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Thursday, April 17, 2003

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T H U R S D A Y APRIL 17, 2003

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Volume CXXXVIII, No. 53

An independent newspaper serving the Brown community since 1891

www.browndailyherald.com

Annual BOLT outdoor trip delayed due to budgetary cutbacks BY JULIETTE WALLACK

Administrators announced at a Tuesday night meeting with BOLT leaders that the program’s annual wilderness trip will not occur in August, as previously planned. Dean for Campus Life Margaret Jablonski told those gathered that, because of budget cutbacks in the Office of Student Life, a staff reorganization makes an August trip impossible. Fran Lo ’97, who went on the Brown Outdoor Leadership Training trip before her sophomore year at Brown, has overseen the activity since August 2002. But at the end of June, Lo’s duties will expand to include supervision of the Women’s Peer Counseling program. The current supervisor, Assistant Dean Amy Graham, is either leaving the University at the end of June or may remain involved, though in “other ways,” said Director of Student Life Jean Joyce-Brady. Lo’s new responsibilities with the WPC program require she be on campus during August for WPC training, meaning she will be unable to go on the BOLT trip when it is currently scheduled, both she and Joyce-Brady said. Instead, BOLT leaders and administrators are working to find another time to offer the trip, according to Lo. Currently, the alternate time most favored is the three-day Columbus Day weekend, according to Lo and student leaders. Although “a lot of responsibility and functions have been given to the students” who lead the trip, Lo said it is still necessary for an administrator to be on the trip because of liability issues. And, she said, since the program’s inception under Director of Leadership Robin Rose, an administrator has always been part of the activity. The changes to the BOLT program are a byproduct of the larger budget and organization plans the University is working on, Joyce-Brady said. That bigger picture makes it impossible to provide a dollar figure that the University will save by increasing Lo’s duties and changing or eliminating Graham’s position, Joyce-Brady said. In light of the need for budget cuts, the Undergraduate Council of Students interviewed students and compiled lists of recommended programs to protect and programs to cut. Although BOLT was not placed on the “protect” list, it was excluded from the cut ones, which included groups such as faculty fellows and the Residential see BOLT, page 6

Jason White / Herald

BACK IN ACTION After months of inactivity, the Main Green was filled with activity during the recent warm spell.

UCS penalizes Rehmani ’04 for campaign violations BY JONATHAN ELLIS

Ahmad Rehmani’s campaign for president of the Undergraduate Council of Students got off to a rocky start last night, as the UCS Election Board cut his campaign budget in half for breaking campaign rules. Rehmani sent e-mails to the leaders of Friends of Israel, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered Alliance and the Organization of United African Peoples seeking their endorsement in the election, slated for Tuesday and Wednesday of next week. UCS election policy prohibits the use of e-mail in a campaign for any reason. The rule is designed to prevent candidates from sending massive amounts of promotional e-mail, said UCS Representative Andy Golodny ’03, a member of the Election Board. “We want to keep the election as fair as possible for all the candidates,” Golodny said. “Ahmad Rehmani was brought before the elections committee for a violation of the election rules involving the use of email,” the Election Board said in a statement to The Herald last night. “The result of the deliberation was that his campaign budget should be docked by half.” Election Board proceedings are closed to the public and press. Each candidate for any UCS post receives 10 fake dollars to use in the campaign so candidates will not attempt to outspend one another. For example, a banner costs three fake dollars, while a flyer costs

10 fake cents. The candidate pays the realworld expense of the promotional material. “We decided to take the action that we did in order to ensure the fairness of the election and the enforcement of election rules,” said UCS Corporation Liaison Tarek Khanachet ’03, a member of the Election Board. “We still consider Ahmad Rehmani to be a viable candidate for the position of UCS president.” Rehmani told The Herald he was unaware that e-mail could not be used under any circumstance. His lack of intent apparently factored into the decision of the Election Board, which could have disqualified him from the race. “I think (the Election Board decision) was fair enough,” he said. “I made a mistake, and I’m aware of it.” Rehmani said he would have to cut back on the number of banners he planned to hang on campus, but he said he would go door-to-door on election day to try to secure votes. In a copy of Rehmani’s e-mail obtained by The Herald, he requests the endorsement of the student groups, saying, “I genuinely believe that I can work closely with your organization in doing my best to resolve any issues that you may face in the future. Basically, I will be your strongest advocate sitting on UCS, if elected!” In the e-mail, Rehmani mentioned the names of his two opponents — UCS members Rahim Kurji ’05 and Justin Sanders ’04

John Jay College prof tells students how to spot a sex murderer early in life page 5

Brett Cohen ’04 points out the hypocrisy unveiled by America’s easy victory opinions, page 11

Environmental damage from Israeli forces is severe, activist Reese says BY MARIA DIMENTO

Devastating environmental damages are being inflicted on Palestinian lands by Israeli forces in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, hydrologist and activist John Reese told an audience at Beneficent Church on Weybosset Street Wednesday night. During his slideshow presentation, “Palestine: It’s Hell,” Reese talked about the seven months he spent last year traveling through Gaza and the West Bank. Reese visited all of the region’s major cities and roughly 100 villages, taking more than 12,000 photographs along the way. He worked with the International Solidarity Movement, a Palestinian–led organization of international activists, and the Palestinian Hydrology Group, a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting and developing water resources in Palestine. Using slides of decimated Palestinian cities, villages and farms and a map showing current see REESE, page 4

see UCS, page 9

I N S I D E T H U R S D AY, A P R I L 1 7 , 2 0 0 3 Harvard’s early action experiment is declared a failure after one year of operation campus watch,page 3

METRO SPECIAL

TO D AY ’ S F O R E C A S T Hanne Eisenfeld ’06 can’t find a decent bottle of water in this town opinions, page 11

Ian Cropp ’05 wouldn’t spend the day with Jose Canseco if you paid him sports, page 12

partly cloudy high 42 low 30


THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

THIS MORNING THURSDAY, APRIL 17, 2003 · PAGE 2 Pornucopia Eli Swiney

W E AT H E R TODAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

High 42 Low 30 partly cloudy

High 48 Low 43 mostly cloudy

High 50 Low 40 cloudy

High 52 Low 44 cloudy GRAPHICS BY TED WU

A Story Of Eddie Ahn

CALENDAR EXHIBITION — “The Work of Five Decades,”Walter Feldman. David Winton Bell Gallery, List Art Center, 11 a.m. COLLOQUIUM — “Measuring the Complexity of Child Disability: Medical, Developmental and Social Factors,” Michael Msall, M.D., Rhode Island Hospita, Center for the Study of Human Developmentl. Room 241, CIT, noon. LECTURE — Undergraduate honors/capstone candidates read from their work, Creative Writing Program. Main Lounge, Gregorian Quadrangle,4 p.m. LECTURE — “Eudaimonism, Rationality, and Divinity in Greek Ethics,” Anthony Long, University of California at Berkeley, Department of Philosophy. Room 119, Gerard House, 7:30 p.m.

Coup de Grace Grace Farris

THEATER — “As Five Years Pass,” Department of Theatre, Speech and Dance. Leeds Theatre, 8 p.m.

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 ’40s-’50s first lady 5 Lobster claw 11 Mason’s field 14 Water color 15 Ultimate application 16 “The Conspiracy Against Childhood” author LeShan 17 Road endings 20 Road endings 21 DDE’s command 22 “Of course!” 23 Indian chiefs 27 Fools 31 Impressed 32 Pay one’s share 34 Pizarro’s quest 37 Road endings 40 “The Fountainhead” writer Rand 41 Baby sound 42 Float 43 Part of a moving story? 44 Electric potential measures 45 Concerning 48 Accessory on a rack 50 Road endings 59 Road endings 60 Physics unit 61 Defies authority 62 Movie terrier 63 High degree 64 In the thick of 65 Knotty problem DOWN 1 Insult 2 Distant beginning 3 Done for 4 Lucid 5 1992 candidate 6 Headliner’s cue 7 Site of North Amer.’s geographical midpoint

8 Hold back 9 Salinger dedicatee 10 Used the library 11 Explorer aided by Sacagawea 12 Saw 13 Actor Rogers 18 Meadow moms 19 Preceders of omegas 23 Sitar selection 24 Not as planned 25 She played Edith on “All in the Family” 26 Recipe verb 27 “American Pie” star Jason 28 Autobahn auto 29 Fan mag 30 N.Y. neighbor 32 Essence 33 Fabled braggart 34 Voiced 35 Friends’ problem 36 Chooses, with “for” 38 It can be wounded

39 Word with time or piece 43 Archery equipment 44 Change course 45 Pale 46 Curt 47 Like some luck 48 Cultivates 49 That is, in Latin 51 Wife of Zeus 52 Utah city

53 “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” setting 54 Toboggan, e.g. 55 Carrier in a tunnel 56 Relaxation 57 Friday et al.: Abbr. 58 Afternoon gatherings

My Best Effort Andy Hull and Will Newman

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE: I N T O B A R O N G O S H A L O N E O R C A L O A F L O T T O O T I S K E R F L A S T S E C O N D S H O T E R A S P E O N Y P R A T E M A N T A E G O C O O L E R G R O G S U D D E N D E A T H G O A L C O A R S E A R E S E E R I N E R T D E N S E P A G E S C O N E W A L K O F F H O M E R U N A V I S L A U R A I C E D A C R E S E L A N L E V I W E L D S R A T A E D E N

Greg and Todd’s Awesome Comic Greg Shilling and Todd Goldstein

04/17/03

xwordeditor@aol.com

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By Merle Baker (c)2003 Tribune Media Services, Inc.

04/17/03

THE RATTY LUNCH — Vegetarian Cream of Mushroom, Chicken Soup with Tortellini, Turkey Pot Pie, Red Potato Frittata, Sauteed Zucchini with Rosemary, Chocolate Cupcakes with White Icing DINNER — Vegetarian Cream of Mushroom, Chicken Soup with Tortellini, Sesame Chicken Strips with Mustard Sauce, Chinese Beef & Peppers, Vegan White Bean & Eggplant Casserole, Herb Rice, Peas with Pearl Onions, Vegetables in Honey Ginger Sauce, Sourdough Bread, Washington Apple Cake

V-DUB LUNCH — Vegetarian Cream of Mushroom Soup, Chicken Soup with Tortellini, Sloppy Joe Sandwich, Vegetable Strudel, Vegan Warm & Spicy Dahl, Creole Mixed Vegetables, Chocolate Cupcakes with White Frosting DINNER — Vegetarian Cream of Mushroom Soup, Chicken Soup with Tortellini, Garlic Pepper Chicken, Vegan Vegetable & Tempeh Saute, Herb Rice, Fresh Sliced Carrots, Stir Fry Vegetable Medley, Sourdough Bread, Washington Apple Cake

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

CAMPUS WATCH THURSDAY, APRIL 17, 2003 · PAGE 3

Controversial Harvard early action practice is removed after one year BY EMIR SENTURK

In a reversal of a controversial change to its admission policy last year, Harvard University will once again prohibit students who apply to Harvard early action to file early applications with other schools. Last year, Harvard began to allow applicants who had already applied to binding early-decision programs at other schools to also apply early action to Harvard. Under the rules of the National Association for College Admission Counseling, which are followed by nearly all universities, binding acceptances force students to immediately withdraw any other applications they may have filed. But when Harvard received 1,500 more applications in the first year of the new policy, the Office of Undergraduate Admissions struggled to process each application, especially when the office knew some top applicants would be forced to attend another school if accepted, said Marlyn McGrath-Lewis, director of undergraduate admissions at Harvard University. “We agreed with some reservations to abide by that policy. We were worried from the beginning because we were concerned we’d spend a great deal more time assessing candidates that would then be bound to other colleges because they had applied there early-decision,” McGrath-Lewis said. Harvard never intended to allow a candidate to break their promise to another institution, Harvard’s Dean of Undergraduate Admissions William R. Fitzsimmons told the New York Times. see HARVARD, page 6

Princeton Review releases annual list of nation’s top party schools (U-WIRE) DEKALB, Ill. — It takes dedication from students

to earn a spot on the Princeton Review’s top party school list — a dedication to drinking. Every year, the Princeton Review surveys 65,000 students nationwide. Based on questions relating to alcohol and drug use, the amount of time spent studying outside of class and popularity of greek systems, they compile the top 20 party schools in the United States. The Princeton Review’s Top 5 Party Schools are: 1. Indiana University-Bloomington 2. Clemson University 3. University of Alabama-Tuscaloosa 4. Pennsylvania State University Park 5. University of Florida, according to www.princetonreview.com. Princeton Review’s Top 5 “Stone Cold Sober” Schools are: 1. Brigham Young University 2. Wheaton College 3. United States Air Force Academy 4. United States Naval Academy 5. United States Coast Guard Academy, according to www.princetonreview.com. Playboy Magazine’s Top 5 Party Schools are: 1. Arizona State University 2. California State University-Chico 3. Rollins University 4. Louisiana State University 5. West Virginia University, according to www.playboy.com. Topping this year’s list was Indiana UniversityBloomington. IU officials are skeptical about their status as the nation’s top party school, however. According to a USA Today report, the university said that they have toughened alcohol policies since the 1998 alcohol-related death of a student. Although the Princeton Review credits IU as the top party school, the IU Hoosiers were nowhere to be found on Playboy Magazine’s 2002 Party school list, which was crowned by the Arizona State Sundevils. No. 1-ranked ASU also happens to be home to several clips of girls flashing cameras and making out with

each other on the notorious “Girls Gone Wild” videos. Playboy compiled its 2002 university rankings based on e-mail submissions from students. The students were asked to give reasons why their school is the best place to party. Not only did they consider alcohol and drug use to rank universities, but also the number of arrests made at parties, access to other top party spots and how “hot” their female co-eds are. The associate editor of Playboy Allison Lundgren said in a press release that the more attention that they receive from one school, the more consideration they will give to that school to be ranked as a top party school. Playboy also said in a press release that they weren’t just looking for a party school, but a well-rounded university. “We want a school where people party hard and study hard as well,” Lundgren stated. But the e-mails they have posted on their site don’t tend to highlight academics. One student from No. 2-ranked California State University-Chico wrote to Playboy, “The day I moved into the dorms, 22 flyers were slipped under my door telling me where to find the hottest co-eds looking to take me home. That night, I didn’t sleep because my arm was stuck underneath the girl I lost my virginity to.” An Ohio State University student wrote, “The parties never stop. Girls drop their panties on every possible occasion.” The Princeton Review goes even further with its rankings. It also ranks specific aspects of the party school critesee PARTY, page <#>


PAGE 4 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD THURSDAY, APRIL 17, 2003

Murder, sex continued from page 5 signs, the potential killer begins to sign his work. He inserts his personality into the crime. Schlesinger encountered a case where a 14-year-old boy abducted two of his classmates (both female) and shoved tissues in their mouths before releasing them. Many years later, the same boy killed a woman and placed tissues in her mouth, he said. Schlesinger stressed that exhibiting one of these traits does not necessarily mean someone will become a sex murderer. Yet most sex murderers who have been interviewed and studied exhibit a few of these traits. Schlesinger spoke about problems researchers encounter when profiling sexual murderers. One issue, he said, is there is no agreed-upon definition of

sexual murder. Schlesinger defined it as a sexually motivated murder; that is, the killing and violence is sexually satisfying for the killer. No national crime statistics on sexual murders exist, partly due to the lack of a definition. Also, sexual murderers are not identified in prison, making it difficult to compile empirical data. Interdisciplinary cooperation, between psychiatrists and the FBI, for example, is wanting, he said. A lot of sexual murders are difficult to identify because they are so overt. For example, a stabbing might appear just as a simple murder when it is actually sexually motivated. This leads to the lack of data compiled about the murders, he said. Schlesinger also stressed that, while the signs are red flags in identifying a potential sex murderer, there is no mental health professional that can predict, without a doubt, whether someone will become violent.

Reese continued from page 1 Jewish settlements in the West Bank, Reese explained that human and industrial waste has become one of the most dangerous environmental problems in the region. The settlements are built on hilltops above Palestinian farms and towns, Reese said, and pipes carrying waste from settlement homes and factories are built into the hills and deposit waste into the land below. Reese said hundreds of orchards and wheat fields have been destroyed by settlement waste, and water-born illnesses, such as dysentery, are now on the rise in Palestinian neighborhoods, he said. “Whenever they flush toilets or pour something down a sink, it flows onto Palestinian farmlands, which are then ren-

dered unfit for farming or much else,” Reese said, pointing to slides showing stagnant pools of waste languishing on the ground beneath huge water pipes. Water distribution has also posed a problem in the region, Reese said. Pointing to a photograph of water trucks trying to get past Israeli checkpoints and deliver water to Palestinian neighborhoods, Reese explained that Palestinians pay nearly five times more than Israelis for their water, but Israelis use five times more water than the Palestinians. “There are a lot of swimming pools in those settlements that need to be filled,” Reese said. While he focused most of his presentation on environmental concerns, his remarks also touched on the economic and political relationship between the United States and Israel. Reese said years of armed conflict have taken a toll on the Israeli economy, which he claimed is slowly falling apart. “If the United States would quit sending money to Israel, the occupation of Palestinian lands would end as soon as Israeli stockpiles ran out,” he said. Reese offered advice on ways ordinary Americans could combat the environmental destruction in the West Bank and Gaza, suggesting the organization of protests and discussion groups, monitoring media coverage and contributing financially. People could also stop paying taxes because U.S. tax dollars, Reese said, are helping to support Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands. “I haven’t paid taxes to the federal government for 15 years and I’m not going to do it now,” Reese told the crowd.

Showing photographs of bulldozed water lines, blownout wells and bombed irrigation systems, Reese said Israeli military forces that strike a Palestinian area create problems associated with water distribution and settlement waste. Palestinians lose their livelihoods, their homes and possessions when they are forced off their land, he said. The Israeli military often coerces farmers to desert their farms so that the land can be used to build more settlements, roads and walls that separate Israelis from Palestinians. In one photograph, Israeli soldiers were telling a farmer to leave his farm, with all its greenhouses and crops, immediately. If the farmer tried to return to his land, Reese told the audience, the soldiers promised to arrest him. The Palestinian Hydrology Group builds new irrigation and other water systems in the region, but these are often destroyed by the Israeli government because the government insists the group doesn’t have the correct building permits, Reese said. Reese also showed photographs of large concrete walls the Israeli government is building in the Gaza and West Bank areas. The walls have watchtowers and barbed wire, much like the Berlin Wall that used to mark the separation between Eastern and Western Germany, Reese said. The construction of the walls, Reese said, destroys flora and fauna, creates problems for ground water, obstructs streams and diminishes animal populations and species. Herald staff writer Maria DiMento RUE ’03 can be reached at mdimento@browndailyherald.com.


THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

CAMPUS NEWS THURSDAY, APRIL17, 2003 · PAGE 5

Psych professor outlines the ten “ominous signs” of sexual murderers BY DANA AYOUB

Albert DeSalvo’s father frequently had sex with prostitutes in front of his children and wife. Ed Kemper’s mother kept him in the basement for most of his childhood. Ted Bundy was obsessed with pornography. All three grew up to be serial killers. And all three, according to Louis Schlesinger, a psychology professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, exhibited the classic red flags for potential sexual murderers. Schlesinger, who is currently conducting research with the FBI, described the 10 “ominous signs” in the Wednesday lecture “The Potential Sex Murderer: Ominous Signs, Risk Assessment,” in Hunter Laboratory. But Schlesinger also warned there are many difficulties associated with researching and defining sexual murders. The 10 signs include childhood abuse, inappropriate maternal sexual conduct, pathological lying and manipulation, sadistic fantasies with compulsion to act, cruelty to animals, need to control others, fire setting, voyeurism/fetishism/sexual burglary, unprovoked assaults on females and evidence of ritualistic and signature behaviour. Sadistic fantasies often begin in adolescence and are sexually deviant. These children have a great interest in weapons, Nazi atrocities and detective magazines that are composed of actual sex murders. They note in detail what each killer did to his victim and the mistakes each made, giving the reader ideas, Schlesinger said. The advertisements that run in these types of magazines offer realistic-looking police badges or courses on how to be a locksmith, he added. If a child shows cruelty toward animals, it is usually toward cats because they are associated with females, Schlesinger said. In most cases, the serial killer is a male and the victim a female. With ritualistic and signature behavior, what Schlesinger named as the most ominous of all the see MURDER, SEX, page 4

Kimberly Insel / Herald

Chung-in Moon, advisor to South Korea’s National Security Council, spoke about nuclear war on Wednesday.

Chung-in Moon delivers lecture on North Korean Nuclear Crisis BY ADAM HUNDT

A peaceful dialogue between nations is the only path to nuclear disarmament in North Korea, said Chung-in Moon, adviser to South Korea’s National Security Council, in MacMillan’s Starr Auditorium Wednesday night. In his lecture entitled “The North Korean Nuclear Crisis,” Moon articulated three ways that the United States can respond to the crisis. The United States could allow North Korea to have nuclear weapons. Moon said this option is unacceptable because it would encourage a general buildup of nuclear weapons in Southeast Asian nations. The United States could also attack North Korea to rid the country of its nuclear weapons. Yet Moon said military action would be costly and difficult. The only effective response, Moon said, is to resolve the problem through dialogue. There must be “no nuclear

Korea and no war in Korea,” he said. Moon, a professor of political science at Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea, recently returned from a one-week trip to North Korea, during which he spoke to North Koreans about President George W. Bush’s policy regarding nuclear disarmament and warned them about the consequences of not disarming. Moon offered an ambivalent take on the Bush administration’s attempts to control the North Korean nuclear crisis. “I don’t think the Bush administration has given up,” he said, applauding the president for re-starting dialogue among the major players in this crisis. Yet Moon did voice disappointment with the administration’s unwillingness to listen to the suggestions of William Perry, defense secretary under former President Bill Clinton. see NUCLEAR, page 9


PAGE 6 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD THURSDAY, APRIL 17, 2003

BOLT continued from page 1 Programmers, said Charley Cummings ’06, a member of the Campus Life Committee. BOLT “doesn’t require much funding; it’s uniquely Brown and the only community-building option for sophomore students. There’s no replacement,” said Justin Sanders ’04, chairman of the Campus Life Committee. Sanders said that UCS members were “shocked” after Tuesday’s meeting to learn that BOLT was being reorganized. Though the trip will not occur in August, “the message is not that there will not be a BOLT,” said Director of Student Life Jean JoyceBrady. Instead, she said, it will simply occur at a different time. “We did this in a larger context,” she said. That context includes planned cutbacks in Residential Life, the Student Activities Office and the Office of Student Life. BOLT student manager Katie Toews ’03 and her three fellow managers were informed of the change late last week, before the general meeting with BOLT leaders. Though Toews said she understands the University’s concerns about having one staff member working with both WPC and BOLT at the same time, she expressed concerns about how this will affect the BOLT community. Toews said she would be informing those who applied for the August program of the change via e-mail today. Toews said part of the value of BOLT is that two-thirds of its participants have no experience with hiking, and she said the danger of holding the trip during the year is that it will draw a much smaller group from a more condensed

range of interests. She said the pressures of the academic year are much stronger during October than they are before school in August, and “there are also some major safety and weather concerns. “We bring people from all over campus,” she said. “Taking that risk to leave school the week before midterms is a huge risk to take for someone who has never been outdoors. “Our trip is a really powerful part” of the sophomore year, Toews said, “You aren’t provided with a unit that year, you aren’t provided with any formal support structure,” and for the sophomores who went on the August trip in past years, the BOLT group and follow-up programming throughout the rest of the year provides a support system. BOLT leader Ryan Heath ’05 was informed of the change at Tuesday night’s meeting, he said. “It’s obviously a disappointment that the program won’t be able to run the way it has in the past,” said Heath, who went on his first BOLT trip the August before sophomore year. Heath said he understands that, though he’s not happy about the change, it is a result of the University’s larger problems and bigger changes, and he’s hopeful the trip will “go on at another point in the year.” BOLT does not receive University funding and, other than the administrative support Lo provides, the organization is run by students. Toews said leaders managed to raise $20,000 for next year’s trip with alumni assistance. Though the University provided $11,000 in support last year, next year’s trip will not receive any official funds, she said.

Last year, Harvard experienced the “predictable increase” in the number of early-action applications with nearly 1,500 more applicants than the previous year. McGrath-Lewis said Harvard was concerned it could not devote proper attention to the larger number of applicants when many could potentially have binding commitments elsewhere. When Brown switched from its former early-action policy to its early-decision policy, Director of Admission Michael Goldberger cited similar reasons for the switch. The task of selection had “became hard and unfair to interviewers, filers, admission officers and anyone else involved in the process,” Goldberger told The Herald. “You should apply early if Brown is where you want to go,” Goldberger said. Switching to early decision, Goldberger said, forces students to make a binding decision on Brown’s offer of admission, limiting their early applications to one school and eliminating the opportunity to “shop.”

Herald staff writer Juliette Wallack ’05 can be reached at jwallack@browndailyherald.com.

Herald staff writer Emir Senturk ’05 can be reached at esenturk@browndailyherald.com.

Harvard continued from page 3

“You should apply early if Brown is where you want to go,” Goldberger said.


THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

WORLD & NATION THURSDAY, APRIL17, 2003 · PAGE 7

Chemical plants cite terrorism dangers (L.A. Times) — More than 100 chemical plants throughout the United States each could expose millions of people to dangerous concentrations of toxic gas in the event of a terrorist attack or major accident, according to industry documents filed with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Residential neighborhoods, child care centers, schools, amusement parks, hospitals and convalescent homes all lie within the areas in which people could be killed or injured by the gases, according to the reports that chemical companies are required to file with the EPA. High-ranking officials in the Bush administration have warned that U.S. chemical plants are highly vulnerable to terrorism. The danger of an attack “is both real and credible,” Assistant Attorney General Paul Corts wrote last month to the General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of Congress. The GAO concluded in a March 14 report that “chemical facilities may be attractive targets for terrorists intent on causing economic harm and loss of life.” “To date, no one has comprehensively assessed the security of chemical facilities,” the GAO report says. “Despite the industry’s voluntary efforts, the extent of security preparedness at U.S. chemical facilities is unknown.” By law, chemical companies are not required to take safeguards to reduce the likelihood of an attack or sabotage, and no current law explicitly gives federal officials the authority to conduct inspections or mandate security measures.

Franks visits Baghdad and congratulates troops there DOHA, Qatar (L.A. Times) — Gen. Tommy

Carolyn Cole/L.A. Times

The face of Saddam Hussein, riddled with bullet holes, is painted over by Salem Yuel at what was once a Fedayeen training camp in Baghdad. It will be replaced with a sign for the Syrian Democratic Party headquarters.The symbols of Saddam Hussein are quickly disappearing throughout the city.

HIV tests are urged in all pregnancies (L.A. Times) — Federal health officials will unveil a new HIV testing strategy Thursday designed to expand screening among pregnant women and about 200,000 others who are infected with the virus but do not know it. The new strategy by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention specifically urges the testing of all pregnant women rather than relying upon them to volunteer. The change is intended to ensure that newborns receive highly effective drugs if their mothers are infected, which could dramatically reduce mother-to-child transmission from its current level of about 300 cases per year. More broadly, the guidelines are intended to make HIV testing a routine part of care in doctors’ offices and clinics rather than waiting for patients to specifically request it. CDC Director Dr. Julie L. Gerberding said in an interview with The Times that the guidelines stem from the realization that existing HIV prevention programs have really stalled recently. With the number of new HIV cases hovering around 40,000 annually for the past decade, Gerberding and many other public health officials say it is time for physicians to screen for HIV in the same way they do for other conditions such as diabetes or hypertension. The strategy, outlined today in the

CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, is only advisory but has some authority: The agency will ask state and local governments to adhere to it in exchange for federal funding. Most states depend on such money for prevention efforts. Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said the guidelines represent a “much more aggressive approach toward HIV prevention’’ nationally, which he said is “a long time in coming.” “We know from experience that the vast majority of people, when they know they’re infected, they become much more careful with their sexual partners. Testing is really the gateway to a realization of a problem.” The CDC recommendation that is likely to spur the most debate is blanket testing of pregnant women. If mothers refuse, the CDC is asking states to at least test newborns for the virus so they can receive treatment if they are infected. “Right now, what’s happening in a lot of places is doctors say, ‘You’re a nice girl, you’re not at risk,’” said Dr. Andrea Kovacs, director of the Comprehensive Maternal-Child and Adolescent HIV Management and Research Center at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center. “Nobody knows who’s at risk. Since this is now a preventable infection for a deadly

disease, we really need to do the maximum we can to prevent transmission.” Right now, pregnant women are routinely tested for several diseases, such as syphilis, rubella, Group B Strep and hepatitis, without being specifically asked for consent, doctors said. Doctors say they can dramatically reduce the risk of HIV transmission from mother to child if a woman takes antiAIDS drugs during pregnancy and avoids breastfeeding after birth. Even if a woman receives no prenatal care, hospitals can take steps to prevent HIV transmission to newborns. If the virus is identified in a woman during childbirth or immediately afterward her baby can be given drugs during the first 24 hours of life, substantially reducing the risk of infection. CDC data show that voluntary systems don’t work as well as opt-out systems. In a wider effort to reach the 200,000 people who may be unwittingly spreading HIV, the CDC is encouraging local public health authorities to make widespread use of a new rapid test, approved by federal regulators in November, which can provide results in less than 20 minutes. The CDC wants to offer the test in all federally funded clinics, as well as such venues as homeless shelters, jails and substance abuse treatment centers, where people may not have access to routine medical care.

Franks, who orchestrated the U.S.-led assault that deposed Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, made his first visit to Baghdad on Wednesday to congratulate his troops and consult with his commanders. Franks smoked a cigar in one of Saddam’s opulent former palaces — outfitted with gold bathroom fixtures, a crystal-and-gold chandelier and marble floors —and declared that essential services will be restored for Iraqi citizens in coming days. In another sign of a possible easing of tensions in the region, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell said he expects to travel to Damascus, the Syrian capital, soon for talks with President Bashar Assad. Powell’s comments came as the Syrian government took action to close its border with Iraq and turn away at least some Iraqi officials trying to seek refuge in Syria. Syria turned back Abul Abbas, the Palestinian who masterminded the 1985 Achille Lauro hijacking, a senior U.S. official said Wednesday. Coalition troops took Abbas into custody Tuesday near Baghdad. And the Syrians have agreed to turn over a senior member of Saddam’s government who tried to enter the country, the official added, although he refused to name the Iraqi. Franks’ trip to Baghdad since the war began and it was billed as a morale booster for the troops and a chance to confer first-hand with his generals. Franks flew from his base in Qatar to Kuwait, where he boarded a C-130 cargo plane for the flight to Baghdad’s main airport, which still shows damage from the U.S. assault. The largest crater in its runway is 60 feet across and 15 deep. Leaving the plane, Franks raised a clenched fist in greeting to troops waiting at the airport and took a motorcade into Baghdad. In the Iraqi capital, the commanders toured the palace and Franks greeted many of the U.S. troops who were on duty, hugging some of them and shaking many hands. He greeted enlisted forces, officers and military police alike: “Thank you,” he said. “Thank you for coming.” Franks and his commanders acknowledged the postwar problems apparent throughout the country — including persistent violence and looting and a desperate shortage of electricity, water and medical care in the heavily bombed capital — but they celebrated the Iraqi leader’s departure from power. “One thing for sure, the regime of Saddam Saddam is no longer in charge of Iraq,” Franks said. Pentagon officials said the command post for coalition troops likely will be moved from Kuwait to Iraq. While Franks was visiting the troops, Pentagon officials tallied the war’s cost at $20 billion so far, and growing at a rate of $3.5 billion to $4 billion per month. That doesn’t include the several billion dollars it will cost to bring combat troops back home, chief Pentagon comptroller Dov Zakheim said. He offered no estimate of the cost of stabilizing and rebuilding Iraq. The Pentagon also said the interim U.S. military administration is to start giving Iraqi civil servants a $20-per-head emergency payment within days.


PAGE 8 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD THURSDAY, APRIL 17, 2003

Lonely Passover for Baghdad’s Jews BAGHDAD (L.A. Times) — While Jews around the world joined with their families Wednesday night to celebrate the start of the Passover holiday, sisters Khalida and Nidal Saleh struggled with a fear that comes from being Jewish in a country that has made it national policy to vilify their faith. “Baruch ata Adonai,” Khalida said, with a slight smile and a full stop. That was it, that was all she said she remembered. The first three words of a prayer, but to her they were the markers of her faith, a connection to a past that

has been all but erased from her life — and from this city. Khalida and her sister are among about 40 Jews in a city of about 5 million — and most are elderly and frail. They are survivors in a nation that sought to expel them from its borders, forbade them to display the Star of David and that oversaw the confiscation of their synagogue’s century-old Torah. While the rest of Baghdad is in a frenzy, with looters still rushing into stores, houses and government offices, and with alarmed citizens setting up their own vigilante patrols, the Jews who remain here have hunkered down. Saddam Hussein was a dictator, but they knew what to expect. Now everything is uncertain, and the Jews are terrified that what little remains of their faith and culture will also be looted and stripped away. Families will not venture out to the synagogue to celebrate holiday prayers largely because the keepers of the house of worship are afraid to open the doors. There is another fear, too. One they won’t speak of, insisting through smiles that they are well loved by their Muslim neighbors, although their actions suggest otherwise. Tewfik Sofer, 80, called Passover “Eid al Fitr,” the Muslim holiday that marks the end of Ramadan, while the proper name is “Eid al Fisa.” Khalida and Nidal insisted they did not have any Hebrew books in their home, until an Iraqi translator stepped out of their house. They then revealed some yellowing haggadas, the Jewish prayer book used for Passover.

Iraq’s Jewish community dates back more than 2,500 years, to the time when Jews were expelled from Jerusalem and sent by Nebuchadnezzar to Babylon. Over the centuries, the Jews flourished in Iraq, blending in by adopting the Arab language, Arab culinary tastes and Arab traditions. More than 100,000 Jews lived in Iraq shortly after World War II, but a large percentage had fled by the early 1950s. Like other Jewish communities that throughout history have found that assimilation does not guarantee permanent acceptance, the Jews were targets of mob violence and persecution in the 1940s. By 1950, Iraq was so eager to cast out its Jews that it passed a law allowing them to leave the country with all of their assets, if they agreed to relinquish their nationality. Many accepted the bargain and went to Israel, Europe or America. The migration slowly whittled away at the Jewish community here. Today, Baghdad has a functioning synagogue, a yellowbrick building in the residential neighborhood of Batawaen. It’s hidden behind a 15-foot-high concrete wall and a locked steel door. There is nothing to distinguish it from a factory, with a row of narrow, barred second-floor windows. The only hint of what is inside is a rectangular stone over the front door engraved with Hebrew letters that gave the name of the synagogue. There is a mezuza, or prayer scroll, on the front door, that is made of simple wood so as to blend into the door jamb. There is no rabbi; the last one left 30 years ago.


THURSDAY, APRIL 17, 2003 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD PAGE 9

Perlmutter continued from page 12 by some) and Mike MacDougal off to schnide. They play with a refreshing attitude — after an outfield assist by right fielder Desi Relaford in a game last week, he and his teammates “were doing high fives. It was like we were Little Leaguers again, it was so much fun.” Gotta love that.

not doing much closing. I’m not sure even the pessimists expected the bullpen to do this poorly. Who knows whether it will come around. But as our good friend Chris Berman ’77 likes to say, “That’s why they play the games.” Though he chastises fans that run onto the field, columnist Eric Perlmutter ’06 was once seen streaking a game at the Little League World Series.

Boston’s “closer by committee”

Nuclear continued from page 5 Perry’s reports from the earlymid-1990s “contain all the answers,” Moon said. On the subject of U.S. treatment of North Korea, Moon advised, “You can’t treat North Korea as criminals. You have to treat them as a negotiating power.” Moon’s suggested using a combination of “carrots” — endorsements and approbation — and “sticks” — reprimands and

UCS continued from page 1 — and noted that groups are required to interview all three candidates before alerting UCS of their endorsement. All student groups already receive information from UCS on how to make endorsements, Golodny said. It was unclear Wednesday night how far Rehmani’s e-mails had spread. Rehmani admitted he mistakenly e-mailed the LGBTA’s general account, unaware his message would be forwarded to

retribution — to force North Korea to back down from its current nuclear stance. Moon said it is possible to “transform North Korea without (directly) mentioning transformation.” Moon said he is optimistic about the possibility of disarming North Korea without going to war, but cautioned: “Never ever talk about the possibility of war. The problem with the U.S. is that we talk too easily about war.” The lecture was presented by the Watson Institute for International Studies.

all members of the group. Election Board members confirmed this story. But the group’s co-chair, Ken Newberg ’05, said the e-mail only directly reached the LGBTA executive board. Rehmani, who is president of the Pakistani Society at Brown and vice president of the Brown Lecture Board, said he would press on. “I love politics,” he said. “I’m having a great time.” Herald staff writer Jonathan Ellis ’06 covers the Undergraduate Council of Students. He can be reached at jellis@browndailyherald.com.

Cropp continued from page 12 checked with my lawyer, and it’s borderline aiding and abetting a known felon. Then again, maybe I shouldn’t be so myopic. Maybe his auction is appealing to the misogynist who wants to just relax. Ah, but it does cost a lot. Well, I’ve got a great alternative. It’s called the Masters. If he really wants to make some money, I’m thinking he should set up a full week program in which one can get personal motivational speeches by Bobby Knight, attend diversity seminars led by John Rocker and refine his dining skills with Mike Tyson. The auction closes Saturday, but in the meantime I’m going on ebay and auctioning myself off for $20. Let the bidding begin. Ian Cropp ’05 hails from Buffalo, N.Y.


THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

EDITORIAL/LETTERS THURSDAY, APRIL 17, 2003 · PAGE 10 S T A F F

E D I T O R I A L

Bottoms up? Budget cuts — and the people forced to make them — are never popular. Yet the University’s recent top-down announcement that BOLT will be massively restructured sets a disturbing precedent for the future. Contrary to Dean Jean Joyce-Brady’s statement that BOLT will simply occur at a different time, the effects of this change are more far-reaching than administrators are willing to admit. BOLT’s mission is to serve as a transition into sophomore life for students leaving the security of the first-year unit system. Each August, 40 student leaders guide around 120 participants through an outdoor expedition. According to UCS Campus Life Committee Chair Justin Sanders ’04, BOLT is “the only community-building option for sophomore students. There’s no replacement.” Because it is funded through alumni donations — not the University — BOLT requires little from Brown except administrative help. Delaying the August trip to later in the fall semester will not trim Campus Life costs or save the University from losing large administrative resources. Rather, an October trip would draw a smaller group of students at a more stressful time of the semester; and goes against the purpose of BOLT as a means of community-building among sophomores. Campus Life made the ultimate decision to alter BOLT without any student input — including feedback from BOLT leaders themselves. “It was a huge shock to us,” when UCS members found out after the announcement was made at a meeting with BOLT leaders Tuesday, Sanders said. Future cuts that have a small impact on reducing Brown’s deficit but have a large impact on students are unwise. Students must have a voice in decision-making processes. While budget cuts are necessary in order to secure Brown’s future, these long-term needs must be balanced with the short-term needs of current students.

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

Diego Luna, Night Editor Mary Ann Bronson, Marc Debush, Copy Editors Staff Writers Lotem Almog, Kathy Babcock, Zach Barter, Hannah Bascom, Carla Blumenkranz, Dylan Brown, Danielle Cerny, Philissa Cramer, Ian Cropp, Maria DiMento, 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

SHANE WILKERSON

LETTERS Prof. Keach defends his solidarity with Perle protesters To the Editor: I have no desire to “silence” those I disagree with (“Keach tries to silence his opponents,” April 16). Nor have I ever made “assertions that free speech should only be for those on (my) side of the argument.” Richard Perle was not “silenced” when he spoke at Brown: Anyone who was there or who read The Herald or Providence Journal articles about his appearance knows this. Perle's speech was disrupted by antiwar protesters, and the point of my letter was to defend and express solidarity with such protest. We can and should argue about whether these protests were effective on this occasion. But the principle that such disruptive protest can be morally and politically justified in some situations needs to be recognized. When then Secretary of State Madeleine Albright spoke at a “Town Hall” meeting in Columbus, Ohio, in February 1998, in defense of the Clinton administration's Iraq policy, protesters interrupted and challenged her. Activists around the world took heart from reports of these protests. When former President George Bush spoke at Tufts University on Feb. 26 of this year, student antiwar protesters interrupted and heckled him. Many in the antiwar movement felt strengthened by this show of defiance. Yes, some administrators and faculty at the Tufts Fletcher School of Diplomacy were unsettled by the protesters. I never said, as Professor Poses asserts, that rightwing pundit David Horowitz “should not have free speech” — only that his well-funded racist assault on the reparations movement warranted intense, angry denunciation and did not deserve our usual customs of respectful debate. I never “equated the U.S. role in the first Gulf War with the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.” What I said, at a rally on the Main Green organized by NAVA, was that, while the attacks on Sept. 11 were terrorism, the U.S. attacks on Iraq during the first Gulf War were also terrorism. I stand by that statement — and extend it to the current war. U.S. military terrorism is not the same as al-Quaida terrorism. But they’re both forms of terrorism. If “Shock and Awe” is not the

name of a terrorist strategy, I don’t know what is. Finally, Professor Poses quotes President Simmons's remarks on “the protection of speech that is offensive or insulting.” I heard those remarks, understood and respected the principle they appealed to, but was left wondering about how they applied to situations in which the institutionally protected attacks and insults of powerful people collide with the militant protests of students and ordinary people. William Keach Professor of English April 16

Brown’s support of South Asian Studies dept. is meager To the Editor: I want to echo the frustrations voiced in the letter “Brown Abandons the teaching of South Asia” (April 14). The existing concentration in South Asian Studies is at best meager, and the University’s refusal to support the expansion of this concentration is humiliating. Given the strategic importance of South Asia in current politics, the rich history and culture of this region and the number of students of South Asian ethnicity at Brown, the University’s refusal to support the South Asian Studies department demonstrates ignorance. As an international student from South Asia and an IR concentrator at Brown, I am embarrassed by how little is taught about South Asia, and even more embarrassed at the fact that somewhat hypocritically the “University wants increased presence in India” (April 9). Perhaps the University’s hypocritical stance on South Asia is an indication that international students are valued only for the tuition dollars they bring with them and not for the cultural and geographical diversity they add to the campus. Akanksha Mehta ’02 M.D. ’06 April 16

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 THURSDAY, APRIL 17, 2003 · PAGE 11

“Thanks For Bush” A long way to go to win hearts and minds GRAFFITI SCRAWLED ON THE WALL SURROUNDING THE OLD U.S. embassy building in Kuwait City reads, “Thanks for Bush and Amirican People.” When I first arrived in Kuwait in 1996 and saw the message on the wall, I felt it was a touching reminder of the gratitude of the Kuwaiti people expressed following the first Gulf War. But it soon became clear in my interactions with Kuwaitis that their hearts and minds had not been won. Mistrust of the United States was almost universal. What needs to change, I wondered, to win over Arab hearts and minds? As simple and as hackneyed as this question may be, it is absolutely necessary that we keep asking ourselves this. We must not assume that the expulsion of Saddam Hussein from Iraq is the answer. There are things that need to change in the Middle East itself — such as the deficits in JAIDEEP SINGH women’s empowerment, political freedom J-DEEP THOUGHTS and education — and then there are things we can do ourselves. Iraq represents today the most highstakes test of our values and interests in the region. We cannot get away with installing a puppet regime or building military bases in Iraq. It would taint all the talk of liberation, and Arabs would see right through it. Liberating Kuwait, after all, hasn’t done wonders for America’s reputation. Many Kuwaitis, the ruling elites in particular, are grateful admirers of the United States. But I consistently hear from Arab classmates that America is anti-Islam and only interested in oil. Some suggested a clandestine bargain between Saddam and the United States or a deliberate policy of pitting Muslim countries against each other to keep them down. A New York Times reporter recently encountered a similar suspicion from an Iraqi who asked if it were true that Saddam struck a deal with Washington and now lives in the United States. Winning hearts and minds is, of course, very difficult. Moderate Kuwaitis wonder why, more than a decade after Saddam Hussein’s forces were expelled, women are still not permitted to vote and Western-style democratic values have yet to take hold. Islamist conservatives, on the other hand, don’t like the Kuwait they are living in today, with too many shopping malls filled with Arab girls in tight jeans. They’ve heard about the dancing and drinking some of these Americans have propagated, and they don’t like it. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Iraqis express relief at Saddam’s downfall and opposition to the American occupation at the same time. Some of our soldiers are being hugged and kissed in the streets — this is what makes magazine covers — but others face defiance and protest. For Iraqis, it was wonderful to lose their dictator, but occupation is humiliating too. They have freedom now, but they also want water, food, electricity and order, which are scarce today. Looting has been pervasive and is more detrimental economically and psychologically. Within and outside Iraq, many are deeply saddened by the loss of priceless Sumerian, Assyrian and Islamic scriptures and works of art. While this may seem trivial to some, it is no small fact that some books that survived the Mongol sacking of Baghdad did not survive Gulf War II. Even if these short-term grievances subside or are addressed in the next few years, the conventional wisdom remains true: The path to winning the hearts and minds of Arabs — which is crucial if we seek to make the Middle East more free — runs through Jerusalem. It cannot be understated the degree to which Muslims from Cairo to New Delhi to Jakarta identify with the plight of the Palestinian people. It is peace in Israel and Palestine that holds the key to a transformation of the entire Middle East, not Iraq. An agreement between Israel and the Palestinians is almost impossible without mediation of the United States. Some would say we shouldn’t care about what ordinary Egyptians, Iraqis, Kuwaitis, Saudis, Syrians or Palestinians think — it is better to be feared than loved. But even President Bush knows this is wrong. Last year the Bush administration unveiled a series of commercials on Muslim Americans to be broadcast abroad. While containing nothing on U.S. foreign policy, the ads aim to project a positive image of America. The old U.S. Embassy in Kuwait was housed in the heart of Kuwait City, a stone’s throw from the Persian Gulf’s waters. The new embassy building is more like a medieval fortress, heavily guarded on the outskirts of town. The hope is that the mistrust between the Arab world and America will disappear. It can if they do their part and we do ours. The next stop is not Tehran, Damascus or Pyonyang. It’s Jerusalem, the most difficult terrain of all.

Jaideep Singh ’03 should be working on his thesis.

In praise of folly: War in Iraq Americans should be congratulated for unwavering self-centeredness AFTER THE EASY INITIAL VICTORY THAT WE SAW made us, particularly George H. W. Bush, father of in Iraq, there is a tendency to question whether we the current president, look bad. As a superpower, did all we could to persuade the world of Saddam American has the right to protect its interests, including the pride of its chief execuHussein’s evil and whether we acted tive. There are doubtless foreign policy consistently with international norms. benefits; we probably scared the Syrians A number of facts learned from the war and North Koreans straight. That’s espeseemingly challenge the whole basis cially good for Kim Jong-Il; nothing betfor the operation. For instance: ter than to frighten a failing regime into • Saddam Hussein was painted by thinking it has nothing to lose. the Bush administration as an evil Moreover, the benefits of the internamadman. Yet his strategy was to masstional system that President Bush corelease political prisoners and provide opted have been overplayed. As New his citizens with sufficient food stockYork Times columnist and former Nixon piles, instead of say, a violent purge speech writer William Safire points out, (Stalin-style) to shore up support. BRETT COHEN the U.N. Security Council has become a Shouldn’t a truly ruthless dictator have POLITE CONTRARIAN bastion of talking heads where much is used more sticks than carrots? spoken and little is done, (although of • The Iraqi military was painted as a course we have contributed to this outdangerous threat to the region. Yet it was shown to be a spent force that had crumbled come). Since the United Nations fails to work when over a decade of sanctions, making it unlikely to be any Security Council member’s national interests any offensive threat whatsoever. If it crumbled this are threatened (Russia with Serbia; China with quickly, how could we ever claim that Saddam Tibet; U.S. with Iraq), the reasonable thing to do is Hussein was any worry to the United States’ securi- not to reform the United Nations, but to do without it. One need only look to the past to see that the ty? • As far as we know, no serious effort was made to world was much better before the United Nations. use chemical or biological weapons against Sure there was brutal carnage on the battlefield and American troops. Given that, if they were available, not even a regular forum for nations to attempt it would have made sense to use them as a weapon political settlements, but generally the good guys of last resort (“in defense of the homeland”). Isn’t won out in the end. (History being written by the this compelling evidence that Saddam neither had victors notwithstanding.) Bottom line: Americans have nothing to apolonor ever intended to use chemical weapons against gize for. While the rest of the world wavered or us? • Given that Iraq exists as a multi-ethnic nation merely meekly defended its values, the Americans divided by religion, could it not turn out, in retro- in the person of George W. Bush acted on its desire spect, that Saddam was a bad man who at least pre- to bring a foreign nation to submission, consequences be damned. Americans care not if the vented/prolonged civil strife/war? These criticisms miss the small picture: Saddam Kurds use the opportunity to seek independence, plunging Turkey into chaos and perhaps war. Americans can sleep easy on the notion that might makes right. Brett J. Cohen ’03 has heard of some Erasmus dude.

We need healthier choices Cola, cola, everywhere — but not a drop of water to drink I AM NO LONGER AMAZED TO APPROACH THE would offer a meal that included a bottle of water — vending machines and find someone standing some days I just don’t want any more pop.” And yet, dejectedly in front of them, bemoaning the fact that because the pop is included in the meal, there is a the water is sold out — again. I have had my own certain sense of wastefulness in not drinking it. The share of nights when I need nothing more than a recent attempts made by the Gate to widen its fruit drink of real, non-Providence water. It would be selections are appreciated, but need to go considerably further before they can be considunderstandable if the Fruitopia or the ered successful. Coke were not available, but the fact that The vending machines downstairs day after day bottled water is consistentpresent a similar problem. Late at night, ly a limited resource is becoming somewhen even the Gate and Jo’s have long what concerning. It is, in fact, a sympsince closed their doors, the only tom of a problem with the general phiremaining option is the array of comlosophy of campus food services. pletely unhealthy fare in the vending I realize that the campus is, to a cermachine. At 3 a.m. a bag of M&M’s tain extent, a profit-making corporation, sounds like an excellent idea, and possiand that even the food services reflect bly the only way to make it through the the desire to maintain a certain comevening, but the school is not really mercial appeal. This shows not so much HANNE EISENFELD doing the student body a favor by makin the main dining halls, which do an CAST OFF THIS TATTERED COAT ing the junk food so readily or exclusiveadmirable job of meeting the diverse ly available. needs of a sizable student body, but in It is understood that pre-packaged, the shortcomings of the alternate food processed foods are the easiest to store and the options. The Gate is praised for the efforts it makes to allow quickest to sell, but they do not satisfy the physical students to buy a full “meal” with one meal credit — needs, nor even address the desires, of the general combinations like a glass of pop, a piece of pizza and student population. When the new drug store a cookie are trimmed to fit the $3.80 limit. While this opened on Thayer, the management conducted a intention is present and appreciated, the available survey as to what the customers, mostly students, combinations do not recognize basic nutritional would most like to see available. One of the overneeds or even the frequent craving for something whelming responses was “fresh fruit.” The Freshman 15, while more than just a myth, is that is actually healthy. A friend came out of the Gate the other day, carry- neither an unexplainable nor an inevitable phenoming her pizza and pop, complaining, “I wish they enon. Students learning more about dietary needs and responsibilities would indeed solve part of the problem, but another important facet is that the schoolwork with us to provide healthier choices, Hanne Eisenfeld ’06 thinks grocery stores are available at hours that will actually benefit students. magic.


THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

SPORTS THURSDAY APRIL 17, 2003 · PAGE 12

Canseco not worth the price of an auction

A quick tour of early baseball

LAST WEEK’S BIZARRE BAZAAR WAS A very creative idea. It worked well because it had interesting items and services to bid on, and the money goes to charity. When either of these elements is taken away, the auction loses some allure, but when both are absent, all credibility is lost. Just recently, home-run hero and juice man Jose Canseco put himself on the auction block. His Web site, JoseCanseco.com, posted an auction in which one can bid to spend an afternoon with him. IAN CROPP GOOD CROPP, Upon hearing this I BAD CROPP decided to check out the Web site in my borderline indifferent, yet incredulous, state. After logging in I searched around trying to place an advance order on his autobiography, voted yes on his online poll questioning if he should retire and then found the bidding section. Looking through the bids, I realized bidder “your kidding” took the whole event as seriously as I did and bid $2,500. The minimum bid, which is the absolute value of “your kidding” bid, seems a little steep for the suggested activities of private power hitting lessons, martial arts instruction, working out with Jose and a cookout by the pool. Then again, these were just suggested activities, so if anyone is creative/desperate enough, maybe it could be worth the money. Instead of teaching you how to hit, he can do his best impression of a MIG-21 after a dogfight with an F-16 and go down in flames. It wouldn’t be too hard for him — he’s rather experienced. Shortly after retiring, he entered the mix of the steroids discussion, admitting that sometime in his career he had taken steroids, then claiming around 85 percent of the major leaguers took steroids while he played. I find this hard to believe, but I guess I’ll have to wait like the rest of us with bated breath until his book comes out. In his book he will tell everything that happened in his career, not to mention his plans to name names of those who took steroids. He should be careful, as we all know what happens when one lists a group of alleged people. The possibilities of things to do are endless, except one needs to stay in the confines of his Florida home. It’s not that he’s too lazy to leave his home; it’s just that he’s under house arrest for the next two years. Location doesn’t matter though; it’s the product that’s being advertised. Who wouldn’t want to spend time with a guy who has been charged with beating his wife, ramming his first wife’s car and carrying a semi-automatic weapon in his Jaguar while driving double the speed limit? Despite his low batting average, I guess he is qualified to give hitting lessons of some sort. He’s fresh out of jail, and his current double-secret probation stems from his failure to begin the 250 hours of community service, attend anger control classes and pay the $511 in fees to the court. Which leads me to ask why he was in jail in the first place. Answer: for getting in a fight and beating up some guy. Sorry Jose, this auction doesn’t qualify as community service. Even if I had $2,500 to spend freely, I don’t think I’d bid, as I

Umpire Laz Diaz gets attacked on the field during a Royals-White Sox game on Tuesday. Amazingly, this wasn’t the only breach of security at the game, as three fans took the field at separate times earlier in the evening. What a disgrace. It turns out Diaz was trained as a U.S. Marine, so the attacker took the worst of it — perhaps all of this military spending isn’t such a bad idea. The incident was jarringly similar to ERIC PERLMUTTER last September’s PERLMUTTERS assault by a father and son on Royals’ first base coach Tom Gamboa at the very same ballpark and has raised eyebrows in league offices about what to do regarding ballpark security. This incident has once again brought the reactionary nature of Major League Baseball’s administration into focus. Where is the beefier security this season? Not in Chicago, to be sure, and not in Puerto Rico either, where fans streaking the field at an Expos game were on the field for a full minute before being chased down. Royals’ third baseman Joe Randa was quoted as saying, “There was a point in that game where we just wanted to walk off the field. I’ve never felt that way before — in the minor leagues, winter ball, nowhere.” Maybe “Pray and Play” should be Bud Selig’s motto.

see CROPP, page 9

AND NOW, FOR A LEISURELY MEANDER through some early season baseball.

dspics

Women’s tennis will next face Columbia and Cornell at home.

W. tennis wins two after dropping two in a row BY BRETT ZARDA

The women’s tennis team won its second league match in a row Tuesday after dropping its first two. The Bears traveled to Hanover, N.H., to face Dartmouth and returned with a 6-1 victory, raising their record to 13-7 (2-2 Ivy League). The Bears lost their Friday match-up against 39th-ranked Penn, 5-2. With little time to recover, the team responded with one of its strongest performances of the year, handing Princeton a 5-2 defeat. “We knew Penn would be a tougher match. We just wanted to go out and play well. I think we were right in there and we almost pulled it off,” said Kerry Meath ’05. “Then we came back and beat Princeton which was a really good win for us and then just kept going into today.” Turning around a 0-2 start to the Ivy season was not the Bears’ only motivation against Princeton. Just months ago, the Bears’ fall season ended prematurely at the hands of this same squad.

“We definitely wanted to get some revenge on (Princeton) after the loss during ECAC’s, so it felt good to do that,” said Caroline Casey ’03. The wins accelerated Brown’s climb up the rankings to 61st in the nation. With an outside chance at a postseason bid, the Bears conclude their season with three matches in five days. The Bears will face Columbia and Cornell on Friday and Saturday, followed by a season finale against 54th-ranked Yale. Expectations are high, but realistic, for the stretch run. “As far as our goals for the rest of the season, we just want to go undefeated from here on out, and I think if we keep playing well that’s very doable for us,” Meath said. All matches will be played at the Pizzitola Sports Center. Sports staff writer Brett Zarda GS covers the women’s tennis team. He can be reached at bzarda@browndailyherald.com.

Women golfers on a roll BY SHARA HEGDE

The Brown women’s golf team continued its winning ways last weekend, capturing the Brown Spring Invitational tournament title at the Agawam Hunt Club. The victory marks Bruno’s second straight intercollegiate tournament championship. Brown easily outdistanced the field with strong individual play from Elizabeth Carpenter ’04 and Jennifer Bley ’05, who tied for second place. The team finished the two-day tournament with a score of 624. Second place Boston College finished 31 strokes back, followed by Dartmouth, Harvard and Amherst. Also playing well for the Bears was Tara Fiscella ’03, who finished sixth overall, and Eleanor Thomas ’06 who finished eighth. The team is coming off a narrow victory at the Bucknell Spring Invitational in which Brown held off Long Island by a mere stroke to win. The team will vie for its third straight victory at the Ivy League Championships in two weeks.

On the men’s side, the Bears faced a tough field at the New England Division I Championships last weekend, finishing 12th out of 19 teams. The team showed improvement as the weekend went on, shooting 13 strokes better on the second day of competition. “The guys improved significantly the second day,” said Head Coach Ed Hanley. “It’s been tough for us with the bad weather conditions in terms of getting our rhythm.” Jason Ricketts ’04 led the way for the Bears with a score of 157 while teammate Kevin Buchert ’03 was close behind with a score of 158. “While other schools are playing their third or fourth tournament, we’ve only finished our second,” Hanley said. “Hopefully by our final match, the Ivy Championships in two weeks, we’ll have some more practice time and be ready to go.” Sports staff writer Shara Hegde ’05 covers golf. She can be reached at shegde@browndailyherald.com.

Greg Maddux off to his worst start ever, Runelvys Hernandez dominating the mound — what’s the deal? Pitching in 2003 has been a total grab bag so far. Maddux finally won a game last Sunday, but his ERA still stands at 8.27, the highest of any Atlanta Braves starter. There’s no reason to think it will continue this way, given that Maddux has been one of the most consistent pitchers ever over his career. As Florida Marlins third baseman Mike Lowell said, “What did you think he was going to do, go 2-14? He’s won 15 games for 15 straight years.” Which is really unbelievable if you take the time to think about it. Fifteen games for 15 consecutive years? Few pitchers have had as many 15-win seasons in their entire careers, let alone successively. Nolan Ryan didn’t. Jim Palmer didn’t. Roger Clemens hasn’t. And Maddux didn’t only win games because he was on a perennially great team — he had the stuff to back it up, never posting an ERA above 3.46 during that span. But enough Maddux — Runelvys is back! Actually, he never was there in the first place, but either way, Kansas City Royals pitcher Runelvys Hernandez has led the troupe of young Royals pitchers into the headlines by helping his team to an 11-1 start (not a typo). Within days of Barry Zito, Pedro Martinez and Roy Oswalt getting shelled like peanuts, Hernandez pitched his way to a third victory and the AL lead in ERA. People are starting to look at the Royals and think they’re for real. They’re a multifaceted team possessing lots of solid young talent, with pitchers Jeremy Affeldt (who has been labeled Mark Prior-esque see PERLMUTTER, page 9


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Thursday, April 17, 2003 by The Brown Daily Herald - Issuu