12
New com.ic strip! Check it out on page 8 The California Tech VOLUME cn, NUMBER 2 PASADENA, CALIFORNIA SEPTEMBER 29, 2000 Donut development team gets off its ASCIT Tech volleyball sweeps tournament New Center for Student Services opens PLEASE SEE DONUT ON PAGE 3 years. Teaching has also been in- tegral to his career. He has taught a variety of courses- ranging from management to ethics and philosophy in sev- eral different countries. His work has attracted the attention of many organiza- tions, including the Western Association of College and Employers, which bestowed its Outstanding Service Award on him this year. Houser holds a B.A., an M.A., and ,a Ph.D in educa- tional psychology and higher education. in development. The project has employed three students: Jonathan Dama, Robert Christy and Dylan Simon. When the upgrade was ap- proved,in February, ASCIT allocated $8,000. At some point during this summer, however, those funds were transferred to the ASCIT endowment. On the Features Frosh Camp 3 Rotation Rules 5 Rotation Dinner 6-7 Map of Pasadena..... 8-9 Shannon writes an ar- ticle .... 42 Inside the zech BY DANA SADAVA The Usual Editorial 2 Outside World 2 Bookworm 4 Foxtrot 10 The Dean's Corner 11 "Before you get married to a career, you have to date around a bit," advised Jerry Houser, the new Director of the Career Development Cen- ter. He should know. Arriving at Caltech to replace now-re- tired Sally Asmundson, Houser has almost twenty years of experience in the ca- reer planning profession. Before joining the staff a month ago, he was the direc- tor of USC's Career Planning and Placement Center for ten CDC director steps in Students selling books have no trouble fetching a better price than the Bookstore's buyback rate. The bookmart grew from former ASCIT president Baldeep Sadhaal's vision to update the association's website (http:// www.its.caltech.edu!-ascit) with a "unified look and feel." Donut.caltech.edu has been years in planning and weeks The last of the groups lo- cated in the newly-opened building is the Career Devel- opment Center (CDC), which used to be split between Par- sons-Gates and the SAC. As one staff member of the CDC remarked, "We were asking companies which were coming to one of the top re- search institutes to conduct interviews under the student houses." Their new office space consolidates the offices with the recruiting and inter- view rooms. There are further improvements and additions PLEASE SEE CSS ON PAGE 3 ing only a couple dozen key- strokes. While a simple bulletin board may have sufficed, the site allows the seller instantly to compare his or her asking price to the prices of other stu- dents seeking to rid them- selves of the same text. This reverse bidding war is of ben- efit to buyers, who can save tens of dollars over the Bookstore's used price (as- suming the used book is even in stock there). In order to ease comparison shopping, the Bookmart dis- plays the Caltech Bookstore's new and used prices for a posted book, as well as the price on ecampus.com and Amazon, rival online book- sellers. win," said Chris Hughes, Di- rector of Athletics Media and Services. Caltech first faced South-' western College, winning all four matches. On Sept. 20 the Beavers lost their first match against Multnomah 0-3, but defeated San Jose Christian 3- 1. On the last day of the tour- nament, the team won another match against Rio Hondo College, standing 3-1 overall in the tournament. The final BY JAY CARLTON BY NEDA AFSARMANESH tant for undergraduates. As anyone who attempted to visit Financial Aid at its old location already knows, the Financial Aid offices have re- located to Steele House, mov- ing the Caltech Y, the offices of Residence Life, the Women's Center, and the MaSH across the street. All these groups are on the first floor of the new build- ing, with the exception of the Women's Center, which shares the 2nd floor with Mi- nority Student Affairs (relo- cated from 204 Central Engi- neering). They haven't gone public yet, but don't bother calling your stock broker. You're all shareholders whether you like it or not. ASCIT, Inc.; in its first ever e-commerce venture, has launched the Bookmart (http: /!donut.caltech.edu/ bookman). While its initial release was met with limited fanfare, the site has skyrock- eted in popularity in its first weeks of existence. Among the services of the new site are a convenient ISBN book posting function and matching database. After undergoing a relatively pain- less account creation proce- dure, one can post titles us- Though this is the first year women's volleyball is com- peting in the Conference, the season is off to a successful start with a 4-3 standing. _ The team was victorious in the Sept. 19-21 Life Bible Tournament. Though in pre- vious years "[the team] would get trussed by those teams, this year they grew as a team; they believed they could PLEASE SEE CSl ON PAGE 3 BY TECH STAFF BY JON FOSTER Over the summer, the first step was completed in a pro- cess which may in 5 years' time result in the complete consolidation of all student services on the east side of campus. The old Keck graduate house, which was majorly renovated towards the end of last academic year and over the summer, has been turned into the first half of the Cen- ter for Student Services (CSS), and now houses sev- eral 2:rOUDS and offices imnor- Last year, the computer sci- ence department gained some notoriety over a change in the CS 1 curriculum when 11 was offered in place of C. This frustrated students who had enrolled in the course expect- ing to program in a practical language. After much controversy, JJ 1--------------------------'" was abandoned mid-term be- cause the department had to honor the course description. This year, C has once again been replaced. The CS department cur- rently plans to use the pro- gramming language DrScheme in CS 1 and CS2. This leaves a gap in the Caltech curriculum. There is currently no course at Caltech which teaches introductory C or C++. Many students argue that practical programming skills are useful in the workplace in a variety of fields and that teaching DrScheme is not helpful in developing those skills. Once again, dissatisfied stu- dents are objecting to the changes. Jay Hubisz, Travis CS 1 SYLLAB'US QUESTIONED FOR SECOND YEAR IN A ROW BY STUDENTS

The California Tech - CaltechCampusPubscaltechcampuspubs.library.caltech.edu/1772/1/2000_09_29_102_02.pdf · The California Tech ... While a simple bulletin board may have sufficed,

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Page 1: The California Tech - CaltechCampusPubscaltechcampuspubs.library.caltech.edu/1772/1/2000_09_29_102_02.pdf · The California Tech ... While a simple bulletin board may have sufficed,

New com.ic strip!Check it out on page 8

The California TechVOLUME cn, NUMBER 2 PASADENA, CALIFORNIA SEPTEMBER 29, 2000

Donut development team gets off its ASCIT

Tech volleyball sweeps tournament

New Center for Student Services opens

PLEASE SEE DONUT ON PAGE 3

years.Teaching has also been in­

tegral to his career. He hastaught a variety of courses­ranging from management toethics and philosophy in sev­eral different countries.

His work has attracted theattention of many organiza­tions, including the WesternAssociation of College andEmployers, which bestowedits Outstanding ServiceAward on him this year.

Houser holds a B.A., anM.A., and ,a Ph.D in educa­tional psychology and highereducation.

in development. The projecthas employed three students:Jonathan Dama, RobertChristy and Dylan Simon.When the upgrade was ap­proved, in February, ASCITallocated $8,000.

At some point during thissummer, however, thosefunds were transferred to theASCIT endowment. On the

FeaturesFrosh Camp 3Rotation Rules 5Rotation Dinner 6-7Map of Pasadena..... 8-9Shannon writes an ar­ticle .... 42

Inside the zech

BY DANA SADAVA

The UsualEditorial 2Outside World 2Bookworm 4Foxtrot 10The Dean's Corner 11

"Before you get married toa career, you have to datearound a bit," advised JerryHouser, the new Director ofthe Career Development Cen­ter.

He should know. Arriving atCaltech to replace now-re­tired Sally Asmundson,Houser has almost twentyyears ofexperience in the ca­reer planning profession.

Before joining the staff amonth ago, he was the direc­tor of USC's Career Planningand Placement Center for ten

CDC director steps in

Students selling books haveno trouble fetching a betterprice than the Bookstore'sbuyback rate. The bookmartgrew from former ASCITpresident Baldeep Sadhaal'svision to update theassociation's website (http://www.its.caltech.edu!-ascit)with a "unified look and feel."Donut.caltech.edu has beenyears in planning and weeks

The last of the groups lo­cated in the newly-openedbuilding is the Career Devel­opment Center (CDC), whichused to be split between Par­sons-Gates and the SAC.

As one staff member of theCDC remarked, "We wereasking companies which werecoming to one of the top re­search institutes to conductinterviews under the studenthouses." Their new officespace consolidates the officeswith the recruiting and inter­view rooms. There are furtherimprovements and additions

PLEASE SEE CSS ON PAGE 3

ing only a couple dozen key­strokes.

While a simple bulletinboard may have sufficed, thesite allows the seller instantlyto compare his or her askingprice to the prices of other stu­dents seeking to rid them­selves of the same text. Thisreverse bidding war is ofben­efit to buyers, who can savetens of dollars over theBookstore's used price (as­suming the used book is evenin stock there).

In order to ease comparisonshopping, the Bookmart dis­plays the Caltech Bookstore'snew and used prices for aposted book, as well as theprice on ecampus.com andAmazon, rival online book­sellers.

win," said Chris Hughes, Di­rector ofAthletics Media andServices.

Caltech first faced South-'western College, winning allfour matches. On Sept. 20 theBeavers lost their first matchagainst Multnomah 0-3, butdefeated San Jose Christian 3­1. On the last day of the tour­nament, the team won anothermatch against Rio HondoCollege, standing 3-1 overallin the tournament. The final

BY JAY CARLTON

BY NEDA AFSARMANESH

tant for undergraduates.As anyone who attempted to

visit Financial Aid at its oldlocation already knows, theFinancial Aid offices have re­located to Steele House, mov­ing the Caltech Y, the officesof Residence Life, theWomen's Center, and theMaSH across the street.

All these groups are on thefirst floor of the new build­ing, with the exception of theWomen's Center, whichshares the 2nd floor with Mi­nority Student Affairs (relo­cated from 204 Central Engi­neering).

They haven't gone publicyet, but don't bother callingyour stock broker. You're allshareholders whether you likeit or not.

ASCIT, Inc.; in its first evere-commerce venture, haslaunched the Bookmart (http:/!donut.caltech.edu/bookman). While its initialrelease was met with limitedfanfare, the site has skyrock­eted in popularity in its firstweeks of existence.

Among the services of thenew site are a convenientISBN book posting functionand matching database. Afterundergoing a relatively pain­less account creation proce­dure, one can post titles us-

Though this is the first yearwomen's volleyball is com­peting in the Conference, theseason is off to a successfulstart with a 4-3 standing. _

The team was victorious inthe Sept. 19-21 Life BibleTournament. Though in pre­vious years "[the team] wouldget trussed by those teams,this year they grew as a team;they believed they could

PLEASE SEE CSl ON PAGE 3

BY TECH STAFF

BY JON FOSTER

Over the summer, the firststep was completed in a pro­cess which may in 5 years'time result in the completeconsolidation of all studentservices on the east side ofcampus.

The old Keck graduatehouse, which was majorlyrenovated towards the end oflast academic year and overthe summer, has been turnedinto the first half of the Cen­ter for Student Services(CSS), and now houses sev­eral 2:rOUDS and offices imnor-

Last year, the computer sci­ence department gained somenotoriety over a change in theCS 1 curriculum when 11 wasoffered in place of C. Thisfrustrated students who hadenrolled in the course expect­ing to program in a practicallanguage.

After much controversy, JJ 1--------------------------'"was abandoned mid-term be­cause the department had tohonor the course description.This year, C has once againbeen replaced.

The CS department cur­rently plans to use the pro­gramming languageDrScheme in CS 1 and CS2.This leaves a gap in theCaltech curriculum. There iscurrently no course at Caltechwhich teaches introductory Cor C++.

Many students argue thatpractical programming skillsare useful in the workplace ina variety of fields and thatteaching DrScheme is nothelpful in developing thoseskills.

Once again, dissatisfied stu­dents are objecting to thechanges. Jay Hubisz, Travis

CS1 SYLLAB'US

QUESTIONED FOR

SECOND YEAR IN A

ROW BY STUDENTS

Page 2: The California Tech - CaltechCampusPubscaltechcampuspubs.library.caltech.edu/1772/1/2000_09_29_102_02.pdf · The California Tech ... While a simple bulletin board may have sufficed,

September 29,2000 2 The California Tech

News and Battle Plans

5 p.m. Mondaynoon MOl1day

f> p.m. Tuesdaynoon Monday

ADVISER

Hall Daily

COIlTRIBUTORS

Jason Carucn,""VanessaSih

Edk DillKel1neth Kuo

PHOTOGRAPHER

ElikOil\Dana Sadava

FEATURE WRITeRS

Justin HoStephen ShepardJason MeItz.ner

,\j,lmVill;mi

EDITORS IN CHIEF

Jonathan FosterJohn'Oh

Dana Sadava

BUSINESS MANAGER

Tasha Vanes ian

ADVERTISING MANAGER

Jennifer Lee

M,NTS

JohnOh

VOLUME cn. NUMBER 2SEPTEMBER 29. 2000

Caltech 40--58, Pasadena. CA 91125editorial desk: (626) 395--6153

advertising desk: (626) 395"6154editorial email: [email protected] email: [email protected]

ISBN 0008-1582

STAFF WRITERS

Justin KaoMohiKumar

Mert Ch.smallMona Sheikh

COMICS EDITOR

Kenneth KU<l

COPY EDITORS

Elisabeth Adams

DEADLINESAdvertising:Announcements (MinLs):Letlers to the Edilor:Unsolicited i\rlicl~s

CIRCULATION STAFF

Roger O'Brieut

Rick Karnesky

Puhlishcd weekly except during vanllion

and examination periods hy th~ Associated Student>;

of the California Institute of Technology. Inl". The

upin\nns exprcsl\C.d herein arc strictly those of the

authors and advel1isers.

Letters and announcements are wel­come. All contributions should include theauthor's name and phone number and the in­tended date ofpublication. The preferred sub­mission method is to e-mailtech@ugcs,caltech.cdu with the body of thearticle appearing in plain text. Alternatively.you may submit copy (preferably onMacintosh 3.S,sdisk) to the 7,xli mailbox out­side SAC room 40.The editors reserve theright (0 edit and abridge all submissions forliteracy, expediency, etc. All articles are theproperty of the authors. Authors and colum­nists retain all intellectual property rights.

Advertising should he submitted as camera­

r~ady <1.11. hut the Tech can also do simrle lypCSCl­

ting and arrangement. All advertising inq\llri~s

should be <..!in:clcd to "th~ business manager. hlr

[email protected]{tech.nl{f. l)(1 fi<l(

send Jd in4uirics to the ediLOfs.For su{1scription inronTIation. pka,se send mai)

lo "SlIhscriptions" or call {(26) 395-01 ::14.

Printed hy News~Typc Service. (Ilendale.

We live for the One. We di~ for {he One.

CONTINUEO FROM PAGE 1

DONUT:

Have you ever tried swallowing a goldfish?

Log on to www.CompuBank.comQick on Circle of Friends™ to learn how you canearn $40 for each friend you refer who opens and fundsa CompuBank account.You can open an account right online and approvalcan happen within minutes.

~~:~l~~~~~~:n~~f~~~:~~~ ~_be relocated into the CSS in ... _ .... I..... . ~mueh less than two years. f~l"lr: ffi-- r. F;I! ~ :~ technil;al aSpecls ofOPERi\

;~;pn:;~hp~r:::i: t:ef~:~:e5 la--.t. 'llIliU'. :,.' _~:_~ ft. . ·.···.·C"LhY ..•· ~ION:DONUT,the dev~l~p:" . M<niH ment team commented as fol-years, a new student center Y,'Q....,.,'!l·H~t6 !

~_J! ,_ lows: "the site is done withwill be built on the current •• -

~~~:~~~~i~E~~~;:t: 1tl .~ !;rg~~~~~~~:: ~~~:~~~facilities which CaItech stu- 'Camet' 4.1 system."

de:;st:~;l:o~:~~·the seven ,,~I~ h;;;: ~:;,~s~::~:~~~;:~

:~~~:~£;;~%:~~E~:~;:Cai.......... ~~~~~~~~~~a;:~ii~~~~:thetic little existence of lazy .......- "'... \ other ASCIT e-service, is upTechers. ,... California and running, but the clubs'

sites are not yet connectedThere will be an open house Institute ~f·

•. 1· v thereto. An event calendar isfor the Center for Student IServices on Tuesday, Oct. '-- ....... T_.e_c_h_n_o_o......... also up, but it is likewise10th from 3-5 to commemo- Don't know where anything is located anymore? This map ,...bl_an_k_. _

shows the recent moves 0"use"ul of'fices like Financial Aid, 'r W: d! SAT &Ad' S b'rate the opening of the new 'J Jl 'JJ' ,urors ante. . .. ca emlc u J.the Women s Center, Minority Student Affairs, and the ScorefPrep, the nation's fastest-growing In-

building.Caltech Y. The Deans, registrar, and admissions offices home tutoring service needs tutors with high

will soon be moving as well. SA.T. scores & for all academic subjects.Reliable transport req'd. Flex: Hours, $16/lnCall (310)446-2161 to apply!

"a\1 8"\·s"t ~eb.s\ee" \a\e·kC8'"",,"a\1 ·A1uI, when you ntn oot ofmoney aOOut every other

week, your mom and dad can wire you more .... free.

Everything JOu don't like about JOur bank•••

CompuBank isn't just around the comer. It's right inyour room. Right on your computer. You get free basicchecking,. free savings and access to free ATM net..works. You get a CompuBank check card to use anyplace Visa is accepted.

College is an art and a science.Soon enough, you'U discover the proper course of studyis figuring out the brave new world while expending aslittle effort as possible.Which brings us to the subject of CompuBank.

css:CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

planned. The old Mosher­Jorgensen graduate house,which is adjacent to the cur­rent CSS offices, will be reno­vated (with work starting asearly as next May).

The offices currentlyplanned to move there aremany: the Bursar/Cashier, fi­nancial aid, undergraduateadmissions, the registrar, theundergraduate dean, the fel­lowship and study abroad of­fice, and some graduate of­fices.

As Stan Borodinsky of Stu­dent Affairs put it, "most ofthe needs of the students willbe met in one place."

It will take time, however.Since offices like admissionscannot easily move duringtimes when they are espe-

Page 3: The California Tech - CaltechCampusPubscaltechcampuspubs.library.caltech.edu/1772/1/2000_09_29_102_02.pdf · The California Tech ... While a simple bulletin board may have sufficed,

Men's Soccer

Starting the year with a victory over conference-rival LaVerne, the men's soccer team leads an optimistic season. The3-2 victory over UVL came after a scoreless firgt half. How­ever, early in the second half junior forward Fernando Cam­pos scored two goal~before ULV also scored to tie the gameat 2-2. The last goal was scored by junior co-captain BenKalenik during a penalty kick, saving the game at 3-2. Seniordefensive player Nathan Flowers-Jacobs also aided the teamin preventing La Verne's star athletes from gaining ground."It was great to get a conference win this early in the season,"said head coach Julie Levesque.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

in the tournament. The final match was against Life Bible;and though the first two games ended 16-14 and 18-] 6, thewomen swept the last game 15-8, winning the tournament.

'The win against Life Bible was nice to get, especially withthem having defeated us a week earlier and also being a teamI considered to be our toughest rival in the tournament," washead coach Brent Reger's comment.

More recently, the Beavers faced La Verne University, placed18 in the country, losing all three games. The match started"with a little intimidation," commented Hughes with regardsto the 15-0 and 15-2 losses.

However, by the end the tean1 gathered grew moi't~ confi­dent and finished the match with a 15-4 loss.

LETTERS TO

THE EDITORS

Brian Meehan, the R.A. andbeloved friend to RickettsHovse submitted his resigna­tion on Tuesday the 19th ofSeptember. He earned thelove and respect of theSkurves and others in theCaltech community by fight­ing for what he thought wasin the best interest of the

undergrads against the in- 0 h h dlcreasingly inane policies that t er sports ea ineshave spewed from Residence _Life recently. Brian will notbe forgotten for this and wewish him the best of luck inhis future.

--Ricketts Hovse

tion of housing the only dogon campus along with theirtwo cats. They met while sta­tioned in Panama for the armyand wed this summer.

When not participating inRA duties, Mike and Rachelpursue degrees in civil engi­neering and higher educationadministration from Cal StateL.A. and USC, respectively.

Last year Rachel led theCaltech women's basketballteam to set a new record fornumber of wins per season.

Just when you thought be­ing an RA was the closest youcould get to nirvana, Rachelbegs to differ.

"Being a Caltech coach topsit all," she said. "There's zeropressure."

"And tons of job security,"added Mike.

BY DEBB!E LEE

Your mother isn't here to tellyou not to drink from the milkcarton. Your Resident Asso­ciates probably won't, either,but they're the closest thing tomothers around here. Haveyou met yours?

McKell Cartou is PageHouse's newest parental fig­ure, a second-year graduatestudent at Tech in biology. Heholds a B.S. in that field fromthe University of Utah.

"Why did I choose Caltechover MIT? Here they let mework with people outside mymajor," said Cartou. "Andthere are mountains andbeaches closeby."

The two new RAs for Rud­dock House, Mike and RachelMarsden, enjoy the distinc-

=--.:::------:::=:---:-__-=---_SI!0rts and NewsNew RAs settle in VOLLEYBALL:

t\.urnar

CO'iT!;\lJED FRO,>! PACE I

W8ddington, and

The Computer Science De­partment Chair was unavail­able for comment.

Men's Water Polo:

The "impressive" aspect of this game was that the usualgoalie Vladimir Federov was playing offensive, while backupgoalie Aaron Hicks took his place. Hicks made eight savesagainst PSU-Behrend, while Federov stopped 34 shots in thethree contests he played goalie. Senior Tom Daula scored ]4goals in the five matches at Pittsburg. "We had a good trip toPennsylvania," said head coach Clint Dodd. " ... [we] explodedon offense against Penn State-Behrend. The looks good inthe early part of the season."

With eight athletes scoring 21 goals against Penn State-ErieBehrend in last Friday's game in Pittsburgh, the Caltech Wa­

ter Polo team has a 1-4 standing.

The wins have not gone unseen by the Caltech communityeither. Crowds of well over 100 have joined at the soccerfield to watch the games and cheer for the Beavers, accord­ing to Director of Athletics Media Services Chris Hughes.

-., ,

Expert Guidance

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Page 4: The California Tech - CaltechCampusPubscaltechcampuspubs.library.caltech.edu/1772/1/2000_09_29_102_02.pdf · The California Tech ... While a simple bulletin board may have sufficed,

.."September 29,2000 4 The California Tech

Features

:7i Yrosh Yerspeclive

BY JANET ZHOU

No Picture Available

each other by looking them inthe eye, this unusual peoplemerely focuses on their feetand scurries off into a lab,hallway, alley, steam tunnel,etc. No native subject we en­countered could account forthis unusual social practice,nor could they explain to ushow these people did not con­stantly bump into each otherwhilst fixated on the arrange­ment of bricks in the Walk ofOlives. Our research teamcould only draw the conclu­sion that the technical skillinherent in this people musthave led them to augmenttheir visual organs with someform of RADAR apparatus.Curious indeed.

Unlike the other tribesmembers of the society haveencountered in the past, theCaltech student does notadorn himself with ornatejewelry, marvelous pelts, orrare trinkets. The lack of thetraditional alpha-male packleader was initially confusing,but this insight allowed us tomake a cultural breakthrough.Hunting prowess is not an in­dicator of strength here, noris the presence of expensivecars or clothing. It wouldseem that prowess and stand­ing in this society is basedsolely on intellectual abilityand emotional depth. Bafflingwas my reaction as well! Howcan a society function with-

PLEASE SEE INCOMING ON PAGE 8

"'If the egg it ain'tbroke, don't check itsteeth. II' -Jason Chua,semor

"I think it's fair to anextent, since somehouses have enoughmoney to literally buypeople into the house.However, I feel weshould be given moreleeway with what we areallowed to do. "-KellyKlima, sophomore

"With the exception ofvicious lies, frosh havea right to hear anyopinions or facts sharedby upperclassmen" ­RamanujanSrinivasan, freshman

zarre and unfathomable tribalactivities.

To begin, the local peopleappear gaunt and pale.Sickly, even. It is a deplor­able condition to be pitied bythe more advanced peoples.Despite our shortage of timefor investigation, it wouldseem that healthy dietarystaples like red meat arecompletely absent. Instead,the peoples of this resource­poor land are subjected tofeeding off plants and uni­dentifiable morsels of un­known origin. When we didfinally find animals that'could be used for meat, wewere informed by the localsthat they were reserved forceremony only. "An opencortex investigation of theneural pathways of Roden­tia" is what they called it.The tendency of the Beaverpeople to remain indoors,causing their wan complex­ion, is also religious in na­ture. The only ceremony inwhich we were able to par­take was a thoroughly barba­rous bonfire beneath themoon. We can only concludethat 'the tribal religion in­cludes some form of ritual­istic fear of the sun. Truly, aconfused people.

Amongst the self-describedBeaver people, it is taboo tolook another tribe member inthe eye. Whereas civilizedmembers of society greet

IIWhat do you think

of the rotation rule:

Houses are speci£~

cally prohibited from

otherwise biasing a

new student toward. H ~",or agaInst a ouser

"! think that aside fromnot making any sense,the interpretationsof the rule prevent thestudents from actingnaturally aroundprefrosh, which givesthem an inaccuratepicture of the house."-

, Jeff Sullivan, junior

Q s nof eWfk

on "Who Wants to be a Mil­lionaire?" Previous uncon­firmed sightings reportedstrange and unusual beings inPasadena stores. The onlyproof of such a presenceseems to be some tribal art on

by Jom YielcEerlomJ@ils. caUecb. ed;/

I?o-~~---'--------~

"I can feel myself I

I ge~ti~g absorbedI . znto CaltechI

culture by theminute. 'Tlor

HP?' is replacing'Britneyor

Christina?' as thecontroversial

question. "

. the side of CanterburyRecords, a stylized "Laplacetransform" tagged onto thewall. Thanks to the daring andinitiative of this modest an­thropologist, you can now seethe Caltech student in its natu­ral environment, interactingwith its unusual social hier­archies, and reveling in its bi-

Eastern India - Unseasonable monsoon rains over thepast ten days have resulted in widespread flooding, killingapproximately 1,000 people. Millions in India andBangladesh are now homeless.

Jerusalem, Israel - Leaders of Israel's hard-line Likudparty toured the Temple Mount holy site, sparking violentprotests from Palestinians. Control of the site is a key pointof contention in ongoing Arab/Israeli peace talks.

Washington D.C. - The Pentagon plans to sell $1.3 bil­lion worth of military weaponry to Taiwan, including air­to-air and anti-ship missles. China says the sale amountsto U.S. interference in Chinese internal affairs.

Belgrade, Yugoslavia - Pro-democracy candidate VojislavKostunica appears to have won last Sunday's election. How­ever, the results are contested and current PresidentSlobodan Milosevic is planning a run-off election in Octo­ber. If Milosevic is removed from power, NATO will con­sider lifting economic sanctions against the nation.

Jakarta, Indonesia - Hundreds protested the dismissalofcriminal charges against former President Suharto. Po­lice attacked one protester, firing a tear gas grenade at point­blimk range and beating him into unconsciousness.

Washington D.C. - The FDA announced Thursday thatthe abortion-inducing drug RU-486 (mifepristone) has beenapproved for use. The drug, long available in Europe, canbe used to induce an abortion up to 7 weeks after concep­tion.

Incoming ...

by Erik Dill

The Outside World

I left chem lab amazed athow wonderful and differentCaltech was last Wednesday.This place sure is somethingelse. Not only did I practicallyget my own TA in class, mylab drawer was stocked witheverything I could ever pos­sibly need. No more sharingbunsen burners, no more hav­ing to wash out old pipettes,no worn-out flint lighters.High school memories fadedlike a dream upon awakening.As I passed through the high­IQ conversations of grad stu­dents at the tables outside theRed Door Cafe, I was certain.Caltech is a world of its ownwith no analog in the world Ionce knew.

After returning to my roomwith more Frosted Flakes andmilk (the breakfast of cham­pions!), I realized that the labbook I had been lovingly car­rying like a newborn was nolonger in my hand. Hadsomeone stolen a lab book?Did the unknown acid eataway the entire book? Wherethe hell was it? A fifteen­minute ransacking of myroom uncovered nothing.Standing there, fuming and

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September 29,2000 6 The California Tech

Thoughts by PrefroshDivergent Manifestation #1:

A Beaver, Ehr

Before I got here to Caltech, Iwas always wondering whatthe mascot of this place was.My friend, who now attendsBerkeley, kept on promptingme that the golden bear wouldbe better than whatever theCaltech mascot turned out tobe. With that, I decided to stoptaking his taunting and did alittle research.After searching the Caltech

web site, I found out that itwas a simple beaver. When Ishared the results with myfriend, he just laughed. Icouldn't blame him; to me, abeaver was quite lame. Unfor­tunately, his bold statementwas true and indisputable.

Ever since that moment (al­though we are still goodfriends), I have been ponder­ing the question: Why doesCaltech have a beaver as itsmascot?

After many hours of deepthought, I arrived at the con­clusion that the beaver was asymbol for diligence and workwhich, I suppose, does repre­sent the student body here atCaltech, a studious and intel­lectual bunch indeed. Or wasI wrong to elicit such an im­plication from something as

by William Fang

simple as a mascot?As I set foot onto the Caltechcampus, I knew immediatelythat the beaver was not an ac­curate portrayal of the studentbody of Caltech. The peoplewere more dynamic than abeaver would convey. Also, Iwould have expected morefrom a group of students withsuch exceptional brilliance toderive a more interestin~ mas­cot than a beaver. Where's theoriginality in that?

At this point of my argu­ment, I am reminded of myhigh school studies, particu­larly a work by Henry DavidThoreau, "Walden". In thispiece, I remember Thoreauattempts to teach the readerthat it is important to listen tothe beat of your own drum­mer, not the beat of anotherdrummer.

His plea to society to notconform to the pre-establishedideals and beliefs is an impor­tant idea in the realm of indi­viduality. You may be askingat this point, "What is the rel­evance of Thoreau in accor­dance to the Caltech beaver?"

Well, I believe that thechoice of the beaver as a mas­cot was an act of conformity

to an already existing beaver esting? Colored hair? Certain shocking. In short, the societymascot at some other school fashion apparel? A personal- lacks courtship rituals.(Oregon State...). ity? At a place where the stu- Whether this is caused by an

Even if this is not true, I am dents are creative and inven- unnatural balance of the sexesappalled at the fact that who- tive in their various forms of or simple disinterest due to en­ever was involved in the se- . fun-seeking activities, I would vironmental factors could notlection of the mascot was not have expected more. But hey, be determined. Our current hy­willing to go off on a tangent what can you do? At this point pothesis revolves around con­and select something new and of the column, you might be summation by way of light re­fresh or at least something asking, "What's the point of fracted off a weather balloonmore interesting. How about all of this?" or "Why do I care by swamp gas. This theory wasa penguin? Or a chimpanzee? at all about this column?" proposed to us by a memberIt's not as if! prefer those ani- Well, my friend, that's the ofthe tribal society who endedmals over the beaver, but at whole point. the discussion with a cackleleast it's something different, Special thanks to my friend and a snicker while we tookmaybe even ingenuous. Why Ahmed Mian for coining the down everything he said aboutdo people always conform to phrase "Divergent Manifesta- wild tribal orgies on a reveredthe norms set by society? tion" and my friend at Berke.. holiday, March 14. A compre-

At a school that sets the aca- ley Kanwarjit Kelley who in- hensive study of how this so­demic standard for all other spired me to write this piece. ciety manages to perpetuate itscolleges, why don't we also If you would like to respond population will have to be aset the standard in choosing a to this article, please e-mail subject of future research.school mascot? Are the people me at [email protected]. At this point, we will have toof the Caltech community re- 1------------' end our discussion, as thereally that indifferent towards may be virgin ears in the audi-

athletics?Where's the school INCOMING.. ence. For those whose curios-spirit? ity has been aroused and

If the consideration of a dif- CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4 piqued, ask any of the present-ferent mascot seems too radi- ers about the disgusting hy-cal for those of you who fear out superficial, meaningless giene practices of the tribe, thechange, the beaver can stay, status symbols? crude and vulgar tribal "art"but can it look anything but Ofeven more interest are the encountered in their squalidgeneric? When I first saw the complex and mind-boggling hovels, and the sick mentalbeaver mascot at the talent mating rituals of the local condition of the diseased popu-show during Frosh Camp, I populace. lace...was thinking to myself, "What What unthinkable and per- Ok, so maybe it wasn't allthe heck? This is our mascot, verse rituals do these people that objective. But hey, maybethe mascot of a prestigious participate in you ask? As you, it made you laugh while youinstitution?" I beg to differ. we were curious as to how read it, which, I have found, isOnce again, I wonder where these people behaved. What a wonderful form of escapismthe creativity was. Can't the we discovered was shocking. from the daily grind of abeaver look a bit more inter- Not lewd, not grotesque, just student's life here.

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Page 7: The California Tech - CaltechCampusPubscaltechcampuspubs.library.caltech.edu/1772/1/2000_09_29_102_02.pdf · The California Tech ... While a simple bulletin board may have sufficed,

The California Tech 7 September 29, 2000

Random AccessRandom Access...

Welcome to Random Ac­cess. You will find in thesecolumns cool things in noparticular order, varyingfrom reviews and views ofinteresting gizmos to waysof finding better textbookdeals on the net.

There could be talk abouthow the next frosh campshould be based on the"survivor" model, whethera distributed delivery sys­tem for digital products isworkable and why Ishouldn't run for president.It could also be place foryour own randomthoughts, where I will dis­cuss your 9ifferent view­points.

And sometimes, I mightdigress into reviewingbooks, movies and evenquotations...

All right, on to the coolstuff...

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800.272.9676

the world by routing yourpersonal ME.net phonenumber to any availabletelephone, regardless oftime, location, or commu­nication devices.

You can access emails;voice mails and faxes re­motely using the net, thephone, web-enabled de­vices etc. You can forwardall of these, and even do a12-way conference callusing this service.

It's free, and you even get1000 minutes of long-dis­tance free when you signup. I tried it out and itturned out to be quite auseful service. There were,as you could expect, a few

and trade them using in- glitches ... but that's beta You can pretty much putstant quotes. for you! anything on one web page

Digital Convergence has * * * * * * * using the octopus service.taken a very aggressive ap- Before signing off for the You can put webpages orproach against these hack- week, here's one other neat little pieces of webpages,ers and got a lot of differ- technology that's out on pictures, cartoons (I haveent applications pulled the Internet right now. Last a Calvin and Hobbes car­from the websites by cit- year sometime, I read toon that changes daily oning intellectual property about a big venture capital my octopus homepage) ...issues. They felt that if firm investing in a small almost anything that.ispeople took over their de- startup called found online.vice and started using their octopus.com. I decided to Whether the companyown databases, they would do some checking, and has a sustainable businesslose out on the revenues. ended up looking at some model I cannot say; butTheir revenue model is very interesting Internet from me there are just twobeing the gatekeeper be- technology. Recently I words for that technol­tween codes and their des- went back to find that the ogy...tinations online. Cease and service had improved tre- pretty cool!desist letters were sent to mendously. * * * * * * *many hackers, and partial Here's how Octopus A glossary of some of thesuccess was claimed by the works: Say you want infor- terms, websites and com­company. mation about a company panies I talked about is

Despite this fallout, and called Walker Digital. In- forthcoming as part ofthe claims from Digital stead of searching multiple Random Access. An onlineConvergence, the hacker sites and search engines, resource center will sooncommunity hasn't stopped which return lots of super- be open at http://in making this device fluous information, Octo- randomaccess.geekguru.com.cooler and cooler and a pus lets you mix-and- Please direct any ques­search on google for match relevant informa- tions, comments and otherCuecat should spew out a tion to create a single, cus- correspondence toton of webpages hosting tomized source. For in- [email protected] functionalities. stance, you can: or [email protected] it a try! Get stock quotes and I hope you enjoyed the* * * * * * * charts from Quicken column as much as I didI just started beta testing Get corporate and com- writing it. I will be back

a service called me.net. It petitive information from soon with more randomclaims to be the world's Hoovers Online Get recent access to the world of coolfirst online network that news and headlines about things out there...enables you to place and Walke~Digital from Yahoo until then... goodbye!

receive calls anywhere in

vada published a detailedanalysis of the barcodecues themselves, and aWisconsin hardwarehacker physically dis­sected his CueCat and dis­covered a way to neuterthe device's electronic se­rial number with a carefulslice of an X-Acto knife.He figured that the serialEPROM was easily acces­sible and so by cutting oneof the traces, the serialnumber could be disabled.Websites that read the eat'soutput took birth. Onesuch site is still up atspun.com, where you canlook up CDs and DVDs byscanning the UPC barcode

I tried it, and it workedreasonably well. When Iswiped it across a Moun­tain Dew can, it took meto its website, and a HarryPotter book led me to thescholastic (publishers)website.

Of course, not allbarcodes are in the data­base (like the Japaneseplaystation2 I swiped), butthey want you to help themby inputting what it was.

Well, once this devicewas slashdotted, manycool applications havebeen found for the device.

Linux drivers were writ­ten, the device was reverseengineered and the func­tionality enhanced manytimes over.

Hackers figured out thesimple base64+XOR sys­tem used to scramble theCueCat's output, and wrotea Linux device driver forthe scanner.

A decoder was written inPerl. An engineer from Ne-

Bookmarks from Today's Random AccesS:

*

www.octopus.comwww.me.netwww.cuecat.comwww.digitulcoftvergence.comwww.slashdoLorghttp://freshmeaLnetinews/2000/08128/967502569.html(Linux driver)www.spun.com

by,' Wkram [)r:jndlvikrcrm@caltech.&du

******Sometime back, when I

was at my internship inStamford, CT I dropped bya Radioshack topickup a cute littledevice that had caughtmy attention at a betatest. It's called aCueCat.

The premise is quitesimple. Take abarcode scanner (aminiature one of thekinds found in, say, Wal­Mart), connect it to theInternet through your com­puter, and have a huge da­tabase of all things bar­coded.

Considering there aremillions of things in theworld that have barcodeson them, it's quite a niftyway of finding out moreinformation about suchstuff. DigitalConvergence's Cuecat thenallows consumers to scanspecial barcodes within ar­ticles or advertisements,called "cue codes," and betransported to related websites, with the companyacting as a central switch­ing point.

Page 8: The California Tech - CaltechCampusPubscaltechcampuspubs.library.caltech.edu/1772/1/2000_09_29_102_02.pdf · The California Tech ... While a simple bulletin board may have sufficed,

September 29, 2000 8 The Cal~fornia Tech

{C)2.000. jason frhche.J(

You must he going to Cdt.sch...

bv Jason Mitchell

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Lc1er_So, you have .z. tape pla)'.sr:;, an t\l\P3player. a CD piayer, a 9rap}lin9 calculator.

a Oame Boy a di9itd camera, over .z.ohorreries, and some cords rhat are us,.sd to

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over to this table and empt)' your ha9s,

VanillaINTROf)(JC//t/G A NEWCOfAlC STRIP BY JASO/t/M!rCH£LL.fY1eEr VI/t/CE Newro/t/.HE WAS YOUR AVERAGEHIGH SCHOOL STU/)DI(.

WEll, £>(C£P1 FOR ,HEFACT HE IS A /.£MJR,BlJ( orNER THAN THATHE *WAS* /t/OR/'ML.Y'see, I/J/t/CE IS /t/OLONGER A HIGH SCHOOLS'(U/)DIT, SlIT IS I{OW A

FROSH A11HE POSSIBLYWEIR/)E$1 COlLEGE II{,HE I{A1701{, ,HE CALI·FORItIIA IItISTfftJTE OFfeCHItIOLOGY. WEll,JUST" REMEJVBER ASUSiJAl,·

COlLEGE IS HAR/)D/OlJGH WffHotIT ,HEEIGHT FOor ,AIL.

• 1st Round interviews October 31, 2000

Other dates for your calendar...•.

Contact some of your Caltech Alumni now workingfor marchFIRST

www.marchFIRST.com

© 2000 marchFIRST

mmarchFIRST

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

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Jeroo Sinor

Patrice Maheo

Brigitte Baldi

Jennifer Ma

Andrei Marinescu

• marchFIRST presentation on October 9thfrom 4-6pm at the Career Development Center

Come and Join us at the Caltech PHDCareer Fair on October 5th, 2000,

on campus

Parris Kent. Recruiting Coordinator

410 Townsend St., 4th Floor

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ph: 415-369-6893

fx: 415-369-6385

e-mail: [email protected]

Page 9: The California Tech - CaltechCampusPubscaltechcampuspubs.library.caltech.edu/1772/1/2000_09_29_102_02.pdf · The California Tech ... While a simple bulletin board may have sufficed,

The California Tech 9 September 29, 2000

GoLdman, Sachs & Co.Information Sessions

Claremont McKenna College/PomonaFounder's Room

Monday, October 2nd, 20007:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.1ll

USClJp"tdll" Gardell CULllt

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6:00 p.rn. - 8:00 pilL

Send (over letter/Resume/Transcript By October 24thGoldman, Sachs & Co.Fox Plaza, Suite 2600

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Fax: 310-407-5555Attn: Joel Werner

If you have ally qllestlollS, please feel free to lontact Joel Werner (310-407-5704) or Jill Axelrod (212-902'-7286)

•MINOS. WIOE OPEN~M

\N\N\N. g8. corn

Page 10: The California Tech - CaltechCampusPubscaltechcampuspubs.library.caltech.edu/1772/1/2000_09_29_102_02.pdf · The California Tech ... While a simple bulletin board may have sufficed,

~ September 29, 2000 10 The California Tech

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Page 11: The California Tech - CaltechCampusPubscaltechcampuspubs.library.caltech.edu/1772/1/2000_09_29_102_02.pdf · The California Tech ... While a simple bulletin board may have sufficed,

eDeans Corner

The new term has started.Something alive is in the air.Campus has shed its torpidsummery feeling and has ac­quired a bustling atmosphere.One only has to go to Chan­dler dining hall to becomeaware that something hasdrastically changed. Wherelast week there were empty ornearly empty tables it is nowdifficult to squeeze in. It iseven difficult to get to thefood, so crowded is the serv­ing area. Never mind tryingto get to the present favorite,the pizza from the wood-firedoven. The line is so long thatone risks fainting from hun­ger before being served. Butthat does not inconvenience

J

the frosh, who eat in thehouses.

At the bookstore there aretape barriers, you know thekind one sees in banks or air­ports to control the press ofthe crowds against thecounters. Of course the pres­ence of a barrier doesn'tmean that there's a crowd. Infact when I visited the book-

Dean'sSpring in the fall

by Jean-Paul Revelstore

last the barrierslooked more like wish­

ful thinking than an actualneed. But all is ready for anyeventuality. There is a largeinventory of the thingsneeded at the beginning ofschool. New pens and pen­cils, new notebooks, newbook bags with spiffy Caltechinsignia, calendars and capsand sweaters even radios andcalculators, and of coursenext door at Wired, psyche­delic computers. The shelvesare full of textbooks and thePasadena StarNews had astory about how much it coststo keep a Caltech student inbooks. They indicate it isabout $500 this term. One canalso tell that the new term hasstarted (Spring in the Fall) bythe rush of students spillingout of classrooms on the hour.For example I try to avoid be­ing under the archway by thedoor to Parsons-Gates aroundnoontime. You see, there anear stampede MTTh at thattime in the Fall, presumablyas Ch1a students escape fromthe Pauling auditorium.

You know who Pauling

was,frosh, don't

you? I can hear yousaying yes, of course, thereare Linus effigies and me­mentoesall over the book­store. He was the (twice)Nobel Prize Prof. who be­lieved in vitamin C as a curefor the common cold. A gooathing that he came to that idealate in his life, because it iswhile he was at home nurs­ing a cold that he made oneof his major contributions. Iunderstand that he was nurs­ing a fever, playing aroundwith some bits of paper onwhich he had drawn peptidebonds (the main bond in thebackbone of proteins). Bywrapping the paper just so, hesuddenly realized that aheli­cal structure for the backbonecould be stabilized by hydro­gen bonds. And that was theinspiration for the "alpha he­lix" that we now know as amajor structural element inproteins. I guess the lesson is,don't take vitamin C .or youwill risk missing your nextdiscovery.

Another sign that a newterm has started is the meet­ing of UASH. For you frosh'not yet completely familiarwith all our acronyms, UASHstands for Undergraduate

Academic Standards andHonors committee. AlthoughUASH is one of the most im­portant committees atCaltech none of you has yettangled with it. Like manyother Caltech committees it iscomprised of professors andstudents. It is almost, but notquite, as feared as the Boardof Control. While the Boardof Control is charged to up­hold the Honor Code, UASHdeals with academic status. Astudent with a poor academicrecord is first seen by thedeans. If their ministrationsdo not succeed in improvingthe situation the student'sproblems are then likely toend in UASH laps. The com­mittee decides whether to lether continue or whether toask him to leave Caltech, atleast for a period of time.Often the committee makesrecommendations about whatthe student is expected to dobefore returning to the fold.You also need to addressDASH when a grade needs tobe changed, a course needs tobe dropped after the drop daydeadline, or a course addedwhich was inadvertently leftout of your registration card.The committee approvesunderloads. It also examinespetitions for reinstatement,necessary if you had to leaveCal tech for some reason.Based on the documentationprovided by the student and

others, the problem(s) at handare described by one of themembers of the committeeand possible outcomes thendiscussed. Eventually, whenall of sides of the problemhave been well aired, a mo­tion is made and voted on.Until this year petitioners hadto be available in the eventu­ality that clarifications wouldbe needed. That was nervewracking, because it meantthat students had to waitaround for their turn to comeup. It sometimes was a longwait. The deliberations couldnot take place on a very tightschedule, since it was obvi­ously impossible to interruptsomeone else's impassionedplea on the grounds of time­liness. To reduce the stress. adifferent way of dealing withpetitions will be tried startingearly next year. Students willnot need to personally presenttheir petition. Only if the de­cision reached by the com­mittee is not satisfactory tothe student does he or shehave the option to appeal thedecision in person. I hope youFrosh and for that matter noone else, will have to meetwith DASH, except of coursein its munificent role as dis­penser of prizes and kudos.Best of luck to all!

A bientot!

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Page 12: The California Tech - CaltechCampusPubscaltechcampuspubs.library.caltech.edu/1772/1/2000_09_29_102_02.pdf · The California Tech ... While a simple bulletin board may have sufficed,

September 29, 2000 12 The California Tech

Mints

THE CALIFORNIATECHCaltech 40-58

Pasadena, CA 91126

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Additional HSS Course An­nouncement for Fall Term 2000­01: Lit 129 Austen, Bronte, WoolfAn introduction to four of the mostimportant English writers of thenineteenth and early-twentieth cen­turies. Understanding these nov­elists as a tradition, we will pay par­ticular attention to formal develop­ments in the Novel from the mar­riage plot through modernism.Jane Austen, Charlotte and EmilyBronte, and Virginia Woolf's ma­jor works-including but not limitedto Emma, Persuasion, Jane Eyre,Wuthering Heights, Mrs.Dalloway, To the Lighthouse. In­structor: King; TTH 1-2:30; Lit101 Elementary Chinese I - Instruc­tor: Ming; OM, M 7:30pm 125Baxter; SS 200 Reasoning aboutKnowledge - Instructor: Heifetz;TTH 10:30-1227 Gates. Coursesthat did not make fall term pre-reg­istration: Lit 123 The Nineteenth­Century English Novel did notmake fall term pre-registration. Itwill be offered on W 1-4pm in 127Baxter - Instructor: King

The Dean's Office needs tutorsin all areas -- help is especiallyneeded with the main Institute re­quirements e.g., MAl, MA2, PHI,PH2, CHI, etc. The pay is $8.50an hour. A strong understanding ofthe subject matter, patience, and theability to communicate well are tehqualities needed as a tutor. If youare an upperclassman and wouldlike to be a Deans' tutor please stopby the Deans' Office to see Sandralocated in 102 Parsons-Gates

Looking for a safe and support­ive place to discuss issue such ascoming out, being out, dealing withfamily, coping with a homophobicculture; and being gay/lesbian/bi­sexual at Cal tech? Want some­where just to make new friends?We invite you to the Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual Discussion Group, whichmeets on the first and third Tues­days of each month from 8: 15 un­til 10: 15 p.m. in the Health CenterLounge. This is a confidentialmeeting and does not imply any­thing about a person's sexual ori­entation-only that s/he is willingto he supportive in this setting. Thegroup usually discusses a particu­lar relevant topic and then moveson to the general discussion. Re­freshments are served. If youwould like more information,please call ext. 8331.

CIT Guitar Classes for thespring quarter will meet on Tues­days in SAC Room I, starting onOctober 3 as follows: BeginningGuitar Class: 4:30 PM - 5:30 PM,Intermediate Guitar Class: 3:00 PM- 4:00 PM, Advanced Guitar Class:5:30 PM - 6:30 PM. Classical andflamenco repertoires are explored,but techniques transfer to otherstyles of guitar. The BeginningClass includes a jazz/folk chordsystem. Classes are free to Caltechstudents and other members of the

. Cal tech community (space permit­ting). Undergrads can receive 3units of credit. The instructor,Darryl Denning, has an interna­tional background in performance,teaching and recording (two of hisCDs are available in the Book-

store). Mr. Denning can be reachedat (323) 465-0881 or by email at:[email protected]. The Gui­tar Home Page is at:www.cco.caltech.edu/-musicpgm/guitar.html

The Caltech Ballroom DanceClub [CBDC] continues its offer­ings of dance classes and parties.

Sat 30 Sep'OO, an Intro DanceParty to introduce the Caltech com­munity to the offerings of theCaltech Ballroom Dance Club willbe held from 8:00 to II :59 pm. inthe Avery Dinning Room. Theparty is free, refreshments will beprovided, and no partner is re­quired. In addition to describingthe activities of the club plans in­clude demonstrating variousdances such as the ArgentineTango, East Coast Swing,

Beginning West Coast Swing ­taught hy a professional dance in­structor, five week series startingMon 2 Oct'OO: $20/series for un­dergraduates, $30/series forothers.The lessons will be heldfrom 7:30 to 9:00 pm on Mon inthe Winnett Lounge with a 1/2 hr.practice period after each lesson.Refreshments will be provided,and no pal'tner is required.

Beginning Argentine Tango ­"Amateur"-taught, five week seriesstarting Wed 4 Oct'OO, free for un­dergraduates, $l.OO/lesson for oth­ers. The lessons will be held from7:30 to 9:00 pm on Wed in theWinnett Lounge, with refresh­ments and a 1/2 hr. practice periodafter each lesson. Refreshmentswill be provided, and no partner isrequired.

Fri 20 Oct'OO, A Milongo [Ar­gentine Dance Party], will be held8:00-1159 pm in Dabney Lounge.The party is free, refreshments willbe provided, and no partner is re­quired.

At a later date, it is planned toschedule an event called apracticon [instructor circulatesamong dancers giving individualsuggestions/instruction]. The in­structor is from Forever Tango andhas been invited to attend thisparty to observe the level of com­petence of the various dancers.

For last minute changes seeits.caltech.edu/-ballroom, or callDon at 626-791-3103

NClIA 5th Annual Conferencecall for papers submission deadlineextended to Sep. 30,2000. The Na­tional Collegiate Inventors and In­novators Alliance (NClIA) invitesproposals for conference sessionsfor our 5th Annual Meeting onMarch 6-9, 2001 in Washington,DC. We invite proposals for inter­active and creative presentations,panels, poster sessions, and work­shops oil innovative programs,courses, and approaches to teach­ing innovation and entrepreneur­ship at the graduate and under­graduate level. Complete submis­sion instructions appear on our website at http://www.nciia.org/events/contO I.shtml . All submissionsmust be received by September 30,2000. We will notify submitters ofthe status of their proposals byNovember 1st.

EVENTS

Caltech's free Watson Lecture

Series opens on October 4 with"Combined-Value Markets," pre­sented by Dr. John Ledyard, pro­fessor of economics and social sci­ences, and chair of the division ofhumanities and social sciences atCaltech.

Other Watson 2000 Lectures:'The Evolution of Big Brains"

Dr. John Allman October 18"Keck: the Early Childhood of a

Scientific Giant" Dr. Judith CohenNovember 1

"Memories of Caltech Past" Dr.Judith Goodstein November 15

All Watson lectures are held onWednesday evenings at 8 p.m. andare open to the public, free ofcharge. For full abstracts and moreinformation on the series, visit theWatson Lecture Series web site at:http://www.events.caltech.edu/watson/

Science, Ethics, and PublicPolicy Lecture Series for FallQuarter 2000:

Dr. Anne Kox, Pieter ZeemanProfessor of History of Physics,Institute of Theoretical PhysicsUniversity of Amsterdam, Lorentzvs. Einstein: The Special Theory ofRelativity in Historical ContextThursday, October 5, 2000 4:00p.m. Room 25 Baxter Building

Dr. Andrew Scull, Professor ofSociology and Science Studies,The University of California, SanDiego, Combatting the Perils ofPus Infection: A Cautionary Talefrom the History of Psychiatry,Wednesday, October 18, 20004:00 p.m. Room 25 Baxter Build­ing

Dr. Myles W. Jackson, AssistantProfessor of the History of Science,Willamette University, The Stan­dardization of Aesthetic Qualities:Physics and Music in Nineteenth­Century Germany, Thursday, No­vember 9, 2000 4:00 p.m. Room25 Baxter Building

The William and Myrtle HarrisDistinguished Lectureship in Sci­ence and Civilization presents Dr.Peter Galison, Professor of the His­tory of Science and of Physicsm,Harvard University, Poincare'sMaps and Einstein's Clocks, Fri­day, December I, 2000 4:00 p.m.Beckman Institute Auditorium

Seminars are on the Caltech cam­pus and are open to the communityat no charge. For information, con­tact Michelle Reinschmidt at (626)395-4087 [email protected]. For acomplete list of SEPP Seminarsand Harris Lectures scheduled forthis academic year visit ourWebsite: http://www.hss.caltech.edu/ses/SEPP.html

SCHOLARSHIP

The Financial Aid Office has ap­plications and/or information onthe following as well as additionalundergraduate scholarships. Allqualified students are encouragedto apply. Our office is located at515 S. Wilson, second floor.

*The Hispanic Scholarship Fund(formerly the National HispanicScholarship Fund) is accepting ap­plications for scholarship awardsranging from $1,000 to $3,000.Applicants must be U.S. citizens orpermanent residents of Hispanicheritage, full-time undergraduatework with a minimum 2.7 GPA.For further information about HSF,informative links, and tips for ap­plying, visit their web site atwww.HSFnet. Applications areavailable in the Financial Aid Of­fice and Office of Minority StudentAffairs. Entries must be submittedto the Hispanic Scholarship Fund(HSF) by October 15, 2000.

*The Measurement Science Con­ference (MSC) has establishedscholarships to students in an En­gineering or Science or QualityAssurance degree program. Thescholarship program places empha­sis on papers or projects that dis­cuss the advancement of measure­ment science technology. Appli c

cants must be U.S. citizens, have aoverall grade point average of 3.2or higher, completed at 24 units ofupper division courses in Engineer­ing or Science degree or fivecourses in a Masters Degree Pro­gram in Quality Assurance. Cur­rent members of the MeasurementScience Conference Committee areineligible for this scholarshipaward. Also, applicants must beable to attend the Measurement Sci­ence Conference luncheon held onJanuary 18,200I, at the DisneylandConvention Center in Anaheim,California. Applications are avail­able in the Financial Aid Office.For further information regardingMSC Scholarships, you may con­tact: Rick Careyette, MSC Schol­arships Chairperson, TeledyneElectronics Technologies, Marinadel Rey Facility, 12964 PanamaStreet, Los Angeles, CA 90066­6534. Entries must be submittedto Teledyne Electronics Technolo­gies hy December 1, 2000.

*The AFCEA Copernicus Foun­dation is offering a $2,000 scholar­ship to eligible students workingtowards an undergraduate technol­ogy degree in the fields of computerengineering technology, computerinformation systems, and electron­ics engineering technology. Appli­cants must be enrolled full-time ina technology related curriculum atany four-year institution in the U.S.,be a U.S. citizen, and be a sopho­more or junior at the time of appli­cation. Special consideration willbe given to military enlisted candi­dates. For further information re-

garding the AFCEA CopernicusFoundation Scholarship, you maycontact: Norma Corrales atOm)GJI-6149, [email protected], or visittheir web site at www.afcea.org.Entries must be submitted toAFCEA Educational Foundationby November I, 2000.

* The National Academy forNuclear Training is offering $2,500scholarships to eligible studentsmajoring in nuclear engineering,power generation health physics,electrical or mechanical engineer­ing, or chemical engineering withnuclear or power option. Appli­cants must be U.S. Citizens, en­rolled full-time in a four-year ac­credited institution, minimum GPAof 3.0 or higher, and interested innuclear power careers. Addition­ally, scholarships will be renewedfor current Academy scholars whomaintain their eligibility. For fur­ther information on the NationalAcademy Educational Assistance

. programs, please visitwww.nei.org. Applications areavailable in the Financial Aid Of­fice. Please send completed appli­cation materials to: National Acad­emy for Nuclear Training, Schol­unship Review Committee, P.O.Box 6302, Princeton, NJ 08541­6302. Entries must be submittedto the National Academy forNuclear Training by February I,2001.

* Green Hills Software annuallyawards merit-based scholarshipsand fellowships to Caltech under­graduates who have demonstratedability and special aptitude in com­puter science. The award for thejunior year consists of a $2,500scholarship. The award for the se­nior year may consist of either a$2,500 or $5,000 scholarship. Inaddition, one or two applicants areinvited to become Green Hills Fel­lows. Applicants should be secondterm sophomores with a GPA of 3.2or higher. The selection criteria in­clude programming ability, aca­demic performance, and facultyand peer recommendations. Toapply, applicants must submit anapplication form, current academictranscript, and three letters of rec­ommendation, preferably from fac­ulty or employers familiar with thestudent's work. Applications areavailable in the Financial Aid Of:fice. Entries must be submitted tothe Financial Aid Office by Octo­ber 20, 2000.

To submit an event for the Mints,contact [email protected] ormail your announcement to Caltech40-58 Attn: Mints. Submissionsshould be brief and concise. Email ispreferred. The editors reserve theright to edit and abridge all material.Deadline is noon Wednesday. Unlessspecified, all mints will run for twoweeks.