Dean Burns assures possible return of bar nights
In an interview with the Campus Times, Dean of Students Matthew Burns expressed his regret at having to instate a moratorium on bar buses, which went into effect until further notice on Wednesday, Nov. 16 and expressed his conviction that it was a necessary decision to reduce the escalating danger to students.
Burns said that the administration is “inclined to trust students” and that he hopes the off-campus drinking events can be reinstated, but that the trend toward problematic behavior had to be arrested when it was.
Burns stressed that students need to monitor themselves and said that the Bar Night Review Committee is reviewing applicable policy changes, including taking a closer look at some venues that have been more problematic than others.
“If we can’t do it safely, then we would strongly consider doing away with it,” Burns said. “Every option is on the table.”
He said that some sort of a decision will hopefully be reached during the spring semester and said that in the meantime every peer group should make an attempt to reform UR’s culture surrounding these events, admittedly not an easy problem to fix.
“It’s about a general cultural response — how are we going to treat each other and are we going to do something about it,” Burns said. “It’s a problem bigger than policy and process.”
Eastman students earn top marks in voice competition
Eastman School of Music students Hsin-Mei Chang, Elizabeth Smith and Matthew Grills have been named the winners of this year’s Friends of the Eastman Opera voice competition, which was held on Saturday, Nov. 19 in Eastman’s Kilbourn Hall.
Chang, a first year master’s degree student at Eastman, won first place for her soprano performance and received a $1,500 prize.
Smith, also a soprano and a second year master’s degree student, won second place, which is accompanied by a $1,000 prize.
Grills, a tenor and second year master’s degree student, received third place and $750 in prize money.
The Friends of Eastman Opera, an organization that supports Eastman’s opera students, programs and productions, has sponsored the annual voice competition since 2001.
UR launches collaboration with Peruvian University
A two-day symposium, beginning on Thursday, Dec. 1 at 6:30 p.m. at the Memorial Art Gallery, will showcase the research of leading scholars from Peru on the unique architecture and urban planning of the Moche and other pre-Columbian civilizations.
The event will commence with a presentation entitled “The Moche: Archaeology, Architecture and Society.” The second day’s topic is “Architecture and Urban Development in Pre-Columbian Peru” and will be presented at 3:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 2.
UR and the Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Peru (PUCP) have entered into a five-year cooperation agreement to spur visiting faculty and student exchange and disseminate knowledge unique to each institution.
Over the next five years, one faculty member from PUCP will visit UR each year and teach two courses related to UR’s Archaeology, Technology and Historical Structures program. UR and PUCP will also exchange students each semester under a reciprocity plan. For information on UR’s program, visit www.rochester.edu/college/ATHS/index.html.
UR researchers earn HPV patent
In recognition of the work of three UR virologists — Richard Reichman, William Bonnez and Robert Rose — UR has been awarded a U.S. patent for research that is crucial to both human papillomavirus vaccines currently on the market.
The patent will allow the scientists to create virus-like particles that simulate the action of HPV 16, the type of HPV that causes the majority of all cancers related to HPV, including 50 percent of cervical cancers and more than 90 percent of oropharyngeal cancers.
The UR team was the first to have ever shown that HPV virus-like particles create an immune response capable of preventing infection of human tissue by HPV and the first to test an HPV vaccine in people.
HPV is the most common sexually transmitted disease. The two vaccines available — Gardasil and Cervarix — have been highly effective; Gardasil has been shown to be 100 percent effective in protecting young women not previously infected with HPV from HPV-caused cervical cancer, according to a recent study.
Basketball alumni inducted into prestigious Hall of Fame
Two UR alumni — Andy Larkin ’04 and Seth Hauben ‘05 — were inducted into the Wendy’s College Classic Hall of Fame on Sunday, Nov. 27 in honor of their successful undergraduate basketball careers.
The induction ceremony was part of the runup to this year’s tournament, which opened on Tuesday, Nov. 29 for women and Wednesday, Nov. 30 for men.
Larkin and Hauben, who are now the second and third UR players to gain entry to the Hall, played together for three seasons from 2000-03 and led the Yellowjackets on one spot in the NCAA Division III Final Four, two appearances in the Sweet 16 and a Wendy’s title in 2004.
The two basketball standouts are also among career leaders in several categories, including field goals, rebounds, blocks and free throws.
Leah Buletti is a member of the class of 2013.
