The Brown Daily Herald F riday, N ovember 9, 2007
Volume CXLII, No. 107
Since 1866, Daily Since 1891
Playing candidates, Dems spar over policy
‘Lots of surprises’ planned for Sex Power God By Sophia Lambertsen Staff Writer
Saturday’s Sex Power God dance, hosted annually by Queer Alliance, will give students a chance to explore their identity in a “sober, sane, safe and consensual” environment, said event co-coordinator Robin Peckham ’10. Party coordinators and University student life officials say they are optimistic about security and safety at this year’s event. Both have been issues in the past — at Sex Power God in 2005, 24 students required medical attention, and students without tickets tried to break into the party through second floor and basement windows in Sayles Hall. At the same time, a producer for Fox News’ “The O’Reilly Factor” brought a camera into the event, and footage of the party was later aired on the show to highlight what the producer called “pure debauchery.” Last year’s Sex Power God was held without major incident, though 14 students required medical attention. Pre-dance anticipation came to a head on Tuesday evening with a public debate over whether the event should be held on campus. “Editorial critics” Joshua Unseth ’08 and Sean Quigley ’10, a Herald opinions colummnist, responded to event coordinators Katie Lamb ’10 and Peckham, who maintained that the party was about freedom to experiment with identity. Quigley voiced his opposition to Sex Power God, saying, “Liberty is not licentiousness.” Unseth protested the raffling off of SPG tickets at the debate by saying he would raffle off what he described as “a bag of shit.” It was, in fact, full of candy. Peckham and Lamb said Tuesday’s debate was effective, though they said they wished more people on campus had heard it. The approximately 600 tickets available for Sex Power God sold out by Wednesday. Gem Chema ’11 said that about 100 people lined up for tickets Wednesday morning in Leung Gallery; tickets went on sale at 9 a.m. “People were cutting in line, and it was very disorganized,” Chema said. “I showed up at six in the morning, and people who showed up at eight got tickets, and I didn’t.” Security will be vital for the safety of attendees, Peckham and Lamb said. Last year, coordinators responded to security issues by moving the dance to Alumnae Hall — which has fewer entrances than Sayles — and hiring private security firm Green Horn Management to staff the event. Roaming student party managers also patrolled the space to ensure consensual behavior. The party managers — who dress and act like partygoers — wear shiny purple armbands continued on page 6
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ARTS & CULTURE
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By Allison Wentz Contributing Writer
of Wicca has helped her transition to college and her daily life. “It is definitely a practice that coincides well with being a young adult, being a freshman in college, being a woman, trying to figure out how the world works, and who I am, and my place in it,” Tuccero said. Tuccero was baptized three times. Describing her religious background, Tuccero said her religious roots are in Christianity. “My mom was Catholic, my dad was Episcopalian, and I think when I was born they had an idea, ‘We’ll raise her … in a Christian household,’ but that kind of petered out,” she said. With her Baptist grandmother,
More than 120 students plus Providence Mayor David Cicilline ’83 filled Salomon 001 last night to attend the Brown Democrats’ mock presidential debate. Brown students played the parts of all eight Democratic candidates for the 2008 presidential primary, discussing everything from tax policy to transgender rights, mixing serious policy discussion with sharp barbs and bits of humor. The students debating were Ava Lubell ’09 as Sen. Hillary Clinton, DN.Y., Billy Packer ’09 as Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., Stephen Moilanen ’08 as former Vice Presidential nominee and North Carolina Senator John Edwards, Max Winograd ’09 as New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, John Voorhees ’09 as Sen. Joe Biden, DDel., Jeremy Feigenbaum ’11 as Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., Tor Tarantola ‘08 as Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, and David Rangaviz ’08 as former Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel. The debate began with opening remarks from each candidate followed by questions submitted from audience members before the event. Questions touched on topics including the removal of troops from Iraq, the national deficit, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, climate change and partial-birth abortion. The questions often were addressed to multiple candidates, though some questions were directed toward individual candidates as well. Winograd’s alter ego, Richardson, was asked what he thought his biggest mistake had been in trying to broker a cease-fire in Darfur, and Packer’s Obama character was queried on why he was the only candidate not wearing an American flag pin — to which he answered, “Patriotism is not about what you wear on your
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Kim Perley / Herald
Abrihette Yawa ‘10 incorporates elements of Wicca into her daily life.
Campus Wiccans spell out their beliefs By Irene Chen Senior Staff Writer
When other freshmen plastered their walls with posters of movie stars and filled their shelves with pictures from home, Ashley Tuccero ’11 took a different approach to decorating the bookshelves in her Keeney Quadrangle dorm room. She placed gourds, 13 nails, a decorative rune, part of an asteroid rock, a cornhusk doll and an assortment of books about the practice of Wicca on her shelves. The books on Wicca are carefully concealed with brown paper, and next to them is a copy of the Bible. Tuccero, while hesitant to describe herself as Wiccan, does practice some elements of what
she calls “solitary eclectic” Wicca — that is, she does not adhere to traditions of secrecy and hierarchy that are part of the formal religion but instead incorporates elements into her own brand of
FAITH ON CAMPUS
third in a series on religious life at the University
spirituality. The more formalized Gardnerian Wicca, popularized by Gerald Gardner in 1954, is supposedly a revival of an old religion of witchcraft, originating in paganism. Wicca is only one form of pagan witchcraft and varies in beliefs and practices across individuals and traditions. Tuccero said her own practice
RISD attracts aspiring filmmakers By Olivia Hoffman Staff Writer
Brenda Han / Herald
“Family Guy” creator Seth MacFarlane and “Good Will Hunting” director Gus Van Sant both got their start at RISD’s Film/Animation/Video program.
Guerrilla Girls Feminist art activists tell students to question discrimination in the art world — with gorilla masks.
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CAMPUS NEWS
command & conquer Nearly 1,000 Brunonians are members of GoCrossCampus, a new online strategy multiplayer game.
What do “Family Guy” creator Seth MacFarlane, “Good Will Hunting” director Gus Van Sant and Academy Award-winning cinematographer Robert Richardson have in common? They are all alums of the Rhode Island School of Design’s Film/Animation/Video program. With a curriculum that incorporates field trips to places like the Sundance Film Festival, the Ottawa International Animation Festival and the set of NBC’s “Law and Order,” the program offers students unique training in both live action and animated media. Housed in RISD’s Auditorium
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OPINIONS
195 Angell Street, Providence, Rhode Island
OPINIONS Extra James Shapiro ’09 thinks countries borders should be more open for immigrants and migration.
Building on North Main Street, with offices in the Market House nextdoor, the department consists of 115 undergraduates, five full-time professors and between 12 and 15 part-time adjunct professors, said Peter O’Neill, a film professor in the final year of a five-year term as head of the FAV department. In recent years, about 20 students in each class have focused on animation, and 17 or 18 have chosen to pursue live action filmmaking, he said. Though the full-time professors generally have broad knowledge in at least one of the three departmental disciplines, adjunct professors offer specialized instruction in continued on page 4
16 SPORTS
A Slam Dunk Men’s basketball plans to kick off its season today with last year’s solid lineup — and a better record.
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