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The McKelvy House Scholars will host a dinner discussion Sunday evening on “unnecessary” crimes.
Dinner will begin 6 p.m. at McKelvy House, 200 High Street; RSVP by Saturday at oxholmg or x4034. The meal will be cooked by McKelvy Scholar and government and law major Eric Struble ’05 (Mountain Top, Pa.). Led by Scholar Geoff Oxholm ’04 (Merion Station, Pa.), a computer science major, the discussion will start at 6:30 p.m. and requires no reservations.
The discussion will focus on crimes not motivated by material needs.
“Examples that are close to home include the destruction of fences, lamps, trash cans, signs, etc.,” says Oxholm. “Much more serious examples include group rape and mob looting.The criminals in these cases are sometimes called ‘delinquents’ or ‘outlaws’ or ‘social deviants’.”
Oxholm is conducting a yearlong honors thesis on using artificial intelligence to interpret music emotion. He has worked as an EXCEL Scholar with Chun Wai Liew, assistant professor of computer science, and Yoshihiko Ariizumi, assistant professor of foreign languages and literatures, on an Internet-based Japanese tutoring system. The goal of the project was to facilitate the grading of questions and the assessment of their corresponding level of difficulty by automating the process.
Oxholm is a member of the Upsilon Pi Epsilon computer science honor society and recipient of both computer science prizes awarded by Lafayette. He is cofounder of CHILL (Creating a Healthy, Interesting, Livable Lafayette), which organizes a wide range of events to help reduce stress and expand horizons.He also is a member of the committee that organizes Party Challenge, a program that encourages alternative, substance-free social events on campus.He spent last year’s spring break doing volunteer work in a Honduran hospital, nursing home, elementary school, and orphanage through Alternative School Break Club.
This year is Oxholm’s third in McKelvy House.
“I [came] back because of the diverse and engaging company and conversations,” he says. “Part of the strength of my friendships is owed to the intimacy of the house. [McKelvy] has become like a second home to me.”
Past discussions:
Nov. 2 — Genetic alteration
Oct. 26 — Social construction of gender
Oct. 19 — Greed as an economic force
Sept. 28 — Value