Bethany Ehlmann, a Ph.D. candidate in geological sciences, argues against the notion of levying a special tax on students, recently raised by the Providence mayor. “Let’s get creative, Mayor Cicilline. I know we’re an easy target for a $300-a-year tax, but does it really seem right to tax our future chefs, artists, teachers, scientists, engineers, doctors and diplomats as they forgo higher wages to train for careers for the greater good?”

Forget the final – students in Music 450 have a more permanent record of their coursework in the form of a two-disc music CD with 25 original tracks. Dean Katherine Bergeron taught the songwriting workshop with her husband and associate professor of music Butch Rovan. Their contribution is to the recording is a track called Counting On.

Brown will team up with Instituto Empresa (IE), a top-ranked European business school, to launch a joint initiative for research and training in commerce, entrepreneurship, and organizational management. Using the strengths of IE Business School in management and Brown’s academic excellence, both institutions seek to foster interdisciplinary research and teaching.

A look at the Shape Up Rhode Island 2007 weight loss competition found that the program worked, producing modest weight loss in large numbers of people. Rena Wing, professor of psychiatry and human behavior at the Alpert Medical School, conducted the study. Rajiv Kumar, a study co-author and medical student, created Shape Up Rhode Island, a statewide, Internet-based competition.

The economic downturn is having a disproportionate effect on African Americans, according to this report on Newshour, which focuses on East St. Louis, Ill., where unemployment among black males exceeds 30 percent. Glenn Loury, professor of economics, says the lack of social capital among young black males inhibits their ability to get jobs.

Good oratory is a priority during graduation season. In a historical roundup of top commencement addresses, Ted Widmer, director of the John Carter Brown Library, summons up John F. Kennedy’s speech on peace at American University in 1963. Kennedy told the assembled: “We all inhabit this planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children’s future. And we are all mortal.” He was assassinated the following November.

Scientific advances often require teamwork, and in this case a doctor, a mother, and a scientist are collaborating to battle Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), a fatal disease that mostly strikes young boys. The scientist is Herman Vandenburgh, professor of pathology and laboratory medicine, who is developing novel ways to test potential cures on tiny shreds of muscle cultured from DMD patients.

Evaluating evidence of physical abuse among children is a challenge some pediatricians face. Carole Jenny, professor of pediatrics at the Alpert Medical School, says the science of child abuse is still evolving.

AIDS researchers traveled to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam to work with the Clinton Foundation and members of the HCM Provincial AIDS Council to strengthen health programming initiatives. Participant Landon Kuester of the Alpert Medical School said that discrimination is a barrier to slowing the spread of HIV/AIDS.

A recent National Academy of Sciences report found “serious problems” with much of the work performed by crime laboratories in the United States. Constantine Gatsonis, professor of medical science, served on the committee that wrote the report, and discusses the lack of consistent science in some courtroom evidence.