University Reporter: April 2004
Building On Our Strengths: The Campus Center Opens Its Doors
Large
floor-to-ceiling windows filled with sparkling harbor views, stunning
atriums, sage-green carpeting, that “new building” smell —
these are some of the first things people may notice in exploring the
330,000-square-foot Campus Center. However, for those moving into the
center and for those who return again and again, this is only the beginning
of new sights, sounds, and experiences permeating the building and the
entire UMass Boston community.
Chess Team Wins Best College Team Trophy
In its second year, the UMass Boston Chess Club has seen great success.
In March, five club members, Kelvin Lo, Joseph Perl, Dan Korsunsky, Rueben
Urmeneta, Jr., and Dimitry Frenklah, formed a team to compete in the 13th
Annual Eastern Class Championships, held in Sturbridge. Following the
competition, the team received a trophy for the best college team at the
tournament.
“”I was using this trip to give experience to some of our players who had not played in tournaments,” said club president and founder Dan Korsunsky, “and ultimately in preparation for our next tournament.”
Korsunsky organized the club when he arrived at UMass Boston as a freshman. “Of course I am thrilled about the trophy, but it is difficult to fail when one is surrounded by people who want to learn and win, and faculty who do everything possible to help make trips like this possible,” he said.
Additionally, Joseph Perl was written up in the “Chess Notes” section of the Boston Globe on March 9 for playing a Metrowest Club Tournament and beating master player John Curdo, a 700-time tournament winner and the author of the popular Chess Caviar series.
For more information, please e-mail chessfoyou@hotmail.com.
Image: Members of the Chess Club play one of their first games in the new Campus Center on March 4. (Photo by Harry Brett)
WUMB Goes Digital
Last month, WUMB-FM became one of the first stations in the country to adopt a technology thought to revolutionize radio broadcasting. High Definition (HD) Radio enables stations like WUMB to broadcast digital versions of their existing signal with CD-quality sound and the option of streaming text information such as song titles, weather, and traffic.
“This is definitely the future of radio,” said WUMB general manager Patricia Monteith. “It’s going to help us grow into the next century.”
Monteith believes stations will change over to digital format in the coming months for many reasons. For example, the “pop,” “hiss,” and fades associated with FM and AM broadcast will be virtually eliminated with digital radio, resulting in an overall improvement in sound. Also, stations will be able to add streams of content to their existing signals—basically increasing the amount of information they can transmit at once. This additional information may be sent as song and artist information, or weather and traffic reports, which would appear on digital receivers like a news ticker. In some cases, the added streams will result in stations being able to simultaneously offer two different formats.
The cost of converting an average FM station to HD Radio typically ranges from $50,000 to $100,000; for smaller public radio stations like WUMB, therefore, cost is a large factor in the decision to go digital. Nonetheless, upwards of 300 stations across the country have applied for an HD broadcast license and the number is expected to increase dramatically as consumers respond to the technology. WUMB recently received a grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to pay for 70 percent of the costs to convert to digital.
“The benefits of this conversion far outweigh the costs,” said Monteith. “Not only will we be able to deliver the highest–quality signal available to our listeners, but we’ll also strengthen our presence on the dial and leave room to expand our programming offerings to meet the needs of our community.”
Spotted Around Campus
Did you know that the flocks of small geese on campus are not Canadian geese, but part of the Brant species that nest in the high arctic during the summer? Jeremy Hatch of the Biology Department spotted leg bands on some, indicating that the birds were probably banded on Baffin Island or Southampton Island. “In winter, these birds usually feed in the sea, eating seagrass and certain algae,” notes Hatch. “Finding them eating upland grasses on campus was unusual.”