Fractured Flowers (Creative)

On a surface level, this small vase may attract our attention for its shiny glossy exterior, the poppy red and deep teal green impressionistic flowers, or the gold and silver colored foil. Upon closer inspection, one can recognize the fine artistic design and skillful craftsmanship combining to make an aesthetically pleasing and intriguing piece. The painted flowers closely resemble an Art Nouveau style, emphasizing the natural shapes and curves of nature. The flowers as part of the aesthetic design also call back to the suggested purpose of the object: while the vase opening is extremely small, it potentially could have been a bud vase to display dainty flowers, mimicking nature and its beauty. Against a dark background, the texture of the object is revealed, causing one to stare at all the small intricate details of the foil’s textured scale-like pattern and the fractures in the enamel. The pattina seeps through the cracks and makes the enamel rough around its edges with a thin green rusted film, acting as almost a bond between the cracks. One may wonder, how could such a delicate and ornamental piece be broken?https://crossworks.holycross.edu/photographing_antiquity/1062/thumbnail.jp

Scratched Strokes (Creative)

This round brass bowl displays flowing Arabic calligraphy engraved around its outer surface. The text seems to repeat in four equal segments, but the exact lettering seems to change from one to the next, seemingly lacking a clear start and end. The bottom is likewise engraved, but beneath the engraving lies a half-obscured maker\u27s mark. Although the writing remains untranslated, it approximates the delicate and flowing brushstrokes of pen on paper. It is easy to imagine an artisan slowly carving the flowing lines until their hand slips, gashing the surface. Still the metallic quality plays with light and blurs the strokes together as a sort of natural final touch. When I look at this piece, I notice the inconsistencies and coarse polishing, but also the very human strokes, almost imitating life. Today, I imagine how you, the observer, will engage this bowl. I hope that you may grasp its features—if only by your mind. As such, I have placed the bowl in a more warm light, tilted as if you were holding it, admiring each of its many minute and positively unique marks.https://crossworks.holycross.edu/photographing_antiquity/1052/thumbnail.jp

Art History and Architectural Studies

10:00-10:35 A.M. | The Arts of Modern ChinaFaculty Mentor: Jennifer McIntire Lauren Reilly \u2725 Cai Guoqiang: Loss, Hope, and Impermanence Dominic Scurfield \u2725 Exploring Yang Yongliang\u27s Warning about China\u27s Industrialization Abigail Kellogg \u2725 Transcending Temporal and Cultural Restraints: The Messages Behind Zhang Hongtu’s Six-Pack of Kekou-Kele 10:35-10:55 A.M. | The City Before the Highway: Worcester\u27s Urban HistoryFaculty Mentor: Amy Finstein Emma Crain \u2725 Luca Frost \u2727 11:00 A.M.-12:10 P.M. | Contemporary Artists Confront the Climate Crisis: Roundtable Faculty Mentor: Patricia Johnston Gillian Atienza \u2727 Grace Donahue \u2725 Anna Hagan \u2727 Nora Kelly \u2727 Cecilia Kvochak \u2727 Veronica Safryn \u2726 Livia Smolizza \u2725 Eliza Sullivan \u2725 Connor Villarin \u2725 Audrey Wang \u2725 12:15-12:55 P.M. | Art History and Architectural Studies Capstone PresentationsFaculty Mentor: Patricia Johnston Nathan Howard \u2725 Materializing Newport’s Maritime Wealth: The Goddard-Townsend Family and Their Furniture Karen Phan \u2725 Beyond the Exhibit: Museums Addressing their Colonial Legacy Livia Smolizza \u2725 Brushstrokes of Nationalism: Gino Severini’s Path from Futurism to Abstraction Erin Melley \u2725 Innovations in LED (Light, Education, Design

Yuyao Sun, 2024-2025 Fenwick Scholar

The dramatic nature of the Platonic dialogues has long been noticed by their readers. To what extent is this by then still novel genre rooted in the literary tradition of Attic tragedy, or the Greek theatrical culture in general? In what ways, if at all, is the Platonic philosophy a continuation or a transformation of the Greek stage? Or, in turn, is there not only action that is performed in the Greek theater, but also philosophy? This study, which focuses primarily on Plato’s Symposium and Euripides’ Bacchae, intends to respond to these questions by analyzing prominent themes in both works such as erotic love and wisdom, especially as they intersect with the representation of family, nature, city, and customs

Holy Cross Magazine, ​​Vol. 59, No. 2, Spring/Summer

What You Don’t Know About The Cornerstone of The College Inside the storied spaces and architectural secrets of historic Fenwick Hall. Feature by Meredith Fidrocki with Archives & Distinctive Collections Photography by Michael Ivins Discernment and Desire Part two: How a nagging question can be a clarifying one. Reflection by Rev. Keith Maczkiewicz, S.J. Turning Cancer Into a Calling Erin (Geddis) Cummings ’79 unites, supports and educates fellow Hodgkin lymphoma survivors and medical professionals on the later-in-life effects of youth cancer treatment. Story by Carol Cool Photography by David Welch What Opera Taught Me About History How the power of one human voice magnifies the past. Reflection by Jessica Murphy Moo ’96 Photography by Dave Pearson ‘I Left it All Out on the Court’: An Evening of Conversation with Anthony Fauci Holy Cross hosted Anthony Fauci, M.D., ’62, Hon. ’87 and his wife, bioethicist Christine Grady, for an on-campus residency, “Called to Heal, Called to Serve,” in March 2025. While on campus, the couple spent time in classes speaking with students and faculty about their personal vocations and careers of public service. Photography by Michael Ivins Hope Does Not Disappoint: The Church’s Jubilee Year of 2025 How you can make the most of the once-in-a-quarter-century Church event. Reflection by Rev. Bill Clark, S.J. AI Course Delivers Few Answers, Many Questions and Even More Discussion Students in Professor Jeff Dixon’s new seminar investigate the pros and cons of artificial intelligence — and their mixed feelings about it. Syllabus by Marybeth Reilly-McGreen Photography by Dave Pearson ‘We Must Protect This Fridge’ How a student design project, led by Professor Amy D. Finstein and local architect Larry Haley ’72, supported a mutual aid effort tackling food insecurity in Worcester. Feature by Meredith Fidrocki Photography by Michael Ivins Student Composers Get Immersive Opportunity With Grammy Artists Osvaldo Golijov, Jeremy Flower work alongside students to offer hands-on immersive on composing for film. Story by Billy McEntee Photography by Michael Ivins Also: Around The Hill In Memoriam Can We Ask You Some Questions, James Conlan ’68https://crossworks.holycross.edu/hcm/1055/thumbnail.jp

What Are You Wondering? (Standard)

https://crossworks.holycross.edu/photographing_antiquity/1043/thumbnail.jp

Prosperous Escape (Standard)

https://crossworks.holycross.edu/photographing_antiquity/1012/thumbnail.jp

Achieving Fairness in Zoning Laws with Machine Learning

Zoning is a powerful regulatory tool that determines how municipalities use and develop land. The goal of zoning is to classify land use (e.g., residential, commercial, industrial) to maximize compatibility among neighboring parcels. Local zoning decisions, however, are made by small-sized boards, often through an opaque process, which raises concerns about bias and fairness. In the United States, zoning has historically prioritized single-family housing and thus created economic barriers that limit access to certain communities. Given the task of classifying land use and the wealth of geographical, demographic, and infrastructural data describing each parcel, the problem of bias in zoning could benefit from an algorithmic decision-making process aimed at equity. This paper explores zoning classification as a supervised learning task based on existing data in a locality (Worcester County, Massachusetts). We extensively collect publicly available data from multiple sources to predict zoning labels with machine learning models. Our results show that accurate predictions here require relatively complex models. Furthermore, we perform counterfactual analysis using socioeconomic features to explore their influence on current zoning decisions. Taken together, this exploratory study aims to assess zoning through machine learning and highlights opportunities for future work to apply computational techniques for fair zoning designation