October 12, 2011 The Signal page 13
Architecture adventures: the faces behind the buildings By Brianna Gunter Managing Editor
A common joke told by ambassadors to prospective students is that the College’s central building is named Green Hall because “it’s where all your money goes.” Though it’s humorous because financial services operates out of this building, it’s not at all true. Several weeks ago, I went over the various people that our residence halls are named after, but since campus tour season is upon us, I will now do likewise with nonresidential buildings. Let’s start with Green Hall, one of the oldest buildings on campus (a time capsule from 1931 was discovered this past
summer in its cornerstone). This central campus building was named for James M. Green, principal of the College, then the New Jersey State Normal School at Trenton, from 1889 to 1917. In those days, “principal” was equivalent to president. Another original building is Kendall Hall, which was named for Calvin N. Kendall, who created the Office of the Commission of Education in 1911. He also served as New Jersey state commissioner of education and later as the president of the department of superintendents of the National Education Association. Since 1985, new buildings on campus have been designed to reflect the Georgian Colonial architecture of original buildings like Kendall and Green. This explains why the Brower Student Center, opened in 1976, does not match well with the buildings around it. It, too, however, was named for a College president — Clayton R. Brower. Brower was president from 1970 to 1980 and was a professor and department head before that. Nearby Packer Hall was also named for a member of the
College from the time in which it was constructed (1932). Marianna G. Packer was an instructor of physical education and hygiene and the head of the health and physical education department from 1932 to 1945. Starting at the College a year before Packer was Armstrong Hall’s namesake Fred O. Armstrong, professor and chairman of industrial arts from 1931 to 1958. According to the College’s engineering website, a scholarship is presented in Armstrong’s name to certain incoming freshman engineering majors. Not far from Armstrong is Bliss Hall, which saw many years as a men’s dormitory. Don C. Bliss was the principal of the College, then the Trenton State Normal School, from 1923 to 1930. Although it is the former art building, Holman Hall’s namesake was not involved in this field. Alfred P. Holman was an English and speech professor from 1947 to 1975 and served as English department chairman. Next to Holman is Forcina Hall. This building’s namesake is James J. Forcina, who served in various administrative roles from 1959 to 1978, including profes-
The Seal 1936, The Seal 1937
Marianna Packer, Fred Armstrong and James Forcina are the faces behind some campus buildings’ names. sor of education, dean of instruction, vice president of academic affairs and executive vice president. Forcina was also an alum (class of 1937) and was involved with many clubs, including The Signal, as a student. Although the Library has no namesake, its predecessor did. Roscoe L. West Hall was only recently reopened as a multi-purpose building. It served as the College’s library for decades, and it currently houses the Career Center and large conference and lecture rooms and is planned to be the home of the David Sarnoff Museum. Roscoe L. West was president of the College for 27 years and is also the namesake of Roscoe the Lion.
The most peculiar namesake on campus would appear to be Loser. I have to admit that I was a bit judgmental when I first saw Loser Hall, but like everyone else I quickly learned to pronounce it correctly with a long “o” sound. This building was named for Paul Loser, who served as superintendent of the Trenton Public School System from 1929 to 1954. With so many buildings lacking proper names (just painstakingly obvious ones; I don’t think anyone mistakes what the Music Building is for), we have all the more reason to take pride in those with namesakes. Who knows? Maybe some of the people we know today will one day have a building named for them.
Community Learning Day lecture inspires College crowd
Janika Berridge / Photo Assistant
Artie Isaac’s lecture about innovation urged the College community to embrace creativity. By Kathryn Picardo Correspondent
One of the most dynamic events of the College’s Community Learning Day was Artie Isaac’s lecture on
Campus Style By Carly Koziol and Albert Matlock Columnists Do you have an old pair of sneakers in the back of your closet that you haven’t put on in a year or so? Don’t throw them away! What was once old can become new again with a simple household product.
“Pursuing Innovation at TCNJ.” On Wednesday, Oct. 5, Isaac came well-equipped to give such a lecture, having taught classes like Personal Creativity and Innovation at Ohio State and Strategy, Creativity and Ethics in Marketing at the Columbus College of Art and Design. Isaac described his job as “corporate brainstorming that creates new products and saves ailing businesses.” His talk, however, focused on how to apply creativity as a student at the College. Issac defined creativity as a way to keep ourselves sharp, which could be “just thinking, hearing new thoughts, and challenging your ideas.” To Isaac, creativity is just another obligation — like personal fitness, it “requires time, energy and intentionality to make sure that things don’t stay stagnant.” His number one rule in pursuing creativity is to break conventions. In accordance with the college atmosphere, Isaac cited Chipotle as an example for its concept of using locally grown products. Later in the lecture, Isaac discussed failure. To Isaac, failure is just another way of saying unintentionally brilliant ideas, and he held firm to the belief that “anything worth doing is worth doing poorly.” His final piece of advice was to turn off the TV and
cease watching the lives of others pan out, because, after all, he said, “was Mother Theresa upset that she missed the last episode of ‘24’?” Isaac’s personality and ease on stage immediately made the audience receptive. He was thoroughly engaging, often posing questions directly to the audience and making remarks about their reactions. There was no script and no monotony to the lecture. Following the lecture in Kendall Hall, Isaac headed an interactive workshop on Creativity and Innovation in Armstrong Hall. Isaac’s visit headlined the College’s Community Learning Day, which is part of an effort to enhance the intellectual community here. Community Learning Days have historically been a way to promote higher thinking among college students. This year, the theme that the Cultural and Intellectual Community Program Council chose was “innovation.” This past summer’s reading assignment for incoming freshmen, “The Victorian Internet” by Tom Standage, reflected this theme. Like Isaac’s lecture, the book focused on experimental designs and new ideas. Other events scheduled for the remainder of this year will follow along with this theme as well.
DIY: Bleach your kicks! Supplies: • Sneakers • Paintbrushes • Household bleach • Plastic cup • Water Step 1: Remove the laces from your sneakers and place them on a surface that is bleach-safe. Step 2: Mix one part water with one part bleach in a plastic cup.
Photos courtesy of Albert Matlock
Step 3: Dip the paintbrush into the cup and absorb a generous amount of the bleach solution. With a flick of your wrist, splatter the soaked brush onto the sneakers in a random pattern. For thicker bleach splatters, hold the paintbrush above the desired area
and allow larger droplets to fall. Step 4: Once you are satisfied with the bleach effect, rinse the sneakers under running water to remove excess bleach. Step 5: Allow the shoes to fully dry before relacing and wearing.