Wednesday, December 3, 2008

The Brown Daily Herald Wednesday, D ecember 3, 2008

Volume CXLIII, No. 122

Since 1866, Daily Since 1891

January term in doubt as not enough sign up

History of slavery is dehumanized, prof says By Emma Berry Staff Writer

The slave trade is usually left out of the American immigration story, former Professor of Africana Studies James Campbell said in a lecture yesterday at the John Nicholas Brown Center. Speaking to a small group of teachers and community members about the history of the transatlantic slave trade, Campbell emphasized the need to “unsettle the ways in which Americans have been taught to tell the story of their history.” Targeting educators, Campbell’s lecture was the first of the “Coming to America” series sponsored by the Rhode Island Geography Education Alliance. Future lectures in the series will explore the immigration experiences of Asians, Latinos and Cape Verdeans. If you ask most Americans to describe early migrants to the Americas, most would say they “look like Pilgrims or conquistadors,” Campbell said. “They don’t look like Africans.” However, he said, in the first 300 years after Columbus’s voyage to the Americas, three-quarters of transatlantic migrants were African slaves. By the time the United States and Great Britain outlawed the transatlantic slave trade, over

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12.5 million Africans had been packed onto slave ships bound for the mines and plantations of the New World. The vast majority of these slaves went to Brazil and other sugar-producing regions, where few slaves survived the brutal work environment and heat for long. Campbell said North America, which was colonized later than the rest of the Americas, depended on white indentured servants until the end of the 17th century. Even in the 18th centur y, when slavery largely replaced indentured servitude as the base of the American plantation economy, North America imported relatively few slaves, Campbell said. In the temperate climate, the slave population increased. By the Civil War, the number of enslaved Africans in the United States had increased to almost four million, he added. While the presentation of slavery in American history textbooks has improved significantly since the civil rights movement, Campbell said, misconceptions still abound. Americans tend to think of slavery as “abhorrent and anomalous,” he said. “And it certainly was abhorrent. But it isn’t historically anomalous.” The concept of labor as a continued on page 4

by Ben Schreckinger Staff Writer

Morning Jacket’s “Touch Me I’m Going to Scream, Part 2,” which was completed this June and directed by Mixtape Club, an animating and directing trio consisting of alums Jesse Casey ’04, Michelle Higa ’04 and Chris Smith ’05. In addition to music videos for

January@Brown, the pilot program of a winter academic term that has run the last two years, will not run this academic year unless more students sign up by the end of this week, said John Caron, assistant dean for summer and continuing studies. The fate of the 10-day not-forcredit program, which 30 students participated in last year, will be determined by 5 p.m. on Friday. This year’s program would need 40 students to pay tuition in order for the program to cover its projected costs, but so far only 15 students have signed up. The program is entering the last of three years for which the University approved a trial run. In past years, students took one class that met daily, and went on group outings organized by the program. January@Brown’s organizers had originally hoped the program would gain momentum and eventually become a for-credit winter term similar to the kind offered by many small, liberal arts colleges — although some had suggested the program would work even without academic credit. The January program grew from 18 students in January 2007 to 30 students in 2008, and was subsidized by the University. However, as planned, the program will not receive subsidies for its third trial year. If the program does not enroll enough students to be independently viable, it will be cancelled for 2009 and will not return in the future, Caron said. There needs to be “enough student interest to sustain the program,” he said. “It’s got real costs associated to it.” Although less than half the requisite number of participants have signed up, Caron said he was hoping that many students simply had not finalized winter break plans until Thanksgiving break. Last year, enrollment surged during the week after break, he said. The Office of Summer and Continuing Studies has tried to grow the program this year by increasing its visibility. The office is “really trying to get the word out” with an advertising campaign that includes Brown Morning Mail, table slips and an ad on Facebook, Caron said. The January term is also offering more flexible pricing options this year. Students paying the $475 program fee now have the option to forego paying either $100 to live in a dorm or $325 for meals and instead provide for themselves. Among the students who are often good fits for the program are midyear transfers, said Katie Jennings ’10.5, who attended January@Brown last year. “The best part about January@ Brown for me was helping me orient

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Meara Sharma / Herald

John Cameron Mitchell, director and star of “Hedwig and the Angry Inch,” spoke last night at the Rhode Island School of Design.

Queer film director talks about ‘Hedwig’ and life By Suzannah Weiss Contributing Writer

Film star and director John Cameron Mitchell spoke to College Hill students about love, sex, religion and the burdens of dressing in drag at the screening of his film “Hedwig and the Angr y Inch,” at the Rhode Island School

of Design last night. Mitchell came to Providence as part of a project to bring queer filmmakers to Brown’s campus. The event was sponsored by the Queer Alliance, the department of modern culture and media and RISD’s Straight and Gay Alcontinued on page 6

Brief

President Simmons heads to Africa It was not over the river and through the woods but across the Atlantic and into Ghana for President Ruth Simmons this Thanksgiving. Simmons made the trip for a three-day meeting on higher education in Africa. The African Leadership Forum, which brought together academics from the United States and Africa, discussed, in part, how to “develop and retain the next generation of African academics,” according to an e-mail from Marisa Quinn, vice president for public affairs and University relations. Simmons attended in her role as a university president and as a member of the Global University Leaders Forum, in which she participated at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland in January, Quinn wrote. Simmons also visited the University of Ghana and was honored by a dinner hosted by a Brown alum living in that country. The forum was attended by other university leaders, including Njabulo Ndebele, president of the Association of African Universities, and by representatives of the Partnership for Higher Education in Africa, a group of American foundations that organized the meeting, Quinn wrote. — George Miller

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Connie Zheng / Herald

Jesse Casey ‘04, Michelle Higa ‘04 and Chris Smith ‘05 direct music videos for bands like My Morning Jacket.

From List to London, alums mix it up By Connie Zheng Staf f Writer

A small primate with glassy, tennis-ball eyes and fur hanging off its frame like a shag carpet steps out from behind a tree, carrying a lantern with a glowing dragonfly inside. As it advances through the thick jungle, it suddenly trips and

GIVE PEACE A CHANCE? Despite Obama’s promise to expand it, the Peace Corps is still competitive for graduates

www.browndailyherald.com

the firefly escapes from its cage. Horrified, the creature scrambles to its feet, accompanied by layers

FEATURE of guitar melody, a soft male voice and a driving drum rhythm. This dramatic sequence opens the music video for rock band My

hello, my name is... Those who work in Bio-Med facilities will now be forced to CAMPUS NEWS wear identification

5

11

OPINIONS

equality in divorce Jeremy Feigenbaum ‘11 thinks Rhode Island should legalize gay divorce

195 Angell Street, Providence, Rhode Island

12 SPORTS

SWIMMING ALONG Women’s and men’s swimming and diving start their seasons off well with victories

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Wednesday, December 3, 2008

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

We a t h e r

Vagina Dentata | Soojean Kim

TODAY

TOMORROW

sunny 47 / 32

rain 53 / 31

Menu Sharpe Refectory

Verney-Woolley Dining Hall

Lunch — Beef and Broccoli Szechwan, Spinach Strudel with Cheese Cream Sauce, Polynesian Ratatouille

Lunch — Pulled Pork Sandwich, Pizza Rustica, Freshly Sliced Carrots, Raspberry Sticks

Dinner — Pork Chops with Seasoned Crumbs, Macaroni and Cheese with Avocados and Tomatoes

Dinner — Pot Roast Jardiniere, Stuffed Spinach Squash, Jamaican Pork and Apricot Saute

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.

Epitmetheos | Samuel Holzman

Enigma Twist | Dustin Foley

Puzzles by Pappocom RELEASE DATE– Wednesday,©December 3, 2008

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

ACROSS 1 “Let’s Make __” 6 Conspiracy 11 Maintain, as some tools 14 Brazilian dance 15 Mountain ridge 16 Ralph’s costar in “The Avengers” 17 Of a pelvic bone 18 Tops 19 Looney Tunes devil, casually 20 Fiji, of Fiji, Aruba, Monaco and Vail? 22 Like a temptress 23 Financial bind 24 Part of “the works,” on a burger 26 Butcher’s abbr. 29 Math, of English, Math, History and Biology? 33 Hurdle for a future Ph.D. 35 Unexpected 36 Kind of time or value 37 “Go, team!” 39 Icicle site 40 Goes along 43 Witty banter 46 You, of him, her, you and me? 48 Blunder 49 __ Kinko’s 50 Itty bit 52 Zealous 54 Vail, of Fiji, Aruba, Monaco and Vail? 59 Clic Stic maker 60 Reynolds Metals parent company 61 Montana was one 62 “What’s the __?!” 63 Release to attack 64 Unsophisticated 65 Itty bit 66 Slow down 67 Impatient

DOWN 1 “In your dreams!” 2 Catalan surrealist 3 Persian Gulf honcho 4 Embarrass 5 Many are intolerant of it 6 Nob Hill roller 7 __ rug 8 Lighthouse, e.g. 9 Goes to 10 Arles article 11 Benefiting from Match.com 12 Big screen 13 Sluggish 21 Theater suffix 22 Filing aid 25 Hosp. area for acute conditions 26 Dieter’s catchword 27 “Erin Go __” 28 Gave up 30 Astrologer Sydney 31 Cut off

32 Villainous look 34 Looked suggestively 38 Look before you leap 41 Byrnes of “77 Sunset Strip” 42 Bee contestant 44 What a “D” may indicate 45 Pre-cable need

47 Betting combo 51 Afghani, for one 52 Be up against 53 Plastic option 55 Drench 56 Getting the job done 57 Guns, as an engine 58 Low card 60 Priest’s robe

Alien Weather Forecast | Stephen Lichenstein and Adam Wagner

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:

Brown Meets RISD | Miguel Llorente

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12/03/08

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New G.I. bill to send more vets to school By Riley Blanton Contributing Writer

Courtesy of Chaney Harrison

Chaney Harrison ‘11, who served in the U.S. Armed Forces, will benefit from a new veterans bill.

In a Veterans Day ceremony last month, the University recognized 11 students who have served in the U.S. militar y. But thanks to a new G.I. Bill to take effect in August 2009, there may be more veterans on Brown’s campus and across the countr y next Nov. 11. The new bill, the Post-9/11 Veterans Education Assistance Act of 2008, will help cover the cost of higher education for citizens who have served active duty since Sept. 11, 2001. Authored by Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., the legislation will provide more financial assistance than the current Montgomery G.I. Bill, which has been in effect since 1985. Chaney Harrison ’11, a veteran, said he thinks the bill will have a big impact. “Under the Montgomer y G.I. Bill, veterans were not even able to cover the tuition of most public universities’ in-state rates,” Har-

Brain science mergers gain momentum By Alex Roehrkasse Higher Ed Editor

Though a merger between Brown’s psychology and cognitive and linguistic sciences departments may be delayed as construction for their joint building is put off, the strategy of consolidating brain science programs mirrors a growing nationwide trend. At many other universities, previously separated subdisciplines in the behavioral sciences are reuniting in order to pursue top-flight research that demands broader resources and expertise. In particular, the prominence of neuroscience and other biological, genetic and physiological approaches to studying behavior has led many researchers to reach across disciplinary borders in ways not previously thought to be productive or even possible. “There is this excitement that is going to tie social and cognitive and developmental phenomena into all kinds of interesting findings in other sciences,” said Alan Kraut, executive director of the Association for Psychological Science. Recent years have seen the emergence of new cross-disciplinary fields like neuroeconomics and psychophysiology that many researchers have hailed as promising trajectories in behavioral research. But this trend has also changed the landscape of training, funding and departmental organization in the behavioral sciences in a way that not all researchers are happy about. A major concern of some researchers is that the excitement about new neuroscientific and experimental methodology, though fruitful in some cases, may cause other strands of research to go by the wayside. Professor of Cognitive and Linguistic Sciences Pauline Jacobson, who described herself as Brown’s “only straight theoretical linguist,” said her discipline’s departmental pairing with the cognitive sciences has been a “struggle” for researchers and students who are not interested in experimental approaches to studying language. In 1986, amid a surge in the popu-

larity of cognitive methodology in the behavioral sciences, Brown’s psychology department split apart, said Jacobson, who has taught at Brown since 1975. Experimentally and cognitively inclined researchers joined the previously independent linguistics department. The merger made sense at the time, she said, but has had significant effects on the program’s size and research emphases. “As a result of the merger with cognitive science, the orientation became much more towards psycholinguistics and other kinds of experimental linguistics and some computational linguistics,” Jacobson said. “The department has moved more in that direction and has lost some what we had as basic strengths in some of the more theoretical areas.” In 1986, the linguistics department had 25 graduate students, but now there are only two doctoral candidates in linguistics, Jacobson said. She said the department’s emphasis on lab-based training has made it hard to attract researchers and students that do not do experimental research. She added that it is getting harder to get grants from the National Science Foundation, which she said is increasingly averse to funding non-experimental research like hers. Kraut echoed this concern, but said that the trend in funding was a case of the “pendulum maybe swinging too far,” and emphasized that there is still an important place for research in non-experimental fields of behavioral science. Jacobson said that she was unsure about what implications the proposed merger between the psychology and cognitive and linguistic sciences departments would have for the opportunities to do linguistic research at Brown, but said she had “concern.” The “cognitive revolution” that originally induced a reshuffling of the departments at Brown in 1986 was part of a broader fracture within behavioral science departments across the country. Several psychology and anthropology departments split along the lines of those who

valued cognitive approaches to behavior and those who did not. More recent forays into interdisciplinary work in the behavioral sciences could be the “corrective” to the hasty, and in some cases counterproductive, cognitive revolution that occurred 20 years ago, said Nancy Dess, professor of psychology and psychobiology at Occidental College and president of the behavioral neuroscience and comparative psychology division of the American Psychological Association. In some cases, as at Brown, such interdisciplinary work might be accompanied by the reunification of certain departments. “You’re seeing the reintegration of areas that have been split apart for various reasons for long periods of time, and I think that’s a good thing,” Dess said. Dess said that the previous emphasis on cognition within psychology had often “gobbled up” other research areas, making it hard for non-cognitive researchers to get hired and receive funding. But that trend, Dess said, had little to do with neuroscience, which is now providing important insights into new areas of behavioral research. The most significant driving force behind changes in the character of behavioral research, Dess said, is scholars’ passion for applying new expertise to innovative questions — applying neuroscience to the study of social justice, for example. An increase in this type of research will likely have significant effects on how researchers prepare themselves to pursue their interests, she said. “The social psychologists are going to have to learn some neuroscience, and the neuroscientists are going to have to be trained in social and cognitive psychology,” she said. Dess also noted that psychology tends to get less respect within the scientific community at large, and she suggested that psychologists’ increased collaboration with neuroscientists could elevate the prestige of their discipline. “I might not like that we got it that way, but I’ll take it,” Dess said.

rison said. “I think that this had the effect of discouraging veterans from pursuing degrees outside of the militar y.” Under the current Montgomer y G.I. Bill, veterans of at least one year of active duty received $1,101 per month towards college expenses in 2007, according to the Depar tment of Veterans Affairs’ Web site, but the new bill will cover the cost of in-state tuition or allocate equivalent funding for private schools. In addition, veterans will receive $1,000 per academic year toward books and a monthly stipend for living expenses to be determined by states. Rhode Island student veterans will be eligible to receive up to $7,724 for tuition per year and a monthly $1,558 living stipend. According to Harrison, university financial aid offices have been historically unprepared to deal with benefits received under the G.I. Bill. “Right now, many institutions use federal financial aid guide-

lines that instruct them to treat the stipend from the G.I. Bill as an ‘outside resource,’ or essentially a scholarship,” Harrison said. “This means that it gets subtracted from your institutional aid dollar for dollar.” John Powers, executive director of Student Veterans of America, said the new G.I. Bill is an improvement over the former model because it compensates for the rising cost of college tuition. He also praised the bill for including a provision that allows veterans to transfer their educational benefits to their dependents. But Powers said a shortfall in the new legislation is that it does not apply retroactively to veterans who have already matriculated. And regardless of the funding available, Powers said veterans face obstacles as they tr y to acclimate to college life. “A lot of schools say they’re veteran-friendly, but they’re really continued on page 4

Peace Corps outlook foggy with budget pending BY Sophia Li Staff Writer

When President Bush promised in 2002 to more than double the size of the Peace Corps within five years, volunteer applications to the program skyrocketed. President-elect Barack Obama made a similar promise during his campaign to raise the present number of Peace Corps volunteers from 7,876 to 16,000 by March 2011, the program’s 50th anniversary. But when Obama takes office, he will inherit an agency whose expansion has been checked not by a lack of prospective volunteers, but by a failing economy and a lack of Congressional support. Though the number of Peace Corps volunteers grew by more than 1,500 between 2002 and 2007 to 8,079 — a 37-year high, according to agency spokeswoman Joellen Duckett — efforts to expand the Peace Corps during the Bush years fell far short of the president’s 2002 promise. That history suggests that graduating seniors — already worried about a bleak job market — may not be able to count on the promised growth in opportunities to serve abroad unless the agency is able to get the necessary funding and political support. For near future, furthermore, positions will be even harder to get — the agency has been cutting volunteer positions since 2007 and will accept approximately 400 fewer volunteers in 2009 than it took this year, according to Joanna O’Brien, a spokeswoman for the Peace Corps. Increased suppor t from the White House for the service organization, which sends volunteers to foreign countries, would come at an opportune moment. The Corps has “really been hit” by the economic crisis, said Joellen Duckett, a spokeswoman for the agency. The Corps is currently operating on a budget, created last year, that has since been stretched by the declining value of the dollar, she said.

In contrast, applications for volunteer positions in the program have increased by 16 percent over the past year, Duckett said. The Peace Corps will not know whether Obama’s election will affect interest in volunteer positions until next fall, she added. The cuts that the Peace Corps has been forced to make in recent years may continue to affect prospective volunteers, despite Obama’s planned expansion. “Becoming a Peace Corps volunteer has always been a competitive process, but in a time of increasing applications and rising costs, it is more competitive than ever,” O’Brien, the spokeswoman, wrote in an e-mail. January Zuk, the Peace Corps recruiter for Rhode Island, said the agency does not know what it will be able to expect from the new administration, but Duckett said the agency will likely have a new director when Obama takes office. While Bush followed his promise to drastically expand the Peace Corps with a request for a record budget for the agency, Duckett said, Capitol Hill had the final say on the program’s funding. “That budget that we got was not as much,” Duckett said. “It’s Congress that has the purse strings.” But some members of Congress have been trying to generate more support for the Peace Corps. Senator Chris Dodd, D-Conn., a former Peace Corps volunteer in the Dominican Republic, introduced the Peace Corps Volunteer Empowerment Act in March of last year. While expanding the Peace Corps is not a primary focus of that legislation, the bill seeks to establish funding for volunteers’ projects, encourage input from current and former volunteers and build a stronger community within the program, among other initiatives, according to Dodd’s Web site. But, according to Duckett, “that legislation hasn’t moved.” continued on page 4

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Wednesday, December 3, 2008

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Higher enrollment needed to continue J-term in 2009 continued from page 1 myself in terms of the campus and figuring out where everything was,” she said. “The transfer orientation is very short” and the program assisted the transition, she said. Jennings said she appreciated the opportunity to explore the city on extracurricular outings and in her class about Providence neighborhoods. Nonetheless, Jennings said she saw the program’s current appeal as limited. “I would only do J-term once,” she said. “It’s a lot of class hours” and “a significant expense” for a program that does not offer credit, she added. The College Curriculum Council, a University committee that deals with undergraduate academics, voted this past spring in support of offering half-credits for a January term, but the credit option has since been abandoned. If Januar y@Brown is discontinued, the Office of Summer and Continuing Studies will continue to “look at all kinds of opportunities for undergraduates,” including increasing access to internships during Brown’s unusually long winter break, Caron said.

continued from page 3

Chris Bennett / Herald File Photo

Last year, 30 students participated in January@Brown. But the program will not run this year if more students do not sign up.

Trio of talented alums create quirky music videos, art continued from page 1 musicians such as the band TV on the Radio and the late hip-hop artist J Dilla, Mixtape Club’s resume also includes animated shorts for Foot Locker and Showtime’s “The Tudors.” The group just spent five weeks this fall shooting an ad campaign for the British phone company Vodafone, and recently completed an as-yet unveiled digital short for Britain’s Channel Five centered on a miniature town of gelatinous houses. “We like the organic,” Higa said. “We like to get our hands dirty.” Their “organic” approach has included spinning the members of Yeasayer on a turntable, dropping ink and pasta in a tank of water and dressing people up as trees. Though the images in the My Morning Jacket music video have the feel of oil paintings, they were animated digitally, the product of eight weeks’ worth of grueling work. “Like, we almost died,” Casey said. Higa said they often worked 18hour days, and Casey added that he pulled “a bunch of all-nighters.” Weekends were not immune from work time, either. “We love working on animation at all hours,” Higa said. “Sometimes you have to get immersed in the jungle-firefly world.” Mixtape Club’s sole directorial debut wasn’t until Januar y, with their music video for Yeasayer’s “Wait for the Summer,” but Casey,

Higa and Smith had collaborated on other projects years before — their music video for J Dilla’s “Nothing Like This” was created in October 2006 — and had worked closely together at Brown. Smith and Higa knew each other from their years working as Multimedia Lab consultants, but they didn’t meet Casey until later, Higa said. The three had taken several classes together, but the grand culmination of their collaborative efforts at Brown wasn’t until “Chaise,” a “DVD magazine” they released in 2005 with several other students. Casey recalled one fit of artistic inspiration in List Art Center, when he ran an old photocopier with nothing in it, producing stray smudges and textures that he then photocopied numerous times. He kept the resulting images, which eventually were incorporated into the Yeasayer video. “They kind of finished one another’s sentences,” said Professor Emeritus of Visual Art Roger Mayer, who Higa said was “very much a mentor to the three of us.” Both Higa and Smith were teaching assistants for two of Mayer’s classes, and between the three members of Mixtape Club, they had taken every one of his classes, Mayer said. While they all now devote themselves to animation, only Casey concentrated in visual art. Higa, an art semiotics concentrator, said she was thankful for the fact that she took numerous theory courses.

“Our background was more in storytelling than in filmmaking,” she said. But her theory classes are not all Higa owes to College Hill. “We have yet to find a place with falafel as good as East Side Pockets’,” she said. Mayer, who is still in touch with the three, remembered their time in the classroom and in the studio well. Higa “was by far the most accomplished” in her introductory visual art class, both technically and conceptually,” Mayer said. “She had ver y good ideas and had the means through which to bring them to life.” He added that Casey “tended to be quiet sometimes,” but that “whenever he had something to say, everybody would shut up.” Other members of Brown’s faculty also remembered the future Mixtapers well. Multimedia Lab consultants consultants “come and go, but they are definitely part of the group of star consultants,” said Edrex Fontanilla, senior multimedia instructional coordinator. “As busy as they were, they were an incredible resource.” He remembered one instance in which Higa had to model a building for an architecture class. Though she didn’t know how to use the modeling software, over the course of three days, he said, she learned how to use it and finished her final project. “And I said, ‘Who does that? Who can do that?’” Fontanilla said,

adding that students with the group members’ abilities are “few and far between.” “It’s interesting how unassuming they are, how low-key, modest,” in contrast to their talent, said Professor of Visual Art Richard Fishman. Both he and Mayer recalled a 20-minute-long stop-motion film, “Camp Lakachian,” that Smith and a fellow student, Bennett Barbakow ’04, made over the course of two semesters in the basement of List. The two supplied the musicaldrama with not only the set and the storyline, but also voices and background music. “They always did more than was asked of them,” Mayer said. He got to know the trio well beyond the studio, as well — they occasionally hung out in the Blue Room, he said. “They were all on the same wavelength,” Mayer said. “In all my years of teaching, that’s been very rare.” This rapport is still an anchoring factor in Mixtape Club’s work together. “The most impor tant thing when we’re working on a project is that we all have the same vision. … Everyone gets to touch something before we’re done,” said Higa, adding that she and her two Mixtape Club associates all have different specialties, and described Mixtape Club as the “middle part of a Venn Diagram.” “I think it’s the technical and artistic nerdery that binds us together,” Casey said.

Slavery and justice committee chair returns for campus talk continued from page 1 transfer between free equals is a relatively modern development, he said. “Slavery is not the exception, historically — it’s the rule,” he said. Campbell said the economic importance of slavery meant that the forced migration of Africans was much better documented than migrations of free Europeans. But, according to Campbell, almost no first-person accounts of Africans

Campuses become vet friendly

brought to the Americas exist — the data is almost entirely numerical. Campbell demonstrated the wealth of data available on Web sites like slavevoyages.com, which provides a database of information about transatlantic slave ships from 1514 to 1866. The information includes the ships’ points of origin and disembarkation, the number of slaves who began the journey and the number who survived it. “In some sense the data we have

reproduces the process of dehumanization, reducing Africans to commodities,” said Campbell. “There’s very little about the human content of this experience.” Campbell, who announced in February that he would leave the University to join the faculty at Stanford — his alma mater — chaired the University Steering Committee on Slavery and Justice. He encouraged teachers to use primary source materials unearthed by the committee, including remarkably detailed

records of slave ships commissioned by the Brown brothers. Campbell, who is working as a historical consultant on a children’s encyclopedia of slavery, acknowledged the difficulty of presenting information about the slave trade to younger students without “reducing” it. He encouraged teachers to draw from a variety of sources in order to engage students in the nuance of the slave trade without losing sight of its “human dimension.”

not,” Powers said. “Guys get sent around like pinballs from office to office to office.” Harrison said most veterans have been removed from academic life physically and mentally for years and many are unfamiliar with the application and financial aid processes. Upon arriving on campus, they sometimes feel alienated from their peers, he added. While both Powers and Harrison said the new G.I. Bill constitutes a significant step toward easing the transition from soldier to student financially, they agreed that more colleges could benefit from on-campus resource centers to help veterans navigate college life. Some schools, including the University of California, Berkeley, have resource centers in place to help veterans, but no such program exists at Brown. But Rosario Navarro, project manager for the Office of Campus Life and Student Ser vices, said a veterans support group might be formed on campus soon. “There are a number of students who are eager to form a student group for the purpose of support and increasing awareness of the number of veterans that are in Rhode Island and on campus,” Navarro said. Navarro said veteran and nonveteran students are involved in the prospective organization, but there are not enough currently involved to meet the Student Activities Office’s requirements for official recognition. But she predicted that the interest will increase as the new G.I Bill brings more veterans to college. Powers said the probable increase in veteran students in coming years will constitute a positive change for college campuses. Veterans are “going to bring a unique life experience to the campus community,” Powers said. “Having a real veteran sitting in your classroom is 50 times better than showing any documentary on the Iraq War. They bridge the gap and open the dialogue.”

Peace Corps budget not adding up continued from page 3 A similar bill, the Peace Corps Reauthorization Act of 2008, was introduced in the House Representatives by Rep. Sam Farr, D-Calif. The bill, which would generally increase funding for the Peace Corps, has also made little headway. Nevertheless, some future volunteers remain optimistic. Samantha Kuo ’09, who was recently nominated to serve after she graduates in May, said the expansion Obama has spoken about “would be really cool.” Kuo, who will participate in a joint masters program through the Peace Corps, added that she believes “people are losing a sense of duty” that Obama could help reignite. “It’d create more awareness, too,” she said.

C ampus n ews Page 5

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Bio-Med buildings to require IDs on site

Students start new peer support program

By Amit Jain Contributing Writer

All faculty, students and staff working in the BioMedical facilities will need to display Brown IDs visibly at all times beginning Dec. 15, the BioMed Facilities Planning and Operations office announced last month. The policy, announced in an e-mail from Dean of Medicine and Biological Sciences Edward Wing, applies to all students, faculty and staff working in the Sidney E. Frank Hall for Life Sciences, BioMed Center, Laboratories for Molecular Medicine, Walter Hall, Arnold Laboratory, the Plant Environmental Center and 121 South Main St., which serves as the Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies. Peter Holden, director of BioMed Facilities Planning and Operations, said the policy has been in the making for years. “We tried to put the program in place two years ago, originally, and it didn’t get the full support,” Holden said. “Dr. Wing really pushed it forward for us.” Wing became dean in July. Although the policy applies to anyone working in the buildings, Holden said, it would not be enforced around classrooms. No single event prompted the new security measure, he said, but rather a general interest in improving security and safety. “There’s no smoking gun or something that happened,” he said. “You are dealing with laboratories that have chemicals and materials. ... You have to have people properly trained to go into those spaces.” But Holden cited security concerns as well. “In the last year, in the BioMed research buildings, we’ve had about six laptop thefts,” he said. “If we could prevent a few of them through this policy or other policies, that’s what we’ve got to do. ... We’re looking to say, how can we improve security in our buildings without compromising the way of life?” Karen Scanlan, communications

manager for BioMed medical affairs, said Wing, who signed off on the policy, fully supported the change. “It’s certainly something that we all support here,” she said. But some students and faculty seemed unsure of the motivation behind the shift. Roy Poses, clinical associate professor of medicine, said he didn’t know what to think. “The reasons for it weren’t wellexplained,” Poses said. “I know nothing more than what was in the memo. ... It’s curious and it’s cryptic.” Kartik Venkatesh ’06 MD’10, president of the Medical Student Senate, said he had yet to hear many students mention the change, but he expected that might change once the policy takes effect. He said the Senate is “hoping to get some student feedback to talk about it” at its meeting next week. Venkatesh said he thought the new policy would affect first- and second-year medical students most. “Third- and fourth-year students — it’s different for them, because they’re at the hospitals, so they’re not really even on campus,” he said. “It’s going to be the biggest difference for the first two years in terms of, you know, having to actually wear their IDs.” Med students interviewed by The Herald in the BioMed Center on Tuesday had mixed feelings about the new policy. Second-year med student Heidi Wilder ’06 MD’11 described the change as “kind of weird.” “I’m not aware of any particular security concern here,” Wilder said. “If there was a particular reason given, I’m not sure I would be opposed to it.” First-year med student Joe Grossman MD’12 echoed similar sentiments. “I came from New York, where there were a lot of incidents,” he said. “I’m not sure how necessary it is in this building.” The policy will only be problematic if it is enforced “to an absurd degree,” said James Azzi MD’12. “Then I think it might potentially be irritating.”

By Anne Speyer Contributing Writer

Students in need of an empathetic ear will soon have a new resource available to them. Gowri Chandra ’09 and Baird Bream ’10, co-organizers of the tentatively titled Peer Counseling Program said they hope to launch a new program by the end of January that will provide students with emotional support. The purpose of the program is twofold, according to the organizers. Counselors will listen to students’ issues and inform them about the other services available to them. “The gist of the program is to provide a safe and confidential space for students to come and meet with other students to talk about absolutely ever ything,” Bream said. “We want to stress the importance of having everything open for discussion, from ‘I think I’m depressed’ to ‘I want to change my major’ to ‘I’m questioning my sexuality.’ We want to remove the stigma from certain issues by opening all questions.” Once it begins, the Peer Counseling Program will be headed by Chandra and Kathryn Sonnabend ’11, with an additional 10 to 15 counselors. These students, however, will not “counsel.” “We’re using the term ‘counseling program’ but looking for an alternative,” Bream said. “‘Counseling’ implies a power dynamic — like we’re telling them what to do, how to solve their problems. We don’t want that.” “We want students to know that they have everything they need to

solve their problems,” he said. “We’re not trying to be counselors,” said Chandra, “and I think that is precisely the strength of this program. Students can come and talk to their peers about issues that their peers have either experienced or can relate to.” Chandra and Bream said they firmly believe the program will be different from the help provided by a Meiklejohn Peer Advisor or a Residential Counselor, because of its openness and versatility. “We want this program to be accessible to people who are dealing with more severe issues, but we also want to be open to people who need to rant or are having a bad day,” Chandra said. “Many universities have programs similar to this one — Yale, Harvard, Cornell. I think the fact that this program exists in other universities demonstrates that it would not be superfluous here.” The co-organizers said a Brown alum’s example also inspired to start the initiative. “I think that the actual moment that sparked this was a conversation with my friend Jake Rosenburg ’08, who recently graduated.” Rosenburg had spoken to Vice President for Campus Life and Student Services Margaret Klawunn about starting such a program, Chandra said. “I thought it was a great idea and I thought I definitely could have used this during my angsty Brown career,” she added. Chandra and Bream said they have received encouragement and support from representatives of the Dean’s Office and Psychological Services. In a recent meeting, Klawunn and Director of Psycho-

“‘Counseling’ implies a power dynamic — like we’re telling them what to do, how to solve their problems. We don’t want that.” Baird Bream ‘10 logical Services Belinda Johnson told Chandra, Bream and a group of about 15 interested students that they would be given office space for their counselors in either the Sarah Doyle Women’s Center or the Third World Center, Chandra said. The program will also receive a small starting budget for publicity and supplies. “They were supportive of the idea and thought it was a really good thing for Brown to have,” Chandra said. Johnson has also agreed to serve as a consultant to the program. “In that role, I will serve as the ‘point person’ between the students who are running the program and Psychological Services,” she wrote in an e-mail to The Herald. “I would anticipate that there are certain ways in which we may be helpful, but the details are very much in the planning stages at this point.” As far as gaining student support, Chandra and Bream said they have been recruiting from related organizations. But Chandra said they are also looking for anyone who “displays compassion and empathy.”

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Wednesday, December 3, 2008

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Signal possibly dim before train crash New Nixon tapes reveal ire By Rich Connell and Robert J. Lopez Los Angeles T imes

LOS ANGELES — A critical red light that a commuter train ran just before slamming into a freight train here in September was not as visible as green and yellow signals displayed by the same trackside warning device, investigators probing the disaster have found. The clarity of the stop light, as well as possible violations of communication rules by the commuter train’s crew, have become focal points in the federal inquiry into the deadliest rail accident in modern California history. “We did some signal inspections. Can’t hardly see the red,” one investigator told another just before the pair ducked into a closed-door briefing two days after the Sept. 12 crash. Now, similar observations have gained acceptance among investigators in the multi-agency inquiry, which is being led by the National Transportation Safety Board. “It was the unanimous consensus of the investigative team that the red was not as illuminated or clear or clearly lit,” said one knowledgeable source who requested anonymity because of restrictions on comments about the inquiry. The reasons for the difference in visibility and what, if any, role it played in the crash could shed light on the central mystery of the catastrophe: Why did a veteran engineer barrel through a stop light that officials say should have been visible from a mile away? Most public attention after the crash, which killed 25 and injured 135, focused on dozens of text messages received and sent by Metrolink engineer Robert M. Sanchez, including one sent 22 seconds before his train rammed into a Union Pacific freight train. It is unclear if a signal problem would reduce his potential responsibility for the crash. NTSB officials note that train collisions normally have more than

one cause. Agency investigators returned to the crash site in November to review signals and interview witnesses, the Los Angeles Times has learned. A number of factors could have caused the red signal to be less bright, including circuit problems that reduce voltage to the bulb, according to experts who have investigated signal malfunctions. “It happens from time to time, but not very often,” said Bill Perry, a former Federal Railroad Administration signal inspector. Metrolink has declined to comment on the investigation. But as part of a sweeping safety review after the crash, the agency’s governing board accelerated a program to install hundreds more visible signal bulbs. No changes have been made thus far to the signal near the collision site, an agency spokesman said last week. Experts say that text messaging, coupled with a light that was less clearly visible, could have caused a high level of “inattention blindness,” resulting in Sanchez’s failure to notice the warning signal. “Your eyes are looking at it, but you don’t see it,” said David Strayer, a University of Utah psychology professor who has researched how using wireless communication devices affects motorists. Failure to comply with trackside signals is a leading cause of rail accidents. Part of the probe is zeroing in on a possible violation of a decadeold communication procedure intended to prevent signal-running collisions. Engineers are required to call out via radio all signal colors and their locations as they become visible. Conductors, who typically ride several cars away from the engineer, are required to confirm all yellow or red signals — those requiring the engineer to slow down or stop. The importance of the practice was underscored last month when Metrolink tightened procedures after the Los Angeles crash. Engi-

neers and conductors now must stop trains — if necessary, using the emergency brake — when one of them fails to call out or confirm a signal color. Previously, crew members were required to stop the train only after a stop or speed restriction was violated. Announcing and acknowledging signals over the radio serves as an extra safety check for crew members, and it also alerts nearby trains that another vehicle is in the area, experts say. “They are required to call those signals so they (all) are aware of what’s coming,” said former engineer Tim Smith, California chairman of the union that represented Sanchez. “It puts it on the entire crew, to understand the movement of the train.” Back-to-back train crashes in 1996 prompted new federal rules for passenger train crews to call out signals. The Maryland and New Jersey accidents, which together killed 12 people and injured 175, occurred after engineers ran red stop lights. Before ramming the freight train in Los Angeles, the Metrolink engineer encountered three signals, all of which were working properly, according to the NTSB. The first was about a mile south of the Metrolink station. It was flashing yellow, alerting Sanchez to slow down, investigators say. Under Metrolink policy, Sanchez, who was killed in the accident, and conductor Robert Heldenbrand, who was injured, were required to confirm the color of the light. It is not clear if they did. A few days after the crash, NTSB board member Kitty Higgins told reporters that preliminary evidence suggested that the two men had properly called out that signal. But in response to a recent question from the Times, she said she was later told that the engineer can be heard announcing the signal on a recording of the train’s radio transmissions — however, the conductor may not have concontinued on page 9

over Vietnam War opponents By Christopher Goffard Los Angeles T imes

As part of a release of achival tapes and documents Tuesday, the Richard Nixon Presidential Library & Museum revealed fresh records that reflect the 37th president’s heated campaign to investigate, intimidate and smear political rivals and opponents of the Vietnam War. Among the documents is a handwritten note from President Nixon’s top aide, H.R. Haldeman, on June 23, 1971, which may shed light on the origins of Nixon’s infamous “enemies list.” In the note, Haldeman records Nixon’s order to bring the weight of the Internal Revenue Service down on attorney and former Secretary of Defense Clark Clifford, who had been critical of Nixon’s Vietnam policy, and on the antiwar movement. “Pull Clark Clifford & top supporters of doves,” Haldeman writes. “Full list ... full field audit.” In the next paragraph, Haldeman reminds himself to take action against “TK,” believed to be Senator Ted Kennedy. Haldeman writes: “Get him — compromising situation. ... Get evidence — use another Dem as front.” The documents, along with hundreds of hours of tape recordings, mark the largest release of Nixon’s presidential papers and recordings since the Yorba Linda, Calif., library shifted from a privately run facility — controlled by Nixon loyalists— to a National Archives institution last year. From the White House, the documents show, Nixon was directing aggressive investigations of his rivals soon after taking office in January 1969. Central to the effort was Clark R. Mollenhoff, a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter who had come to work for Nixon. In an April 1, 1970 memo, Mollenhof f repor ted to Haldeman that he was “probably involved in something over 100 investigations.” They included probes of “the politi-

cal opposition,” “potential problem areas,” and “areas of corruption or mismanagement.” Among the key targets of Mollenhoff’s investigations were political rivals such as senators Kennedy and Edmund Muskie, former Alabama Gov. George Wallace, Democratic chairman Lawrence O’Brien, and former vice president Hubert Humphrey. The newly released documents also illustrate Nixon’s interest in the “across-the-board loyalty” of White House staff. In a memo to Nixon of Jan. 16, 1970, presidential staffer Alexander Butterfield reported on the progress of Nixon’s order to remove all pictures of past presidents from White House walls. Butterfield noted that of 35 offices occupied by White House support staff, six had displayed one or more former presidents. Nixon, the memo reveals, had expressed special concern about an office in which he saw two pictures of John F. Kennedy. Butterfield discovered the office belonged to Edna Rosenberg, a low-level civil servant who had been on the White House staff for 41 years, longer than any other staffer. Butterfield said he “checked her file very carefully” and found the CIA, FBI and Secret Service all considered her a loyal American. Nevertheless, she was made to take down the Kennedy picture. The documents are par t of some 90,000 pages of materials from Nixon’s presidential years released Tuesday by the Nixon Library, along with 198 hours of Nixon White House tapes. The tapes reflect Nixon conversations between November and December 1972, and include discussions of the 1972 elections and the bombing of North Vietnam. The tapes can be heard online at www. nixonlibrary.gov. The library opened in 1990 as a privately run facility in the hands of continued on page 9

Film director Mitchell discusses experiences as drag queen continued from page 1 liance. “Hedwig and the Angr y Inch” features the questionably transgender rock star Hedwig on a

tour as he per forms songs that tell his life stor y and express his struggle with his sexual identity. In the movie, Hedwig, played by Mitchell, confronts his insecurities as a self-described “girly boy” and his tense relationship with rock star Tommy Gnosis, his former protege and lover. “I love ‘Hedwig and the Angr y Inch’ ... and I’m really fascinated by John Cameron Mitchell and the roles he has played,” said Queer Alliance Head Chair Katie Lamb ’10, who first contacted Mitchell this summer. Mitchell’s latest movie, “Shortbus,” was screened last week. Lamb said she hoped “people will take away something personal (from the movie) that, in turn, will also affect their relationships with other people.” Mitchell spoke briefly before the screening, warning the audience, “If I step out, just know it’s because I’m bored with it.” After the movie, he spoke with audience members about his personal experiences both on and off the set. The most difficult part of dressing in drag, Mitchell said, was “shaving, because I would shave

and then it would grow back.” After a while, he got lazy. “I was a half-assed drag queen,” he said. According to Mitchell, “Hedwig and the Angr y Inch,” which started out as a musical, was originally about Hedwig’s rival and former lover Tommy Gnosis. However, the club where Mitchell and his band began to perform was a drag club, so he switched the focus to Hedwig, whose character was based on his family’s babysitter. Hedwig’s transition from stage to screen came with changes to the script, Mitchell said. For example, at the end of the off-Broadway version, Hedwig rises above the stage and becomes Tommy, which leaves the audience wondering, “Is there even a Hedwig?” he said. Mitchell said he was often told that he should play both Hedwig and Tommy in the film. “But I don’t want to make out with myself,” he said. “Not that I liked making out with Michael Pitt.” Of his favorite celebrity kiss, Mitchell said, “The only person I auditioned that I was actually hot for was James Franco,” “And you know what? He was a much better kisser than Michael,”

he added. A theme throughout the film is the search for one’s other half. Hedwig’s song “The Origin of Love” addresses this need for true love with a theor y from Plato’s Symposium, which maintains that each human had two adjoined bodies until the gods separated them. “Something seems right about it, for us to need to find this soulmate,” Mitchell said of the idea, adding that there are dif ferent ways to interpret Plato’s theor y. At the end of the film, for example, “an internal union has happened rather than with someone else.” When asked if he believes in love, Mitchell said, “Oh God. Not last week. It’s a long stor y.” He said that definitions of love var y and that he wants to know how many soulmates one could have. Another audience member asked him why the last several minutes of his works end in music rather than narrative or dialogue. “I feel most of my movies should end with the Rosie O’Donnell line,” he said, referencing O’Donnell’s status as the last character with a spoken line in the movie. But on a more serious note he said,

“When a character sings, it’s because they’re feeling so much they can’t speak it anymore.” “It was interesting to watch the film and have my own interpretation and then hear the director’s vision and interpretation,” said Katie Wilson ’12, an audience member. Mitchell is currently working on a script based on his family and religion. “I grew up ver y conservative Catholic, as you can see,” Mitchell said, adding, “If ever ything were cool when you were growing up, why do you make this kind of film?” As it turns out, religion also figures into “Hedwig and the Angr y Inch.” Mitchell said he derived inspiration from Jesus’ sayings that never made it into the Bible, such as, “If circumcision were beneficial, we’d be born circumcised,” which presumably relates to Hedwig’s hostility about his residual “angr y inch.” Mitchell said his favorite quote by Jesus is, “What you bring forth from within yourself will save you. What you do not bring forth will destroy you.” The filmmaker Hima B. will be on campus for a screening and discussion in Smith-Buonanno Hall Dec. 10th.

W orld & n ation Wednesday, December 3, 2008

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Doctors-in-training work too long, report says By Mary Engel Los Angeles T imes

Larry Gordon / Los Angeles Times

A recruiter explains study-abroad programs available through Colby College to high school seniors.

Recruiters look west for new applicants By Larry Gordon Los Angeles Times

LOS ANGELES — Dory Streett didn’t beat around the bush when she spoke to students at a Los Angeles high school recently about Colby College, a liberal arts school in Maine. It’s 3,000 miles from home, there’s snow for long stretches and its community of Waterville has only 16,000 residents. “It’s almost as far as you can get,” the recruiter told a dozen seniors at Gertz-Ressler High School. The photos she showed of Colby’s bucolic campus did seem a galaxy away to many of the mainly low-income students whose school sits beside Interstate 10. But Streett, who also emphasized Colby’s small classes and generous financial aid, urged students to consider a college outside of Southern California: “It’s for kids who want something different ... who know they will be in urban areas most of their lives and want to try something different for four years.” It’s a message heard more often in California these days, as East Coast and Midwest colleges face an anticipated drop in their local applicant pools and cast a wider net for prospective students. After a decade of campus-crowding growth, the size of the nation’s high school graduating class has begun to decline with this year’s seniors and is projected to drop 4.5 percent by 2014. Then, modest growth is expected to resume. The change, however, is uneven, with the deepest dips — up to 20 percent over the next few years — forecast for New England and Upper Midwest states, home to numerous colleges. Schools from those regions are boosting recruiting in California and other populous states, including Texas, Florida and Arizona, and looking for more students overseas, especially from China and India. The population trend “certainly concerns schools in the Midwest and the Northeast. And it will force many ... to start recruiting outside of their traditional regions,” said Tony Pals, a spokesman for the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities. Another trend might further reduce the college-going population, experts say. A growing portion of U.S. high school graduates are

Hispanics, who traditionally have lower rates of college attendance than whites. Unless that changes, the drop in potential freshmen might be even steeper. Uncertainty about the economy and families’ abilities to pay also is forcing colleges, especially private ones, to scramble to make sure enough qualified students apply. “Postsecondary institutions accustomed to filling entering classes with relative ease will likely face greater competition for fewer traditional-age students,” declared an influential report, “Knocking at the College Door,” released this year by the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education. Felema Yemane, a senior at Los Angeles’ Pilgrim School, says she is nervous about applying to college but hopes the demographic decline might boost her chances. “Just the fact that it’s a little bit smaller gives us a little more chance,” said Yemane, who is applying to private and public schools on the East Coast and in California. Admissions officials say the change is unlikely to make it easier to get accepted by the most prestigious universities, such as Harvard and Princeton, which reject 90 percent of applicants. Nevertheless, those schools say they want to keep up their West Coast recruiting and let potential students know of the sweetened financial-aid deals wealthy colleges can offer. “I think we are all very aware of the demographics and the changing nature of our applicant pool,” said Janet Lavin Rapelye, dean of admissions at Princeton. But for the next few years, students applying to colleges a notch below the top tier might find it a bit easier to land a spot. Local high school counselors say they are hearing from more schools that want to send representatives. “We are finding schools recruiting in California that we haven’t seen in the past,” said Helene Kunkel, a college adviser at Palisades Charter High School. However, Kunkel said Southern Californians might not be attracted to those campuses if they are far away or lack a familiar brand name. “They do have an uphill battle with some of the kids here,” she said. Even so, for the first time, Central College in Iowa, and Quinnipiac University in Connecticut are send-

ing envoys to Southern California. Others, including Northeastern University in Boston and the Rochester Institute of Technology in upstate New York, have established California offices or placed full-time recruiters here. Still others, including the University of Vermont, the University of Connecticut, Michigan’s Kalamazoo College and Minnesota’s College of St. Benedict-St. John’s University, are coming more often and visiting more schools. Kalamazoo is boosting recruiting outside the Midwest because of demographics and because Michigan’s economic decline makes it difficult for some local families to attend, said Eric Staab, dean of admissions. “It is no longer a time to be a regional college,” he said. The University of Connecticut, where a third of undergraduates are out-of-staters, has sharply increased the time its recruiters spend in California. “As we looked at that receding tide, we decided to have a strategy in place and build our name brand,” said Lee Melvin, director of undergraduate admissions. Central College anticipates what admissions dean Carol Williamson calls “incredibly tight competition” from other Iowa schools for students. So she is sending a representative to California for two weeks this fall and again in the spring. Williamson concedes that Iowa might be an unusual spot for a Los Angeles student but said the school wants young people who are “willing to step outside their normal box and say, `I want a different experience.’ “ According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the number of high school graduates in the U.S. peaked this spring with about 3.35 million “Echo Boom” youngsters, offspring of Baby Boomers. The number is projected to drop by about 18,000 next spring and continue to decline for the next five years. New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, Kansas, Montana, North Dakota, Michigan, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania are projected to have significant dips while states such as Texas, Florida and Arizona are slated for growth. California is in a universe of its own. The “College Door” report continued on page 9

Reforms imposed five years ago to rein in the long work hours put in by doctors-in-training don’t go far enough to reduce risks to patients and to the sleep-deprived trainees, according to a report released Tuesday. The report, produced by the Institute of Medicine, an arm of the National Academies, said medical residents ideally should work no longer than 16 consecutive hours, considerably less than the 30-hour shifts now allowed. If they have to go over 16 hours, they should be required to take a five-hour nap, which would count toward a maximum 30-hour cap, the report said. The institute also recommended that any hours spent moonlighting should count against the maximum 80 work hours allowed per week (averaged over four weeks), which could eliminate a popular practice for residents, who make about $40,000 a year and often are burdened with large educational loans. Dr. L. Toni Lewis, who recently completed a residency in family practice and heads a union representing residents in five states, called the report “historic.” “We’re really excited that they’re focusing so much on the 16-hour work limit,” she said. “And (the report) addresses not just the hours but the quality of resident education and patient care.” Other experts viewed the recommendations as too weak. Dr. Peter Lurie of the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen, said the mandated five-hour nap was a ruse to make sure residents could still work a 30-hour shift. “No one is going to get anything approaching five hours of sleep,” Lurie said. “It’s just an elaborate effort to keep alive the current guidelines while requiring organized medicine to make as few changes as possible.” Residents are medical-school graduates who care for patients under the supervision of experienced physicians. A form of apprenticeship, residency is notorious for brutal hours and minimal pay. The period of residency can last from three to seven years, depending on the specialization. The move to limit those hours began in 1984 with the much-publicized death of Libby Zion shortly after she was admitted to a New York hospital. Her father, a well-known lawyer and journalist, became convinced that the 18-year-old died because the residents on duty that night were working 36-hour shifts and caring for too many patients. In recent years, studies have shown that residents who go too long without sleep are more likely to injure themselves or others.

New York hospitals first imposed 80-hour workweeks in 1989. After Congress threatened to intervene, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education in 2003 made it a condition of accreditation. But the 80-hour restriction has been expensive for hospitals, which have had to hire more residents. The new recommendations would add more costs. Hiring additional staff to allow residents to work shorter shifts would cost about $1.7 billion annually, according to the panel of medical experts that prepared the institute’s report. “We believe that the additional $1.7 billion a year is a necessary investment in patient safety and better health-care outcomes,” said Dr. Michael E. Johns, the panel’s chairman and chancellor of Emory University in Atlanta. “The science clearly shows that fatigue increases the chances of errors, and residents often work long hours without rest and regular time off.” Saying that reduced hours would not alone improve doctor training or patient safety, the report proposed protocols to improve handoffs of patient cases from one resident to another during shift changes, a period notorious for introducing errors. It also called for closer supervision of residents by fully licensed physicians and warned against merely expecting residents to take care of the same number of patients over a shorter period of time. Dr. Mark I. Langdorf, medical director of the emergency department at the University of California, Irvine Medical Center, and associate director of the residency program there, called the recommendations “nuts.” “The problem here is balancing the need for patient safety, which I acknowledge, with the need to have the training in medicine be an apprenticeship,” he said. “It sells the educational process short to make training so intermittent that you don’t really get continuity.” Langdorf said any advantage of working shorter shifts was outweighed by the disadvantage of having to turn over patient care to doctors who don’t know the patient’s history, particularly given the lack of computerized patient records. One of the report’s strengths is that it calls for monitoring both the five-hour naps and the increased handoffs for unintended consequences, said Dr. Christopher Landrigan, a professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School who has conducted research on residents and sleep. “There’s no question that there’s still a large cohort of doctors who do think that these 30-hour shifts are essential,” Landrigan said. “But there are a growing number of doctors who accept that sleep-deprivation plays a role in patient safety. There’s been a real shift in the culture in the last five years.”

T-minus two

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Judge to rule on wiretapping immunity Season starts swimmingly for both men and women By Carol J. Williams Los Angeles Times

A federal judge who earlier rejected Bush administration claims that it is exempt from laws governing domestic surveillance was asked Tuesday to strike down an act of Congress that grants retroactive immunity for illegal wiretapping. In a separate challenge of presidential power over national security affairs, lawyers for the now-defunct Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation asked the same judge in San Francisco to allow them to sue for illegal monitoring by the National Security Agency. U.S. District Judge Vaughn R. Walker ruled in July that President George W. Bush can’t rely solely on state secrets privilege to justify warrantless spying. Federal courts have tended to uphold Bush administration claims to broad wartime powers to protect the nation from terrorism, so Walker’s decision offered civil libertarians a new chance to convince the courts that the president abused his powers in bypassing a special court that authorizes domestic spying.

The court, created by the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, wasn’t consulted before Bush ordered surveillance of Al-Haramain, a global charity suspected of ties with al-Qaida. Nor did the administration seek a warrant for NSA scrutiny of the phone and email records of millions of U.S. telecommunications customers.

NATIONAL NEWS After the American Civil Liberties Union sued alleging rights violations, Congress enacted the FISA Amendment Act to shield the telecom companies from the lawsuits. In a class action against AT&T, the Electronic Frontier Foundation asked Walker to rule the FISA Amendment Act unconstitutional for violating individual privacy rights and granting excessive latitude for the attorney general to decide the legal responsibility of carriers that gave data to the NSA. Justice Department lawyers reminded Walker that the congressional action was intended to shield the telecom carriers from liability for complying with government orders

and urged the judge to dismiss both challenges. The ACLU action alleging Bush overstepped his powers was dismissed by the U.S. Supreme Court in February when the justices said the rights group failed to prove actual privacy violations. In the Al-Haramain case, Oakland, Calif., attorney Jon Eisenberg submitted what he said was abundant evidence that his clients’ rights were violated, even without relying on evidence accidentally disclosed to them by the government then rescinded and sealed. Walker’s rulings aren’t expected before Bush leaves office, bequeathing the battle over the reach of presidential powers to Barack Obama. “They would want to get rid of these cases, to move on,” Pepperdine University law professor Douglas W. Kmiec said of the incoming administration. “But I also think there will be a proper impulse within the Obama Justice Department to get the law right. It’s one thing to have a clean work table and another to have a clean work table where the laws have been brushed to the floor and all lie broken and scattered.”

Signal may be at fault in L.A. train crash continued from page 6 firmed it. The second signal that Sanchez passed, closer to the crash site, was solid yellow, a warning that a key light just beyond the station was red, according to federal investigators. The third signal, which officials say was red, was about a mile north of the depot, where a side railing merges with the main track on which freight traffic also runs. The light could be seen from the station, investigators say. After stopping at the station, Sanchez was required to radio information about the signal when it became visible. Heldenbrand would have been required to confirm it. But the conductor told federal investigators that he and Sanchez did not communicate about the final two lights, Higgins said. “Why it wasn’t done for the last two signals, I don’t know,” she told reporters.

Heldenbrand, contacted recently, declined to speak to the Times. He said he was prohibited from talking to reporters by his employer, a subcontractor owned by Veolia Transportation, which provides Metrolink engineers and conductors. Complicating questions about the signals, a station security guard and two other witnesses insist that the final light was green as Sanchez pulled out of the station and headed toward the crash site. The three men, whose accounts previously were reported by the Times, were formally interviewed by NTSB investigators last month at the station. Investigators tested their ability to see the critical signal, one of the witnesses recalled. “They asked on a percentage basis how sure I was it was green,” said Chris Cassel, a train buff who regularly monitors arrivals, departures and signals near the station. “I told them a bazillion percent. There’s no doubt.” Some of the Metrolink crew’s

actions appear consistent with a belief the light was green. Sanchez, for instance, accelerated to 54 mph after he pulled out of the station. If the final light was red, he would have been required to stay under 40 mph. Also, if the light was green, Heldenbrand would not have been required to confirm the color with the engineer. Safety records obtained by the Times under the California Public Records Act show that Sanchez and Heldenbrand, who regularly worked together, passed Metrolink safety reviews in the eight months before the crash. The records are part of a mountain of evidence investigators are reviewing as they analyze the signals, the actions of the Metrolink crew, and whether the current signal-calling and other procedures are adequate. “The question,” Higgins told reporters after the crash, “is did (Sanchez) see it red? “Did he see it as something else? Did he see it at all?”

continued from page 12 kuchi ’11, who had three individual wins at the meet. Kikuchi earned first place finishes in the 100 Free (58.53), 200 Back (2:05.85) and the 200 IM (3:17.90). “As far as my individual performance goes, I am happy with the results,” Kikuchi wrote in an e-mail to The Herald. “But since the meet was raced in a 25-meter pool, usually 25 yards, I was unsure if the times I (swam) were fast or not.” Bruno also benefited from strong performances from both Daniel Ricketts ’09, who earned first in the 100 Free (51.69) and took second in the 200 Free (1:52.51), and their relay teams. Brown’s 200 Medley Relay team, made up of Conor Carlucci ’11, Alexander, Kikuchi and Zlotoff also had a strong showing, taking second with a time of 1:46.03. “It is important that regardless of how you feel, that you step it up on the relays,” wrote Alexander. “This year I think we have good depth all around. Every member contributes to the team.” The Bears showed off their depth in the 400 Free relay, as the first team, made up of Alexander, Ricketts, Tucker Wetmore ’10, and Alexander Tin ’12, time of 3:30.53 was just a little behind Navy, and Bruno’s second team of Zlotoff, JD Pinto ’10, David Koweek ’09 and James Hunter ’12 finished in 3:37.78, well ahead of

every Dartmouth team. “Lately, the 400 free relay has been one of the team’s best events, given a decent amount of depth in our sprint events,” wrote Zlotoff. “We would have liked to beat Navy in that relay, but couldn’t come up with a win in the end.” Both the men’s and women’s teams will head to the difficult Princeton Invitational this weekend, which will feature tough league rivals in Princeton and Columbia, as well as other talented teams such as Utah and Florida. “We are focusing on the details of our races that often mean the difference between scoring and not scoring in a meet like the Princeton Invitational, so in workouts this week we’ve been working a lot on our starts, turns and finishes,” wrote Zlotoff. “We hope to see some swims comparable to those at Eastern Championships last year. This is a fast meet coming up, and Brown will hold its own.” The women are equally excited to see improvement at Princeton this weekend. Against Dartmouth, McFadgen wrote, the women “were able to come together as a team and really support each other. I think we finished a lot of close races on top. Looking towards Princeton, we want to do more of the same and make sure we have good relays, win close races, and … continue our momentum throughout the season.”

Nixon tapes reveal anger toward war foes continued from page 6 Nixon loyalists, containing only his pre- and post-presidential papers, and featuring a Watergate exhibit, widely ridiculed by scholars, that portrayed the scandal as a “coup” hatched by Nixon’s enemies. The exhibit has since been dismantled.

The library entered the National Archives system last year, with its first federal director, Timothy Naftali, promising historical accuracy and openness. Although the library released a batch of Nixon’s personal and presidential documents last year, Tuesday marked the library’s largest release of materials so far.

“The strength of our democracy is that these kinds of documents get preserved, and they are released, whether or not they shed good light on the government,” Naftali said. “In many countries in the world, these documents would have been destroyed. We’re pleased we can make these documents available, and others can judge.”

Looking west for new college applicants continued from page 7 estimates that the number of California students graduating from high school peaked at 423,615 in 2008. The state projects a slight decrease for 2009 and a nearly 7 percent decline by 2017. However, California’s population of young people will remain the largest by far — about double that of Florida and New York — and will

continue to draw recruiters. That’s one reason Colby College, which enrolls half its 1,870 students from New England, sent Streett to California this fall to visit more than 40 schools in two weeks. Southern California is a good place to look for ethnic and geographic diversity, Streett told the Gertz-Ressler students, who were mainly Hispanic and black. “We want that,” she said. “That is very

attractive to us and that’s why we spend a couple weeks out here.” That was good news to Carlos Ramos, a Gertz-Ressler senior who attended recent presentations by several East Coast schools and expects to apply to some of them. Ramos, 17, said he heard a clear message from the out-of-state colleges: “They definitely want L.A. kids to be there,” he said.

Two Herald doves

E ditorial & L etters Page 10

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Staf f Editorial

Looking for our better angels If anyone requires a reminder of the threat global terrorism poses, they need only consider the poignant story of Moishe Holtzberg, the two-year-old boy whose parents died at the Chabad House during the terrorist attack in Mumbai. Perhaps you have seen the picture of Moishe crying at the mourner’s service for his parents in Mumbai – the one where he clings to his orange toy basketball and closes his eyes in shocked disbelief. While Moishe’s story must be told, it is incomplete without the tale of Sandra Samuel, his Indian nanny who heroically rescued Moishe some 12 hours after the terrorist attack began. Indeed, the grief of Moishe is indelibly linked to the heroism of Sandra. Thus, when we see the picture of a compassionate Sandra comforting the anguished Moishe at the mourner’s service, we are reminded of what is both great and ignoble in human nature. We are also comforted that Sandra was not alone in his exceptionally heroic response to the terrorist attack at Mumbai. The New York Times reported how Vishnu Datt Ram Zende organized a safe evacuation from a crowded Mumbai railroad station, as the terrorists riddled the booth from which he was making his announcements with bullets. And while Zende was heroically saving human lives at the train station, Nitin Minocha, a chef at a Mumbai hotel, ensured the safety of hundreds of guests at his upscale restaurant even though he was wounded and six fellow workers were killed in that effort. We believe that the response to the terrorist attack at Mumbai demonstrates the paradoxical human capacity to promote life even as others are spreading death. We are struck by how the very worst in human nature inspired the very best in human nature at Mumbai. We are also troubled by the reality that no one is immune from terrorist attacks. While America has been remarkably free of terrorism over the last seven years, a bipartisan government commission recently released a report predicting terrorists will wage a biological or nuclear attack against the United States by 2013. That is sobering news, given the potential casualties involved. As former Sen. Bob Graham, D-Fla., has noted, the horrific death toll at Mumbai would have been staggeringly higher if the terrorists had used biological or nuclear weapons there. In that event, there might have been thousands of young Moishes struggling to come to grips with the deaths of loved ones. In considering these ‘what-ifs,’ it is just as significant to focus on the ‘whatnows’. The Brown community responded well by hosting a vigil for students last night. Given this communal response, we feel that it is right to focus on the terrorist threat Mumbai represents. In doing so, however, we should not forget how everyday Indians responded with exceptional bravery to these attacks. People like Sandra Samuel should represent an enduring hope for a better future — one where the better angels of our human nature will ultimately prevail in the battle against global terrorism.

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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C arly hudelson

Letters

SDS, democracy and the real world To the Editor: Regarding yesterday’s letter to the editor (“Disciplinary proceedings unfairly target some students,” Dec. 2): If Will Pasley’s vantage point were truly from outside the University, he would see that the charges leveled against these individuals should be breaking and entering, vandalism, assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest. Yes, so-called “activists” run the risk of being charged with crimes when their means of protest become unlawful, and they did. SDS and Brown should encourage peaceful protest without fear of repercussion. However, it is also Brown’s responsibility to make sure that young adults prepare themselves for the real world. If such acts were performed off campus, the students who entered the building unlawfully would certainly be charged with at least a number of misdemeanors and potentially even felonies. That’s the truth of the matter. Far more importantly, however, is how such actions reflect upon the ideals and morals developed by students while they attend Brown. Honesty, integrity

and decency are essential elements of good character. If you do something, you should never be ashamed such that you must lie or cover up what you have done. If you have committed a wrongful act, you should have the integrity to accept reasonable punishment for your actions. If you disagree with someone, you should have the decency to, at the very least, respect their views and allow them to gather in peace. After all, free assembly without fear of being accosted is a very important right, and several members of the SDS sought to deny that right to the Corporation. Justice is the pillar upon which democracy is founded. Honesty, integrity and decency should be the core values of those who wish to uphold democracy and justice. SDS should know this. Its members should know what they have done, admit to it, and await fair judgment. It’s time for those implicated students to show their personal quality and prove that they should remain part of the Brown community. Matthew Gillette MS’07 GS Dec. 2

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Clarification A Nov. 20 article in The Herald reported that the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority’s Board of Directors approved various service reductions. These changes are scheduled to begin on Jan. 17, 2009, and are not currently in place. 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 Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Page 11

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Keep dreaming BY MANUEL POSSOLO Opinions Columnist The time has come to say goodbye. Goodbye to George Bush, goodbye to Guantanamo Bay, goodbye to the Iraq War. After eight years of Republican rule, Democrats are ready for change. The nation is ready to move on. But what kind of change can we really expect from Barack Obama and his new administration? Many people hope that our next president will end the economic crisis, restore peace and usher in a new optimism for politics. Surely he will not be able to do all these things, at least not in one fell swoop. It takes time to dig yourself out of a hole eight years deep. Nevertheless, people have big hopes for Obama despite the fact that he has chosen to fill the highest echelons of his administration with Washington insiders and former Clintonites. Obama would tell you that only people of experience can bring about the change we need. He holds the vision, and they bring the tools needed to carry it out. This logic seems sound to me, but there is still something missing, and Obama knows it. While Obama may have the dreams from his father, the American people still lack a set of dreams of their own. People are tired of perpetual war, beleaguered by failed attempts at health reform and afraid of an economic collapse. People have decided what they do not want, at least for now. But they lack a coherent vision of where they want to go. Consider the goals spoken of so often

during this campaign. An end to partisan politics? I can already hear Rahm Emanuel’s war drums. Keep dreaming. Health reform? We’ll try, but things probably won’t change too much in the next few years. Keep dreaming. Peace? The war in Iraq may come to a close sooner or, most probably, later, but Obama is committed to continuing the war in Afghanistan. Keep dreaming. Certainly these goals are not trivial, nor

a sense of community. They are simply not the kind of aspirations we need. So far, the closest thing to a dream we’ve heard about is change. But change, I’m sorry to say, is not a dream either. It’s something we need, by all accounts, but it doesn’t offer a vision toward which we should aim. People know this. They want change of a particular kind but can’t quite put their finger on it. They look to Obama for inspiration. As a result, Obama’s first and greatest

Barack Obama’s first and greatest challenge as president will be to instill in Americans a dream which transforms their current yearning into guided action. are they doomed to fail. But they are not the kinds of things that dreams are made of. They are concrete goals that die upon either success or failure but cannot continue to inspire, for example, after the war is over or the health care initiative is passed. They do not inspire millions. They do not create a spirit of self-sacrifice. They do not build up

challenge as president will be to instill in Americans a dream which transforms their current yearning into guided action. His task should not be terribly difficult. People want to be called to service. They long to be asked to do something. The real problem lies in defining what people want and in conveying it in a sound

bite that people can remember. So the people are waiting earnestly for a dream. Martin Luther King, Jr. knew how to build a dream. He laid out a vision for the future that made people strive for more. He didn’t just have a set of goals in mind but a new world which he hoped to bring to reality. Similarly, John F. Kennedy asked the American people not only to do more but to reconsider their relationship with government and with each other. His was a call for renewed community and shared purpose. Both King and Kennedy created a vision which people wanted to share and bring about. This is how dreams are made. So what can Obama hope to do in this current time and place? What kind of dream can he hope to inspire in the minds of the people? To be honest, I’m not really sure. What I do know is that he needs to dream big. People will not be satisfied with a renewed call for change. They do not want a mere list of policy goals. They want more. But the responsibility is not his alone. It’s time to decide what kind of change we can believe in. If it is really the change that we, and not just you or I or he, believe in, it needs to come about through collective engagement. We must all play a part in constructing new American aspirations. So as we wait for Obama’s inspiring message, his timeless inaugural address, his shining vision of the future, just keep dreaming.

Manuel Possolo ’09 is stricken by nightmares.

Let them divorce! BY jeremy feigenbaum Opinions Columnist I can’t say that I’m happy about the passage of Proposition 8 one month ago. In fact, I think it is bigoted and totally un-American. Why can’t gays be allowed to marr y whomever they want? Does anyone seriously still believe that being gay is a choice? According to one study, one in four gay men have been the targets of violent or property-based hate crimes. What masochist would want that? But I know that I am preaching to the choir — I was thrilled to learn that 40 students participated in a “No on 8” phonebank. So I am not tr ying to convince anyone of the virtues of marriage equality. Instead, I would like to direct readers’ attention to local efforts. How can Rhode Island become the frontier in the newest battle over civil rights in our countr y? Simple: by legalizing gay divorce. Currently, Rhode Island law recognizes gay marriages performed out of state, but gay couples cannot marr y in Rhode Island. The 2008 elections showed that Americans — even those living in the bluest of blue states — have not yet come around to the idea of gay marriage. Barack Obama is now the president-elect, Democrats increased their majorities in both chambers of Congress and ballot measures that would have restricted a woman’s right to choose were defeated. Despite these progressive measures, the countr y also moved backwards on gay rights.

I commend Zack Beauchamp ’10 for discussing the best ways to promote marriage equality in Rhode Island. I just don’t share his optimism about the prospects for passage of a legislative constitutional amendment allowing gay marriage in Rhode Island (although I pray that I am wrong). I’m concerned that it would be rejected, a move that would quickly stifle the proequality movement. Although there is no formidable anti-equality organization in Rhode Island, a proposition might engender one. While Providence is far away from Utah,

Rhode Island made national headlines in December of 2007, when a lesbian couple tried, innocently enough, to get a divorce. How did this happen? Well, as you have probably noticed, Massachusetts and Rhode Island share a border. In 2004, these women got married in the Bay State and, at first, they were happy. But two years later, enough was enough. Like so many heterosexual couples in the United States, they decided to get a divorce. In a 3-2 vote, the justices on Rhode Island’s Supreme Court ruled that the couple

How can Rhode Island become the frontier in the newest battle over civil rights in our country? Simple: by legalizing gay divorce. residents there will have an easy time sending money to local conser vative groups. Perhaps there are more realistic options. Equality advocates might start by compromising with their opponents to achieve an objective that both sides share. Gay marriage advocates want equal rights, and opponents want fewer gay people to be married. This is where gay divorce comes in.

could not divorce. To make things worse, to get a divorce in Massachusetts, you must be a resident there for at least one year. As Orniston — one partner in the couple — said, “They’ve given us no choice but to be married forever.” Rhode Island needs a better policy. It is unjust to prevent someone from divorcing under any circumstance, especially in cases

of abuse. Members of gay couples can, of course, get a restraining order against their partners, but a divorce is somehow out of the question. If gay divorce legislation came before the Rhode Island government it may or may not pass. Either way it’s worth pursuing. It’s possible that the legislature and Governor Donald Carcieri ’65 might support this legislation. Unlikely, but humor me. As the first statewide policy that enforces equality between gay and straight couples, this would mean a major victor y for gay rights advocates. It may be divorce, but it’s still a precedent. After that, gay marriage can’t be far away. But that probably won’t happen — Carcieri has opposed gay divorce before. But even a failed effort would benefit the gay community. Anti-equality politicians will have to face up to voting for a policy that would force two unhappy people to stay married forever. Maybe, just maybe, that will push more voters to support gay marriage. I do not think that we should stop agitating for gay marriage, and I plan to work for any advocate of gay marriage running for governor in 2010. But divorce legislation is a more immediate avenue that may net a few votes for equality down the line. The world may never know if the chicken came before the egg, but gay divorce may yet pave the way for gay marriage in Rhode Island. That would really make national headlines.

Jeremy Feigenbaum ’11 knows the chicken came before the egg.

Are you interested in becoming an opinions columnist next semester? Contact opinions@browndailyherald.com for more information.

S ports w ednesday Page 12

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Swimmers open season with big wins at Darmouth By Megan McCahill Sports Editor

The men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams started their seasons strong two weeks ago, as the women won their first meet of the year 164-136 over Dartmouth and the men came in second at a tri-meet with Navy and Dartmouth. The women’s team traveled to Hanover, N.H. to take on the Big Green, and the young Bears dominated the meet from start to finish. “I thought that the team felt ready for Dartmouth. We had been training pretty hard in the months leading up to it, and we knew Dartmouth was going to be ready for us,” Captain Ainsley McFadgen ’09 wrote in an e-mail to The Herald. “I think some of us were probably nervous as well, but it was a good nervous.” In the first individual event of the meet, the 1000 Free, the Bears swept first and second place as McFadgen and Allyson Schumacher ’12 posted times of 10:27.31 and 10:31.14, respectively. Later in the meet, Schumacher and McFadgen switched places in another 1-2 Brown sweep, as Schumacher took first in the 500 Free in a time of 4:59.98, and McFadgen was right behind her with a time of 5:03.53. “It would definitely be nice if Allyson and I could go 1-2 throughout the season, but there is a lot of competition from some of the Ivies so that won’t be easy. She’s been great to train with this year; I think we both push each other which is really important during practices and at meets,” wrote McFadgen. “I’m really impressed by the freshman class overall,” she added. “They all have great team spirit and good work ethic, and I think they’re a great addition to our team.” Schumacher also dominated the 200 Free, taking first place with a record-breaking time of 1:52.25, the fastest ever in the event at Dartmouth’s pool. The previous record was 1:52.57, posted by Princeton’s Grace Corneilus in 1995. “I wasn’t really thinking about the pool record or going a certain time, I really just wanted to have the race strategy (Head Coach Peter Brown) wanted me to have

Sports

Passafuime ’12 top Ivy rookie for w. hoops By Megan McCahill Spor ts Editor

Ashley Hess / Herald File Photo Captain Ainsley McFadgen, seen here at a previous meet, and Allyson Schumacher led the women’s swimming team to its first win.

and beat the girl from Dartmouth,” Schumacher wrote. “I’m happy that I went that fast because it was my best time.” After Schumacher’s record-setting performance, Sage Erskine ’11 took first in the 100 back, posting a time of 59.80. Captain Bailey Langner ’10 was then barely edged out of first place by just 0.45 seconds in the 100 breast, but Brown returned to its winning ways for the remainder of the meet, winning six of the final seven events. Natascha Mangan ’11 won the 200 fly with a time of 2:08.08, Candice Sisouvanvieng-Kim ’11 won the 50 free in 24.48, Kelley Wisinger ’11 touched the wall first with a time of 2:06.54 in the 200 back, Stephanie Pollard ’11 took first in the 100 free (53.39), Langner earned the top finish in the 200 breast (2:25.77), and Mangan won her second individual event of the day in the 100 fly (58.62). “We, as well as the coaches, were happy with how the team swam,” wrote Schumacher. “We’re proud of our overall performance at the meet.” Bruno also had some success in the relays and on the diving board, as the Bears took first place in the

i n

400 Free Relay with SisouvanviengKim, Kristen Caldarella ’12, Schumacher and Pollard teaming up to post a time of 3:34.42. Brown also added a second place finish in the 200 Medley Relay, with Sisouvanvieng-Kim, Mangan, Caldarella and Jamie Firth ’12 combining for a time of 1:51.02. On the diving board, Katie Olko ’10 took second and third place in the three and one-meter dives, respectively. “It’s always good to start off the season with a win,” wrote McFadgen. “Everyone was ready for Dartmouth and I think that was seen in our performance.” The men’s team also defeated Dartmouth to start its season, knocking off the Big Green 183117 but falling to host Navy 155-131 in Annapolis, MD. “The team was definitely excited for the Navy and Dartmouth meet, since it was our first league competition and the first chance to see how our training has been working so far,” tri-captain Ben Zlotoff ’09 wrote in an e-mail to The Herald. “Brown has historically been very competitive with Navy, and given our close loss to them last year at home, we were definitely ready to race last weekend.”

The Bears put together a solid all-around performance, winning eight of 16 events on the day, despite having to overcome some difficult conditions. Navy swims in a 25-meter pool, whereas Brown and the majority of other NCAA teams swim in a 25-yard pool. Brown was also shorthanded for the meet, as the team was missing Johnny Bailey ’11 and diver Jonathan Speed ’11. The Bears had to battle fatigue as well, as they made the long trip from Providence to Maryland on the same day as the competition. “I think that we showed how tough we are as a team. I think that we were disappointed to not beat Navy and perhaps disappointed in our individual performances, but given the circumstances, however, I think we were happy with the team performance,” tri-captain Rich Alexander ’09 wrote in an e-mail to The Herald. “I think we proved to the other teams in the conference that we have a lot of spirit and will give it 110 percent every time we step up on the blocks, and once we are back to full health and strength, we will be a team to be taken seriously.” The Bears were led by Ryan Kicontinued on page 9

Three solid performances for the women’s basketball team over the past week earned Hannah Passafuime ’12 the title of Ivy League Rookie of the Week. Men’s water polo player Mike Gartner ’09 also garnered accolades recently, earning Northern Division Player of the Week honors on Nov. 24. Passafuime started her streak with a nine-point outing against URI, then helped the Bears to their first win of the season over host Maine at the Dead River Company Classic Tournament on Friday. Against the Black Bears, Passafuime scored five points, grabbed six rebounds and dished out two assists in the Bears’ 65-52 victor y. On Saturday, in the championship game against West Virginia, she came off the bench to lead Brown in scoring, totaling 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting, including 3-of-7 from behind the arc. For the season, she is second on the team in scoring, averaging 8.2 points per game on 45-percent shooting from the field. Passafuime will need to continue her hot shooting against tough competition this week, as Bruno takes on Boston University on the road today before returning to host the Brown Bear Classic, which will include Long Island University and UMass. Mike Gartner ’09 scored nine goals in three games en route to leading the No. 17 men’s water polo team to a fourth place finish at the Eastern Championships. His outstanding play drew the player of the week nod for Gartner, who was also named to the All-North and All-East First Teams this season. In Brown’s 12-6 victor y over Division III No. 1 Johns Hopkins University, Gar tner tallied four goals, one assist, three ejections drawn and a steal. He also added two goals and drew six ejections in Brown’s 14-9 loss to No. 13 Princeton, and scored three goals in an 11-8 defeat against St. Francis College in the third-place game.

Brief

Fencing teams cruise to top spots at regional tournament The men’s and women’s fencing teams both won their competitions at the Northeast Fencing Conference No. 1 tournament last Thursday at the University of New Hampshire. Both teams placed first by large margins, defeating five other schools in all three events. On the women’s side, Francesca Bartholomew ’11 and Vivian Truong ’12 set the tone for the rest of the day by going 11-1 and 11-2, respectively, in the foil. The women compiled a 38-7 record overall, including sweeping victories against Boston University and UMass. In epee, veteran Robyn Thvedt ’09 led the way by going 11-4, which helped the team secure first place in the event. In the saber, Charlotte Rose ’09 went a perfect 10-0, as the team notched a 34-11 record. The women took home first place with a convincing 71.9 percent winning percentage. The men also shined in their competitions. Two Bears, Adam Pantel ’10 and Jonathan Yu ’11, went undefeated in their matches, as the team finished 34-2 in the foil. In the epee, the Bears continued to add wins as they went 25-11 overall. Combined with the 23-13 record the team recorded in the saber, the men won first place with a 75.9 percent winning percentage. The men will return to action this weekend when they travel to Waltham, Mass. to compete in the Brandeis Invitational. — Han Cui

Herald File Photo

Both the men’s and women’s fencing teams placed first in the Northeast Fencing Conference last Thursday at UNH.