The Brown Daily Herald M onday, N ovember 12, 2007
Volume CXLII, No. 108
Since 1866, Daily Since 1891
Two years after O’Reilly, SPG stays calm
i v y leag u e champio n s !
By Sophia Lambertsen Staff Writer
Courtesy of Stephen Sawyer ’09 The men’s soccer team celebrated a victory over Dartmouth Saturday night at Stevenson Field that clinched the Bears’ Ivy League championship title. See Sports, Page 12
Hotel growth may ease Commencement crunch By Debbie Lehmann Senior Staff Writer
With hotels already filling up for this year’s Commencement weekend in May, it may seem like those who wait to make reservations won’t have a place to stay or a table at a Federal Hill restaurant. But the recent expansion of several Providence hotels means rooms may be easier to come by this year, and restaurant owners say most people don’t make reservations for Commencement weekend until the spring. Though he could not provide a figure for the actual financial impact of the weekend, Neil Schriever, vice president of sales for the Providence Warwick Convention and Visitors Bureau, wrote in an e-mail to The Herald that Commencement — like Parents Weekend — has historically generated a boost in business for
Orthodox Jews combine secular and religious life at U. By Cameron Lee Staf f Writer
Orthodox Jews do not activate electrical devices, write or drive on Shabbat, which lasts from sundown on Friday until Saturday at sundown. For Brunonians who practice Orthodox Judaism, that means limited homework and no card access to dorms for 24 hours each week. But Orthodox Jews at Brown say practicing their faith in college is about more than a list of restrictions on their Saturday activities. Fewer than 20 students selfidentify as Orthodox Jewish, compared to the roughly 1,400 Jewish students enrolled at Brown, said Megan Nesbitt, associate director of Brown Hillel. On a national level, the latest figures put Orthodox Jews at 5.6 million people, or about 8 percent, of the American Jewish community, according to Michael Satlow, associate professor of Judaic Studies and Religious Studies. Because of the challenges Or-
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thodox Jewish students encounter at secular universities like Brown, those who do choose to come to College Hill are self-selective, Nesbitt said. Whereas Orthodox Jewish students at some universities form their own somewhat separate religious communities, Brown’s Orthodox community is smaller and less able to do so,
FAITH ON CAMPUS
fourth in a series on religious life at the University
Nesbitt said. But Brown’s small Orthodox Jewish community and students’ appreciation of “being challenged to think,” create a more integrated community for Orthodox Jews at Brown than other colleges, said Nesbitt, who also worked at the University of Michigan Hillel. “The (Orthodox Jewish) students that come here are the students that can or are able to take leadership in forming their own religious experience at Brown,” she said. Sam Schmelzer ’11 said that when he was growing up, his
By Blair Hickman Contributing Writer
Project CARES — Condom Accessibility and Responsibility for Every Student, an on-campus research study of student sexual health — will launch this spring under the direction of Ben Colburn ’10. Student participants will receive 42 condoms in their mailboxes over the span of three months and will take two online surveys to provide information on student sexual health and the University’s current condom distribution system. The project’s goal is to determine the most effective way to encourage safe sex on campus. The lack of information on
Chris Bennett / Herald More than a dozen dogs frolicked on the Main Green Friday afternoon as part of “Heavy Petting,” a relaxation event sponsored by Health Education.
INSIDE:
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ARTS & CULTURE
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family was moving toward Orthodox Judaism. But his decision to become an Orthodox Jew was a personal one, made after exploring the reasons behind his beliefs. Schmelzer, who calls himself a “moderate Orthodox Jew,” said he believes that the Torah is divinely inspired and that oral law, including the Talmud, is equally important. “I have an obligation to follow what is written in that text,” he said. “Because the text can be vague and ambiguous ... we have the concept of what is called the oral law, which was passed down by word of mouth.”
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CAMPUS NEWS
INSIDE ORWIG The Herald takes a look at the Orwig Music Library’s extensive collection of sheet music and recordings.
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U.S. News to honor Simmons tonight By Michael Skocpol Senior Staff Writer
safe sex among college students is alarming, Colburn said. Nationally, adolescents ages 18-25 report an average condom usage rate of 50 percent, according to Colburn and Naomi Ninneman, a University health educator specializing in sexual education. They said, however, such statistics generally do not exist specifically for college campuses. Colburn said his previous research with the Global Alliance to Immunize Against AIDS — a local NGO that also has an on-campus branch to promote HIV awareness — has suggested that Brown students are not fully aware of the
For President Ruth Simmons, November is turning out to be quite a heady month. U.S. News and World Report will honor Simmons as one of “America’s Best Leaders,” the magazine announced today, making it the second national publication in as many weeks to honor Simmons with an award. Earlier this month Glamour, the popular women’s magazine, named the four female presidents of Ivy League schools — Simmons, Harvard University’s Drew Faust, Princeton University’s Shirley Tilghman and the University of Pennsylvania’s Amy Gutmann — among its Women of the Year for 2007. This time around, Simmons doesn’t have to share the spotlight with as many of her Ivy League peers — Tilghman is the only other university president to make the U.S. News list this year. Other recognizable names among this year’s 17 honorees include movie-star-turned-California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, actor and
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Free condoms in the mail to study safe sex on campus
STRESS RELIEF
PIANOS FOR PEACE Palestinian-Israeli pianist Saleem Abboud Ashkar spoke and performed on campus this weekend.
Kim Perley / Herald
Sam Schmelzer ’11
Security at this year’s Sex Power God was so strict that God himself — in fact Ben Struhl ’09 dressed in a sheet and a long white beard — was denied entry for not having valid identification. Struhl said he snuck into the Queer Alliance party for the past two years “to make fun of people,” but this year he was turned away. “People take SPG way too seriously. It’s just a party, you know?” he said. “Why do people make such a big deal of it?” But the increased security and safety measures, first introduced last year in response to the raucous 2005 dance, seemed to be a success. Only five students across campus required Emergency Medical Services attention Saturday night, said Margaret Klawunn, associate vice president for campus life and dean of student life. That number is down from 14 last year and 24 in 2005. “We received compliments from EMS saying that Sex Power God went better than they’d ever seen it,” said event co-coordinator Katie Lamb ’10. The coordinators attributed the dance’s success to their experience with previous dances. At Sex Power
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OPINIONS
195 Angell Street, Providence, Rhode Island
CAMPUS IN DISORDER Kathryn Boonstra ‘09 says Brown’s high-pressure environment contributes to eating disorders.
12 SPORTS
IVY LEAGUE CHAMPS The men’s soccer team defeated Dartmouth on Saturday to take the Ivy League championship.
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