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W E D N E S D A Y APRIL 9, 2003

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Volume CXXXVIII, No. 48

An independent newspaper serving the Brown community since 1891

U. wants increased presence in India

Students get a look at the University’s master plan BY PHILISSA CRAMER

Israeli-occupied territories is referred to as “transfer” — sometimes even “voluntary transfer.” Right-wing religious parties call Arabs “a cancer” plaguing Israeli society, a tactic Gordon called “fervent nationalism that is informed by racism.” Media coverage of Israeli affairs is also a problem outside the country, Gordon said. “The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is about real differences and is not, as the American media often

Members of the Brown community caught their first glimpse Tuesday of the more unified, more efficient and possibly even Grad Center-free campus that University planners hope to construct over the next two decades. Two discussions with Frances Halsband, the main architect behind the University’s master plan, presented a three-dimensional model of the University’s future for faculty, staff and a small number of students. The forum, titled “Recommendations for the Future of Brown’s Campus,” was held twice during the day in Starr Auditorium. Possibilities for the campus include the construction of additional academic facilities, expansion of the Rock and SciLi and use of off-campus spaces in Providence’s Jewelry District and the Narragansett Bay waterfront, Halsband said. Vice President for Planning Richard Spies introduced Halsband by relating the need for enhanced facilities to President Ruth Simmons’ Initiatives for Academic Enrichment. Spies said increasing faculty size, enhancing students’ experience and initiating multidisciplinary centers require physical expansion and changes to the allocation of space. “If we didn’t change, we would not be as good ten years from now as we are today, when in fact our goal is to be better,” Spies said. Halsband said the need for the plan arose from a trend toward increased growth at Brown. She added that she finds the project particularly exciting because many of her proposals will be

see GORDON, page 4

see MASTER PLAN, page 9

BY ZACH BARTER

More than one billion people — one out of every six on earth — live in India. Brown is hoping that a few more of them might one day find their way to College Hill. The University recently began exploring ways to enhance its presence in India, seeking to capitalize on a strong alumni network and tap an increasingly talented student population. Both the size of the population and the quality of the educational system heightened Brown’s interest in India, said Ronald Margolin, vice president for international advancement. Margolin said Brown’s greatly expanded South Asian course offerings and the strength of its alumni and parental network in India were also motivating factors. “There just seemed to be enough interest in the subcontinent for Brown to be paying more attention,” Margolin said. Margolin had planned on traveling to India in late March to meet with parents, alumni, government officials and media outlets, but the outbreak of war with Iraq and the needs of international students on campus forced the trip’s cancellation. Margolin’s trip was meant to see INDIA, page 6

Brown EMT helps alleged drunk driver after car crash BY ADAM STELLA

Dan Pastula ’03, a trained Emergency Medical Technician, came to the aid of an alleged drunk driver who lost control of his car and slammed it into a tree near the intersection of Thayer and George streets around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday. An older-model gray Chevrolet was traveling south on Thayer Street when the driver careened through the intersection and struck a tree on the southeast corner. The driver has no affiliation with the University, said Department of Public Safety Officer Daniel Lapati. Pastula was walking north on see CRASH, page 9

Alex Palmer / Herald

APRIL SHOWERS BRING MAY FLOWERS? A surprise spring snowstorm blanketed the campus on Monday. Clouds and rain are predicted to continue throughout the week.

Neve Gordon says gravest danger for Israel “is coming from within” BY DANA GOLDSTEIN

The realization of peace in Israel is most challenged, not by terrorist organizations, but by the country’s own government, said Neve Gordon, professor of politics and government at BenGurion University. “Israel’s gravest danger is coming from within,” Gordon said at a lecture Tuesday night in Barus and Holley. “It is the creeping rise of a proto-fascism.” Gordon’s talk, entitled “The Israeli Peace Camp in Dark Times,” drew upon his experiences as what he called “an embedded academic” — a person engaged in academia, the Israeli peace movement and Israeli society at large. The Israeli peace camp has failed to return to full vibrancy since the Second Intifada began in September 2000, Gordon said. He attributed this to widespread fears of terrorism and the interference of the current Israeli government, which Gordon said has succeeded in turning the media into “a government organ” and limiting opportunities for interaction between Israeli Jews and Palestinians. Gordon said there is also evidence Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s administration is employing tactics, such as

phone-tapping and e-mail interception, to track the plans of peace groups. “This kind of surveillance has become legitimized,” Gordon said, calling it a sign of fascism. Gordon framed the struggle for peace as a poetic one in which a media-supported government paints Palestinians as fanatic terrorist aggressors who do not value human life and describes Israeli Jews as victims who uphold the dignity of life and peace. Gordon said the expulsion of Palestinians from

Three assaults on Sunday in short time period BY JULIETTE WALLACK

Three assaults took place in a three-and-a-half hour span on Sunday night and were likely committed by the same party, according to a University crime report. The three crimes, which all occurred between 7:15 and 10:40 p.m., included a mugging, robbery and a simple assault, according to Providence Police reports. According to the report, Rebecca Brown ’05 was walking east on Waterman Street at about 7:15 p.m. near Cooke

Street when two men ran up behind her and grabbed her cell phone and purse. At 7:40 that same night, Darien Williams ’05 called police from the RISD library to report she had been mugged. Williams told The Herald she was walking to the RISD ceramics studio and was at the intersection of College and Benefit streets when she “saw out of the corner of my eye this person next to me.” When the man grabbed the handle of her purse, Williams said she pulled it back, but he proceeded to tug

I N S I D E W E D N E S D AY, A P R I L 9 , 2 0 0 3 New study shows regular homework assignments help child development academic watch,page 3

www.browndailyherald.com

Two Brown alumns are honored with Pulitzer Prizes for Drama and Fiction page 5

Lev Nelson ’04 fears liberals are forgetting to focus and are spread too thin opinions, page 11

it. At that point, the suspect told Williams he would shoot her, according to the Providence Police report, and she let go of her purse. Williams said another man was standing behind her assailant, “keeping watch,” but she didn’t see evidence of a weapon at any point during the mugging. Just three hours later, at 10:40 p.m., police responded to an assault at 38 Charlesfield St. see CRIME, page 6

TO D AY ’ S F O R E C A S T Kate Gubata ’03 shares her fond memories of Spring Weekend at Brown opinions, page 11

Men’s and women’s tennis teams enter Ivy League season with mixed results sports, page 12

p.m.showers/wind high 39 low 31

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

THIS MORNING WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9, 2003 · PAGE 2 Pornucopia Eli Swiney

W E AT H E R TODAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

High 39 Low 31 p.m. showers/wind

High 45 Low 34 cloudy

High 46 Low 40 rain

High 49 Low 35 showers GRAPHICS BY TED WU

A Story Of Eddie Ahn

CALENDAR LECTURE — “The Health Effects of War on Women: Making the Harm Visible,” Patricia Hynes, Boston University, Watson Institute. Room 101, MacMillan Hall, noon SPORTS — Softball vs. Central Connecticut, Department of Athletics. Erickson Athletic Complex, 2 p.m. LECTURE — “Global Divergence,” David Mayer, Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas, Department of Economics. Room 301, Robinson Hall, 4 p.m. LECTURE — “The Impact of the War on Terrorism on Regional Politics in South Asia,”Tim Hoyt, U.S. Naval War College. McKinney Conference Room, Watson Institute. Watson Institute, 4 p.m.

Coup de Grace Grace Farris

SPORTS — Women’s lacrosse vs. Holy Cross, Department of Athletics. Erickson Athletic Complex, 7 p.m. LECTURE — “Art, War and Resistance,” Mike Alewitz, Central Connecticut State University, Faculty, Alumni, Staff and Students Against the War. Room 106, Smith-Buonanno, 7 p.m.

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Military transports 6 “Of course!” 10 Surefooted beast 14 Marsh bird 15 Functions 16 Loosen, as a knot 17 Damaging insect 18 Engrossed 19 Safari sight 20 American painter’s endeavor? 23 More concentrated 25 Hall of Famer Durocher 26 Opposite of paleo27 Rocks in a bar 28 Sensitivity 31 Virginia Woolf’s “__ Dalloway” 33 Concern for Santa 35 Nursery supplies 37 Radium codiscoverer 41 Team’s office staff? 44 Agave fiber 45 Boat stabilizer 46 Squabble 47 Mem. of the clergy 49 Part of an exercise regimen, maybe 51 AAA suggestion 52 Web address suffix 55 Pitch in 57 More like slapstick 59 Felix and Oscar, e.g.? 63 Novice 64 Maui meal 65 Reason 68 Othello’s betrayer 69 Poacher’s meal? 70 TV comic Kovacs 71 Bass or treble 72 “__ Magic Moment”: 1969 hit

73 Grueling game DOWN 1 One of the Bushes 2 Swelled head 3 Wrong 4 Quick looks 5 Map line 6 Waves 7 Mil. fliers 8 Gross out 9 Regard highly 10 Chasm 11 Bermuda __ 12 Idolize 13 Jay Silverheels role 21 Sister of Clio 22 Break open, as a lock 23 Deejay’s supply 24 Serious bacteria 29 White-hat wearer 30 Little shavers 32 Dines 34 Lift near the trails 36 Slant unfairly 38 Singing a show finale, perhaps

39 Mighty mad 40 Aromatic compound 42 Cloudiness of vision 43 “My Fair Lady” girl 48 Purple shade 50 Make a difference 52 Eye-related 53 Sovereign

54 Canyon cousin 56 Moola 58 Indian independence leader 60 It’s over your head 61 Biblical trio 62 Rumple 66 Writer’s point? 67 A minor, perhaps

My Best Effort Andy Hull and Will Newman

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ACADEMIC WATCH WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9, 2003 · PAGE 3

Brown part of study on learning in lowincome teenagers BY STEPHANIE HARRIS

Brown is currently participating in international research studying learning in low-income teens. Students in Massachusetts, California, two locations in England and two locations in Russia are taking part in the study. Janine Bempechat, senior research associate in the Center for the Study of Human Development, and colleagues received a two-year grant from the William T. Grant Foundation to study adolescents’ conceptions of learning achievement and motivation in the three countries. They are focusing on what factors lead lowincome children to succeed. “Too much research has focused on school failure,” Bempechat said. “We’re focusing on success.” The researchers are studying what aspects of home, school, peer life and community contribute to academic success among low-income students. “We’re looking for some understanding of what propels some low-income students forward where others are held back,” Bempechat said. “We want to have an understanding of the culture and the context in which they’re growing up and the ways in which those influenced their beliefs about learning and motivation.” The researchers are interviewing 128 students who are equally divided among the locations as well as along sex and ethnic lines. Participants in the study are each interviewed twice by one of the researchers. They are also asked to keep a diary for one week detailing their thoughts and feelings over that time period. Researchers will engage the students in focus see LOW INCOME, page 6

Doing homework regularly from a young age important for children BY STEPHANIE HARRIS

When an elementary school teacher cancels the nightly homework assignment, students may cheer, but they are actually being hurt in the long run. Doing regular homework from an early age is essential for both academic performance and motivational development, according to Janine Bempechat, a senior research associate in the Center for the Study of Human Development. Bempechat’s research focuses on achievement motivation, the factors other than intellectual ability that allow students to succeed in school. Factors include confidence, beliefs about success and failure, implicit beliefs about the nature of intelligence and plans for the future. These factors compose the kinds of beliefs and attitudes that students have about learning. Recent research by Missouri researcher Harris Cooper showed that in the elementary school years, homework does not seem to matter much for academic achievement, Bempechat said. The amount of homework does not have a direct effect on the rate at which kids learn. It is not until middle school and high school that the value of homework becomes more important. This makes sense, Bempechat said, because “as kids get older the things we demand of them are much more complex, so they need that extra time to practice or review. “The problem is that a lot of people jumped on his findings to say that if (homework) doesn’t help in elementary school, we shouldn’t have it in elementary school. That’s very misguided and a big mistake,” she said. “From an early age — from when they begin formal schooling — (students) need to have homework,” she said. Homework, tailored appropriately for each grade level, teaches students responsibility for their learning and that they have an obligation to themselves, their

parents, their teachers and their peers to come to school prepared to learn, Bempechat said. Homework also helps students develop qualities that teachers value, such as persistence, diligence, the ability to delay gratification and the ability to endure boredom. All of these things are critical components of learning, Bempechat said. “In the absence of homework, I feel children won’t develop as well,” she said. There has been “a lot of grassroots advocacy against homework,” Bempechat said, with many parents complaining that homework eats into family time and is too stressful for their children. Bempechat does not agree. “It’s very well-intentioned, but it’s misguided,” she said. The notion of not having homework because it is too stressful “stems from the self-esteem bandwagon, which I am very much against,” Bempechat said. The “self-esteem bandwagon” refers to the idea “that we need to do whatever we can to increase self-esteem. I think it’s gone to an extreme,” she said. “Many people who come out against homework often are people who try very hard to orchestrate children’s lives so that they’re always happy and they always feel good about themselves,” she said. “My feeling for learning in particular and for general child development is that kids need to be a little bit stressed at times. They need to experience disappointment. They need to experience difficulty and failure in order to develop resiliency against these things as they get older. Maintaining a completely peaceful environment robs children of the critical opportunities to develop resiliency, Bempechat said. Herald staff writer Stephanie Harris ’04 edits the academic watch section. She can be reached at sharris@browndailyherald.com.

PAGE 4 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9, 2003

Gordon continued from page 1

Alex Palmer / Herald

Neve Gordon’s lecture,“The Israeli Peace Camp in Dark Times,” touched on problems of peace and terrorism in Israel.

portrays it, a clash of civilizations whereby Israel, as the representative of the West, is challenged by a highly dangerous Islamic civilization.” These “real differences” include violations of political and human rights Gordon said he witnessed in Israel and the occupied territories. “Profiling has become ubiquitous,” he said, mentioning that it is not uncommon to see Arab-Israeli men being randomly searched by Israeli police. One million Palestinians are fully dependent on food aid for their survival and more than half of the Palestinian population is unemployed, Gordon said. In the Gaza Strip, which Gordon called “probably today’s biggest prison in the world,” Palestinian refugees suffer from severe malnutrition and many children are unable to travel to school. Gordon said most Israelis exist in a bubble where they are unaffected by the realities of life for Palestinian refugees. “For Israeli television viewers, Palestinian suffering is virtually nonexistent, exactly like Iraqi suffering is nonexistent for American viewers today,”

he said. “I go to the occupied territories almost every week to meet with Palestinians,” Gordon said. “I ask them what they need and they say, ‘We don’t need your help. Your help is to go back to your people and tell them what you see.’” But Gordon pointed out that the Second Intifada also severely affected Israeli Jews. Unemployment is growing and the country’s budget has been cut by 7 percent. According to one poll, fears of suicide attacks have left 67 percent of Israelis afraid to leave their homes as often as they used to. Sharon’s government has used this fear to limit democracy, Gordon said. “Every Israeli in his right mind” is afraid of suicide bombers, he said, but the Sharon administration has equated this threat to individual lives with a threat to the existence of the Israeli state, which Gordon called the strongest nation in the Middle East. “Most of the occupied territories are now closed to peace activists,” he said. “The Israeli government is unwilling for there to be bridges between Israel and Palestine.” Gordon said Americans “can fight the fight” at home by opposing U.S. loan guarantees to Israel that require the Israeli government to cut the national budget. He also

said Americans should be aware that the American peace activist Rachel Corey was killed by a Caterpillar bulldozer manufactured in Illinois and sold to Israel for non-military purposes. Americans should tell the U.S. government Israel should be held accountable for the use of American products, Gordon said. Audience members asked Gordon several questions about the United States’ role in the Mideast. Gordon said he did not believe there was any deep connection between the Sharon government and Richard Perle or Paul Wolfowitz, members of the Bush administration who are credited with citing the safety of Israel as one of many justifications for the current war with Iraq. War with Iraq “is an American agenda — it’s not an Israeli agenda,” he said. The event, sponsored by Common Ground and the Institute for the Study and Practice of Nonviolence, featured an introduction by Teny Oded Gross, executive director of the institute, who said one purpose of the event was to “strengthen the middle” in the debate over Israel and Palestine. Herald staff writer Dana Goldstein ’06 can be reached at dgoldstein@browndailyherald.com.

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

CAMPUS NEWS WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9, 2003 · PAGE 5

IN BRIEF Two Brown grads win Pulitzer Prizes Two Brown graduates were recently announced as 2003 Pulitzer Prize winners. Jeffrey Eugenides ’82 and Nilo Cruz M.F.A. ’94 won for Fiction and Drama, respectively. Eugenides won for his second novel “Middlesex,” which traced the lives of three generations of a Greek-American family through the voice of a hermaphroditic teenager who is raised as a girl, despite sharing more male than female features. The novel stretches all the way from 1920s Greece to Detroit in the 1960s. Eugenides is also the author of the acclaimed 1993 “The Virgin Suicides,” which was made into a feature film starring Kathleen Turner and Kirsten Dunst. Eugenides has also written for The New Yorker, The Paris Review, and The Yale Review, Best American Short Stories and the Gettysburg Review. He has visited Brown in the past for presentations, including Professor of English Robert Coover’s “Unspeakable Practices” sessions and the 1999 memorial to former Professor of Creative Writing John Hawkes. Eugenides currently lives in Berlin. Nilo Cruz M.F.A. ’94 won for his play,“Anna in the Tropics.” Cruz, a Cuban American, based the romantic play on cigar-factory culture that made its way from Cuba to Florida. Set in 1929, Cruz intended the play to focus on the characters’ perceptions of Leo Tolstoy’s “Anna Karenina,” according to the Yale Daily News. Cruz, currently a visiting professor at the Yale School for Drama, bears the honor of being the first Latino to win in the Drama category, according to the Yale Daily News. Cruz’s other plays include “Night Train to Bolina,” “Dancing on Her Knees,”“Hortensia and the Museum of see PULITZER, page 9

Mallon ’73 says the lines between creative fiction and nonfiction are not clear enough BY SCHUYLER VON OEYEN

Historical fiction can’t be history and is always fiction, said Thomas Mallon ’73 at a Tuesday lecture titled “Narrative as Narrative,” part of this week’s English building dedication. Mallon also warned, “The demarcation between creative fiction and creative nonfiction should be more carefully patrolled.” Mallon, who earned his doctorate at Harvard University after graduating from Brown and began his career as a professor at Vassar College, eventually left academia to become a nationally-known creative nonfiction and historical fiction writer. “Historians in recent times have become increasingly concerned with ‘what if’ history. All this is better left to novelists. If historians begin treating the ‘what if’ aspect, I fear that ‘what would have been’ will evolve to ‘what should have been,’” Mallon emphasized. The author’s explanation of history was a necessary prelude to the main part of his lecture, which involved a detailed description of his recent book, “Mrs. Paine’s Garage.” Mallon said the book was an emotional foray for both him and the book’s subject, Ruth Paine, into the John F. Kennedy assassination on November 22, 1963. “Mrs. Paine’s Garage,” a novel of nonfiction, began as a piece Mallon did for The New Yorker in 2001 before it became a book. “I chose to do a work of nonfiction instead of historical fiction because the political culture themes wanted direct expression and because Ruth (Paine) did not want a work of fiction,” Mallon said. “I was interested in the emotional truth.” The very title of Mallon’s book — “Mrs. Paine’s Garage” — was a direct reference to the location where

Lee Harvey Oswald kept the rifle he used to assassinate Kennedy. Paine, a pacifist Quaker, did not know Oswald kept a gun in her Irving, Tex., home, despite living with Oswald and his family for several months. Paine’s unique relation to Oswald resulted in a massive questioning period by the Warren Commission, which has been carefully documented in national archives. But it wasn’t until two weeks after the death of John F. Kennedy Jr. that Paine felt emotionally ready to expose her inner thoughts on the matter — nearly four decades later. see MALLON, page 9

New Greek Council members elected BY DANA GOLDSTEIN

Greek house presidents elected the new executive board of Greek Council Tuesday night. The new chair of the Council is Tony Rahil ’04 of Delta Tau. Chris Guhin ’05 of Alpha Delta Phi was elected vice chair. Alpha Epsilon Pi brother and Herald Sports Editor Joshua Troy ’04 will serve as treasurer. Daniela Amores ’04 of the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority was elected secretary. Theta Delta Chi brother Brent Grinna ’04 will serve as elected standards chair. Maxine Jackson ’04 of Zeta Delta Xi was elected public relations chair. see GREEK, page 9

PAGE 6 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9, 2003

Crime continued from page 1 According to the report, two suspects approached Brent Lang ’04 as he was walking west on Charlesfield. When one of the assailants asked Lang for his wallet and he refused, the suspect punched him. Lang ran to his suite in Olney and reported the crime from there. He was later taken to Miriam Hospital for treatment. All three students gave similar descriptions of the suspects — two men, one of whom was wearing a red hooded sweatshirt with a baseball cap. The other was reportedly wearing dark clothing, and Lang told the Providence Police that the second subject was behind the wheel of a blue Honda. Williams said she was more “confused” than “scared” as the mugging occurred. “I had no idea what was going on. It was a public place,” she said. “It just wasn’t late. It was 7:30.” Brown, RISD and Providence Police departments all responded to the crime,

Williams said she was more “confused” than “scared” as the mugging occurred. she said, and some officers were at the scene within two minutes. Williams, who said she got a “pretty good look at the guy who took the purse,” was transported to the police station to look at mug shots, but she said she was unable to identify her assailant. The police also asked her to sit in a police car and brought a man wearing a red hooded sweatshirt and baseball cap to her for possible identification, Williams said. But the man the police showed her was not one of the men who mugged her. According to the crime report sent to the University community, Providence and Brown police are investigating the incidents. Herald staff writer Juliette Wallack ’05 edits the metro page. She can be reached at jwallack@browndailyherald.com.

India continued from page 1 pave the way for a second trip with Provost Robert Zimmer, Watson Institute Director Thomas Biersteker or another high-level University official. Margolin said a similar trip he and then-President Vartan Gregorian took to Pakistan in 1994 raised Brown’s profile on the Indian subcontinent. “We want people to think of Brown as a destination school,” Margolin said. “We want the best students in the world to apply to Brown, and if they gain entrance, we want them to accept our offer.” In preparation for the trip, Margolin met with several current students from India to discuss their experiences and brainstorm ways to attract more Indian students to Brown. “The students who have been coming to Brown have been very happy with their experiences, and they’ve been doing very well,” Margolin said.

Margolin said he hoped such positive experiences would have a snowball effect, when students returning to India encouraged their friends to apply to Brown. He said a similar process occurred in Greece, Turkey and South Korea, all of which have become hot spots for international recruitment. Humbir Nerker ’04, a native of Mumbai, said strengthening the alumni network and holding information sessions in schools would be a good way for Brown to enhance its image in India. “Everyone who’s applying to go abroad has probably heard of Brown, but it’s not the number-one, most-sought-after school,” said Nerker, who applied to Brown because his sister was attending. “They’re aware that it exists, but it doesn’t have a strong presence.” Nerker said universities like Harvard, Yale, Princeton and Stanford, along with scienceoriented schools like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the California Institute of Technology and

Carnegie Mellon, are more popular schools in India. Between 40 and 50 current graduate and undergraduate students hail from the Indian subcontinent, according to John Eng-Wong ’62, director of Foreign Students, Faculty and Staff Services. The graduate school has the highest concentration of Indian students, he said. Eng-Wong also said the presence of students of Indian heritage from around the world make Indians a much larger demographic community on campus. Still, he said, students from India can have a difficult time transitioning to life in the United States. “Some have had quite cosmopolitan international experiences,” Eng-Wong said. “On the other hand, there are Indian students who come here never having left the subcontinent, and for them the shock of coming to the U.S. is of a different magnitude.” Herald staff writer Zach Barter ’06 can be reached at zbarter@browndailyherald.com.

Low income continued from page 3 group discussions centered on factors the students reveal in the interviews. Although the definition of low income differs among the countries, students eligible for free or reduced lunch were used for the study in the United States. The researchers are looking at rural, urban and suburban schools. Some of the schools are comprised of predominantly lowincome students; others are mixed. Although no data has been analyzed yet, interviews with students have shown preliminary results. Teachers who show a strong interest in their students are often cited as motivating factors. Students also speak of parents, especially single parents, pushing their children to do better in life than they did. The availability of school programs, such as peer tutoring, homework clubs and extra help, also propel students to succeed. Bempechat said she hoped this research will better allow teachers to help students do well in school. “We hope this can help all teachers help their students move forward,” she said. Herald staff writer Stephanie Harris ’04 edits the academic watch section. She can be reached at sharris@browndailyherald.com.

puhleez

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

WORLD & NATION WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9, 2003 · PAGE 7

3 journalists killed by U.S. gunfire

Carolyn Cole / L.A. Times

Journalists gather outside the Palestine Hotel to pay tributes to the journalists killed and injured on Tuesday.

Second airport captured; Saddam may have been ‘vaporized’ in attack BAGHDAD (L.A. Times) — U.S. Marines captured Baghdad’s second airport along with large sections of its eastern suburbs as they extended American control in the Iraqi capital Tuesday, and Army tanks attacked government buildings and repelled a series of sharp counter-attacks near the center of the city. Hours after punching their way into the capital, the Marines took over a prison where they discovered a number of bloodied U.S. Army uniforms, along with chemical weapons suits, which might have belonged to captured Americans. Members of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force seized the Rasheed military airport after destroying tanks and armored personnel carriers in front of the air base and behind it, said Brig. Gen. Vincent Brooks, a spokesman for the U.S. Central Command in Doha, Qatar. He said controlling the base, along with capturing Baghdad airport last week, would help prevent the escape of high-ranking Iraqi officials as forces loyal to President Saddam Hussein turned increasingly to fierce urban combat in areas where the officials were hiding. In southern Iraq, British and U.S. commanders said they had cleared the last pocket of resistance from Basra and that British troops who now controlled the country’s second-largest city had begun talks with local representatives about forming a provisional government. The increased allied control of Iraq gave American commanders a growing sense that victory was in sight. With Army troops and Marines inside Baghdad, Special Forces to the north, a large element of Marines to the southeast and two big Army units to the southwest, one officer noted that time seemed to be running out for Saddam and his govern-

ment. U.S. officials said they did not know whether the Iraqi leader or his sons Uday and Qusai had been killed in the heavy bombing of a residential neighborhood Monday where the CIA said the three had been meeting with officials of their intelligence service. One officer said they might have been “vaporized.” In Tuesday’s fighting, the Marines suffered 11 casualties, including one death. Three American planes were hit by ground fire. Two managed to return to their bases, but the third, an A-10 Warthog attack jet, crashed at the main Baghdad airport. The pilot ejected and was saved by U.S. rescue crews. At one point, shortly before noon, the battle turned deadly for non-combatants. American tanks on one of the bridges across the Tigris River fired a round into the Palestine Hotel, where many of the foreign journalists covering the war live and work. The tanks fired another round into offices of the pan-Arab television news network Al Jazeera. The news bureau of Abu Dhabi television also was hit. Three journalists — cameraman Taras Protsyuk with the Reuters news agency, cameraman Jose Couso with Spain’s Tele 5 television, and correspondent Tarik Ayoub with Al Jazeera — were killed. Three others were wounded. Journalists strenuously rejected the initial explanation provided by military officials at Central Command that the Americans had fired only after receiving small arms fire from the hotel lobby. The journalists said tank rounds had hit the 15th floor. U.S. spokesman Brooks called the incident “most unfortunate indeed” and insisted: “We certainly know that we don’t target journalists.”

A reporter for the Los Angeles Times, traveling with the tank unit that mounted the fire, said there appeared to have been confusion about the location of attackers. In addition, commanders of the tank unit had received intelligence that Iraqi spotters had climbed to the rooftops of buildings in the area to direct fire onto the tank positions. At about that time, the Times reporter said, someone — possibly a journalist — in the upper stories of the Palestine Hotel was spotted looking out at the tanks through binoculars. The tank round that crashed into the 15th floor of the hotel was fired shortly afterward. A few hours later, officers in the 4th Battalion of the 64th Armored Regiment reportedly engaged in a long discussion to differentiate between the Palestine Hotel and the Iraqi Intelligence Ministry across the Tigris. At one point, an Associated Press reporter attached to the tank unit telephoned his colleagues at the Palestine and asked them to hang a sheet out a window to make it clear which building was the hotel. Tuesday’s attack on the journalists highlighted a far larger problem: civilian casualties throughout the city. The Iraqis estimated that about 1,250 civilians have been killed and more than 5,000 wounded in the war. That toll was expected to rise sharply as urban fighting intensified. Hospitals in Baghdad were reported to be overwhelmed with the wounded. A spokesman for the International Committee of the Red Cross said the large Al Kindi hospital was admitting an average of 10 new wounded each hour. Nine or 10 civilians reportedly were killed in the air attack that targeted Saddam and his sons, and four others were wounded.

BAGHDAD (L.A. Times) — The slender illusion of safety for journalists in the Iraqi capital was shattered Tuesday as three reporters were killed — all by American fire. There have been a range of fears for journalists here since the beginning of the war, from U.S. bombs to the wrath of hardcore Iraqi loyalists to the chaos that could erupt in the event of a power vacuum. But the Palestine Hotel, on the east bank of the Tigris River, had been seen by journalists as a sanctuary. And because of that, the erratic elevators, the absence of hot water and electricity in the rooms, not to mention the occasional cockroach, were endured as nuisances in covering the Iraqi side of the war. With its seedy demeanor, it was much like the old Commodore Hotel in Beirut, where journalists flocked in the ’70s and ’80s because they believed they would be safe even in the face of civil war and Israeli attacks on the Lebanese capital. Journalists working in wartime often concoct rationales to convince themselves they’ll be safe. They make rules such as not going out after dark and always wearing a flak jacket. And they tell themselves the odds are against being hurt, especially if they are in a hotel filled with other reporters. But on Tuesday, an American tank fired a round into the Palestine Hotel, killing a Ukranian cameraman and a Spanish cameraman, only hours after another U.S. munition claimed the life of a correspondent of the Arab news network AlJazeera. The dead were identified as Taras Protsyuk, 35, a Ukranian cameraman for the Reuters news agency, Jose Couso, 37, a cameraman for Spain’s Tele 5, and Tariq Ayyoub, a correspondent for AlJazeera. Photographer Jerome Delay of The Associated Press was on the 17th floor of the Palestine, taking pictures of a U.S. tank on a nearby bridge crossing the Tigris. The tank was being fired on, and its gunner believed that men atop the tall buildings across the river — including the hotel — were acting as spotters. The tank commander gave the order to fire. To Delay’s disbelief, he saw the tank turn its turret toward the hotel and fire. The building shook and Delay raced down the stairs to find that a room occupied by Reuters had been hit. “People were screaming and crying, out of control,” he said. “The window was shattered.” Among the wounded, Delay found his longtime friend Protsyuk. “Taras was lying on the floor on his back, unconscious,”Delay said. “His jaws were locked. We forced open his jaws to get some air into him and got him breathing again.” Delay also saw that his friend had a severe abdominal wound and his intestines were spilling out. He and others put Protsyuk on a blanket to rush him to a hospital. But the elevator stopped at every floor on the way down before they finally made it. Instead of going to a major hospital, their hired driver took them to a small clinic that was unable to handle the serious wounds. It took another five minutes to get to Olympic Hospital in downtown Baghdad. Protsyuk was still alive. “He was not conscious, but responding. The vital signs were still here. He was groaning,” Delay said. “When I got him on the table in the emergency room, the doctor said he is dead.’’

PAGE 8 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9, 2003

Networks re-evaluate war coverage WASHINGTON (Washington Post) — The journalistic body count is rising, and some news organizations are starting to withdraw selected reporters from Iraq. Three more journalists were killed Tuesday, following the deaths of NBC’s David Bloom and Atlantic Monthly editor and Washington Post columnist Michael Kelly. With the media death toll at 12, the networks are reassessing their situations, based both on safety concerns and on a sense that the oncedramatic story is running out of steam with viewers. “I’m very nervous,’’ said Marcy McGinnis, senior vice president of CBS News. Worrying about the correspondents “makes you a wreck. There’s no point in keeping them there any longer than necessary. The risk is not worth the result.” CBS may pull Jim Axelrod from the Baghdad airport. “There’s the danger, there’s the personal exhaustion, and there’s the question of are we getting enough out of it,’’ said Paul Slavin, executive producer of ABC’s “World News Tonight.” “Every day we go over the level of safety.” Some embedded correspondents are no longer producing much news because their military units have stopped moving forward, Slavin said. ABC has withdrawn Ron Claiborne from the USS Abraham Lincoln and Tamala Edwards from an Air

Force base in Kuwait. Reporter Bob Woodruff left a Marine unit because he was close friends with Bloom. Tareq Ayyoub, a Jordanian journalist for the Arab network al-Jazeera, was killed Tuesday when his Baghdad office was hit in a U.S. bombing strike. An American tank also fired rounds at the Palestine Hotel Tuesday, killing Reuters cameraman Taras Protsyuk, a Ukrainian national, and cameraman Jose Couso of the Spanish network Telecinco. Asked about the tank attack on a hotel known to house numerous journalists, Pentagon spokeswoman Torie Clarke said Tuesday that the military tries to avoid civilian casualties but that she had repeatedly told reporters that “war is a dangerous, dangerous business and you’re not safe when you’re in a war zone.” On Monday, Julio Anguita Parrado of Spain’s El Mundo newspaper and Christian Liebig of the German newsweekly Focus were killed by an Iraqi missile. Kamaran Abdurazaq Muhamed, a Kurdish translator for the BBC, died Sunday in an accidental U.S. bombing strike on a Kurdish convoy. Bloom, who spent long hours in a cramped vehicle, died Sunday from a pulmonary embolism caused by a blood clot in his leg. Business Week reported that Bloom had consulted military doctors days

earlier about cramps behind his knee, but he ignored their advice to seek medical attention and kept working. Kelly died Thursday when he and a soldier tried to escape Iraqi fire and their Humvee crashed into a canal. There have been numerous near-misses as well. Ron Martz of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution was flanked by soldiers who were both wounded by bullets that could have hit him. “Had they not been there,” he reported, “I most likely would not be now typing this.” Scott Nelson of the Boston Globe came under fire in an armored Humvee near Baghdad and pointed out the sniper to a soldier in the turret, who apparently killed the assailant with machine gun fire. David Zucchino of the Los Angeles Times was in a military vehicle that plunged into a canal but managed to escape. “Over the last week,” National Public Radio’s Ivan Watson wrote on the network’s Web site, “I’ve had to dive on the ground three times to escape incoming Iraqi machine gun fire and artillery.” He said he took a weekend break from the fighting in northern Iraq at a resort “after I realized that too many of the people I eat dinner with have recently been killed or injured covering this conflict.”

U.S., Allies are divided on a post-war Iraq WASHINGTON (L.A.Times) — With the war’s end in sight, the United States and key allies appear just as divided over how to patch up Iraq as they were over going to war in the first place, perhaps even more so. President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair, emerging from a summit in Belfast, Northern Ireland, issued a joint statement Tuesday that the United Nations would play a “vital role” in postwar Iraq. But even before the ink dried on the AngloAmerican communique, the Kremlin announced that the antiwar triad of France, Russia and Germany will hold their own summit in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Friday and Saturday. Although no agenda was announced, it was widely assumed the meeting is meant to formulate a joint position on reconstruction efforts in Iraq after the war. News of the get-together dismayed the Bush administration. “Everyone is extremely annoyed that this group is getting together again,” said a State Department official. The Europeans, for their part, were surprised that the United States didn’t see it coming. “What did they expect?” said a diplomat from one of the three countries. The rival summits underscore one of the central questions looming about Iraq: Can the world come together to politically and physically reconstruct the shattered nation — and in the process heal its own fractured alliances? Or will the rift at the U.N. in the run-up to war fester into a diplomatic schism because of new differences in its aftermath? Speaking to reporters en route to the Belfast summit Monday, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell sought to downplay frictions over postwar Iraq. “The tension of the last few months that’s all behind us now,’’ Powell said. “Operation Iraqi Freedom is going to be successful. The people of Iraq are going to be liberated. So let’s not fight that fight again let’s step forward.” But government officials and

analysts on both sides of the divide predict that painful arguments lie ahead for the U.N. Security Council about just who does what in transforming Iraq politically, organizing reconstruction and funding humanitarian relief. “The period ahead will be as fractious as the period before the war because the United States is convinced that it did the right thing and therefore deserves to manage the postwar period according to its preferences,” said Foreign Policy magazine editor Moises Naim. “But Europe believes that to win the peace and regain the legitimacy lost during the war, the United States has to engage in a multilateral effort.” At their Belfast summit, Bush and Blair agreed that they would seek U.N. resolutions on an “appropriate post-conflict administration for Iraq.” But the two leaders offered few details about what role the international body or other countries would have in postwar Iraq. French President Jacques Chirac, Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder have softened their language since the tough denunciations of the U.S. and British plans to go to war and topple Saddam Hussein. But they also have made clear their strong belief that the U.S.-led coalition should not have a monopoly in determining the economic and political future of Iraq. Chirac conceded Tuesday that Iraq faced a “necessary phase of establishing security,” implying that the United States may play the leading role during this period. But the United Nations should then be the primary body to oversee the transformation of Iraq, he said. “We are no longer in an era where one or two countries can take on the destiny of another country,” he told a Paris news conference Tuesday. “Therefore, the political, economic, humanitarian and administrative reconstruction of Iraq is a matter for the United Nations and for it alone.”

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9, 2003 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD PAGE 9

Hatfield

Pulitzer

Mallon

continued from page 12

continued from page 5

can give each team the time it deserves. I hope you find this guide helpful in keeping with the unwritten rules of fantasy sports. Before you pass judgment on me as a stat-crazy sports nerd (even though that’s probably true), try it some time. I have found there is no better way to become familiar with all of Major League Baseball than to play in a roto league. It’s nice to know what players to watch come playoff time or when your home team plays an outof-division opponent. Give these a shot and trust me — you’ll be enjoying yourself come September. Chris Hatfield ’06 hails from Salem, N.H., and was pumped when he found out UFS own DJ Lefty reads his column.

Master plan continued from page 1 acted upon in the coming years. “The future is going to be another million square feet in the next 15 to 20 years, and if we’re wrong, it will be two million square feet,” she said. Halsband said her firm categorized buildings as either landmarks, “useful containers” and buildings that “in the best of all possible worlds, would disappear,” including Grad Center and Alumnae Hall. The firm then analyzed opportunities for changes and expansion, according to University needs and feasibility, Halsband said. Many of the proposed changes would have the result of increasing campus unity, particularly by filling the gap between Pembroke and the main campus. Halsband said the memory of the separate schools “robs the community of its sense of oneness.” One of the plan’s central concepts is a walkway connecting Pembroke Campus to Lincoln Field, which Halsband said could run through the current “Dumpster Walk,” an informal path often taken by students. Halsband also discussed changing existing transporta-

Dreams,”“Two Sisters and a Piano” and “Beauty of the Father.” As a student at Brown, Cruz worked closely with Professor of English and fellow Pulitzer Prize for Drama winner Paula Vogel. Also nominated as finalists in the Drama category for the Pulitzer Prize were three-time winner Edward Albee for “The Goat or Who is Sylvia?” and Richard Greenberg for his play “Take Me Out.” Cruz’s new play,“Lorca in a Green Dress,” will be presented in July at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Cruz is also working on another play, “Ybor City,” which he will debut in Florida some time this fall, according to the Brown Alumni Magazine. —Joanne Park

tion networks to move more Brown parking off campus. Other ideas include expanding University use of Thayer Street, constructing academic buildings between Pembroke and main campus and filling in gaps between buildings with additional square footage. Halsband said student leaders have emphasized the need for improved amenities, such as fitness facilities and common spaces, and for a campus center to house student organizations. “(They) have done a terrific job in representing the interests of the students,” Halsband said. Halsband said her firm is presently consulting with Yale University, Columbia University, the University of Kentucky and New York University, but that student input has been greatest at Brown. “There’s a real sense of community and working together to get someplace here,” she said. “It’s quite impressive.” Spies said that, while the low student turnout at the forums was “disappointing,” ongoing input from campus leaders means the student voice will remain a part of planning. Herald staff writer Philissa Cramer ’05 can be reached at pcramer@browndailyherald.com.

Mallon described in detail his frustration in initially working on the project. “I was interested in the emotional truth,” he said. “I wanted, at times, to fictionalize my book. I had to resist this urge. The novelist in me wanted certain events to occur.”

While Mallon said he occasionally wanted to fictionalize events to better symbolically represent what he learned, he realized “the truth is always stronger than fiction.” Since the assassination was — in Paine’s mind — necessarily fused with her divorce from her husband, Mallon said he begins the book using this mindset. Its first words are: “There would be bad news from Dallas tomorrow.” In this manner, Mallon said he recon-

structed the events that happened as Paine described them to create a powerful story. Quoting former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger out of context, Mallon emphasized nonfiction has “the additional advantage of being true. “Fact contains its own fearful symbol — ready-made truth,” Mallon said. “I am in the mood to protect biography. I am less inclined to see the novel as the last great book of life.”

Greek continued from page 5

witnesses told Lapati. Brown Police arrived on the scene a few minutes later and recovered a bag with full and half-empty beer bottles, Lapati said. Brown police responded to the scene first followed shortly by Providence Police. Brown Police helped gather witness statements, but Providence Police are handling the incident. Providence Police did not comment on possible charges against the driver. Pastula described the driver as a young male in his 20s, about 5’9”, but Providence Police would not identify him.

Rahil said he plans to improve the social scene at Brown “by working with the other houses on a more collective basis.” He said his priorities include improving Greek parties, creating unity and increased involvement within Greek Council and implementing “more meaningful community service. “I want to actually do stuff to help the less fortunate,” he said. “My main objective is to improve the image of Greek life on campus.” Guhin said his job as vice chair would entail assisting the chair and facilitating the rush process. Guhin said his interest and experience in layout and copy editing would help him in producing the annual Rush Guide. “Our current Rush Guide is adequate, but there are many, many ways it could be improved,” he said. “For the good of the Greek system as a whole, I want people to know ways it could be changed for the better.” Guhin said he was also committed to establishing partnerships with non-profit organizations and improving Greek Council’s charitable fund-raising. Guhin also said he would like to see improved promotion of Greek Council parties.

Herald staff writer Adam Stella ’05 is the assistant metro editor. He can be reached at astella@browndailyherald.com.

Herald staff writer Dana Goldstein ’06 can be reached at dgoldstein@browndailyherald.com.

Kerry Miller / Herald

A tree on Thayer Street was damaged in an alleged drunk driving crash.

Crash continued from page 1 Thayer with some friends when he said he heard “a big crash. “I saw a guy run out with a big gash in his head, bleeding pretty profusely,” Pastula said. Pastula said he was not carrying any medical supplies but he borrowed a scarf from a passerby, which he used to stop the bleeding of the victim’s head. Pastula said he applied pressure to the driver’s head while his friends phoned the police. The victim’s head was no longer bleeding by the time police and EMTs arrived with an ambulance, Pastula said. The driver apparently was not wearing a seatbelt and sustained his injury when his head struck the windshield, Pastula said. The driver was taken away in an ambulance around 10 p.m. After the car hit the tree, the driver stumbled out of the car and dumped a bag in a nearby yard,

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

EDITORIAL/LETTERS WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9, 2003 · PAGE 10 S T A F F

E D I T O R I A L

A proud tradition Brown once again proved its creative mettle Monday, with two alums receiving 2003 Pulitzer Prizes. Both Jeffrey Eugenides ’82, who won a Fiction Prize for his second novel “Middlesex,” and Nilo Cruz M.F.A. ’94, who received a Drama Prize for his play “Anna in the Tropics,” serve as examples of what Brown students can accomplish — not to mention they lend inspiration to the University’s many struggling undergraduate creative types. The two playwrights’ subjects, a hermaphroditic teen and cigar-factory culture in the 1920s, are truly unique, fitting for a University that claims to produce free-spirited graduates. The works also serve as a testament to the success of Brown’s English and Creative Writing departments. At the new English building’s dedication, Department Chair Nancy Armstrong called Brown’s English Department “one of the best departments on campus and possibly the nation.” Monday’s Pulitzer announcement clearly proves her point. Eugenides also provides a commendable example of another Brown ideal — continued alumni involvement with the University. Although his career has exploded since the 1993 publishing of his first work, “The Virgin Suicides,” Eugenides has returned to Brown on several occasions over the past decade. Having proven himself in the cutthroat world of publishing as one of his generation’s premier talents, he chose to give back to the institution that helped get him started. Brown students need alumni like Eugenides and Cruz to inspire them, to affirm the education they receive at the University. Seeing and hearing the success stories and advice of former graduates can only push Brown students to take the skills they have acquired and ideas they have formulated and use them in an already-proven-to-work manner. Giving back to the University is a way to sustain the legacy one leaves at Brown after graduating. We admire and appreciate those alums who make their presence known on a campus that provided them a stepping stone for future success. We may not have UPenn’s Wharton School, or Harvard Law, but when it comes to creative endeavors, Brown has few peers.

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD EDITORIAL Elena Lesley, Editor-in-Chief Brian Baskin, Executive Editor Zachary Frechette, Executive Editor Kerry Miller, Executive Editor Kavita Mishra, Senior Editor Stephanie Harris, Academic Watch Editor Carla Blumenkranz, Arts & Culture Editor Rachel Aviv, Asst. Arts & Culture Editor Julia Zuckerman, Campus Watch Editor Juliette Wallack, Metro Editor

BUSINESS Jamie Wolosky, General Manager Joe Laganas, Executive Manager Lawrence Hester, Senior Accounts Manager Bill Louis, Senior Accounts Manager Joshua Miller, Senior Accounts Manager Midori Asaka, National Accounts Manager David Zehngut, National Accounts Manager Anastasia Ali, Local Accounts Manager Elias Roman, Local Accounts Manager Peter Schermerhorn, Local Accounts Manager Jack Carrere, Noncomm Accounts Manager Laurie-Ann Paliotti, Sr. Advertising Rep. Kate Sparaco, Office Manager

Adam Stella, Asst. Metro Editor Jonathan Skolnick, Opinions Editor Joshua Skolnick, Opinions Editor

PRODUCTION Zachary Frechette, Chief Technology Officer Ilena Frangista, Listings Editor Marc Debush, Copy Desk Chief Grace Farris, Graphics Editor Andrew Sheets, Graphics Editor Brett Cohen, Systems Manager

P O S T- M A G A Z I N E Alex Carnevale, Editor-in-Chief Dan Poulson, Executive Editor Morgan Clendaniel, Senior Editor Theo Schell-Lambert, Senior Editor Doug Fretty, Film Editor Jason Ng, Music Editor Colin Hartnett, Design Editor SPORTS Joshua Troy, Executive Sports Editor Nick Gourevitch, Senior Sports Editor Jonathan Meachin, Senior Sports Editor Jermaine Matheson, Sports Editor Maggie Haskins, Sports Editor Alicia Mullin, Sports Editor

Ed Norton, Night Editor Amy Ruddle, Janis Sethness, Copy Editors Staff Writers Lotem Almog, Kathy Babcock, Zach Barter, Hannah Bascom, Carla Blumenkranz, Dylan Brown, Danielle Cerny, Philissa Cramer, Ian Cropp, Bamboo Dong, Jonathan Ellis, Linda Evarts, Nicholas Foley, Dana Goldstein, Alan Gordon, Nick Gourevitch, Joanna Grossman, Stephanie Harris, Shara Hegde, Anna Henderson, Momoko Hirose, Akshay Krishnan, Hanyen Lee, Jamay Liu, Allison Lombardo, Lisa Mandle, Jermaine Matheson, Jonathan Meachin, Monique Meneses, Alicia Mullin, Crystal Z.Y. Ng, Joanne Park, Sara Perkins, Melissa Perlman, Eric Perlmutter, Samantha Plesser, Cassie Ramirez, Lily Rayman-Read, Zoe Ripple, Ethan Ris, Amy Ruddle, Emir Senturk, Jen Sopchockchai, Adam Stella, Adam Stern, Stefan Talman, Jonathan Thompson, Joshua Troy, Juliette Wallack, Jessica Weisberg, Ellen Wernecke, Ben Wiseman, Xiyun Yang, Brett Zarda, Julia Zuckerman Pagination Staff Joshua Gootzeit, Lisa Mandle, Alex Palmer, Nikki Reyes, Amy Ruddle Photo Staff Kimberly Insel, Nick Mark, Alex Palmer, Cassie Ramirez, Jason White Copy Editors Mary Ann Bronson, Lanie Davis, Yafang Deng, Hanne Eisenfeld, George Haws, Amy Ruddle, Jane Porter, Janis Sethness, Nora Yoo

ANDREW SHEETS

LETTERS College Dems support Herald gets facts wrong To the Editor: “principled debate” To the Editor: On behalf of the Brown College Democrats, I would like to add our organization’s voice to those speaking out in favor of principled debate, while also clarifying some misconceptions that have arisen out of last week’s events involving Richard Perle. As deplorable as the heckling was, it is also deplorable that criticism has come from people who were not even present and/or have used the incident to taint the antiwar community, if not all progressive student activism. Students Against War in Iraq — a coalition of groups and individuals that we are a member of — voted to only endorse the silent unfurling of a critical banner (something that would not have been associated with disturbance were it not for the hecklers) and the faculty-organized protest outside of Salomon. In addition, SAWI voted overwhelmingly against heckling or other attempts to interrupt Mr. Perle’s remarks with the agreement that all associated with the group ought to abide by this democratic decision. That a small handful of people — many of whom were not even students and who did not “drown out” Mr. Perle as some have alleged — chose to elevate anger over reasoned discourse is a shame, and if any individuals associated with SAWI did indeed choose to take part in those acts, we regret the implication about the overall slant of the student antiwar movement at Brown — and our group as a part of it — that may have been falsely developed by the larger University community. The Brown College Democrats stand firmly for the exchange of ideas, even with those whom we would (and do) spend a lifetime working against, which is inherent to the University mission and American political culture as a whole. At a time when so many on the right suggest that disagreement with their orthodoxy is intolerable (i.e. reaction to John Kerry’s recent remarks about regime change in 2004), we believe that while it is imperative that progressives build from the grassroots to take the reins of power back, we must not, in the process, sink to their level of demagoguery. Political activism at its best is about aggressively affirming a positive agenda, not merely screaming at the arguments, however much they make our blood boil, of the other side.

I would just like to report an error in the Herald article “ResCouncil submits co-ed report to ResLife dean” (4/4/03). The article reported that 36.4 percent of co-ed groups that entered the lottery were able to select co-ed suites. This is not the case. Only 23.8 percent of co-ed groups were actually successful. The figure of 36.4 percent refers only to co-ed junior and senior groups. More detailed statistics are available on ResCouncil’s Web site. Jesse Goodman ‘04 Policy Chair Residential Council 2002-03

Perle should have been disrupted To the Editor: Once again, political protest and “free speech” collide at Brown, and The Herald sides with “free speech” by demeaning the behavior of militant protesters as the “self-righteous intolerance of a few.” Free speech is an important principle — one worth fighting for. But applying the principle in an abstract, absolute way to protest, which involves disrupting the speech of very powerful, very wealthy, very widely represented members of the establishment like Richard Perle simplifies and diminishes political reality. Was Perle prevented from speaking at Brown? Were members of the audience prevented from hearing what he had to say? Should those of us who believe that Perle is importantly responsible for the development and execution of a genocidal U.S. military policy in Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East accord him our respect and “civility”? I ask The Herald editors and all Herald readers to ask themselves this question: Is there anyone whose speech you would be willing to disrupt for political, moral or practical reasons? Must this form of protest be absolutely condemned no matter who the speaker is, no matter what the speaker has done or plans to do? Speaking for myself, I’m very sorry that a meeting in Boston prevented me from joining in the protests against Perle. I would have eagerly joined in the verbal attacks on him and felt that by doing so I was in no way violating his right to speak or to be heard.

Sean Siperstein ’05 Publicity/Communications Chair College Democrats April 8

William Keach Professor of English April 8

COMMENTARY POLICY The staff editorial is the majority opinion of the editorial board of The Brown Daily Herald. The editorial viewpoint does not necessarily reflect the views of The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. Columns and letters reflect the opinions of their authors only. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR POLICY Send letters to letters@browndailyherald.com. Include a telephone number with all letters. The Herald reserves the right to edit all letters for length and cannot assure the publication of any letter. Please limit letters to 250 words. Under special circumstances writers may request anonymity, but no letter will be printed if the author’s identity is unknown to the editors. Announcements of events will not be printed. ADVERTISING POLICY The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. reserves the right to accept or decline any advertisement in its discretion.

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

OPINIONS WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9, 2003 · PAGE 11

A drunken dream come true Spring Weekend is Brown at its best SPRING WEEKEND IS COMING UP, BEGINNING FOR SOME OF us with the concert Thursday night, and for others at the traditional Spagfest on Friday afternoon, while more dedicated students like myself started Spring Weekend just as we would any normal weekend — last night at the GCB. My final Spring Weekend at Brown brings to mind the campus tour I took with my parents at the end of my senior year in high school, which happened to coincide with Spring Weekend. Just as tour guides are coached to stress the “variety” offered at the Sharpe Refectory as opposed to nutrition and taste, this tour guide had clearly been instructed to stress some of the more innocuous aspects of Spring Weekend. It’s amusing to recollect now the tension on the tour guide’s face as we stood in the middle of Wriston and watched a number athletic young men KATE GUBATA carry cases of Keystone Light into one of A CLOSER LOOK the frats while others filled blow-up wading pools with water while she apologetically tried to explain the weekend in terms of its dynamite musical attractions. For example, Dave Binder’s performance on Wriston on the Sunday of Spring Weekend was depicted as an honorable Brunonian tradition, featuring classic folk songs such as “You’ve Got a Friend” and “American Pie.” This is actually the truth, and it’s stunning how lame it sounds. However this account of the Sunday tradition says nothing about the reality of this show as the performance of one very sketchy middle-aged man (remember the gang-bang song) with questionable musical talent. His astonishing ability to connect with the audience is undercut by the emotional state surrounding that audience. If Al Gore were to take the stage on this last day of a very long stretch of debauchery, the Brown students assembled on Wriston Quad would concur vehemently with one another that he possessed an awesome stage presence. Though this year the campus on the whole has expressed disappointment about the bands coming for the weekend, past experience tells me that this disparagement is entirely misplaced, as the same people criticizing the concert line-up won’t fail to miss a word of “One Headlight” and will be chanting that they too love rock and roll on Thursday night. That’s the magic of Spring Weekend. After we had completed the campus tour, my mom spoke to an old family friend and former employee at Brown who informed my mother that from her experience at Brown, Spring Weekend was merely “an excuse to get drunk.” If she really knew anything about this great school, she would of course know that Brown students don’t need an excuse to get drunk. So if it’s not about the fine musical performances and it’s not about just getting drunk, what makes Spring Weekend so special? It’s about making the connection between school and home, work and play that really is what college is all about. I will never forget walking back from class on Friday afternoon to my dorm in Chapin my sophomore year. Entering Patriots Court was like stepping into a dream, or at least like some cheesy 80s movie about a college in the midwest where people played Frisbee and drank beer on the grass outside their dorms, listened to music and never seemed to get drunk, sloppy, or even tired. But it didn’t seem cheesy at the time. It seemed real, as does everything that happens to us here during these four years. Spring Weekend is about redefining the possibilities of “real,” so that for one short time seeing kids playing guitar under a tree on Lincoln Field is not laughable, but delightfully bucolic, dancing to the Dave Binder fast food song is not demeaning but is wonderfully liberating, and singing American Pie is not an act of patriotism, but a statement of the connection you have with the person standing next to you — even with the people who stood there singing years before, when Dave was a little younger, probably even more offensive, but just as loved. Brown students don’t need an excuse to get drunk; they certainly don’t lack the chance to act like idiots — that’s what sections are for. But a chance to feel like the world is smiling on you and your friends for a moment; to know that, just like American Pie, life always seems to have one more verse to come — that’s a moment worth celebrating. Happy Spring Weekend.

Kate Gubata ’03 loves rock ’n’ roll.

Pacific empire of lies and terror But then, encouraged by the island’s weakness, “THE STRONG DO AS THEY CAN AND THE WEAK do as they must.” So declared the Athenians as they the United States decided to make additional urged the people of the island of Melos to surrender demands, adding the condition that Nauru become or face destruction at the hands of the Athenian a U.S. spy station. Cautiously, its leaders agreed, only to face even more extreme and Navy. The confrontation between more bizarre demands. Nauru would Athens and this tiny island in the have to cooperate with U.S. efforts to Cretan Sea has since become the textundermine the UN’s International book example of the use of brute force Criminal Court, a provision that would and terror to coerce the weak into surforce the island into dependency on the render. While President Bush fills the United States by isolating it from the airwaves with benignly humanitarian international community. In return, rhetoric, our government is quietly colNauru requested that U.S. promises of onizing a modern-day Melos in the aid be put into writing. Ominously, the Pacific Ocean with threats of starvaUnited States refused. tion. Americans deluded by talk of “libThen, when a heart attack increased eration” should take a look at our poliNATE GORALNIK ORDERS FROM THE the vulnerability of the Nauruan presicy toward the poverty-stricken island BOSS dent, American officials added one final of Nauru, where our government is demand: that he accept outright colosecretly using all varieties of intimidanization by appointing Americans to contion, blackmail and lies to force this trol major government functions. Isolated in terrible nation into the clutches of American colonialism. Soon after terrorists destroyed a popular night- condition in an American hospital, the Nauruan presclub in Bali last October, U.S. officials conveyed a ident was forced to sign the treaty. He died days later. secret ultimatum to the government of Nauru, As Nauru ratified the major portions of the treaty, the ordering its government to reform its offshore State Department dealt yet another shock when it banking system and eliminate its passport industry, denied the island its promised compensation, conveindustries vital to its national economy that had niently pointing out that the official promises that allegedly been exploited by terrorist groups. Nauru demanded were never made. Today, conCompliance would be rewarded by economic assis- quered Nauru is bankrupt, its economy in ruins. Through terror, lies and blackmail that would tance, the letter said, but if the island did not comply, the United States promised to wipe out its make the Athenians proud, Bush has acquired a economy through financial sanctions authorized by poverty-stricken colony in the Pacific Ocean. the so-called USA Patriot Act (which had already Behind the facade of humanitarian concern, the significantly harmed foreign investment in the sick, self-serving inner workings of Bush’s foreign island). Threatened with starvation, the local gov- policy become clear. If you thought the days when the strong brutally dominated the weak are gone ernment prepared to capitulate. (or if you thought that Bush was going to end them by getting rid of the brute Saddam Hussein), Nate Goralnik ’06 would point out that the think again. The doctrine of intimidation and Australian PM who claims to care so much about the power is alive and well, and our government has Iraqis has used racist justifications to dump Iraqi no problem putting it into practice when the media aren’t looking. refugees on poverty-stricken Nauru.

Fundamentalist Liberalism IN MY NEARLY THREE YEARS AT BROWN, THERE issues together, to meld them into a single counterhas been an aspect of the liberal activist movement establishment gestalt which they then wave about that has always bothered me just enough to not say as a flag which they expect us to follow. Clearly being anything. The feeling maintained this low profile against war with Iraq is the same as opposing Israel’s until recently, when two events brought it to the treatment of the Palestinians and supporting gay fore. My problem is the way radical activists — let rights, right? This leads to two problems that weakme call them fundamentalist liberals — gather a en the cause. (And let’s be clear: I think weakening the cause is bad. I support a lot of these variety of different causes under a sin“liberal” causes, for a variety of different gle banner and expect people to rally LEV NELSON reasons; what bothers me is their mindaround it. GUEST COLUMNIST less amalgamation.) First, it alienates The first example occurred at the people who agree with parts of the antiwar protest held on the Main Green on March 20. Amidst the signs and chants against package deal but not other parts. I am forced to war with Iraq, I ran into an activist circulating choose between not going to the protest (thereby through the crowd wearing buttons with slogans on tacitly supporting the war with Iraq) and actively them. Right next to a button that shouted “No war opposing Israel — a no-win scenario for me and in Iraq!” he was wearing ones that urged “Stop everybody involved. The result is that people who Israeli occupation” and “Free Palestine.” I saw those would otherwise endorse liberal causes are disenbuttons and suddenly felt uncomfortable. While I franchised, and the causes which could benefit from am staunchly against the war on Iraq, I am also a their voices instead lose supporters. But there is a much more serious danger. friend and supporter (albeit a critical friend) of Lumping together disparate causes is intellectually Israel. Was I not welcome, then, at this rally? The second example involves the speaker at the dishonest. It blurs the nuanced distinctions that Pride Month Convocation last week. As The Herald make the world more than black and white, good editorial (“False Connections,” April 3) pointed out, and evil, them and us, and by doing so erodes the the keynote speaker assumed that because it was credibility of the liberal position. The very people an LGBT event, the audience would of course who deride President Bush for seeing the world in respond well to an antiwar speech. Liz Tierney ’03, this simplistic fashion are guilty of the same crime, in her letter of April 7, retorts that homosexuals and so just as I disregard Bush’s “Axis of Evil” rhetohave a right to an identity that is larger than their ric, I am sadly led to disregard the fundamentalist sexual orientation, and she is certainly correct: liberals. The solution to this mess is for activists to keep Individual people can hold any combination of views, however disjointed they may seem to an their work focused. It may be inconvenient if the outside viewer. But we’re not talking about individ- same ten people have to meet under the guise of uals now; we’re talking about groups and the mes- three different organizations to protest different issues they oppose, but it is worth their while if at sages they promote. Fundamentalist liberals have a tendency to blur each of those meetings three other people show up. The alternative is to form multi-issue groups from the outset and expect them to have small constituencies. Brown Gay Vegetarian Republicans, Lev Nelson ‘04 is a geology concentrator from anyone? Teaneck, New Jersey.

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

SPORTS WEDNESDAY APRIL 9, 2003 · PAGE 12

Guidelines for all fantasy baseball junkies WITH BASEBALL SEASON SHIFTING INTO gear, I figure many of you may need some help. No, I’m not talking about those unfortunate souls who cannot see their favorite teams’ games on TV due to Brown’s limited channel selection. I’m talking about those of you who may be involved in your first fantasy baseball league. Since I have been doing this for a few years, let me give those of you who need some help a few pointers. CHRIS HATFIELD DO: do some OUT OF LEFT FIELD h o m e w o r k beforehand. Now I am not saying you need to become obsessive and buy five or six fantasy magazines. That’s just a waste of money that could be spent, ahem, elsewhere. There is plenty available on the Internet for free if you look around. To start you off, let me recommend the fantasy section on ESPN.com and rotoworld.com. If you start off with a terrible team, it can be almost impossible to recover. That just makes things harder to enjoy on your part. DON’T: abandon your team. I can sympathize with those who have no shot around August, but you have no excuse to stop paying attention to your team after only a month. This goes for the other sports too, especially since their seasons are shorter. If you have a 10-team league and five of the owners don’t pay attention to their teams, then it makes things lousy for those who are still being competitive. On a similar note, do not invite people into your league who you know will do this. DO: talk smack on the league message board. This one only really applies to online leagues, but that is what the majority of fantasy leagues are now anyway. This makes things fun and interesting as long as people can leave the trash talk behind and be cool in everyday relations. DON’T: be stupid about players from your favorite team. No folks, just because you are a Red Sox fan does not mean Shea Hillenbrand should be drafted in the fourth round. I have seen this happen. It is perfectly alright to send a player of equal value to get one of your favorite guys — in fact it helps you enjoy the game more — just don’t be a moron. DO: be careful with the waiver wire. Yes, it is a must to improve your team through free agent pickups over the course of the season, and this is particularly so with baseball. But do not jump the gun. Just because Runelvys Hernandez (SP, Royals) is at the top of ESPN.com’s player rater right now does not mean he will finish there. But, when somebody is hot, it may be a good idea to pick him up to sub for a player on the DL (see Griffey, Ken and Jeter, Derek). DON’T: stretch yourself too thin. In other words, try not to join too many leagues. I may be guilty of this one this season since I am in three Yahoo! Leagues. At this point, I find I often have a couple batters going up against one or more of my pitchers in any given game, making it tough to root for one side. Try to stick to no more than two leagues; this way you see HATFIELD, page 9

dspics

The tennis team is next in action against Penn and Princeton this weekend.

Tennis teams enter Ivy League play: Men victorious, while women falter BY BRETT ZARDA

High optimism entering the Ivy League season was doused with a splash of reality for the women’s tennis team last weekend. In their first Ivy competition of the year, the Bears were swept by Harvard (7-0). The match was Bruno’s first competition since returning from a productive West Coast trip. The successful road trip earned Brown a national ranking of 68th and instilled a sense of confidence for the Ivy season. Unfortunately for the Bears, the momentum was not enough to over-

come the 18th-ranked Harvard squad. The loss brings the Bear’s overall record to 11-6. Competition remains stiff this weekend as the Bears travel to play at Princeton and Penn. Following this weekend’s competition, a three-match Ivy home stand will conclude the regular season. The men’s tennis squad started the new Ivy season in a familiar manner — winning. The defending Ivy League champions defeated Yale 5-2 to raise their

overall record to 15-2. In the second weekend match, the Bears fell in an upset to 45th-ranked College of William and Mary. The 39thranked Bruno squad will now focus entirely on the six remaining Ivy League matches. The next two opponents, Penn and Princeton, will travel to Brown this weekend to take on the Bears. Sports staff writer Brett Zarda GS covers tennis. He can be reached at bzarda@browndailyherald.com.

Sports briefs:Women’s water polo finishes third, while two gymnasts head to regional competition Women’s water polo After a heartbreaking loss to Princeton in their second game of the tournament, the Bears fell to Hartwick 6-5 in overtime in the semi-finals. Melissa Iagulli ’03, Julie Williams ’03, Jackie Parente ’04, Sonia Lamel ’04 and Diana Livermore ’05 each netted one goal for Brown. Jeanie Ward-Waller ’04, who drew three ejections and notched two steals, led Brown defensively. Iagulli and Livermore also drew one ejection each, while Williams snagged two steals. Goalie Keira Heggie ’04 stopped 15 shots. Brown then faced Harvard in the thirdplace game and defeated the Crimson 62, outscoring Harvard 5-1 in the second half. Tori Barbata ’03 led Brown with four goals, while Iagulli added two. Heggie stopped nine shots in the first half, and Katherine Cummings ’06 made two saves in the second half. Brown continues action next weekend when it hosts the 2003 Northern Championships April 11 to 13 in the Smith Swim Center.

Gymnastics Jayne Finst ’04 and Gina Verge ’04 will represent Brown gymnastics at the Northeast Regional in the All-Around. The Regionals, held at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor April 12, will draw six teams, five all-around competitors who are not on a qualifying team and one individual event specialist per event. Six regions are represented. The top two teams and the top two allaround competitors (who are not on an advancing team) from each regional competition will receive an automatic berth to the national championship hosted by the University of Nebraska at Lincoln on April 24 to 26. In addition, the event winners at the regional championships will advance to the national championship in that event if they are not part of a qualifying team or the all-around qualifiers. The duo helped to lead Brown to a record-setting season as the Bears shattered the school record team score, posting a 194.000 in their final meet of the

year. The Bears also broke several individual records this season, including the vault (Finst 9.775) and the All-Around (Finst 39.175). Finst holds the school and Ivy record on the beam (9.925) and tied the school record on floor, posting a 9.900 twice this season. Finst, the 2003 ECAC Gymnast of the Year, also posted a season-high 9.825 on the bars and a season-high 9.900 on the beam. Verge, who earned ECAC Athlete of the Week honors once this season, had a very successful year, posting career-high scores in all but one event. She improved her career-high vault score by .075, earning a 9.650, and improved her bars score by .225, scoring a career-high 9.800 this season. On the beam, Verge posted a season-high 9.775, just .025 shy of tying her career-high, and earned a career-high 9.775 on the floor, .125 better than her previous personal best. In the allaround, Verge earned a 38.825, improving upon her career-high by .700. —With reports from Brown Sports Information