<p>Thanks, I was having a brain freeze.</p>
<p>Apparently, we’re entitled to 3 rubs of John Hays’ nose for good luck during our stay at Brown. Does this mean three for each installment of school? For example, what if we choose to attend Brown for grad school? 6 rubs, perhaps? Ph.D.= 9 rubs? Hmmm…</p>
<p>Where is John Hays’ nose?</p>
<p>He is a metal bust in the Library bearing his name. His nose is very bright with the rubbing of many students, while the rest of him is sort of oxidized looking.</p>
<p>Let’s see what random facts I can scrounge up…</p>
<p>Well, the Sciences Library has lots of interesting lore. Anyone who has toured will probably remember at least one or two things from this list, but they’re fun enough to be worth repeating.</p>
<p>1) The top of it is the highest point in Providence–which, as my friend once said to me, probably says more about Providence than the library.</p>
<p>2) A few years ago, some of the residents of Technology House embarked on a large project in which they strung christmas lights in all of the windows of the south wall of the library and programmed the world’s second largest game of Tetris ever (the largest was at a university in the Netherlands, but theirs only lasted a week and ours lasted several months, so we win). Brown students at it again, combining ridiculous intelligence with ridiculous randomness and creativity.</p>
<p>3) The 13th floor of the sciences library was recognized in the 80s by Playboy magazine as one of the top places in the U.S. to have sex. (Don’t ask why or even if; beats me.)</p>
<p>4) At the end of each semester, during reading period before exams, naked students visit the libraries unannounced and hand out donuts to their peers while they’re studying. Traditionally, their anonymity is very well-protected; the identities of the “naked donut runners” are almost always kept within the walls of the library by those who were served.</p>
<p>5) Last year, an enormous mural of a donkey in a boat arrived on the library and spent several months with us. While there was eventually a plaque explaining the piece of art and its maker, it was never discussed by the university, no one really knew about it until it was already up, and overall, it was basically the most random thing ever to see. Pictures at <a href=“http://www.dadeweb.com/pics/brown/2004-04-16s/[/url]”>http://www.dadeweb.com/pics/brown/2004-04-16s/</a>. It was truly something to behold, and those of us at Brown during the time would likely all say that the SciLi simply isn’t as lively without our old friend.</p>
<p>6) And finally, the classic: the stairwell of the 14-floor SciLi is a different color for each floor, color-coded according to the pH scale. It has been said (many, many, many times) that the books get more basic as you go up.</p>
<p>Ah, brown…</p>
<p>brown has the second highest sucided rate?..just after MIT…</p>
<p>WHAT?!?!</p>
<p>Where did you get that?</p>
<p>Yeah, I thought Brunonians were notoriously happy! Although I did hear about a suicide this year in the quiet dorm and no one found the poor kid for days.</p>
<p>When I was at Brown there was one suicide (during the summer, at home) that I know of. This individual was developing a mental illness (many have onset about age 20.) Very sad! </p>
<p>But Brown is definitely not a pressure cooker.</p>
<p>i know for a fact that brown has one of the lowest suicide rates, and the lowest suicide rate in the ivy league</p>
<p>but this has to do with luck (because mental illnesses such as depression do not necessarily need a precipitating event), as well as the atmosphere and support network at the school</p>
<p><a href=“Counseling and Psychological Services | Brown University”>Counseling and Psychological Services | Brown University;
<p>"i know for a fact that brown has one of the lowest suicide rates, and the lowest suicide rate in the ivy league</p>
<p>but this has to do with luck (because mental illnesses such as depression do not necessarily need a precipitating event), as well as the atmosphere and support network at the school"</p>
<p>I assume “support” network refers to the masses of weed dealers around campus, and “atmosphere” is some sort of play on words regarding the smoke from marijuana which hovers over Brown like a raincloud.</p>
<p>That is an unfair statement, and the misconceptions people have about Brown are dangerous, especially on a board like this. Certainly like at any college there will be people who choose to smoke. But by no means is it everyone and by no means is it a pervasive pastime.</p>
<p>Brown’s open curriculum and experimental academic style are not synonymous with “hippie,” “druggie,” or “slacker”…rather, they are a widely varied bunch because the new curriculum allows them to be whoever they want to be. That means they excel at a variety of things and, for the most part, do not need the “cloud” of marijuana for support. They have each other and their ambitions and their curiosities. And if anyhthing THAT would have more to do with why Brown’s suicide rate is low.</p>
<p>I don’t know where these misconceptions about Brown emerged from. I just finished four years at the school and I hang in a variety of circles and never did I see any proverbial cloud of smoke or feel that everyone around me was high. It’s simply not how Brown is.</p>
<p>Whoa, that is some very heavy negative energy I’m feeling. Care to explain how you came to that conclusion, sraid? Please tell me you have something to support your claim besides the rampant rumors.</p>
<p>The members of Rockapella, the house band from Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego all went to Brown.</p>
<p>OMG. That show rocked! So cool. The fact that the house band went there makes Brown all the more schweeter. I wonder if that show is in syndication somewhere…</p>
<p>That show was cool. I wonder though, how old were the contestants? I remember that at the end, they had to know countries on the map and put markers on them, and hardly any of them could do it. Now, if you know that you’re going to be on Carmen Sandiego, why wouldn’t you just memorize the countries just in case? I mean, it’s not that hard…especially since they kept doing the same regions over and over again.</p>
<p>one of my dorm neighbors was a Rockapella founder.</p>
<p>Sean Altman or Elliot Kerman? Big Rockapella fan!</p>
<p>Sean Altman.</p>
<p>Another random fact, Sean used to be in a Simon & Garfunkel-esque duo (in their HS & at Brown) with David Yazbek who is now a groovy broadway composer. I was in David’s Brownbroker’s show.</p>