Issuu

F R I D A Y APRIL 18, 2003

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Volume CXXXVIII, No. 54

An independent newspaper serving the Brown community since 1891

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Herald poll shows students now against arming DPS Student opinion appears to have swung away from arming Department of Public Safety officers in the last year, a Herald poll conducted this week shows. Of 205 undergraduates polled April 14 16, 56.1 percent oppose arming the Brown police, with 34.1 percent in support. But student opinion was evenly split in a Herald poll March 2002, with 37.8 percent supporting, 37.8 percent against and 24.3 undecided or no opinion on arming. In the fall of 2001arming became a hotlydebated issue after a rash of assaults and robberies near campus. President Ruth Simmons announced she would decide on arming by the end of last semester, but later postponed her choice indefinitely. The Herald polled students on four other national and campus issues. In stark contrast to national opinion — but in tune with the results of polls conducted in past weeks at Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania — 39 percent of students somewhat or strongly support the war, while 57.6 percent oppose it. In a Gallup Poll conducted between April 14 - 16, 73 percent of Americans responded in favor of the war with Iraq. Asked whether race should be a factor in college admission, 54.1 percent of students said race should be considered, with 40 percent opposed. Male respondents were less likely to approve of race in college admission, with 48 percent in favor, compared to 60 percent of female students. A March Associated Press poll found the nation evenly split on the issue. Although the University announced in March its plans to renovate the Ratty, only 6.3 percent of students felt it should be Brown’s first campus life construction priority. Thirty-five percent favored a student center, followed by 26 percent who wanted a large auditorium or performance space. Improved athletic facilities and dorm renovations found support from 17.6 percent and 13.7 percent of respondents, respectively. All five projects were named in an October 2002 Undergraduate Council of Students report to the Office of Campus Life and Student Services as much-needed long-term improvements. Adding pluses and minuses to the grading system, an issue fiercely discussed on campus for much of the year until the change was voted down by the College Curriculum Council in February, was

Should Brown police be armed?

Undecided/No opinion (9.8%)

Yes (34.1%)

No (56.1%)

resoundingly rejected by students. Only 32.7 percent of respondents supported pluses and minuses to 63.4 percent opposed. Sara Perkins / Herald

see POLL RESULTS, page 5

Brown’s Taekwondo club wowed attendees of Thursday’s Asian Arts Festival.

ARTS & CULTURE REVIEW

Providence debate league brings discourse to inner city BY JESSICA WEISBERG

For many, the term “high school debate team” reeks of elitism. Only blazer-wearing students predestined to attend an Ivy League school gather around the “debate table” in the stereotypical high school cafeteria. But a group of Brown students want that to change. Since its creation in 1997, the Urban Debate League has democratized debate by establishing extra-curricular debate programs in inner-city high schools across the country. Brown’s Swearer Center for Public Service houses the Providence chapter of the Urban Debate League, which has established debate

teams in eight schools in the Providence area. The teams compete against each other about once a month with the help of about 20 Brown students, who serve as judges, and a handful of undergraduate assistant coaches. “Debate gives students an empowered voice,” said Lisa Heller, executive director of the Providence UDL. “The school system creates a very passive learning experience. Debate is something students can engage in.” Heller said below-average students are commonly the most interested in see DEBATE, page 9

Seale outlines Black Panthers’ history BY KIA HAYES

Kia Hayes / Herald

Bobby Seale in his trademark beret.

Racism and police brutality were 50 times worse in the 1960s than they are today, said Bobby Seale, original chairman and co-founder of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, Thursday night. During a lecture in MacMillan, Seale outlined the history of the BPP, described his personal experiences within it and offered words of criticism for the New Black Panther Party. Seale, wearing the trademark black beret, regaled the audience with tales of his days organizing the Black Panthers with co-founder and Ministry of Defense Huey P. Newton and shared with the audi-

ence both amusing and serious experiences he had as a black activist during that time. In the early 1960s, Seale said daily acts of police brutality were never made public in the media, and peaceful protesters were severely beaten and killed on numerous occasions. The BPP was started as a means of defending black communities against the police, he said. “We picked up firearms to defend ourselves,” Seale said. Seale said the BPP has been “stereotyped and distorted” due to the FBI’s

Asian Arts Fest. thrills audience BY JOANNE PARK

Clapping bamboo sticks, awesome Taekwondo feats, someone’s “second stand-up (ever)” and an explanation of the Providence refugee experience were but a few of the performances that marked this year’s Asian Arts Festival in Salomon. Riveting a large crowd Thursday night, performers presented both the old and the new in a series of musical and artistic performances. Organized by the Asian American Students Association at Brown, the festival involved students from the Rhode Island School of Design and the Providence Youth Student Movement. The festival, emceed by Praveen Basaviah ’05, Melissa Koh ’03 and Jennet Sambour ’03, featured displayed artwork, films and other forms of entertainment. In line with an ancient Chinese custom, the Brown Lion Dance group commenced the occasion with a celebratory dance featuring two lions sliding across the stage to music. The traditional Filipino dance tinikling saw dancers square off with one another as they maneuvered between two clapping bamboo poles. Performed to both traditional and hip-hop music, the rousing act stirred up the crowd. Brown Taekwondo Club, which recently placed third in the national collegiate tournament, demonstrated techniques

see SEALE, page 9 see ASIAN ARTS, page 4

I N S I D E F R I D AY, A P R I L 1 8 , 2 0 0 3 “Dance-o-Matic” show at the Production Workshop enlivens audiences arts & culture, page 3

The Herald’s student opinion poll looks at issues from campus life to the Iraq war page 5

TO D AY ’ S F O R E C A S T Post- takes a look at the branding of American youth in consumer culture magazine

Nick Bayard ’04 shows us the lessons we can learn from the natural world opinions, page 11

Women’s track team takes first at eight team track meet last weekend sports, page 12

partly cloudy high 47 low 37

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

THIS MORNING FRIDAY, APRIL 18, 2003 · PAGE 2 Pornucopia Eli Swiney

W E AT H E R TODAY

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

MONDAY

High 47 Low 37 partly cloudy

High 53 Low 40 partly cloudy

High 57 Low 49 mostly cloudy

High 55 Low 47 scattered showers

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. FILM — “Better Luck Tomorrow,” a behind the scenes look at the making of the film with special guest, actor Roger Fan ’94, Alumni Relations. Peterutti Lounge, Faunce House, noon. SPORTS — Women’s Tennis vs. Columbia, Department of Athletics. Erickson Athletic Complex, 2 p.m. LECTURE — “Consent Theory for Libertarians,” John Simmons, University of Virginia, Department of Philosophy. Room 119, Gerard House, 4 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 Deceitful sort 6 Give a funny look 10 Straight 14 Meir’s successor 15 Victorian 16 Unite 17 “It’s getting late” 20 Opinion 21 Series 22 Significant period 23 Antimatter reaction? 24 Ballet jump 25 Continues furiously, as a storm 27 Northwestern city on I-90 31 Certain Slav 33 U.S. Airways datum: Abbr. 34 1962 villain played by Joseph Wiseman 35 Telepathy, e.g. 36 Comics Dell and Kaplan 38 Freight weight 39 Dough dispensers? 41 Gasteyer of “Saturday Night Live” 42 Maidstone’s county 43 Parker/Hart comic strip 48 Redecorate, in a way 49 Skip 50 Scull 52 Carnival site 53 Resting place 54 Postgrad deg. 57 Getting past the bouncer, say 61 Night star 62 Kind of waterproofing oil 63 Senior 64 Peck/Remick thriller, with “The” 65 Ref. tomes 66 Flushed

DOWN 1 Barbra’s “A Star Is Born” costar 2 Zip 3 Dear woman? 4 Try to win, with “for” 5 Bouillabaisse, e.g. 6 First game 7 Lab warning? 8 Free 9 May birthstones 10 What a “V” sign might mean 11 Tried the coin again 12 Radius neighbor 13 Anxious 18 Ballet garb 19 “Eleni” author Nicholas 24 Patient fellow 26 Certain lineman 27 Like some poor urban areas 28 Prohibit 29 Privy to 30 Elvis’s “__ Be Cruel” 31 Scrap 32 Bk. after Nehemiah

36 Stare at, as another’s eyes 37 Egg Beaters, to eggs, e.g. 40 Namibia, before 1990: Abbr. 42 Hobbyist’s purchase 44 Letters for Jesus 45 What’s happening 46 Old Dodge

47 Keeper, so it’s said 50 Kon-Tiki Museum site 51 “Excuse me...” 54 Anti-DUI group 55 Engendered 56 “Not __ eye in...” 58 Finished first 59 “What’s the rest?” 60 Actor Gulager

My Best Effort Andy Hull and Will Newman

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THE RATTY LUNCH — Vegetarian Chick Pea Soup, New England Clam Chowder, French Taco Sandwich, Vegan Nuggets, Oregon Blend Vegetables, Raspberry Sticks DINNER — Vegetarian Chick Pea Soup, New England Clam Chowder, Cajun Roast Beef, Fish with Julienned Vegetables, Sweet & Sour Vegetable Stir Fry, Roasted Herb Potatoes, Broccoli Spears with Lemon, Whole Kernel Corn, Honey Batter Bread, Chocolate Mousse Torte Cake

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ARTS & CULTURE FRIDAY, APRIL 18, 2003 · PAGE 3

“Dance-O-Matic,” a fun and innovative PW addition Creative show allows audience members to choose the costumes, songs and styles for each performance BY JEN SOPCHOCKCHAI

With good music, great dancers and influential audience participation, “Dance-O-Matic” is a fun and innovative addition to Production Workshop’s creative history. The show, starting at Bigelow Theater tonight, is a fournight process in which audience members become choreographers. For each of the first three productions, the audience makes a series of choices to construct a solo, a duet and a trio. They choose from 135 song titles, 101 styles of expression and 22 costumes. Choices range from the music of Billy Joel to Chopin, the styles of Kung Fu to under the sea and costumes from basketball jerseys to poofy wigs. The lengthy and diverse archive of songs and styles is presented to the audience in list form at the beginning of the show. There is literally something for everyone, and variety is unavoidable. On the fourth night, nine dance pieces — three from

each of the previous nights — will be presented, with a few more decisions for the audience to make. “The goal is to have everything culminate in one huge dance piece that we can say was choreographed by hundreds of people on the Brown campus,” Director Ben Asriel ’03 said. To prepare for the show, the three dancers — Nicole Applebaum ’05, Caedra Scott-Flaherty ’05 and Kemen Austin ’06 — learned three “phrases,” or series of choreographed movements, labeled A, B and C. Every piece the audience designs is based on these phrases, but the same movements are new and fresh every time because the dancers can put a different spin on them. The most impressive aspect of the show was the dancers’ ability to modify the tone of a piece and adapt to the conditions chosen by the audience while not straying from the original phrases choreographed by Asriel, Kyle Shepard ’04 and Ruth Streiter ’03. A different character and personality is infused into the dance phrases with every combination. The dancers aren’t just going through the motions — they are acting and giving meaning to movement. “Dance-O-Matic” makes modern dance accessible and

enjoyable for theater patrons who are not used to the art form. Asriel said he wanted to introduce people to modern dance and allay any unwarranted fears they may have about a performance art that is often considered elitist. He succeeds on all counts, making the audience a part of an enjoyable and experimental artistic project as well as shattering any misgivings skeptics may have about modern dance. For a production so dependent upon the audience, “Dance-O-Matic” is efficient and well-organized. The voting system went smoothly, and the dancers did not miss a beat when it came to working on the spot. The separate pieces also meld together seamlessly. The lighting and sound crew for this show should also be commended — the tech staff has to be able to improvise and adjust to audience selections almost as much as the dancers. But the dancers are the stars here and, as Asriel said, “Basically, it’s a showcase of these three women.” Herald staff writer Jen Sopchockchai ’05 covers arts and culture at Brown. She can be reached at jsopchockchai@browndailyherald.com.

PAGE 4 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD FRIDAY, APRIL 18, 2003

Asian arts continued from page 1

Sara Perkins / Herald

The performances at the Asian Arts Festival had a wide range. LEFT:The head of a dragon used in a traditional dance. RIGHT: Break dancers showed their stuff on stage.

W. lax continued from page 12 game, Passano scored her second goal of the game to regain the lead for Brown. But the Terriers came back yet again with three more goals before the end of the game to make the final score 10-8. “It was a great game,” Passano said. “We just didn’t get the little things that we needed to. We didn’t pull them all together at the same time.” Ingram said the two things upon which the team is looking

to improve are draw control and shooting percentages. “Shooting is a big part of the game, and we did not have many quality shots,” Ingram said. “On Sunday, we knew the draw controls were crucial, and BU doubled our draw control wins.” Brown scored eight goals on 25 shots and won only 7 out of 20 of the draw controls. The next game for the women is on Wednesday at Boston College. According to Ingram the scouting reports indicate that BC is a muchimproved team, currently hold-

ing a 5-3 record. But she said she was confident that if they concentrate on coming through on the little things, the Bears will play well. “For the majority of the BU game we were there,” Ingram said. “If we come out as strong as we did in the BU game and focus on winning the draw control and better shooting — the two things key to our success — the victory will take care of itself.” Sports staff writer Jinhee Chung ’05 can be reached jchung@browndailyherald.com.

from the Korean martial art form, ranging from breaking to “poomse,” the first technique designated for the black belt, according to Joseph Fungsang ’06. A 360-degree double-break — a full turn followed by breaking two blocks — and a 540-degree single-break by a blindfolded member — a one-and-a-half turn with one block — impressed the audience. Amusing the crowd with his observations of the way Asian Americans are portrayed in the United States, Jan Seng ’04 performed his comedy act, “My Second Stand Up Act (Ever).” “I’ve always found it disturbing that (people) seem to think there’s a pan-ethnic language out there called ching-chong,” Seng said. “That everybody knows how to better speak than we do,” he quipped. Brown Break Dancing Club further enthused the audience through its energetic “Freestyle Sessions” in a vigorous performance. “On Love and Kindness,” a commanding spoken word performance by Alicia Chang ’04 and Juhyung Harold Lee ’06, included ruminations on the political and social scene in the United States, along with the palpable personal and racial struggles. The Filipino Alliance presented the act, “Pandanggo Sa Ilaw,” a modified form of the fandango dance that was introduced to the Philippines during the period of Spain’s colonization. Diana Dizon ’04.5, Mena Ramos ’05 and Joanne Villanueva ’05 danced to mellow music, each balancing glass-encased candles on their heads. Socially conscious performances like “Womyn’s Piece” and “A Mosaic of Filipino Voices” explored issues such as the objectification of AsianAmerican women and the Filipina-American experience. Stereotypes and struggles between members of the AsianAmerican community were analyzed and joked about. Robam Kanseng Snae, a form of folk dance native to Khmer Islam, paired four women with

Brown Break Dancing Club further enthused the audience through its energetic “Freestyle Sessions” in a vigorous performance. four men, who attempted to entice the women with a special aphrodisiac. The performers integrated tantalizing movements and light-hearted banter in the form of dance. The festival also featured members of PrYSM, a lobbying group against the deportation of about 1,500 Cambodians and other Southeast Asians to their native countries. A short documentary by PrYSM depicted the experience of a refugee who, despite knowing “home is America right here,” is forced to await his departure to a country whose language he does not know. The PrYSM group said the number of Southeast Asians in the United States who are living in poverty is further cause for their protests, citing Sept. 11, 2001 — which led to an increase in deportations — as the date “we learned to hate.” “We shall not be moved,” said members of PrYSM. RISD students contributed to the festival through student films, including Joannza Lo’s “Best of Both Worlds” and Joey Kan’s “Tranquil Paths,” which ran successive images of Hong Kong that were at once modern and traditional. Brown Taiwan Society presented “Taiwan Through the Eyes of Contemporary Film,” which explored members of Taiwan’s new wave cinema and featured events like the 1999 earthquake and the culture of aboriginal families in Taiwan. Jay Lee ’03 also gave a performance of Kung Fu, or Wushu, the formal name for China’s national sport, with the use of a gun, or a six foot-tapered staff. Herald staff writer Joanne Park ’06 can be reached at jpark@browndailyherald.com.

FRIDAY, APRIL 18, 2003 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD PAGE 5

Poll results continued from page 1 — Herald staff reports

To what extent do you support or oppose the current U.S. military action against Iraq?

Should universities consider race as a factor in admission?

Should Brown add pluses and minuses to the grading system?

What should be the University's first Campus Life priority?

Undecided/No opinion (5.9%)

Undecided/No opinion (3.9%)

No (40%)

No (63.4%)

Yes (54.1%)

Yes (32.7%)

Undecided/No opinion (3.4%)

Strongly oppose (29.8%) Undecided/No opinion (1.5%)

Ratty renovations (6.3%)

Dorm renovations (13.7%)

Improved athletics facilities (17.6%) Large auditorium or performance space (26.9%)

Student center (35.1%)

Somewhat oppose (27.8%)

Somewhat support (28.8%)

Strongly support (10.2%)

Polling information The Herald polled 205 undergraduates, 100 male and 105 female, from a randomly-selected pool of 400 students called April 14-16. Results had a margin of error of less than +/- 7%.

PAGE 6 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD FRIDAY, APRIL 18, 2003

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

WORLD & NATION FRIDAY, APRIL 18, 2003 · PAGE 7

Iraq is being robbed of its cultural soul, experts fear BAGHDAD (L.A.Times) — In the shadows of the

Bryan Chan/L.A. Times

Volunteers from a mosque salvage books from a looted and burned National Library in Baghdad.The books were loaded onto a truck to be taken for safekeeping.

United Nations says it won’t investigate Afghan deaths without security KABUL, Afghanistan (L.A. Times) — The

United Nations has decided not investigate two mass graves containing hundreds of war victims in Northern Afghanistan unless foreign soldiers protect the operation. The U.N. demand for security comes from the ongoing violence in Afghanistan’s lawless north where fighting between rival militias has claimed more than 20 lives in the last two weeks. It also underscores the United Nations’ fear of what could happen in a country that has seen many atrocities over 23 years of warfare. The recommendation that the graves be unearthed only under the protection of international troops was made in a feasibility study written by William Haglund, a noted forensic anthropologist, who will likely direct the investigation, a U.N. official in Kabul told the Los Angeles Times. The United Nations has accepted his recommendation. Until the study was completed, the U.N. expected promises of protection from local authorities would permit the digging to start, possibly this month. But the volatile political scene and warnings from warlords that they “could not commit to 100 percent security” led the United Nations to insist on outside protection, the official said. One of the sites to be unearthed is in Dasht-i-Leili near Sheberghan where hundreds of Taliban prisoners are

believed to have been buried after they were suffocated in metal truck containers in December 2001. They died while being transferred to prison from the northeastern city of Kunduz after the overthrow of the fundamentalist regime. Human rights groups have accused warlords in the victorious Northern Alliance of permitting the deaths and secretly burying the bodies. U.S. human rights groups clamored for an investigation last year because U.S. soldiers reportedly were seen accompanying warlord Rashid Dostum’s troops during the prisoner transfer. The exact number of victims may never be known because there was no count of those loaded onto the trucks nor of prisoners who made it to the prison. Dostum and a rival warlord issued a statement in August admitting that more than 200 prisoners died in the airless containers but blamed the deaths on wounds and illnesses before capture. Others say the number of victims could be several times that amount. An estimated 2,000 to 4,000 Taliban were taken prisoner at the end of the fighting, and some observers say no more than about 1,200 were imprisoned. Preliminary work by Haglund at the Dasht-i- Leili site in December indicated a “large number” of bodies. President Hamid Karzai last summer denounced the deaths as “atrocities” and said he supports the U.N. probe. The lead

agency will be the Afghan Independent Human Richts Commission, which the U.N. will train in forensics. The plan is for Afghans to later use those skills to investigate hundreds of mass graves that human rights officials say exist here. In a concession to the warlords, who are now officials of the Karzai government, the United Nations also plans to investigate a mass grave in Jaghalkani-iTakhta Pul near Mazar-e-Sharif thought to contain hundreds of victims massacred by the Taliban after the Islamic radicals took the city in 1998. The United Nations has also requested that that warlords allow a program to protect several witnesses ready to testify, including some survivors of the ride from Kunduz to jails. No such commitment has been received, the U.N. official said Thursday. The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Sergio Vieira de Mello, requested help from foreign militaries in overtures made to the 4,700-solder International Security Assistance Force and to the U.S.-led coalition military force of 11,500 soldiers. He has received no positive response so far. The investigation of mass graves is a delicate issue not only because of culpability issues but also because rival factions are angling for position in the nationwide and provincial elections in June 2004. The findings of the investigation could have an impact on the vote.

charred reading room, Shakur Khozai scooped up a handful of ash, then shuddered and tossed it to the ground. As director of Iraq’s national library, he has spent years caring for the nation’s collection of rare books and archives. Now, there is little left but soot and broken glass. Many of the 1 million tomes were lost Monday when an Iraqi mob gutted and set fire to the library, a five-story repository of irreplaceable ancient books, maps and handwritten archives. “They burned the history of this country,” Khozai said. “Now we are standing here beginning from zero. Our memory is destroyed.” As the residents of this rattled city venture slowly forth to take stock of the war’s wastes, one thing has become tragically clear: many of Iraq’s most precious cultural institutions are now a thing of memory. After surviving the U.S.-led bombing attacks, many of the nation’s historical centerpieces have been lost to riots and rage. There were the ancient Qurans, Islamic holy texts that had previously withstood the sacking of the Mongols, only to be burned this week. The national museum, with its colossal sculptures and the first known calendar — pillaged. Musical instruments — snatched from the conservatory. Universities — sacked. Government archives — missing or burned. Many Iraqis blame the United States for failing to protect their national treasures from the mobs that stormed through Baghdad’s cultural institutions after the city fell and the American military failed to immediately halt the looting. “This is the freedom they promised us?” asked Acaeel Husan, a 37-year-old volunteer at the library. Some blamed the looting on pent-up rage after decades of dictatorial rule by Saddam Hussein. “They do these things without thinking because they hated the government,’’ said Ehmad al Aziz, 49, a watchman at the national theater, which was looted. “They had guns. What could I do?” These are twilight times in Baghdad, uncertain days somewhere between war and peace. Even as bullets continue to crackle in the streets and fires cloud the horizon, many trickle out of their homes, and shops re-open. Slowly, thoughts are turning to the project of rebuilding the nation. But with most cultural institutions destroyed, intellectuals and artists fear the nation has been robbed of its soul. “How can we build a new Iraq after this?” said librarian Saib al Suhaib. “We can buy computers, we can make new buildings. But we can’t buy a museum, or these books, or history.” On the ground floor of the national library in downtown Baghdad, piles of embers still sent an eerie heat into the darkness Thursday. The remnants of a staircase rose precariously from the old stone floors. Library workers trailed mournfully among the piles of soot, their faces smudged. Some point out that the oil ministry building was spared while museums and hospitals were sacked. Baghdad University has been turned into a U.S. military compound — Iraqi civilians aren’t allowed to enter.

PAGE 8 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD FRIDAY, APRIL 18, 2003

Saddam’s half-brother is in U.S. custody

Bryan Chan/L.A. Times

Hospital workers recover bodies of Iraqi soldiers killed in a battle with U.S. soldiers in a park outside the Presidential Palace in Baghdad.The bodies were taken to a hospital for identification by families.

BAGHDAD (L.A. Times) — U.S. Special Forces captured a halfbrother of Saddam Hussein early Thursday, raising hopes that American officials may glean valuable information about the ousted Iraqi president and his regime — perhaps including whether he is alive or dead. Barzan Ibrahim Hasan, a former intelligence chief, was one of Saddam’s three half-brothers and is believed to have had extensive knowledge about the country’s weapons programs. Human rights groups allege that he is responsible for the killings and disappearances of thousands of members of ethnic minorities during the 1980s. His capture came on a day in which more tentative steps were taken toward establishing order, and a new administration, in Iraq. Although most combat has subsided, U.S. officials announced that allied forces had bombed the bases of an Iranian opposition group based in Iraq. And Pentagon officials said they plan to study the incidence of “friendly fire” deaths in the war in an effort to find ways

Bechtel wins contract to rebuild Iraq (L.A. Times) — The federal government on Thursday selected San Francisco’s Bechtel Group for a sweeping $680 million contract to oversee the rebuilding of Iraq, a massive task that will involve everything from airports, schools, roads, bridges and railroads to its power grids, water systems and sewers. So critical is this work to America’s postwar presence in the wounded nation that the 98-page request for bids secretly sent out to a handful of American companies declared it essential to keeping the peace there. Bechtel said it was “honored” to have been selected by the U.S. Agency for International Development. Even critics conceded the task was extraordinary. “This has never been done before — an American corporation rebuilding an entire foreign country,” said Danielle Brian, executive director of the D.C.based Project on Government Oversight. The government said Bechtel will initially get $34.6 million under the contract, which provides for up to $680 million during the next 18 months. But USAID officials said the total will be far higher. Experts say it will cost tens of billions of dollars to fulfill the agency’s goal of creating “the fundamental structures for democracy and economic growth.” Bechtel, the oldest, biggest and best-known U.S. contracting firm, said it had already started working with USAID to “prioritize and detail” what needs to be done. The company’s next step is to find subcontractors. Bechtel will be responsible for coordinating construction work by dozens of subcontractors employing thousands of workers. “It will be a full and open and international bidding process,” Bechtel spokesman Mike Kidder said. None of that was true in the first round. The size of the contract — the biggest of eight being

awarded by USAID, for a total of $1.7 billion — and the fact that it was cloaked under the veil of national security drew criticism from Capitol Hill and government watchdog groups. ‘A troubling pattern is starting to emerge,” said Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore. “We’re seeing some of the country’s most powerful business interests showing up and getting these contracts. That ought to set off bells.” Wyden is co-sponsoring a bill to force public disclosure of Iraq contracts awarded without open, competitive bidding. The General Accounting Office, Congress’ investigative arm, has launched a wide-ranging investigation as well. An amendment to the $80 billion war-spending bill President Bush signed this week allocates more than $4 million for AID’s inspector general to monitor and audit money spent in Iraq. Bechtel, which was founded in 1898 by Warren Bechtel and is closely controlled by his descendents, built the Hoover Dam in the early 1930s. Other major company projects include the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, the Trans-Arabian Pipeline, the Bay Area Rapid Transit System and the English Channel Tunnel. Bechtel has often worked on military as well as other government contracts, including the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste disposal site and the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory. Like many companies that work extensively with the government, it has been a large political contributor: $1.3 million to federal campaigns and candidates over the last three years, according to the Federal Election Commission. Fifty-nine percent of the money went to Republicans and the rest to Democrats, records show. Over the decades, Bechtel has been closely tied to the government in other ways, too. George Shultz, treasury secretary for President Nixon, stepped down in

1974 to become president of Bechtel. In 1982, Shultz became President Reagan’s secretary of State. Shultz is currently a member of Bechel’s board. Caspar Weinberger was a Bechtel director, vice president and general counsel before becoming Reagan’s secretary of defense in 1980. Officials have stressed that politics played no role in awarding the contracts. USAID administrator Andrew S. Natsios emphasized that all 123 employees in the agency’s procurement division are career civil servants, and that he and all other political appointees are legally barred from participating in the process. The procurement staff awarded the contract after evaluating the companies’ capabilities and reviewing the cost estimates.

to reduce them. Speaking at U.S. Central Command headquarters in Doha, Qatar, Army Brig. Gen. Vincent Brooks said Hasan’s capture was significant because of his “extensive knowledge of the regime’s workings.” The United States hopes he will provide information that could lead to Saddam or his remains. “We are currently asking a number of questions” of Hasan, Brooks added, “finding out whatever we can from this capture.” The seizure is part of a strategy by U.S. and British forces to exploit the knowledge of captured or surrendered Iraqi officials. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Thursday that teams hunting for illegal weapons in Iraq are unlikely to succeed without help from Iraqis themselves. Saddam’s regime matched wits with U.N. weapons inspectors for so long that it developed sophisticated ways to mask its chemical, biological and nuclear weapons programs, Rumsfeld told Defense Department employees in a

“town hall’’ meeting at the Pentagon. As a result, the allied forces scouring Iraq probably won’t find the taboo weapons until former Iraqi officials point them out, he said. “It is not like a treasure hunt where you just run around looking everywhere hoping you find something,” Rumsfeld said. “The inspectors didn’t find anything, and I doubt that we will. What we will do is find the people who will tell us.” To date, the survey teams looking for illegal weapons have apparently found only false leads. Defense officials have reported suspected drums of chemical weapons that turned out to hold pesticides and alleged chemical munitions that turned out to be conventional rockets. Hasan, the captured Saddam relative, was alone when he was seized in Baghdad and was taken without incident, U.S. officials said. His home, which reportedly doubled as an intelligence operations center, was hit by a U.S. airstrike April 11, and some reports said he had been killed.

For ‘Mr. Personality’ fans, an early ‘View’ of Monica (Washington Post) — Monica

Lewinsky is replacing Barbara Walters. Just for one day, as co-host of daytime gabber “The View.” This Very Special Edition of ABC’s “The View” will be devoted entirely to “Real Life Hot Topics” — which is why it’s so appropriate that Lewinsky guest host, since she was one Real Life Hot Topic herself back in ‘98, when the world found out that she was the president of the United States’ service woman, and they both lied about it, and he got impeached. Good times. In honor of the occasion, the producers have also asked soap stars Eden Riegel and Olga Sosnovska to be their guests on the show. Although

they did not have oral sex with the president of the United States, they are bringing to America daytime TV’s first girlon-girl kiss on “All My Children,” which is broadcast on — what are the odds — ABC. Such a small world, isn’t it? The gals of “The View” and Ms. Lewinsky will also discuss the pros and cons of diet pills. Lewinsky, you will recall, was briefly a spokesceleb for dietplan company Jenny Craig. Oddly, the producers of “The View” did not ask Lewinsky to come back and guest-host on Tuesday, when the subject will be “intern makeovers.” Barbara Walters has a very special place in her heart for Monica Lewinsky.

Saudi Arabia boosts security at oil sites RAS TANURA, Saudi Arabia (L.A. Times) — To enter this vast com-

plex of oil pipelines, storage tanks and processing plants on the edge of the Persian Gulf, employees must pass through a gate with 12 armed guards, then approach a second one where 18 guards and a bomb-sniffing dog stand at the ready. They surrender their passport for a coded ID card that they swipe through an electronic reader, then enter a PIN number. Once inside, they are protected by an antiaircraft missile battery and two layers of barbed-wire-topped fencing. A strand of wire capable of detecting the slightest movement encircles the perimeter, and video cameras stand sentinel every few feet, silently surveying the vast hot sweep of sand and sea for intruders. “The risk is here whether there is a war or not. There is a contingency plan for anything in

the world that could happen. We are secure, because we must be secure,” said Bassam al-Bokhari, a refinery superintendent. Though the U.S.-led war in Iraq is winding down, experts say there will be a high risk of terrorist attacks on American interests in the Persian Gulf for months or even years to come. The oil industry — which Osama bin Laden has identified as the “umbilical cord” of the Western “colonizers” — remains the most obvious potential target. “Terrorists are more focused on the Gulf now than they were before the war, and because the U.S. footprint now is much larger, they will be more attracted to U.S. assets in the Gulf — particularly Iraq, but that would also include Saudi Arabia,” said Jonathan Stevenson, a terrorism expert at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London. Three-fourths of Saudi

Arabia’s oil exports flow onto tankers from Ras Tanura and the adjacent terminal at Juaymah. A major, well-coordinated terrorist attack here or at the huge oil processing center at Abqaiq not far away, counterterrorism experts say, could cut Saudi oil exports in half — throwing a wrench into the global economy. In recent months, the Saudi government has substantially boosted security in the oil-rich Eastern Province, where 12,400 miles of pipelines converge to process and ship most of the 7.6 million barrels the nation exports daily. Since February, authorities at Saudi Aramco, the governmentowned oil company, have added special intelligence units to a security force now numbering 7,500 men, many of them carrying weapons for the first time. New checkpoints have appeared on roads all over the region.

FRIDAY, APRIL 18, 2003 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD PAGE 9

Seale continued from page 1 counterintelligence program (COINTELPRO). He said the program would issue press releases to the media that slandered and discredited the BPP. Seale said the governor of California, Ronald Reagan, along with other politicians, called the Black Panthers “hoodlums and thugs.” “We were not hoodlums and thugs,” he said. “We were college students. We were articulating rights.” When the BPP was founded, Newton was a second-year law student, and Seale was a government employee and an engineer student at the Merritt College in Oakland, Calif. A former part-time comedian and jazz drummer, Seale often had the audience laughing, particularly when he reenacted the night he and Newton were arrested for fighting the police after he read a protest poem near the University of California at Berkeley. Entitled “Uncle Sammy Called Me Full of Lucifer!” Seale performed the poem and demonstrated the mayhem that followed when the police arrived. By that October, Seale and Newton developed their 10-Point Program document entitled, “What We Want … What We Believe.” The BPP was founded on Oct. 22, 1966. With the goal of organizing America’s black population, and ultimately running for office, Seale said the immediate goal was to patrol the police. Complete with legal firearms, the nowfamous black leather jackets and berets, an airtight knowledge of the law, and military trained members (Seale was once in the Air Force), the BPP took to the streets, he said.

Zarda

“We knew the law backwards, forwards, sideways and cattycorner. We knew our shit,” Seale said. Seale said the police often tried to arrest Black Panther members with bogus charges. According to his Web site, there were over 5,000 Black Panther arrests in five years and over 95 percent of them were thrown out. “We had one of the best legal networks in the United States for a protest organization,” Seale said. Seale said the BPP gained a following immediately and, in its heyday shortly after Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination, the party had 5,000 members in 48 chapters in the United States. Sixty-five percent of Black Panthers were women, Seale added. He said COINTELPRO used illegal tactics to destroy the Black Panthers, describing a 5 a.m. raid in Chicago on a house where the Black Panthers were sleeping in 1969. In the raid, a black police officer shot Black Panther Fred Hampton in his bed. Family members received money in a civil suit, but the officers themselves were never charged, Seale said. Twenty-nine of the original Black Panther members have been killed, Seale said. Seale also shared his views on the New Black Panther Party, saying that the new organization is confusing what the original Black Panther’s were about. Seale called them “revenge nationalists,” promoting hatred and violence against white people. He said many radical white people supported the BPP and risked their lives alongside them. “Racism is out of date,” Seale said. In an interview, Seale explained what it means to be a “revolutionary humanist,” a term coined by him and his wife Leslie Seale, who often speaks with him.

will participate in.

back to Montreal to reward the 17 loyal Expo fans.

Home-field advantage — they may bat last, but most Puerto Ricans don’t know what an Expo is (and neither do I).

Snowed-out games in April — I never thought I’d see that anywhere, but I personally guarantee you it won’t happen in San Juan.

Hugo Delgado Marti and Jose Ramos — who? Two gentlemen banned from Expos games after running onto the field with an antiwar banner earlier this week.

Cuban cigars — it’s Puerto Rico, not Cuba.

The Boss — that’s right. Sadly, the pinstripes won’t be visiting Puerto Rico, despite the guaranteed draw of the “evil empire.”

continued from page 12

“Root, root, root for the home team” — nope, that just doesn’t make sense. The Rally Monkey/Thunder sticks — hopefully, they’ve both been retired (buried), but the defending world champs have not scheduled a visit just in case. Empty seats — well, not as many. Capacity is at 79 percent, up from 22 percent at Veterans last year. Los Rojos — nope, sorry, they’ll still just be the Reds. Support from Alex Rodriguez — despite his Latin heritage, a timely tax by the Puerto Rican government will force Alex (and every other player that lands in Puerto Rico) to pay a 20 percent income tax. For you math majors, that’s over $20,000 for each of the three games A-rod

Saddam Hussein — um, ya. “Hey Beer Guy!” — it’ll now sound more like, “¡Ay, chico de cerveza!” “Wait till next year” — since the Expos will likely be in D.C. or Portland, the Red Sox battle cry will not apply. Sno-Cones — it gets flat hot down there. Ice melts. Nuclear mushrooms — thankfully, our military suspended bombing in Vieques in time for the arrival of Greg Maddux. French people talking baseball — amen to that. Brett Zarda GS es de Gainesville, Fla., y desafortunadamente puede contar solamente a veinte y dos.

“We believe in a future world of cooperational humanism,” he said. “We believe in decent relationships between people, between ethnic groups, between nations, etc. We believe … all the problems that we have ultimately should be able to be ironed out … that we can evolve to this kind of world.” While unsure of when this will come about, Seale said, “this is not about any strict idealism or utopianism.” Seale said he is optimistic about young people today. “I don’t criticize young people because they may not know or understand the 60s,” he said. “It’s my job — and other people’s job who remember the 60s — to let them know what the 60s was about, to let them know what the protest movement was about: the difference between racist police brutality then and racist police brutality now.” Among the packed audience, Katherine Saviskas ’06 said she is learning about the Black Panthers movement in an Africana studies class and wanted to see Seale to learn more about the organization. Philippe Bierny ’06 came out to hear Seale speak, out of “general political interest.” “The Black Panthers are obviously something important in U.S history,” he said. April Inniss ’05, who had heard a lot about Seale and the Black Panthers, said, “I want to hear what he has to say. “I mean, he’s a legend.” Seale is currently on a speaking tour called “Speaking Across America: From the Sixties to the Future.” His lecture was organized by the Organization of United African Peoples.

Debate continued from page 1 joining the debate team — in search of an alternative forum to quench their frustrations with a system of education they consider boring. Urban Debate League teams are coached by full-time teachers who often have little previous debate experience. Urban Debate League staff train interested teachers to become confident and capable debate coaches, said Mackay Miller, the assistant director of the Providence UDL. “The training is a valuable method of re-inspiring teachers by showing them a degree of engagement with the students uncommon in the classroom,” Miller said. Although principals have readily supported the mission statement of the UDL (offering to sign consent forms “with both hands”), Heller said budgetary constraints challenge the program’s morale. “When the school district can’t compensate the debate coaches for all their work it’s hard for them to remain enthusiastic about the program,” Miller said. Heller said the UDL strongly relies on Brown students who volunteer as assistant coaches to inspire and energize the students and coaches. William Tucker ’04 is one of three student coordinators of UDL and also assists the team at the Metropolitan Regional Career and Technical Center. There are eight volunteers in addition to the coordinators who volunteer at the various schools on a weekly basis. “If we had more volunteers, we

“If we had more volunteers, we would be able to start programs in many more schools in the area,” Tucker said. would be able to start programs in many more schools in the area,” Tucker said. Yet some schools lack enough students to form a competitive team. Folake Ogundipe, a freshman at Feinstein High School, and Keri Jean Jenkins, a senior at Hope High School, are both passionate debaters who are unable to compete because they do not have a steady debate partner. Instead, UDL has employed Jenkins and Ogundipe as interns, who assist with secretarial work and general brainstorming. Despite the disappointment of not being able to compete, Ogundipe insists “debate has helped me in lots of ways. It’s really helped my speech and it’s taught me how to do research on my own.” Some of the teams in the league are quite competitive, including Woonsocket High School, which has high expectations for this weekend’s regional UDL championships in Newark, N.J. The next competition will be held on May 3 in Sayles Hall. Herald staff writer Jessica Weisberg ’06 covers the Swearer Center. She can be reached at jweisberg@browndailyherald.c om.

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

EDITORIAL/LETTERS FRIDAY, APRIL 18, 2003 · PAGE 10 S T A F F

E D I T O R I A L

Diamonds and coal A diamond to the equestrian team, for advancing to nationals. We love horses and the people who ride them. Good luck in Texas! Coal to the lack of disinfectant spray bottles at the Bear’s Lair. Sometimes dry swipes aren’t enough. And somebody else’s sweat is, like, soooo much grosser than your own. Coal to grain alcohol not being kosher for Passover. Manischewitz just doesn’t cut it, really. But a diamond to Hillel, for providing a Seder option for everyone, and to the TWC, for lending out its kitchen for the cause. And a special diamond to Mom’s matzo ball soup. A pre-emptive diamond to the day-after Easter candy sale at CVS. A diamond to bean tacos from Gordito Burrito. Hurray for a full meal for just $1.75. But coal to the Ratty’s “French taco sandwich,” which just sounds dirty. A diamond to Joan Jett for surprising us all. Her clingy vinyl crop-top, gyrating hips and spicy, homoerotic rendition of “Crimson and Clover” proved once and for all that 43 can be sexy.

ANDREW SHEETS

LETTERS

Coal to the sudden gust of wind on Wednesday afternoon that swept hundreds of lounging Brown students off the Main Green. But a diamond to the spectacle of swirling leaves, dust and Brunonians it created. A diamond to Todd Haynes’ recent visit to campus. Your talk of artifice, color scheme and subverted expectations makes us swoon. A cubic zirconium to high heels — sexy, painful … What it really comes down to is the click-click noise they make on linoleum. Pleasing, or just annoying? A diamond to the intrepid Web geeks at fark.com and thesmokinggun.com, for uncovering and posting CNN’s premature obituaries for living people. Dick Cheney, Bob Hope and Gerald Ford probably weren’t so pleased. A diamond to the Field Day Music Festival: Radiohead, Sigur Ros, Beck, Liz Phair. … We might have to reconsider our resolution to steer permanently clear of Long-gyland. A cubic zirconium to the Louisiana Purchase. Two hundred years later, was it really worth it?

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

Catherine O’Hara, Night Editor George Haws, Jane Porter, Nora Yoo, 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

Eastern Orthodox Christianity view often overlooked

Unfair for United States to claim Iraqi reconstruction rights

To the Editor:

Regarding Brian Rainey’s column, “An alternative Easter,” (April 14), Rainey writes: “As most already know, this will be a week in which Christians remember the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.” While Western Christianity, as a generalization, celebrates Easter this Sunday, Eastern Christianity (consisting of a not insignificant 350 million or so persons) celebrates Easter, or Pascha, the following Sunday. But I do not wish to engage in a conversation on calendar considerations. My point is simply that when we generalize about “traditional Christian theology,” we often overlook Eastern Orthodox thought. For example, Rainey writes: “The problem is that Jesus’ main importance in traditional Christian theology is not his life, not his teachings, not his example, but his role in some cosmological salvation scheme. In traditional Christian theology, Jesus’ death served as an atonement for humanity’s sins.” While Eastern Orthodox Christianity absolutely affirms this, it chooses to emphasize that part of Rainey’s first sentence that he — and Western, Protestant Christianity — tends not to emphasize: the Resurrection. Yes, the Crucifixion is important in the “cosmological salvation scheme,” but it is because it is a necessary precursor to the Resurrection. To paraphrase St. Athanasius, God became man so that man could become God. The Resurrection is the hope, for Eastern Orthodox in any event, of human potential. Whereas the West, following St. Augustine, has tended to focus on man’s utter depravity and the necessity of the Crucifixion, the East emphasizes the residual goodness in man that can be wrought into a Christ-like example because of the Resurrection. That example of the redeemed man certainly includes the practice and living of Christ’s social teachings. Rainey is certainly not alone when he writes: “For me, Easter is a celebration of Jesus’ life.” This is not such an alternative view after all; 350 million Orthodox Christians agree.

There is a revealing honesty in Alexandra Toumanoff's latest column (“Bush should be wary of playing the Little Red Hen,” April 16) in which she says France, Russia and Germany should not be able to “sink their fingers into our bread,” our bread, of course, being the reconstruction of Iraq. To the extent that Toumanoff is talking about profiteering from reconstruction, she is correct: These nations should not get a piece of the pie. But neither should the United States, and her claim that Iraq is now “ours” for the taking is quite disturbing. If we really fought this war to liberate the Iraqi people, then it is not fair for the United States to make decisions about privatizing and contracting out reconstruction work. Currently, politically connected U.S. multinationals stand to profit millions from post-war contracts. In March, the U.S. Agency for International Development secretly asked six U.S. companies to submit bids for a $900 million government contract to repair and reconstruct water systems, roads, bridges, schools and hospitals in Iraq. The nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics recently reported that these six companies (one of which is Vice President Cheney’s former company, Halliburton) contributed $3.6 million in individual, PAC and soft-money donations to political candidates and parties between 1999 and 2002, twothirds of which went to Republicans. Ms. Toumanoff’s logic (we overthrew the regime, so we get the goods) makes sense if the ultimate goal of this war is self-enrichment. But if the idea is really to help the Iraqi people, our first priority should not simply be to protect our turf. Peter Ian Asen ’04 April 16

Joshua S. Edwards ’03 President, Orthodox Christian Fellowship 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 FRIDAY, APRIL 18, 2003 · PAGE 11

More constant than the news Lessons from the natural world IMAGINE YOU’RE A LIMPET. YOU SPEND Mulberry Whelk has claimed another vicyour days clinging to rocks of the seashore tim. With the use of its rasping tongue, the from underneath your small, conical shell, licking up bits of algae. One day you are mulberry whelk of Australia collects drops going about your normal business in a of sulfuric acid from its stomach and slowly small pool at high tide, when you find that deposits them onto the shells of limpets and barnacles. After the acid the rippling action of your foot burns through the prey’s shell, muscles is not sending you glidthe whelk sends its rasping ing along on the rocks as it usutongue (which is four times ally does. In fact, you cannot the length of its body) down to move at all. What a predicado the dirty work of chopping ment. Well, nothing else to do up the animal and pulling up but wait around and lick up the the bits for a meal. remaining algae within reach, Perhaps more spectacular you tell yourself. Night falls, and is the case of the dolphin. With your shell still refuses to budge. a single flip of its tail, it can Little do you know, you have send an unsuspecting fish flyexactly one more day to live. NICK BAYARD ing upwards of 30 feet in the You pass the next day trying BENEATH THE BANYAN TREE air. To compound the confuto lick up hard-to-reach algae, sion experienced by a fish spibut by this time it is running out raling upward to the heavens, and you are quite hungry. You make a few lurches and flails in an attempt the dolphin has counted on it smacking to free yourself from whatever foe has pos- back onto the surface of the ocean, where it sessed you, but decide not to waste pre- will serve as a thoroughly shocked (and cious energy. Soon, the dreadful realization tasty) treat. While we’re on the topic of disorientacreeps over you that your back is burning. A hole has been bored into your shell, and tion, I should tell you about glow worms. with no warning, you are chopped to bits Existing as merely the larval stage of the and sucked up through the hole. The two-winged insect Arachnocampa luminosa, these creatures are the only of which I know that catch their prey by mimicking stars. A chemical reaction that involves the Nick Bayard ’04 would try to fly for the waste product luciferin, the enzyme stars.

All I have is an offering of knowledge that you won’t find in too many other places. Revelations that uncover the hidden workings of life are oftentimes more valuable than what some crank thinks about affirmative action. luciferase, the energy molecule ATP and oxygen results in the emission of bioluminescence, a calm, green glow which sends insects whirling about in a daze. This daze would mean nothing if it were not for the many sticky feeding lines the glow worms send down from the trees throughout the night. When an insect flies into one of these strands, it is most often pulled up by the glow worm and feasted upon. Possibly even more fascinating is the snout of the sawfish. The sawfish is a tropical ray that grows to lengths of over six feet and is found in estuaries and freshwater rivers. Its toothy “rostrum” (or snout) can grow up to two feet long. This snout is truly an incredible snout, for it houses electroreceptors that can sense the heartbeats of buried prey such as prawns and crabs. After sensing these prey, the rostrum’s tooth edge can be used as a rake to pick them up. The rostrum of the sawfish is also a motion-sensitive slashing device, able to detect a fastmoving fish and quickly disable it.

Also of interest in this column is the phascogale, the small marsupial that never needs to drink, because it acquires all of its liquids from its prey (mostly mice, insects and spiders), and the crocodile, which can go for twelve months without a meal. You may be wondering what makes this an opinions column. What bold statement am I making with this precious half-page? My statement is that today I don’t really have one. All I have is an offering of knowledge that you won’t find in too many other places. Revelations that uncover the hidden workings of life are oftentimes more valuable than what some crank thinks about affirmative action. Finally, when all of our worldly troubles have passed, when the nuclear age has come and gone, when the wars and pestilence of humankind have long since ended, what will remain? I believe it will be the curious, the strange and the wonderfullyadapted. Between you and me, I want to know what it will be like.

Appreciating the diversity that is Brown All things considered “RACE RELATIONS IN AMERICA: es, they saw me hanging with a different Discuss.” This exam assignment in my crowd and started yelling at me: ‘Why UC 11: Hard Choices class last year aren’t you sitting with us at the Ratty? immediately baffled me from my first Have you gone white on us? Are you a Twinkie?” glance. It was so broad that I “Personally, I have found found myself staring at the race relations here to be nebblack and white text on the ulous,” said an Africanpage, wondering where to American male senior. “You go, perplexed and confused. do see people from different I think that my reaction is backgrounds interacting, a typical one for Americans largely thanks to a diverse today. “So much progress, so student body that tolerates far to go” seems to be the differences. Still, there is an mainstream sentiment. But inclination for all ethnic maybe one reason for our groups — minority groups lack of progress in certain SCHUYLER VON especially — to interact with areas has little to do with OEYEN persons of like backgrounds.” social policies and everyCOLUMNIST The diversity at Brown is a thing to do with celebrating major strength that affords diversity and reaching out to people of different backgrounds, even students of different backgrounds the opportunity to relate to people with when it makes us feel uncomfortable. The status of race relations at Brown whom they may have never had the is difficult to accurately describe. There chance to interact while growing up. are a number of different forces pushing Still, some larger forces seem to hinder it in different directions, and therefore, prospective social and intellectual they are in a kind of flux and difficult to exchange between students of different generalize. I sat down with a few stu- backgrounds at certain times. Some may dents of varying ethnicities and racial attribute this to racist or fearful tendenbackgrounds earlier this year to try to cies, but in my experience that assertion come up with a coherent understanding is probably less true in general. What might make “correcting” the of this difficult subject and discern where we are both at Brown and beyond missed exchanges between students of different backgrounds difficult is anothit in a larger societal context. “I think there is a lot of pressure on er positive strong cultural force. Persons minority students to relate to others of of like cultures have every right to, and the same background,” stated one should, celebrate their culture. Cultural female Asian-American junior. “I recall heritage weeks and student organizaattending TWTP and meeting all of these tions like the South Asian Students’ Asian friends. After a few weeks of class- Association all attempt to bring students of like backgrounds together. Some of these events are open to the entire community or aimed to educate the general Schuyler von Oeyen ’05 remains an optipublic, while others are closed to stumist on racial and ethnic relations for the dents within that community. Such a sitfuture, despite citing a number of chaluation inhibits members outside from lenges

As students at a community as diverse as Brown, we have a priceless commodity: the student body. We pay over $36,000 a year in tuition for it, and yet many students don’t take the opportunity to get their money’s worth. participating in them and engaging in cross-cultural understanding. Fixing this problem by making all events open to the entire community may appear to be the logical remedy at first glance, but in reality this will stifle the cohesive nature of many of these groups. Therefore, a trade-off is involved. As a member of the Brown Christian Fellowship, I can say that when planning events this exact paradox confronts us and challenges us. Following our mission statement, we want to craft events that foster a close-knit Christian community. On the other hand, we want students of all backgrounds to feel welcome with us, and by admitting nonChristians to events we are necessarily detracting from the other environment. Necessarily, some of our events our aimed internally and others externally. On the subject of race relations, I remain an optimist. The cultural paradox I have mentioned above presents a significant challenge to diverse racial and ethnic interactions and will not go away. But I think Brown students in general are accepting and welcoming enough that whenever possible, they will be willing to engage in cross-cultural dialogue with other students of different backgrounds. I know some of my peers already are doing little things to confront this issue, like a white student sitting

down at a lunch table consisting of all black students. If we can be conscious of each others’ differences instead of denying them, and if we have the will to engage in cross-cultural dialogue, we can learn a lot from each other. As students at a community as diverse as Brown, we have a priceless commodity: the student body. We pay over $36,000 a year in tuition for it, and yet many students don’t take the opportunity to get their money’s worth. These students resist the challenge to reach out to certain segments of it and isolate themselves. Most of these students are not racist — they just don’t feel the inclination to reach out and they feel comfortable in their status quo. When I listened to President Simmons’ speech at the Opening Convocation in September 2001, I remember her saying that “if you came to Brown to feel comfortable, the exit is over there.” Two years later, I think I have a better understanding of what she was talking about. Reaching out to students who are different from you isn’t easy, and there is no punishment for failing to make an effort. I challenge all my peers, myself included, to take the courage to reach out to a part of the University in which they don’t feel comfortable. Maybe then we can better appreciate the diversity that is Brown.

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

SPORTS FRIDAY APRIL 18, 2003 · PAGE 12

Uno, dos, tres strikes yer out FOR THE MONTREAL EXPOS, THE TERM “homestand” will take on a new look and a new language this year. For 22 games, the revered Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico, will serve as the Expos’ vacation home to generate income and test the waters for a future Latin American franBRETT ZARDA chise. BORN ‘N’ RAISED With relocation plans progressing, the baseballowned lame-duck franchise must serve one year in purgatory before landing permanently at a new home (Portland? D.C.?). While Atlanta executive Charles Vaughn still dreams of purchasing the club and remaining on the island, the more likely scenario involves visits from the President of the United States or Bill Gates. With 28 percent of major leagues’ rosters filled by Latin-born players, this transition is overdue. While hockey in Canada may make sense (it’s the least we can do since they invented it), baseball and basketball (see Raptor, Grizzly mania) don’t belong to people who say “eh” and “aboot.” Seven games into the project, signs are encouraging. At an average of 79 percent capacity, Los Expos are averaging 5,000 more fans per game than they did last year in Montreal. And, with average ticket prices doubling those from our friends to the north, Selig and his fellow owners might consider canceling any flights back to Canada due to “safety concerns.” Traditionalists may bicker that the island will contaminate the game’s purity. But in the end, baseball in Puerto Rico isn’t that different. They still play nine innings, and the Mets still suck. Frank Robinson can still coach, and the 5-4-3 double play still looks like a choreographed ballet. So, as a journalist, I feel it is my obligation to squash the misconceptions and to quell the rumors. Ignorant mainlanders must understand that beisbol is baseball, just with a few minor additions and subtractions. Without further ado, here are 22 (one for each home game) things you won’t see or hear at a game in San Juan:

W. track takes first at eightteam meet BY JOANNA GROSSMAN

dspics

The men’s crew team will take on Northeastern this Saturday in its final home race

W. crew topples Rutgers; men fall to Harvard Women’s Women’s crew defeated the Rutgers Scarlet Knights in all five races on the Raritan River Saturday, April 12. The Bears are ranked seventh in the U.S. Rowing/Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association NCAA Division I Women’s Varsity Eights Poll. Brown will compete at Boston University Saturday, April 19. Men’s Brown Men’s crew ran into a Harvard buzzsaw on the foggy, rainy Charles River Saturday morning, losing all four races to the Crimson by open-water margins. Harvard’s varsity, ranked third in the latest national collegiate poll, made a runaway of its race with the previously unbeaten Bears, winning by 16 seconds. The other races were more competitive from the Brunonian standpoint, but in every race the Harvard teams — rowing higher and more efficiently than Brown — asserted themselves early and put the hammer down in the last 500 meters.

The best showing for Brown came from the second varsity, which battled its Harvard opponent on almost even terms through the body of the race and stayed in contact for 1,600 meters. “They rowed a really tenacious, stubborn race and seemed to enjoy it,” said Head Coach Paul Cooke. Cooke said the plan for Brown’s early-season races was “to keep the rating low, with the idea that we’re going to get better regardless of what happens now. The focus all along is on the Eastern Sprints (May 11 at Worcester, Mass.) and the IRA (May 29-31 at Camden, N.J.). “Although our guys were disappointed with today, I think the spirit is pretty strong and they’re determined to get better,” Cooke said. “We’re focused on bringing the crews along, and I think that will happen.” The men will row their final home regatta of the season next Saturday morning on the Seekonk River against Northeastern, beginning at 10 a.m. —with reports from Brown Sports Information

Statue of Sammy Sosa — he’s Dominican. That wouldn’t make much sense. John Rocker — at least if he knows what’s good for him. “O Canada” — nobody really liked that damn song anyway.

Winning two of three at home, women’s lax improves record BY JINHEE CHUNG

Team bus — Puerto Rico, for you nongeography majors, is an island. “Who Let the Dogs Out” — thankfully, the Baha Men sing it, not the Puerto Men. Baseball in October — the team has a shot, though it’s only happened once in its history, but Mr. Selig will send the team see ZARDA, page 9

SCHEDULE Friday Women’s tennis vs. Columbia. Pizzitola, 2 p.m. Baseball at Dartmouth (DH). Softball at Dartmouth. Women’s track at UConn Invitational. Men’s tennis at Columbia.

Saturday Women’s tennis vs. Cornell. Pizzitola, 12 p.m.

Men’s crew vs. Northeastern. 10:15 a.m. Baseball at Dartmouth (DH). Softball at Harvard. Men’s track at UConn Invitational. Women’s crew at Boston University. Men’s tennis at Cornell. Women’s lacrosse at Cornell. Men’s lacrosse at Dartmouth.

The women’s lacrosse team had a busy week as it battled Holy Cross, Columbia and Boston University at home after a long series of road contests. The Bears played well, dominating both the Holy Cross and Columbia games and dropping a very close game to Boston University in the last few minutes of the second half. The team’s record has improved to 2-1 in the Ivy League and 3-6 overall. Despite poor weather conditions for the games against Holy Cross and Columbia, the women stepped up to the challenge and performed well, defeating Holy Cross 14-9 and Columbia 13-6. “We definitely embraced coming back to Brown,” said Head Coach Theresa Ingram. “Finally playing at home is like a new starting point, because we’ve been on the road quite a bit.”

The Bears’ third and last game of the week against BU on Sunday was much more exciting and closer on the scoreboard. The teams were well matched and both played extremely well, exchanging goals throughout the entire game. BU scored the first goal of the game, but Brown quickly answered with four of its own, two each by Christine Anneberg ’04 and Laurel Pierpont ’04. But, before the end of the first period, BU scored three more to tie the game 4-4 at halftime. BU again started the scoring in the second half, netting two more goals in the first five minutes of the period. Debbie Mendel ’04 and Anneberg scored a goal apiece to tie it up 6-6, and Sarah Passano ’05 scored on a pass from Ashley Holden ’06 to give Brown the lead late in the second half. Though BU answered back to once again tie the see W. LAX, page 4

The women’s track and field team took the inclement weather in stride last Saturday to win its first competition since Spring Break. The Bears competed against seven other teams and beat their closest competition by 25 points. Jumpers were all moved indoors due to the possibly dangerous conditions outside. “From the outset we went after a good team score, and we did just that,” said Head Coach Robert Johnson. “The coaches put their athletes in the right events to maximize scoring.” The team brought in a balanced performance with scorers from all areas of the team. There were three individual firstplace finishes, as well as a first place in the 4x400-meter relay. Keely Tharp ’03 finished first in the 400meter intermediate hurdles, finishing more than a second in front of the next competitor with a time of 1:01.93. “She didn’t get a personal record in the hurdles, but she competed very well, which was what we were looking for,” Johnson said. Brittany Grovey ’06, who jumped 39’7” in the triple jump, captured another top spot. Finishing first in the pole vault with a jump of 12’00”, Lauren Contursi ’03 also performed well. Two Bears tied for third place in the high jump — Katie Rowinski ’04 and Ashley Wall ’05 both cleared 5’4.25”. The sprinters also pulled out some good performances, with Julia Stevenson ’04 running to second place in the 400-meter dash with a time of 56.29. Close behind her in fourth place was Kelly Powell ’06 with a time of 58.61. Jaylon White ’05 was fourth in the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.78. In the 100-meter high hurdles, Fara Kitton ’05 hurdled to second place with a time of 14.76. “This weekend had some really good results, especially considering the weather,” Stevenson said. “Our season is looking very positive, and I believe that great things can be expected of us.” The distance women also pulled in some serious points. Katherine Kosub ’04 and Caci Cambruzzi ’04 finished in third and sixth places, respectively, with times of 2:15.3 and 2:17.3 in the 800-meeter run. In the 1,500-meter run Kate Cushing ’04 ran to a personal record to capture fourth place with a time of 4:31.37. In the 5,000-meter run, Bruno women Nora Sullivan ’06 and Meredith Crocker ’05 captured second and third places, finishing with times of 17:05.14 and 17:28.75, respectively. Despite the nasty conditions, Almea Matanock ’03 finished in fifth place in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 12:10.62. Dealing with wet circles and muddy implements did not hinder the throwers during their competition. Jill Lynch ’05 finished second in the shot put with a heave of 44’6.75” and fourth in the discus throw with 133’10”. Also scoring was Jen Donahue ’05, who captured sixth in the hammer throw with 142’11”. The last events of the day were the relays at a time when the team was finally able to compete in the warm sunshine. The team placed first in the 4x400-meter relay team with a time of 3:49.80 and second in the 4x100-meter relay with a time of 48.85. “With only two meets left until Heps, we’re going to need to really maintain our focus in order to meet our goals,” said Captain Rachelle Seibolt ’04. The team will next be competing at the University of Connecticut this weekend. Sports staff writer Joanna Grossman ’03 covers the women’s track team. She can be reached at