VOL. XCVIII NO. 14 PUBLISHED BY THE STUDENTS OF TRINITY COLLEGE SINCE 1904 FEBRUARY 22,2000 Midsession to Face Yet Another Reevaluation Trustees toReexamine Traditional Week of Study in Light of Data Collected by Curriculum Committee seventy-five percent occupancy BY DAVIS ALBOHM of the residence halls during the News Writer week, and meal plan data backed up that number. Also, The trustees will make a de- as a result of the new cision concerning the future of Midsession plan, about sixty Midsession at their meeting on percent of classes had a specific March 11, based on a recom- Midsession wri ting assignment mendation by Dean of Faculty or project due during or right Miller Brown. after the week. The goals and The Midsession Committee, purpose of M idsession are being headed by Associate Academic questioned by some who do not Dean Ronald Spencer, will com- view it as a positive component pile data from last week by Fri- of the academic year. day, and forward it to the SethTillman'02 believes that Curriculum Committee, who is Midsession is unnecessary, and meeting March 2. While it is an extra burden on students. difficult to predict the outcome "One actually learns in a class- of the meeting, Dean Spencer room setting, where discussion has a guess as to the future of and interaction with professors Midsession. "I am inclined to occurs. On the other hand, I think that there will probably don't feel that I gain anything be changes to Midsession next from the mindless busy work, year. The trustees want to inves- that is assigned over CASSI HALIAM Sister Helen Prejean speaks to students in the Vernon Social Center. tigate modifications, and will Midsession." Some, who by not necessarily abolish it." chance are not affected by extra When asked of her opinion on work, wish that the days off for the outcome of the meeting, Midsession could-be moved Sister Helen Prejean Speaks Dean of Students Mary Thomas elsewhere in the academic cal- is unsure about the next move endar. "1 would rather have the of the trustees. "It is hard to . reading days moved to a week Against Capital Punishment judge what the trustees willdo.} just before final exams, where I Medaille, has written and lec- However I believe it is impor- could put the days to better use," BY BETH GILUGAN says she never dreamed that she tured extensively on the death tant for us to figure out the goal states Melissa Steeley '02. Managing Editor would be by his side two years penalty. Over the years, she has when he died by the electric of Midsession, and how it can Dean Spencer and the com- best be used." appeared on ABC World News chair. She has since served as mittee are currently looking As debate over the death pen- Tonight, 60 Minutes, BBC World spiritual adviser to four other This past week, Trinity en- into possible alternatives for alty rages throughout America, Service Radio, and an NBC spe- death row inmates. Matthew tered its second Midsession of Midsession for future years. One Trinity had the privilege of cial series on the death penalty. Poncelet (the character played the 1999-2000 academic year. possibility is to abolish the fall hosting an expert on this sub- However, it was not until the by Sean Penn in the film) is a Once again, the Midsession Midsession, and create a four ject, Sister Helen Prejean, CSJ, At publication of her book in 1993 composite of Patrick Sonnier committee, whose purpose is to day weekend in mid-October. her Vernon Center lecture on and the subsequent movie ad- and another inmate she dealt gather data concerning all as- Also, classes would not be held Thursday, February 17, Sister aptation of it, that she achieved with, Robert Willey. pects of Midsession, is working the Monday and Tuesday of Prejean addressed a large crowd national fame. During her lec- At the lecture, Prejean was to produce new numbers using Thanksgiving week. This plan of students, professors, and vari- ture, Sister Prejean recounted introduced by Newman Club information collected last week. would keep the spring ous other members of the Hart- the days when she would find a President Andy Riemer '00, Finalized data from last se- Midsession, which, as evidence ford community. The previous crowd of less than ten people who provided the crowd with mester showed a sizable in- suggests, is more important be- evening, the Campus Catholic waiting to hear her speak, and some background information crease in the number of cause of senior thesis writing Ministry had sponsored a show- praised the movieas an effective about capital punishment. students who,remained on and educational trips. This ing of the film Dead Man Walk- way of getting her message out. Riemer spoke of the racial and campus for the majority of week would not act as a vaca- tion. Another option under in- ing, Tim Robbins' 1995 Sister Prejean became in- economic bias inherent in it, Midsession, compared to the vestigation by the Committee award-winning feature that is volved with death row inmates and talked about the recent 1998-99 year. Residential fel- would be to schedule fourteen based on Prejean's best-selling in the early 1980s, when she was moratorium in Illinois and con- lows submitted reports that es- book. Both events were well-at- asked to write letters to a man see PREJEAN on page seven timated approximately see CHANGE on page six tended, especially taking into by the name of Patrick Sonnier, consideration that they took who was sentenced to death for place during Midsession. the brutal murder of two teen- Sister Prejean, who is a mem- agers. She recounted her initial WorlcHFamous Architect to ber of the Sisters of St.Joseph of reluctance to get involved, and Design Local History Center Inside This Week's Issue BY ANN J. Connecticut History Center as tive Director David Kahn stated, part of the plan to revitalize the "We do not have enough space O'CONNELL neighborhood surrounding or the right kind of space... a Fall Discipline Report Released News Editor Trinity College. Gehry will de- larger, more modern facility News Pg- 7 sign the building. The new fa- will allow us to develop the The Trinity College neigh- cility will house and display the vivid interactive displays and Why Marriott? borhood will soon be home to a large collections of Connecti- exhibitions that can bring our Opinion • pg- 4 building designed by Frank cut-related museum materials history alive for families, stu- Gehry, the world-renowned ar- that CHS possesses, making the dents and tourists." Profile on Center for the Study of Religion in Public Life chitect who designed the material available to the public The new building, a 115,000 Features. PS-' U Guggenheim Museum in both in the form of a large li- square-foot facility which will Bilbao, Spain. Gehry, who has brary and interactive exhibits. feature library space, class- generated headlines with his ar- Master Class at Theaterworks The announcement of the rooms, media labs, and "family chitectural designs, will be con- history center celebrates the friendly" museum exhibits will Arts PS-14 tributing to Hartford's efforts to 175th anniversary of the Con- be located just off the Trinity revitalize the city and the local necticut Historical Society, Campus on Zion Street. AT Witnesses Several Students Avenge Snowman's Death economy by designing a facility whose current facility, origi- There have also been plans to Announcements.. PS- ?$ for the exploration of Connecti- nally a private residence in the revitalize the rest of the neigh- cut history, West End of Hartford, is unable borhood. President Evan Men beat Princeton; Women beat Harvard Earlier this month, the Con- to expand any more. Dobelle expressed excitement Sports .'..... Pg-23 necticut Historical Society In a press release regarding about the possibilities that the (CHS) unveiled plans to build a the plans for the facility, Execu- see GEHRY on page nine PAGE 2 OPINION THE TRINITY TRIPOD - FEBRUARY 22,2000 Where Have All frinitp Cripofr the Teachers Gone? In keeping with the current to motivate. The situation is less Dan Berman'01 BethGilliganHtt higher education fad, Trinity than ideal for all parties in- EDITOR-IN-CHIEF MANAGING EDITOR has aggressively promoted its volved. liberal arts approach to teach- Further complicating this ing. "Our class sizes and stu- problem is the tenure system. NEWS EDITOR BUSINESS MANAGER The system, although AnnJ.O'Connell'OO Renay Smallcomb '01 not unique to Trinity, is Owen W. Tripp dreadfully inadequate FEATURES EDITORS BUDGET DIRECTOR Bringing on the Weather for the college's needs. In its simplest terms, James Cabot '02 Brian Nanos '03 Amelia Ames '00 Trinity's tenure system dent/faculty ratio are among rewards the professors who OPINION EDITOR ARTS EDITORS the lowest in the country," the have written books, contributed Abigail F.Tftonms'03 Amy Buchner '02 Micah Cogen '03 promotional material crows, to scholarly journals, and re- "we are committed to the stu- ported significant experimental SPORTS EDITOR ANNOUNCEMENTS EDITOR dent-professor relationship." work. In other words, the ten- Nathaniel E. Silver '02 Radost Rangelova '03 While all of this may be true, ure committees look for candi- Trinity is still missing the skill dates who have been published, that premier liberal arts .col- not candidates with great repu- ONLINE EDITOR PHOTOGRAPHY EDITORS leges have down to a science— tations as teachers. Riclmrd Downe '03 Whitney Cronk '02 Cassi Hallam '01 the ability to attract professors Essentially our system turns who are teachers as well as its back on those who are the scholars.