Daily Herald the Brown
vol. cxliv, no. 1 | Wednesday, January 21, 2009 | Serving the community daily since 1891
OBAMA SWORN IN AS 44TH PRESIDENT
Students brave crowds to see history unfold
U. reflects on the end of one era and the start of another
by Sophia Li Features Editor
WASHINGTON — A man’s voice thundered through the crowd in Greenbelt Metro Station in Maryland where hundreds waited — not all of them patiently — to buy their Metro passes on Sunday evening. “I was there in ’63 for the March on Washington,” he said, “when Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his ‘I have a dream’ speech.” He paused. “And I’m here again to see the dream come true.” People smiled and laughed, applauded and cheered. Two days later, Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th President of the United States. Obama’s ascent into the highest reaches of national politics was the continuation of a much longer, and larger, story. And though classes were to begin the next morning, many Brown students were in the nation’s capital, eager for a glimpse of history. “Definitely everyone in my parents’ generation — they just feel a sense of, like, shock,” Doug Eacho ’11 said. Obama’s inauguration, he said, held a greater significance for people who had grown up thinking there would never be a black president. “No one ever sensed that this would happen in their lifetimes,” he said. Eacho became a part of the President’s long journey to the White House when he began to volunteer for the Obama campaign over a year ago. But much has changed since October 2007. The need for a change in administration has become more urgent, Eacho said, with the current state of the economy. He added, though, “I think now
By Matthew Varley Higher Ed Editor
people’s expectations are more tempered.” Providence Mayor David Cicilline ’83, who was also in Washington for the inauguration, said the foreclosure crisis, Rhode Island’s high unemployment rate and the state’s large budget deficit were “serious challenges that have developed over the last eight years and won’t be resolved overnight.” But some are waiting for change to come sooner. Gov. Donald Carcieri ’65 said expectations for the changing administration influenced the design of Rhode
“Welcome to spring semester and American histor y,” Ted Widmer, director of the John Carter Brown library, told a full Salomon 101 Tuesday morning. “Histor y is moving very much in the right direction today.” As President Barack Obama prepared to take the oath of office in Washington, D.C., students and staff attended inauguration broadcasts in Salomon, Sayles Hall and the John Hay Librar y yesterday morning. In the afternoon, the celebrator y tone on campus shifted toward reflection as two faculty panels addressed domestic and foreign policy challenges facing the Obama administration. In the Salomon Center, the crowd left no doubt of their enthusiasm about the new president. A deafening silence fell over the crowd when then-President George Bush emerged from the Capitol, but some applauded CNN Anchor Wolf Blitzer’s comment that Bush’s entrance marked the last time “Hail to the Chief” would be played for the 43rd president. In contrast, students cheered for the day’s first shot of Obama. The crowd erupted again at noon when Blitzer announced the official transfer of power, which occurred during an ensemble music performance for Obama. The new President received no fewer than three standing ovations from students in Salomon: when he was first introduced to the crowd,
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Brian Vander Brug / Los Angeles Times (above). Courtesy of Emily Yaffe (Right).
Barack and Michelle Obama escort the former president and first lady to their helicopter.
Students respond to Gaza, at home and abroad by Nicole Friedman Senior Staff Writer
inside
Twenty-five students on the Brown/ RISD Hillel’s Taglit-Birthright trip to Israel returned to Providence Tuesday after 10 days of travel. Missing from their number were 15 other students who had signed up for the trip, but backed out after war broke out between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
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The three-week conflict in Gaza, despite occurring in the middle of winter break and half a world away, nevertheless reached members of the Brown community in a variety of ways — whether they were traveling abroad or debating the conflict from home. A cease-fire to the conflict was announced over the weekend, by Israel on Saturday and Hamas on Sunday. Lindsay Babbitt ’11 canceled her
plans to go on the Birthright trip after waiting “as long as possible” to see if the situation would change, she said.“I was really excited about it,” she said. “I was hoping things would calm down a little bit, but they didn’t and they just kept escalating.” She traveled to New Orleans to build houses for a week in lieu of her Israel plans. continued on page 9
Economy’s toll on U. uncertain by Jenna Stark News Editor
Brown’s endowment has been “impacted” in recent months by the poor economic climate, Provost David Kertzer ’69 P’95 P’98 told The Herald in an e-mail, although the University has not announced any specifics about the welfare of its endowment since early this fall. President Ruth Simmons announced
in September that the endowment had earned a comparatively strong 6.3 percent return in the fiscal year ending in June 2008 — but since then, schools around the country have reported significant losses and budget cutbacks. “While we entered this period stronger than at any point in the University’s history, the downturn has had continued on page 9
News, 3
Sports, 7
Opinions, 11
Tiny particles, big progress Nanoparticles offer growing solutions.
W. basketball win some, lose some over break W. basketball went 2-4 over winter recess.
Real life conflict, played out on Facebook? Ben Bernstein ’09 dissects Facebook ‘status donations.’
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