Tuesday, November 4, 2008

The Brown Daily Herald T uesday, N ovember 4, 2008

Volume CXLIII, No. 105

Since 1866, Daily Since 1891

Profs. overstep their purpose, Times blogger argues

$90 mil. in bonds at issue on ballot

By Matthew Varley Higher Ed Editor

By Jyotsna Mullur Staf f Writer

Halfway through his lecture Monday afternoon, Stanley Fish, author of the New York Times blog “Think Again,” told a mostly filled Salomon 101 that universities have their stated goals all wrong. University mission statements are “all unbearable,” Fish said, and “they should all be burned.” A professor of law and humanities at Florida International University, Fish based his presentation on his new book, “Save the World on Your Own Time.” The event was sponsored by the Graduate School and structured as a lecturedebate. Fish read “a discarded introduction” to his new book a few paragraphs at a time and paused between sections to solicit questions from the audience. Fish’s main premise was that college professors can “legitimately do two things: first, introduce students to bodies of knowledge and

In addition to casting their votes for president today, Rhode Islanders at the polls will also consider two propositions on the ballot, regarding nearly $90 million in state bonds to fund the state departments of transportation and environmental management. The first initiative, if passed, would authorize more than $87 mil-

Universities need new mission statements, Fish says

METRO

is running for his third term in the U.S. Senate, campaigning on a platform of energy independence, middle class tax reform and opposition to the Iraq War. Reed, an Army veteran, is widely seen as one of the foremost experts on national defense and drew attention earlier this year as a potential vice presidential pick for Sen. Barack Obama. He also accompanied Obama on his tour of the Middle East over the summer. Reed’s opponent, Rober t

lion in state funding to improve roads, railways and infrastructure. The money would come in the form of bonds, borrowed funds from taxes, fees, fines and the lotter y system, which the state would eventually repay with interest. These funds would be matched by available federal funds. Around $3.5 million of this fund would be used by the Rhode Island Public Transport Authority to purchase new buses and rehabilitate old ones. The rehabilitations and purchases, if the bill passes, would start next summer. Depending on the size of the vehicle, RIPTA estimates that the life of the new and rehabilitated buses will be approximately 10 to 12 years, according to state’s Web site. Assuming an interest rate of six percent, the total project and issuance cost for the bond would ultimately amount to just over $150 million with interest included. Rep. David Segal, D-Dist. 2, a supporter of the bill, wrote in an e-mail to The Herald that though adopting the measure would mean increased debt, the state could not afford to give up the federal funds.

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Quinn Savit / Herald

Stanley Fish, author of the New York Times blog “Think Again,” lectured on Monday about the poor quality of university mission statements, arguing that professors try to do more than their job entails. traditions of inquiry” and second, “equip those same students with the analytical skills” they need to “move confidently within these new traditions and to engage in independent research.” “That’s all there is to it,” Fish

said, “nothing more and nothing less.” But according to Fish, university professors often try to do a lot more than their job entails. “If you read the mission statements put out by some colleges and universities, you would think

that ever y ill mankind had ever suffered was to be cured by the right curriculum and by a visionary instructor,” Fish said. Fish said Wesleyan University continued on page 4

Conservatives The election: where to vote, what to look for log on to the blogosphere By Scott Lowenstein Metro Editor

By Juliana Friend Staf f Writer

Brown’s conservatives may be few in number, but they’re still finding new ways to make themselves heard. “Why are theatre people even pretending like their opinion matters?” asks BrownIvy.com, a new

FEATURE

Students who are at least 18 years of age and registered to vote in Rhode Island are eligible to vote in today’s general election. Voters must have registered in Rhode Island by Oct. 4 to cast ballots for U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives and local races. If unregistered, voters may cast a limited ballot for the presidential and vice presidential races at the Dunkin Donuts Center at One LaSalle Square in downtown Providence.

There are 581 polling places in Rhode Island, most of which open at 7 a.m. All polling places close at 9 p.m., but any voter who is in line at a polling booth by that time is eligible to cast a ballot.

ELECTION GUIDE Voter information, including sample ballots and where to vote, is available at www.state.ri.us/ vic. U.S. SENATE Jack Reed Incumbent Jack Reed, D-R.I.,

student-run blog created as a forum for right-leaning students to discuss University events and national political issues. Until now, the campus conservative movement has in large part been recorded by the Brown Spectator, which strikes a formal tone. But as Brown’s conservatives look for new ways to share their social and political analyses, they’re turning to the Internet. “I want Brown conservatism to be Googleable,” said Joshua Unseth ’09, a creator of and contributor to BrownIvy. Unseth said the genesis of the blog, which launched Sept. 16, was “kind of a crapshoot.” One of the reasons for founding it was to provide a sounding board separate from the Brown Spectator — a studentrun “journal of conservative and libertarian thought” — to escape some of the negative feelings students may harbor toward that magazine,

A different kind of Strait Talk Chinese, Taiwanese, U.S. students try to mediate tensions By Etienne Ma Contributing Writer

Min Wu / Herald

continued on page 4

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METRO

Strait Talk’s fourth annual weeklong symposium kicked off this week.

PLEADING NO CONTEST Edith Ajello is running unopposed for the state House, avoiding a tiring campaign

www.browndailyherald.com

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CAMPUS NEWS

DOUBLE YOUR PLEASURE UCS is nearly twice as large as it was last year. How will it adapt to a bigger body?

11

OPINIONS

At the opening of the weeklong Strait Talk series, in which 15 student delegates from Taiwan, China and the United States try to mediate the tensions between the three nations, Associate Professor Jennifer Rudolph of the Worcester Polytechnic Institute described graffiti she had seen in Taiwan. “One China” and “One Taiwan” were phrases she saw scrawled on walls on the island. The two phrases epitomize the uncertain position of Taiwan, which fellow presenter Professor Steven Phillips of Towson University called

STEALING AN ELECTION? The Wiz Kids call for better oversight of electronic voting machines to avert disaster

195 Angell Street, Providence, Rhode Island

12 SPORTS

“a bundle of contradictions.” China claims Taiwan as its own, while some Taiwanese insist on the island’s sovereignty. Monday’s presentation in the Sidney E. Frank Hall for Life Science 220 was titled the “Historical Roots of the Taiwan Strait Issue.” The two professors tackled the historical origins of the formation of the Taiwanese identity, examining Taiwan’s transformation from the Qing dynasty through the Cold War. Rudolph said Taiwan had made an “evolution of identity” to become a “hub for international commodity trading” in the 19th century. Phillips stressed the importance of studying the history of the region, saying that an analysis of the issue needs to take into account historical claims to the island. For example, continued on page 9

QUAKERS MASSACRED Women’s soccer shuts out Penn in a tense overtime game after balanced play

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T oday Page 2

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

W e a th e r

Vagina Dentata | Soojean Kim

TODAY

TOMORROW

partly cloudy 62 / 45

partly cloudy 60 / 50

Menu Sharpe Refectory

Verney-Woolley Dining Hall

Lunch — Chicken Fajitas, Spinach Enchiladas, Nacho Bar, Mexican Corn, Krinkle Fries, M&M Cookies

Lunch — Chinese Chicken Wings, Mediterranean Bar, Linguini with Tomatoes and Basil, M&M Cookies

Dinner — Pork Loin with Green Apple Dressing, Tomato Quiche, Rice and Orzo Pilaf, Chocolate Cream Pie

Dinner — Meat Tortellini with Sauce, Artichoke and Red Pepper Frittata, Parsley Potatoes, Squash Rolls

Free Variation | Jeremy Kuhn

Sudoku Fill in the grid so that every row, every column and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 through 9.

Brown Meets RISD | Miguel Llorente

Enigma Twist | Dustin Foley

© Puzzles 4, by2008 Pappocom RELEASE DATE– Tuesday, November

Los Angeles Times Puzzle C r o sDaily s w oCrossword rd Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

ACROSS 1 Rock group with a mirrored logo 5 Crystallize 9 “Marnie” star Hedren 14 Amorphous movie monster 15 Inter __ 16 Workers’ group 17 Pretentious talker 19 Computer nerds 20 Sample, for example? 21 “Junk begets junk” computer acronym 23 Corp. honcho 24 Disagree, politely 28 “__ better to have loved ...”: Tennyson 31 Furtive 32 Sadat of Egypt 33 “Trinity” author 35 Approves 37 Arcade games pioneer 40 Wheeler-dealer 44 “Easy!” 45 www address 46 Mother of Helen 47 Schnoz 50 “Hollywood Squares” loser 52 Follow-up film: Abbr. 53 Become mired in 56 Wisecracking TV E.T. 57 Half an ironhorse sound 58 Actor Christopher 62 Sicilian secret society 64 Eaves hanger that attracts insects 67 Golfer’s set 68 Verbal nod 69 Chinese secret society 70 Hard to see through 71 Archie or Jughead, always 72 Psych suffix DOWN 1 Shortened wd.

2 Yawn-inducing 3 Hobgoblin 4 WWII-ending weapon 5 Gossip 6 Crimson rival 7 Jargon 8 Highfalutin 9 “Battle of the Network Stars” contest 10 Having four sharps 11 Per-unit pay scales 12 Texas Hold’em, e.g. 13 Not __ many words 18 Greens __: golfers’ payments 22 Triumphant card game cry 25 Steal, slangily 26 Youngster 27 Deadly 28 Brass band instrument 29 Spring bloomer 30 Approves 34 Berle sidekick Arnold 36 Trifling amount

38 Took the train 39 Where the Tigris and Euphrates meet 41 Nano holder 42 Frigate front 43 Childlike Wells race 48 “Wow!” 49 Rinky-dink 51 More, commercially

53 Trumpet sound 54 Futile 55 Wise about, to a cool cat 56 In the thick of 59 Narrative verse 60 Caesar’s “I came” 61 Joule fragments 63 Electees 65 “Wow!” 66 Buddhist sect

Alien Weather Forecast | Stephen Lichenstein and Adam Wagner

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:

Classic Deo | Daniel Perez

xwordeditor@aol.com

11/04/08

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M etro Tuesday, November 4, 2008

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Uncontested, noncompetitive candidates fill ballot for local elections enough money this election cycle to require reporting under federal law, and has acknowledged that beating Kennedy is a long shot. Still, Scott is “running a campaign based on working class common sense and the belief that serving in federal office was never meant to be a family business or a lifetime position,” according to his Web site. Scott calls himself a moderate Republican, and supports abortion rights, along with Reagan-inspired reductions in government size and taxes. Scott has vocally criticized Kennedy for refusing to participate in debates. “The congressman does not represent Rhode Island, he represents the government,” Scott told the Providence Journal last week. “Why else would he deprive his constituents of a debate?”

continued from page 1 Tingle, has criticized the senator as partly responsible for this year’s financial crisis because of his position on the Senate Subcommittee on Securities, Investment and Insurance. Still, the criticism doesn’t seem to be sticking with Ocean State voters. Reed has a 68 percent approval rating among Rhode Island voters, according to a Sept. 19 University poll, and enjoyed a 52-point margin over Tingle in a poll conducted in July by Rasmussen. Despite his commanding lead, Reed has actively campaigned this cycle, raising over $4 million for campaign funding. “I work hard every day, and I’m working hard for this election,” Reed told the Associated Press last week. “This is an opportunity and an obligation to get out to the people of Rhode Island and talk to them.” Robert Tingle Robert Tingle, Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate seat and a pit boss at Foxwoods Resort Casino, ran against Reed for the Rhode Island Senate seat in 2002, losing 78 percent to 22 percent. This cycle, Tingle refused to raise money, running a low-budget “Ronald Reagan Conservative” campaign, according to his campaign’s Web site. Tingle is “strongly opposed to the latest version of the pork-laden, taxpayer funded, $850,000,000,000 Wall Street bailout,” his Web site proclaims in all-capital letters. “Crooks and thieves should not be bailed out at taxpayer expense. They should be thrown in jail.” Tingle, who supports eliminating the income tax in favor of the “Fair Tax,” decriminalization of marijuana and the overturning of Roe vs. Wade, has tried to build populist traction by placing the blame for the cur-

Courtesy of Google Maps

Depending on your residence, you can vote at, left to right, the Dunkin Donuts Center downtown, the Salomon Center on the Main Green, the Ladder 8 Fire Station at 222 Brook St. and Vartan Gregorian Elementary School on Wickenden Street. rent financial crisis on Reed, who serves on the Senate Subcommittee on Securities, Investment and Insurance. Though Tingle said last week that he has a chance to win, even state Republican chairman Giovanni Cicione called the race an “incredibly difficult challenge,” according to the AP. U.S. HOUSE, DIST. 1 Patrick Kennedy Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I., has held the District 1 seat — which includes the eastern part of the state, including Providence — since 1995. This year’s election is an exact re-

match of the 2006 election against Republican Jonathan Scott, which Kennedy won with 69 percent of the vote. Kennedy is known as a strong advocate for environmental regulation, especially for programs to protect and restore Narragansett Bay, and for health care and mental health advocacy. Kennedy made headlines two years ago for a prescription drug-induced car crash, followed by a stint in rehab for alcohol and prescription drug addiction. Since then, Kennedy has resurfaced on the national scene for his public endorsement of Obama’s presidency last spring, and the grave

illness of his father, Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass. Kennedy’s approval and disapproval ratings are about even — 46.7 percent and 46.8 percent, respectively, according to a Sept. 19 Brown poll. Kennedy has raised $1.4 million over the last two years, according to the Providence Journal. Jonathan Scott Republican Jon Scott, running for the second time against Kennedy, is not the most conventional political candidate. Unemployed since 2004, Scott formerly ran group homes for troubled youths. He has not raised

STATE SENATE DISTRICT 3 Rhoda Perry P’91 Democrat Rhoda Perry P’91 is running unopposed for her tenth term in the state senate representing District 3, which includes much of the East Side of Providence. STATE REPRESENTATIVE DISTRICT 3 Edith Ajello Democrat Edith Ajello is running unopposed in today’s election, for her ninth term as state representative for District 3, which covers most of College Hill, including Brown’s campus. STATE REPRESENTATIVE DISTRICT 2 David Segal Democrat David Segal is running unopposed in today’s election after winning the Democratic primary this September over challenger Rich Rodi, by a wide margin. Segal represents District 2, which includes the Fox Point neighborhood and parts of College Hill.

Rep. Ajello focuses on education, health care By Jyotsna Mullur Staf f Writer

Edith Ajello, D-Dist. 3, deputy majority leader of the state House of Representatives, is running unopposed for the third time for reelection to the General Assembly. Ajello said running unopposed reduces the need to go knocking door-to-door and formulate a formal campaign. Having ser ved in the General Assembly since 1992, Ajello said she feels that voters have been exposed to her long enough to know her and her stances on major issues. “Having a contested race is healthy for democracy,” said Ajello, whose district includes the University and other parts of College Hill. But she added that it was not her responsibility to recruit an opponent for herself. Ajello said she is a strong supporter of increasing funding for education. “I don’t see how you can have a future without an educated populace,” she added. Ajello has been working on legislation that would distribute state funds to public schools based on a formula that takes student need for resources and property tax capacity into consideration, she

said, noting that students who live in poorer communities and those who face language barriers need more resources. She also cited the need to suppor t public higher education, expressing disappointment that tuition increases at the University of Rhode Island, the Community College of Rhode Island and Rhode Island College may have caused many students to forgo attending. Ajello’s political beginnings are rooted in education. She first became involved in politics at the local school level, ser ving as a tutor and mentor for Providence area students and raising funds to support after-school programs. “I got involved in politics as a result of being a ver y supportive parent and an advocate for the schools,” Ajello said. In light of the current economic crisis, Ajello said she hopes to keep the focus on education. “There are some things that I’d like to see happen that, maybe, have to be put off for a while, so that we can stress education,” she said. State grants for the arts, for example, could possibly be cut in order to divert funds toward supporting schools, she said.

But Ajello emphasized that she would oppose cuts on state health insurance to trim the budget. “Health care is just too important,” she said. Named a Civil Libertarian of the Year by the Rhode Island American Civil Liberties Union, Ajello said she recently suppor ted legislation — with the ACLU, Common Cause and various media advocacy organizations — to expand access to public records for citizens. The bill sought to prohibit government offices from limited access to certain public records. Though the bill was vetoed by Gov. Donald Carcieri ’65, Ajello said she hopes the General Assembly will override the veto when it reconvenes in Januar y. Ajello said she has supported Brown students’ efforts to engage with the community. Recently, she worked closely with Democracy Matters, a campus advocacy group, to push a group of bills that seek to reform campaign financing. Ajello said she has no interest in running for higher office. “I’ve enjoyed working with my colleagues in the General Assembly and think I’ve been pretty effective at that,” she said.

Courtesy of RIgov.com

Edith Ajello, D-Dist. 3, deputy majority leader of the state House of Representatives is running unopposed for reelection for the third time, easing her campaign agenda.

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Tuesday, November 4, 2008

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

New blog serves as outlet for conservatives’ social, political commentary continued from page 1 Unseth said. Another goal, he added, was to give Brown conser vatives an opportunity to write shorter, more informal pieces that could provide quick responses to columns in The Herald. “A lot of people discredit things just because they’re associated with (the Spectator),” Unseth said, adding that he hopes the blog will “get away from the stigma people may or may not have” with the publication. Though the desire to promote a less represented perspective inspired BrownIvy, Unseth and other contributors are approaching the blog with a sense of playfulness. “There’s an element of intellectual integrity, but a big part of this is to have fun for conservatives at Brown,” Unseth said. In the month-and-a-half since its creation, the blog has featured posts on a wide range of topics, including today’s presidential election, conservative David Horowitz’s recent on-campus lecture and last week’s anti-abortion protest outside the BioMed Center. “Hopefully it will be amusing,” said Christopher McAuliffe ’05, contributor to the blog and a board member at the Foundation for Intel-

lectual Diversity, which publishes the Spectator. “That’s the highest calling of blogs.” The blog “will help those of us on the right to vent our rage,” McAuliffe said. “One can feel like a rat in a cage if you’re not in the preferred political community here.” In a recent issue of Brown Alumni Magazine, David Klinghoffer ’87 describes life as a conservative at Brown in the 1980s. In what he called a “delightful atmosphere of addled liberalism,” Klinghoffer’s outspokenness was less than welcome, he wrote. “I was shunned. I was a pariah. And I thoroughly enjoyed almost every minute of it,” wrote Klinghoffer, who was a columnist for The Herald while at Brown. For some conservatives, aspects of Klinghoffer’s experience resonate today. “Sometimes I feel I’m perceived as a pariah,” Unseth said. However, conditions for conservatives at Brown have improved considerably, Unseth said. “People don’t throw eggs at conservatives now. It’s part of the diversity trend,” he joked. When Klinghof fer attended Brown in the 1980s, said Spectator Managing Editor and Herald columnist Sean Quigley ’10, free speech codes at the University stifled the

voices of some conservatives. But conditions improved with the arrival of President Ruth Simmons, who has been a key ally in promoting free speech, Quigley said, adding that the Janus Forum and the Political Theory Project have also fostered open debate on political issues. The University “is not a rally,” Simmons told The Herald. “It’s a contentious place where ... jarring perspectives compete.” To create a campus community in which students are challenged by the views of their peers, Simmons said the University must forge a space for minority voices to be heard. To that end, three years ago she created the KaleidoscopeFund, which provides funds to bring speakers to campus whose voices otherwise might not be heard here — often including conservatives. But today’s Brown conservatives have access to something else Klinghoffer did not: the Internet. Unseth and a core group of conservatives said they hope BrownIvy will open a new forum for students with minority political views and expose Brown liberals to points of view they may not often come into contact with. Unseth said the dominance of liberal perspectives on campus can sometimes function as a “veneer of truth.” He remembered a professor

stating that “capitalism is dead,” and said even professors may portray their opinions on political and economic issues as objective facts. Quigley and Unseth agreed that the strong majority of liberal perspectives creates a need for a space devoted to the expression of conservative viewpoints. “We seem to be up against a left-wing ideology,” Quigley said. Unseth emphasized the difference between being in the minority and being marginalized. “Some people allude to an ‘outside liberal takeover’ ... and respond that we need affirmative action for conservatives on faculties,” he said. “I think that’s ridiculous.” Simmons stressed that the University’s job is not to engineer a balance between liberals and conservatives on campus. She said she would be distressed if Brown ever selected students or faculty based on their political affiliations. Kristina Kelleher ’09, editor-inchief of the Spectator, said BrownIvy could serve an important function by announcing the campus’s conservative presence. She said her fellow students assume that only liberals attend the school. “I always feel hurt when people make assumptions about me without knowing me,” said Kelleher, a

former Herald senior staff writer, recalling a conversation last spring when a classmate told her that it was surprising that Kelleher was a Republican because she was so nice. But some students not directly involved with the creation of BrownIvy disagreed about whether the blog will accomplish its goals. Anthony Badami ’11, who writes for the Spectator, pointed out that a very small number of conservatives — mostly Unseth and Quigley — do most of the posting on the blog. Kelleher pointed to the lack of female voices on the blog. The conservative women she has met at Brown “tend to be more involved with other things and don’t have time to write on blogs,” she said. Unseth said he hopes to attract a wider range of writers once the blog becomes better known, recognizing that some of the posts can be “one off, poorly edited pieces,” he said. The site has already seen a boost in traffic after it was referred to in a Providence Journal article earlier this month, Unseth said. Unseth stressed that in Brown’s current political climate, the future impact of BrownIvy is unclear. “Technology gives us a voice,” he said, “but it doesn’t mean people will listen.”

Job of ‘professor’ is narrower than many think, intellectual argues continued from page 1 pledges in its mission statement “to foster awareness, respect and appreciation for a diversity of experiences, interests, beliefs and identities.” “Awareness is okay — I can buy that,” Fish said. “But why should students be taught to respect a diversity of interests, beliefs and identities in advance of assessing them and taking their measure? The missing word here, I believe, is ‘evaluate.’ That’s what intellectual work is about.” These qualities need to be questioned first, according to Fish. “As

we all know, interests can be base, beliefs can be wrong and identities are often irrelevant to any inquiry.” Fish said Michigan State University’s mission statement aspires to shape “graduates who perform admirably as citizens.” But he said this conflates what is to be hoped for with what can be taught. The academy has a “limited, focused” aim of “passing on knowledge and conferring skills,” Fish said. Professors abandon their contracts when they attempt to “fashion moral character, or inculcate respect for others or produce citizens of a certain temperament,”

he added, noting that such effects are “contingent” to the mission of the academy. Fish, who opened by acknowledging the “polemical” nature of his thesis, faced challenging questions from the audience during his presentation. One student asked where character comes from — if not colleges and universities — and what the purpose of the study of the humanities is if not the development of character. “I don’t know,” Fish said in answer to both questions, adding that it was not his responsibility to know. But he added that it is “a mistake to ask or answer the question, ‘What justifies liberal arts education?’” “The justification question always is asked from someone who is outside the enterprise” and therefore requires subjugation to “someone else’s sense” of value, Fish said. Liberal arts education exists because “for some reason, society is willing to pay some of us to engage” in communal academic work, Fish said, and “we find it pleasurable and we like to do it.”

One attendee challenged Fish. “You’re attacking the mission statements. But the university can have a more holistic mission than the narrow training of the faculty.” In response, Fish took his argument a step further. “Universities sometimes do, in fact, take moral stances or political stances. I think they are wrong to do so,” Fish said, adding that schools were “wrong to divest” from South Africa and Israel, “wrong to monitor the factories” that produce their apparel and wrong to take any positions on social or economic issues. “Universities do not stand for anything except the integrity of the pedagogical, intellectual enterprise,” Fish said. Though he said “there are no limits ... on the kinds of topics, or questions or issues that can be introduced in college or university classrooms,” Fish did set limits “on what can be done” about those issues. It is the job of professors to “academicize” any issue by removing the topic from “the context of real world urgency where there is a vote to be taken or a policy to be

implemented” and moving it “into a context of academic urgency where there is a description to be given, or an account to be offered or an analysis to be hassled,” Fish said. “In other words ... you leach the political and moral interests out of the subject and, again, make it into an object of academic interrogation.” At the conclusion of his lecture, Fish returned to the theme of justification and the difficulty colleges and universities face when they are “unconcerned about the public yield” of their activities and devoted to “the asking of questions for their own sake.” “It may seem paradoxical to say so, but any justification of the academic enterprise is always a denigration of it,” Fish said. “The honest thing to do whenever someone from the outside asks, ‘What use is your venture, anyway?’ is to answer ‘None whatsoever.’” Fish said he had “no idea” how to defend higher education without subordinating it to higher ideals of justice, morality or economic growth. But he added: “Then again, it’s not my job.”

Rep. Ajello runs unopposed in Dist. 3 continued from page 1 “Rhode Island has a long history of borrowing for regular highway maintenance ... much more so than other states,” he wrote. “We need to move away from that, but we’re in a real bind and have extraordinar y infrastructural needs. If the bond doesn’t pass, we’ll lose nearly a half-billion dollars from the federal government.” Rep. Edith Ajello, D-Dist. 3, another supporter of the bill, said RIPTA depends on the gas tax for funding. An increase in gas prices lowers gas consumption, causing RIPTA to receive less money and gain more riders at the same time, she said. RIPTA faced a $1.8 mil-

lion deficit this past fiscal year, according to a press release from the General Assembly in September. Ajello said RIPTA should be “unlinked” from gas revenue and must find alternate sources of funding. The second initiative on the ballot proposes to give $2.5 million to the Department of Environmental Management to protect recreational parks, state parks, greenways and other open lands by purchasing titles, development rights and conser vation or public recreation easements to these areas. The project would start next summer and is projected to finish in 2011. The total cost of the project, with a six-percent interest rate,

would be over $4.3 million, increasing the state’s debt. Ajello, who does not support the second proposition, said it was intended to protect lands from residential development. But given the current economic climate, she said, she believes there will not be as much pressure from residential expansion to destroy the land. The state can afford to wait on the issue in the face of its current deficit, she added. Segal wrote in an e-mail that he supported the bill. “Environmentalism is a value just about all Rhode Islanders share. We need the bond to pass in order to secure $3-5 million in federal matching funds,” he wrote.

C ampus n ews Tuesday, November 4, 2008

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

The new UCS: twice the size, but twice the fun? By Mitra Anoushiravani Senior Staff Writer

Min Wu / Herald

Dan Habib next to a poster for his new film, “Chasing Samuel.”

Film examines disabled children’s education By Caroline Sedano Senior Staff Writer

Soon after Dan Habib’s five-yearold son Samuel was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, the boy had a neardeath case of pneumonia. As a coping mechanism, Habib’s doctor suggested that he document the boy’s struggle through photography and film. At first skeptical, Habib soon embraced these media as a way to deal with such an emotionally draining experience. Shortly thereafter, Habib turned this emotional outlet into a documentary that not only expresses the hardships but also the joy and beauty of raising a child with a physical disability. The result of this effort, titled “Including Samuel,” was screened on Monday night for Brown students and the community, along with an accompanying panel discussion with Habib and people with disabilities, parents and local experts. The event was organized by Maureen Sigler, lecturer in education. The film features home video, photographs, clips of Samuel at school and interviews with a variety of people affected by disabilities to show how inclusion and integration of children with disabilities is best for every child — disabled or not. “Separation is easier for teachers and administrators, but education that can reach all kids will be the most beneficial for all kids,” Habib said in remarks after the film, explaining that disabilities are “part of a natural diversity of life that is often

hidden.” The film cites many examples of how integration has hugely benefited a variety of people. According to Samuel’s first-grade teacher, learning how to accept and befriend Samuel has helped all of the children in his class interact with one another and accept other forms of diversity they encounter. The film shows quick interviews with Samuel’s classmates, who have nothing but loving and adorable things to say about him — from citing his favorite color to how his wheel chair goes “at least 99 miles an hour.” Keith Jones, an adult hip-hop artist with cerebral palsy, explained how moving from a segregated school to a normal public school is what allowed him to live a normal and fulfilling life. Jones described being in a special education school, where the extent of the education was coloring with crayons. “I was like, ‘Can I get some math over here?’ It felt like I was in a nursing home,” he said of his elementary school. Jones believes that the “separate but equal” treatment of people of all ages with disabilities is the “final frontier of civil rights” in America. The film features many examples of successful integration other than Samuel’s. The Haggerty School in Massachusetts is a fully integrated elementary school where, according to the principle, none of the curriculum is dumbed down and no test scores have gone down since

the integration. There are, of course, less successful examples. One is the story of Emily Huff, a woman with schizophrenia who attempted suicide because of the intense bullying in her public middle school. She then went to a private special educational school where she was able to succeed. In the panel afterwards, Habib explained that this failed integration is due to poor support from the school systems and teachers who are simply unprepared to teach disabled students. One of the teachers interviewed choked up as she described her first year of teaching in an integrated class room. “I don’t know how to reach them and the valedictorian with the same lesson plan in the same classroom,” she said, adding that she cried many times throughout the year out of frustration. Underprepared teachers are a real problem in the fight for inclusion of disabled children in public schools, Habib said. The only way Samuel is able to thrive in his public school is through a devoted teacher, an attentive aid and lots of technological equipment. Habib said that is why the change needs to come at the university level, where teachers can “be educated not to be special educators or normal educators but just teachers” who can deal with all kinds of students. Ultimately, he said, there is a long road of reform ahead for schools looking to better accommodate disabled children.

The Undergraduate Council of Students is undergoing a demographic reformation. UCS has close to doubled its membership to 48 members this year — 20 more than last year. Only about 9 members are returning, while 25 are firstyears. The student government’s new open membership policy, which allows anyone who collects 150 signatures and attends the first meeting of the semester to be a voting member, is presenting the body with new challenges and opportunities. “With the increased number of members, we have more hands available to carry out projects,” UCS Vice President Michael MacCombie ’11 said. UCS President Brian Becker ’09 added that the increased manpower on UCS will increase the council’s “visibility on campus” and enhance its ability to “enact new programs and advocate on behalf of students.” But Alumni Liaison Sammy McGowan ’11 said it is too early to tell whether or not this year’s UCS will be more productive than last year’s. “Increased participation doesn’t mean increased efficiency,” he said. McGowan also expressed concern, saying that in a large body, some members might not contribute as much as others. He added that this is a “pivotal time” for UCS and that he is very optimistic about its future. “Certainly nobody is sliding by because the standards for membership are still very high,” Communications Chair Clay Wertheimer ’10 said. Members of UCS who miss more than three general body or committee meetings lose their voting rights.

“We’re more effective this year because we require that members show up,” said Academic and Administrative Affairs Chair Tyler Rosenbaum ’11, also a Herald opinions columnist. David Desprez ’10, a member of the general body of UCS, said the attendance policy has helped UCS “weed out people we don’t want to have.” Former UCS President Michael Glassman ’09 said UCS has the potential to be very productive this year because there is more “manpower.” But he also said that increased productivity depends on many things. “It depends on what they’re interested in. It depends on what (Becker’s) goals are and how well (he) and the rest of the council help everyone do their projects,” he said. Since holding internal elections on Sept. 17, the body has passed three resolutions: setting its annual agenda; supporting the Real Food Resolution to increase local, organic and sustainable food in the dining facilities; and requesting an increase of the student activities fees. Current general body member Alex Wilpon ’10 said Becker did a great job on the UCS retreat in September in which all of the new members were introduced to parliamentary procedure. She added that Becker “runs meetings very efficiently” and that she thinks “he’s been an effective president so far.” Desprez also said the Wednesday general body meetings have become more efficient. “There’s a big focus this year on the committees instead of discussing everything in the general body meetings,” he said. “It’s more efficient because you have smaller teams continued on page 6

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McCain stays busy and upbeat on election eve By Maeve Reston Los Angeles T imes

ROSWELL, N.M. — John McCain’s 20-hour sprint to Election Day began Monday as most of his mornings have for a year and a half — with a stroll out of his hotel, his wife at his side, a brief wave with one hand and a coffee cup in the other. This time it was the sunlit front courtyard of the Miami Biltmore beneath towering palms. He had caught just a few hours sleep after a night in which he traveled from a somber town hall in New Hampshire to a throbbing midnight rally at a Miami arena. He punched out each stop in less than 30 minutes, from a parking lot near Tampa Bay to airport hangars in Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Indiana, New Mexico and Nevada. He greeted supporters like old friends, reading off the signs they held announcing themselves as variations of “Joe the Plumber.” “Friends, I’m so touched by this turnout, I’m so grateful for this expression of suppor t. I thank you,” McCain told a crowd of 5,000 in Blountville, Tenn., on the Virginia border. He stretched his arms out as he singled them out: “There’s Kelly the nurse ... and here’s Janet the professor and Rick the preacher — Rick the preacher. Thank you Rick! They’re all here! Army wives! Jeff the retired soldier. They’re all here! Coal miner’s daughter. Thank you! Thank you ver y much.” His top aides stretched their legs on the tarmac, cell phones pressed to their ears as they called headquarters for the latest updates. On the short hops between airports, McCain was surrounded in the front cabin by aides who had traveled with him for two years and his closest friends, including four Senate colleagues and the former governor of Pennsylvania, who urged him to rest,

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making sure he ate fried chicken and peach cobbler and soothed his voice with lozenges. His crowd was hopeful — eager to prove the predictions wrong. At an outdoor rally in Indianapolis where the jets roaring in forced McCain to stop several times, Jeanette Schriner of nearby Fishers was unner ved by all the accounts writing McCain off. “I find the press quite depressing,” said the 47-year-old mother, who has stopped watching the campaign on television. “But I do feel like things are tightening, and I do feel like people like myself are going to come out and vote tomorrow and we haven’t been given the respect we deser ve.” McCain shows no sign he is ready for this marathon to end. There is none of the bitterness that marked the end of his 2000 bid, when he weathered smears against his wife and child, and railed against the “agents of intolerance” in his party. But McCain is also a markedly different candidate than the freewheeling talker of earlier this year. He was tightly scripted for six of his seven rallies Monday. The only stop where he was to speak extemporaneously was his last, well after midnight on the steps of the Yavapai Courthouse in Prescott, where he has begun and ended every one of his statewide campaigns in the tradition of former Arizona senator (and 1964 presidential candidate) Barr y Goldwater. McCain ended each speech with his familiar call to fight, which his speechwriter and closest aide Mark Salter debuted at the GOP convention. After arriving here in Roswell at sunset, with the shadowy outline of a plane graveyard in the distance, McCain delivered the speech for what was likely one of the last times. “I’m an American and I choose to fight. Don’t give up hope. Be strong. Have courage and fight. Fight for new direction for our countr y,” he shouted. “Stand up, stand up and fight. America is wor th fighting for. Nothing is inevitable here. We never give up. We never quit. We never hide from histor y. We make histor y. Now let’s go win this election and get this country America moving again.”

Obama’s grandmother dies on election eve By Shailagh Murray and Robert Barnes Washington Post

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — It took nearly two years, many ups and downs, countless smart moves, missed chances and lucky breaks. But finally Barack Obama could say the words: “One more day.” The senator from Illinois spent Monday campaigning in Florida, North Carolina and Virginia, states that have not supported a Democratic presidential nominee in years. He posed for a group photo with his traveling staff, grinning broadly in front of the gleaming white campaign plane emblazoned with the slogan that has carried him through his 632-day candidacy: “Change We Can Believe In.” “After decades of broken politics in Washington, eight years of failed policies from George Bush and 21 months of a campaign that has taken us from the rocky coast of Maine to the sunshine of California,” Obama told the crowd, “we are one day away from change in America.” But the final day on the campaign trail was rooted in sadness. Obama learned early Monday morning that his maternal grandmother, the only survivor among the adults who shaped his young life in Hawaii, had died overnight at age 86. Madelyn Dunham, or “Toot,” as he called her, had been a beloved figure, described by Obama in countless speeches and interviews as a surrogate mother, pioneering female executive and proud World War II wife who worked on a bomber assembly line. “She was the cornerstone of our family,” Obama and his sister Maya Soetoro-Ng said in a statement announcing Dunham’s death. “She was the person who encouraged and allowed us to take chances.” Dunham and her husband, Stanley, had raised Obama in Hawaii during part of his high school years when his mother was living in Indonesia, and the candidate spoke to her often. Her poor health had not permitted her to campaign for him, but she had corneal transplants this year so she could see him more clearly on television. His voice heavy with emotion, Obama announced Dunham’s death to the Charlotte crowd, saying: “I’m not going to talk about it too long, because it’s hard, you know, to talk about.” He paused, and then continued, “I want everyone to know, though, a little bit about her.” He described Dunham as “a very humble person, a very plainspoken person. One of those quiet heroes we have all across America. They’re

not famous. Their names aren’t in the newspaper. But each and every day they work hard. They look after their families. They sacrifice for their children and grandchildren. They aren’t seeking the limelight, all they try to do is just do the right thing.” He added: “And in this crowd there are a lot of quiet heroes like that. That’s what America’s about. That’s what we’re fighting for.” Obama traveled to Hawaii late last month to visit Dunham, who had cancer. He received word of her death at about 8 Monday morning, and even before his advisers heard the news, they wondered whether something was amiss. Despite Obama’s solid lead in most national and battleground polls, he seemed quiet, out of sorts. “He was subdued,” senior aide Linda Douglass said. “It was very evident.” Presidential rival John McCain and his wife, Cindy, issued a statement of condolence to Obama and his family “as they remember and celebrate the life of someone who had such a profound impact in their lives.” When Obama dropped by a campaign field office before his Charlotte event, he placed phone calls to voters while tossing a red and blue basketball in the air, and was heard discussing his grandmother in the context of a voter’s home health-care problems. He did not mention her death. “My grandmother was able to stay in a home all the way until recently,” Obama told the caller, turning his back to the cameras. “Because she just had someone who could come in once in a while and that ends up saving a whole lot more money.” He added, “It’s a lot better for yourself and my grandmother.” While McCain raced through seven states in a 20-hour final stretch, Obama scheduled just three rallies on election eve, all symbolically placed. First stop: Duval County, one of the flash points of the disputed 2000 Florida recount and subsequent Supreme Court intervention that put George W. Bush in the White House. “We’ve got to win Florida,” Obama implored the cheering Jacksonville crowd. Obama, his wife, Michelle, running mate Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr., Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and a host of surrogates have campaigned relentlessly in the state since early voting began, and their work seems to be paying off: Democrats have an overall 331,000-vote lead in early and absentee ballots. Democratic presidential nominees have lost Duval County by large margins for 20 years. But more than a quarter of the population is African American, as were many of the 9,000 people who turned out for Obama on

Monday morning. Local Obama organizer DeJuane Thompson made an emotional plea that sums up the expectations and angst of many Democrats as they anticipate electing the first African American president. “We are one day, one moment, from the rebirth of our very nation,” Thompson told the crowd. Then she admonished them: “Have you called every person you can think of? Some of you haven’t. Push yourself a little bit harder.” Obama’s next stop, in North Carolina, was aimed at converting a state that has not backed a Democratic presidential nominee since 1976. Democrats also are trying to wrest the Senate seat held by Elizabeth Dole, a Republican. Obama’s final appearance of the day was in Virginia at a rally at the Manassas fairgrounds. It was his 11th visit to the commonwealth since claiming the nomination. Virginia has not supported a Democratic presidential nominee since 1964. Four years ago, President Bush easily won Prince William County, but since then Northern Virginia has attracted droves of younger, independent-minded voters who helped elect the past two governors, both Democrats, and replaced Republican Sen. George Allen with Democrat James Webb. Indicative of the lighter mood as campaigning came to a close, Obama offered opinions on some unusual questions in interviews released Monday. Answering questions from MTV viewers, he said he thought it a “waste of time” to try to outlaw drooping pants. “Having said that, brothers should pull up their pants,” he continued. “You know, some people might not want to see your underwear — I’m one of them.” And to help in his struggle to capture younger men, Obama made what surely will be a demographic-pleasing statement in an ESPN interview aired at halftime during Monday night’s game between the Washington Redskins and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Asked what one thing he would change in sports, Obama advocated a college football playoff. In another interview, with radio host Russ Parr, the candidate reflected on his nearly two-year campaign. “This is like running a marathon,” Obama told Parr. “On mile 20 you’re tired. Mile 25, you’re full of energy.” But now, he said, events are more or less out of his control. “I feel pretty peaceful, Russ, I’ve got to say,” Obama said. “It’s up to the people to decide, and the question is going to be who wants it more, and I hope that our supporters want it bad, because the country needs it.”

For UCS, larger size, new demographics pose challenges continued from page 5 working on different things.” In the past, Becker said, UCS had focused on its Wednesday meetings and did not necessarily use its committees “to their full advantage.” He added that he is trying to turn Wednesday night meetings into an “open forum” by having community time at the start of every meeting and by inviting University administrators to them. In addition to long meetings, a recurring concern with UCS over the years is a high rate of turnover. “I think every year there’s a seemingly uncomfortable level of turnover,” Becker said. “In my experience, in no way have I seen that hamper the board.” Glassman said he chose not to

be on UCS this year due to other extracurricular activities. “People work really hard on UCS, and it’s a very thankless job, in my opinion. You get really drained.” One of the biggest challenges that UCS faces, Glassman said, is that there is not enough institutional memory in the body from year to year. “People waste time working on the same things,” he added. Wertheimer said the council would benefit from having experienced members stay on for longer terms. This year’s well-run meetings might also convince more students to return to the council next year, he added. But high turnover can have its advantages, according to some students on UCS. Treasurer Harris Li ’11 said new members come to the

group “without any of the hang-ups from previous administrations.” Having two seniors and 25 freshmen on UCS brings necessary new perspectives, McGowan said. “Freshmen are very central on campus, so I think there should be a disproportional amount of freshmen,” he added. Glassman said the skewed membership of UCS is not unique to this year. “It has always been lopsided in my four years of being involved.” UCS Corporation Liason Erinn Phelan ’09 — who is one of two seniors on UCS this year, along with Becker — said she doesn’t think the class makeup of the council is a “weakness of the body” as a whole. Since members are no longer elected, Glassman said he questions whether UCS is representative of the

student body at all. “If any student can be a member and can vote, then is UCS representative? You’re voting as you, not as a representative.” UCS Secretary Sarah Rutherford ’12 said freshmen, though new to College Hill, join UCS with the idea that “they are themselves a representative of the student body — so they don’t have to differentiate between what the student body wants and what they want.” Allowing anyone to join UCS without elections, Becker said, has yielded a different type of representation. “If anyone has an issue, if they want to be able to advocate for something through the student government, all they would have to do is join. If anything, I think we’re more representative of the student body.”

W orld & n ation Tuesday, November 4, 2008

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Voters head to the polls for historic presidential election By Mark Z. Barabak, Maeve Reston and Michael Finnegan Los Angeles T imes

PITTSBURGH — With two wars and an economic calamity as backdrop, U.S. voters were poised to make history Tuesday, electing either the nation’s first black president or its first female vice president. Democrat Barack Obama was leading in polls in more than enough states to garner the 270 electoral votes needed to capture the White House, including some that have been Republican for a generation or more. His travels Monday, shadowed by the death of his grandmother in Hawaii, illustrated Obama’s advantage. He went to three states — Florida, North Carolina and Virginia — that President Bush won in both his elections, underscoring how dramatically the nation’s political landscape has shifted in the past four years. Fighting to catch up, Republican John McCain dashed across seven states, starting in Florida and ending, more than 20 hours later, in his home state of Arizona, where late polls showed a tightening contest. Except for Pennsylvania, which last voted Republican in 1988, McCain spent his day defending states in Bush’s column in 2004. A record 130 million or more Americans are expected to cast ballots in an election that has captivated the country like no campaign in decades, drawing stadium-size crowds and bigger TV ratings than both “American Idol” and baseball’s World Series. Both sides were on guard — their lawyers standing by — watching for voting irregularities after two presidential elections marked by balloting controversies. On Monday, there were scattered reports of dirty tricks, including a leaflet passed around black neighborhoods of Philadelphia, saying police would be at the polls to arrest anyone with unpaid parking tickets. For some, Election Day has come and gone. More than 27 million votes have been cast in 30 states, a record turnout driven by the candidates’ exhaustive get-out-the-vote efforts and the prospect of history happening no matter who wins. A McCain victory would install Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin in the highest elected office held by a woman. A win by Obama would hurdle the country’s ultimate racial barrier. Bouncing between states, the presidential hopefuls returned to themes honed to a fine point after more than two years of campaigning, dozens of debates and hundreds of millions of dollars in radio and TV advertising. “John McCain just doesn’t get it,” Obama told a crowd in Jacksonville, Fla., assailing his opponent for opposing tougher regulation of Wall Street and supporting Bush’s economic policies. “They haven’t worked. It’s time for change, and that’s why I’m running for president.” McCain portrayed Obama as too liberal and inexperienced to reverse the country’s course, at a time when more than 8 in 10 Americans tell pollsters the country is headed the wrong way. The same polls show the economy is by far the top concern of voters, supplanting the war in Iraq, which once figured to be the main campaign issue.

“If we’re going to change Washington, we need a president who has actually fought for change and made it happen, even by taking on the leaders of his own party,” McCain told a crowd of 1,000 supporters in a hangar at the Pittsburgh airport. “He has stayed in the far-left lane of American politics. The next president won’t have time to learn how to change Washington or get used to the office.” Bush was nowhere to be seen Monday, underscoring the toll his unpopularity has taken on McCain and his fellow Republicans. “We’re realistic about the political environment we’re in,” White House press secretary Dana Perino said of the president’s absence. Bush’s low profile was deliberate, she said, because Republicans “wanted to make this election about John McCain.” It was Obama who brought up the president throughout the day, mocking his rival’s effort to cast himself as a reformer who would bring special interests and free-spending Washington lawmakers to heel. McCain “hasn’t been a maverick,” Obama said in Jacksonville, his day’s first stop. “He’s been a sidekick to George Bush.” McCain, for his part, continued to question Obama’s preparedness, citing a prediction from his running mate, Delaware Sen. Joe Biden, about the early days of an Obama administration. “He warned that Senator Obama would be tested with an international crisis within the first six months due to his youth and inexperience, and at the same time Democrats in Congress are talking about deep defense cuts,” McCain told a crowd of about 1,000 in Tampa, Fla., drawing a chorus of boos. “We have troops fighting in two wars and the Democrats answer is to lower our defenses and put someone in office who our enemies will test? I’ve been tested! I passed that test! Senator Obama has not.” Even with the dawn of Election Day, the two candidates had no plans to let up. Obama scheduled a quick hop from Chicago to Indiana before winding up with a massive rally Tuesday along the Chicago lakefront. McCain had events scheduled in Colorado and New Mexico before returning to Phoenix to watch the returns and host a party at the resort where he and his wife, Cindy, were wed. Both sides hoped to divine trends from Tuesday’s early results. If Obama wins Indiana, a state that has not voted Republican in more than 40 years, it could mean a Democratic landslide in the offing. Wins in Virginia, North Carolina or both would also bode well for Obama. For McCain, a win in Pennsylvania could augur an upset and a better-than-expected night for Republicans. The first states to finish voting are Indiana, Virginia and a handful of others, followed by North Carolina and Ohio. The TV networks do not plan to wait for all the polls to close nationwide before projecting a winner, if possible, but news executives said it was unlikely that either candidate would have 270 electoral votes before the polls close in the West.

Kevin Clark / Washington Post

“I always told my children they could grow up to be whatever they want,” says Minnie Small, 92, of Silver Spring, Md. “But now, that seems to be really true.”

Older black voters see hope in Obama By Keith L. Alexander Washington Post

WASHINGTON — Once or twice a week for the past month or so, Ruth Worthy, 91, has been going door-to-door in her Washington neighborhood campaigning for Sen. Barack Obama. She made the trek in her wheelchair or resting on the arm of her nurse. “Dear, are you registered?” she would ask. Worthy belongs to a generation of African-Americans who have journeyed from some of the rawest and most brutal eras of racism to the present, when they find themselves relishing the idea of a black man possibly becoming president. For many blacks ages 90 and older, Tuesday will be one of the most historic events of their long lives. They lived through Jim Crow, the Depression, world wars, the horrors of Emmett Till and the promise of the civil rights movement. Now, they’re watching Obama, D-Ill., lead in the national presidential polls. Be they women of relative privilege, such as Worthy, or those of working-class roots, many share the same awe at how far the world can come in a lifetime. “I would speak to them in the courtyard or on the steps, wherever I would see them,” Worthy said of those she met during her door-knocking. A hint of a Boston accent still lingers in her voice, though she’s lived in the District of Columbia for nearly 70 years. Worthy grew up in a middleclass Boston home, born to a black doctor and his wife, the first African-American to work at the U.S. Post Office in Beantown. When she finished her undergraduate degree at Bridgewater College in Massachusetts, Worthy took a train to Marion, Ala., in the late 1930s to teach U.S. history for $80 a month at the Lincoln Normal School, in one of the Congregation-

al schools for Negro children in the South. That first year, she taught those fortunate enough to attend school, including a quiet eighthgrader and B-average student, the future Coretta Scott King. Like other black people in Alabama, Worthy was supposed to ride in the back of the bus. Because of her fair complexion, white passengers didn’t seem to notice when she took a seat next to them in the front of the bus. Some of the other black passengers did notice, she recalled, and would only smile, offer her a wink or, later, earnestly whisper to her to be careful. “Yes, dear, I guess I was a little defiant,” she said with a chuckle. Ar thur Greene, 91, uses a wheelchair and rarely leaves his Arlington, Va., home except for church on Sundays and doctor’s appointments. But he wasn’t going to miss this chance to vote. About a month ago, when Meals on Wheels brought Greene his meal, they also dropped off an absentee ballot. Greene remembers growing up in Jim Crow Virginia, looking for restaurants that didn’t display “white only” signs or being forced to ride in the back of the trolleys between Arlington and Washington. “I never thought it would happen in my lifetime,” he said of Obama’s campaign. “I think if I can see this and if it happens, I’ll thank my lucky stars and my God for letting me live so long to be able to see the advancements of my people.” Minnie Small, 92, remembers choosing her fights carefully, too. She lives in Silver Spring, Md., with her daughter and granddaughter, having moved four years ago from the Bronx, N.Y. At 20, she had traveled there from Charlotte, N.C., in hopes of escaping the ugliness of Southern racism. New York wasn’t Charlotte, but it wasn’t the promised land either. During the 1950s, Small was a housewife and mother whose hus-

band, Oliver, worked as an insurance salesman for United Mutual Life in New York. Small and her family moved from Manhattan to the Bronx, with hopes of enrolling their four small children in better Catholic schools. Raised Methodist, she converted to Catholicism. But she still had to struggle with the priests and nuns at Our Lady of Grace schools to enroll her children. “They didn’t want blacks there,” she said. Barely 5 feet, she prides herself on being a tough New Yorker. But when Small talks about voting Tuesday, tears fall down her face. Her parents, husband and four brothers and sisters didn’t live long enough to see this possibility, and Small is so grateful that she did. “Every day I pray for him and his family,” she said of Obama. “I am so thankful I’m still here to see this.” When she and one of her youngest great-grandchildren, Kailah, watch Obama on television, a refrain that has become common among black parents comes to mind. “I always told my children they could grow up to be whatever they want,” Small said. “That’s what you do as a parent. But now, that seems to be really true.” Ruth Worthy has lived her life believing in the value of those struggles. She kept in touch with her former student and her husband, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., and the three became friends. She moved to Washington in 1941 and taught at several schools, associating with such black historic figures as Carter G. Woodson, James Weldon Johnson and John Hope Franklin. No matter the election outcome, she said, she’s proud of Obama’s journey. “He’s been able to reach where he is in part due to what many of us have fought for, to what so many have died hoping to see. So I feel some pride in him. Yes, I think I do,” she said.

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Asher ’10: Watch the NBA

M. hockey has tough luck over weekend

continued from page 12 May have had limited minutes and impact in the first two games of the season, when both player are at full strength, they will give Charlotte a wide range of options on every possession. The team also has two solid point guards to run the offense, with Raymond Felton and his backup, D.J. Augustin, the rookie of out of the University of Texas who has averaged 8.0 points and 3.5 assists per game off the bench thus far. In every season in franchise history, the Bobcats have struggled defensively, allowing over 100 points per game. Throughout his collegiate and professional careers, Morrison has been a question mark on the defensive end, and returning from a torn ACL, he becomes an even greater liability. The Bobcats must find a way to contain opposing offenses, but with Head Coach Larry Brown at the helm, the defense looks strong, having allowed only 91.5 points per game through the season’s first two contests. Portland Trail Blazers In the 2007-08 the Blazers had a decent year, finishing with a 4141 record, but this season they will be ready to contend for the title, even against the wealth of talent in the Western Conference. After missing last season due to injury, center Greg Oden, the No. 1 pick in the 2007 draft, will be a force for the Blazers. Though he is currently on the injured list, he is expected to return in a few weeks. If his 9.6 rebounds and 3.3 blocks per game in his one year of college ball are any indication, he will give the Blazers a dominant defensive presence in the post. Portland has also thrown Rudy Fernandez of Spain into the mix. Fernandez, the number 24 pick in

Penn’s out continued from page 12 son, closing out a week in which she and Ballard were named CoSIDA/ ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District. When asked about the game, however, Cunningham spoke about her teammate’s exceptional game in goal. “Our goalkeeper, Steffi (Yellin), really played an amazing game,” Cunningham said. “She came off the goal line and made some amazing stops.” Indeed, Yellin’s first start of the season was amazing, as she manufactured her fifth career shutout with four saves throughout the 96-minute game. Brown will return to Stevenson Field to host Yale, with whom they are currently tied, on Saturday night at 7 p.m. This final game of the season serves as Senior Night for the Bears’ class of 2009: Cunningham, Jamie Mize, Alex Michael, Yeilani Figueroa, Emily Geldwert and Julie Wu. “It’s going to be sad,” Cunningham said, “but it’ll be nice to play with all of us in the starting lineup.” Bruno is currently tied for fifth place in the Ivy League. The Bears have one more shot to recapture the success that they had during the first half of the season. With a win against Yale and a Penn loss to Princeton, the Bears can rise in the standings to take sole possession of fourth place and close out the seniors’ careers on a high note.

the 2007 draft, has averaged 14 points through his first three NBA games, and just might turn out to be the biggest steal since Manu Ginobili or Air Bud. These two rookies will fill out a roster headlined by thirdyear stars LeMarcus Aldridge and Brandon Roy, and Portland should be able to compete with anyone in the NBA. New York Knicks I’m skeptical on this one, but with Isaiah Thomas gone and Stephon Marbury virtually out of the picture, the Knicks may have a shot to return to their former glory. The Knicks made a very smart offseason move in their acquisition of guard Chris Duhon. Duhon, though not a prolific scorer, knows how to distribute the ball and play defense — things the Knicks have lacked with flashier backcourt players like Marbury and Steve Francis over the years. They also made a major move in signing Head Coach Mike D’Antoni. D’Antoni knows how to win, and has not been afraid to bench players due to lack of work ethic, in the case of Eddy Curry, or selfishness, in Marbury’s case. Hopefully, this increased intensity will carr y over to offensive weapons like Quentin Richardson and Zach Randolph, who have been seen as defensive liabilities over the years. The Knicks have struggled so far, allowing an average of 108.3 points over the first three games. But with outstanding potential on the offensive end and a coach with a tough-minded defensive mentality, the Knicks just may be on the path back to being the team that I fell in love with in 1994, in the glory days of Starks, Ewing, and Oakley.

Benjy Asher ’10 thinks Whoopi Goldberg should coach the Knicks.

continued from page 12 timer which was blocked by goalie Dan Rosen ’10. Matt Godlewski’s second attempt off the rebound was blocked by Rosen, too, but Mark Magnowski managed to slap in the go-ahead goal on the second rebound. Brown gave up another goal in the second period, and Magnowski added his second goal of the game in the final period. “Hopefully (the Princeton game) doesn’t set a tone,” Head Coach Roger Grillo said. “Our expectations for tomorrow (are) to wipe the slate clean,” Timberlake added. Brown’s offense looked better on the second night, but their defense gave up six goals. Under four minutes after the puck dropped against Yale, Bulldog Mark Arcobello passed the puck

from the left faceoff circle to Nick Jackowiak, who wound up for a onetimer that beat Rosen. With just 17 seconds remaining in the first period, Bobby Farnham ’12 broke loose and decked Yale goalie Alec Richards for his first career goal, cutting Yale’s lead to 2-1. But the Bears failed to carry the momentum into the second period, as the Bulldogs tallied two goals in the first eight minutes of the frame to open up a 4-1 advantage. With four minutes left in the period, the Bears closed the gap when Jeremy Russell ’11 beat the goalie with one second left on a power play, to make it a 4-2 game. Yale fired back with a power play goal of its own under three minutes later, to grab a 5-2 lead heading into the final period. After the Bulldogs widened the lead to 6-2, Brown got one more goal, when assistant captain Jordan Pietrus ’10 sent a one-timer into the net off a pass from Garbutt. But that

was as close as the Bears got, as the game ended with Yale on top, 6-3. Despite the two losses, the team remains optimistic. “We have lots of hockey left and I’m confident that this team will get better every game and get to the level that we’ll be one of the top teams in the NCAA,” Garbutt said. Vokes, who had two assists in the Yale game, also maintained a positive tone, saying, “It’s a learning experience at the beginning of the season. It builds character.” “We played strong. We played tough,” Grillo said. “We’ve just got to play smarter — be a little more disciplined.” The Bears will return to the ice when they travel to upstate New York next weekend to take on two ECAC opponents. Brown will face off against Clarkson in Potsdam, N.Y., next Friday and will play St. Lawrence in Canton, N.Y., on Saturday.

Chinese, Taiwanese together for Strait Talk continued from page 1 the Qing dynasty in China claimed Taiwan as its own in 1684 merely for its geopolitical importance, Phillips said. Since China never truly utilized this land until 1885 when it became important for trade, Taiwanese separatists argue that China’s claim on the island is too weak to be legitimate, according to Phillips. Matthew Reichel ’09, co-coordinator of Strait Talk, said Monday’s presentation was an opener to this week’s rounds of discussion and a “great start that provided solid background.” Reichel said he felt that starting the series of events on a historical basis would provide both sides with an opportunity to understand the intricacies of the conflict more

clearly before discussing it amongst themselves. Strait Talk was founded by a group of undergraduate students led by Johnny Lin ’08 in 2005 and has the aim of “transforming an 80-year-old international conflict” between the nations on either side of the Taiwan Strait, according to the event program. The program seeks to promote constructive dialogue between participants from mainland China, Taiwan and the United States. In its fourth year, this symposium is set to present the results of this week’s discussions to the board of the Asia Society, a New York-based organization that promotes understanding between Asian and American people, leaders and institutions. Beginning next semester, a separate

chapter of Strait Talk will make its debut on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley. Over the course of the next week, the delegates will hold closed-door discussions with a professional conflict resolution facilitator to “foster peace-building in an environment without political pressure,” said Paul Wozniak ’09, the U.S. delegation’s coordinator. Wozniak said that many of the delegates at the symposium have not had the opportunity to voice their opinions and have not had direct contact with those from opposing sides of the debate. The symposium is a combination of public and closed-door events. Public events with guest speakers will be held Wednesday through Friday.

E ditorial & L etters Page 10

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Staf f Editorial

Miles to go What a long campaign season it has been. It seems so long ago that Democratic candidates were whirling through Rhode Island during the primaries. So long since we met the superdelegates — all 796 of them. So long since Hillary Clinton was the surefire nominee, Mitt Romney was the Republicans’ best bet and today’s would-be presidents were long-shots. Recall the bitter fight over which state would get to hold its primary first? No, neither do we. But now, after such a long journey, here we are. We have been delighted to see our nation, and Brown students in particular, so involved in the future. But looking back at our long road to this election, we can’t help but also remember the even longer road America has taken to this moment. For all the bloviating in the media, Americans have taken the hardest look at their perception of gender that they’ve taken in a long time — did Clinton’s femininity at times cause her to be treated as weaker than she is? How did Sarah Palin’s physical attractiveness affect her initial reception? We’ve also begun to really dig into the nation’s troubled relationship with race today, thanks in part to Obama’s nuanced explanation of his relationship with Jeremiah Wright and John McCain’s brave refusal to make it a big campaign issue. Obama’s own candidacy has made it even easier for black children to think they, too, could be president one day. The nation has wondered what its easy acceptance and later rejection of Sarah Palin and Joe the Plumber tell us about our uneasy relationship with class. We’ve had to think critically about Obama’s “bitter” comments, too. Today, we’ll go vote. But we’re thankful for the important questions that have surfaced through the noise of the last two years.

Lean and lenient Seniors started pre-registering for classes at 8 a.m. this morning. The economy — and many families’ finances — are topsy-turvy. Getting ahead with our academic lives will proceed more smoothly given the University’s decision, announced this weekend, to allow students to enroll next semester even if they have an outstanding balance up to $7,500. We applaud the University for making this allowance so that students’ educations are less likely to be interrupted by financial tumult. We hope that as Brown recognizes students’ shrinking bank accounts, it follows through on promises to do so itself. Simmons mentioned in her address at Family Weekend that she will ask the Corporation to lower her compensation to “set the pace” among university leaders on financial initiatives. Simmons also said on Family Weekend that an event scheduled for the following Monday was canceled since it was an unnecessary expense. We urge the University to keep examining its budget and trim where possible. It may mean fewer educational events on campus, but more important than a one-day event is ensuring all students can continue their education. Simmons also told families that Brown gives students the “opportunity to learn something of the beautiful yet shallow complexity of the world.” As families reach deeper into their pockets to help their students finish a degree, we hope Brown will budget leanly so students can continue to experience its richness.

T he B rown D aily H erald Editors-in-Chief Simmi Aujla Ross Frazier

Executive Editors Taylor Barnes Chris Gang

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Meara Sharma Min Wu Justin Coleman

C hristoph e r j e su L e e

L e tt e r s Making baseball entertaining To the Editor: In a recent column (“How to save the World Series,” Oct. 30) Ellis Rochelson ’10 proposed ways for Major League Baseball to regain postseason viewers. Though these proposals seem legitimate (some more than others), they attempt to ‘trick’ people into watching the playoffs. They avoid modern baseball’s main flaw: it’s boring. The best solution to ‘save the World Series’ is not adding award ceremonies to playoff games, or inviting players from knocked out teams to give commentary. The key to ‘save the World Series’ is to save baseball. In order to do this, one must examine what other sports are doing to captivate viewers. The NFL’s Superbowl is the most watched television event from year to year. The reason is that the NFL and broadcast companies use techniques to highlight the most intense aspects of the game. Cameras that ‘float’ over the field track 40 yard passes that land directly in the receiver’s hands. Long range microphones capture the sound of bone-crushing hits. These features display the players’ physical talent, the one thing fans truly

desire. Football is not the only sport exploiting these techniques. Basketball and hockey both emphasize the physical demands of their sports, and as a result, their popularity has recently increased. Baseball needs to do the same. Hitting a 94 mile-perhour fastball is undoubtedly one of the hardest feats to perform in sports, but when watching a baseball game on the television, it is perhaps more monotonous than doing laundry. There are many other beautiful aspects of baseball as well, such as the stealing of a base, or a double-play to end an inning. The problem is that the intensity of the sport does not get through to the viewers. The viewers, who have become accustomed to the excitement of a football or basketball game, become unsatisfied with baseball. Dressing up postseason baseball into something fancy may solve the immediate loss of fans, but it fails to attack the root of the problem. Baseball does not need bells and whistles to attract a broader audience, it simply needs to be displayed honorably. Marcus Gartner ‘12 Oct. 30

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O pinions Tuesday, November 4, 2008

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Page 11

Vote or Diebold Jake Matlick and Conrad Stern-Ascher The W iz Kids The candidates aren’t the only people worried about their image in this election year. About a year after the last presidential election, the profitable ATM manufacturing company, Diebold, decided to revamp its new electronic voting systems division with a sunnier brand name: Premier Election Solutions. Diebold quickly learned that its success with jail cells, trap doors, tank armor and ATMs, doesn’t quite transfer to manufacturing voting machines. The cloud of controversy surrounding these machines forced the company to disown its century-old brand name and eventually pay $2.6 million in settlement of a 2004 California civil lawsuit attacking the credibility of its federal certification. Uncalibrated touchscreens, easily accessed memory card banks, vulnerable encryption software, limited virus protection and lack of paper-trail accountability have been the central issues plaguing the recent introduction of electronic voting to nation-wide elections. To be sure, optical scanning systems, sort of like scantrons, were introduced in the 1960s, but the use of computers for the direct marking and tallying of votes wasn’t nationally adopted until the Help America Vote Act was passed by Congress in 2002 in response to the hanging chads of the 2000 presidential election. These direct-recording electronic (DRE) voting machines typically use touchscreens to record votes and, in some aberrant cases, delete or switch them. While some of these problems are specific to DRE systems, voting issues generally come with the territory of new voting technology. From shouting yea or nay in a crowded town

hall to small private booths with mechanical levers, punch card ballots or optical scanning systems, voting processes have always been riddled with malfunction — or at least the looming potential for it. The once ubiquitous lever voting machines are subject to mechanical failure as well as the same lack of a paper trail that plagues electronic voting. Think DRE voting is the only system with computer related problems? Think again. Optical scanning machines have faced read errors and computer security weaknesses long before DRE machines were put into use. From the paper ballots used for hundreds of

many cases, been avoidable. Some of these problems can’t be eliminated completely, as bugs in computer software are often undetectable. Still, measures can be taken to minimize these problems and provide ways to deal with them should they occur. And indeed, these problems do occur. In a 2003 election in Boone County, Ind., a DRE voting machine counted 144,000 votes while only 19,000 were registered to vote. In Broward County, Florida in 2004, 134 votes were recorded as blank by a DRE machine in an election that was decided by a 12 vote margin. There are numerous similar cases and many

Replace felonious punch card employee with felonious computersavvy voter and the electronic ballots are once again vulnerable to manipulation. years to the more recent methods, voting systems have always relied on humans to count the votes. In a punch ballot voting system, a single felonious employee could disqualify numerous votes just by punching extra holes in the ballots. This is part of the problem electronic voting was supposed to solve. Replace felonious punch card employee with felonious computer-savvy voter and the electronic ballots are once again vulnerable to manipulation. However, a history of voting problems doesn’t get Diebold and other voting companies off the hook. Poor design and implementation of the new systems has, in

could be remedied by a manual recount. Unfortunately, this is only a viable solution if there is something to count. One improvement to DRE voting machines is the addition of a paper-trail. Following each vote, a receipt can be printed allowing the voter to verify their vote and allowing for a recount if necessary. The paper-trail provides a valuable resource for dealing with problems as they occur, but steps should be taken to prevent these problems in the first place. Proper encryption of votes, a form of password protection for data, would prevent a voter from erasing or multiplying votes in a given system’s memory before

transmitting it to a central server. Similarly, improved security measures would prevent a voter from installing a virus that could spread on local networks and corrupt entire voting sectors. That these non-systemic issues of DRE technology were only discovered after portions of Diebold’s proprietary software code were leaked, speaks to a larger bug in the system. Electronic voting code in the U.S. is still a proprietary right, meaning it is owned by the company that created it, and therefore flaws in the design, from small calibration bugs to huge gaps in vote transmission and security are obscured and thus uncorrected. Whether proprietary or open, computer hackers seem to find a way to make the code available on the internet, denying arguments that proprietary code can successfully prevent hackers from accessing its “blueprints.” But regardless of the particular encryption or security issues with these blueprints, the fact that source code is still closed allows for limitless tampering of election results by voting systems companies. By legally opening the source code, the process by which we vote becomes democratically reviewed. Australia mandated an open source standard in 2001 and has run secure elections ever since. No one can rightly deny that e-voting has the potential to encourage democracy. Where old voting stations were ill-prepared to provide ballots or booths that accommodated the special needs of ESL, elderly or handicapped voters, DRE systems can easily program freely reproducible, multilingual, headphone-using ballots. And the speed with which new systems would count votes and deliver results would be a welcome change of pace from the endless campaigning we’ve all endured.

The Wiz Kids are still looking for change we can believe in.

Want to matter? BY Zack Beauchamp Opinions Columnist Why don’t candidates ever pander to the youth vote? You’ll often hear discussion about how much we love Barack Obama or speculation concerning whether “this will finally be the year when the youth come to the polls,” but you won’t hear about policies designed to appeal to young people. The closest we’ll get to that are cringe-worthy attempts at “reaching out” like the video “McCain Cribs Exclusive: The Straight Talk Express” or — shudder — “Vote or Die.” Evidently we have a credibility problem, because no one wants to take us seriously. No demographic as electorally powerful as we are should have this issue. According to the Census Bureau’s 2006 American Community survey, between 15 and 20 percent of Americans fall in the 18-29 age range. That’s an enormous number of people. To give you some perspective, Jewish voters, a group both candidates have contested bitterly (in the vice-presidential debate, Israel was mentioned over five times as often as China, Europe, Russia, Britain, France and Germany combined), make up about two percent of the population. That’s about ten times as many young people as Jews, and yet the relative time spent by the campaigns courting each group is reversed. This disparity could be attributed to young Americans not having any one “pet issue” for campaigns to focus on. Unlike groups like Jews, who have Israel, and Hispanics, who have immigration, we simply aren’t unified enough in our political interests for campaigns

to know how to pander to us. This is simply wrong. The assumption behind this claim — that all Jews vote primarily on Israel and all Hispanics vote primarily on immigration — ignores the broad spectrum of internal diversity in both demographics. Examples are plentiful. Secular Jews tend to weigh what they perceive to be in Israel’s interests far less heavily than Orthodox Jews (an American Jewish Committee poll of a group primarily composed of secular Jews found that only three percent

youth that would justify giving us the same type of special attention these groups get, you need to find something that we care about more on average than most Americans. That’s education. Thirteen percent of young voters believe that “the education system” is the “biggest problem” facing the United States in the next 20 years. This may seem small, but compared to the three percent of Jews who think Israel’s security is the number one concern, it’s enormous. Further, we seem to think that the can-

So if young voters are a large voting bloc with specific political concerns that candidates can appeal to, why don’t they target us in the same way that they do other groups? of respondents felt Israel’s security was the top issue in the election). Hispanics of Mexican descent care far more about immigration than those with ancestry from Cuba and Puerto Rico. I could go on. While it may be accurate to say that Jews and Hispanics on average care more about Israel and immigration than most Americans, it’s wrong to say that their views on the issue are monolithic. To find an analogous issue among

didates aren’t doing nearly enough on the issue — 59 percent of young voters believe that education “was not being talked about enough” in the election, and 57 percent felt the same about college costs and studentloan policies specifically. And yet, as Mike Huckabee noted during his excellent speech at Brown last week, almost no attention has been paid to education over the course of the campaign.

Nor is education the only issue candidates could talk about to appeal to our demographic. Like the rest of the country, young voters place the economy as electoral priority number one. Unlike other voters, we’re especially concerned with the candidates’ plans to create jobs for younger workers, and we’re not happy with what they’ve said: A scant 29 percent of young voters think the presidential candidates are spending sufficient time talking about the issue. So if young voters are a large voting bloc with specific political concerns that candidates can appeal to, why don’t they target us in the same way that they do other groups? The answer: they don’t think we’re serious enough. A recent piece in the Economist sums up the conventional view of young voters: We’re “notoriously unreliable,” “indifferent” and “(turn) out at a lower rate” than other age groups. Note the last description, because it’s the reason for the first two. Our history of laziness on Election Day has neutered our political might and caused issues that we care about to be sidelined. This is our fault. Nobody is keeping us from the ballot box and yet we can’t seem to be bothered to show up and vote. Consequently, the rest of the country treats us like we don’t matter. Want to do something about it? Put down the paper and head over to Salomon. We have a unique opportunity this year, given all of the discussion about whether the youth vote really will turn out, to demonstrate our political relevance. Let’s not squander it.

Zack Beauchamp ’10 is just grumpy that he doesn’t see more interesting ads on Vh1.

S ports T uesday Page 12

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

What to watch for in the NBA By Benjy Asher Sports Editor

As the NBA season gets under way, several of last year’s cellardwelling teams have an opportunity to make it to the postseason, and some Benjy Asher mid-level Sports Editor teams may even emerge as serious contenders for the title. Let me give you a look at less-than-obvious teams to keep an eye on. Memphis Grizzlies Coming off of back-to-back seasons going 22-60, things can only get better for the Grizzlies, especially with some of their new personnel. Last year, Rudy Gay established himself as a dangerous weapon, putting up 20 points and six rebounds per game, doing damage both from behind the three-point line, where he averaged 1.7 three-pointers per game, and with his penetration game. He was also effective on the defensive end, where he averaged 1.4 steals per game. This year, Gay will be joined by rookie point guard O.J. Mayo, who last season averaged 20.7 points per game as a freshman at USC. Mayo gives the Grizzlies another offensive weapon on the perimeter, and the duo of Gay and Mayo will be complemented by a front court that includes Hakim Warrick and rookie center Marc Gasol. Gasol got off to a good start with a double-double in his NBA debut, and will provide a strong presence in the post for Memphis on both ends of the court. In order to win, the Grizzlies simply have to convince O.J. Mayo that he’s no Kobe Bryant, at least not yet. In their season-opening loss to Houston, Mayo connected on just 5-of-20 field goal attempts, including misses on all seven of his shots from three-point range. He settled down in their win over Orlando, going 5-for-11 to finish with 17 points, and that’s exactly what Memphis will need from Mayo: a more restrained, and less selfish style of play than he has been accustomed to at the high school and college levels. In the NBA, Mayo cannot simply expect to take over a game on a nightly basis. Charlotte Bobcats In their first four seasons, the Bobcats have certainly looked the part of an expansion team. Last year, Charlotte won just 32 games, but this season, with the return of forwards Adam Morrison and Sean May, who both missed all of last season with injuries, the Bobcats have the potential to become one of the most explosive offensive teams in the league. Morrison brings a versatile game to the court to complement the scoring abilities of Gerald Wallace and Jason Richardson, and May will provide an additional offensive presence in the post alongside center Emeka Okafor. Though Morrison and continued on page 9

W. soccer eliminates Penn from Ivy title contention By Jason Wade Sports Staff Writer

The women’s soccer team (6-6-4, 2-31 Ivy) defeated Penn (8-5-3, 2-2-2) in Philadelphia on Saturday, knocking the Quakers out of contention from the Ivy title race. With an overtime goal by tri-captain Lindsay Cunningham ’09 and an outstanding effort from goalkeeper Steffi Yellin ’10, the Bears completed their fourth shutout win of the season with a 1-0 score. The game’s first half witnessed very balanced play between both sides. While the teams played evenly matched soccer, the Quakers held an edge on the offensive side of the ball with a 3-0 advantage in shots on goal through the first 45 minutes of play. It wasn’t until the half’s final minute of play that the Bears challenged the Penn goalkeeper, when Bridget Ballard ’10 sent a shot toward the net, forcing her to make her first save of the game. Halftime did little to interrupt the overall equal tenor of the game, with Penn gaining a very slight 6-5 advantage in shots. In keeping with the first half, the second half lacked any outstanding plays. Yellin made sure of that, making two more saves to add to her three from the first half. “I was excited to be back on the field again,” said Yellin, who has spent most of the season backing up Brenna Hogue ’10. “Penn’s style of offense is conducive to the way I play. I tried to come off my line as

Justin Coleman / Herald

Lindsay Cunningham ’09 lifted the Bears over Penn with an overtime goal. much as I could just to stop shots from happening.” A final unsuccessful stand by the hosts came with the Quakers out-

shooting the Bears 4-1 in the closing 15 minutes of regulation. In the most dangerous scoring attempt thus far in the game, a Penn

corner kick nearly resulted in a goal with just under 15 minutes remaining in regulation. Sylvia Stone ’11 blocked the following header by the Quaker midfielder, keeping the tied score at the half’s close. “I think that (Penn) realized that the time was running down to score a goal, but our defense did a really good job,” Yellin said. “They made my job pretty easy I think. ... Just in general our team played pretty solid.” Taking the field for overtime, both teams were looking to score first in the sudden-victory overtime format. The Quakers’ fate within the Ivies depended upon their ability to win the game. Both sides were a little too aggressive, each earning a yellow card within the opening 24 seconds of overtime, but Brown’s strategy remained the same as it had throughout regulation. “We played a strong first and second half,” Cunningham said. “We didn’t really change anything.” In the sixth minute of overtime, this effort paid off when Cunningham broke away to score her third game-winning goal of the season. Stone sent a through-ball to Cunningham, who fired a shot past the Penn goalkeeper into the upper left corner of the net for the game-winner. “It was definitely the highlight of the game,” Yellin said. “It was pretty nice.” Cunningham leads the team with six goals and 14 points on the seacontinued on page 9

Haunted? M. hockey drops two on Halloween weekend By Dan Alexander Contributing Writer

Ashley Hess / Herald File Photo

Matt Vokes’s ’09 three assists over the weekend couldn’t help the men’s hockey team, which lost its first two games over the weekend.

The men’s hockey team got off to a strong start in the first period of its season opener on Friday, but was unable to keep up the intensity for the rest of the two-game weekend. Bruno ended up losing its first game to No. 10 Princeton, 4-1, and the second game to Yale the following night, 6-3. Fans — dressed as everything from the Burger King to Brown hockey players — yelled and banged on the glass as the Bears began their season on Halloween night at Meehan Auditorium. And the Bears gave them plenty to cheer about early on, coming out on the ice with energy and aggression, playing to a stalemate against the Tigers through the opening period. Halfway through the first period,

things got heated, when 6-foot 5-inch, 240-pound defenseman Mike Stuart ’09 tangled up with Brett Wilson of Princeton. Stuart threw a punch and was sent off of the ice for a two-minute roughing penalty, leaving Princeton on a power play. With less than 30 seconds left on the power play, Princeton seized the opportunity and scored the game’s first goal. Just 1:10 later, Ryan Garbutt ’09 responded with a goal of his own, three seconds into a Brown power play. At the onset of the power play, captain Devin Timberlake ’10 deflected the faceoff to assistant captain Matt Vokes ’09. Vokes sent a quick pass to Garbutt, who sent a shot through the five-hole to tie up the game. But it was all downhill for the Bears from that point on. Midway through the second period, Tiger Cam Ritchie shot a onecontinued on page 9

Volleyball loses to Dartmouth, Harvard in rough weekend By Han Cui Assistant Sports Editor

The volleyball team had a tough weekend at two Ivy League rivals, losing 3-1 to Dartmouth on Friday and 3-0 to Har vard on Saturday. The Bears had faced both teams at home earlier this season, taking down the Crimson 3-1 but losing to the Big Green 1-3. Despite star ting the season strong, the Bears are struggling to keep their confidence after suffering a few losses, captain Natalie

Meyers ’09 said. In the match against Dartmouth, the Big Green offense came out dominant in the first game, hitting .593, and took the game easily 2513. The Bears answered in the second game, picking up their offense and to even the match by taking the second game 25-23. But the momentum did not stay with Brown, as the host offense came back to dominate the Bears, .538 to .250 in the third game and .364 to .282 in the fourth game.

Dartmouth won both games on scores of 25-21. Against the Crimson, the Bears posted good hitting statistics but still fell short, as Harvard swept the team 3-0. In the first game, the two teams were tied at 25, forcing the game into overtime. But Harvard came out on top to win the game 28-26. Despite the Bears’ strong efforts to keep the last two games close, the Crimson never lost their intensity in the rest of the match and took the final two games, 25-18

and 25-21. With these two losses, the Bears are now 11-11 overall and 3-7 in the Ivies. The team does not have a chance at the Ivy title this season, but the players still want to fight in the remaining matches to achieve other goals — one being to finish the season with more wins than losses, Meyers said. The Bears will play at home this weekend, hosting Cornell Nov. 7 and Columbia Nov. 8. This will be the team’s last weekend at home as well as Senior Night.