Friday, March 16, 2007

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD RCH 16 1 6 , 2007 20 07

Volume CXLII, No. 36

Since 1866, Daily Since 1891

Comptroller General calls for tough U.S. fiscal reform the leadership on fiscal issues has not been up to the challenge in recent years. The national debt is nearly $9 trillion, he said, and during fiscal year 2006 the government ran a deficit of between $250 billion and $450 billion, depending on how the number is measured. “Those are big numbers,” he said. “If you look at GAO’s long term budget simulations, you’ll find that if we don’t make some tough choices soon,” tax burdens in 2040 may be double, he said. “That’s the prime of your earning careers,” Walker said. The GAO is an independent agency in the legislative branch that investigates whether taxpayer dollars are spent efficiently and reports its findings to Congress. According to the GAO’s Web site,

BY OLIVER BOWERS SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Courtesy of Matthew Silva Brown students helped occupy the Welcome Arnold shelter in Cranston Thursday, protesting its closure by the state.

U. officials prepare for Starf*ck, St. Patrick’s Day BY SCOTT LOWENSTEIN SENIOR STAFF WRITER

The combination of Queer Alliance’s Starf*ck party and St. Patrick’s Day on Saturday has prompted University officials to prepare for the potential of a large number of students requiring emergency medical care. Margaret Klawunn, associate vice president for campus life and dean of student life, called Starf*ck and St. Patrick’s Day “two events in which students are likely to drink irresponsibly.” Much of the preparation by student life officials has involved dealing with alcohol overconsumption. In 2005, the last year Starf*ck was held, eight students at the party needed ambulance transportation, Klawunn said, adding that the number of students needing medical attention is expected to be about the same this year. Klawunn said Starf*ck has “never been as much of a problem as Sex Power God,” the QA party traditionally held during the fall semester. In November 2005, Sex Power God resulted in 24 students requiring emergency medical care and attracted national attention when it was featured on Fox News’ “The O’Reilly Factor.” QA was placed on probation after the party, and Starf*ck was not held the following semester. QA held Sex Power God last fall, and 14 students at that event required medical care. The University is renting a second ambulance to be dedicated to students needing medical attention at Starf*ck, Klawunn said. The University’s regular ambulance will be available to serve the rest of campus. continued on page 4

INSIDE:

Students, homeless occupy Welcome Arnold to prevent closure BY JESSICA ROTONDI STAFF WRITER

www.browndailyherald.com

continued on page 8

METRO

CRANSTON — In a vigil that began early Thursday morning, Brown students, homeless individuals and their advocates occupied the Welcome Arnold shelter in Cranston to protest its closure by the state. The shelter was due to close at 7 a.m. Thursday in preparation for its demolition, making way for new state police barracks. The sit-in — which involved 10 Brown students and several advocates for the home-

less — was organized by People to End Homelessness and had not ended as of Thursday evening. The first students arrived at the shelter at 5:15 a.m., 15 minutes before the daily wake-up call at Welcome Arnold, said Geoff Gusoff ’07.5, a member of Housing Opportunities for People Everywhere. At about 6:30 a.m. a full bus of Welcome Arcontinued on page 4

Rahul Keerthi / Herald

David Walker, comptroller general of the United States, spoke Thursday on the need for federal fiscal discipline.

Tunnels, passages lure urban explorers underground BY CHAZ FIRESTONE SENIOR STAFF WRITER

In a Keeney Quadrangle hallway, Whit Schroder ’09 lifts a carpeted hatch and stares down into the dark hole at his feet. He covers his hair with a faded green bandana and turns to friend Ben Struhl ’09. “See you in a minute,” Schroder

says. Struhl watches as his friend carefully descends a fixed ladder into the gap in the floor, vanishing from sight. He closes the hatch, concealing the entrance from public view. Inside, Schroder’s feet hit a soft, muddy surface. He stares down a long, narrow corridor lined with thick pipes that radiate heat

throughout the earthen passage. Wiping a few drops of sweat from his temple, he gains his bearings and strides down the stuffy hallway.

FEATURE This is not Schroder’s first time in the famed Keeney caves. Schroder and Struhl are two

of a small but passionate group of students who engage in urban exploration on campus. Along with a few close friends, the pair attempts — and frequently succeeds — at gaining access to tunnels, attics and roofs on campus and around Providence. “Every day we go by all these continued on page 4

Inside Rhode Island’s crisis pregnancy centers BY ALLISSA WICKHAM STAFF WRITER

Allissa Wickham / Herald

The Mother of Life building on Atwells Avenue hosts Problem Pregnancy, the city’s only crisis pregnancy center.

“MERRILY” ROLLS BACK The Mainstage production “Merrily We Roll Along,” a story of three friends that ARTS & CULTURE travels backward through time, closes this weekend

3

The nation’s top accountant warned a half-full Salomon 001 Thursday against fiscal irresponsibility by the government or its citizens and called on the next president to make sober fiscal policy a top issue. “If the next president does not make fiscal responsibility one of the top three priorities, we have a serious problem … and we can’t afford to have them as our president,” said David Walker, the comptroller general of the United States. Walker, who is the head of the General Accountability Office, spent much of his speech outlining the dire state of the national deficit and called for dramatic bipartisan efforts to control government spending and increase the savings rate among citizens, noting that

5 CAMPUS NEWS

The phones at Problem Pregnancy rarely fall silent for more than a few minutes at a time. The director of Providence’s only crisis pregnancy center, David O’Connell, sat in the facility’s lending library while he discussed its work, surrounded by pamphlets with titles such as “The Decision of Life” and “Contraception and Abortion: The Deadly Connection.” If no one had answered the phone by its third ring, O’Connell jumped up, briefly excusing himself to take the call. Operating inside the Mother of ADDRESSING EMS University officials sought to alleviate concerns about the departure of Brown EMS’s manager and a supervisor by speaking to student EMTs

Life building on Atwells Avenue, Problem Pregnancy is an independent Catholic organization that seeks to provide alternatives to abortion for women with unplanned pregnancies.

METRO FEATURE “Last year we saw 572 women by appointment,” O’Connell said. “So there’s a great need for what we do.” Crisis pregnancy centers, or CPCs, now outnumber abortion clinics in the United States, according to an article published in Time magazine last month. The centers support women during pregnancy,

11 OPINIONS

195 Angell Street, Providence, Rhode Island

POINT-COUNTERPOINT Michael Ramos-Lynch ’09 and Jesse Adams ’07 face off on a controversial topic in college admission: affirmative action

often providing pre- and post-abortion counseling. But critics say they use emotional pressure and misinformation to steer women away from abortion. Care Net, one of country’s largest CPC organizations, is a Christian group with a facility in Cranston. In a May 2006 report, Care Net’s headquarters estimated there were a total of 2,300 crisis pregnancy centers nationwide, and the Time article reported that Florida, Texas, California and Ohio had well over 100 centers each. “Some states have multiple Care Net centers,” said Janet Evanco, dicontinued on page 6

12 SPORTS

WATER POLO TAKES HARVARD The women’s water polo team took down Harvard this weekend, wearing them down throughout the game to come out with a 8-3 victory

News tips: herald@browndailyherald.com

TODAY THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

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WE A T H E R

FRIDAY, MARCH 16, 2007 FRIDAY

Chocolate Covered Cotton | Mark Brinker

TODAY

TOMORROW

snow / wind 32 / 30

rain / wind 37 / 20

MENU SHARPE REFECTORY

VERNEY-WOOLLEY DINING HALL

LUNCH — V Vegan Lentils with Roasted Vegetables, Lobster Bisque, Roasted Eggplant & Tomato Sandwich, Chicken Fingers, Butterscotch Layer Cake, Chocolate Chip Cookies

LUNCH — Vegetarian Caribbean Black Bean Soup, Manhattan Clam Chowder, Chicken Fingers with Sticky Rice, Vegan Vermicelli with Garlic Sauce, Sugar Snap Peas, Chocolate Chip Cookies

DINNER — Shoepeg Corn Casserole, Garlic and Butter Infused Rice, Zucchini and Summer Squash, Lima Beans, Shrimp creole, Cherry Pie

DINNER — Vegetarian Caribbean Black Bean Soup, Manhattan Clam Chowder, Italian Meatloaf, Corn Souffle, Garlic Butter Infused Rice, Cherry Pie

WBF | Matt Vascellaro

SUDOKU Fill in the grid so that every row, every column and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 through 9. Hi, How Are You | Alison Naturale

Deo | Daniel Perez �������������������

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Rapper who is part owner of the New Jersey Nets 5 Work or workers 10 After-dinner drink 14 __ d’amore 15 Name on an old bomber 16 Smack follower 17 Quechua is among its official langs. 18 Cornered 19 With aplomb 20 Best-ever fielding equipment? 23 Touring player 25 Got behind something, maybe 26 Like Napoleon in 1814 27 Roman army unit 29 Drop 31 “The Little Mermaid” prince 32 Wizard’s insulin source? 37 Was on the waves? 39 “Evil Woman” gp. 40 Altar approaches 42 Happy pants? 45 Doctor’s order 46 Binding force 47 Like many keyboards 49 “And how!” 53 __-nosed 54 NaOH, familiarly 55 Measure of passion? 59 Singer Cantrell 60 __ vitam: during life 61 It may precede a tummy tuck 64 It could mean trouble 65 Bo who knows modeling 66 Ample, literarily 67 Galley inserts 68 Bendy letters 69 Amorous look DOWN 1 An ex of Marilyn 2 “Lost” network

3 “Do it, sister!” 4 Fanaticism 5 Checking out 6 Got in the game 7 1967 Peter Sellers film, with “The” 8 Lemony Snicket’s evil count 9 Dustin’s “Rain Man” role 10 Laughing sounds 11 Round trip? 12 Chief Powhatan’s son-in-law 13 Trifled 21 “What have we here?!” 22 Whitehorse is its capital 23 Court event 24 Get ready to sail again 28 Brand that may be slurped 29 Facetiously, rabbit food 30 Horn or zoom follower 33 Glance that might concern you

34 Food 35 Superimposed upon 36 Hardly bland 38 Java at midnight, maybe 41 Lid issue 43 Reckless outing 44 Is scrubbed clean, in some cases 48 Chi. superstation

49 Home that’s domed 50 Alpaca’s cousin 51 Maverick 52 Aquatic birds 53 Bisque, e.g. 56 Hydrocarbon suffixes 57 Game divs. 58 “The People’s Choice” dog 62 Party person 63 Attribute

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The Brown Daily Herald (USPS 067.740) is an independent newspaper serving the Brown demic year, excluding vacations, once during Commencement, once during Orientation and P.O. Box 2538, Providence, RI 02906. Periodicals postage paid at Providence, R.I. Offices are located at 195 Angell St., Providence, R.I. E-mail herald@browndailyherald.com. World Wide Web: http://www.browndailyherald.com. Subscription prices: $319 one year daily, $139 one semester daily. Copyright 2007 by The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. All rights reserved.

ARTS & CULTURE FRIDAY, MARCH 16, 2007 FRIDAY

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

‘Merrily’ rolls backward through time BY LINDSEY MEYERS ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR

In one of the most entertaining Brown productions of the season, director Curt Columbus and conductor Paul Phillips, senior lecturer in music, ably brought Stephen Sondheim’s Broadway musical “Merrily We Roll Along” to a crowded Leeds Theater March 9. In a surprising twist, the musical meta-critically describes itself by stating, “It’s fun, it’s opulent, it’s Broadway.” These words issue forth from Gussie Carnegie (Aja Nisenson ’07), a Broadway siren, well-schooled in the alluring, but ultimately empty materialism of success. With the wink and smirk of this deconstructive self-criticism, Sondheim derides his “musical” as a frivolous and materialistic devaluation of art. Yet Sondheim criticizes himself too harshly. Though “Merrily” is certainly a “fun” and diverting Broadway musical, it also importantly speaks to the tension between art and its commoditization. Indeed, Sondheim critiques cultural forces that corrupt artists as well as the misguided choices artists make to “merrily roll along” in the empty pursuit of commercial success. For the characters of Sondheim’s musical, the progression of commercial success involves a regression from the optimism and hope of youth to the cynicism and despair of maturity. The play begins in 1976 at a Hollywood party where the audience first learns of the “old friendship” between Frank Shepard (Federico Rodriguez ’09), Charley Kringas (Jed Resnick ’07) and Mary Flynn

REVIEW (Monica Willey ’07). The close friends were once powerfully linked by the mantra “Here’s to us, who’s like us, damn few.” However, as they have aged, this mantra becomes a poignant reminder of their failed expectations and friendship. Frank, who showed great promise as a composer in his youth, is a shallow Hollywood producer. Mary, the writer who was the first of the trio to achieve success, is a stumbling alcoholic living in the past. Only Charley, the intellectual with lofty ideals about art, is a thriving and important playwright. To understand the present circumstances of each character, the play rolls backwards in time from 1976 to 1957 and shifts from Los Angeles to New York. The reverse progression of time illustrates the choices each character makes that define their lives and ultimately end their friendship. Frank cheats on his wife Beth (Jaime Rosenstein ’10) with Nisenson’s Gussie, a rising young starlet in the materialistic pursuit of commercial artistic success. The frustration of Mary’s unrequited love for Frank and her obsessive behavior — too much drink, too much food and too much Frank — lead the once promising writer to become a theater critic, a commentary on the turn from artistic creation to criticism. Though Charley is ostensibly a success, he chooses a life of intellectual pride that ultimately lacks compassion for the weaknesses of his friends. The leads — Rodriguez, Resnick and Willey — made the difficult

Courtesy of Brian Gaston Federico Rodriguez ’09, Jed Resnick ’07 and Monica Willey ’07 (left to right) star in Stephen Sondheim’s “Merrily We Roll Along,” directed by Curt Columbus and conducted by Paul Phillips.

task of singing and acting look easy in a medium where it is often difficult to strike the right balance between strong singing and convincing acting. Their actions moved fluidly, and their voices in song and speech were emotively effective. Particularly impressive in corresponding meaning and tempo was the pairing of the pieces “Franklin Shepard, Inc.” and “Old Friends.” With lyrics that respectively express the fast and fractured and the smooth and whole, these songs powerfully evoked the feelings that lead to the dissolution and foundation of friendship. The presto and precision of Resnick’s rendering of “Franklin Shepard, Inc.” conveyed Charley’s frustration with Frank’s shallow materialism. The voices of Resnick, Willey and Rodriguez each resonated with natural mellifluousness in their joint rendition of “Old Friends.” Most astonishing in vocal range was Rosenstein’s Beth, who shined

Joe and the Pony Express deliver more than mail BY ALLISSA WICKHAM STAFF WRITER

During a single, paint-splattered evening, an enthusiastic group of musicians, designers and volunteers sacrificed the luxury of sleep and built the Technicolor stage now residing in a corner of Production Workshop’s downstairs space. The platform had to be large enough to accommodate the size and spunk of Joe and the Pony Express, the 10-person band that will be bringing the noise to PW March 16 to March 18. The concert series, titled “Joe “ and the Pony Express Sing Songs of Love, Joy & Desperation,” is debuting tonight and will feature original music written by Joe Posner ’07, co-chair of the Brown Concert Agency. Various opening acts will perform on different nights, with Brown-based bands Get Him Eat Him, Miss Fairchild and the Lame Drivers playing Friday, Saturday and Sunday, respectively. PW is hosting the concert series as part of its annual “Week in the Space” project. Posner and his crew only had five days and a limited budget to transform PW’s black box theater into a music venue. “We wanted to put on an event for the school,” said Posner, who

created Joe and the Pony Express for his senior capstone project. A music concentrator, Posner wrote most of the band’s songs during a year-long independent study in recording, composition and performance. Describing his style as a mix of rock, soul and indie music, Posner lists Elvis Costello, Phil Spector and Joni Mitchell as some of his influences. “I really love how music expresses joy and is constantly an experiment,” he said, adding that he felt college was the only time he could take a stab at writing his own songs. Many of the students playing in Joe and the Pony Express are longtime members of the Brown music scene. Jeff Wood ’07 plays drums to Posner’s bass in Get Him Eat Him, and Jason Sigal ’07 is the general manager of Brown Student Radio. Hannah Lewis ’07, the event’s co-producer and keyboardist, recently gave a classical voice recital. Lewis, Posner and Wood have not played together at PW since their freshman year, when they performed for Musical Forum’s 2004 production of “Hedwig and the Angry Inch.” Since then Posner said he felt there hasn’t been as much “loud, fun music” in the downstairs space.

“We want to get PW to rock out a little bit,” said Lewis, who is also one of PW’s board members. The musicians hope to create a different atmosphere for every show. According to Lewis, Saturday is the night to “bring your dancing shoes,” while Sunday afternoon’s “Brunch Pot-Luck” show will be more laid-back. Audience members are encouraged to bring breakfast and lunch items to munch on during Sunday’s performance. The event’s set designers didn’t let its small budget prevent them from creating what Posner calls a “very fun, child-like” space. While walking along Wickenden Street Monday night, Andrew Evans ’09 and Adria Katz ’10 rescued roughly 15 glass windows with thick wooden frames from a man throwing them out. The window frames were repainted in vibrant colors and will hang from the theater’s ceiling during the shows. Posner said Joe and the Pony Express will likely disband after this weekend, calling its performances a “once-in-a-lifetime” event. If concert recordings turn out well, he may decide to post them online. Tickets for ““Joe and the Pony Express Sing Songs of Love, Joy & Desperation” will be available an hour before each show at PW’s box office in T.F. Green Hall.

in both “Not a Day Goes By” and the humorous political number “Bobbie and Frankie and Jack” — one of the most delightful moments in the play. With politically biting lyrics and charming acting, the number evoked the idealistic foundation of Charley and Frank’s former collaboration as lyricist and songwriter as well as the adoration Beth and Frank had for each other. The quickly changing costumes (creations of Frances Romasco, costume design assistant for the Department of Theater, Speech and Dance) expressed the passage of time but sometimes served as a comedic counterpoint to the thematic exposition of disillusionment — polyester pants and platform shoes will amuse a modern audience, after all. The sets designed by the University’s Scenic Designer Michael McGarty were effective, but it was the music that most ably framed the

EVENT INFO “Merrily We Roll Along” Leeds Theater Friday, March 16, 7 p.m. Saturday, March 17, 7 p.m. Sunday, March 18, 2 p.m. performances in the play. Through the vibrancy of beat and the evocation of melody, conductor Phillips musically set a mood for the performance. His rendition of the score conveyed the emotional content of the play even when there were dramatic gaps in the acting. In true Broadway fashion, Sondheim’s musical ends with stirring optimism — the song “Our Time” effectively juxtaposes the bitterness of age against the hope of youth. No one can change the past, but nonetheless “Merrily We Roll Along,” “moving forward and backward” in life.

EDITORS’ PICKS FRIDAY, MARCH 16 Pulp Uncovered Festival — Exhibit: John Nicholas Brown Center, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Film Screening: Cable Car Cinema, 6:15 p.m. Opening Reception for the 27th Student Art Exhibit — David Winton Bell Gallery, 7 p.m. 9th Annual Daniel Milano ’93 Memorial Jazz Concert — Salomon Center, 8 p.m. Fusion Dance Co. Annual Show — Ashamu Dance Theater, 8 p.m. Brown Taiwan Society’s Nightmarket — Sayles Hall, 8 p.m. Joe & the Pony Express Sing Songs Of Love, Joy & Desperation with Get Him Eat Him — Production Workshop, 8:30 p.m.

SATURDAY, MAR CH 17 Pulp Uncovered Festival — Exhibit: John Nicholas Brown Center,10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Film Screenings: Cable Car Cinema and RISD Auditorium, 1:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. Ides of March Dance and Dinner Buffet — Brown Faculty Club, 5 p.m. $35. Joe & the Pony Express Sing Songs Of Love, Joy & Desperation with Miss Fairchild — Production Workshop, 8:30 p.m. Brown University Chorus Spring Concert — Sayles Hall, 8 p.m. $4, $2 w/ID. Fusion Dance Co. Annual Show — Ashamu Dance Theater, 8 p.m.

SUNDAY, MARCH 18 Pulp Uncovered Festival — Exhibit: John Nicholas Brown Center,10 a.m. – 8 p.m. Film Screenings: Cable Car Cinema and RISD Auditorium, 11 a.m.–10 p.m. Joe & the Pony Express Sing Songs Of Love, Joy & Desperation with Lame Drivers — Production Workshop, 1:30 p.m. Fusion Dance Co. Annual Show — Ashamu Dance Theater, 2 p.m.

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

PAGE 4

FRIDAY, MARCH 16, 2007

Students occupy Welcome Arnold homeless shelter to protest closure continued from page 1 nold residents left for Crossroads of Rhode Island in Providence, the designated overflow shelter for the time being, he said. Approximately 25 homeless stayed behind with the protestors to occupy the building. “The idea is to use the building as a bargaining chip and to say the governor (Gov. Donald Carcieri ’65) promised that it would not be closed until every person was accommodated. Because that was not the case, the idea was to make him stand up to his word,” said Elizabeth Ochs ’07.5, co-chair of HOPE. “We will be occupying the building for as long as necessary,” said Cathy Rhodes of People to End Homelessness, who organized the protest. She said she is encouraging any homeless people who had been housed at Welcome Arnold and who have received placement to go to their assigned destinations, as she is unsure how long they will be able to occupy the building. Dennis Langley, director of the Urban League of Rhode Island, said he has operated the Welcome Arnold shelter since its opening

15 years ago. He stood outside to watch the last busload of residents go. “It is appropriate for these individuals to have permanent housing — if we have permanent housing available for them,” he said with tears in his eyes. “It’s apparent that, based on the numbers that were are seeing right now, there is a lack of housing for many of these individuals.” Noreen Shawcross, head of the state’s Office of Housing and Community Development, represented Carcieri at the protest and said the priority is to find housing for the homeless who have not yet been placed in alternative housing. “We have a big job ahead of us today to make sure that everybody gets to where they need to go, and that we know who comes in looking for shelter that we haven’t yet placed,” she said. “Today, for me, is about working for the people one-on-one, who are homeless,” she told The Herald. Shawcross told the protestors, “When I leave this building today — giving someone a ride to one of the a lot of additional facilities, going out to Crossroads — my job is to focus on the people who are

Starf*ck and St. Patrick’s Day could give U. officials, students headaches continued from page 1 EMTs will roam outside Alumnae Hall, where Starf*ck will be held, assisting intoxicated students until an ambulance can provide further support. Health Services will also have an additional EMT working in the infirmary to care for students there. Two student life deans will also be at the dance, and Allen Ward, senior associate dean for student life, will be on campus Saturday night and will periodically check in with officials at the party to make sure the event is “running smoothly,” Klawunn said. Security at the event � which will be similar to efforts for Sex Power God in November � will include provisions to prevent intoxicated students from entering and disrupting the dance. “When a student is visibly intoxicated, they will be turned away at the door,” Ward told The Herald. Department of Public Safety officers will search Alumnae Hall before Starf*ck to check for hidden stashes of alcohol or drugs, Klawunn said. University officials found one packet of an illicit substance taped to a toilet tank in the fall. Event policies will be enforced by both Department of Public Safety officers and hired security officers from Green Horn Management, the same company that provided security for SPG in the

fall. Six DPS officers and 10 contracted security workers will staff the event, said Shelley Adriance, coordinator for student activities and leadership programs. Starf*ck student organizers will also use barriers to prevent students from interfering with the line to enter the party. As a proactive effort to reduce the likelihood of alcohol problems Saturday, Health Education officials worked with QA student organizers to emphasize on Starf*ck advertising that intoxicated students will not be able to enter the event. Health Education has led a more general campaign to prevent alcohol overconsumption due to St. Patrick’s Day. The University is also supporting alcohol-free alternatives to the dance. “There are 14 events this weekend, 10 of which are alcoholfree,” Adriance said. “There are a lot of options on campus this weekend that don’t involve drinking.” University officials stressed that these preventative measures are not meant to put a damper on the evening. “This is the spring fundraiser for the Queer Alliance, and so we want it to be a successful fundraiser for that event,” Klawunn said. “We hope that this event will celebrate the queer community at Brown, be a fun event for any Brown student that wants to attend and that people will be safe and have fun at the same time.”

homeless and this building is no longer my responsibility.” But several homeless individuals at the protest told The Herald they do not think their concerns are being adequately addressed. “I have been here for a month, and now they are closing?” said a former Welcome Arnold resident who asked to be identified as William. “My girlfriend is five-and-ahalf months pregnant and there is no place for us to go together,” he said. “Because I am … pregnant, my fiance wouldn’t want me in another shelter where he wouldn’t know where I was. What are the chances of us finding a shelter that puts men and women together?” William’s girlfriend asked. “This shelter is the only place 95 percent of us know,” she added. William said he is also concerned about overcrowding at Crossroads. He says the crowding of other homeless shelters after Welcome Arnold’s closure will jeopardize his chances of getting into a housing program. As of Thursday evening, police had not removed the protestors from Welcome Arnold and they

had not been not asked to leave, Gusoff said. “I think it is wonderful that students and homeless folks and advocates are here today to support these people, expressing their outrage in this protest,” said Jim Ryczek, executive director of the Rhode Island Coalition for the Homeless. “It’s really sad that it’s come to this,” he added. But, Shawcross said, there is little hope the protestors will achieve their aims. “Keeping Welcome Arnold open wouldn’t solve anything, it really wouldn’t,” Shawcross told camera crews and protestors in the building. “This building does have to close. We have done exactly what people who are homeless and their advocates have asked us to do. And yes, right now, today, we have to sort this thing out.” In response, Dave “Doc” St. Germain, a former Welcome Arnold resident, said the state’s effort to house the displaced homeless through Operation First Step was appreciated but not enough. “I just want to state for the record that all of the people who were in on this process — the coalition, to us, to the Brown students, ev-

eryone — has worked very hard to cooperate to make Operation First Step as successful as possible,” he said. “But don’t confuse cooperation and effort with approval.” Gusoff said if the state delayed the closure of Welcome Arnold by even a month, more housing for those who did not get a place to stay under Operation First Step could be found. He added that the warmer weather later in the spring could help those who are displaced, “rather than March 15, today, when it could be six degrees tomorrow, you don’t know.” Jesse Reedy, 20, was one of the younger homeless occupying the building yesterday. He said he came to the shelter on Dec. 7 last year and has been sleeping at the Welcome Arnold and the Urban League since then. “I think the best plan would be to do (Operation First Step) again, because there were obviously not enough beds,” he said. “It will take a couple of weeks to sort this out,” Shawcross said to the crowd of homeless, protestors and advocates. “Change is always hard. But when all is said and done, this is going to be much better for everyone.”

Urban explorers find secret spaces on campus continued from page 1 buildings and we never think about them,” Struhl said. “This is all about looking at the world more deeply.” As Schroder explores the bowels of Keeney, he encounters a series of low-lying pipes that would impede an amateur. But without hesitation, the urban explorer shimmies along the ground, his bandana grazing the pipes as he passes underneath them. He emerges with both dirt and a smile on his face and continues down the tunnel, making calculated turns until he reaches a more spacious area covered with slanted wooden planks. He climbs up the slope of the longest plank to a raised area with a door, and opens it to find Struhl standing in a bright Keeney hallway. The two don’t have any objective beyond experiencing the thrill of exploring the University’s hidden spaces. “I’ve always been interested in architecture, so I like to see different areas of the buildings,” Schroder said. “But really I just love seeing new things.” Struhl said he likes the connection with the past that urban exploration gives him. “We find really old and amazing things just lying around in tunnels and attics,” he said. “We’ve found documents from the 1900s, including a 1904 speech given by some professor of minerology.” But not all they find is as welcome as these vestiges of the past. Schroder and Struhl said they constantly see beer bottles and candy wrappers littering the places they explore and observe evidence that past visitors have abused the spaces and the equipment in them. The explorers said they prefer to treat the environments as museums, typically endorsing a look-butdon’t-touch policy. “People abuse these places, and it can give the rest of us a bad name,” Struhl said. “We feel that we have the responsibility to make sure these often-delicate places aren’t ruined by drunk students who just happen to stumble in.” Schroder and Struhl have made

this careful approach a key facet of their urban exploration activities and were quick to distinguish themselves from trouble-causers and mischief-makers. “A lot of people do this sort of thing because they want to break the law,” Schroder said. “But we explore for the pleasure of exploration itself.” Values like these are part of an understood “code” of urban exploration, a pastime that has gained international prominence since groups from Toronto, Australia and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology popularized the activity in the 1990s. Tenets of the code espoused by these explorers include a keen emphasis on safety and a naturalistic approach that downplays picking locks and promotes alternative methods of entry. “We know when we’re getting in over our heads,” said Schroder, who led groups into Crystal Cave at California’s Sequoia National Park over the summer. “We’re not ashamed to turn around if a situation seems too dangerous.” “Access All Areas: A User’s Guide to the Art of Urban Exploration,” written by popular urban explorer Jeff Chapman under his explorer alias “Ninjalicious,” continues to spread awareness of urban exploration along with his popular Web site, infiltration.org, even since Chapman’s death in 2005. Schroder and Struhl have taken cues from Chapman and other urban explorers by forming an unofficial on-campus club and a Facebook group called “Boundless: The Brown Urban Exploration Society.” “We just started it a couple of months ago as a bunch of friends with similar interests,” said Struhl, the creator of the Facebook group. “Now we’ve got over 40 members, which is tons more than we expected.” The core group of about seven friends has entered and discovered hidden spaces in many campus buildings. They’ve been to attics in Faunce House and Wilson Hall, roofs of Perkins Hall and Manning Chapel and tunnels beneath Andrews Hall and Wriston Quadran-

Chaz Firestone / Herald A view of a Jameson hallway from the “Keeney Caves.”

gle. But those are just their favorites. “We’ve mapped out most of the campus by now,” said Struhl. Back under Keeney, Schroder and Struhl make their way from house to house, guided by memory and landmark graffiti. Along the way, they discover a mechanical room neither had seen before and they excitedly enter it. Fascinated by what most would consider mundane objects, the two read a maintenance log and try to discern the functions of the many pieces of machinery in the rooms. After they decide the trip to the Keeney caves has been productive enough, they head back to the door Struhl opened for Schroder, emerging from the caves into an inconspicuous hallway. The pair said they don’t plan to return to Keeney in the near future — instead, they will look for new challenges on and off campus. “It’s as if each new building or door is calling our name,” Schroder said. “We almost feel like we have a responsibility to explore each new place that we see.” With new targets in sight and plans to reach them underway, Schroder and Struhl said they and “Boundless” are headed in an exciting but responsible direction. “We subscribe to the philosophy of Ninjalicious,” Struhl said. “ ‘Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints.’ ”

CAMPUS N EWS FRIDAY, MARCH 16, 2007

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U. awards $400k in seed grants to 7 profs Seven grants totaling $405,000 were awarded in January by the Office of the Vice President for Research through the annual Seed Fund Award. Established in 2003, the seed fund supports “activities necessary to advance large-scale, interdisciplinary, multi-investigator proposals, such as collecting preliminary data and facilitating collaboration,” according to the office’s Web site. Seed fund grants, which provide up to $100,000 for one year of research, can be awarded to professors regardless of rank and senior lecturers in any discipline. Applicants are selected on the basis of the project’s “intrinsic merit,” potential impact, likelihood of successful completion and potential to secure external funding after the first year. Winners of the award told The Herald that their interdisciplinary research would not have been possible without the grant money. Kenneth Wong, professor of education, is performing a study of chemistry programs in countries that outperform the United States at the highschool level. “What we are going to find will have some broad implications for urban schools. We will be able to make recommendations to urban educators and policy makers,” he said.“(The) seed fund allowed us to cross disciplines. That is the nature of this project, since we are engaging physical and social sciences.” Without the seed money, Wong said his project would have had difficulty getting off the ground, because most external funding is contingent on having concrete data already collected and is often restricted to a single discipline. “Because of the size of the grant, we are able to perform the study in several countries at the same time and are able to tap into international databases. The seed money allowed us to accelerate the pace of this research, so that by the end of this project year we will be able to apply for external funding,” Wong said. Assistant Professor of Medical Science Alexander Brodsky is researching the potential for Vitamin D to kill ovarian cancer cells by exposing cells to microwave radiation treatments and measuring for responses to this therapy. “What we do is we inject a mouse with a compound to make it grow a tumor, collect samples at various points and study the samples to try to understand what the effects of the microwaves were,” he said. “The (seed fund award) gave an opportunity for us to do experiments, which will let us get external funding. To get external funding, you must (already) have data to show that the research is working. We want to do studies in humans in the longer run, for which we will need external funding,” Brodsky said. Professor of Biology David Rand, who applied for a grant to study nanoparticle toxicity in animals, would also not have been able to proceed without the seed fund program. Rand wrote in an e-mail to The Herald,“With a positive result from the seed fund project … we can put together a strong proposal to (the National Science Foundation). Without the seed fund results, such a proposal would be rejected as a ‘fishing expedition.’ So, the value of the seed funds is to allow us to carry out the ‘fishing expedition’ and deliver some tasty ‘fish’ to NSF … for serious multi-year funding.” — Andrew Kurtzman

U. officials address EMS turnover, second ambulance BY SCOTT LOWENSTEIN SENIOR STAFF WRITER

After months of uncertainty following the departure of Brown Emergency Medical Services’ manager and a supervisor, University officials met Monday with student emergency medical technicians in an attempt to improve communication and create a climate of openness. The student EMT program has “been through a lot” since the unexpected departure earlier this semester of manager Richard Lapierre and supervisor Anthony Fusco, as well as the sale of the University’s second ambulance, said Beth Hoffman ’07, a senior EMT. “A lot of the problems this semester have come from student EMTs feeling like they are being left out of the loop,” Hoffman said. Student EMTs met Monday with Margaret Klawunn, associate vice president for campus life and dean of student life, and Edward Wheeler, director of Health Services. Klawunn told The Herald the meeting was designed to “make sure that we had a chance to talk to the students face-to-face. We wanted to give them a chance to

have some back and forth.” A major impetus for the meeting was to discuss the personnel changes. Student EMTs were unaware of Fusco’s status until Klawunn confirmed Monday that he is no longer working at the University, and they did not learn of Lapierre’s departure until The Herald reported Feb. 15 that he had officially resigned more than a week earlier, Hoffman said. A search is now underway to find a successor to Lapierre. “Applications are coming in now (for the manager position), and we hope that the position will be filled by the end of this academic year,” Klawunn said. A search to replace Fusco has not yet started, and the position will probably not be posted without “more input from current EMS supervisors and Dr. Wheeler about the best way to proceed,” she said. The sale of the University’s ambulance over winter break was also discussed at the meeting. It was unclear to student EMTs “what the reasons were for getting rid of it and … why students were not informed of the sale of Rescue Two,” Hoffman said, referring to the second ambulance. “A second ambulance is not justified for the number of calls we receive and the expense,” Klawunn

said. “Even if we are not making a decision that they might want … we are making that decision in the context of what is good for EMS.”Klawunn also stressed that the EMS program is valuable to both students and the University. “EMS is a great educational opportunity for (student volunteers) that we think provides a unique chance for them to get some (medical) experience on campus,” Klawunn told The Herald. Klawunn acknowledged that administrators could incorporate student volunteers more in the future. Klawunn and Wheeler promised to improve communication with student volunteers. “This semester, it has become apparent to me how important it is and how much the student volunteers want to be involved,” Klawunn said. “Previously, it was my expectation to work with the medical director and EMS supervisors, but it is clear to me how much the student volunteers … want to hear what is going on.” Overall, Hoffman said, the meeting was productive. “I was glad that they (Klawunn and Wheeler) wanted to talk to students and recognized that there is a need for more communication” between EMTs and University officials, she said.

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Rhode Island’s crisis pregnancy centers: A look inside continued from page 1 rector of CareNet Rhode Island in Cranston. “We just feel we have a special mission as the only one in Rhode Island.” Founded in the 1980s, Problem Pregnancy and CareNet are the two crisis pregnancy centers closest to Brown’s campus, though there are additional centers in Westerly and Middletown. There are currently more CPCs than abortion providers in the state, as there are only two abortion clinics in Rhode Island. Representatives from both the state’s CPCs and abortion providers insist they have little direct interaction. But before Women’s Surgical Services closed its doors in October 2004, the abortion clinic stood across the street from Problem Pregnancy on Atwells Avenue. Women’s Surgical’s former location partly influenced Problem Pregnancy’s 2004 relocation to Atwells, said the center’s counselor, Marlo Mooney. Though occasionally aided by community volunteers, Mooney and O’Connell are the center’s only full-time employees. Both CareNet and Problem Pregnancy provide female clients with a variety of free services, beginning with a rapid pregnancy test. If the woman is pregnant and seems undecided about what to do, the centers provide her with “preabortion option consultation” that includes “full information regarding the abortion procedure and its risks, the adoption option and the parenting option,” Evanco said. Though the centers offer services to women regardless of their religious beliefs, spirituality is often brought up during counseling sessions. “We may ask them, ‘Do you have a parish that you belong to? Do you believe in God? How do you think God feels about your condition right now?’ ” O’Connell said, adding that Problem Pregnancy routinely connects women who express an interest in religion to local churches. If a woman remains unsure of what to do after counseling, the centers will offer to give her an ul-

trasound. Because Problem Pregnancy’s sole counselor, Mooney, holds a bachelor’s degree in social work and not nursing, she cannot perform the procedure. A certified nurse comes to the center twice a month to administer ultrasounds to women O’Connell described as “most abortion vulnerable.” CareNet’s counselors, who are trained using “Equipped to Serve,” a counseling manual produced by a former Baltimore CPC director, are also uncertified to perform ultrasounds. The center’s brand new ultrasound machine is still in its wrapping, resting in the middle of the center’s former kitchen. Purchased with a grant from faith-based nonprofit Focus on the Family, the machine has prompted what Evanco called CareNet’s “medical conversion process.” Once the process is complete, the center will be able to offer clients first trimester ultrasounds during all three of its operating days each week. Currently, CareNet patients who accept the counselors’ ultrasound offer are sent to a CPC in Fall River, Mass. Both Evanco and Mooney deny using emotional pressure when counseling their clients. “We do not use any kind of graphic pictures,” Evanco said, adding that CareNet employees are not judgmental or coercive during counseling sessions. Mooney said she does not regularly use visual aids when speaking to clients, but the center’s waiting room contains a pamphlet with graphic pictures of aborted fetuses. Mooney said the pictures were partly there for community members researching abortion at the center. “90 percent of the time I don’t use that in counseling,” she said, adding that she only shows the pamphlet to clients who request to see it. CareNet gives its clients pamphlets warning them about the dangers of abortion, such as one titled, “Making an Informed Decision About Pregnancy,” which lists hemorrhage, infection leading to infer-

tility, breast cancer and, occasionally, death as potential risks. “We will not give out any information that has not been verified or researched as being truthful. That’s number one — to speak the truth,” Evanco said. Some of the center’s data conflicts with more recent studies. In 2003, the National Cancer Institute — a part of the National Institutes of Health — found there was no link between breast cancer and abortion. The Guttmacher Institute, a nonprofit affiliated with Planned Parenthood, found in 1999 that fewer than 0.3 percent of abortion patients require hospitalization after the procedure. According to a 2006 study cited by the institute, the fatality risk of childbirth is 12 times as high as the risk associated with an abortion. In addition to abortion’s physical dangers, the centers also advise women of the emotional trauma they may experience after an abortion. Evanco said she regularly speaks with griefstricken women who take part in CareNet’s 10-week post-abortion recover y program. Problem Pregnancy materials that describe post-abortion stress, such as “Surgical Abortion: Your Risks,” cite teenage abortion patients as 10 times more likely to commit suicide in the six months after their procedure than other teenage girls. The pamphlet frequently references the research of David Reardon, founder of the pro-life Elliot Institute, who holds a Ph.D. from Pacific Western University, an unaccredited, online college based in San Diego. Both centers also help newly pregnant women find housing and financial assistance through government programs like Medicaid. Problem Pregnancy is affiliated with the Little Flower Home in Tiverton, where women can live while carrying their pregnancy to term. Some long-term clients also receive baby supplies. CareNet’s New Beginnings program awards women who attend weekly counseling sessions “baby bucks” that can be

used in the center’s “shop,” filled with clothes, blankets and other accessories donated by Wal-Mart and Kohl’s department store. As pro-abstinence organizations, the centers do not offer clients contraception, though Evanco said CareNet refers women seeking birth control to a physician. CareNet receives federal funding for its “sexual integrity abstinence program,” while Problem Pregnancy benefits from state grants. Yet both centers largely rely on charitable donations. Some of the funds are reserved for advertisements, like the ones O’Connell said Problem Pregnancy places near Providence’s high schools, colleges and bars. The four CareNet billboards in Rhode Island read “Pregnant and Scared?” and list an 800 number for women to call, according to Evanco. Both Evanco and Mooney said they always tell women looking for abortions that the centers do not provide them. “We’re up front about that. We’re not trying to trick somebody,” Mooney said. Still, it seems some women may not know what to expect when visiting a CPC. Linda, a counselor at Women’s Medical Center in Cranston — one of the state’s two abortion providers — declined to give her last name but said her patients have described being “guilted” and “terrified” at local crisis pregnancy centers. Lori Larusso, another counselor at Women’s Medical Center, said one patient told her a CPC in Massachusetts had incorrectly informed her she could not have an abortion until she was 12 weeks pregnant. “These centers try to make it very emotional for the women. … They talk to them about being a ‘mommy,’” Larusso said. Linda disputed CPCs’ claims that abortions are unsafe. “I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think it was safe,” she said. “I’d send my daughter here.” Counselors at both Women’s Medical Center and Planned Par-

enthood said they send women away on the day of their procedure if they sense any hesitation, and both clinics inform patients of nonabortion options. “Anyone who’s telling us she’s undecided, we say, ‘Look, go home,’ ” said Harriet Singer, a counselor at Planned Parenthood. “Perhaps if you’re sure enough tomorrow, you can come back. … But not today.” J. Cherry, health educator at University Health Services, said she would never send a student to a CPC because some of them “give out misinformation.” But some students agree with the centers’ work. Joanna Joly ’07, president of Brown Students for Life, brought O’Connell to campus last semester to speak about student volunteer opportunities at Problem Pregnancy. “I think that the pregnancy centers in Providence are an extremely important part of the pro-life movement here,” said Joly, who is planning a pro-life discussion panel for April. Other students disagree with the CPCs’ practices. “It’s really terrible that they’re federally funded,” said Lily Shield ’09, a member of Brown’s Students for Choice. “That seems to violate the boundary of church and state.” Shield also described the CPCs’ practices as “guilt-tripping.” Standing in one of the center’s counseling rooms, Evanco shook her head when considering criticisms of the center. She’d just spent an hour describing how CareNet builds relationships with its clients and provides them with a second family when they need it most, sometimes going so far as to ride with women to the hospital after they go into labor. But just in case she hadn’t made herself clear or had misrepresented the center to college women who she believes might need it most, Evanco repeated the center’s mission. “We are pro-woman,” she said. “We want them to have all the facts about abortion, the procedure and its risks. And just to be there for them.”

happy birthday fathers

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Cuomo probes ‘deceptive practices’ on college loans (Newsday) — As part of his office’s continuing investigation of 100 colleges and a half-dozen private student loan providers, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo charged Thursday that “deceptive practices” carried out by colleges and student loan providers have been taking advantage of students. The “most obvious and egregious scheme,” Cuomo said in an interview Thursday, involved some schools receiving payment from lenders on their ”preferred lender” list based on the loan volume. “The more students a lender gets, the more the school receives in payment. You can call it a commission, you can call it a kickback,” Cuomo said.“Also, the fewer lenders the school lists as preferred, the more a school will get.” He said if a commission is paid and undisclosed “then it’s deceptive” and illegal. Cuomo said that the 100 colleges being looked at “are public and private, the big schools, the small schools and some of the highestranking.” But he would not identify them or their locations because the investigation is continuing. His office also is probing six lenders: Sallie Mae Inc., the nation’s largest student loan provider; Nelnet Inc.; Education Finance Partners Inc.; EduCap Inc.; the College Board and CIT Group Inc. Spokesmen for three lenders reached Thursday — College Board, Sallie Mae and Nelnet — said they were cooperating with the attorney general’s probe. Tom Joyce, Sallie Mae spokesman, added, “We do not pay fees or kickbacks of any kind for loan volume, as is alleged.” Cuomo also released a letter sent Thursday to 400 college and university presidents — in New York and certain other states — warning them to “end or fully disclose potential conflicts of interests in their relationships with private lenders.”

YouTube, CBS hatch ‘March Madness’ deal (Los Angeles Times) — Media mogul Sumner Redstone has had a love-hate affair with YouTube this week. No sooner had one company he controls, Viacom Inc., sued the online video site for $1 billion than another company he controls, CBS Inc., struck a major deal with it. Under an agreement announced Thursday, YouTube will show CBS clips from the “March Madness” NCAA basketball tournament. The disclosure comes as Viacom, CBS’s former sister company, is alleging that YouTube allowed users to lift and post more than 150,000 unauthorized clips from scores of Viacom shows such as “The Colbert Report,”“Ren & Stimpy” and “The Daily Show.” In an interview, Redstone praised the CBS deal with YouTube, saying that paying to use clips is the kind of arrangement Viacom should get as well. “The deal that CBS did with YouTube is in no way inconsistent with the Viacom position, which is not to permit any person or company to misappropriate its product without paying for it,” Redstone said.

BY RICHARD SERRANO AND RICHARD SCHMITT LOS ANGELES T IMES

WASHINGTON — White House political adviser Karl Rove more than two years ago began seeking input from the Department of Justice into how many U.S. attorneys should be fired in the second Bush administration, according to new e-mails released Thursday that show a deeper White House involvement in the firings of federal prosecutors last year. The e-mails also show that the Justice Department was willing to defer to Rove on the matter. According to new e-mails released Thursday, Rove in January 2005 asked the White House counsel’s office about its plans for the nation’s federal prosecutors and whether it would fire some or all of them. Three days later D. Kyle Sampson, a Justice official and soon to be deputy chief of staff to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, then the White House counsel, responded with a point-by-point strategy on how the administration might proceed. “As an operational matter,” Sampson wrote, “we would like to replace 15 percent to 20 percent of the 93 U.S. attorneys” whom they considered “the underperforming ones.” The others, Sampson said, “are doing a great job, are loyal Bushies.” But, as a “political matter,” Sampson cautioned that “when push comes to shove” home-state senators who supported their prosecutors likely would resist the firings. Nevertheless, Sampson said, “if Karl thinks there would be political will to do it, so do I.” The administration eventually

fired eight U.S. attorneys, at first saying they were let go for job performance reasons. But new details surfacing in a Democraticled Capitol Hill investigation are suggesting that politics may have been the prime mover in jettisoning the prosecutors. The administration denies that. White House officials have said that initially former White House counsel Harriet Miers floated the idea of firing all the prosecutors. But they said her idea was scrapped by Gonzales and others who thought it impractical. The emails released Thursday suggest that Rove had also brought up the idea of getting the resignations of all 93. On Thursday the White House denied that Rove had hatched the plot to fire all of them, with White House spokeswoman Dana Perino saying that the new e-mail exchange “does not contradict nor is it inconsistent with what we have said.” Miers was named to succeed Gonzales as counsel to the president in November 2004. “During that time, and until she takes over on Feb. 3, 2005, when the attorney general was confirmed, she would have been thinking about transition issues,” Perino said. “Karl Rove has a recollection of hearing it from Harriet, and thinking it was a bad idea,” Perino said. “There is nothing in this e-mail that changes that.” “It is not clear when the idea first originates, but the bottom line is, the idea is never pursued,” Perino said. At the Department of Justice, spokeswoman Tasia Scolinos said Gonzales “has no recollection of any plan or discussion to replace U.S. attorneys while he was still

White House counsel.” She added, “The period of time referred to in the e-mail was during the weeks he was preparing for his confirmation hearing (as attorney general), and his focus was on that. “Of course, discussions of changes in presidential appointees would have been appropriate and normal White House exchanges in the days and months after the election.” Congressional Democrats seized on the new e-mails as evidence of a wider White House political role in the firings. The e-mails “show conclusively that Karl Rove was in the middle of this mess from the beginning,” said Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y. He predicted “a crescendo for the attorney general to resign,” and asserted there was “an active and avid discussion in the White House on whether he should resign.” Also on Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee authorized subpoenas for five top Justice department officials involved in the firings. Democrats on the panel also sought subpoenas for Rove and Miers, but Republicans on the committee opposed it. Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Ore., Thursday became the latest Republican to express concern about Gonzales but stopped short of saying he should quit. The first new e-mail, released late Thursday by the Justice Department as it was being sent over to congressional Democrats, is from Colin Newman to David G. Leitch, both then officials in the White House counsel’s office. The e-mail is dated June 6, 2005, and ticontinued on page 8

T H E B R O W N D A I LY H E R A L D P R E S E N T S

A C O N V E R S AT I O N W I T H

L A N C E W I L L I A M S ’72 T U E S D AY, M A R C H 2 0 , 2 0 0 7

7 P. M .

L I S T 12 0

Lance Williams ’72 is a reporter on the investigative team at the San Francisco Chronicle, where he helped break many of the newspaper’s exclusive stories on the BALCO steroid scandal. With Mark Fainaru-Wada, he wrote “Game of Shadows: Barry Bonds, BALCO and the Steroids Scandal that Rocked Professional Sports.” Lance has also reported on subjects including the California cocaine trade, Oakland’s Black Panther Party and the career of San Francisco mayor and political power-broker Willie Brown. FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC S P O N S O R E D BY T H E B R O W N DA I LY H E R A L D, O FFI C E O F A LU M N I R E L AT I O N S A N D C A M PUS L I FE & S T U D E N T S E R V I C E S

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Next president must implement fiscal discipline, Walker says continued from page 1 the office saved the government $51 billion — or $105 per dollar invested in the office — in fiscal year 2006. The comptroller general serves a 15-year term, giving Walker what he described as the freedom to criticize spending issues in the government of either party. Walker’s term expires in 2013. The major issue lawmakers must address is rising spending on health care, Walker said. “Heath care is the number-one fiscal challenge for the federal government, … state governments and … American business. If there’s one thing that could bankrupt America, it’s health care,” he said. Walker called the Medicare prescription drug program — which was signed into law with an “$8 trillion price tag” — the “poster child” of the problem. Walker also warned of a savings

deficit caused by overspending by U.S. citizens. “For the last two years in a row, American households … have been spending more money that they make. … In the not too distant future, they may not be able to make the minimum payment,” Walker said. “The last time American households spent more money than they brought in … (was) the Great Depression.” He added, however, that he doesn’t think another major depression is on the horizon. Without savings, Walker cautioned, the nation will be unable to invest in the research and development that leads to innovation, economic growth and greater disposable income. “We are in a situation where we are eating our seed corn and mortgaging our future because we’re living for today rather than preparing for a better tomorrow,” Walker said.

Foreign investors with high savings rates such as China, Japan and Korea currently fund the U.S. budget deficit and allow the Federal Reserve to maintain fairly low interest rates, Walker said. “They have been willing to lend us their excess savings at reasonably low interest rates to fund our excess consumption,” Walker said. “The question is, how much longer will they be willing to lend us tens and hundreds of billions of dollars that we will need if we don’t increase our own savings rate? And what price will we have to pay in order to attract that capital?” In 2006, the percentage of the federal budget dedicated to paying off interest on the debt increased from 7 to 9 percent, or $227 billion, Walker said. “If there’s a single item of waste in the federal budget, it’s probably interest on the federal debt because you get nothing for it. It’s paying for past sins.” A growing deficit or higher in-

terest rates could send the nation “past the tipping point,” Walker said.

“We are eating our seed corn and mortgaging our future because we’re living for today rather than preparing for a better tomorrow.” David Walker Comptroller General of the United States “We’ve gone from being the world’s biggest creditor nation to the world’s biggest debtor nation,” Walker said. “The miracle of compound (interest) works for you when you’re an investor, but (it) works against you if you’re a debtor.” Walker called on officials to consider the long-term sustainability of tax cuts and spending increases and restore budget controls, similar to those that expired in 2002. Walker said students should plan and save for their retirements. “You’re going to need it,” he said. As the 2008 presidential election approaches, Walker said he will seek out presidential candidates from both parties after they have

been winnowed down to speak with them about fiscal issues. He said it is unlikely that President Bush will enact the sweeping changes he believes are necessary. “I try to get people to look longer range, look broader, do the right thing,” Walker said. Walker also called on students to take on public service positions, including teaching. Students reacted positively to Walker’s speech. Cash McCracken ’08, chair of the Undergraduate Finance Board, said the lecture was “an excellent speech.” He said its nonpartisan nature was “refreshing” and added that he was disappointed more people didn’t show up. Zachary Townsend ’09, a former Herald opinions columnist, called Walker’s message a “sobering” look at a “pending fiscal disaster.” “For a lot of people in our generation, there’s always that question of ‘What can I do?’ ” Townsend said. “He answered that.” Ben Creo ’07 said Walker’s lecture was an “excellent presentation.” “(It was) right down the middle. It was appealing to everyone regardless of what their stripes are,” he said. The lecture was a part of the John Hazen White Lecture Series, sponsored by the Taubman Center for Public Policy.

Rove involved in attorneys’ firings continued from page 7 tled, “Question From Karl Rove.” “David — Karl Rove stopped by to ask you (roughly quoting) ‘how we planned to proceed regarding U.S. Attorneys, whether we were going to allow all to stay, request resignations from all and accept only some of them, or selectively replace them, etc.’ ... He said the matter was not urgent.” The message was forwarded to Sampson, who was Gonzales’ chief of staff before resigning this week. He sent a response to Leitch saying that he and Gonzales had “discussed briefly a couple of weeks ago” those same ideas. He said that from a legal standpoint, all prosecutors serve at the pleasure of the president. But, he added, “it would be weird to ask them to leave before completing at least a 4-year term.”

He said President Clinton fired the prosecutors appointed by President George H.W. Bush who were still on the job when Clinton took office in 1993, “nearly all of whom were in the midst of their four-year terms.” He went on to point out that the current President Bush “fired the Clinton-appointed U.S. Attorneys, some of whom were in the midst of a 4year term, but many of whom had completed their 4-year terms and were serving in holdover status.” Then he got down to what the administration wanted do, suggesting that 15 percent to 20 percent of the lawyers be fired. He also discussed the consequences. Finally Sampson discussed the issue as a “political matter,” noting that each of the prosecutors was appointed on the basis of recommendations from home state senators.

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

O’Hear ’07 leads skiing to seventh at Nationals, named All-American continued from page 12 into it because he raced in college. After college, he continued ski racing. He coached at our home mountain and had always been very involved in the sport. Now, he lives vicariously through me. He gives me extra coaching advice in addition to (the advice given to me by) my Head Coach Mike LeBlanc. How did your mom react to seeing her daughter on skis at two years old? She was very supportive. She wasn’t as die-hard as my dad was when I was two years old. I would beg my parents to ski and they would only give me one ski and let me slide around the driveway. As I got older, I started winning some events and my parents realized I loved the sport. I had goals of being on the U.S. ski team and one day being in the Olympics. Do you still have aspirations of making the U.S. ski team? When I was a year in high school, I was rethinking my ambitions. I considered medical school since I would have the opportunity to work with athletes … but I also realized I’m not quite finished with my skiing career. I’ve done very well here, but trying to balance premed classes at an Ivy League school in addition to training made me realize that I haven’t trained as much as I would have liked over the past few years. I feel that if I dedicated myself to training and didn’t have as many pressures, I could do better. Next year, I’m taking some time off to pursue these dreams and see how far I can take my career. My life goal would be to make the U.S. national team. The best 10 to 15 skiers in the nation travel around the world to different World Cup events. Then the best skiers on the national team are selected for the Olympics.

Where is your home mountain? Holimont in western New York, near Buffalo. It’s my favorite mountain because I know all of the terrain, all the trail names and I know what to expect. I feel very comfortable there. It’s a private area, similar to a golf club for skiing. There are only a few in the country and it has one of the largest private memberships with around 1,000 families. They have a racing club and everyone knows each other. During breaks, I’ll go back and coach. It’s a lot of fun to work with kids. They look up to me because I’ve stayed with the sport for so long. Outside of your home mountain, where is the coolest place you’ve skied? One of my favorite mountains was in Hintertux, Austria. I went there two of the four fall seasons in high school. It was one of my favorite places to train because you see a lot of the national teams there. I saw Benjamin Raich there. He’s a member of the World Cup team and one of best skiers in the world. It’s like seeing the Brad Pitt of skiing. How often did you ski in high school? When I was 14, I went to boarding school at the Stratton Mountain School. It’s basically an elite school for ski racers. You train all year round and travel the world, attending both national and international ski competitions. What was a typical week like at your high school? It was definitely a different atmosphere when compared to your average high schools. In the fall and spring, we would wake up around 5:30 a.m., work out for two hours and then eat breakfast. Class was from 9 until 2 p.m. and then we had afternoon sport, lifting or conditioning, dinner, study hall and then bed. Since there is less snow dur-

ing these times, we had many fall camps. We would often have intense class for two weeks and then travel for two weeks of skiing. Teachers knew about our difficult schedules and we often had to fax our assignments or complete assignments on the redeye flight from Colorado. The best thing I learned from Stratton was time management skills. During the winter, we would get up at 7:00 a.m., eat breakfast and train until noon. Early morning skiing is the best because the snow is firm from the overnight freeze. It’s important for skiing. Did you ever have to pay for a lift ticket? Stratton was the name of my high school and the name of the mountain. Part of our tuition went towards the lift passes. But we also traveled throughout the East Coast, skiing in Maine, Vermont, New York and some parts of Canada. Did you watch the Winter Olympic skiing events in Torino last winter? Our ski team spends winter break in Waterville Valley, N.H. For the entire month, we focus on skiing and spending quality time as a team. When you aren’t skiing, there isn’t much to do up there, so we watched the Olympics every single day. We only got three channels, but we were lucky that NBC was one of them. What did you think of Bode Miller’s performance? Most ski racers know that Bode could have done better, so I was disappointed with his results. But I also realize how difficult ski racing can be. Your career can be defined by a single minute and a half. It’s only that minute and a half that counts. It doesn’t matter how well you trained and prepared. He didn’t perform as well as he should have and it’s unfortunate that people only know

W. water polo wears down Harvard for 8-3 win continued from page 12 saves. “Wyatt and Fahey did a great job defending in the two-meter zone,” Gall said. “And Laing has been solid in goal all year long.” “Our defense leads into our offense,” Glick said. “When we trust in each other to make a great steal and trust our goalie to make saves, it frees us up to turn around and go on offense, and it opens up scoring opportunities.” The Bears will face a much more difficult test this weekend, when

they travel to Ann Arbor, Mich., for the Wolverine Invitational, where they will be matched up against teams including No. 11 Loyola Marymount University and No. 17 University of Michigan, as well as a tough University of Indiana team. “We’re really excited to play Michigan and Indiana,” Balassone said. “We all feel like we can beat them. We don’t know exactly what to expect, but those will be close games.” Against these highly ranked teams, fatigue may be a factor for the Bears, and Gall may be forced

to call on his developing bench. “Against Harvard, all 14 players played at least five minutes, not only because we were ahead, but because they’ve been improving and can hold their own against that caliber of team,” Gall said. This season, Brown’s only two losses have come against ranked opponents: Princeton and Hartwick College. Though the Bears appear to be hitting their stride, the Wolverine Tournament will be a challenge and a chance for Gall’s team to prove that it can compete with the nation’s elite.

him for his sub-par performance in the Olympics, even though he finished sixth, and is one of the best skiers in the world. What did you think of NBC’s coverage of skiing? I think NBC did a great job covering the skiing events. Speed racing doesn’t usually get a lot of coverage because it’s not a media-friendly sport. It’s tough to film up on the mountain with uncertain weather conditions. But NBC did a great job in Torino because they showed the top 30 runs and they would actually air it during hours in the evening when people were watching. For ski racing fans, it was greatly appreciated.

What injuries have you overcome as a skier? I tore my right ACL and meniscus as a freshman in high school. I had surgery and did a lot of physical therapy. I went to Austria as a sophomore in the fall. It was my first time back on snow since the injury. It went well but when I went to Colorado, I went off course and hit a tree. It was a terrifying experience. I had a compound fracture, breaking my left tibia and fibula. I was very lucky to escape that with only a broken leg. I had six screws and a rod put in my leg and I had to come back very slowly. The hardest thing for me was to be off the snow, especially living in a ski academy community.

E DITORIAL & L ETTERS THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

PAGE 10

FRIDAY, MARCH 16, 2007

STAF F EDITORIAL

Diamonds and coal Coal to UCS’s new policy of maintaining public records of all member voting records. Given the interest in attending weekly meetings, we’re sure the online records will get a lot of hits. And we can already see the campaign attack ads on those plasma screens in the Ratty come mid-April. A diamond to President Simmons’ accountant, who will have to deal with what was possibly a verbal typo — $20,007, what? Coal to DePauw’s Delta Zeta sorority for discriminating against and ultimately expelling its less attractive sisters. We feel marginally compelled to launch an investigation into whether similar tactics are being deployed at Brown, but then with this year’s Greek life recruitment numbers … on this campus … it seems unlikely. A cubic zirconium to Banner’s successful mock registration. We’re glad the transition’s going smoothly, but we’re a little sympathetic with those cranky student activists who might not have a technological revolution to complain about anymore. Coal to the New York Times for making its premium online service available to college students and professors for free. Now we have to scrap our plans to launch HeraldPlus, w wh ich would have offered paid subscribers extensive coverage of campus eateries and in-depth analysis of University committee reports.

ROXANNE PALMER

A diamond to whoever stole two pounds of lobster from the Ratty. We don’t condone theft, but the inexplicability has us in awe. Since the heist occurred on Las Vegas night, we must know — Are we sure the stolen lobster wasn’t actually in a carefully designed replica of the Ratty basement? Hopefully the thief won’t make a lousy sequel. A diamond to President Simmons’ refusal to add “a dollop of whipped cream” to the slavery and justice proceedings. Centuries of injustice have never before sounded so sweet. Coal to Constance Gee. Because she can’t smoke a diamond. A diamond to David Walker, Accountant Ranger, who can not only roundhouse kick the United States out of debt but must also, under international law, notify the inhabitants of any area he visits at least seven days before his arrival. The necessary debt payment plan can then be made. Beat that, Chuck Norris.

can the falcon hear the falconer?

A diamond to shopping at Shop & Stop not stopping because the shop’s strike was stopped. We wanted to give a diamond to athletes forced to abstain from March Madness pools thanks to the NCAA’s gambling rules, but we’re pretty sure it would count as an illegal gift. Sorry.

let us know.

T HE B ROWN D AILY H ERALD Editors-in-Chief Eric Beck Mary-Catherine Lader

Executive Editors Allison Kwong Ben Leubsdorf

Senior Editors Stephen Colelli Sonia Saraiya BUSINESS

EDITORIAL Lydia Gidwitz Lindsey Meyers Stephanie Bernhard Stu Woo Simmi Aujla Sara Molinaro Ross Frazier Jacob Schuman Michal Zapendowski Peter Cipparone Justin Goldman Sarah Demers Erin Frauenhofer Madeleine Marecki

Arts & Culture Editor Arts & Culture Editor Features Editor Features Editor Metro Editor Metro Editor News Editor Opinions Editor Opinions Editor Sports Editor Sports Editor Asst. Sports Editor Asst. Sports Editor Asst. Sports Editor

PHOTO Eunice Hong Christopher Bennett Jacob Melrose

Photo Editor Photo Editor Sports Photo Editor

General Manager Mandeep Gill General Manager Ally Ouh Executive Manager Darren Ball Executive Manager Dan DeNorch Laurie-Ann Paliotti Sr. Advertising Manager Office Manager Susan Dansereau

letters@browndailyherald.com

PRODUCTION Design Editor Steve DeLucia Copy Desk Chief Chris Gang Graphics Editor Mark Brinker Graphics Editor Roxanne Palmer Web Editor Luke Harris POST- MAGAZINE Hillary Dixler Melanie Duch Taryn Martinez Rajiv Jayadevan Mindy Smith

Managing Editor Managing Editor Managing Editor Features Editor Features Editor

Brianna Barzola, Steve DeLucia, Designers Jacob Frank, Chris Gang, Ezra Miller, Copy Editors Senior Staff Writers Rachel Arndt, Michael Bechek, Oliver Bowers, Zachary Chapman, Chaz Firestone, Kristina Kelleher, Debbie Lehmann, Scott Lowenstein, James Shapiro, Michael Skocpol Staff Writers Susana Aho, Taylor Barnes, Brianna Barzola, Evan Boggs, Irene Chen, Nicole Dungca, Thi Ho, Rebecca Jacobson, Tsvetina Kamenova, Hannah Levintova, Abe Lubetkin, Christian Martell, Taryn Martinez, Zachary McCune, Nathalie Pierrepont, Marielle Segarra, Robin Steele, Allissa Wickham Sports Staff Writers Amy Ehrhart, Kaitlyn Laabs, Eliza Lane, Kathleen Loughlin, Megan McCahill, Marco Santini, Tom Trudeau, Steele West Business Staff Dana Feuchtbaum, Kent Holland, Alexander Hughes, Mariya Perelyubskaya, Viseth San, Kaustubh Shah, Jon Spector, Robert Stefani, Lily Tran, Lindsay Walls Design Staff Brianna Barzola, Jihan Chao, Aurora Durfee, Sophie Elsner, Christian Martell, Matthew McCabe, Ezra Miller Photo Staff Stuart Duncan-Smith, Austin Freeman, Tai Ho Shin Copy Editors Ayelet Brinn, Catherine Cullen, Erin Cummings, Karen Evans, Jacob Frank, Ted Lamm, Lauren Levitz, Cici Matheny, Alex Mazerov, Ezra Miller, Joy Neumeyer, Madeleine Rosenberg, Lucy Stark, Meha Verghese

CORRECTIONS POLICY The Brown Daily Herald is committed to providing the Brown University community with the most accurate information possible. Corrections may be submitted up to seven calendar days after publication. COMMENTAR Y 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, letters and comics 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. ADVER TISING POLICY The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. reserves the right to accept or decline any advertisement at its discretion.

O PINIONS FRIDAY, MARCH 16, 2007

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

The role of affirmative action Affirmative action: a means to justice Even the most patriotic American must acknowledge the oppression of people of color in our nation’s history as a result of stolen land, colonization, slavery and the like. Land theft, slavery and colonization are all undeniable facts in our history. The oppression of non-whites has had a visible, deep-rooted, negative impact on equality in modern America. According to the American Council on Education’s most recent minorities in higher education annual status report, in 2002-04, 47.3 percent of white high school graduates age 18 to 24 attended college compared with 41.1 percent of African Americans and 35.2 percent of Hispanics. To deny that today’s differences aren’t rooted in historical oppression is simply counterfactual. Similarly, the Peopleclick Research Institute reported in 2004 that the percentage of women who hold the highest levels of management positions has decreased from 31.9 percent to 18.8 percent over the decade. Additionally, only 11 percent of executive positions are held by minorities. Women and minorities are underrepresented in all levels of management, with 36.4 percent of management jobs held by women and 16.7 percent by minorities. Peopleclick stated, “These results are even more disappointing in the context of increased participation of women and minorities in the labor force: women rose from 45.8 percent to 46.8 percent of the workforce in the 10 years ending 2000, and minorities rose from 22.1 percent to 27.2 percent.” To address the racial injustices of U.S. history and their negative effects on racial diversity in valued positions of society — such as positions of leadership in the private and public sector and the positions in institutions of higher learning that lead to them — President Lyndon Johnson in 1965 issued Executive Order 11246, which requires government contractors to take “affirmative action” on behalf of minorities. Johnson echoed the values of the executive order in a speech to the 1965 graduating class of Howard University, a historically black college (Howard has never had a completely black class), in which he said, “You do not wipe away the scars of centuries by saying: ‘Now, you are free to go where you want, do as you desire, and choose the leaders you please.’ … We seek not just freedom, but opportunity, not just legal equity, but human ability, not just equality as a right and a theory, but equality as a fact and as a result.” Affirmative action in its current form allows admission officers and employers to give priority to a minority applicant over a similarly qualified white applicant. The current form of affirmative action does not, however, justify the admittance of unqualified applicants. The United States has already seen the negative effect of eliminating the current form of affirmative action from college admission. In 1998, when the University of California, Berkeley eliminated affirmative action, 191 of the 8,000 students offered admission were black, down from 562 in 1997. The university offered admission to 434 Hispanic students, down from 1,045. In response to the new racial representation of the student body, Berkeley’s chancellor, Robert Berdahl said, “We still have to be a place of opportunity for all, but the (new) law (restricting affirmative action) is constraining us very, very substantially.” Opponents of affirmative action often argue that the civil rights movement succeeded in eliminating systematic racism and inequality and that consequentially, we no longer need affirmative action. But the Supreme Court disagrees. The most recent ruling concerning affirmative action comes out of Grutter v. Bollinger (2003), in which the Supreme

Court ruled 5-4 to uphold the University of Michigan Law School’s policy that listed an applicant’s race as a factor of admission. The Court justified the policy by arguing that it served “a compelling interest in obtaining the educational benefits that flow from a diverse student body.” Diversity and past injustice aside, opponents of affirmative action — like Allan Bakke, the plaintiff in Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978) — argue that giving preference to less qualified persons in the areas of college admission and employment constitutes “reverse discrimination.” However, the National Organization for Women states that “less than 2 percent of the 91,000 employment discrimination cases pending before the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission are reverse discrimination cases.” Proponents of the “reverse discrimination” argument have also often quoted Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream”

Illogical quotas undermine efforts for racial justice After centuries of pervasive discrimination, disadvantaged minorities are entitled to some form of affirmative action. Enlightened policy can allow the disadvantaged to get their feet in the door, so to speak, and can help end the vicious cycle of deprivation, poor education and economic marginalization that tragically afflicts so many in their diverse communities. The right policy, in short, can facilitate the full and equal inclusion that is their due. But the wrong policy can have disastrous consequences — feeding resentments, distorting incentives and perpetuating the very problems it is supposed to solve. At worst, a misguided approach can spur the kind of backlash that threatens the basic legality of any affirmative action, as happened in Michigan this past November. Those of us who support legislating special assistance for minorities must take care to avoid measures that provide an easy rallying cry for the opposition. Our proposals must be logical and well-suited to attracting broad support not only among liber-

MICHAEL RAMOS-LYNCH

OPINIONS COLUMNIST

POINT COUNTERPOINT JESSE ADAMS OPINIONS COLUMNIST

speech, in which he calls for a colorblind society, to argue that he would have opposed affirmative action. However, King argued in “The Trumpet of Conscience,” “A society that has done something special against the Negro for hundreds of years must now do something special for him, in order to equip him to compete on a just and equal basis.” Our nation has created a system of oppression in which African Americans, Latinos and Native Americans fall victim. The results of that system are still visible today, and they will be until we eliminate them. King was right about the need to equip African Americans to compete on an equal basis due to past injustice, and the same need is just as dire for other traditionally underrepresented minorities. Unless we wish to create a higher education system as homogenous as the UC Berkeley freshman class of 1998, we must protect affirmative action. Unless we wish to continue depriving certain races of equal representation in some of the most valued positions of our society, we must protect affirmative action. Unless we wish to ignore the long-lasting effects of historical injustices enacted upon certain races, we must protect affirmative action.

Michael Ramos-Lynch ’09 ate all the brown M&M’s.

als but also among swing moderates. Quotas — hiring and admission standards that force institutions’ demographics to closely mirror those of the wider population — neither stand up to intellectual scrutiny nor appeal to a wide umbrella of prospective voters. As such, they should be excised from any action plan to achieve racial justice. The goal of affirmative action is to “level the playing field,” which few oppose. But though many support giving an edge to the minority candidate when all else is equal, far fewer are comfortable with turning away more qualified candidates (in terms of grades, test scores, work experience, etc.) solely because of their ethnic background. It is true that part of this reluctance can be explained by some whites’ lack of awareness of their own privilege, but that alone does not render their objections invalid or unworthy of consideration. Economists maintain that taxes and subsidies are the same thing — a subsidy for one group is, in effect, no different than a tax on all other groups. Some sort of tax — falling primarily upon whites — to correct for past inequities is surely appropriate, but questions of admission and employment are difficult and complex. Whereas financial taxes allow for burdens to be diffused over a wide population — thus not significantly impacting any single person — admission and hiring concentrate the onus on each person affected individually. In other words, every minority applicant hired for a job or accepted to a university

with qualifications below the “white average” (many Asian-American groups are an exception here) causes someone else nearer to that average to be denied, even if they have themselves faced discrimination and hardship for reasons affirmative action does not take into consideration, like class. To make matters worse, every rejected white (or Asian) applicant with qualifications exceeding the minority average has some reasonable grounds to resent the policy — even if the rejected population far exceeds the number of spots set aside for disadvantaged minorities. This is no reason to throw out affirmative action, but it does mean that we as a society must be extraordinarily careful and sensitive regarding every spot available in selective institutions. Due to a variety of factors — including lesser average educational resources, poorer average nutrition and outright discrimination — the number of minorities with the same qualifications as the average number of accepted whites is far less than would be the case in a more just society. Boosting minority representation by holding applicants to somewhat lower standards is therefore justified, though defining exactly what those standards should be is easier said than done. The quota system assumes that, even in the most elite institutions, any minority representation short of their proportion within society is evidence of institutional discrimination and racism. But this position fallaciously presupposes that merit is based on innate talent at birth. In reality, merit is a complex and variable cocktail of numerous factors, including not only brainpower but also quality of education, effective study habits, proper nutrition, high self-esteem and interaction with successful role models — some of the very things that discrimination undermines. A mounting body of evidence suggests that human capital is irrevocably lost when circumstances prevent children from attaining their full potential, and that much of the damage is already done by late adolescence. So if discrimination is indeed as endemic and destructive as we know it to be, logic demands that the proportion of the disadvantaged minority population that can attain a given high level of merit will be smaller than that proportion within the wider population. While quotas are predicated on the destructive effects of discrimination, their logic nonsensically requires that those effects have little to no impact on the qualifications of disadvantaged minority groups — that discrimination doesn’t in fact have a measurable effect on its victims. This is a contradiction. As discrimination creates conditions under which merit cannot emerge equitably or proportionally, non-racist meritocracies will still inevitably have fewer members of victimized groups than are their proportions in society. A quota system ineffectually attacks symptoms of inequality rather than its underlying causes, while generating a host of other problems, such as increased white and Asian resentment against application processes that aren’t strictly “race-blind,” belittling cynicism regarding the true merits of minority professionals, and a demeaning message to minority youth that society has significantly lower expectations of them than of whites. Society must recognize that no policy can repair hundreds of years of social damage overnight or even, perhaps, within a few decades. The most effective and least divisive policy will be based on enhanced access to quality resources in order to change the system organically. Micromanaging numbers in a vain attempt to magically transform our flawed society into an instant utopia is a policy designed for failure.

Jesse Adams ’07 judges people not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their iPod.

S PORTS W EEKEND FRIDAY, MARCH 16, 2007

W. lax opens home schedule this weekend

Full speed downhill with skiing’s O’Hear ’07

BY PETER CIPPARONE SPORTS EDITOR

BY MARCO SANTINI SPORTS STAFF WRITER

Last week, Kelly O’Hear ’07 led the ski team to a seventh-place finish in the USCSA National Championships in Colorado. O’Hear was riding a five-race win streak going into the event, after winning both the slalom and giant slalom events at the regional competition. She finished sixth in the slalom and 13th in the giant slalom at Nationals, good enough to earn All-American status for the fourth straight year.

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK Herald: What did you think of your performance at Nationals? O’Hear: Going into Nationals, I was the favorite … I had a lot of anxiety going in, especially since I had fallen in at least one event each year I had skied at Nationals. The first event was the giant slalom. In the first run, I hip-checked twice and placed 23rd overall. I was pretty angry and knew I wasn’t in the zone. In my second run I was first overall, but they averaged the two, dropping me to 13th. In the slalom on Friday, I was seventh after a mediocre first run and sixth after my second run. I finished sixth in the slalom and sixth overall, after they combined all four runs. How did you feel about sixth place? I was happy to get two quality finishes. I hadn’t done that in two years. I was happy to score for my team but I was a bit disappointed. I do expect more from myself and knew I could do better, but I was still sixth in the nation. When did you start skiing? I’ve been skiing since I was two years old. At that age, the skis are around a foot, maybe a-foot-and-ahalf-long. Why did you start skiing at such a young age? Skiing is one of those sports that if you don’t learn when you are younger, it is very difficult to pick up. There are very few racers who learn the sport after age 10 because it’s such a technically demanding sport. There is also the element of fear. When you are younger, you don’t fear anything. You slap your skis on and go straight downhill. When you are older, you have more reservation and that doesn’t help you. Do your parents ski? My parents have been together since they were in high school and my dad taught my mom and her family how to ski. He got everyone continued on page 9

Ashley Hess / Herald File Photo Bethany Buzzell ’09 will be an offensive focal point for the women’s lacrosse team when it meets Temple University today. Buzzell has six goals on the season, including three against Sacred Heart University.

W. LACROSSE: vs. Temple, Turf Field, 4 p.m. W. WATER POLO: at Slippery Rock WRESTLING: at NCAA Championships (Auburn Hills, Mich.)

SATURDAY, ATURDAY MARCH 17 ATURDAY, EQUESTRIAN: at Johnson & Wales NO. 18 M. LACROSSE: at Massachusetts

After a tr ying start to the season, the women’s lacrosse team returns home this weekend for two games. The Bears will play Temple University at 4 p.m. on Friday and host the University of New Hampshire on Sunday at 1 p.m. Both games will likely be played on the Turf Field. It would be hard to find an early-season schedule in the countr y more challenging than the one that the Bears faced this year. Brown started off the year with a trip to No. 1 University of North Carolina in its first game two weeks ago and was over whelmed by the Tar Heels, 17-5. Next, the team returned to the Northeast for matchups against Sacred Heart and Stony Brook universities. Brown split the two games before hitting the road again for a game it lost against No. 3 University of Mar yland. Needless to say, some home cooking will be much appreciated this weekend. The Bears are hoping the tough road games will give them the experience needed to pull them through the gauntlet that is the Ivy League portion of the schedule. “I think playing the best teams in the countr y is an irreplaceable experience,” said defenseman Val Sherr y ’09. “Each week we tr y and execute the game plan our

coaches give us, and we’ve been improving.” In order to secure wins at home, the team will need to shore up its defense. This year Brown has given up an average of 14.5 goals per game. “Defensively we want to emphasize our communication, especially in front of the goal,” Sherr y said. “We really want to not give the ball away in the back and provide our attack with good opportunities to score.” Offensively, the team will look to some of its underclassmen for scoring. Molly McCarthy ’10 has recorded a point in each game this season and scored a goal in the team’s last three games, while Bethany Buzzell ’09 has chipped in six goals on the year. Like Brown, Temple and UNH currently boast 1-3 records. Temple also played UNC — just a week after Brown played the Tar Heels — and lost 18-8. Temple also lost to the University of Pennsylvania. The Wildcats lost to Dartmouth and Yale. This weekend’s games kick off a four-game homestand that will last until the Bears’ March 31 showdown against Dartmouth. The team will enjoy the time in Providence. “It’ll be really nice to play on our own field again,” Sherr y said. “We’re really excited to have our own fans come out for the game.”

W. water polo wears down Harvard for 8-3 win BY BENJY ASHER SPORTS STAFF WRITER

The women’s water polo team had a strong showing Wednesday night, playing tight defense and taking advantage of scoring opportunities to cruise to an 8-3 win at Harvard. After a slow first half in which Brown was able to wear down the Crimson, the Bears pulled away in a five-goal third quarter and sealed the win in the final period to improve their record to 6-2. Bruno fell behind early when Harvard capitalized on a 6-on-5 opportunity to score the game’s first goal just 1:25 into the contest. Though the Bears would not allow another goal in the remainder of the period, they struggled to find opportunities on offense until Caitlin Fahey ’07 tied the game with 1:29 remaining. In the second quarter, Brown was held scoreless until Sarah Glick ’10 put in her first goal of the game, 1:11 before the half, to give the Bruno a 2-1 lead. The goal would be the Bears’ final tally of the half. But despite the lack of scoring, the Bears’ defense con-

SPORTS SCHEDULE FRIDAY, DAY MARCH 16 DAY,

PAGE 12

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

W. WATER POLO: vs. Loyola Marymount; vs. Indiana (Ann Arbor, Mich.) WRESTLING: at NCAA Championships (Auburn Hills, Mich.)

SUNDAY, DAY MARCH 18 DAY, GYMNASTICS: vs. Penn with Southern Connecticut State, Pizzitola Center, 1 p.m. W. LACROSSE: vs. New Hampshire, Turf Field, 1 p.m. W. WATER POLO: at California Baptist

Jacob Melrose / Herald File Photo Stephanie Laing ’10 stopped 11 shots in the Bear’s 8-3 win over Harvard on Wednesday.

tinuously hampered the Crimson, holding it scoreless in the period while also wearing it down physically. “I feel like we started out slow,” Glick said. “Harvard scoring the game’s first goal had a big effect, and it was hard for us to come back from that, but we tired them out by countering them throughout the game.” In the third quarter, Brown took advantage of its opponents’ fatigue, scoring five unanswered goals to blow the game wide open. With 6:44 remaining, Lauren Presant ’10 drew a penalty shot, which Glick converted for her second

goal of the night. After a Harvard ejection at 4:55, Head Coach Jason Gall called a timeout, and his team responded. Just 20 seconds after the stoppage, Glick scored her third goal of the game to put the Bears up 4-1. Fahey converted her second goal of the game at 3:10, and Elizabeth Balassone ’07 put in two goals in the period’s final three minutes to give the Bears a 7-1 lead. “We pretty much wore Harvard down,” Gall said. “In the first two quarters, we pressured Harvard, and then they ran out of gas and started to make careless turnovers. As the game went on, we

were in better shape, which allowed us to get many counterattack goals.” Though Harvard would cut Bruno’s lead to 7-3 with two goals in the final period, it was unable to mount a sufficient comeback. With 2:07 remaining, Ally Wyatt ’08 scored Brown’s final goal of the game, making the final score 8-3. The Bears’ defense shone on Wednesday night, holding Harvard scoreless for 25 minutes between its first and second goals. Goalie Stephanie Laing ’10 anchored the effort in recording 11 continued on page 9