followed by Justin Sterling joining Hashim on stage for a re-imagining of JayZ’s hit singles “No Church In the Wild” and “Empire State of Mind.” “I thought it was really good,” Samson Woo, a political science and business student who also was a part of the show, said. “The décor and the music and especially the atmosphere were all done so well.” After that Nuñez announced the fashion show, the evening’s final performance, complete with models, and a small vocal performance from her. Jay Mourabet, a senior engineering major, modeled in the fashion show. “I think it was great,” he said. “Everything was good and it had a lot of different, well-run aspects to it.” Two other Weekend Life Council members, Samantha Shetty, a psychology and biology major, and Daniella Gordello, a Spanish major, agreed that the event was a success. “You know, it’s a good night out” Mourabet said. “It’s been a stressful week with exams and this is a good way to relieve stress on campus.” Sports
Education reform remains controversial
Student turns trash into art pieces
Common Core unfairly targets teachers
Baseball defeats NYIT
MORE ON PAGE 3
MORE ON PAGE 10
MORE ON PAGE 15
MORE ON PAGE 20
Education experts disagree with Common Core.
SBU graduate student brings recycled art to library.
New teaching standards in N.Y. pressure teachers.
SBU comes up with a win in two out of three games.