The Brown Daily Herald T hursday, S eptember 25, 2008
Volume CXLIII, No. 78
Since 1866, Daily Since 1891
U. to remove damaged tree art soon
Economist speaks against ‘just say no’ Libertarian favors decriminalization
By Brian Mastroianni Senior Staf f Writer
By Sarah Husk Contributing Writer
After growing up with “Just Say No” with television commercials imploring them to be “Above the Influence,” today’s college students have spent their youths grounded in America’s so-called “war on drugs.” But on Tuesday night, students filled List Auditorium to hear one man’s take on exactly why the whole campaign makes no sense. Jeffrey Miron, Harvard economics professor, outspoken libertarian and staunch advocate of drug legalization, told his audience that since his positions tend to be unpopular, he gets a “weird feeling” when an audience agrees with him. Miron focused his lecture on deconstructing the liberal and libertarian arguments on drug policy, and differentiating them on the basis of liberals’ interest in decriminalization versus libertarians’ agenda to legalize them completely. The main difference, he said, is that liberals, while “happy to defend the rights of someone who uses drugs,” are not as interested in legalizing the market to protect sellers. This, Miron said, is “just bizarre” and “illogical” to libertarians. “Decriminalization is not going to get rid of the problems,” Miron said, citing issues that would remain problematic even under decriminalization, such as questionable quality control, infringements on civil liberties and violent tensions between rival drug dealers. On the other hand, libertarians, continued on page 4
Alex DePaoli / Herald
What remains of “Square Roots,” the sculpture on the Front Green — which sustained damage from a fallen tree last March — will be removed in the coming months.
continued on page 4
Did Jesus walk on water? Prof. can’t find footprints By Leslie Primack Staff Writer
The world’s most famous historical figure may also be one of its most elusive. The subject of millions of books, movies and even bumper stickers, Jesus Christ has been an international celebrity for almost 2,000 years. But when archaeologists try to uncover even a single artifact regarding Jesus’ life, they can find nothing. “It’s amazing how something you can’t prove scientifically can be so
powerful,” said Adjunct Assistant Professor of Judaic Studies Katharina Galor. On Sept. 11, she gave a lecture entitled “Jesus: What is the Archaeological Evidence?” at the University of Missouri.
FEATURE Galor, who has worked for the past 20 years on excavations in Israel, said there is no physical evidence for the existence of Jesus. This, however, is not unusual for figures of his time period — religious artifacts from this era that can be traced to
specific individuals are exceedingly rare, Galor said. “Belief is defined mostly by words … and by emotions,” Galor explained, rather than by objects that people use in their daily lives that could be excavated thousands of years later. “It’s just like today. You would not necessarily be able to differentiate a Jew from a Christian or a Muslim. They use the same utensils to eat, they wear the same clothes.” University Chaplain Janet Coocontinued on page 4
Language, leadership at issue in postponed vote By Melissa Shube Senior Staff Writer
Kim Perley / Herald
In the first week of fall, RI farms offered pumpkins, apples and other locally-grown produce at the Farmers’ Market.
POSThas a fetish, a fall from innocence and a new Facebook
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CAMPUS NEWS
real Foods Many Brown student groups unite to bring sustainable foods to Brown’s campus
Courtesy of the Apollonia-Arsuf Project
Adjunct Assistant Professor of Judaic Studies Katharina Galor
UCS decides to table three UFB amendments
PUMPKIN SEASON BEGINS
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Artist Patrick Dougherty’s tree sculpture, which has been on the Front Green since October 2006, will finally be removed in the next few months, members of the University’s public art committee said. The temporar y installation, an improbably balanced tangle of branches named “Square Roots,” was partially destroyed in March when one of the nearby elm trees toppled and crushed the sculpture’s middle section. The University removed the affected segment, but the remaining parts on each side were left intact. Dougherty’s piece was originally scheduled to be removed after about two years, said Jo-Ann Conklin, director of the David Winton Bell Gallery and a member of the art committee.
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OPINIONS
The Undergraduate Council of Students met Wednesday with the intention of voting on three amendments to the constitution of the Undergraduate Finance Board, which controls funding for student activities. However, problems with the wording and content, including a disagreement over gender-neutral pronouns, were brought up in a preliminary discussion and led UFB to withdraw all three amendments. “Somewhere along the lines, UFB and UCS got mixed up about what was actually being passed and what the language was supposed to
SAYONARA TO STEWART Anish Mitra ’10 discusses the doom of The Daily Show — who will Stewart make fun of next?
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16 SPORTS
be,” UFB Vice-Chair Stefan Smith ’09 said. The first amendment discussed would require that the UCS Elections Board be comprised of equal numbers of UCS and UFB members. “I think it’s incredibly important to have both bodies represented,” said Erinn Phelan ’09, a former UFB member who is now UCS’s liason to the Corporation. Zachary Townsend ’09, the former UCS vice president, worried that the amendment, which would force UFB to put more members on the election board, would cause UFB members to do a poor job with their primary job of managing student groups’ funding. Rakim Brooks ’09, former UCS academics and administrative affairs chair, said “dragging people on the board for any particular reason actucontinued on page 6 MEN’S SOCCER VICTORY Brown’s team scores the only goal at the end of the game to defeat Boston College
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