Several upperclassmen and sophomores mentioned the term paper they had to write in their Introduction to Biomedical Engineering class and how much trouble at gave them. Luckily the term paper was optional this year. James, a sophomore, said that the term paper gave him insight into the areas of Biomedical Engineering that he was interested in. To his amazement a professor read his term paper and recommended he join a research group here at Case Western that was engaged in the topics his term paper addressed. James is now training a post doctorate student to take his position in the research group, and that only as a sophomore.

Other students mentioned the amount of lab and instrumentation write-ups required in the introduction courses. These included physics, biology, chemistry and a few Biomedical Engineering courses. The rudimentary concepts in the introduction labs, such as physics one and two, initially appeared redundant, but the write-up and lab processes did end up useful one student mentioned.

Besides the basic writing done in earlier classes, some students were involved in the writing of research proposals. A senior in the Biomedical Engineering program said that writing a research proposal allows the prospective researcher to quantitatively evaluate the work that he or she plans on engaging in. Researchers, but in some cases students, in any technical field write, in conjunction with their research proposal, a grant proposal requesting a person, group, society, or even the University itself to provide monetary assistance for the research.

Seniors in the Biomedical Engineering major have to complete a senior capstone research project which involves all the writing and research that an experienced researcher would have to conduct. This requirement gives students the opportunity to get valuable experience. The final result of the project is a technical research paper, a piece of writing meant to document and present the findings and research conducted by the student. It is the final combination of science and language, because the combination of the two allows the spread of ideas.

From the little that I heard from professors and students about their writing I see that science without writing is like Bonnie without Clyde. Ideas would never make it further than the spoken word and even though I had initially expected to be done with writing, I appreciate it even more now as I read through technical journals, textbooks, and articles. Engineering and writing go hand in hand and as a prospective engineer I will capitalize on the effectiveness of writing.

This raises the question: How do Archivists determine what is important? When this fundamental step has been made, how do archivists make their selections public and easily accessible to the people who would be interested in the collected information? This process is called archival description and is defined by Jennifer Nieves of the Allen Memorial Medical Library on the campus of Case Western Reserve University: “The purpose of archival description is to identify and explain the context and content of archival material in order to promote its accessibility.”

This archival material includes letters, tapes, notes, articles, newspapers and anything else that can be archived. These items in a collection are described in a standard format which is supposed to break the contents down into short pieces of categorical writing. The purpose of this writing is to enable ease of access and research. With so much information to sort through archivists are bound to miss a few things here and there as they write and compile archival descriptions.

An example of such a missed piece of information occurred at the Allen Memorial Medical Library during research conducted by a man from Korea studying the history of a late medical professional at the Case Western Reserve School of Medicine. The researcher from Korea stumbled upon some old film reels that had not been specifically documented in the “Scope and Content Notes” or “Container List” of the collection. These film reels contained recordings of the late doctor’s former estate on the current Severance Town Center property and a rare recording of a Western Reserve College Redcat football game.

I find it amazing how such brittle pieces of history that might not, at a certain instant, be determined as important surface as something incredibly valuable. This once again stresses the importance of the work being done by archivists. Their work, which involves extensive reading of material and compilation writing, is invaluable in the realm of history and even beyond.

Who knows what might be important to someone else. With well written archival descriptions not only will something important be observed and archived, but it will also be easily accessible. Without this integral part of archiving important material might as well just have been lost or destroyed.

The Allen Memorial Medical Library on the campus of Case Western Reserve University

As always, thank you for reading.

STEPHAN NIEUWOUDT

Cleveland was truly a city where everyone was a witness. Reading those words on the poster a year ago would have made people agree that LeBron James is an impressive athlete, but with their Eastern Conference championship it means so much more now. Professional sports are a huge investment for a city and the cavaliers with LeBron James have made it worthwhile.

According to Forbes, the revenue of the Cleveland Cavaliers is over 100 million dollars. The team’s value has increased by 20% over the past year and with rising ticket prices this number is bound to reach new heights. Not only do the Cavaliers individually bring wealth to the city, but with it comes other profitable business in the service and production industry. A professional sports team might not be the main income of a city, but it can definitely boost economy. Cleveland is a city in need of an economic boost.

Besides the Cavaliers, the Indians have also stepped up their game and are World Series title contenders this year. It is impressive how much can happen in one year. The main thing seen on the media a city, or the most prominent thing, is without a doubt sports. With the Cavaliers and Indians showing up to the ball game, Cleveland is becoming a prominent city in the media, which might give it the right push in the right direction. It might lure investors or other people moving into the city as the medical service industry and general service industry grow and will continue to grow.

“We Are All Witnesses.” Those words have lived up to mean a lot for the city of Cleveland. The NBA season starts in a month and the MLB season, with the Indians contending, is coming to a close. Cleveland will live by those words as the city grows and restores itself to the metropolis it once was and will then soar to new heights.

Thank you for reading.

STEPHAN NIEUWOUDT

Sources:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2220086
http://www.forbes.com/lists/2005/32/324902.html

The new “rising sun” logo, which is actually not very new, is now being sported on the first page of the Case Western website. Signs have also been replaced across campus, although the old sign is still present. These two examples actually show the physical and virtual aspects of the Case Western Reserve University logo. Looking at other universities, like Ohio State and Michigan, the logos of those universities shape the image of the university. This is mostly the result of their prestigious division one athletic programs, but the logo is also everywhere on their websites, pamphlets, letters, and grade report cards. A simple logo connects a university in many, but subtle, ways.

Here are some pictures of the many Case Institute of Technology, Western Reserve University, and Case Western Reserve University logos.

http://www.bradleyfarnsworth.com/images/CaseLogo.gif

These logos aren’t very different from each other, with the exception of one. Again, when people think of a certain university, any university, they likely think of the university’s logo, but this is an overgeneralization. I have no idea what MIT, WashU, Rutgers, NYU, Yale, or Harvard’s logo’s are, considering none of them have division one sports. In that respect I think the logo of a university only matters a lot when it is a very commercialized, such as division one sports. However, the logo does matter internal to the university, making things official and unified.

Either way, the university is sporting a new logo and the fat man with his surfboard now has time again to hit up those California waves.

Thank you for reading.

STEPHAN NIEUWOUDT

Here is a section of one of Dave Chapelle’s standup comedy sessions that addresses association by what people wear in a very humorous way. Ignore the cursing and vulgar content, but rather focus on the point Chapelle makes.

(Dave Chapelle at his finest.)

In his sarcastic way Chapelle gives a very good example how clothing is a form of association. The decision of someone to wear a certain piece of clothing might be to define themselves or somehow "subscribe" to a certain group. The decision could be subconscious. One might ask, why is a suit and tie considered formal attire as opposed to jeans and a shirt? Why do police officers wear black and blue and firemen and EMS personnel wear red? Again, these are just ways of association.

During the first week here at Case this form of association was used very often. Orientation leaders would wear bright red shirts and the freshmen going through welcome days would wear white shirts with pirate ships adorned on the back. Later we received shirts from our respective residential colleges. There was almost a shirt for every occasion, and that on top of the Browns, Steelers, Bengals, Indians, Cavaliers, Ohio State, Chelsea FC, Case Western, YMCA, and other shirts that littered the bodies of students across campus. With so many forms of association, association itself becomes a way to define oneself.

When college basketball season starts up again, I will bring out my KU jersey and in that way define myself as a supporter of that university, just as others will bring out UCONN, UF and OSU jerseys. When I go to a formal event I will wear a suit and tie, not only because it is a requirement, but also to present myself in a fashionable way.

With all these examples of how what we wear could be taken as a way we define ourselves, I might think twice about what message I am giving to the outside world by what I wear. As Dave Chapelle says, “Just because I'm dressed this way does not make me a police officer,” and I would not want someone to mistake me for something that I am not.

Thank you for reading.

STEPHAN NIEUWOUDT

As bold as that statement is, look at all the writing that litters desks, covers walls, fills books, and covers items. Then think about what each thing is a reminder of. Here are a few pictures in an around the second floor of Raymond. Each is a specific reminder.

These reminders come in the forms of notes, books, posters, schedules, map, pictures and many other things. I personally have Post-It notes with writing stuck on the top of my desk that remind me of things I need to do. There is also a written schedule above my desk of my classes, which is next to a bid from Fiji and a “Schedule at a Glance” from the Case Film Society. On my closet door I have a monthly calendar with important events written on it. I have a test on Wednesday and Thursday and I wouldn’t want to forget about them. These are only my written reminders in my living space, so I decided to look at my roommate’s desk and in and around the rooms of others.

My roommate has a few pictures on his desk, personal reminders of his family and friends. There is also a picture of his senior class football team. Down the hall someone has a map in his room of university circle, another reminder. Sean had a note written on his whiteboard on his door. He wanted to remind his friends who often knock on his door that he would be out of his room for the day at the photo studio.

Everyone in the hall has a nametag on his door, so that visitors or forgetful people know who lives where. The fire hose also has a huge red label to remind people that it is a “FIRE HOSE.” Our RA has a few notes written on his door and an awkward picture of a Cleveland Indian, just to remind him that the Indians are winning the title this year. (I can hear the Tigers fans booing in the background)

Books also contain reminders, just like all the above mentioned examples. My calculus book reminds me of the principles of vector calculus and mathematics in multiple dimensions. My chemistry book serves a similar purpose and so do the few novels lying around my room. Novels may not be personal reminders to the reader, but it is a reminder to the writer’s idea put in the form of writing. Also, this writer’s reminder might then be linked to something in the life of the reader, in turn making it a reminder for the reader. Every time I see the novel “David Copperfield,” I remember the countless hours I spent reading the 800 page monstrosity. Posters are also reminders. Marat Safin is my favorite tennis player, which is why I proudly remind others and myself of that fact.

With so many examples, the notion that all writing at home is a reminder does not seem so farfetched anymore. There are probably examples where this is not initially true, but upon closer inspection the statement does actually hold true. Next time you look at something in your home, written or not, think about what it is a reminder of.

Thank you for reading.

STEPHAN NIEUWOUDT

Since it appears to me that many students, including myself, were not explicitly taught the intricacies of cheating and intellectual property, the student’s misunderstanding is conveyed in the manner in which work in high school is approached. Students cut corners without even knowing they do, or do so consciously knowing that they can get away with it. I have to admit that I am one of those students too. Furthermore, even the diligent and hard working students are victims of the tempting shortcuts. “Sparknotes”, “Wikipedia” and other websites make life “easy” for high school students by providing shortcuts when students need to make up for lost time. Little do they know that they are learning less than they could have doing it the right way, which is usually the tougher way.

In Robert Frost’s poem “The Road Not Taken” he says:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference

It might be a cliché to say that for a student to go above and beyond the norm is the road to success, but in my short experience on this green earth it has so far held quite true. One half of the class will copy and reword a section from the biography of Robert Frost. The student taking the road less traveled by will independently research the life of Robert Frost, but also cite the biography and make personal interpretations and inferences from those works. Reading one essay from a student can show evidence of thought or the lack of it, and as cruel as it may seem, we all had to write an essay of admittance to our universities of choice that had to convey much more than the words in it.

So I ask myself, is academic achievement something we learn or are born with, or a combination of the two?

Poem source: http://www.bartleby.com/119/1.html