January 22-28

Spring semester kicks off today

Dr. Cartagena-Sanchez and Cameron T. Kuchta at the American Physical Society Division of Plasma Physics meeting in Denver, Co, 2023.Professor Carlos Cartagena-Sanchez attended The American Physical Society Division of Plasma Physics and presented his turbulence research and plans on the Beloit Plasma Science Laboratory. He also met physics major Cameron T. Kuchta’22, now a graduate student studying plasma physics and magnetic reconnection.

Hello Beloiters! Welcome back for what promises to be an exciting semester on campus.

More Schools on the way

You’ve heard the news about the college creating the two new schools of Business and Health Sciences. Later this semester, we’ll share more news about the new schools of Environment, Climate, and Sustainability and Media and the Arts and how you can get involved. We are creating schools to connect students to their futures, in whatever fields you choose.

Events to expect

Spring is also the semester for several well-known events:

  • The Ginsberg Artist in Residence, Dakota Mace, offers her keynote on Tuesday, Feb. 13.
  • The Business Networking Summit (formerly known as Econ Day), is Friday, Feb. 16 in Chicago.
  • The Weissberg Chair residency of Joan Donovan begins Monday, March 18, with her keynote on March 19.
  • CareerTrek on Thursday, March 21, hosted by Career Channels, will take students to Milwaukee to visit the Medical College of Wisconsin to learn about healthcare careers, and the International Institute of Milwaukee, to learn about non-profit careers, and network with alumni.

Keep an eye on the Beloiters Beat and check the campus calendar for more interesting events. If you have an event of your own to share, add your event to the website.

Get involved in theatre productions

The Theatre & Dance department is holding auditions for Rehearsal for Murder on Tuesday and Wednesday with callbacks on Thursday. Performances will be for two weekends in April. Learn more about the production and audition process.

Beloit Independent Theatre Experience (BITE) is also holding auditions for The Trail to Oregon next Monday, Jan. 28 and Tuesday, Jan. 30. The student-led show is also seeking people involved in music, dance, costumes, and theatre production. Those interested in participating or wanting to learn more should complete the interest form.

Sports recap

The Buccaneer sports teams (men’s and women’s basketball, swim, track and field) have been in action over the past few weeks, representing the college well.

In basketball, both men and women took down the Foresters of Lake Forest at home on Jan. 17, with the men winning 87-66 and women, 72-50. The teams split over the weekend vs. Illinois College, with the men falling 72-69 and the women winning in an upset, 63-61. The women are on a three-game win streak. Watch both teams compete beginning at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, when they take on Lawrence at Flood Arena. 

In other action, the track and field teams will participate in the Spartan Shootout this weekend in Dubuque, Iowa, while up next for the swim and dive teams are the Midwest Conference Championships Feb. 16-18 at Grinnell. The women’s swim and dive teams went undefeated in their dual meets this season.

Stories

Embracing the mad science of machine consciousness

Beloit College's Robin Zebrowski speaks about the ethics and issues of AI and ChatGPT.

Robin Zebrowski, professor of philosophy and chair of cognitive science at Beloit, shares insights into the current state of artificial intelligence (AI) development, stressing that, “we are nowhere near making conscious machines.”

Upcoming Events

Announcements

Complete the 20 Questions Survey

All students are encouraged to complete the 20 Questions Survey on the Portal. The survey questions address what we care about at Beloit: strong personal relationships, a sense of belonging, connection to the community, career exploration, and meaningful experiences outside the classroom.

Powerhouse Hours: Start of Spring Semester

Starting Jan. 22, the Powerhouse returns to regular hours, including being open until 11 p.m. on Fridays.

For Beloiters

Find more campus happenings on For Beloiters.