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(04/28/12 5:00am)
After spending the majority of the semester talking about Asia, I want to shift gears and move to South America, specifically Ecuador. I spent about nine days in this beautiful country over winter break, although for the majority of that time I was on a boat in the Galapagos. My best friend, Christina and her boyfriend Austin who both go to Brown, were in Ecuador right after I left, and were able to give me the lowdown on their favorite parts of mainland Ecuador. Both Christina and Austin agree that their favorite part of Ecuador was a place called Banos, a tiny, somewhat touristy town in Central/Southern Ecuador that was filled with young, college-age travelers. Banos has lots of fun outdoorsy activities. You can go white water rafting, hiking, rock climbing, and even zip lining! The town is famous for its hot springs and beautiful waterfalls. Aside from the outdoor activities, there are also lots of bars and nightclubs and some really great restaurants. The capital of Ecuador is Quito. I spent a day there before getting on a boat to explore the Galapagos, and the old section of the city is quite charming. I was only able to visit a couple of churches and see the view of Quito from the top of a mountain next to a giant statue of the Virgin Mary (I didn't think the view was all that great, but Christina says that it was her favorite thing in Quito so I guess you'll just have to go and make a decision for yourself). Christina and Austin on the other hand spent a few days in Quito, and they told me about the best things to do on the weekends. During the day they had fun hanging out in the main square because there were tons of people around and lots of street performances to watch. For dinner they say you absolutely must go to an area called La Calle Ronda. On Friday and Saturday nights, officials block off the streets from cars and lots of restaurants on the first floors of people's homes open up. The ambiance is supposed to be great - lots of music, cobblestone streets, lots of locals and great local food. After my day in Quito, my family and I had to take two flights to get to the airport on San Cristobal Island in the Galapagos. When we finally arrived, we got on dinghies and were taken to our boat, La Pinta. My sister and I felt really seasick that first night, and I was worried that I was going to feel that way for the next seven days, but I woke up in the morning feeling fine (thank you Dramamine). Our schedule everyday on the boat was some variation of the following: a hike in the morning, snorkeling, then another hike in the afternoon. The islands were much bigger than I had expected, and I kept wondering to myself how Darwin had been able to notice the differences between the species on the different islands. He was clearly much more observant than I am. My favorite animals were the sea lions and the blue-footed boobies. We saw sea lions on basically every island that we visited, but they were just so adorable (especially the babies) that I was excited every time I saw them. One very unique feature of the Galapagos Islands is that the animals, by and large, are not afraid of people. This means that you can get really close to them and they won't run away (although they might try to attack you if you come too close to their young). Since I have never been in such close proximity to animals, I never realized just how complex their behavior could be. There are no words to describe the experience of snorkeling with sea lions. They would appear out of nowhere and then almost dance with you. It was incredible. The blue-footed boobies were great because they were just so funny looking. They are probably the second most famous bird associated with the Galapagos, after Darwin's finches. There were lots of other awesome animals in the Galapagos too. There were penguins, iguanas (they were funny because they would all pile on top of one another), frigate birds, sharks (yes I saw some while I was snorkeling, and no it surprisingly wasn't terrifying because they were swimming way below me and they weren't more than 5 feet long), turtles and orcas. Yes I said orcas. One of the most amazing experiences that we had was when we were in the dinghies on our way to a walk on one of the islands, when all of a sudden one of the guides spotted an orca. When even your guide, who sees most of these animals on a daily basis, gets excited, you know you are witnessing something extraordinary. All four of the dinghies (there were 40 people on our boat) rushed over to get closer to the killer whale. We followed that whale for a full hour and a half. It would appear above the water for a short time and then dive under, then resurface somewhere far away a few minutes later. One time the orca jumped out of the water just a few feet away from my dinghy and we all screamed at the top of our lungs. It was terrifying. We knew that if he had been just a couple of feet closer he would have capsized us. But after the initial terror had passed, I felt exhilarated. Despite my close encounter with the orca, I hope I have convinced you that Ecuador is a great place to visit. When it comes to the Galapagos Islands, the best way to see them is by staying on a boat, because the islands are pretty far apart and you would not be able to see many of the further away islands if you just tried to take day trips on a small boat. Hopkins offers an Intersession program in Ecuador and the Galapagos in which you get to visit both the islands and the rainforest. I have friends that have done this program and I highly recommend it. You'll never get the opportunity to take advantage of such a reasonably priced trip to the Galapagos again, so what are you waiting for? Sign up!
(04/28/12 5:00am)
I detest talking on the phone almost as much as I hate texting. Texting leaves too much room for people to misinterpret words and then you have to worry about diffusing unnecessary arguments. That's why people include smiley faces everywhere, beware of using the winking face though, that one's creepy. While tiptoeing around words ruins texting, cautious pauses ruin talking on the phone. I can attest to the fact that 90 percent of the time that I'm on the phone with someone, I ultimately interrupt them because I thought they were done. As for the other 10 percent of the time, I wait too long and the conversation enters the realm of awkward. Luckily for me, I'm blessed with a family that is just as socially inept at phone conversations as I am. Last week was my little brother's spring break and as a sophomore in high school I foresaw him hanging out with his friends and playing ball. That was wishful thinking. Living with him all my life, I know playing games has evolved into something bigger than an ordinary addiction for him. Therefore it was no surprise when my dad affirmed my belief that he had confined himself to his room playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. My brother and I have an "extreme" sibling dynamic. One minute we can be expressing our mutual love for one another by hugging, talking about sneakers and reliving past memories. Then the next, we're verbally assaulting each other, using every curse word you can think of and even making some up. This usually escalates to physically inflicting harm on each other, which I still get yelled at for doing. There is no middle ground for us. We're either bonding or fighting. The rest of the time we don't acknowledge each other's presence. I figured I would call him at home and make sure he ate something. When he's in the zone he won't conjure up the energy to even go get a bowl of cereal. Naturally, he only picked up after I started yelling on the answering machine. I proceeded to interrogate him with the usual "Did you eat? What did you eat? Have you started your homework?" Even though it only lasted a minute, we proceeded to talk over each other and get the gist of what we were saying without a hitch. I know I'm not alone in my feelings about talking on the phone. It's awkward. Don't you hate that the other person is purely going off of what you're saying, and not in accordance with your reactions (don't start arguing for the use of inflection and tone of voice conveying your reactions, it's not the same)? It's severing an important connection, which is why I would rather talk in person. If you happen to be a content phone talker and you have the ability to go and see the person you need to talk to, try talking in person. You never know, you may build a stronger relationship.
(04/28/12 5:00am)
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences elected two Hopkins professors as fellows last week, adding them to the ranks of the now-fifty active and retired Hopkins faculty members who hold fellowships in the 230-year-old society. Dr. Jef D. Boeke, Professor of Molecular Biology, Genetics and Oncology in the School of Medicine, and Dr. Robert Moffitt, the Krieger-Eisenhower Professor of Economics in the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, are among the 220 scholars, scientists, artists and activists who join the Academy in its Class of 2012, which includes the likes of Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, musician Sir Paul McCartney and philanthropist Melinda Gates. In an e-mail to The News-Letter, Boeke described the honor with levity. "I'm honored to be in the company of the likes of Mel Brooks!" he wrote, Brooks being among this year's appointed fellows. The Academy is one of the nation's most prestigious honorary societies and stands at the forefront of independent policy research in the United States.Boeke and Moffitt, meanwhile, belong to the vanguard of research efforts at Hopkins. Supplementing Boeke's role as an educator at the School of Medicine is his leadership of the High Throughput Biology (HiT) Center, a division of the university's Institute for Basic Biomedical Sciences, where he directs a team of scientists in mapping the genetic structure of yeasts. He joined the faculty of the School of Medicine in 1986. Beyond the university, he has chaired the grant review panel regarding the study of molecular and cell biology of cancer for the American Cancer Society. Dr. Seth Blackshaw, who has collaborated with Boeke in the HiT Center for the last eight years, described his colleague as "brilliant." "He is a scientist who has an amazing amount of energy and an extraordinarily diverse range of interests," Blackshaw, who holds an associate professorship in the Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, said. "Working with him has taken me in directions that would have been impossible anywhere else. I'm delighted for him - this honor could not come to a more deserving person." In the Department of Economics at Homewood, Moffitt is an authority on poverty in inequity in the United States. He arrived at Hopkins in 1995 to claim the Krieger-Eisenhower Professorship in Economics; in his seventeen-year tenure, he has worked closely with undergraduates and graduates alike in addition to his personal research. Dr. James J. Heckman, a University of Chicago economist who received the 2000 Nobel Prize in Economics for his work in econometrics and microeconomics, told Moffit about his nomination.Moffitt described himself as "surprised and honored" when he first learned of his appointment last Wednesday. "I was actually notified by another professor [of economics], the one who nominated me for the fellowship two years ago. Later that afternoon, I received the official email, congratulating me," he said.Moffitt, however, points to teaching, and not exclusively research, as the centerpiece of his time at Johns Hopkins. "Hopkins is a lot like Brown, where I taught before coming here. Both have relatively small economics departments, which ensures direct interaction with students, both graduates and undergraduates," he said. "What makes Hopkins special is the breadth of its intellectual resources. I've found that my students are interested in public policy as well as economics, which makes for stimulating discourse." In addition to his position in the Department of Economics, Moffitt holds an adjunct position at the Bloomberg School of Public Health. Together, Boeke and Moffitt will travel to Cambridge, MA on Oct. 6 for the Academy's induction ceremony. ?
(04/28/12 5:00am)
After a successful first year of scientific exploration at the InnoWorks summer camp, the Hopkins InnoWorks chapter is looking forward to hosting their second summer camp in August. InnoWorks holds a free summer camp, which focuses on introducing middle and high school students to the fields of science and engineering through an innovative, hands-on approach to learning. The InnoWorks program is designed and run entirely by college volunteers for students from underprivileged backgrounds, who would otherwise lack the opportunity to learn from a more experimental approach in their typical academic environments. It seeks to build relationships between younger students and college students, who function as both mentors and staff members. "Our vision is for InnoWorks to provide exciting educational opportunities for all students," Lucia Tellez, the PR Officer for InnoWorks, wrote in an email to The News-Letter. "We intend to maintain relationships with InnoWorkers for life, inviting them to join as junior and then full mentors. If our mission is achieved, InnoWorks communities everywhere will be self-perpetuating, with each generation nurturing the next, connected by a common goal to improve society." After discovering InnoWorks through her sister's volleyball coach, Tellez spent her entire freshman year working with the University of Maryland College Park InnoWorks chapter. "I loved it so much that the next year I decided to start a chapter here at Hopkins," Tellez wrote. With the help of some friends, Tellez was able to spearhead the InnoWorks chapter on campus. "We encountered some rough patches, but the program was able to take place last summer, and [we are] excited and prepared for the camp this summer," Tellez wrote. The InnoWorks camp required a year of planning. The club has been working throughout this past year to raise money for books, transportation, program materials, food and awards. InnoWorks held events throughout the year to recruit mentors and potential campers. The club also has to plan the camp's daily activities. "Specific activities are chosen for each day so that the kids can get the most for the time they have in the camp," Tellez wrote. These activities are planned to help promote Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education. Each summer the InnoWorks club bases the camp around a main workshop theme. Last year, the InnoWorks workshop theme was Eureka. A typical day at the InnoWorks summer camp consists of two different activities and a mission. Popular activities from last summer included constructing a Rube Goldberg machine, a complicated and overly engineered machine used to perform simple tasks, as well as making soap and building boats and windmills. "We try to make the different science fields the kids encounter vary to show them that there is more to one science and try to capture their interest," Tellez wrote. The InnoWork mentors use competitions to motivate the campers. For each activity, students are placed into teams, which compete to see who can build the best design or attain the fastest time. The winning team for each activity is given points that go toward an overall award at the end of the camp. "It is very helpful in keeping the kids motivated with a lot of the projects," Tellez wrote. The InnoWorks summer camp is attended by around 28 students broken into four groups of people. The first group consists of middle school students who hope to learn about science in a new and innovative way. The second and third groups are comprised of junior and regular mentors. Junior mentors are high school students, who have typically attended the camp in previous years. They assist the regular mentors in keeping the activity groups focused. The regular mentors serve as problem solving guides. The fourth group is composed of the staff, which ensures that activities are properly coordinated and set up. The recruitment process for the camp takes place throughout the year. Emily Hsiao, one of the Directors of the Hopkins InnoWorks chapter, contacts the liaison for Baltimore schools, as well as emailing the schools herself to inform them of the program. In addition, InnoWorks visits different schools in Baltimore and puts on presentations for students. These presentations provide an overview of the InnoWorks program, as well as providing students with a glimpse of potential activities. The Hopkins InnoWorks chapter recruits mentors and staff members by hosting information sessions, in which they explain the program more thoroughly. "We also tell them it is a program that helps [mentors and staff] develop as leaders, teachers and communicators," Tellez wrote. As the Hopkins InnoWorks chapter becomes more developed, Tellez hopes to increase the club's presence on campus. "We definitely plan on becoming more known and hosting more events that can help not only fundraise but help get our name out there to students," Tellez wrote. The Hopkins InnoWorks chapter looks forward to this upcoming summer, as the camp proved successful last year. "Everyone made wonderful memories and some of the students are planning to come back," Tellez wrote. "One of them was actually an eighth grader last year and wants to come back this year as a junior mentor." This year, the Hopkins InnoWorks chapter is co-directed by Omar Hadzipazic and Maher Khalil. The camp will take place from Aug. 6-10 in the Great Hall on the Hopkins Homewood campus.
(04/28/12 5:00am)
The 9th annual Physics Fair was held all day this past Saturday at the Bloomberg Center for Physics and Astronomy. The fair was sponsored by the Department of Physics and Astronomy and featured over 200 active science demonstrations designed to educate attendees about physics in a hands-on setting through a combination of indoor and outdoor activities and competitions, manned by undergraduate students, graduate students and staff. Approximately 700 people of all ages attended the Physics Fair. "We send information out to about 800 high schools, middle schools, grade schools advertising the event. It was originated as an outreach program to show kids that physics can be fun and in the beginning, the main focus was for the kids. Now, it's just evolved into this mini-Spring Fair [for physics]. It's just grown throughout the years," Pam Carmen, one of the organizers of Physics Fair, said. "We advertise it [for ages] 1 to 100 because we truly have something for everybody." The Space Telescope Science Institute brought a demonstration to the fair, as it does annually, which sought to teach attendees about the electromagnetic spectrum through hands-on demonstrations. The demonstration included an infrared camera display for people to examine and learn about by looking at their own appearances in it. "We are used to seeing things through the Hubble Telescope, which primarily looks at things in visible wavelengths of light, so they're things that you can see with the naked eye," Carolyn Slivinski, Education Specialist at the Space Telescope Science Institute, said. "But astronomy works in the entire electromagnetic spectrum which covers everything including gamma rays, x-rays, radio waves and microwaves - all the different wavelengths in addition to the ones you can see. We try to give some hands-on demonstrations to show kids how parts of the light spectrum give you different kinds of information." Professor Extraordinaire Shows, featuring Professor Peter Armitage, punctuated the schedule of activities, which focused on teaching the audience about the physics of light. Also, throughout the day, there were tours of the building through various research labs to demonstrate the department's advanced research. The fair featured a scavenger hunt, a balloon rocket contest, sunspot observations with the Morris Offit Telescope, an exhibition from the National Virtual Observatory and many other activities. The Physics Fair emphasized the importance of teaching science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) to young children so that they can adapt to an increasingly technologically-inclined society. "STEM has gotten more and more of a focus in the public's eye. It's always been a focus for us, so it's nice to see more and more public awareness," Slivinski said. Undergraduate students also attended, learned from and enjoyed the Physics Fair. Many students also recognized how setting a precedent about the significance of STEM is crucial for the next generation. "We have come into an age when science has become more complex and more important, and it's based on things that are tougher to understand. . .people are doubting its use and its purpose," freshman Bobak Kiani said. "I think that going forward, we need to teach these kids the importance of science, the importance of engineering, the importance of all these fields that can come together and help us in the future. Innovation is what we need and that comes through science. These things are always good just as long as you can get kids into these things and hopefully gain passion and understanding." Kiani also emphasized that attending the Physics Fair is worthwhile for people of all ages because of the many interesting aspects. "It was definitely geared towards younger audiences, but I'm sure there was something everyone can learn out of it and at least go there and be like, 'That was cool.'"
(04/28/12 5:00am)
On Tuesday, Apr. 24, the Graduate Representative Organization hosted a discussion about the problems with food and energy that face many poor villages in India. Aravinda Pillalamarri and Ravi Kuchimanchi, activists directly involved in efforts to help India's poorest people, were the primary speakers at the event.Pillalamarri and Kuchimanchi are volunteers for the Association for India's Development (AID), a charity organization that seeks to alleviate inequities in one of the world's poorest countries. Their efforts earned AID the Times of India's Global Contribution to India award in 2012. "This particular event was to raise awareness about the initiative for organic foods. We wanted to examine how India got into this desperate situation, and how they can get out of it with various strategies for food and energy," Sidadharth Dhama, a member of AID, said.Kuchimanchi founded AID in 1991 at the University of Maryland - College Park, where he was studying for a Ph.D. in physics. He contended that the solutions to fix India's problems were interconnected, and sought to focus on developmental issues in India, such as rural electrification and integrated development.Pillalamarri studied English at Hopkins and obtained her Master of Arts in South Asian Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. "While I was in the English department at Hopkins, I was always interested in issues of global justice. AID gave me the opportunity to actually work in these poor villages, and connect with other who wanted to enact the same sort of social change," Pillalamari told The News-Letter. The event began with a slideshow showing a plethora of achievements that India has accomplished, such as launching a rocket, various infrastructure developments and meeting certain energy requirements. However, the slide ended by asking the simple question: but did we miss something?Pillalamarri and Kuchimanchi were there to address what was missing, focusing on the problems with malnutrition and lack of energy. Pillalamarri began by discussing the potential of ragi - a millet-like grain - to revitalizate the market in India because it was easy on farmers, and very nutritious. A decade ago, there was no publicity and, therefore, a lack of production of it. "With AID, we conducted a door to door survey, weighing children to get records of nutrition levels for specific families. This way we could target specific plans for certain families, and make sure that they became aware of the advantages of ragi," Pillalamarri said. AID attempts to solve these various problems through developing interconnected solutions. A few of the projects that the organization has been involved in include building a mobile school in Pune, creating a village library, and setting up vocational training programs in Gujarat. AID is also trying to enhance the health care system, position of women and create micro credit programs for various villages. "Before the next generation loses the ability to harvest and enjoy ragi or other grains, the current generation needs to teach them the ways of these coarse grains and biodiversity. AID will need to help with this important process," Pillalamarri said.Kuchimanchi followed up with a focus on energy and the importance of rural electrification. He cited the statistic that many villages in India have around 1 watt of energy per capita, preventing productivity. "The problem in India is that everyone receives different amounts of energy, and the poorest people don't receive the same amount of energy as the upper classes. We have to think not only about how to provide the energy, but more importantly who we are providing it to," Kuchimanchi said. The last segment of the discussion was about a product that they had produced, which combined their focuses on food and energy. The device was a hay basket that is both made and sold in Indian villages, to be used as a rice cooker. This device allows rice to be half-boiled and then placed in the basket to finish cooking. This conserves energy from the stove, and allows the production of double the amount of rice. There was a brief discussion about how to receive more support from the undergraduates at Hopkins, even though the majority of students in attendance were graduate students. "The best way to engage Hopkins undergraduates is to give them specific projects to work on. If they have a goal, they will be more determined and have a specific end in sight. We have also spoken to medical professors on campus, and are trying to get some students to intern in India, just to introduce basic medicine," Sidadharth said. There were a few undergraduates dispersed among the crowd, which was definitely a starting point for AID. "I came for the free dinner, but I ended up learning a lot about sustainable development in rural India, and how third world solutions can be applied globally," junior Henry Chen said.
(04/28/12 5:00am)
The JHU Hellenic Students Association (HSA) hosted its third annual Greek Night on Friday, Apr. 20 to promote Hellenic culture on campus with a fusion of food, music and dancing. This year's event was the first profitable Greek Night that the HAS has held despite its three year history. Approximately 720 tickets to Greek Night were sold, but there were 780 students who attended the event. The event was so popular that the supply of food dwindled as the night went on and students were admitted to the event without charge. "Our mission statement is to promote Hellenic culture on and off campus. . .Greek Night is the main thing we do on campus. It's the best way to show the dancing, the music and food. It just shows how we have fun. . .we enjoy life," President of HSA, George Petrocheilos, said. Baltimore's Deputy Mayor Kaliope Parthemos was presented with a framed cover of NEO Magazine, on which she is featured, by Demetrios Rhompotis, Publishing Committee Chairman of the magazine. "It's her first term as deputy mayor and [this award] is to recognize her work as Deputy Mayor," Petrocheilos said. Approximately 200 people attended the event from outside of the Hopkins community. Many came to the event in order to see Parthemos receive her award. "I don't think that attracted many Hopkins people, but I know for sure that it attracted many out of Hopkins people," Petrocheilos said. Students who attended the event were able to enjoy food from more than 10 different Greek-owned restaurants of primarily Greek cuisine. The event was sponsored by Former Maryland Secretary of Business and Economic Development Aris Melissaratos as well as John Korologos of Double T Diners, which was the largest food donor. Other restaurant donors included Ikaros, Samos, Timbuktu, Valentino's, Della Notte, Acropolis, Captain James Landing, Speakeasy Saloon and the Hazelwood Inn. Various groups also put on performances throughout the night. A band from New York City, featuring Rena Tsapelas and her accompanying group offered live music throughout the night. The St. Nicholas Hellenic Golden Coins, in conjunction with their director, Maria Kaimakis, offered traditional Greek dancing performances. Dancers were multi-aged, and included performers from ages 8 to 25. The financial success of Greek Night, each year held during Spring Fair, delegitimized doubts about the importance of holding the event. The first year that the event was held, in 2010, approximately 300 people attended but HSA did not profit; they did not charge attendees because it was the first such event. Fewer people attended last year's event, and Petroicheilos therein strove to increase attendance for this year. "For the past few years, people were complaining that this event should not go on because every time we were always owing money to someone and waiting until next year to pay them back," Petrocheilos said. "I really believed that Greek Night was the best way to promote our culture on campus, so we're still going to do it and we're going to find ways to make it happen." The evening's prosperity can be attributed to a refined advertising strategy. Tickets were pre-sold and sold at the event. The event was heavily advertised in the surrounding Maryland communities, included at Greek churches in Maryland and in Greektown. The Hopkins chapter of HSA was also joined by representatives from Hellenic associations from the University of Maryland, Loyola University and Towson University. Diversity was also present within the HSA itself, a combination of undergraduate students from Hopkins, graduate students from the Carey Business School and the Bloomberg School of Public Health, students at the School of Medicine and Ph.D candidates. All of these members participated and helped out throughout the event by serving food. Melissaratos emphasized how proud he was of the achievements that HSA made through Greek Night. "This year's Johns Hopkins Greek Night was a breakthrough event. It drew up to three times more locals and students than ever before and it has established itself as a 'must go to' event for the Greek Community. I was particularly proud of George Petrocheilos, Neil Branis and the entire membership of the Hellenic Students Association who worked tirelessly all evening to satisfy their guests," Melissaratos wrote in an email to The News-Letter. Petrocheilos was extremely thankful for the strong team bolstering his leadership of the event. "I think that this event really shows that our group knows what we're doing. . .everyone didn't just do what they were asked to. Everyone did more than they were asked to," Petrocheilos said. Students praised the food and cultural experience that Greek Night brought. "I visited Greece a couple summers ago, and hearing the music, it's really authentic here," sophomore Laila Smith said. "The food, dancing, being warm, open and inviting is all very much a part of the culture. I think they did a good job representing that." Many attendees also were impressed by the dedication of the performers from the night. "I'm glad there are still students in Baltimore that still are interested in their culture and are proud to share that," sophomore Elaine Markovich said.
(04/28/12 5:00am)
The duty of undergraduate students is to immerse themselves into their chosen field of study while, at the same time, exploring other interests and broadening their perspectives. Dr. Choonwon Kang, the Korean Professor at Hopkins's Center for Language Education, does just that as her knowledge is not only limited to the Korean language and culture. From the start, Kang has had a love for languages. Growing up in Seoul Korea, she studied English in her undergraduate years. "I became interested in linguistics because I liked languages since I was young. My major was English language and literature. But in my department there are more literature course than language courses. But, I want more of a language part, and that is why I studied linguistics from graduate school on," Kang said. Kang recalled reading a lot of books during her college years. Although she knew she wanted to major in English from the start, she used reading as a way to acquire knowledge about other academic and nonacademic disciplines. "I read a lot of books outside of my major during my college years. This broadened my perspectives," Kang said. She also noted that the Korean college experience is significantly different from what she sees at Hopkins. "The college life in Korea is more lively and active," she said. "They have a lot of activities outside of the classroom, such as various events. Hopkins is very academic and serious." After graduating from college, Kang taught English in Korea for two years. Afterwards, she ventured to the states where she got her Master's degree at George Mason University in Virginia and her PhD at Georgetown University in Washington D.C. This time, however, she did not limit herself to a single language, but concentrated in Linguistics, the study of languages and theory of how they develop. "Linguistics is the study of languages," Kang said. "Not specifically studying different languages, but the theory of languages. I apply my theory of linguistics to explain the grammar topics better. Able to show the authentic pronunciation of certain words." While a graduate student, she started to teach Korean during Hopkins's intersession in 1986, as Korean was only offered during that time. Later, the Center for Language Education was established and then starting in 1998, Korean joined the department and became a course offering every semester. Now, Kang is the only Korean professor at Hopkins teaching the First Year, Second Year and Third Year levels. "What I like most about Hopkins, is a good environment to study in and do research. There is a lot of diversity as well, in terms of student make up. I love to deal with the students who are younger than I am. I get a lot of energy, and sometimes new ideas through working with younger people. Hopkins students are all good students," Kang said. Kang has always wanted to be a teacher and shows a passion and enjoyment in the Korean Language. The language is unique and offers a great way for students to widen their scope on different academic fields. "Students should choose Korean as a language, because it is so different from English," she said. "It provides some diversity. When you used to take a foreign language, it was predominantly French and Spanish, but if you want a different language Korean suits you best. Considering all the characters in Chinese and Japanese, Korean is probably the easiest to learn. Grammar wise, there are many characteristics, however." The rise in popularity of Korean culture - as K-pop gains a wider audience and Ajumma remains a prominent establishment - has also increased curiosity in the language. "Currently, there are a lot of Korean pop-cultures, such as dramas, songs, dances and movies. Some people are interested in those areas, and take Korean for that purpose," she said. Kang notes that as a Korean professor, she does more than teach a language. Rather, she introduces a whole other society to her students. "I also teach culture as a language professor, that is the good part of the job," she said. Kang's knowledge is not only limited to Korean. Outside of the classroom, she enjoys reading, hiking and travelling. An avid traveller, she knows a bit of Spanish, French, Chinese and Japanese on top of her proficient Korean and English. "During the breaks, I travel to places like Europe and usually to Korea probably every other year," she said. "Travelling is also another way to broaden one's perspective. Whenever I travel I try to speak their language. If I'm not proficient I try to learn some basic phrases so that I can at least try converse with the local people." This summer, she will be going to Spain and brushing up on her Spanish. Although she continues to enjoy exploring the world, Kang always enjoys coming back to Hopkins. "I have had a good time at Hopkins," she said. "The people I deal with mostly are only the students. Of course there are workshops with my colleagues, but I mainly interact with the students. It was satisfying and rewarding. After my classes, sometimes students come back to see me. And they speak Korean much better than in classes, I feel satisfied." After many years of schooling and teaching, Kang certainly has a panoramic perspective of life as a student, immersed in one's studies and academia. She encourages students to take advantage of the youthful energy college students have to learn and to realize that a year or two is only a small proportion of one's life. "If students want to continue studying, it is better to do it when you are younger," she said. "I have studied almost 10 years for my PhD and as I get older it gets harder to concentrate. It is better to do it when you are younger. There are a lot of uncertainties in the undergrad years. Sometimes one year doesn't make much of a difference in the course of an entire life. If you need to take a break or leave of absence, for your goal, that is alright as well. When you are going through difficult periods, taking a break isn't a bad idea."
(04/28/12 5:00am)
If you don't know what Coachella is, then that's okay, but I will judge you wholeheartedly for your lack of musical taste. Coachella is. . .the Coachella of music festivals. It's a yearly Woodstock with more musical acts, more celebrities, more hipsters and more drugs. This year's lineup included The Black Keys, Swedish House Mafia, the Arctic Monkeys, Radiohead, Bon Iver, The Shins, David Guetta, Feist, Florence + the Machine, Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg, Avicci, Calvin Harris and the Hives. In other words? The $335 tickets actually caused this aspiring music journalist to have an intense moral debate as to whether or not work the corner of North Charles & 33rd Street in order to begin a Coachella fund. Alas, dear readers, I instead decided to keep my dignity intact and watch the musical acts via YouTube from the comforts of my dorm room. Upon doing so, I have come to several conclusions: 1. According to the Coachella website, "The most popular way to experience Coachella is to camp on the polo grounds." I do not do camping. However, the fact that the safari package includes a shakir style tent with showers, bathroom facilities, a yoga village, late night snacks and a farmers' market, I am beginning to reconsider my definition of what it means to be outdoorsy. Oh, and did I mention that the Coachella staff will drive you to the concert(s) of your choice in a golf cart? Yes, I most definitely want in. 2. Coachella is most definitely an excuse to dress like you're a boho hipster and/or have tripped out on acid and to wear no clothes at all. Since I have recently decided I should become fashionable, I think my wardrobe would benefit from buying copious amounts of crochet, printed dresses and rompers. 3. Speaking of the widespread drug use that would trouble this neurotic and frazzled editor, I have come to the conclusion that, upon attending Coachella, I would find amusements such as tripped-out people thinking that a hologram of Tupac was, in fact, a resurrected version of the rapper extremely entertaining. Also, I would be the first one to take paparazzi shots of Rihanna rolling some sort of smokeable substance off of her bodyguard's head. All's fair in love and journalism. 4. Back to that Tupac hologram. Can they bring that back with Dick Clark come New Year's Eve so that I never have to hear Ryan Seacrest host anything else ever again? If they can't work that out, I want Stanley Tucci, ?? la Ceasar Flickerman, to host A Rockin' New Years' Eve, partly because I liked his blue hair, partly because I've become obsessed with The Hunger Games and mostly because I like the unnatural pauses in his voice. So there you have it, dear readers: an anthropological study of Coachella from my laptop. If any of you would like to contribute to the "Devin Alessio Coachella Fund," I'll be on the corner with the homeless man from Subway and a clever cardboard sign and a contribution jar.
(04/28/12 5:00am)
Two weeks ago, my column was all about media (as in plural of medium) and why, say, TV is a different medium than film. Basically, the answer to that question comes down to senses and time. Film, for instance, is defined by actively engaging our sight and hearing (as we can physically see the action and hear the dialogue, rather than imagine it), but it's also meant to be consumed in one sitting. One film is one work of art from beginning to end. There may be sequels or prequels or spin-off whatevers, but those are fundamentally different pieces of work. Television, however, is meant to be consumed in staccato sittings. You watch an episode knowing the plot will continue the next week. You watch a season that continues the next year. Last time was all about the mechanics of the principle, rather than the nitty-gritty of how that affects our storytelling, since media are about communicating stories and the intricacies therein. I'll start with film, since it was functionally the first new media. Film, with active sight and sound and one sitting's worth of material, is built for very compelling but simple stories. And simple doesn't mean shallow. Very deep stories happen in film, and they happen a lot more easily than they do in other media. The reasoning behind that comes from how easily we interface with them. Sight and sound are our two dominant senses, so it's very simple to engage with them. We like whole stories told in one sitting, which is why episodic TV shows still have complete arcs inside of episodes. It's not hard to win us over in film because it so closely resembles real life. However, not all stories are built for movies, especially those that are intense character studies. Characters should develop during the time we interact with them, both in the long run and in one sitting. When we spend the entirety of a movie with one character, they had better be different at the end, because otherwise why have I wasted an hour and a half? Luke Skywalker changes fundamentally in every Star Wars movie. And that's important. Syncopated media does it differently. TV, for instance, is almost entirely built around compounding tiny changes, if there are changes at all. Sitcoms are built on a paradigm of change, but also of modularity. We watch Homer Simpson showcase the love for his wife in one episode, but then see him (comedically) screw things up again and again. Is he changing in the long run? Well, maybe you could track it, but the real answer is that it changes us. Great sitcoms (Futurama, Community and 30 Rock, let's say) do this. Fry in Futurama's first season is different than in the sixth, and the same can be said for Troy, Liz and all the shows' main characters. In TV, we want to see change, but more importantly, we want to see growth. There are very engaging mechanisms for stories. People don't change overnight, hell, some don't change at all (most often, those are antagonists, by the by). TV reflects that. People change gradually, one grain of sand at a time, and TV showcases that kind of change for us. Graphic novels are meant to be read in one sitting, or at least broken into sequential parts, but comics are the TV to graphic novels' film. They passively engage our senses of sound, touch, smell and taste, but are visually active, which is why comics are generally action-based. Action is visual. Melodrama, however, is auditory. Say we want to pinpoint why superhero comics sell more. It's because of that principle. That's not to say that you can't have melodramatic superheroes, but the form more commonly lends itself to action. Yes, Spider-man is going to fret about Aunt May, but he's going to do it while he punches Doc Ock. But comics do something else that separates them from film or TV; they portray time differently. See, for comics, time doesn't pass normally. In a movie it does; we watch and feel seconds pass by as seconds, but in a comic, you can't tell how many seconds are represented by a panel. Some panels are half a second, some are half a minute. More importantly, the space between panels also holds time, because between one panel and another, everything happens in our imagination. This time dilating and strobing effect is best used for longer, more developed and complex plots that take place across years. Think about it, it's very hard to track time in a film without a title card reading SIX MONTHS LATER. But comics are built on captions like that, so it isn't jarring to read SIX MONTHS LATER. For this reason, comics tend to play that game a lot. One issue of Batman will cover an incredible number of scenes, locales and plot points in an incredibly short space. This is why a 22-page story feels complete as one issue, even though it takes five minutes to read. Games activate the senses of sight, sound and touch (controllers, folks) to form a complete experience over multiple sittings. They engender a crazy mix of storytelling tropes, most of which have never been seen at all. Because games engage both dominant senses, sight and sound, while also allowing for direct input with another, touch, we actually have agency in the stories of games. I make this character move, rather than watch him move. I tell him what to say or see. Those are incredibly engaging experiences which completely change our storytelling mechanics. Firstly, we add another layer of engagement to keep us interested (gameplay) but also we relate much more to the story than a film or TV show will. We make Commander Shepard shoot reapers. For the most part, games take advantage of that to tell powerful stories. Even games that aren't blockbuster hits tend to register somewhere on people's emotional scales. The big thing with games, however, is about them finding their artfulness. It took film a long time to do so, and I expect games are slowly getting there. Right now, it's an industry driven by businessmen rather than artists, and while some artists have tricked the businessmen into publishing artful games, we still have trouble getting games on par with novels, movies, or even to a certain extent, TV. But that's an article for another columnist. Media are devoid of art. They're devoid of story. We place story and art into them as vessels for communication, and it's very important that we understand what that vessel is built of. Because not every story fits in every vessel, hopefully we can start thinking about that distinction. I suspect that once we do, we'll be seeing many more fully realized pieces, rather than walking out of some movie saying, "Yeah, the book was better."
(04/28/12 5:00am)
Looking back at all my "Ting Talks" articles, I realize I haven't really said anything of worth - nothing that hasn't already been said by professional bloggers anyway. A more apt title for this column would have been "Ting Talks about Her Thoughts and Feelings on Entertainment Minutiae" but you can imagine how terribly unsexy that sounds as a column name. Columns I wish I had thought to write include "Ring a Ting," a take-no-shit advice column, and "Mingling Ting a Ling," in which I venture forth to test the acceptability of my social skills. I can't complain too much, though, since "Ting Talks" has been a self-indulgent run of articles exploiting The News-Letter's tolerance of my own self-importance. A few of my best and brightest articles have been on Willow Smith's "Whip My Hair," Downton Abbey, scandalous celebrity nudes on the Internet and, randomly, New York Fashion Week. There have been weird fallouts from my very biased diatribes. Most reactions tend towards mild bewilderment over how many hours I log while aimlessly trawling the Internet. The most outlandish reaction has definitely been getting a LinkedIn request from Jason Eng after writing a comparison of Just Jared and Perez Hilton, two entertainment gossip sites. That's right, Just Jared's brother wanted to "friend me" via social networking tool. No word yet from Perez Hilton. With all the wacky crap that's gone on, whether in my head or physical reality, it's no wonder that I approach my final "Ting Talks" with a sense of relief as well as regret. Will I miss putting out the plethora of emotions I have about, say, Beyonc?? and Jay-Z and baby Blue? Yes. I'm self-centered enough to think that people want to read what I write. Will you as readers miss me? Probably not. But I'm okay with that. In any case, I'm going to take full advantage of this being my final installation to the three-semester journey that has been "Ting Talks" and ramble on for approximately 800 words. As I do. So sometimes I do this thing in my head where I pit one celebrity brother against the other brother in a celebrity stardom showdown, and try to analyze who would win. In a more organized world, I would have intense March Madness brackets for all of the celebrity siblings I obsess over, but I have neither the time nor the inclination to do so. Instead, I'll just focus on all that fraternal love floating around Hollywood. Let's talk about the Hemsworths, Chris and Liam. You know, those big, beefy blond dudes you see lighting up big screens everywhere? For the longest time, it was older brother, Chris Hemsworth, who had the more legitimate acting career, starring in the big budget super hero franchise as Thor, God of Thunder. But with the release of The Hunger Games to theaters this past March, younger brother Liam seems to be moving up the ranks of stardom, quickly gaining ground on the hammer-wielding God. What tips me over to Chris's side is, well, the arm candy - the women they bring to the award show junkets. Chris brings his wife, Elsa Pataky, a Spanish beauty that attended journalism school, while Liam brings Disney star Miley Cyrus, whose recent accomplishments include sexy cage-dancing in 2010's radio hit "Can't Be Tamed." Let's just call a square a square, and admit Chris wins this round. Liam, dude, Miley? Really? The other terrible twosome I want to assess is the Wilson brothers, the blond Owen Wilson and the darker haired Luke. Perhaps this is an unfair cage match. Even knowing that Owen Wilson is a pseudo-intellectual (he graduated from UT-Austin with a degree in English), I can't help but feel that his mane of flowing gold locks hides a particularly small brain. Having only seen him in Night at the Museum and Midnight in Paris, I can say with little authority that Owen Wilson makes movies stupider. His portrayal of a jaded writer in Midnight in Paris considerably tarnished the otherwise polished film. Thus, when faced with a choice between the brother, I say decisively, I choose you, Luke Wilson. What other brothers dominate the film and television industry? Well, the Afflecks, for one. Though America was introduced to the duo in 1997's Good Will Hunting as cousins marauding through the streets of Boston, Ben and Casey have since gone their separate ways. Ben, the more established actor with titles like Armeggedon, Shakespeare in Love, Pearl Harbor and Dogma under his belt, has nonetheless faded into the background in recent history. I'm sad to say it's probably due to the family man in him. His marriage to Jennifer Garner seems to have shifted his priorities towards fatherhood and beardedness. Casey, on the other hand, seems to be on the rise, receiving an Oscar nod for his work in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford in 2007. As director of mockumentary I'm Still Here, Casey is also responsible for that time Joaquin Phoenix went insane (Phoenix's aimless actions were attributed to the film, in which he attempted to live the life of a rapper in one short year). Casey, we give this round to you, but if Ben ever wants to start acting seriously again, I would reassess. It's been real, guys. I challege you to fill my sassy celebrity culture shoes in future issues, to have super important thoughts and feelings. Signing off, for the last time, Hsia-Ting Chang.
(04/28/12 5:00am)
Last week alone, I went through 18 Zyrtecs, 24 Fluticasone nasal squirts and four rolls of Charmin Ultra Soft Mega Rolls (for my nose, that is). By these numbers, this can only mean one thing. It's springtime in Baltimore. And in case you're wondering, no, my sinuses are still not clear. I'm that sniffling, nose-honking kid you don't want to be sitting next to in class. I'm also the kid who, inspired by Mad Men and a personal "green movement," is trying to bring back the pocket square, more commonly referred to by the less-refined as the "handkerchief." According to the experts at toiletpaperhistory.net (no, that's not a joke), an average tree makes 810 rolls of toilet paper. So, if I did the math correctly, that would mean my hanky, in all its snot-filled, grandpa-ish glory, will help me save 0.49 percent of a tree every week. By the end of allergy season, I'll have saved nearly one tenth of a tree. And by the end of my life, I'll have saved something like seven whole trees. Well, to be completely honest, I don't care much about the trees. I'm just tired of buying toilet paper, and I'm starting to get weird looks from the CharMar employees. But if you have some odd qualm about carrying around your own crusted, nasal mucus in your back pocket or purse, then take up something else for me this spring: jogging. Despite what Ron Burgundy said, no, it's not a new fad. It's about 2 million years old and was crucial to the evolution of our upright physique. And, no, it doesn't have a soft "J." According to Daniel Lieberman, who has published works on the evolution of running in Nature, early humans used our extreme endurance to scavenge and chase prey to exhaustion. We were born to run. Now, I'm not going to tout the health benefits of jogging (like weight loss, decreased risk of heart disease, reduced blood pressure, increased bone density, decreased risk of diabetes, decreased risk of cancer, improved sleep, a strenghtened immune system, decreased stress levels...oops, sorry), but I am going to tell you that jogging will improve your relationship with Baltimore. Did I mention that it also stimulates neurogenesis in the hippocampus? For those of you non-premeds - wait, why are you reading my column - that means running gives you a better memory, which equals better learning, which equals better grades, which equals more success, which equals more money, which equals a cooler car, which equals more babes. Okay, well maybe that's just my thought process, but this also reminds me that sex also stimulates hippocampal neurogenesis. Well, that's a story for another time, but for those of you skeptical premeds that missed the seminar by Princeton neuroscientist Dr. Elizabeth Gould, do a quick PubMed search of her name for the hard proof. Granted, all this has only been demonstrated in rodents, but it conveniently brings my logical progression full circle: more babes equals more sex, which equals more hippocampal neurogenesis, and that equals a better memory. Now that we know jogging and sex work together in a mutually beneficial cycle, let's continue with where we started: jogging around Baltimore in the spring. First, please don't jog on campus. You just get in the way and you really don't look that cool with your iPhone strapped to your sweaty arm. Plus, a number of great runs are within running distance (pun intended) of campus. Run north to the 4100 block of St. Paul or Greenway to check out the Sherwood tulip gardens of the Guilford neighborhood. If you are more ambitious and want to get away from the urban scene, head just west of campus and San Martin Drive to Stoney Run Trail for a secluded trail run that follows a stream. Believe it or not, a jog to the Inner Harbor via Charles Street or St. Paul Street is less than five miles round-trip, and on your way, you will pass the comely architecture of Mt. Vernon and Baltimore's business district. You can also catch the JHMI to Penn Station, then the Charm City Circulator to start your run at the Inner Harbor. From there you can jog around historic Federal Hill, Fell's Point or Canton. While you're at it eye-out local restraunts and shops to check out on weekends. Other recommended, nearby running locales are Lake Montebello and Druid Hill park, where you can jog by the Baltimore Zoo. Pretty soon you'll be creating your own running routes. You can then log on to MapMyRun.com or NikeRunning.com for free and map out the distance of your jogging escapades. So, get out there. Jogging is going to boost your smarts, money, sex life and most importantly, your relationship with Baltimore's beautiful, nose-tingling, eye-watering spring. ?
(04/28/12 5:00am)
Passion Pit's concert was touted as the highlight of Spring Fair this year, and for good reason. Despite their relative obscurity - their previous album, Manners, peaked at 54 on the charts, and none of their singles have risen above 105 on the Billboard Top 100 - tickets sold out quickly, and the crowd was incredibly excited for the music to begin. When the opening act, Kingsfoil, took the stage, people started to freak out before the music even started. Their first drummer, Joe Cipollini, recently left the band, and his replacement is none other than Malcolm in the Middle's Frankie Muniz. His performance at Hopkins, which was only his fourth performance with Kingsfoil, was greeted by a mob chanting "Frankie, Frankie, Frankie!" Perhaps in response, Frankie went all out, displaying more energy than would normally be expected from the former child star. He threw and broke a uncountable number of drumsticks during their set. Several people the front of the crowd even managed to catch a few of them. Of course, while seeing Frankie Muniz do something after his tv show was pretty cool, a drummer does not make a band. Kingsfoil's laid back indie rock sound is held together by the original duo that the band formed around, Jordan Davis and Tristan Martin. Jordan is also the leading vocalist, so if you remember the concert at all (a rarity amongst concert goers given that it was both four-twenty and a Friday) he should stand out. Tristan might have been a little harder for you to identify, but don't let his less prominent position on the stage fool you into thinking he is any less important to the band. Tristan is the only member of Kingsfoil with long hair, and he was alternatively rocking the guitar and the electric piano. After they finished their set, Kingsfoil stuck around to watch Passion Pit and generally were really cool guys, which set them apart from the other band of the night. Generally, Passion Pit is pretty amazing, what with their bouncy electro pop, their almost indecipherable lyrics, their stage presence and everything else. Many people were excited for seeing and it was great seeing them at Hopkins. Unfortunately, unlike Kingsfoil, who seemed happy just to get to play here, Passion Pit treated their performance like a job, and not like art. There was no love in their performance, and, while the lead singer, Mikel Angelakos, had some energy, he gave off the impression that he really needed a good nap. Maybe this was due their tour schedule; their Hopkins appearance was their fourth show in many days, and they had to travel from Harrisburg the day of the concert. Or maybe it was due to the work they've been putting into their delayed third album, Gossamer, which comes out on July 24. Of course, the drive from Harrisburg is only an hour and a half, and they've been working on the album since 2010, so who knows. In the end, while they gave a great show, it could have been so much better if they had been as upbeat as their music. Despite all of that, two of Passion Pit's songs were definitely the high points of the concert. When "Sleepy Head" and "Little Secrets" came on, the roar of happiness from the crowd was almost deafening. Everyone seemed to know the words to those two singles, and with the number of people singing along, you almost couldn't hear Angelakos' heavily synthed up voice booming from the speakers. Whenever the bass drum kicked during "Sleepy Head," you could feel the vibrations in the floor from the people jumping. It really was a great time.
(04/28/12 5:00am)
If you're looking for a healthier way of living, be sure to check out the 34th annual Baltimore Farmers' Market and Bazaar, open from April 1 to December 23. Although it first opened at Market Place and then relocated to Pratt & President Streets, it is now conveniently located underneath the Jones Falls Expressway, and Hopkins students can get there simply by taking the #11 MTA bus from the stop outside Mattin Center, getting off at Saratoga and walking east two blocks. Every year, this market offers produce, meats, herbs, flowers, crafts and more all at economical prices. There will be a large quantity of crisp fruits and vegetables, poultry, baked goods, herbs and dary and nuts as far as the eye can see. In addition, they offer cultural cuisine like pit beef sandwiches, pastries and gourmet treats. Not only does going to the Farmers' Market mean eating healthier, but it also means supporting your top local farmers, as they will be providiing organically raised and produced products: Cheese, milk, yogurt, beef, pork and more. Finally, the market will offer a large selection of fresh fish and seafoods for perusal. Vegan items are also sold for those who wish to avoid meat products. Just because this is a Farmers' Market, though, doesn't mean that all they offer is food. There is an offering of unique crafts and collectibles for you to decorate your dorm or apartment with, or just to use, in the case of jewelry, handbags and hair accessories. Be sure to get there early, as on peak Sundays, more than 8,000 people may attend the Baltimore Farmers' Market.
(04/28/12 5:00am)
By KATIE MALZBENDER For The News-Letter
(04/28/12 5:00am)
This Single of the Week comes to you from the synth-pop band Merchandise, off of their new album that has been over a year in the making, Children of Desire, produced by Kartoga Records. The single is called "Satellite" and marks a significant change from the usual Merchandise sound. It is much more mellow and quiet than their typical songs. But that mysterious calmness is exactly what gives "Satellite" its uniquely haunting beauty. In some ways, it is reminiscent of the post-punk band Smashing Pumpkins, but as you listen you will notice that "Satellite" also is as modern indie as they come. The clear-cut piano chords in the beginning of the song that carry throughout its duration create a lovely rhythm that keeps listeners from getting completely lost in the intense dreaminess of the lyrics. Merchandise hails from Tampa, Fl. and consists of members from the popular bands Nazi Dust and Cult Ritual. Both of these groups' sounds are of a purely punk background and pretty dark, but, together, the members managed to create a new sound that retains its punk influences yet successfully keeps a light atmosphere throughout their single "Satellite." Merchandise began their first large US tour this month with the release of Children of Desire. They will be moving throughout the midwest and into the south for the rest of April on a mision to spread its musical gospel across the country. You should check out Merchandise and "Satellite" off of Children of Desire. It can be downloaded for free online via Katorga Works. Its relaxed melody is perfect for the last lazy days leading up to finals.
(04/28/12 5:00am)
The Attacca Quartet played for an intimate audience at The Johns Hopkins Evergreen Museum & Library on Saturday, Apr. 21, wowing attendees with their performance of Leo?? Jan??cek's "Intimate Letters." The praise- and prize-ridden chamber group, which hails from Julliard, performed three pieces that were the d??nouement of this year's Music at Evergreen series: Joseph Haydn's String Quartet No. 67 in F major, Op. 77, No. 2, "Lobkowitz," Jan??cek's String Quartet No. 2, "Intimate Letters," and Ludwig van Beethoven's String Quartet in A Minor, Op. 132. Each piece was written at the end of its composer's life, setting the tone of closure. The Music at Evergreen series is sponsored by the Evergreen House Foundation as part of an effort to continue Alice Warder Garrett's tradition of supporting and hosting contemporary musicians and artists in her home. The chamber concert series has existed since 1952, bringing more than 200 young artists to the Garretts's doorstep over the past 60 years. The four young musicians of Attacca Quartet took their places on the small stage and immediately began the Haydn piece, which began monotonously but picked up color as the movements progressed. Violinist Amy Schroeder's grace is immediately apparent, as is cellist Andrew Yee's dedication to the performance aspect of his art. Emotion moves from the staff lines straight to his fingers and face, showing itself in his varied expressions and bouts of air-vibrato. The group, which formed in 2003 at the Julliard School, consists of violinists Schroeder and Keiko Tokunaga, violist Luke Fleming and cellist Andrew Yee. They made their professional debut just five years ago in 2007, and they have quickly made a name for themselves at international festivals, concerts and competitions. After the Haydn, the Attacca Quartet spoke up. Yee addressed the crowd - "Hello, everybody" - and then introduced the next piece, Jan??cek's "Intimate Letters." "I'm going to tell you the story of this quartet as [Jan??cek] told it to us through his writing," Yee said. "When people talk about Jan??cek, they usually focus on the fact that when he got a little older, he was infatuated with a younger woman," he said, then paused. "Which was a little creepy." "I'm going to tell you a different story." With clips from "Intimate Letters" as the soundtrack, Yee began to retell the last 20 years of Jan??cek's life. At 63, Jan??cek vacationed in a small village near his home - a melodic line from viola set the scene - where he saw a young woman, sitting on the grass. Her name was Kamila, and she was 25. He fell in love at once - a frenzied tremolo emerged from the group - and, the more time they spent together, the more his love for her grew. Cue crescendo. The string quartet's attempt to renew the marriage of music and storytelling can only be applauded; it helps bridge the composer and the listener in a way that benefits both. Yee related a sweet love story instead of the overplayed old-man-pines-for-young-woman retelling.Jan??cek sent over 700 letters to Kamila over the next 11 years, expressing his love for her over and over again. "You know, we dream about paradise, about heaven, and we never get to it. So I dream about you and I know that you're the unattainable sky . . . You are entire in my soul; so it's enough for me to want you always," Jan??cek writes in a letter from 1924. He understood that their relationship could never be realized or consummated, and wrote the third movement of "Intimate Letters" as a lullaby dedicated to their impossible unborn child. The Attacca Quartet's performance of "Intimate Letters" was the undeniable star of the show. The violist received well-deserved attention, and the four instruments played with harmonics. Other layering effects made it seem as though the group was in a rapid state of mitosis, transforming into a chamber orchestra and then a symphony, before a sudden collapse back into the body of a small string quartet. The concert concluded with Beethoven's String Quartet in A Minor, Op. 132, one of the last pieces he ever composed. Because it was written at the end of his life, Beethoven's health problems and struggles are mirrored in the emotional mood and timbre of the work. The piece gifted a solo to Schroeder and was a victorious finish to the concert.
(04/28/12 5:00am)
Last Thursday evening, Apr. 19, an anonymous email was sent to the Office of the Dean of Student Life reporting hazing activities that have been occurring and will be coming in the near future. As a result, all sororities and fraternities on campus are currently under investigation by Dean of Student Life Susan Boswell, Associate Dean Dorothy Sheppard and Director of Student Activities Rob Turning. "It really is just a gathering of information," Turning said. "So myself, Dean Sheppard, Dean Boswell, we are kind of involved in this. And we had very little information to go on because there just wasn't much information other than hazing was occurring. Period. That's kind of like all they gave us. So that's really what we were able to react to." The following Friday, Turning sent an email to the chapter presidents, as well as new members and pledges of all the on-campus Greek organizations in response to the report. "The Office of the Dean of Student Life has received information from parents about hazing activities that have happened and that are planned in the near future. Dean Susan Boswell, Associate Dean Dorothy Sheppard and I will be investigating these allegations immediately," the email stated. Attached to the email was a list that outlined some actions that were considered hazing including but not limited to: "Deprivation of privileges granted to other members", "Requiring new members/pledges to perform duties not assigned to other members", "Socially isolating new members/pledges", "Name calling", "Expecting certain items to always be in one's possession (i.e. matches, coins, condoms, lighters, etc.)", "Expecting new members/pledges to perform personal service to other members such as carrying books, errands, cooking, cleaning etc" and "Sleep deprivation." Turning emphasized that the single report they received was extremely vague and that it will be difficult to target one specific group due to the lack of information. "We're not even sure from the email that we received if it was a fraternity or a sorority," Turning said. The person reporting the incidents of hazing expressed that they wished to be anonymous and did not reveal his or her identity to the Office of Student Life. "With the very limited information we had, we didn't really have any identifiable information for one particular group. We are not even sure that it was a parent [who sent the report]. We're assuming that the email address that it came from wasn't their standard email address. We are pretty sure it was an email address they had created to make this report," Turning said. Turning said in a later conversation that the only indication that the person who reported was a parent was that the email referred to the victim as their "child" and "student." Although hazing on campus is something to take very seriously, Turning is optimistic and sees this email as responsible and a strong attempt against hazing. "The good thing about this is that I would consider it to be a proactive email in that they said they said things were going to occur, they weren't sure what. It was probably no more than three or four sentences long. Hopefully this particular investigation will conclude because these hazes will not occur," he said. The investigation, which started this past Monday, will be examining all Greek organizations on campus. If caught hazing its pledges, the consequences could range from a formal warning from the University to expulsion of the group or affiliated individuals. "Hopefully, the intelligent students that are the presidents of these organizations receive that email and understood that this could be something that they could go to the conduct board for and this is something that not only could their organization get throw off campus but they could be personally held responsible as president of the organization. . .So the presidents definitely have some stake in making sure the hazing doesn't occur," Turning said. As the investigations continue, Turning says the Office of Student Life has been able to eliminate certain organizations based on their initiation date. A fraternity or sorority without any more pledges to haze most likely did not trigger the report. "We were able to, obviously, eliminate some groups from consideration," Turning said. "SAE was one of the groups that would have been eliminated because they initiated their new members over two weeks ago. So we were fairly reasonably assured it wasn't SAE because they've been brothers for two weeks now. The four Panhellenic sororities have been initiated for probably over three weeks now, so we were eliminating groups as we went along because we knew that their pledge programs had ended and their new members had been initiated." Although initiation may typically be the time for hazing, initiation dates are not the only clues to when and where hazing is occurring on campus. When The News-Letter brought this up, Turning agreed. "I guess there is [the possibility of hazing post-initiation]," Turning said. "If somehow they're thinking that initiating them into the brotherhood or sisterhood you know through the national organization and then they're hazing them. Hazing is hazing whenever it happens." The Office of Student Life has also received help from Hopkins security and off-duty Baltimore police that watch the campus. They have been given the list of actions considered to be hazing and will also be watching out for more information. While all of Hopkins-affiliated Greek life is in question, some fraternities have little concern over the investigation. "We know hazing is illegal. It's a pity they're looking into it for so long, and hopefully it's not a problem on our campus and no one's been hurt. But no one here is concerned. We don't really see any negative consequences because we don't haze. So there's really nothing," sophomore Elias Rosenblatt, President of Alpha Epsilon Pi, said.
(04/28/12 5:00am)
The 41st annual Spring Fair was held this past weekend at Hopkins, continuing the yearly springtime custom of food and festivity at Homewood. Hopkins's Spring Fair is the largest student-run university celebration in the country, and this year's festival was the best attended and most profitable in its history, Spring Fair leaders said. "It was, in a word, fantastic," junior Michelle Kirk, Executive Co-Chairman for Spring Fair 2012, said in the aftermath of the weekend, which drew record crowds from Hopkins and the wider local community. In spite of unprecedented attendance, the activities kept in line with past tradition: food vendors gathered on the Freshman Quad, local craftsmen sold their products on Keyser Quad and hundreds flocked to the Beer Garden in the President's Garden where student groups served those of age as a fundraising effort. Spring Fair this year, however, saw a higher number of food and craft vendors, a larger "children's section" in front of Gilman Hall and the return of carnival rides, back after a hiatus due to Brody Learning Commons construction. The keynote concert, headlined by Passion Pit, sold out for the first time since Spring Fair staffers incorporated See SPRING FAIR, page A4 SPRING FAIR, from A1 the Friday night music event in the mid-1990s. All of the weekend's events were organized, hosted and sponsored by undergraduates. This year's Spring Fair staff - spearheaded by co-chairmen Kirk and senior Drew Rosenberg - was comprised of 46 Hopkins students working in tandem with administrators, the Student Government Association (SGA), the Johns Hopkins Organization for Programming (the HOP), student radio station WJHU, the City of Baltimore and various security agencies. "We couldn't have done this alone. We start with a budget of essentially zero every year, and we extend our reach wherever we can for help - doing our best to keep it a student-run event, of course," Rosenberg said. The weekend began on Thursday night with a fireworks display over Levering Quad, followed by a beer party on the Levering Patio sponsored by PJ's Pub. Food trucks arrived the Freshman Quad by 8 a.m. the next morning; come noon, crowds had gathered in anticipation fair fare, including Spring Fair staples like fried Oreo cookies and jumbo turkey legs, from vendors from the Baltimore area. The Beer Garden, held annually in the President's Garden, drew masses from its opening at noon on Friday until taps closed at 7 p.m. on Saturday. Various campus philanthropic organizations manned the taps, which offered sixteen varieties of beer, including more refined brews of local microbreweries. "It's a great endeavor," Kirk said. "A beer ticket is sold, people use that ticket at the stalls operated by student groups to buy a beer, and the proceeds from that ticket go to that student group." This year, profits from beer ticket sales topped $30,000, Spring Fair treasurer Morgan Byce said. However, in spite of the success of the Beer Garden, Kirk and Rosenberg dispelled the notion that the weekend-long celebration is simply three days devoted to intoxication. Kirk cited the accomplishments of Greek life philanthropy events outside of the Milton S. Eisenhower Library, such as Pike Bike and Pi a Pi Phi. Kirk also asserted the staunch security at venues where alcohol flowed freely. While Hopkins security officials patrolled the Beach for bottles and cans, employees of Security, Athletic Facilities & Events (S.A.F.E.) Management, a local contract security firm hired by Spring Fair staff, guarded the gates of the Beer Garden to inspect identification. Rosenberg stated that Spring Fair staff is not liable for any alcohol-related infractions or incidents, but expressed relief that this year saw few of either. "We like to keep our bases covered, which is why we're tight on security," he said. "I've had three years of experience, and this was a pretty smooth year," Kirk added. Apart from the rain, which started late Saturday night and cut short many of Sunday's events, the weekend's greatest damper was not on campus, across the street, Kirk said. "Spring Fair endorses the First Amendment, and encourages activists to use the marketplace we provide as a forum," she said. "The pro-life and pro-choice debate is a consistently hot topic, and we support the discourse as long as it doesn't detract from the rest of the weekend. That wasn't the case this year." She alluded to the pro-life assembly that gathered on the Charles Street median across from the Beach on Friday afternoon, using posters containing graphic images of aborted fetuses to distract passersby. Within an hour, a handful of students arrived outside of Charles Street Market with homemade signs, objecting the protest halfway across the street. "Fortunately, it dispelled pretty quickly," Kirk said. "In all, there weren't too many speed bumps this weekend - I was in bed by nine on Sunday night."
(04/27/12 5:00am)
]New research from Hopkins has found that many cases of epilepsy are misdiagnosed due to similar symptoms from an entirely different disease. According to a paper published in the journal Seizure, these patients are instead suffering from what senior investigator Jason Brandt calls psychogenic non-epileptic seizures, or PNES, resulting from emotional trauma because of the inability to handle stress in an appropriate manner. True epileptic seizures result from abnormal electrical discharges occurring in the brain, leading to a variety of symptoms characterized as seizures, which can range from long staring spells to violent and uncontrollable muscle spasms. Regardless of the symptom though, the root in all epileptic seizures comes from a disorder in the brain. However, PNES is caused by an overload of emotional stress which causes an individual to transform mental dysfunction into physical symptoms. Defunct brain signals from epilepsy can be visualized by an instrument called an electroencephalogram (EEC) which monitors the electrical activity in the brain and can give doctors an inside look at what is happening inside an individual's head. This instrument was one of several pieces that led Brandt to believe some diagnoses of epilepsy were faulty. According to a 2005 study on 46 patients, 54 percent of EEC's were misread as showing epileptic brain signals. Another key indicator that patients with PNES did not have epilepsy was the fact that anti-seizure medications often failed to alleviate symptoms. In the Hopkins study, the researchers surveyed 40 patients with PNES, 20 patients with epilepsy, and 40 healthy patients about stressful events in the past five years and the amount of stress these events induced. From their data, researchers concluded that all three groups of subjects reported a similar amount of stressful events in the time frame specified. However, the PNES group reported higher levels of stress compared with their epileptic and healthy counterparts. In further interviews, researchers found the PNES group often failed to cope with their stressful events, leading to increased levels of trauma and subsequent onset of PNES. Being misdiagnosed caries a high cost for individuals, both financially and emotionally. Costs in medication and hospital stays are high, while social costs can be mentally draining as patients work to fight a seemingly unbeatable disease. Furthermore, in a particularly interesting twist to PNES, the use of service dogs trained to anticipate epileptic seizures often induced PNES related seizures due to the high suggestibility of PNES patients. With a higher awareness for the possibility of misdiagnoses, Brandt's work could open doors for differentiating between epileptic seizures and PNES. Furthermore, proper diagnosis could aid physicians in better psychological treatment for PNES patients, giving them the help they need.
