The Brown Daily Herald F riday, N ovember 7, 2008
Volume CXLIII, No. 108
Brown will not appeal EMS policy
what yo u wa n n a s e e
Since 1866, Daily Since 1891
Their own financial crisis: Co-ops face mounting bills Residents considering buying new houses
By Joanna Wohlmuth Senior Staff Writer
By Chris Duffy Staff Writer
Brown is no longer planning to appeal the newly enforced state policy that requires Emergency Medical Services to transport patients to Rhode Island Hospital on nights and weekends when there is no doctor at Health Services, Vice President for Campus Life and Student Services Margaret Klawunn said. Following an internal audit, the Rhode Island Division of Emergency Medical Services informed the University in July that the state planned to begin enforcing a long-standing regulation which requires ambulances to transport patients to facilities staffed by a physician. The University had planned on appealing the regulation but was told at the end of September that it was not likely to succeed. “The state pretty much said the appeal process would be all for naught,” said Safety and EMS Manager Amy Sanderson. Prior to the changes in enforcement, there was an understanding that legislation had not kept pace with developments in the use of ambulances, Klawunn said. The state had previously approved the policy of trans-
The bills are due, and Brown’s two coops don’t have the money to pay them. The Brown Association of Cooperative Housing, which manages Finlandia and Watermyn houses, is facing more than $10,000 in property taxes, maintenance and utility bills for both houses before the end of November. Board members say BACH funds, which hit a low of $52 recently, are currently short about $7000. Resi-
Compare to your peers at Brown, do you consider yourself overall to be...?
Meara Sharma / Herald Emily Borromeo ’09 and Matt Bauman ’10 in “See What You Wanna See,” a musical inspired by Japanese short stories, opening tonight.
See Arts & Culture , Page 5
Student parking returns to College Hill Administrators returned University parking to College Hill on Oct. 13, saving the University more than $200,000 on security and shuttle services for the Providence Piers lot. New parking was moved near Perkins Hall to Lot 55 on Young Orchard Avenue and to Lot 56 on Power Street. Only 28 students had
used the 250-spot Providence Piers lot, which is located over two miles from the Main Green. “While we are still responsible to pay for the lease on the (Providence Piers) property, we have been able to generate significant savings by eliminating the cost of security and the shuttle services for the off campus lot,” Assistant Vice President of Financial and Administrative Services Beth Gentry wrote in an e-mail.
Marisa Quinn, vice president of public affairs and university relations, wrote in an e-mail that the saved money will be used to fund alternative transportation. “Brown has been working to encourage students, faculty and staff to consider alternatives to bringing cars to campus” through initiatives such as providing safeRIDE services, having the Zipcar continued on page 6
Meara Sharma / Herald
The a cappella group Ursa Minors performed last night at Live on Lincoln.
Chop shop Sarah Doyle Women’s Center has some surprising new interior ARTS & CULTURE decorations — car sculpture www.browndailyherald.com
UCS WHO? Herald poll results show students know less than ever about the CAMPUS NEWS undergraduate council
5
Poll: Brunonians think highly of themselves
11
OPINIONS
consider themselves “somewhat” or “well above average.” While 40.8 percent said they considered themselves “average,” only 6.2 percent said they were below average. Barely one percent thought they were “well below average.” The results don’t seem to make statistical sense — intuitively, more than a small minority of a group must
By Emma Berry Contributing Writer
Average at Brown is pretty good — its students represent the cream of an already ambitious applicant crop. But many Brown students think even more highly of themselves, a recent Herald poll found. According to the poll, which asked students to rate themselves “overall” against their peers, 40.5 percent of Brown students
continued on page 4
SPOTLIGHT
Universal ordination for those who surf the Web By Sarah Husk Contributing Writer
li v e ly li n col n
3
continued on page 4
THE HERALD POLL
continued on page 6
By Dan Alexander Contributing Writer
dents are struggling to raise money before the end of the month and are considering selling one or both of the houses. What exactly has caused the financial crisis at the co-ops is a matter of some debate. “The reality is you’re going to get a thousand different answers from a thousand people,” said Ben Biller, a student at Wheaton College and a Finlandia resident. Finlandia is located at the corner of Waterman and Brook streets, and Watermyn is on the corner of Waterman and Governor streets. “No one’s accountable because no
One afternoon this September, Mike Bohl ’11 went out on a bike ride, got a call from his old roommate and came home an ordained minister. His roommate ordained him online through the Universal Life Church. The church’s site, www. themonastery.org allows individuals to become ministers with the click of a button — really. Applicants need only fill out basic information like name and address, and then hit “ordain me.” Bohl is not alone on campus. Several Brown students can now officially add “ordained minister” to their credentials. Ministers ordained through the Modesto, Calif.-based Universal Life Church can legally perform marriages, baptisms and preside over funerals. They are not required to
across the great divide Adrienne Langlois ’10 is sick of running up against stereotypes of the South
195 Angell Street, Providence, Rhode Island
comply with any formal doctrine, and, according to the e-mail the church sends out to its newly ordained ministers, “Ordination is for life, without price and without question of your specific beliefs.” The only stipulation is that ministers must “always do the right thing.” The e-mail continues, “It is your responsibility to peacefully and sincerely determine the right course of action, and to avoid infringing on the rights of others.” Sid Curry-Broadbent ’11, Bohl’s former roommate, ordained himself online last spring and has ordained “a bunch of people” since then. He was researching cults and obscure religions online when he came across the Universal Life Church. “It’s a little bit absurd,” he said. Like Curr y-Broadbent, Ben
12 SPORTS
continued on page 4
sports weekend preview First-place Bears take on Yale in a crucial Ivy League football matchup — and more
News tips: herald@browndailyherald.com
T oday Page 2
Friday, November 7, 2008
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
We a t h e r
Vagina Dentata | Soojean Kim
TODAY
TOMORROW
partly cloudy 64 / 47
partly cloudy 61 / 46
Menu Sharpe Refectory
Verney-Woolley Dining Hall
Lunch — Saturday Night Jambalaya, Broccoli Au Gratin, Zucchini Burgers, Cheese Quesadillas
Lunch — Chicken Fingers, Couscous Croquettes, Vegan Brown Rice Pilaf with Mushrooms
Dinner — Fried Catfish with Tartar Sauce, Spanish Rice, Red Potato Frittata
Dinner — Fillet of Sole in Lemon Roll-Ups, Tortellini Angelica, Grilled Chicken
Brown Meets RISD | Miguel Llorente
Sudoku Fill in the grid so that every row, every column and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 through 9.
Epimetheos | Samuel Holzman
Enigma Twist | Dustin Foley
© Puzzles by Pappocom RELEASE DATE– Friday, November 7, 2008
Los Angeles Times Daily oCrossword Puzzle C r o ssw rd Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
ACROSS 1 Plants 6 S. Grant foe? 10 “Run to __”: Bobby Vee hit 13 High-__: dignified 14 Honda's luxury division 15 First name in tyranny 16 Take the wrong way? 17 Sports summaries 19 Furry menace aboard the Enterprise? 21 Tiny shampoo bottle, e.g. 23 Cuba, por ejemplo 24 Get through work 25 Percussionists? 30 LX squared 32 Prefix for a cab collector 33 Emmy-winning scientist 34 Defense against horse thieves? 38 Metric opening 41 Actress Perlman 42 Freshness symbol 46 Condiment for silents star Normand? 50 About 51 “No __!” 52 Kind of freeze 54 Assemblage of gingerbread houses? 59 Rakish 60 It may be bid 63 Tolkien creature 64 “See?” 65 “The Da Vinci Code” albino 66 __ Plaines 67 Times to call, in ads 68 Tough DOWN 1 NBA onepointers 2 Fate 3 Like Bush Sr.’s presidency 4 Bums 5 Improvise
39 Piscine symbol of 53 Dignified 6 Sci. founded by quality overcrowdedness Danish botanist 55 Opera box Eugen Warming 40 There are two in Beethoven’s Fifth 56 Atlas abbr. 7 Sumptuousness 57 Darling 8 “... which __ was 43 Banished 58 __ B. Driftwood, 44 Mex. title irksome to me”: Groucho’s “A 45 “So’s __ old Shakespeare Night at the man!” 9 A throw Opera” role 47 Drops off 10 Takes a job 61 Musical talent 48 Like some 11 If nothing goes 62 NFL QB Roger expectations wrong Staubach served 49 Pick of the litter, 12 Clinker in it at times 14 Cloister 18 “__ all else fails ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE: ...” 20 Pen name 21 Like an executrix: Abbr. 22 Storage acronym 26 Back biter? 27 Event at which multiple repeats are common 28 Where kwanzas are spent: Abbr. 29 Garish 31 PC key 35 Satisfied sounds 36 Ottoman governor 37 Post-exam exultation 38 Got in the way of xwordeditor@aol.com 11/07/08
Alien Weather Forecast | Stephen Lichenstein and Adam Wagner
Classic How To Get Down | Nate Saunders
T he B rown D aily H erald Editorial Phone: 401.351.3372 Business Phone: 401.351.3260
University community since 1891. It is published Monday through Friday during the aca-
Simmi Aujla, President
once in July by The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. POSTMASTER please send corrections to
Ross Frazier, Vice President Mandeep Gill, Treasurer Darren Ball, Secretary By Dan Naddor (c)2008 Tribune Media Services, Inc.
11/07/08
The Brown Daily Herald (USPS 067.740) is an independent newspaper serving the Brown demic year, excluding vacations, once during Commencement, once during Orientation and P.O. Box 2538, Providence, RI 02906. Periodicals postage paid at Providence, R.I. Offices are located at 195 Angell St., Providence, R.I. E-mail herald@browndailyherald.com. World Wide Web: http://www.browndailyherald.com. Subscription prices: $319 one year daily, $139 one semester daily. Copyright 2007 by The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. All rights reserved.
A rts & C ulture Friday, November 7, 2008
Page 3
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
Musical mind-trip delights at Production Workshop floating spots of green, matching shifting perspectives with stor y lines. Exotic instrumentation, like “See What I Wanna See,” a musical the shakuhachi, a traditional Japainspired by several Japanese short nese flute, floats through the air stories, is an emotional and philo- from the orchestra pit. sophical cyclone. Opening tonight “What the play suggests is at 8 p.m. at Production Workshop at that perhaps if you have faith, the T.F. Green Hall and running through myster y is enough,” Tyler said, Nov. 11, it explores the darker sides citing a description mentioned by of truth, perspective and reality. Professor of Theater, Speech and The show, written by Michael Dance Spencer Golub in the course John LaChiusa, is based on three Tyler takes with him. Indeed, the short stories of Japanese writer musical leaves the audience with Ryunosuke Akutagawa. an overarching feeling of Many aspects of the uncertainty. Theatergoers REVIEW production reflect these will walk away from the origins. Three rectangular, white performance shaky, confounded screens stand like soldiers at atten- and maybe even stark raving mad tion at the back of the stage, often — and they’ll like it. impassive, but occasionally lit in “I’m really excited for it. It’s recolor that reflects the tone of each ally cool,” said actor Matt Bauman scene. ’10, who plays both a thief and news “LaChiusa talks about the three anchor. “It’s really nonlinear. It’s gostories unfolding like a Japanese ing to confuse the audience, but inscreen painting,” director Chris tentionally,” he said, wearing one of Tyler ’10 said. his costumes, a black leather jacket The opening scene, “Kesa and and gloves with cut-off fingertips. Morito,” is set in medieval Japan, A theme never explicitly menand the actors wear robes evoca- tioned is the whirlwind of truth tive of traditional Japanese clothing, and fiction, lies and confusion, all with consonant colors and large, of which surrounds the fall of the flowing sleeves. The following two Twin Towers. The audience shares scenes jump across time and space, this confusion and the subsequent moving to 1950s Central Park and existential crises experienced by the then to the same locale today. characters. The production, under In ever y scene, three screens the musical direction of Trevor Polchange color or go blank to match lack ’09, doesn’t fit the lighthearted the mood. Lighting alternates becontinued on page 9 tween interrogative spotlight and By Rosalind Schonwald Contributing Writer
Meara Sharma / Herald
Dana Filibert’s sculptures, in the Sarah Doyle Women’s Center Gallery this month, are half car parts and half something else.
Auto body commentary shown at SDWC By Ben Hyman Ar ts and Culture Editor
If not for the carpeted coziness of the exhibition space, visitors to the Sarah Doyle Women’s Center Galler y this month might get the sense that they have wandered into an auto repair shop from another planet. The galler y’s current show, “Congested Highway,” with works by Massachusetts-based artist Dana Filibert, features sculptures
that evoke automobile parts while also assuming a strange, organic quality of their own. Other works humorously riff on forms of domestic appliances like the vacuum, and a number of Filibert’s drawings round out the exhibition. The show centers around two larger sculptures positioned near each other on the floor of the galler y. “Rubbish” is a jaunty pink-and-yellow vacuum cleaner. A feather duster extending from the sculpture evokes plumage and
a gastric tangle of tubes attached to the back adds interesting tension to the appliance’s other wise simple, retro aesthetic. The other large sculpture, titled “Congested Highway,” appears to be a hybrid structure, with an oversized tailpipe growing out of a bulbous, distended form. The mouth of the tailpipe is filled with globs of black material resembling sludge. As Filibert explains in her continued on page 9
Page 4
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
Though ordained, students don’t use power continued from page 1 Bonyhadi ’11 also discovered the church while doing some recreational research on religion during his senior year of high school. Within a week of his ordination, he said, two dozen students in his history class had joined him and become ministers. Aside from bragging rights and the ability to administer sacraments, there are other upsides to being a minister that are far less serious. Bonyhadi, for instance, has his mail addressed to the “Rev. Ben Bonyhadi.” Bohl’s current roommate taped a photocopy of Bohl’s certificate and added “The Reverend” to the “Michael Bohl” sign on his door. But despite being fodder for those “fun fact” icebreaker questions, being a minister is, for these students, more meaningful. “It’s kind of a slap in the face to people who take things too seriously,” said Curry-Broadbent, who called his ordination an act of ideological rebellion. Raised as a Mormon in Utah, Curry-Broadbent said he attended a public high school that was heavily Mormon and — though he himself no longer identifies as Mormon — much of his family still follows the faith. “It’s pretty awful and sacrilegious,” Curry-Broadbent said. “But that’s what makes it fun.” Nate Johnson ’10, a leader in the Brown Christian Fellowship, said online ordination points not to a religious dispute, but to underlying cultural anxiety over whether marriage falls under the purview of church or state.
“I don’t really see it as sacrilegious,” he said. “I support the idea that it’s very easy to become (a minister), even if it’s going to be abused by some people.” He added that imposing specific, strict criteria for becoming a minister is equally problematic for him. “It’s very complicated to say what a religion is. It’s very complicated to say what a leader of a religion is,” he said. But University Chaplain Janet Cooper-Nelson said instant ordination has it drawbacks. She noted that most religious leaders undergo extensive education and preparation in order to perform religious rites and ceremonies. Individuals who become ordained online, she said, “have gone through a very different process.” “I’m not sure what the word ‘ordained’ means if you just punch a button. I don’t know why you even bother,” she said, adding that in every state in the country, a nonordained individual can perform a marriage with legal permission. Nonetheless, Cooper-Nelson acknowledged that the legitimacy and worth of a minister who has been ordained online depend on “what you think is occurring when someone’s life is blessed, at the end of life, when they are partnering with someone for life, when a child is born,” she said. The legality of ULC ministers has been disputed. Two federal court cases as well as nine cases in five different states have attempted to challenge the church and its ministers. In Universal Life Church v. The United States of America and
Universal Life Church v. the State of Utah, the rights of the church were upheld and the ability of ULCordained ministers to perform marriages was affirmed. Bohl, who was raised Jewish but now calls himself a “die-hard atheist,” said that becoming a minister was “a way to rebel against organized religion.” For Bonyhadi, who was raised by “liberal-hippie-Berkeley-Jewish parents,” becoming a minister was not so much rebellious but reflective of his growing disenchantment with institutionalized religion, in particular its treatment of marriage. “I’m not sure I appreciate marriage in its current establishment,” he said, adding that he has not yet performed a marriage but has promised one of his friends that he would someday perform her ceremony. “I think it’s fun that we’re getting to a time period where anyone can perform marriage,” Curry-Broadbent said. In an age in which both religious groups and legal bodies are struggling to define what marriage means, all three said the concept of friends and family performing marriages appealed to them. Bonyhadi said certain groups may feel “marginalized” by mainstream religious institutions and so are drawn to alternative religious sects like the ULC, whose ministers do not represent a single set of religious ideologies or practices. “It’s nice to have the opportunity to say, ‘Look, I can do something for my friends that not everybody can do,’ ” he said, adding that the religion is “so open and so tolerant”
BACH considering selling co-op houses continued from page 1 one has records, and that’s why we’re in all this trouble. No one can even look back and see what happened,” Biller added. Several other co-op residents interviewed also pointed to a lack of institutional records as a major source of the problem. But missing records are not all that’s gotten the co-ops into money trouble. Problems with maintenance and upkeep on the two houses, both of which have required renovations to meet fire code regulations, as well as difficulties in renting out rooms over the summer have slowly bled money from BACH’s accounts. The situation came to a head when Dan Widrew, BACH treasurer, was late in sending in the property taxes for the first quarter of last year. “What happened with the taxes was just pure stupidity on my part,” Widrew said. Widrew said he was unaware that after one quarter’s property taxes were submitted late, the entire year became due at once. BACH continued paying taxes quarterly, while fines accrued on the unpaid taxes for the year. “It didn’t occur to me,” Widrew said. “None of us are accountants or anything. We just show up and someone says, ‘I’ll be the accountant.’ That’s part of the idea of BACH.” Once BACH members became aware of the overdue taxes, they were forced to pay the entire
amount at once, draining financial reserves. The co-ops are now relying on monthly rent to sustain them, a difficult proposition considering that a part of BACH’s mission is to provide low-cost housing and that rent collection can be unreliable at times, residents said. “We’re not ver y good at enforcement,” Watermyn resident Max Kennedy ‘11 said. “We can’t track people down and get them to pay.” Widrew said BACH approached Sovereign Bank looking for a loan but was denied because of the current credit crunch. “Sovereign basically told us, ‘Sorry, guys, we’re not giving out any loans unless you can come in with a bucket of gold as collateral,’” Widrew said. Andrea Gaines ’10, also a Finlandia resident, said BACH is asking former residents for loans and donations to keep the co-ops afloat. Residents also sold items from the basement of Finlandia in an effort to raise funds, but netted under $20. “We may be possibly selling one of the houses,” said Ashley Aguilar ’10, BACH board member and a resident of Finlandia. “We are realizing that the houses aren’t that sustainable because of maintenance and their age.” Brendan Reddy-Best, a Watermyn resident, said selling the houses and purchasing more affordable properties is “not a decision yet, but
something we have to consider,” adding that BACH is currently in negotiations with realtors. “It would be nice to be able to move to the West Side,” he added. George McTernan, a fellow Watermyn resident, responded that the first priority is the type of house, not location. “I’m always keeping my eye on houses that come on the market,” McTernan said. “If a 12-bedroom house pops up for $500,000, I go look at it.” Reddy-Best acknowledged that many students would feel a loss if the co-ops were forced to move away from Brown, and said no decisions had been made yet. He called selling the houses “a worst case scenario,” but also noted, “we’re preparing to do anything that we have to do.” “It’s such a mess,” said Johanna Jetton ’10, a resident of Finlandia, shaking her head. “I can’t think about this if I’m going to live here.” Gaines said Finlandia is “an important place” in Providence. “This community is awesome. This house has a lot of history and a lot of character.” Regardless of whether the houses are sold, Reddy-Best said, he’s optimistic about the future of BACH. “We’ve got more assets than we’ve ever had before,” he said, citing the fact that BACH owns Watermyn outright and only around $40,000 remains to be paid on Finlandia’s mortgage.
Speak your mind. letters@browndailyherald.com
Chaz Firestone/ Herald
Mike Bohl ’11 is among the students who have become ordained ministers through the Internet.
that a ULC service can take nearly any form, depending on the convictions of the minister and the wishes of the clients. Cooper-Nelson said issues of exclusion and marginalization are “important ideas” that religious leaders do “attempt, in our work, to respond to.” For Curry-Broadbent, his ordination has also provided him with a more personal sense of spiritual identity.
“I think it can be kind of internally empowering,” he said. “In a sense it could be spiritually empowering.” And though none of these students has performed a marriage or a baptism, Bonyhadi said they are challenging perceptions about religion and forcing others to confront how they define religiosity. “It keeps people on their toes ... about what a religious leader looks like, what a religious leader acts like,” he said.
Professors: healthy for students to have high self-esteem continued from page 1 fall below its average. But David Xu ’12 said he found the poll results unsurprising. Most Brown students were used to being above average in high school, he said, and might be uncomfortable with calling themselves average now. Professor of Anthropology William Simmons ’60, a former University provost, said students may simply be pleasantly surprised with themselves given Brown’s reputation. “People get here and they may find out that they’re better than they had feared they would be, and then they have some validation for that in terms of the grades they get.” Simmons said he thought grade inflation could also help explain the poll results. “No one gets a C anymore,” he said. “If you want to consider a B and an A above average, most (Brown students) are above average. ... Those who are average are a very small number.” But the explanation may actually be much simpler — in rating themselves so highly, Brown students may be pretty average after all. These results are “very, very typical,” said Professor of Psychology Joachim Krueger. “This distribution is what’s been found in dozens of studies in all kinds of populations,” he explained. The results reflect what Visiting Assistant Professor of Psychology Theresa DiDonato called “the selfserving bias.” Essentially, she said, people everywhere think they are “better than everybody else.” While the overall result was expected, DiDonato said, she was surprised so many called themselves just
“average.” Students, however, identified with their classmates’ moderation. Matthew Gariboldi ’10 said he considers himself average and was not surprised that the plurality of students polled did as well. Once you get into Brown, he said, “You’re pretty equal.” Maura Pavalow ’11 was surprised by the results. “I feel like a lot of people I know think they’re below average,” she said. Justine Stewart ’11 said she felt most sophomores were overcommitted and “struggling” to be average. But even students who are lagging may benefit from a little self-deception — according to DiDonato, a certain level of self-enhancement protects against stress, depression and anxiety. “It’s good that most Brown students have a positive view of themselves,” she said. “The self-serving bias is ...normal, and it’s healthy.” “Brown students tend to believe they’re such a different group and that data collected with them really can’t be generalized to the general population,” said Krueger. But for both Brown students and the general population, “somewhat better than average seems just about the right place for people to be.” The Herald poll was conducted Oct. 27 and Oct. 28 and has a 3.6 percent margin of error with 95 percent confidence. A total of 649 Brown undergraduates completed the poll, which was administered as a written questionnaire to students in the University Post Office at J. Walter Wilson, outside the Blue Room in Faunce House and in the Sciences Library.
C ampus n ews THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
Page 5
Half of students have no opinion on UCS
Comm. Health prof. speaks of ‘behavioral misadventures’
Friday, November 7, 2008
By Mitra Anoushiravani Senior Staff Writer
Nearly half of all students have no opinion of how the Undergraduate Council of Students is conducting its job, according to a Herald poll conducted last month. Among respondents, 49.3 percent circled “Don’t know/No answer” when prompted to rate UCS’s performance — a 14.2 percent increase from this spring’s poll, and 17.7 percent higher than that figure last fall. The poll also indicated that 38.1 percent of students approve of UCS — including 5.1 percent who strongly
THE HERALD POLL approve. That number is virtually unchanged from last spring’s 39.6 percent and last fall’s 39.3 percent somewhat or strongly approving. In last month’s poll, 12.6 percent said they somewhat or strongly disapproved of UCS, down from last spring’s mark of 25.2 percent not approving of how the council was operating. UCS President Brian Becker ’09 said he wasn’t troubled by the poll’s results. “You’re always going to have a problem with constituents not always knowing what their governments are doing,” he said. “Regardless of what polls are saying we’re working hard and we’re working as best as we know how to accurately represent students and advocate on their behalf at all levels,” he said. Becker also said he thinks the results of the poll were “directly related to the number of stories” on UCS in The Herald. The results are “not a reflection whatsoever on what UCS has done,” he added. But many students interviewed by The Herald said they thought the methods that UCS uses to inform the student body, such as the council’s new e-mail newsletter, the UCS Monthly, are ineffective. Aadon Penny ’11 said he has never even seen the e-mails in his inbox and never knew they were sent out. “I definitely think e-mail is not go-
ing to work,” Sarah Sherman ’09 said. She said students get many e-mails from Brown that they immediately delete, and that UCS Monthly just gets “clumped into that group of emails that people do not read.” UCS Communications Chair Clay Wertheimer ’10 said he thought UCS has done “a very good job” communicating with students this semester, specifically noting its new membership policy and a monthly newsletter. Wertheimer said UCS has had plans for increasing student awareness since before the polls were conducted. He said UCS will hold its first town hall meeting next week, providing an informal space for all students to meet the council and raise their concerns. This meeting — advertised in yesterday’s UCS Monthly — will also be promoted through Facebook and a targeted e-mail that will only be sent to firstyears. Another way that UCS is attempting to engage students this semester, Becker said, is by allowing any member of the Brown community to address UCS at the start of every general body meeting on Wednesdays, during community time. But UCS minutes show that nobody, save UCS members, has spoken during this community time this semester. Penny said he would show up during UCS’s community time if an issue he cared about was being debated — and if he had known about community time. He also said UCS could be more flexible, because many students have other obligations on Wednesday nights. UCS has also used MyCourses polls to understand what sorts of issues are relevant to Brown undergraduates, but several students interviewed by The Herald said the polls could be advertised better. Liling Soh ’10 said she has never participated in a MyCourses poll, and David Guervich ’11 said he has not participated recently. Carlos Soto ’09 said he rarely participates in the polls because he never knows when they are happening. He said UCS needs a more effective way of letting students know about
By Julia Kim Contributing Writer
them, saying tableslips informing students about the online polls and paper-based polls would be useful. Wertheimer said these polls have not always been well-advertised and that UCS is making changes in advertising this year. UCS launched a new MyCourses poll yesterday, collaborating with the Brown Concert Agency to include both organizations’ questions, in an effort to create less confusion and to give students an incentive to complete the survey. “I think people feel strongly about Spring Weekend,” Wertheimer said. “Students will be entered into a lottery to win spring weekend tickets when they take the poll.” UCS will also advertise the poll on Facebook, in UCS Monthly and on the television screens located around campus, Wertheimer said. UCS members will also hand out slips of paper telling students to take the poll in the Sciences Library, Rockefeller Library and the Watson Center for Computing and Information Technology. UCS has also attempted to get funding from the Undergraduate Finance Board to have advertising space in The Herald, but UFB rejected its proposal and its appeal. The Herald poll was conducted Oct. 27 and Oct. 28 and has a 3.6 percent margin of error with 95 percent confidence. A total of 649 Brown undergraduates completed the poll, which was administered as a written questionnaire to students in the University Post Office at J. Walter Wilson, outside the Blue Room in Faunce House and in the Sciences Library.
Engineers to discuss progressive design By Sydney Ember Staff Writer
Professionals and academics from a variety of disciplines will gather this weekend to discuss their own approaches to environmental and humanitarian solutions through design at a conference called “A Better World By Design.” The engineeringdesign conference — a student-led joint effort between Brown and the Rhode Island School of Design — will bring together leaders in engineering, economics and design to share their ideas about sustainability and technology in the Third World. Members of Brown’s Engineers Without Borders, along with students in Respond Design, RISD’s forum for sustainability, hope to increase awareness about how design technology can be used to improve current global issues such as climate change, pollution, world hunger and basic sanitation, according to the conference’s Web site. “We kind of just want to open peoples’ eyes to the way that they can use their skills to reach out to other people they might not think
about,” said Andrea Jones ’10, one of the co-coordinators of the conference and a member of EWB. “One of the goals is to bring to light the way that design technology can be used to make the world better.” The conference, initially intended as a lecture series, will bring representatives of different disciplines to campus in order to foster “broad discussion,” said Steve Daniels ’09, another co-coordinator of the event. But because the event brings many development topics together, the event will connect the wide variety of design solutions, he said. In addition to 12 panels discussing issues ranging from social design to urban housing and workshops covering topics such as how to build structures with bamboo, the conference will include four speaker sessions, Daniels said. The sessions will address topics such as shifting business landscapes, design technology in the Third World and environmentally responsible solutions to current issues. Many of the speakers are already looking to global solutions that combine sustainability with design, said
Sharon Langevin ’09, another co-coordinator of the event. But the conference, she said, will unite these efforts by forming a network between the two universities and the leaders of these developmental disciplines. Conference coordinators are also planning to launch an initiative at the three-day conference called “Better By Design.” This initiative, Daniels said, will create catalogs of videos and online discussions, promote new development projects on campus, create courses related to the concept of sustainability and establish a seed fund for grants and projects both in the Brown community and in Rhode Island. Because Rhode Island, and Providence especially, is home to many professional designers, Brown is an ideal location for the conference, Jones said. She added that many people in the development disciplines regard Providence as “a design Mecca.” The conference, which has 300 registered guests, including around 80 professionals and academics, will also feature two keynote speakers.
In Salomon 101 last night, Professor of Community Health Stephen Buka ’78 described his research into intervention in adolescent drug abuse and suicide. Buka’s talk, entitled “Predicting and Preventing Adolescent Behavioral Misadventures: 50 Years of Discover y in Rhode Island,” was this year’s LipsittDuchin Lecture in Child Behavior and Development. Buka separated his talk into three sections: defining adolescent behavioral misadventures, presenting research that he and others conducted on behavioral studies in Rhode Island and preventing behavioral misadventures. Buka incorporated a significant amount of research conducted by Professor Emeritus of Psychology Lewis Lipsitt into his presentation. Lipsitt sponsored the lecture with his wife Edna Duchin. Humans are born with reflexive behavior, Buka said. “Reflexive behaviors are designed to help perpetuate life. As the infant grows, learning is in place to help maximize positive experiences, avoid negative experiences and again, perpetuate life.” With slides of a baby swimming, he demonstrated the relationship between reflex and learning as the babies’ swimming movements progressed through the first few months of life. The slides showed that a one-month-old baby swam more naturally than three and fivemonth-old babies. Buka said that the changes signal the progress of babies whose reflexive behavior develops into learned behavior with time.
The main question for research, Buka said, was finding the balance between behavioral capacities and environmental hazards paired with social demands. Buka explained that behavioral misadventures, or setbacks, occurred when “conditions of the environment exceed the capacities of the individual.” Buka used Sudden Infant Death Syndrome as an example where death can be avoided by altering a child’s sleeping environment. Buka showed results of the ongoing “Back to Sleep” campaign, which launched in 1994 and encouraged parents to put their newborns to sleep on their backs. Starting that year, there was a large increase of parents putting their children to sleep on their backs and a significant decrease of SIDS incidences. In the second part of his talk, Buka revealed the research he presented in the 50-year, three-generation longitudinal New England Family Study, which he directs. In the study, which tracks 17,000 infants born in New England in the 1960s, Buka and his fellow researchers looked at women who smoked during pregnancy to see if their offspring were more inclined to smoke as adults. Buka said he originally doubted significant correlations, but was staggered by the study’s findings: Subjects whose mothers smoked heavily during pregnancy were nearly twice as likely to become regular smokers and over twice as likely to become nicotine-dependent in comparison to subjects whose mothers did not smoke during pregnancy. Buka’s study also revealed becontinued on page 6
Page 6
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
‘Educational intervention’ helps kids, Buka says continued from page 5 havioral parallels in adolescent and adult behavior. Subjects who showed “impulsive behavior” at age seven were four times as likely to develop gambling addictions as adults. In addition, the “impulsive” child subjects were three times more likely to make a suicidal attempt. Buka also talked about effective and ineffective intervention strategies. Buka quoted his grandmother’s mantra “it’s too late to pray when the devil comes” to stress the importance of early intervention. He cited a study in which children from impoverished families received “educational inter ven-
tion” in the early years of life. This inter vention involved weekly visits from researchers who provided intellectual stimulation to children from low-income families. Children who received this benefit consistently showed higher levels of cognitive performance throughout childhood in comparison to their counterparts. In addition, these children showed lower risk behavior levels and had fewer behavioral problems. “Risk for misadventures can be ameliorated by early educational intervention,” said Buka. After the lecture, Buka answered questions from the faculty-dominated audience regarding his past and future research projects.
Obama intelligence chiefs Money saved on lot to go to other services yet to be announced Kim Perley / Herald By moving parking back on campus from Providence Piers the University will save more than $200,000 on security and transportation.
continued from page 1 rental program on campus and making rides on the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority free, according to Gentry. The programs cost $2 million, though most of the funding goes to safeRIDE, Gentry added. Administrators haven’t yet decided whether parking will remain on campus or return to an off-campus lot next year. Though parking was moved off
campus this year in part to deter students from bringing cars to campus, many students simply found other ways to park. Some students rented spaces from local residents. Some parked in off-campus housing. And others found more creative ways to park. Chris Carney ’10 brought his car to campus earlier this semester but didn’t want to park in the Providence
Piers lot because of its inconvenient location. Instead, he parked it in a garage on Power Street at night and woke up every morning — except the ones he slept in — to move it to the streets before he was ticketed. But sleeping in and illegal street parking caught up with him. “I ended up getting three tickets in about a week,” Karney said. He then drove his car back home.
EMS policy seems likely to be permanent continued from page 1 porting students who needed only minor care or observation to Health Services but did not change existing laws, she added. Rhode Island, Massachusetts and other states are now tightening the regulations that dictate how prehospital health care providers — such as ambulances — treat patients, Sanderson said. But she added that this change will not greatly affect the way EMS handles cases. When EMS receives a call about an intoxicated student, an ambulance team responds and the student is evaluated. If the emergency medical technicians determine a student to be safe and not in need of medical attention, that person may sign a refusal of service waiver, Sanderson said. If the student does require medical attention, he or she is taken to Rhode Island Hospital. “I don’t feel that we have taken
Tao Ho Shin / Herald
EMS ambulances will continue transporting students to Rhode Island Hospital if they require medical attention when no Health Services physicians are on duty.
anyone to the hospital (this year) that wouldn’t have been going to the hospital” before the new enforcement policies were implemented, Sanderson said. “Students who need to be transported for definitive care always are taken to the hospital.” In the past, intoxicated students
were often transported to Health Services because they were anxious about their condition or did not want to inconvenience friends or roommates, said Director of Health Education Frances Mantak. Health Services will still provide minor care to students who can get to the building without ambulance transport. Last year, EMS transported students to the hospital 43 percent of the time in instances involving alcohol abuse, Sanderson said. Another 30 percent were taken to Health Services and the remaining cases were judged to not require medical attention. Though it is too early to determine how the new policy will affect the number of students taken to the hospital or the number of calls received by EMS, “we’re not seeing a big difference,” Mantak said. Now that it seems the policy is here to stay, focus has shifted to making sure students are informed about the true impact, Klawunn said. Meetings with Residential Peer Leaders and Greek Council have already taken place to discuss the change, and new strategies for maintaining student safety, such as stationing EMT foot patrols at events, are being implemented.
By Joby Warrick Washington Post
WASHINGTON — For nearly an hour Thursday, President-elect Barack Obama met with two of the country’s top intelligence officers for an important rite of passage: his first full-blown, classified briefing on national security. But at least one topic that loomed heavily over the discussions was reportedly never broached: Who would Obama pick to advise him on the nation’s most sensitive intelligence secrets during the next four years? The Obama camp has offered no hints of how it plans to fill top intelligence posts, including the positions of Director of National Intelligence, now held by John M. “Mike” McConnell, and CIA director, held by Michael V. Hayden. The decision is particularly complicated, because the rules and traditions for selecting intelligence officials are somewhat different from those for other administration appointees. Unlike the FBI director, the top posts at the CIA and Office of the Director of National Intelligence do not come with a set term that transcends presidential administrations. And, while both officials are appointed by the president and serve at his pleasure, the White House has broader discretion in filling intelligence posts and can elect to keep the current leadership in place. President Bush, after assuming office in 2001, decided to retain George Tenet as CIA director, even though Tenet had been appointed by Bush’s Democratic predecessor. “Intelligence is supposed to be nonpartisan, although that hasn’t always been the case,” said one longtime intelligence veteran who insisted on anonymity because of political sensitivities surrounding the transition. Many former and intelligence officials interviewed said they believed that Obama would prefer a fresh start, but some speculated that he may keep a few top officials in place to preserve continuity in a time when the nation is fighting two foreign wars as well as a counterterrorism campaign against al-Qaida. Neither the Obama camp nor its senior security advisors would comment on internal discussions about
top intelligence posts. Likewise, the officials refused to comment on possible outside candidates for the job. Within intelligence circles the speculation is centering on former intelligence officials who are close to the Obama team, including John Brennan, the former acting head of the CIA’s Counterterrorism Center, and Rep. Jane Harman, D-Ca., former ranking minority member of the House intelligence committee. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence, created under Bush after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, has five presidentially appointed slots: the director and four of his deputies, including the principal deputy director and head of the National Counterterrorism Center. At the CIA, the director is the only presidential appointee. Neither McConnell nor Hayden has said publicly whether they prefer to stay or leave. Both men assumed their current jobs in Bush’s second term and were not directly tainted by the controversies over faulty WMD intelligence in Iraq, or the decision to use waterboarding and other harsh techniques on suspected terrorists in secret CIA prisons. McConnell has hinted that he expects to be replaced. In a published account in July, McConnell was quoted as saying he was willing to remain on the job for the first six months of a new administration. Last week, while giving a speech at his high school near Greenville, S.C., he talked about returning to his native South Carolina “in a few years.” Hayden appeared to be open to the possibility of staying on, if asked, according a senior intelligence official who works closely with him. “Mike Hayden is not concerned about it. He is focused on doing the job,” said the official, who also spoke on the condition that he not be identified. While the Obama team contemplates its moves, both men have an unusual opportunity to present the future president with their ideas for how the 16 U.S. intelligence agencies should be managed in the future. McConnell, who briefed Obama on intelligence matters after he became the Democratic presidential continued on page 9
W orld & n ation Friday, November 7, 2008
Page 7
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
Markets tumble again on Post election, McCain aides start talking reports of poor spending By Walter Hamilton Los Angeles Times
NEW YORK — The stock market endured its second thrashing in two days Thursday as dismal retail sales raised concern that a global recession could be longer and deeper than thought likely even a few weeks ago. Lackluster sales and downbeat earnings projections at companies such at Nordstrom Inc. and J.C. Penney Co. indicated that consumers were reducing spending in favor of paying off debt and preserving cash amid job insecurity. The Dow Jones industrial average sagged almost 450 points in a virtual replay of Tuesday’s 486-point drop, and investors braced for potentially more losses Friday when the government releases its closely watched monthly unemployment report. “Over the last couple days, now that the election is behind us, it appears that the equity market is seeing even more negative earnings and economic issues on the horizon, and an even more severe and prolonged downturn than previously anticipated,” said Richard Weiss, chief investment officer at City National Bank in Beverly Hills, Calif. The Dow plummeted 443.48 points, or 4.9 percent, to 8,695.79.The Standard & Poor’s 500 index slid 47.88 points, or 5 percent, to 904.89. The Nasdaq composite index dropped 72.94 points, or 4.3 percent, to 1,608.70. Despite the sell-off, many invest-
ment pros cling to the hope that the major averages will remain above their low points set late last month. The Dow is 520 points above its Oct. 27 low of 8,175.77, while the S&P is 56 points above its trough of 848.92. The economic turmoil was reflected in the commodities markets, where crude oil and other prices fell sharply for the second straight day on fears of slowing worldwide demand. Oil, which neared $147 a barrel in July, fell $4.27 to $61.03, eclipsing the low it set last month. Heating oil and copper slumped more than 5 percent, and natural gas was off more than 4.3 percent. The sell-off illustrated the extent to which fear is gripping the markets. Retail sales were widely expected to be weak in October, when the fallout from the housing collapse and credit crisis dominated the markets and the presidential campaign. Yet share prices were pounded anyway. “We’ve got markets trading on raw and pure emotion,” said Jim Paulsen, chief investment strategist of Wells Capital Management. “It has little to do with fundamentals.” The market is being hurt by a steady drip of bad news as companies rein in earnings estimates almost daily. Technology stocks got hit after networking giant Cisco Systems Inc., considered a bellwether for overall industry demand, forecast late Wednesday that sales would decline as much as 10 percent in its fiscal second quarter.
Obama selects aggressive insider for chief of staff By Peter Nicholas Los Angeles T imes
CHICAGO — Rahm Emanuel, a tough political operative who helped create a solid Democratic majority in Congress, accepted Barack Obama’s offer to be White House chief of staff, according to Democratic congressional aides. Emanuel, the fourth-ranking Democrat in the House, struggled with the decision, which may put beyond reach any hopes he had of someday becoming speaker of the House. But in trading his House leadership spot for the prime staff position in the White House, Emanuel is certain to be at the vanguard of Obama’s ambitious policy agenda. Emanuel, 48, is a Chicago resident and a close political ally of Obama. He served in President Clinton’s White House, a pedigree that will position him to guide Obama on legislative strategy and the workings of the executive branch. Although some Republicans have complained that Emanuel is too partisan a figure to succeed in the job, prominent Democrats are applauding the decision. Howard Paster, a colleague of Emanuel in the Clinton administration, said: “One of the issues for a president is: Do I pick someone with whom I have a good relationship, or someone who knows his way around Washington.” In Emanuel, Paster continued, “President-elect Obama had an opportunity to pick someone who meets both criteria.”
A former head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Emanuel helped put the Democrats back in control of the House in the 2006 election, reducing the Republicans to minority status. In that role, he occasionally alienated Republicans, whose cooperation Obama will need to advance his policy goals. Some Republicans have grumbled that choosing Emanuel as chief of staff sends a disturbing signal, given Obama’s promise of a fresh, bipartisan approach. Yet Paster said Emanuel appreciates the chief of staff job calls for a different style. “What they (the Republicans) have seen was that as head of the DCCC and the Democratic caucus, he fought vigorously,” Paster said. “Well, that was his job. They forget that when he was in the White House, he helped Bill Clinton build relationships with uniformed police officers and police on the streets and was never seen as one of the more liberal influences in the Clinton White House.” Often blunt and profane, Emanuel is notorious for his aggressive partisan tactics. He once sent a dead fish to a political rival. Emanuel has close ties to Israel. In an interview with an Israeli newspaper, his father, Dr Benjamin Emanuel said the appointment would be a boon to the Jewish state. “Obviously, he will influence the president to be pro-Israel,” Dr. Emanuel said in the interview. He said that his son visits Tel Aviv most summers.
By Maeve Reston and Seema Mehta Los Angeles T imes
PHOENIX — Sarah Palin left the national stage Wednesday, but the controversy over her role on the ticket flared as aides to John McCain disclosed new details about her expensive wardrobe purchases and revealed that a Republican Party lawyer would be dispatched to Alaska to inventory and retrieve the clothes still in her possession. Tensions have simmered for much of the last month between aides loyal to McCain and those loyal to Palin, but they erupted in the wake of the Republican nominee’s defeat, as both sides spoke freely — but anonymously — about the wardrobe controversy and other conflicts. Two aides to McCain and two to Palin discussed the tensions but asked that their names not be revealed, saying they were not comfortable speaking openly about internal operations. The miscommunication and quarrels between the two camps continued as late as Tuesday night, said McCain aides familiar with the situation. Palin arrived at the Arizona Biltmore planning to deliver her own speech before McCain’s concession speech, they said, but was told by McCain’s senior aides Steve Schmidt and Mark Salter that would not be appropriate. Fox News reported Wednesday that Palin’s lack of knowledge on certain topics also strained rela-
tions. Carl Cameron reported that campaign sources told him she had resisted coaching before her faltering Katie Couric interviews; did not understand that Africa was a continent, not a country; and could not name the three countries that are part of the North American Free Trade Agreement — the United States, Canada and Mexico. For weeks, the McCain-Palin campaign has been dealt with the fallout from the disclosure that the Republican National Committee was billed for $150,000 in wardrobe purchases for the Palin family — a discovery that was widely ridiculed and undercut Palin’s hockey mom appeal. Several McCain aides said they had recently discovered that Palin’s traveling staff had used their personal credit cards to spend as much as $20,000 to $30,000 more on wardrobe items for Palin as she has campaigned around the country in recent weeks. Palin and many of her aides were traveling back to Alaska Wednesday afternoon and could not be reached for comment. The original $150,000 in purchases was revealed in late October after the release of the September and October Federal Election Commission filings by the Republican National Committee. Those reports revealed that more than $75,062.63 was spent at Neiman Marcus, $49,425.74 at Saks Fifth Avenue and $5,102.71 at Bloomingdales around the time of the Republican National Convention
in early September. The campaign has said that many of those clothes were returned. But McCain aides said Wednesday that spending on Palin’s wardrobe continued well after the convention, with one custom-made outfit showing up around the time of her Saturday Night Live appearance Oct. 18. As first reported by Newsweek on Wednesday, McCain aides said some of that money was spent on clothing for Palin’s children and husband Todd, who may have received between $20,000 and $40,000 in wardrobe purchases, including thousands of dollars in shoes. Several aides also said the items included jewelry, but a Palin aide disputed that. Top McCain aides Schmidt, Rick Davis and Nicolle Wallace were flabbergasted by the magnitude of the spending as the receipts began trickling into the Republican National Committee, aides said. Wallace had arranged for a stylist to shop for Palin before the convention because the Alaska governor did not have a chance to return home after she was selected as McCain’s running mate. Aides familiar with the campaign’s internal discussions said Wallace and other top aides authorized the purchase of three outfits for Palin to wear during convention week and three ensembles for the campaign trail. But cost was to be kept to no more than $25,000 to $35,000.
Page 8
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
Want this service free? Vote for it in the UCS poll on MyCourses.
Friday, November 7, 2008
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Page 9
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
Two California trees responsible for most American chestnuts By Russ Parsons Los Angeles T imes
On a hill just outside the Gold Rush town of Nevada City, Calif., about an hour northeast of Sacramento, stands a sweet 1890s Victorian farmhouse surrounded by several acres of venerable-looking gardens. There are craggy cherr y and plum trees and an apple tree so old it’s little more than a hollowedout stump that somehow still manages to sprout green branches. The grapevine that covers a backyard arbor has a trunk at least a foot around. But pride of place belongs to a pair of chestnut trees, probably 60 feet tall and at least a yard across. It’s not often that a couple of trees are singled out in real-estate ads, but these were. And no wonder — from these two trees sprang most of the chestnuts now grown in the
United States. Chestnuts in California? Certainly, it’s easy to think of them as strictly an East Coast nostalgia food, part and parcel with frosty city sidewalks and Jack Frost nipping at whatever exposed body parts he can find. But in fact, these nuts have a long histor y in the Golden State, one that a handful of growers are struggling to keep alive. And if all you’ve ever had are stale imported supermarket chestnuts — many of which are moldy — these California nuts can be a revelation, delicately sweet and slightly chewy. At one time, the chestnut tree was one of the most numerous on the North American continent. It is estimated that they accounted for between one-quarter and onethird of all the trees that grew in the huge forest that once blanketed the area from northern Georgia to
President-elect Obama still undecided on intel. chiefs continued from page 6 nominee, personally presided over Thursday’s more substantive briefing — essentially the equivalent of the highly secret “Presidential Daily Brief” given daily to Bush. McConnell was joined by the CIA’s thirdranking officer, Michael Morell, who heads the agency’s analysis division.
Morell was expected to remain in Chicago during the transition to give Obama daily updates. Until Jan. 20, Hayden said in a letter on Wednesday to CIA employees, the intelligence community will serve “two sets of customers,” one of them already in the White House and the other making preparations to move in.
P.W.’s ‘nonlinear’ show explores truth, perspective and reality continued from page 3 musical archetype. The stark scenery is well suited to the play. The actors’ abilities to assume new personas create subuniverses in every scene, delving into the depths of one character’s mind in one instant and switching effortlessly to a wholly different psyche in the next. Their voices are all magnificent and have a strong sense of space and keen emotional nuance. Complementing their individual abilities, the ensemble cast is particularly cohesive. The most powerful scenes occur when Bauman, Emily Borromeo ’09, Michael Williams ’10, Lee Taglin ’10 and Katelyn Miles ’11
are all on stage, working well with the material and one another. Tyler said the production is going well due to the cooperative crew. “It’s been very much collaborative — for ever yone involved,” said Tyler. “Everyone really developed their own part.” With its dramatic heights, wonderful music, captivating images and deliciously interesting philosophical implications, the musical is an engaging and thought-provoking way to spend a weekend night. Performances run Friday through Monday at 8 p.m, with an additional showing at 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets become available at T.F. Green one hour before each of the performances.
Filibert’s car-part sculptures question culture of bigness continued from page 3 notes on the exhibition, this work fits in with her broader critique of the American obsession with big, powerful cars as forces of destruction, detrimental to both the culture and the environment. Filibert continues to develop this theme in “Blazin,” a terse sculpture consisting of three downward-slanting, red-and-blue-striped tubes affixed to the wall. These also resemble tailpipes, but their drooping effect contradicts the hot rod assurance of the work’s title. For those who want to see Filibert’s work as a commentary on the kind of male sexuality that requires a giant car to feel secure, there is
certainly enough to support such a reading. But Filibert’s work is stronger for remaining relatively noncommittal and foregrounding sly humor over directness. Some of the works in the show incorporate bicycle horns as elements in larger, whimsical forms. Other pieces are so small that their presence barely registers at first. The viewer is initially attracted to the largest sculptures and only gradually notices the number of minute, fragile-seeming works that cluster on the edges of the galler y. With these haiku-sized pieces, Filibert challenges us to recognize how much we ourselves have bought into the culture of bigness without even knowing it.
New England. Then, at the start of the 20th century, the trees began to die. The culprit was a fungal spore that may have hitchhiked on a Chinese chestnut specimen tree imported by the New York Botanical Garden. The chestnut blight spread like a wind-driven wildfire. The carnage almost defies imagination. Within five years, it had killed most of the chestnuts in the New York area. By the 1950s, only a few isolated trees remained on the entire continent. Between 3 billion and 4 billion trees had died. That was, as Susan Freinkel points out in her splendid new book “American Chestnut,” “enough trees to fill 9 million acres. Enough trees to cover Yellowstone National Park 1,800 times
over. Enough trees to give two to every person on the planet at that time.” Chestnuts are found across a wide swath of the Northern Hemisphere, and other species are not as susceptible to the blight as the American. Today, almost all the fresh chestnuts you find at the market are imported, mostly from Italy, where they are har vested from state-managed forests. They also are imported from China and Korea. But there is an increasing number of chestnut farmers in the United States as well, growing trees that are blight-resistant crosses between Asian and European species. It’s a small success, but a success nonetheless — and
that is rare in the story of chestnuts in America. So far, the number of farmers is small, and their orchards, for the most part, are young. There probably aren’t more than 1,000 acres of chestnuts grown in all of California. A 2006 survey by the University of Missouri Center for Agroforestry found that most American chestnut growers had less than 10 acres of trees and had been in business less than 10 years. More than one-third of them are so new that they have yet to make their first sale. By far the predominant chestnut variety in the United States is the Colossal, and the original trees are the two still standing beside that Victorian farmhouse just outside Nevada City.
E ditorial & L etters Page 10
Friday, November 7, 2008
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
S t a ff E d i t o r i a l
Diamonds and coal Cubic zirconium to new Associate Protestant Chaplain William Mathis, who left a career as a lawyer to “advocate for a different person.” The jury’s still out on whether St. Peter will let even a former lawyer in. Coal to the John McCain supporter who said she was shocked that Barack Obama won Rhode Island despite the high demand for McCain T-shirts. We heard you were also upset that your 100 T-shirt-clad cats did not go to the polls. Coal to the Barbour resident who called DPS to report clothes missing from the laundry room, only to call back later and report them found in another washer. By the way, still can’t find that last set of clothes? Maybe you’re wearing them. A cubic zirconium to the student who — to avoid paying for a parking spot — illegally parked in the Power Street garage each night, got up early to move it to the street every morning and then decided to just take it back home after getting three fines. Mother Nature thanks you, but all your friends who need rides are sulking. Coal to Registrar Michael Pesta for assuming that students who exceeded the limit of 1,000 changes to their Banner preregistration last year had created computer programs to preregister for them. A thousand clicks is nothing — ever heard of a “poke war”? Cubic zirconium to Rep. James Langevin, who ranked near the bottom among House Democrats in power and influence, according to one study. You may not get a lot done in Washington, D.C., but hey, Rhode Islanders don’t judge — our straight party voting system still brought you a 70-30 victory on Tuesday
P atricia chou
A Brownest-of-the-Brown diamond to student revelers on the Main Green election night. We don’t know how taking off your clothes showed support for the President-elect, but it showed your devotion to the timehonored Brown tradition of public nudity. And on that note, a congratulatory diamond to newly elected Delaware Gov. Jack Markell ’82. You thought we were celebrating for the punk with Columbia and Harvard degrees?
T he B rown D aily H erald Editors-in-Chief Simmi Aujla Ross Frazier
Executive Editors Taylor Barnes Chris Gang
Senior Editors Irene Chen Lindsey Meyers
editorial Ben Hyman Hannah Levintova Matthew Varley Alex Roehrkasse Chaz Firestone Nandini Jayakrishna Scott Lowenstein Michael Bechek Isabel Gottlieb Franklin Kanin Michael Skocpol Ben Bernstein James Shapiro Benjy Asher Amy Ehrhart Megan McCahill Andrew Braca Han Cui Katie Wood
Business
Arts & Culture Editor Arts & Culture Editor Higher Ed Editor Higher Ed Editor Features Editor Metro Editor Metro Editor News Editor News Editor News Editor News Editor Opinions Editor Opinions Editor Sports Editor Sports Editor Sports Editor Asst. Sports Editor Asst. Sports Editor Asst. Sports Editor
production Production & Design Editor Steve DeLucia Chaz Kelsh Asst. Design Editor Kathryn Delaney Copy Desk Chief Seth Motel Copy Desk Chief Adam Robbins Graphics Editor Web Editor Greg Edmiston
Darren Ball General Manager Mandeep Gill General Manager Shawn Reilly Office Manager Alex Hughes Sales Director Emilie Aries Communications Director Jon Spector Finance Director Claire Kiely Local & National Sales Manager Ellen DaSilva University Sales Manager Philip Maynard Local & Recruiter Sales Manager Katelyn Koh Asst. Finance Director photo Meara Sharma Min Wu Justin Coleman
Photo Editor Photo Editor Sports Photo Editor
post- magazine Matt Hill Rajiv Jayadevan Arthur Matuszewski Colleen Brogan Kelly McKowen Patrick Martin-Tuite Bob Short Monica Huang Kristen Olds
Managing Editor Managing Editor Features Editor Features Editor From the Hill Editor Film Editor Music Editor Layout Editor Layout Editor
Chaz Kelsh, Steve DeLucia, Designers Seth Motel, Jennifer Kim, Ellen Cushing, Rachel Isaacs, Copy Editors Isabel Gottlieb, George Miller, Joanna Wohlmuth, Simon Van Zuylen-Wood, Night Editors Senior Staff Writers Mitra Anoushiravani, Colin Chazen, Chaz Kelsh, Emmy Liss, Brian Mastroianni, George Miller, Melissa Shube, Anne Simons, Sara Sunshine, Gaurie Tilak, Caroline Sedano, Jenna Stark, Joanna Wohlmuth, Simon van Zuylen-Wood Staff Writers Zunaira Choudhary, Leslie Primack, Sydney Ember, Connie Zheng, Christian Martell, Alexandra Ulmer, Lauren Pischel, Samuel Byker, Anne Deggelman, Nicole Dungca, Olivia Hoffman, Cameron Lee, Debbie Lehmann, Sophia Li, Hannah Moser, Seth Motel, Kyla Wilkes, Juliana Friend, Sarah Husk, Jyotsna Mullur, Chris Duffy Sports Staff Writers Peter Cipparone, Nicole Stock Business Staff Maximilian Barrows, Thanases Plestis, Agathe Roncey, Allen McGonagill, Ben Xiong, Bonnie Kim, Cathy Li, Christiana Stephenson, Corey Schwartz, Evan Sumortin, Galen Cho, Han Lee, Haydar Taygun, Jackie Goldman, Jilyn Chao, Kathy Bui, Kelly Wess, Kenneth So, Lee Chau, Lyndse Yess, Margaret Watson, Matthew Burrows, Maura Lynch, Misha Desai, Stassia Chyzhykova, Webber Xu, William Schweitzer Design Staff Jessica Calihan, Joanna Lee, Rachel Isaacs, Angela Santin Ceballos, Marlee Bruning, Rachel Wexler, Maxwell Rosero, Katie Silverstein, Shara Azad, Jessica Kirschner, Jee Hyun Choi, Heeyoung Min, Andrea McWilliams Photo Staff Alex DePaoli, Eunice Hong, Kim Perley, Quinn Savit Copy Editors Rafael Chaiken, Ellen Cushing, Younhun Kim, Frederic Lu, Lauren Fedor, Madeleine Rosenberg, Kelly Mallahan, Jennifer Kim, Tarah Knaresboro, Jordan Mainzer, Janine Lopez, Luis Solis, Ayelet Brinn, Rachel Starr, Riva Shah, Jason Yum, Simon Liebling, Rachel Isaacs Web Developers Jihan Chao, Neal Poole
Correction Because of an editing error, an article in Wednesday’s Herald (“Students storm onto Main Green,” Nov. 5) referred to President-elect Barack Obama as an Arizona senator. Obama represents Illinois in the Senate.
C O R R E C T I O N S P olicy The Brown Daily Herald is committed to providing the Brown University community with the most accurate information possible. Corrections may be submitted up to seven calendar days after publication. C ommentary P O L I C Y The staff editorial is the majority opinion of the editorial board of The Brown Daily Herald. The editorial viewpoint does not necessarily reflect the views of The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. Columns, letters and comics reflect the opinions of their authors only. L etters to the E ditor P olicy Send letters to letters@browndailyherald.com. Include a telephone number with all letters. The Herald reserves the right to edit all letters for length and cannot assure the publication of any letter. Please limit letters to 250 words. Under special circumstances writers may request anonymity, but no letter will be printed if the author’s identity is unknown to the editors. Announcements of events will not be printed. advertising P olicy The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. reserves the right to accept or decline any advertisement at its discretion.
O pinions Friday, November 7, 2008
Page 11
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
Winning in defeat BY JAKE HEIMARK Opinions Columnist Make a quick jump to the “U.S. News and World Report” website and you’ll find that Brown has again secured itself the last position in the Ivy League, sixteenth overall among national universities. Perhaps it is time we threw out “In Deo Speramus” and replaced it with “Superati Vincimus”: we win when we lose. More students than I would have expected were gravely concerned with our position in the rankings. They analyze the formula, identify the “place we went wrong” and agitate for reform. They argue that the endowment is too small, our professors too poorly paid, our coffee too liberal and our aquatic facilities too absent. But the more Brunonians focus on statistics like our admissions rate and median SAT score, the more we will lose our ability to compete. Our endowment is the smallest in the Ivy League, 26th in the country, and our endowment per student places us even lower, around 40th. But we are still able to compete when it comes to admissions. We attract better students than we should, and we owe everything to our curriculum. Given the size of our endowment, financial aid and available resources, we should be fighting for students with UNC, Oberlin and Davidson. But instead, we wrangle with Stanford, Princeton and MIT. A Revealed Preferences report in 2005 placed us at 7th in the nation. Revealed preferences are kind of like win-loss records for sports teams. They take the pool of students any given year who were admitted to two universities, say Brown and Washington University in St. Louis. Then, they track where
students decided to go the most. If more of the students went to Brown, Brown wins and has a higher “revealed preference” than Wash. U. Unlike acceptance and yield rates, revealed preferences cannot be “gamed” by admissions officers. The dirty truth is that sometimes admissions officers will deny students who are better qualified and more desirable because they are unlikely to attend — which would make the University’s yield rate lower. Whether conscious of it or not, officers perform a delicate balancing act where they try
If you stop any Brown student on the street and ask them what differentiates Brown from its peer institutions, the answer will be almost uniformly consistent: “The New Curriculum.” The most popular “Why I chose Brown” application essay topic is almost always our unique curriculum and it is what attracted so many students to this campus. The New Curriculum, and its emphasis on academic freedom and personal responsibility, binds Brunonians together. It is this shared piece of our identity that has made our campus
Given the size of our endowment, financial aid and available resources, we should be fighting for students with UNC, Oberlin and Davidson. But instead, we wrangle with Stanford, Princeton and MIT. to admit the best students that are also most likely to matriculate. High yield rates are desirable because rankings like the “U.S. News and World Report” emphasize them. But revealed preferences can’t be manipulated so easily. The student has already been accepted to both universities. The only assumption is the student will choose to go to the university they think is the best. Financial aid has an impact on these decisions. And this may help schools like Princeton who have the most competitive packages. But it does not explain why Brown is doing so well.
extremely passionate about defending our unique education. Any time a change to our curriculum is proposed, it is met with harsh resistance by many groups on campus. Sometimes, these small changes may seem inconsequential, like enforcing course prerequisites through Banner. But these decisions tangibly affect the way our curriculum operates, and so go to the very heart of what makes Brown, Brown. These decisions will affect our ability to attract the best students in the future. They will determine whether Brown will be
able to continue competing at the top level of universities worldwide. The world is much different today than it was a generation ago. Most of us will hold four or five careers over a lifetime, with little job security and more competition. Old industries are fast disappearing. Many of the jobs that we will have in fifteen years do not even exist today. Thus, the independence and responsibility our curriculum demands will only become more valuable as we move into a new age defined by connectivity. Brown will never “out-Princeton” Princeton. Even if we focused exclusively on building our endowment and bolstering financial aid, we will not in a hundred years come close to matching our peers. We are already too far behind. But we do not need to compete with them financially in order to attract better students. If we want to continue to attract the best students, we must dedicate ourselves to modestly improving our resources while actively maintaining the New Curriculum. We do not need to be at the top of the U.S. News and World Report to attract the best talent in the country. Changing the way we operate to better fit the formula would have the opposite of its intended effect. If we focus solely on playing catch-up with our endowment, we may rise in the rankings, but we will no longer be able to attract the best students. The metrics we use to measure our progress have an effect on our goals. As long as we continue to create our own metrics instead of relying on external rankings, we can “outBrown” Princeton, and force them to play catch-up with forty years of fine-tuning our curriculum.
Jake Heimark ‘10 reads revealed preference reports for fun.
The unbearable stigma of being ‘Dixie’ BY ADRIENNE LANGLOIS Opinions Columnist Here at Brown, we frequently spend more time thinking about our future destinations and careers than where we’ve come from. Therefore, I’d like to take a few moments to reflect on the positive aspects of my city of origin. My hometown is host to an art museum run by two former curators of the Guggenheim, a thriving theatre scene, a supportive gay and lesbian community and the largest privately owned home open to the public in the United States. When Barack Obama visited the city early last month, 28,000 people turned out to see the Democratic nominee in a high school football stadium. In light of these features and others, it’s no wonder this town has been hailed by many as a new San Francisco. Wondering where this idyllic city is located? Believe it or not, my hometown of Asheville lies south of the Mason-Dixon line, in the mountains of western North Carolina. Yet I rarely get to share some of its more praiseworthy aspects in conversation. Inevitably, any positive mentions of my hometown are drowned out by the inevitable barrage of redneck jokes, questions about Civil War reenactments and the occasional comment regarding whether or not my family practices slavery. I only wish I were exaggerating. I’m willing to concede that some Northern conceptions of the South are based in fact, as are all stereotypes. It’s true that there were only four Jewish people in my high school, and I went to class along with students clad in Confederate flag T-shirts. Instead of taking a field trip to the MoMA
or the Library of Congress, my elementary school class visited the Cherokee Indian reservation (sadly, we were not allowed to visit the nearby casino). There are currently three Super Walmarts in the Asheville suburbs, each turning a tidy profit. But none of this means that I should be subjected to an askance glance and a smarmy “Well, where’s your accent?” whenever I’m introduced to new people. In terms of community at Brown, we few
needle in the proverbial haystack. Most Brown students’ main experience with the South is through the eyes of the dysfunctional families of William Faulkner or Margaret Mitchell’s plucky plantation heroine Scarlett O’Hara. While Southern literature deserves its due, too much fiction will lead to the unfortunate recurring perception that the only cultural innovation to come out of the South since Reconstruction is Jack Daniels.
Any positive mentions of my hometown are drowned out by the inevitable barrage of redneck jokes, questions about Civil War reenactments and the occasional comment regarding whether or not my family practices slavery. students from the South really get stiffed. Foreign students bond over adapting to American culture and receive admiring comments from domestic students. Students from well represented states such as California and New York can share their collective affinities for regional fast-food chains, but go looking for someone to compare notes on Hardee’s iced tea and you might as well be searching for a
Off College Hill and around the country, the media have done little to discourage this perception of the South. The New York Times ran an article that sought to explore the “receptive audience” that “the McCain campaign’s depiction of Barack Obama as a mysterious ‘other’ with an impenetrable background” had found in Southern states. Featuring quotes from residents found
outside of such stereotypical locations as Walmart and Baptist churches, the article effectively painted the region as a bastion of Bible-thumping racists who believed that “God told the children of Israel not to intermarry” and that a black president would “tear up the rose bushes and plant a watermelon patch” — sentiments practically guaranteed to strike fear into the hearts of any East Coast liberal who tears up at the sight of the splash of deep red that crosses the South on every map of the electoral college. This is not to decry studies of the lingering effects of racism, the trend in homemade drug use or the unending poverty that plagues some parts of the South. However, there are more constructive ways to explore the societal problems of a region than a culturally insensitive joke, which trivializes those longstanding issues that the wisecracker regards as anathema, and that ultimately does more harm than good. There’s no reason why any student at Brown should be ashamed of their hometown or region of origin, whether they live below the Mason-Dixon line or anywhere else. Brown students should live up to their reputation as open-minded adults and give the South and its residents the respect they deserve. So next time you see your token Southern friend, consider asking him or her a thoughtful question instead of making a snide remark. You bring an open mind, and we’ll provide the barbecue — something that is, admittedly, a Southern stereotype, but also a source of pride that I’m sure you’ll be happy you tried.
Adrienne Langlois ’10 hums “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” while studying liberal pinko communist feminist theory in the Rock.
S ports W eekend Page 12
Friday, November 7, 2008
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
I n B rief Football takes two Ivy personal awards
Justin Coleman / Herald
Quarterback Michael Dougherty ’09 was named Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week after the football team’s win over Penn last weekend.
Sports editors’ picks: Games to watch this weekend
By Megan McCahill Spor ts Editor
Football The first-place Bears (5-2, 4-0 Ivy) are currently the only undefeated team left in the Ivy League. They host Yale (4-3, 2-2) in a crucial Ivy League matchup at 12:30 p.m. at Brown Stadium.
Coming off of a crucial 34-27 road win over Penn last Saturday, Bruno is 4-0 in the Ivy League for the first time in school histor y, and a win over Yale would put the Bears in a great position to win the Ivy League title for the first time since 2005. On offense, the Bears are led at quarterback by Ivy League Offen-
Justin Coleman / Herald
Co-captain and Herald Market Research/Communications Associate Lyndse Yess ’09 and the volleyball team will take on Cornell and Columbia this weekend.
sive Player of the Week Michael Dougherty ’09 and by receivers Buddy Farnham ’10 and Bobby Sewall ’10. The trio is the catalyst for the team’s potent of fense, which is averaging 360.1 yards per game, including 271.9 passing yards, good for 14th in the nation. But the Bears will face a tough challenge against the Elis’ stingy defense, which is ranked No. 1 in the Football Championship Subdivision, allowing only 13.1 points per game. A key to the game is winning the turnover battle, as Brown will need to be extra careful throwing against Yale, which leads the Ivy League in takeaways (20), interceptions (14) and sacks per game (2.43). Men’s and women’s soccer The men’s and women’s soccer teams host a doubleheader on Saturday, when both teams take on Yale in their final home games of the season, at Stevenson Field. The men take on the Bulldogs at 4:30 p.m. and the women have the evening matchup at 7 p.m. The men (9-5-1, 3-2) host Yale (6-7-2, 2-3) in their penultimate game of the season, looking to bounce back after a difficult 4-0 loss to Penn on Saturday. The game will be the last chance to win in front of a home crowd for the Bears’ six seniors, so fans can expect Bruno to come out fired up right from the start. The women (6-6-4, 2-3-1) play the Bulldogs (8-6-2, 2-3-1) in the Bears’ final game of the season. After Bruno’s thrilling 1-0 overtime victory over Penn last weekend, both teams enter Saturday’s contest tied for fifth place in the league standings, so expect a competitive game that could go down to the wire. The women also boast six seniors playing their last game
in a Brown uniform, and the team may be playing extra hard to try to send them off with a win.
Women’s ice hockey Coming off of their first win of the season by dominating league rival Union by a score of 4-1, the Bears (1-2-1) are headed into their first home games of the season full of confidence. Brown will face two tough teams in Clarkson (2-4-2), at 7 p.m. on Friday, and St. Lawrence (3-1-2), at 4 p.m. on Saturday, both at Meehan Auditorium. After tying national powerhouse St. Cloud State in the opening weekend of play, the Bears have reason to be excited about their prospects this season. With captain and Herald Sports Staff Writer Nicole Stock ’09 averaging 40 saves per game between the goalposts this season, Bruno’s defense gives the team a chance to win every game. Brown has also benefited from a well-rounded offense, as five different players have scored goals in the team’s first four games. The Bears are hungry to prove themselves this year, so look for the team to bring a lot of intensity this weekend. Volleyball The volleyball team (11-11, 3-7) takes on Cornell (7-14, 6-4) on Friday at 7 p.m. and Columbia (6-14, 0-10) on Saturday at 4 p.m. The team’s final home games of the season will be played at the Pizzitola Center. Coming of f tough losses to Har vard and Dar tmouth last weekend, the Bears are eager to get back on the winning track and get wins for their two seniors, cocaptains Lyndse Yess ’09 — also a Herald business staffer — and Natalie Meyers ’09, in the final home matches of their careers.
Quarterback Michael Dougherty ’09 and corner back Nkosi Still ’09 were named the Ivy League’s Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week for their outstanding play in football’s 34-27 win over Penn last weekend. Dougherty threw for 234 yards and four touchdowns, including touchdown passes of 57, 11, 12 and 29 yards that helped the Bears rack up 34 points against a Penn defense that had allowed just 13 points per game. He completed 16 of 32 passes without throwing an interception and also ran for nine yards on the day. Still came up with the biggest stop of the game for the Bears. With Brown holding on to a 28-20 lead with 4:30 left on the clock, Penn ran the ball on fourth down and two yards to go on its own 29-yard line. Still read the play perfectly and stuffed the runner at the line of scrimmage to give Brown possession of the ball on downs, and the Bears rode the momentum of his big stop to score a touchdown two plays later to seal the victory. Although his biggest stop came late in the fourth quarter, Still was all over the field throughout the game, coming up with a game-high 12 tackles, including eight solo stops, and one tackle for a loss. The first-place Bears (4-0) next take on Yale (2-2) in a crucial game at 12:30 p.m. at Brown Stadium on Saturday.
Water polo star earns Player of the Week Mike Gartner ’09 scored six goals and drew six ejections to lead the No. 17 men’s water polo team to a 15-10 win over M.I.T. last Thursday and was named the Northern Division Player of the Week. The award is Gartner’s third Player of the Week award this season. Gartner leads the team with 102 ejections drawn so far this season, and he is second on the team with 49 goals on 56 percent shooting. He’s also tallied 13 steals on the year. Gartner and the rest of the water polo squad will return to the pool this weekend, heading to M.I.T. for the Northern Division Championship tournament.
Cross country runners make All-Ivy teams Two cross country runners earned All-Ivy honors after starring at the 2008 Ivy League Heptagonal Championships at Van Cortlandt Park in West Chester, Pa., last Friday. Duriel Hardy ’10 won First Team All-Ivy honors and Lara Heigis ’11 earned a spot on the Second Team. Hardy was the men’s top finisher at Heps, and his time of 24:52.3 on the five-mile course was good for seventh place overall. His efforts helped Brown take fifth place as a team with a combined 142 points. Heigis took 13th in the women’s 5K at the meet, and her time of 18:06.2 was the top finish for the Bears. The Bruno women finished in third place as a team with a total of 92 points. Both the men’s and women’s squads compete next at the NCAA Northeast Regional Meet on Nov. 15. — Megan McCahill