Come see the Men's and Women's The ASCIT Movie this week Glee Club in concert with the i will be Th e Wrath of Khan. Caltech Chamber Orchestra. 7:30 and 10:00 PM in Baxter. Saturday, 8 PM, Ramo Auditorium THE CALIFORNIA TECH V OLUM E XCIX, N UMBER 28 P ASADENA , CALI FOR NIA FRIDAY , M AY 15 , 1998 Ditch Day was yesterday BY T EC H STAFF ting back into their own room. and other events that can only be de­ Stacks c,m be anything from scribed as strange. Yesterday was Ditch Day, or in brnte force to totall y intellectual. Ditch Day was carefull y the undergmd lingo, yesterday was Brnte force stacks include wal ls of planned and organized by the se­ the day that " fomorrow" became concrete, wood, and other baniers, niors months in advance. Each "Today." With shouts of ''''Ditch while the more intellectual "honor" house had a representative in charge Day is Today," this year's seniors stacks are commonly based on of di seminating Ditch Day informa­ left at 8a.m. to return at5 p.m., when puzzles which eventually lead to the tion, including the infamous fake their Ditch Day stacks were com­ room combination or elaborate sets Ditch Days that have occured pleted. of tasks that direct students allover throughout thi s term. There were This annual migration of se­ campus, finding clues and preform­ two campus wide Ditch Day fakes ni ors off campus, however, this ing wacky and perhaps difficult thi s year, the last taking place two leaves their rooms unguarded, so the stunts. Almost all stacks revolve days before the actual event. seniors also leave "stacks" to pre­ around some centmltheme. The acrual date of Ditch Day is vent the underclassmen from get­ This year was no different. Ob­ kept a secret from the underclass­ ting into their rooms. If the servers, including gmd students, fac­ men, but this does not stop rampant underclassment can get through the ulty, staff, and news reporters saw speculation as third term moves on. stack, there is also a bribe in the aUso rts of wackiness: hidden clues, Nevertheless, as soon as the Senior's "Th e diaryfell out, but we 're breaking it anyway." room, to convince the underclass­ commadeered daihatsus, water and morning cry is heard, the energetic Participants in this Ditch Day stack decided to destroy the men not to counterstack- prevent fundanoodle banles, large contrap­ enthusiasm that is Ditch Day starts Throop X- Wing , though th ey had the clue inside already. the owners of the room from get- tions, large props, unique costumes, in motion. Anderson to receive Crafoord Prize Caltech to raise $100 million C ALTEC H PRESS R ELEASE Baltimore congratu­ lated Professor Ander­ for new biology building The Roy al Swedish Acad­ son and noted that "th e According to Calt ech presi­ emy of Sciences is 10 award In stitute is very proud BY M ED IA R ELATIO NS dent David Baltimore, a Nobel th e 1998 Crafoord P~ i ze in and pleased that Don The California Ins titute of Prize-winning bi o logist, th e geosciences. wi th spec ial em­ will be receiving th e Technology has formally an­ phasis upon "the dynamics of Crafoord. It is exciting campaign is des ig ned to nounced the goal of mi sin g $100 strengthen Caltec h's abil it y to th e deeper parts of th e Earth ," news . Don's work is million in a campaign to support advance sc ientific kn ow ledge to Don L. Anderson of the tru ly deserving of thi s new initi ati ves in th e biological and pave th e way for new tech­ California In st itute of Tech­ great prize. He is one SCiences. nologies. nology and to Adam M. of th e world's most The Biological Sciences In i­ "The 21 st century wi II be Dziewonski from Harvard prominent scientists in tiative (BS I) will allow the In­ th e Golden Age of biology. We Uni versi ty for their fundamen­ th e area," stitute to create approximately a will see advances in both fun­ tal contributions to our knowl­ Accord in g to the dozen new facu lt y positions in damental understandi ng of na­ edge of the structures and pro­ Royal Acade my, biol ogy and re lated disciplines, ture and medical technology fo r cesses in Earth 's interior. The Anderson and Don L. Anderson constru ct a new biology build­ 1998 Crafo ord Prize is valued Dziewonski have to- th e treatment of di sease. ing on campus, develop new "Our campai gn is ultimately at $500.000 doll ars. and will gether developed a generall y temperatures. Ande rson 's joint training programs wi th ai med at complex quest ions like be presented 10 the prizewin­ accepted standard model of reserach has shown th at such medical schools, and target sev­ the nature of consciousness, how ners at a ceremony on Septem­ how Earth is organized and of changes in composition of the eral major biological questi ons memory and leaming operate at ber 16 in Sweden. the dynamics of the processes mantle may explain th e occur­ that can be answered on ly On hearing the news that at its core and in its mantle that rence of tensions in Earth 's the mol ecu lar level, how cell s through sustained research in grow and die, and how genetic he had been awarded the 1998 govern continental drift, vol­ crust that can lead to earth­ state-of-the-art faci li ties. networks function," Balti more Caltech's Eleanor and John R. canism, and earthquakes. quakes. Anderson and his re­ "We intend to keep Caltech says. McMillan Professor of Geo­ Anderson and hi s team search team have also used at the forefront of research in th e "To answer these questi ons, ph ysics, Don Anderson, said, ha ve researched changes aris­ seismic data to study convec­ bi ological sciences," says "I think it's very sign ificant ing from the pressure deep ti on currents in the mantle, we need the modern resources Cami lIa Frc.,t, cochair of th e that onl y a major fundrai sing th at deep-Earth geophysics is down in Earth's mantle. Sud­ important for understanding BSI and member of the Cal tech being honored by thi s award. den changes in the rock types continental drift and volcan­ effort can provide for Caltech." Board of Trustees. It is rare for our fi eld to be ac­ at depths of 400 kilometers ism. Recentl y, Andreson has According to Ben Rosen, kn owledged in this way. I am adn 660 ki lometers are ex­ al so used geochemi cal and really de lighted that Adam plained by conversions under­ chemical-i sotope meth ods not Dziewonski, a close coll eague gone by the rock types, so that onl y for mapping Earth's de­ IN THIS ISSUE of mine, is also being honored they contain minerals entirely velopment, but also for under­ for hi s work. Most people, unknown at Earth's surface. standing the development of THE USUAL THIS WEEK'S when th ey think of geophys­ At 400 kilometers, the mineral the moon and the planets Mars ics, think of earthquakes, but o li vine, common in lava, and Venus. STUFF FEATURES seismolog ists do other things, changes to spinel, a high-pres­ Anderson was born in such as x-raying Earth using sure mineral. At 660 kilome­ 1933 in Maryland and re­ Announcements ..................... 12 Ditch Day Extravaganza ..... 4-7 seismic tomography to see ters, the mineral perovskite is ceived his doctorate in geo­ DILBERT . ............................... IO Leadership Awards ................. 2 what is go ing on in the deep formed , a mineral otherwise physics from Caltech in 1962. Fox Trot........ ......................... IO Now Hear This.... ..................... 9 Earth." ony prodcued in the laboratory He has been a leading figure The Outside Wor1d .................. 2 Bridge. .......................................... 9 Dean's Corner... ....................... 8 Caltech president David at very hi gh pressures and Maya Angelou .......................... 9 2 May 15 , 1998 NEWS The California Tec-h Clubwatch! The Outside World Ihler) Shumway capture The Caltech Ballroom Dance Club just started a by Myfanwy Callahan Hinrichs Memorial Award new set of dance lessons in­ cluding Argentine Tango and NEW DEL HI , iND IA - Despite residents outraged o ver the OFFTHEWEB ... Milo nga o n Thursdays at the threat of sanctions, India killings of students have joined 8:30 and a free East Coast conducted two mo re unde r­ in the rio ts. 8000 students Alex lhlerand Mike Shumway Swing on Tuesdays at 7:30. ground nuclear tests Wednes­ marched to demand President are the winners of the 1998 Hinrich., Both classes meet in Dabney day, after an initial three blasts Suharto's resignation. Mean­ Memorial Awaro. Established by Dining Hall. on Monday. President Clinton while, the rupiah, Indonesia's the Board ofTrustees, this award is has pledged to use the United currency, dropped further by given in memory of Frederic W. The Caltech Chinese States' vote todeny India fund­ 16..percent. Hinrichs, Jr. who served for more Students Association ing from the Inte rna tio na l than 20 years as a dean and profes­ (CCSA) is hosting a Dim Monetary Fund and the World BELGRADE, SERB IA - President sor at the Institute. In remembrdllCe Sum Outing o n Saturday, Bank. Slobodan Milosevic of Yugo­ of his honor, courage, and kini!ness, May 16th at 888 Seafood slavia and Ibrahim Rugova, the the awaro bearing hi s name is made Restaurant at noon.