Category Archives: Culture

Passion for Pattern

*Design fuels the whole world, says Amber Billings*

This past spring, Amber Billings competed nationally with other college students to design a pack for Orbit gum. The second-year U of M graphic design student was named one of the eight contest winners. She received $5,000. And her design and signature appear on limited edition packs of Orbit’s Melon Remix gum through February 2012.

Recently, Amber Billings discussed what inspires her design work. (more…)

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Distorted Art

*UD art professor creates sculptures from baking flour, aluminum*

There’s a quality to David Meyer’s art that’s both conceptual and ephemeral, sort of like watching the clouds roll by.

You see with your mind, not your eyes. And even then, as with clouds, shapes move. Things change.

There’s art in distortion. (more…)

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A Piece of History Rediscovered

What began as an assignment for an English course has now captured international attention. Senior Malcolm Burnley shares details about a little known piece of Brown history: a 1961 visit to campus by African American icon Malcolm X.

Brown senior Malcolm Burnley calls the experience “serendipitous.”

Enrolled in Elizabeth Taylor’s narrative writing course last semester, Burnley had an assignment: Write a historical narrative based on something that really happened. The students were instructed to use the University Archives at the John Hay Library. (more…)

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Study: Off-Campus College Party Hosts Drink More Than Attendees

COLUMBUS, Ohio – On any given weekend, at least 10 percent of students at a single college could be hosting a party, and on average, party hosts who live off campus are drinking more and engaging in more alcohol-related problem behaviors than are the students attending their bashes, research suggests.

In contrast, hosts of parties held on campus tend to drink less than do the students attending their gatherings, according to the study. (more…)

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A Scarcity of Women Leads Men to Spend More, Save Less

*University of Minnesota Research Finds Sex Ratios Influence Financial Decisions*

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL — The perception that women are scarce leads men to become impulsive, save less, and increase borrowing, according to new research from the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management.

“What we see in other animals is that when females are scarce, males become more competitive. They compete more for access to mates,” says Vladas Griskevicius, an assistant professor of marketing at the Carlson School and lead author of the study. “How do humans compete for access to mates? What you find across cultures is that men often do it through money, through status and through products.” (more…)

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