Stories from the Archives http://blog.case.edu/stories/ A project to regenerate legends at Case Western Reserve University. en-us Fri, 24 Apr 2009 16:33:09 EST Fri, 24 Apr 2009 16:33:09 EST gregory.wu@case.edu gregory.wu@case.edu http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Movable Type v3.121 The Blockade of Euclid Avenue http://blog.case.edu/stories/2009/04/24/the_blockade_of_euclid_avenue For those of you tuning in from my piece in The Observer, this is actually part of one of two... http://blog.case.edu/stories/2009/04/24/the_blockade_of_euclid_avenue case cwru Case Western Case Western Reserve University Fri, 24 Apr 2009 16:33:09 EST For those of you tuning in from my piece in The Observer, this is actually part of one of two in a series about activism at Case Western Reserve. And without further ado...

A typical day on Euclid Avenue will see hundreds of students crossing to and from the Main Quad. These miniature mobs can hold up traffic coming from Adelbert Road, but only briefly. This was not the case on May 5th of 1970, when over 2,000 people blockaded the intersection. This was not people trying to get somewhere on time; this was a message. This was protest.

]]> The Poet in Stone http://blog.case.edu/stories/2009/03/31/the_poet_in_stone When you get a statue in order to commemorate your life, usually it means you are fairly important, and usually... http://blog.case.edu/stories/2009/03/31/the_poet_in_stone Historic Figures and Events case cwru Case Western Case Western Reserve University Tue, 31 Mar 2009 11:44:09 EST When you get a statue in order to commemorate your life, usually it means you are fairly important, and usually well liked. For example, Michelson and Morley have sculptures to commemorate their achievement in experimental physics. Amasa Stone has an entire church named in his honor. I suspect that there are already President Obama sculptures in the making, if there are not ones in place already. So it stands to reason that if you have a sculpture that commemorates your life or your achievements or even where you lived, you were important.

So if having a sculpture makes you important, having two must make you doubly important. It takes two monuments to even begin to match your monumental importance, according to this logic. One even has to have your likeness carved into the eternal stone, so that everyone for generations, people will remember your face. So you should not be surprised when I tell you that Hart Crane is so important to the history of University Circle that two sculptures were installed in his honor.
But I am going to guess based upon your confused expressions that unless you are very familiar with early 20th century American literature, you have no idea who Hart Crane was. I would suggest that you keep reading if that is the case.

]]> Two Presidents and a Secretary of State Walk into a Bar... http://blog.case.edu/stories/2009/03/24/two_presidents_and_a_secretary_of_state_walk_into_a_bar Before I begin, I would like to advise everyone who has not done so already to read my entry on... http://blog.case.edu/stories/2009/03/24/two_presidents_and_a_secretary_of_state_walk_into_a_bar Historic Figures and Events case cwru Case Western Case Western Reserve University Tue, 24 Mar 2009 11:09:33 EST Before I begin, I would like to advise everyone who has not done so already to read my entry on Amasa Stone, entitled "Amasa Stone and the Western Reserve College” before reading this entry. In fact, while I’m at it, I recommend that everyone read everything that I write. It will truly shake you to the core, question everything you believe. Or, if it falls short of that, it will at least give you something to think about over your cup of warm distilled solution of tea leaves or coffee beans.

When Amasa Stone was on the board of trustees for Western Reserve College, during his tenure he made sure he would get his way. One way he did this was to be the most domineering personality, and so he was noted for being aggressive and uncompromising. Indeed, his tenacity was so well known that it was rumored that to get what you want, all you needed was a little reverse psychology to use the board on the man. However, he also decided he needed to hedge his bets, so he also monopolized the board. Of the twelve positions on the board, he managed to place eleven of his friends before his early death in 1883. In those names included famous people, such as two Presidents, his son-in-law and a Secretary of State.

]]> Amasa Stone and the Western Reserve College http://blog.case.edu/stories/2009/03/24/amasa_stone_and_the_western_reserve_college When it comes to the naming of a building, there are a few ways to go about it. One way... http://blog.case.edu/stories/2009/03/24/amasa_stone_and_the_western_reserve_college Historic Figures and Events case cwru Case Western Case Western Reserve University Tue, 24 Mar 2009 11:06:14 EST When it comes to the naming of a building, there are a few ways to go about it. One way is to pick somebody famous or important to the purpose the building and honor them forever in naming the building after them, unless you are the former Cornell Medical School, in which case you can default to option number two. Option two is to sell the name, whether permanently to the biggest donor, or on a lease basis like so many sports arenas. The third option is a variation on the second option: name it after who owns the building.

At Case Western Reserve the strategy has been no different. Buildings are either named after former presidents and famous faculty, or after important benefactors. There is one exception to this rule: Amasa Stone. Today his name has faded into obscurity, but if you were living in the latter half of the 19th century (that’s the 1800s to those who have trouble with century counting), you would have known his name. And you would have known him as owner of the Western Reserve College.

]]> It's Too Darn Hot http://blog.case.edu/stories/2009/03/03/its_too_darn_hot Cleveland in the winter makes heat a very relevant topic. With a windchill that typically drops below 0 Fahrenheit, one... http://blog.case.edu/stories/2009/03/03/its_too_darn_hot Buildings and Sculptures case cwru Case Western Case Western Reserve University Tue, 03 Mar 2009 11:41:59 EST Cleveland in the winter makes heat a very relevant topic. With a windchill that typically drops below 0 Fahrenheit, one may think that global warming is the biggest joke of the century. The heating we have today, which is typically electric radiator heating in most public building and central heating in the dormitories, is a wonderful development. People can stride around the Kelvin Smith Library in shorts and a t-shirt, although I often wonder how they get back to where they live. Perhaps they just live in the library.

One does not have to pay a heating bill on campus if you live within the university system, or at least it's lumped in with all the other costs. The situation we live in today, however, has been vastly different. And, of course, the source of one particular legend: the underground passageways.

]]> Students at Work http://blog.case.edu/stories/2009/03/03/students_at_work The Office of Student Employment can be found on the fourth floor of Yost Hall. Today, students can work for... http://blog.case.edu/stories/2009/03/03/students_at_work Strange But True case cwru Case Western Case Western Reserve University Tue, 03 Mar 2009 09:35:47 EST The Office of Student Employment can be found on the fourth floor of Yost Hall. Today, students can work for the university in numerous capacities, from supplementary instruction leaders to campus security to being the person who makes sure you don't sneak into Veale without swiping your ID first. The types of work available to students are diverse, but the key to all of them is that they are all fairly compatible with a student lifestyle, in that they are service oriented. This stems from the philosophy of being a student first and foremost. One should not exhaust a student with physical labor such that schoolwork may suffer.

Oddly enough, during mid-1800s the exact opposite approach was taken at the Western Reserve College.

]]> Blowing Off the Dust http://blog.case.edu/stories/2009/02/24/start_here To those who don't know me, I am a senior in the College Scholars Program, and you're reading part of... http://blog.case.edu/stories/2009/02/24/start_here Introduction case cwru Case Western Case Western Reserve University Tue, 24 Feb 2009 20:21:54 EST To those who don't know me, I am a senior in the College Scholars Program, and you're reading part of my senior project! But first let me tell you a little about what this all this is about.

]]> The Michelson Morley Experiment http://blog.case.edu/stories/2009/02/18/the_michelson_morley_experiment It's hard not to notice that the names Albert Michelson and Edward Morley seem to be everywhere here at Case... http://blog.case.edu/stories/2009/02/18/the_michelson_morley_experiment Historic Figures and Events case cwru Case Western Case Western Reserve University Wed, 18 Feb 2009 20:28:40 EST It's hard not to notice that the names Albert Michelson and Edward Morley seem to be everywhere here at Case Western Reserve. There is the Michelson-Morley Monument that is reminiscent of Freud, and nearby is the now defunct Morley Chemistry Building. There is the Michelson House dormitory, which allegedly has a large time capsule somewhere in its walls. At least three plaques on campus commemorate their work, as well as at least two mock apparatuses of their interferometer. Clearly their work was, and to some extent still is, a great source of pride for the university.

To understand their importance, however, you have to go back in time. In fact, a very, very long time.

]]> Names on the Wall http://blog.case.edu/stories/2009/02/17/names_on_the_wall An odd phenomenon that I have noticed but for which I have no quantitative numbers is that students at Case... http://blog.case.edu/stories/2009/02/17/names_on_the_wall Buildings and Sculptures case cwru Case Western Case Western Reserve University Tue, 17 Feb 2009 10:42:05 EST An odd phenomenon that I have noticed but for which I have no quantitative numbers is that students at Case Western Reserve tend to look down while walking more often than other populations. I am not sure as to the reason; it may be due to the cold, or it may be due to some social reason to avoid eye-contact. But I digress from my main point.

For those who do occasionally look up may have noticed that there are names written along the roof line of the Rockefeller Building on the Main Quad. The names are of famous physicists who have made important contributions to the understanding of classical physics. Nearly everyone recognizes names such as Galileo and Newton. Others are a little more obscure, such as Young and Fresnel, but if you know your physics they are still very relevant today.

But who on Earth are Arago and Gilbert?

]]> The Zero Growth Clinic http://blog.case.edu/stories/2009/02/11/the_zero_growth_clinic Ever since Thomas Malthus's "An Essay on the Principle of Population," over-population has been a concern among both academics and... http://blog.case.edu/stories/2009/02/11/the_zero_growth_clinic Strange But True case cwru Case Western Case Western Reserve University Wed, 11 Feb 2009 22:29:33 EST Ever since Thomas Malthus's "An Essay on the Principle of Population," over-population has been a concern among both academics and policymakers. This is a legitimate concern that has only grown more pressing in recent years as resources such as arable land and drinkable water have become points of contention and conflict. But during the late 1960s and early 1970s the Case Institute of Technology and the proceeding Case Western Reserve University took some interesting attempts to solve the problem.

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