THE BROWN DAILY HERALD T UESDAY, F EBR UAR Y 6, 2007
Volume CXLII, No. 10
Since 1866, Daily Since 1891
RUF back on campus
Faculty to vote today on new Orientation schedule
BY SARA MOLINARO METRO EDITOR
Reformed University Fellowship, a Christian student group that was suspended in September, has been re-affiliated with the Office of the Chaplains and Religious Life, allowing it to resume its on-campus activities. RUF, whose parent organization is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church of America, was suspended because of “non-compliance with University policy and procedure,” according to a Sept. 13 e-mail sent by University Chaplain Janet Cooper Nelson to RUF President Ethan Wingfield ’07. The email also stated that the chaplains’ continued on page 6
BY ROSS FRAZIER NEWS EDITOR
BY ABE LUBETKIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Hundreds of Brown undergraduates received e-mails from military recruiters last month because the University released student contact information to the Department of Defense. A 1996 federal statute requires the Office of the Registrar — and similar offices at other universities — to provide military recruiters with student directory information, even though the University’s nondiscrimination policy bans discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. The mili-
When Isaac Haxton ’08 was a freshman, he spent winter break outside his native Syracuse, N.Y., playing poker at the Turning Stone Resort and Casino. He came away with a respectable $1,500. This year, Haxton spent part of the winter playing poker in the Bahamas, and this time, he finished $861,789 richer.
FEATURE
3 METRO
Facilities Management chases mice in dorms
Courtesy of Isaac Haxton Poker player Isaac Haxton ‘08
winnings into an online poker account and began playing online for about 20 hours a week, finishing the semester with a few thousand dollars in winnings. “I didn’t sleep very much that semester,” he said. “But I got all A’s.” Following his success, Haxton decided to spend the following summer living at home, playing online poker full-time. “My parents were pretty okay with it, “Haxton said. “It took some effort to convince my mom that it was real money, but once the first check showed up at the house, she believed me.” That summer, Haxton won $40,000. The next summer, he stayed in Providence and did the same thing, winning $100,000. Haxton said he has read about 30 books on poker. “I read everything I could find about the game,” he recalled. In addition to reading, he played the game a great deal and discussed poker strategy on an Internet forum. “The forum is just filled with
BY NICOLE DUNGCA STAFF WRITER
Facilities Management is playing a game of cat and mouse — with real mice. This semester, there have been mice sightings in Goddard House and Graduate Center, but the problem is not serious, said Donna Butler, the director of custodial services. The staff is promptly responding to calls about mice in dormitories, she said, but despite their efforts, the rodents still manage to make their way into students’ rooms. Monthly baiting in trash rooms and kitchens catch some mice, and a monthly contract with New England Pest Control brings an extermination team to campus on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, said Tony Batista, operations and services manager for Facilities Management. He said prevention efforts are under control, and on days that the exterminators are not on campus, he usually looks into the call within hours. “When Tony is made aware
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REEFER IN RHODE ISLAND A law permitting the use of medical marijuana is up for renewal in the state’s General Assembly Assembly, prompting a look at its pros and cons
www.browndailyherald.com
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Military e-mails conflict with U.’s nondiscrimination policy
BY HANNAH LEVINTOVA STAFF WRITER
INSIDE:
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Eunice Hong / Herald A military recruiting station on Weybosset Street in downtown Providence.
Haxton ’08 amasses $1.3 million playing poker
A member of Alpha Epsilon Pi, Haxton won the whopping sum when he placed second in the Poker Stars Caribbean Adventure at the Atlantis Resort and Casino in early January. He said his lifetime poker earnings now amount to approximately $1.3 million. This tournament, which drew 937 players, was one of a series facilitated by the World Poker Tour for a TV show that airs on the Travel Channel. “Filming for that was a surreal experience,” Haxton said. “I found out I had made the final table, and I get a stack of forms. … The first thing I see is ‘10:00 a.m.: play starts, 8:30 a.m.: makeup call’ … what?!” Haxton’s success in the world of poker has been growing steadily over the past four years, ever since he began playing when he was 17, during his senior year of high school. At first, he played only socially with friends but soon began frequenting Turning Stone, which is a 20-minute drive from his house. When he returned home for winter break after his first semester at Brown, Haxton played poker at Turning Stone almost every day. At the start of spring semester, he deposited his $1,500
tary’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy prohibits openly homosexual men and women from serving. The federal law, known as the Solomon Amendment, permits the U.S. Secretary of Defense to deny federal funds — including research grants — to any high school or college that does not disclose students’ e-mail addresses, permanent and on-campus mailing addresses, home and campus phone numbers and college concentrations or majors. “We have to comply with the federal law, even if it’s in conflict
The faculty will vote at a meeting this afternoon on whether to shorten next year’s Orientation schedule by three days, as recommended last month by a review committee and University officials. If approved, Orientation would begin on Sunday, Sept. 2, and classes would begin Wednesday, Sept. 5. First-years would move in over Labor Day weekend, according to the plan. If the faculty rejects the proposal, Orientation would begin Wednesday, Aug. 29, and classes would begin Tuesday, Sept. 4, a schedule similar to previous years. The University’s academic calendar is part of the faculty rules and regulations, so any change requires a vote of approval by the faculty. The proposal to change Orientation from six days to three is a result of recommendations from a review committee formed last October by Dean of the College Katherine Bergeron and Interim Vice President for Campus Life and Student Services Russell Carey ’91 MA’06. Carey wrote in an e-mail to The Herald that he couldn’t predict how the faculty would vote on the proposal, but he added that “the feedback we have received so far from faculty on the review committee, department chairs and the Faculty Executive Committee has been favorable.”
5 CAMPUS NEWS
THE SILENT TREATMENT Renowned Buddhist meditation teacher Shinzen Young led 60 participants through the basics of mindfulness meditation
Christopher Bennett / Herald
The Gate, right, and Urban Environmental Lab are among the campus buildings with traps for rodents.
of a mouse issue, he addresses it immediately,” Butler said. But mice are still scurrying into students’ lives. Last semester, Jeremy Stricsek ’09 discovered a mouse in his room in Goddard. Facilities Management responded by laying down traps and putting steel wool in holes in the room, since mice can get into rooms through holes as small as a dime, according to Stricsek.
11 OPINIONS
195 Angell Street, Providence, Rhode Island
MARCH ON PROVIDENCE Kailin Clarke ’08 encourages you to join him at the Rhode Island State House tomorrow to demand publically funded elections
Stricsek didn’t notice any mice getting caught in the traps, but he assumed it wouldn’t be too much of a problem when he got back from winter break. But when he returned, he found large amounts of mouse droppings on shelves, the ground and other surfaces. He quickly requested tempocontinued on page 8
12 SPORTS
VAUL VAULTING TO VICTORY The women’ women’s track and field team performed strongly at the Geigengack Invitational — especially Ariel Wright ‘10 and the pole vaulters
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