Puzzling Parasites

Professor Livdahl speaks about his research on biodiversity

By Ethan Goldstein
CCN News Reporter

Professor Todd Livdahl often appears shy. With an almost inaudibly soft voice, awkward smile, and calm demeanor, he discusses the finer points of ecology with a subtle but clear enthusiasm, only to revert to a mild stutter when unsure of what to say.

Professor Livdahl in his natural habitat. Photo by Ethan Goldstein.

More comfortable with specifics, he teaches not only generalized courses like “Ecology,” “Quantitative Methods,” and “Population Biology,” but also a rotating group of a half dozen “Ecology of…” classes, like next semester’s “Ecology of Atlantic Shores” and “Ecology of Infectious Diseases.”

But like so many scientists, his modest demeanor hides the importance and breadth of his research: Professor Livdahl is attempting to be one of the first scientists to prove the benefit of biodiversity, and he’s been given a $380,000 grant by the NIH to do so.

In our age of climate change and environmental destruction, species are going extinct at a faster rate than they have since the last “mass extinction” (of which there have been only five thus far since life began on Earth), making biodiversity one of the most immediate and topical subjects in biology. But for an issue so often discussed by worried environmentalists, it’s surprisingly hard to articulate just what the value of biodiversity is.

Speaking about silence

OPEN and ROCU handle scheduling overlap

By Claire Tierney
Editor-in-Chief

This year ROCU’s Noise Day and OPEN’s Day of Silence fell on the same day this past Friday. While both groups proclaim messages that all ClarkStudents can all get behind, from ROCU’s urging students to express themselves louder and OPEN’s call to bring attention to LGBT bullying, they seem to have opposing mission statements. Fortunately for all, both clubs seemed highly accommodating and were quick to ensure that no one’s toes were stepped on.

ROCU’s made noise on campus during OPEN’s Day of Silence. Photo by Ashley Klann.

According to the official Day of Silence Organization, The National Day of Silence was created in 1996 at University of Virginia as a day of action in which students in schools all over the country could take a vow of a form of silence in order to bring attention to the “silencing effect of anti-LGBT bullying and harassment in schools.” Simply by abstaining from participating in conversations both in and outside class (though  complying with all instructor’s class policies),  students are bringing attention to the bullying, harassment and name calling that has a silencing effect on LGBT students in schools across the country. The goal of The Day of Silence is to make schools safer for all students, regardless of sexual orientation or gender expression.

Clarkies teach about recycling at Woodland St. Academy

By Gwen Walsh
Alumni Editor

Five Clarkies recently volunteered at the Woodland Street Academy to teach elementary school students about the three other R’s – reducing, reusing, and recycling. Shannon Choquette, Will Cutshall, Heather MacKenzie, Olivia McGill, and Rebecca Zilberstein are all employees of the Clark Recycling Center and joined this project after a teacher at the school asked Sustainability Coordinator, Jenny Isler, if any crew members would be interested in contributing to their water-cycle curriculum.

The three R's of recycling that were presented to the Woodland Academy students. Image courtesy of claracampoamormostoles.wordpress.com.

Together they developed an interactive lesson plan for the students. They started by showing students examples of waste from a bagged lunch, including a small snack bag, a glass bottle, and a plastic sandwich container, and discussed how each of these items illustrates an aspect of responsible waste management.

The snack bag shows “reduce” because individually-portioned items use more packaging than necessary; a glass bottle explains reuse because it can be utilized as a beverage container again and again; and the sandwich container is a recyclable item. They also discussed the importance of reducing the amount of waste which ends up in a landfill, which causes many problems with them.

Next, the crew guided the students through sorting a bag of clean trash and recyclables (plastic and glass bottles, aluminum cans, cardboard, and paper) and explained where each is stored in the Recycling Center.

CUSC discusses plans for next year

Office space allocations presented

By Gwen Walsh
Executive Editor

Representatives from OPEN attended this week’s student council meeting to discuss a Purchase Order which was denied by Treasurer Melat “so graceful she should be royalty” Seyoum, as she is called in the minutes. The group wished to buy t-shirts for the Month of Awareness, but the request was denied because it was for apparel, although Seyoum agreed to discuss the issue with the group further after the meeting.

Grants Committee Chair Ivy “Not Beyonce and Jay-Z’s baby” Mbaya [sic], heard a request for $200 from the advocacy fund for Aaron Segura to attend a seminar in Costa Rica on permaculture called “Verd Energia.” He has already met most of the cost requirements and will collaborate with Food Truth when he returns to share what he learned. The motion passed, and the funds will be used for transport and seminar fees.

Rory “the green hair was a bet, okay?” Jones [sic] from the Organizational Committee presented on Room and Space Allocations for the 2012 – 2013 academic year. Jones stated that he would assign The Scarlet and STIR to the same office space, in the basement of the ALCI house. The Scarlet appealed the allocation, but Jones denied the request stating that STIR is a new organization and thus deserves the space. According to their Facebook page, STIR has been in existence since 2006.

CUSC ratified the results for the recent special election. The Student Venture Fund, which would have given students money to start initiatives that are not directly affiliated with the university, failed 237 to 254, but the Sustainability Fund passed 247 to 244, which is a very close race.

News of the Weird

Five articles about Aliens

By Claire Tierney
Editor-in-Chief

Gullible government

Mr. Montgomery, a small time gambler and alien abduction veteran, sold the United States some bogus defense software for $20 million. Montgomery convinced the FBI and CIA that his presumably alien proof software could detect “secret Al-Qaeda messages embedded in video pixels on Al Jazeera’s news website.” As of now, Montgomery has not been charged with wrongdoing by the US government and is not likely to be, as apparently the agencies do not want to publicize their gullibility.

UFO’s repel voters

After Ruth Parks lost the election for treasurer of Horseshoe Bend, Ark., she sued on grounds that there was a conspiracy by the mayor and police chief. The court turned the appeal down, concluding that the voters, and not her conspiracy, were responsible for her defeat. Her loss has been attributed to her well known belief in aliens and UFO’s, as well as her and her husband’s conflicting views on the subject. She insists that she has not been abducted by aliens, while her husband insists that she had been, many times, and that they left scars.

Alien house party

Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, Governor of the Russian republic Kalmykia, reported on television that he was abducted in a space ship in 1997 and forced to communicate telepathically with aliens, and then later “entertained some in his apartment.” A crisis immediately emerged in which concern over the protection of state secrets arose. Next, concern over Ilyumzhinov’s chess skills arose, as he was a world champion at the time. Amidst all this madness, President Medvedev’s chief economic advisor, also a chess stud himself, supported UFO stricken Ilyumzhinov, calling to attention his “superior managerial talent.”

Leader of the week: Allegra Marra

Leader of the Week is brought to you by Gryphon and Pleiades Honor Society, which is awarded to 12 seniors who personify the Gryphon and Pleiades motto, “Scholarship, Leadership, and Citizenship,” as demonstrated by outstanding achievement in academics, extracurricular activities, and community service.

The following is the nomination letter submitted  by Siobhan Kelley (Class of 2012):

Though Allegra Marra (Class of 2014) is only a sophomore, she has already made her mark on Clark University. She is extremely passionate about advocating for solutions to both global and local problems. As a Making a Difference (MAD) Scholar, Allegra volunteers at Big Brothers Big Sisters and coordinated Just Do It Day 2012 where over 150 Clarkies volunteered in the Worcester community. She is also the treasurer of ONE Campus, which works to end extreme poverty and preventable disease in Africa. Though the topics can be difficult, Allegra still inspires and motivates others to join this extremely important movement. Whether she is lobbying on Capitol Hill or tabling in the UC, she always embodies the best qualities of an advocate and a leader.

Editor’s Corner

by Gwen Walsh

Of all of the articles I’ve read, questions I’ve asked, and opinions I’ve formed (and subsequently changed), of all the ideas that have passed through my brain over my last five years at Clark, the most valuable have been written in scarlet. I have a degree which claims I understand the history of art, and am a master at public administration, but when I look back on my education, I remember exciting interviews, journalistic dilemmas, and Thursday morning sunrises.

I found love and lifelong friendship in this office. But mostly, as corny as it sounds, I found myself. I found a way to combine my love of grammar with my fixation on justice, as well as a way to contribute to my community in a meaningful way. I found that designing print layout is one of my favorite things to do, and that sometimes the most rewarding parts of an experience are the things on the periphery, things that you didn’t anticipate but were better than you ever could have expected. I will take this wisdom with me into the world beyond Clark, but I know that at least once a week my mind will wander to the basement of 138 Woodland Street, and I’ll wish I were there, trying to balance in one of the dozen broken chairs and laughing hysterically with my fellow journalists. Because what could ever be more satisfying than a freshly pressed stack of Scarlets, brimming with our thoughts and creativity, waiting to be unbound and opened?

Police Logs

Wednesday, April 18
8:21 – RP states that they injured their ankle the previous day.
10:19 – Dizzy person in Bullock Hall.

Friday, April 20
23:05 – Foot Pursuit on main campus.

Saturday, April 21
11:04 – Removed homeless person from the UC.

Sunday, April 22
22:01 – Spill in the hallway at Maywood Hall.

In total, there were eleven calls for assisance, ten calls for escort, three investigations, nine suspicious persons, one threat, five counts of larceny, seven calls for EMS, one count of marijuana posession, two burglar alarms, two fire alarms, one disorderly person, and seven miscellaneous complaints this week.

Responsibility on both sides

Students and President Angel participate in focus groups about campus safety

By Gwen Walsh
Alumni Editor

Last week students met with President Angel to share perspectives on and experiences with campus safety, and discuss possible measures to improve Clark’s security.

A University Police cruiser in the Clark parking garage. Photo by Ashley Klann.

The meetings came in the wake of several alarming campus crime incidents, including the sexual assault at Clark in February. Since these focus groups, UP issued a “safety notification” about Clark police pursuing and confiscating the property of three minors after a strictly verbal, non-physical altercation initiated by Clark students, which gave rise to questions about UP policy and jurisdiction.

The safety forum was organized by former CUSC Vice President and Project Playground Community Outreach Coordinator Ali Canino, and consisted of three one-hour-long sessions with three to six students each. Angel and Canino attended all three sessions.

“Safety is something that we need to be constantly improving on,” Canino said. “And students are the ones that are going to have to wave the red flag.”

The purpose of the forum was to create an open, non-judgmental environment for students to talk candidly about their opinions, so most respondents will remain anonymous throughout this article.

New faces at CUSC meeting

Corey Coose resigns from Judiciary Committee

By Jeremy Levine
Scarlet Staff

This week’s meeting of our esteemed elected representatives involved a number of personnel changes. First, Corey Coose, a respected member of the Judiciary Committee resigned in dramatic fashion, thanking Council members for their service and wishing everyone the best of luck, amidst the shrieking protests of his fellow Judiciary members.

The results of the April 16-17 elections are in, and CUSC swore in two new members as a result. Many other positions were contested but have resulted in ties or need to be sorted out otherwise. For the time being, Sharon Bort was sworn in as Hughes Hall Representative, and Tarikwa Leveille was sworn in as Minority Representative. CUSC also appointed a new webmaster, Michael Steele.

Four Grants Committee allocations were made this week. First, the Student Athletic Advisory Committee (SAAC) got $300 for an event this coming Sunday at the Dolan Field House. The event is called Wiffle Weekend, and the money is going towards shirts and pizza. They will be asking for donations for the Special Olympics at the event.