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Philadelphia BASC Report
By Meryl Smith Raskin ‘66, P’97
BASC Area Coordinator
Here’s the report for Early Decision applicants for the class
of 2015:
Total Applied = 77
Total Accepted = 20
Total Deferred = 47
Total Denied = 8
Total Withdrew before Decision = 2
Number of interviewers = 57
If you would like to interview prospective students, please
contact these BASC Area Chairs.
Philadelphia North:
Leslie K. Siegel, ‘83 siegel31@comcast.net
Jennifer Keller, ‘82 jenkeller403@gmail.com
Philadelphia West:
Geoff Scott, ‘76
gc_scott@comcast.net
Dena Meyer Weker, ‘76 dmweker@comcast.net
Philadelphia Central:
Jennie Pritzker, ‘00 jenniepritzker@gmail.com
(In The Spotlight, cont’d. from page 1)
members for letting me join. We had some very talented singers
and great people. We went to Bermuda during spring break
1973 and had a great time, singing two shows a day.
Was there a professor who took a personal interest in you?
Bill Ermey helped but the group was mostly student-run.
Jon O’Brien was the driving force in the early days.
Can you tell if the Jabberwocks has changed from your
time in it?
Absolutely. I think the Jabberwocks disappeared in Spring
1975. I was away from campus. When I returned, I joined
the High Jinks which had started up that year. The Wocks
were reconstituted and returned to their roots as an all-men’s a
capella group. Then, we were very laidback, singing folk music.
It’s much more polished and professional now.
How has your experience with the Jabberwocks affected
your life since Brown?
I was in a barbershop quartet in graduate school and in my
first job. I have remained in contact with Amy Paller through
our careers. Jon Huyck and others have done a great job of
tracking down Wock alums and keeping us connected. I would
love to devote more time to singing, but my 50-mile commute
to work is too long.
How about the popularity of Glee and Sing-Off?
I think it is great that such talents are on display in such
popular shows. The variety of music and presentations by a
capella groups is really impressive. I love a very good blend; the
excitement is when you get four voices that click. It’s like an
oscilloscope—I’m picturing a wave pattern, an overlap of all
the voices in tune. An amazing feeling.
(Scholar, from page 1)
Even though I find it quite difficult to choose my favorite
class, I would have to say that Introduction to Creative
Nonfiction with Professor Ed Hardy was particularly enjoyable
for me. Professor
Hardy created a workshop environment that was conducive
to honest critiques of each others’ writing. Instead of knocking
down each other’s work, it was about providing criticism that
would prove to be truly helpful. He supplemented this with
his own thoughtful comments on our pieces.
In addition to my classes, last year I was on the editorial
board of a literary magazine on campus called the Round.
Having spent most of my high school career working on a
newspaper, I wanted to try something different. Working at
the Round allowed me to shift gears from the pure journalism
of newspaper work to something that more aptly matched my
interests in creative nonfiction. I continue to participate in the
Round this year.
I spent my summer as an editorial intern at Philadelphia
Magazine. I did everything from fact-checking and making
copies, to doing the research for pieces that ran in print and
contributing to one of the magazine’s blogs. The time I spent
there and the work I did confirmed in my mind that magazine
work is what I would like to do in the future.
Since I can remember, I have been filled with the same
nervous excitement before the first day of school. As I
prepared to come back to Brown this year, I experienced that
edgy thrill once again. You truly have played a great part in
making me this happy. My family is currently experiencing
the difficulties of this tough economy in a very real way. My
father is unemployed and without your help, the education that
I am receiving would be utterly unattainable. So even though
my family does not know you personally and has never even
seen your faces, please know that you form a very real and
important part of our lives. You make my reality possible, and
for that my family and I extend our deepest gratitude. Thank
you.
Sincerely,
Kevin Pires
Save the Date:
Professor Kurt A. Raaflaub will speak on
“All Ways Lead to Brown: What Is Special about Brown, and
Why Does Ancient History Matter Today?”
on Sun April 3 at 5 pm
Evite to follow.