Volume 102, Issue 4 Carnegie Mellon’s Student Newspaper Since 1906 September 17, 2007 Beyond campus politics: CMU celebrates Constitution Mentor pro- Hardiman, participating in our known and respected. Bill of Rights is one of the most document in our possession,” gram still by Sabrina Porter celebration,” said Holly Hippen- Hardiman will be speaking at well-known documents in the said Joey Cordes, a sophomore Assistant News Editor steel, director of the Student Life the Posner Center at 5:30 p.m. collection, which also includes design major. Offi ce. An original copy of the Bill of a facsimile of the Gutenberg “It says a lot for our school that going Strong Today, the original Bill of “Judge Hardiman will lead a Rights, one of only four in the Bible and important Einstein we have the Bill of Rights to dis- Rights and a Court of Appeals discussion about the Constitu- nation, is also available for view- offprints. play and fully commemorate a judge, Thomas Hardiman, ar- tion today and the nature of the ing at the Posner Center. For Posner, the primary value really important day.” by Stuti Pandey rived on campus in honor of constitution as a ‘living docu- Thomas Jefferson gave two of his collection was having care- For many, Constitution Day is Junior Staffwriter Carnegie Mellon’s third annual ment.’ ” copies of the document to each fully built a library for his family a new concept. Constitution Day celebration. Hardiman was recommended governor of all fourteen states an archive that represented the “I didn’t even know there was Now in its second year, The keynote speaker, Bill of as a possible keynote speaker by when it was written in 1792. Of best in ideas, sciences and the a Constitution Day,” said Lydia membership in the campus men- Rights display, and an array of a member of the Carnegie Mel- these copies, only four remain. arts. Remington, a sophomore public toring program Strong Women, other educational materials will lon faculty. Carnegie Mellon’s original The Bill of Rights, although policy and management major. Strong Girls has already more be available in the Posner Cen- He has experience in the Su- edition, a part of the Posner only on display until 4 p.m. “Not that it isn’t important, but than tripled, from last year’s ter, home to the Tepper School of preme Court, appeals circuit, collection, is currently on per- tomorrow, is available to the I didn’t think we actually cel- eight mentors to this year’s 25. Business, for the university com- and tax court, in addition to manent loan to the university university community year- ebrated the Constitution at a The program is under the munity to enjoy. Big Brothers Big Sisters of Pitts- from the Posner family. round in digital form at http:// certain time every year.” leadership of Grace DeForest, a “This year we are fortunate to burgh, Inc. His expertise in the The Posner collection was posner.library.cmu.edu/Posner. Remington brought up the senior operations research and have a U.S. Judge from the Third area of constitutional law and established in 1978 by Henry “I think it’s great that we have statistics major, and Breanna Circuit Court of Appeals, Thomas in its daily implications is well Posner and his wife, Ida. The such an original and important See CONSTITUTION, page A3 Zwart, a senior majoring in in- ternational relations and direct- ing. The program’s mission, ac- cording to its website, is “to cre- The bridges ate communities of strong and CMU grads successful women today, and supporting the strong and suc- of cessful women of tomorrow.” go back to The mission statement ap- pealed to fi rst-year economics major Destiny Ridguard, who school Allegheny County decided to apply to the program this year. “I think it’s interesting that we get to work in tandem with other founded in 1990 by Wendy Kopp, female CMU students working a student at Princeton Univer- towards a similar goal of em- sity, as a senior thesis project. powerment,” Ridguard said. Kopp raised $2.5 million to place Strong Women, Strong Girls 500 college graduates in teach- was founded in 2000 by Lindsay ing positions in the schools of six Hyde, a student at Harvard Uni- by Katie Zemel low-income communities. versity. The program arrived at Junior Staffwriter Today, Teach For America has Carnegie Mellon through Linda a network of over 5000 teachers Babcock of the Heinz School, The number of Carnegie Mel- in 26 areas. This past year, over who served on its board of direc- lon graduates who apply to Teach 19,000 college graduates ap- tors in Boston in the spring of the for America is on the rise. This plied nationwide and just over 2005–2006 school year. year, 36 members of the class 3000 were accepted. Teach For Carnegie Mellon is the fi rst of 2007 applied, a 57 percent America also now receives some university outside of Boston to increase in applications since federal funding and support from offer the program. 2006, according to a report is- foundations and local donors. This year, the program will fo- sued by Teach For America. By 2010, Teach For America cus on decreasing violence. Teach For America is a pro- plans to have 7500 corps mem- “There is a rise in violence in gram that places graduates from bers in 33 placement sites. Next Pittsburgh community. There- some of the nation’s top colleges year, the program plans to open fore, we need to bring strong and universities in two-year placement sites in Indianapolis, women to speak to the girls,” teaching positions in some of the Ind. and Kansas City, Mo. DeForest said. nation’s poorest school districts Teach For America requires The program targets girls in the hopes of eliminating the members to attend a fi ve-week from grades three to fi ve who achievement gap in this country. “teacher boot camp,” which pre- live in at-risk and low-income “Teach For America realized pares members for the situations communities, which are par- that to change on a broader level, they may encounter while teach- ticularly prone to violence, the they had to focus on recruitment ing. Once members complete the leaders said. and increasing the number of program, school districts are al- In the spring semester, Strong campus representatives,” said lowed to grant them temporary Women, Strong Girls will study Bill Thompson, who graduated teaching certifi cates. Corps mem- the history of violence in com- from Carnegie Mellon in 2001 bers are hired as any teacher in munities nearby and the female with a B.A. in business adminis- their particular district would be; role models who have made an tration. Thompson participated they are interviewed and placed impact on decreasing violence in the program from 2001 to where their specialty is needed throughout the world. 2004 and served as one of Teach most. Teach For America corps The program was also well- For America’s recruitment direc- members are paid by the school suited to Pittsburgh, DeForest tors from 2004 to 2005. district they work for and receive and Zwart said, because Pitts- Since 2003, the number of the same salary and benefi ts as burgh’s demographics show a applicants from Carnegie Mel- other beginning teachers. great discrepancy in the ratio lon has steadily increased. In Members make from $25,000 of males to females, much like 2003–2004, 16 students applied; to $44,000 per year. Carnegie Mellon’s campus. in 2004–2005, 21 students ap- The intensity level of the Last year, the program con- plied; and in 2006, 23 students program leads 10–15 percent sisted of eight mentors who applied. of members to drop out before worked with about 25 girls Eleven members of Carnegie completing their two-year term, in a group tutoring format. Mellon’s class of 2007 are cur- according to a 2006 article in This year, Zwart and DeForest rently serving their fi rst year in Newsweek. Those who dropped have recruited 25 mentors and the program. the program described not receiv- about 100 girls at four differ- “To make the necessary ing enough support from either J.W. Ramp/Photo Editor ent elementary schools around fundamental changes in our their school or from Teach For The South 10th Street Bridge (above), which spans the Monongahela River to connect downtown Pittsburgh. educational system, we need America, feeling overwhelmed Pittsburgh and the South Side, is one of over 1900 bridges in Allegheny County. Many of these have Strong Women, Strong Girls to attack [educational ineq- by the challenge, or having trou- been classifi ed as “structurally defi cient” by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, including uses a set curriculum to teach uity] from all sectors,” said Ian ble managing the classroom, the the nearby Boulevard of the Allies Bridge, which is currently under construction. Other bridges in the the girls skills that they need to Stormont, Teach For America article stated. area receiving facelifts include the Homestead Grays Bridge, the Hot Metal Bridge, and the Birmingham succeed. recruitment director for the Though diffi cult for some, Bridge. See story, page A5. Such skills include commu- Pittsburgh region. nication, critical thinking and Teach For America was See TEACH, page A5 leadership. To accomplish this, they engage in negotiation workshops and other activities to strengthen interpersonal After equipment theft, AB Tech faces life without mics skills, while simultaneously helping the girls with their tent sometime between 11 p.m. vehicle to transport it, leading Matt Williamson, co-chair of AB Although AB Tech still has homework.