Daily
Herald
THE BROWN
vol. cxlviii, no. 63
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2013
U. initiative seeks to refine STEM curricula UCS The plan will modify intro STEM courses to encourage students to remain in those fields
“evidence-based practices” — teaching methods proven effective through research, said David Targan ’78, associate dean of the college for science education. Brown was selected from 31 applicants to become one of eight institutions to pilot the project. The AAU and the University each will provide $500,000 in funding for the initiative over three years. Faculty members can apply for grants from the initiative to improve their classes, Targan said, and some of the funding will be used to hire graduate and undergraduate teaching assistants in STEM courses. “Why is it that people who spend their lives making decisions with data do not use data to improve their decisions about teaching?” said Dean of the College Katherine Bergeron. “That’s the AAU’s » See STEM, page 5
By STEVEN MICHAEL SENIOR STAFF WRITER
University administrators and faculty members will overhaul introductory courses in STEM — s cience, te chnolog y, engineering and math — and focus on improving undergraduate education in STEM through an initiative partially funded by the Association of American Universities, according to a University press release. The three-year initiative will focus on implementing
SCIENCE & RESEARCH
ZEIN KHLEIF / HERALD
Leaders of the STEM overhaul said they plan to integrate math learning, reform lectures and increase hands-on research. Herald file photo.
MEN’S SOCCER
No. 18 Bears look to repeat past seasons’ successes After graduating seven seniors, the men’s soccer team looks to start strong against the Bulldogs Friday By SAM WICKHAM SPORTS STAFF WRITER
The men’s soccer team has been an Ivy League powerhouse in recent years, finishing third in the Ivy League last year with a 13-3-3 record and traveling to the NCAA Division I tournament for the third year in a row before falling to the No. 2 University of Maryland. Ranked 18th in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America preseason poll, the Bears will start the campaign with strong returning talent and promising newcomers. The Bears were previously ranked 24th in 2012 and 11th in 2011.
“There is always a lot of energy and excitement when you begin a new adventure like we are this year,” said Head Coach Patrick Laughlin. “We’re focused on learning about each other — about our strengths and weaknesses.” Laughlin will lead the team in his third season as head coach, alongside Andrew Biggs, who was recently elevated from assistant coach to associate head coach in his fourth season on College Hill. Biggs was previously head coach at the University of New England, where he turned around the struggling program. Returning veteran players
Voltaire Escalona ’14, Jack Kuntz ’14, Jose Salama ’14 and Josh Weiner ’14 will serve as marshals on the field. The departure of seven seniors from the 2012 squad — including Dylan Remick ’13, now a Seattle Sounder in the MLS — means the Bears will have a young squad in the upcoming season. Bruno will welcome eight firstyears to the team and expects them to contribute from the outset, said forward Ben Maurey ’15. “We are a really young team,” said Weiner, who will play as one of Bruno’s goalkeeping options. “We have nine upperclassmen and 17 underclassmen, so preseason has been a learning type of environment, getting younger guys acclimated to the team and the system that we want
to play.” Bruno has traditionally been a strong defensive team and posted 11 shutouts last year. The loss of Eric Robertson ’13, Remick and Ryan McDuff ’13 from Bruno’s backline will allow younger players to step up into consistent defensive roles. Alex Markes ’15 will play an important role in the 2013 defense alongside Tim Whalen ’16. “We’re a team that’s known for taking pride in defense, but we also want to have an offensive presence this year,” Maurey said. “We’d like to score a lot more goals and be a team that plays a full 90 minutes.” Tariq Akeel ’16 and Jack Gorab ’16 will be asked to pull the strings in midfield for the Bears and will be » See M. SOCCER, page 4
since 1891
plans internal elections Often uncontested, the elections can spring students to influential University positions By MAXINE JOSELOW SENIOR STAFF WRITER
The Undergraduate Council of Students will hold internal elections this fall to fill vacant executive board and liaison positions. The internal elections — which will take place Sept. 18 at the council’s first general body meeting — will allow first-years to gain key student leadership roles if they join the Council before the election date. Any undergraduate student can join UCS before that date, said former UCS Secretary Stacy Bartlett ’14. Internally elected positions include roles on the Council’s executive board, such as secretary, communications chair and appointments chair, as well as liaison roles between the Council and other organizations, such as Corporation liaison, alumni liaison, UCS representative to the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and three UCS representatives to the Faculty Executive Committee, Bartlett said. In the past, election to these positions has served as a springboard to higher leadership roles within UCS. Current UCS Vice President Sam » See UCS, page 2
Local performances offer students music variety By EMMAJEAN HOLLEY SENIOR STAFF WRITER
What better way to blow off fall semester steam than by dancing the night away close to home? Though Boston consistently offers top-notch lineups, local music venues such as the University of Rhode Island in Kingston, the Met in Pawtucket and Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel in Providence will all offer diverse entertainment opportunities in the coming months. Ke$ha will play the Ryan Center at URI Sept. 25 at 8 p.m. The Ryan Center Box Office will sell tickets — $45 for
inside
ARTS & CULTURE
seats and $55 for floor — starting today. Best known for her electro-pop anthems including her number-one hit singles “Tik Tok” and “We R Who We R,” Ke$ha’s distinctive musical style is characterized by her penchant for yodeling and a liberally autotuned vocal technique that oscillates between singing and talking. Ke$ha’s performances are glittery and infamously uncouth — her mother’s appearance onstage in a giant penis costume, along with her “trashy” and “brattish” stage persona, earned her a less-than glowing review from the Guardian in July. But the review did say the singer’s advice to her audience to “be yourself, unapologetically” was “sincere,” reflecting
the theme of individuality and freedom of sexual identity that underscore the otherwise controversial content of her songs. Though perhaps not as notorious as Ke$ha, the band Michael Franti and Spearhead, known for its hit “Say Hey (I Love You)”, will perform at Lupo’s Nov. 16. Tickets for the 7 p.m. show cost $27.50 in advance and $30 at the door. Michael Franti and Spearhead began with a solo artist’s endeavors. Franti, who sports dreadlocks that swing and bob as he plays guitar and goes barefoot in honor of those who can’t afford shoes, formed the band in 1994. The group is not easily characterized by a single genre, featuring heavy influences of reggae, funk, rock and blues that are layered on a foundation of hip-hop » See MUSIC, page 5
HERALD FILE PHOTO
Students can attend performances at local venues such as the Dunkin Donuts Center, rather than traveling to Boston for concerts.
Sword in court
Alaska digs
Gluten fakes?
District court judge rules that the $750,000 historic sword be returned to U.
Anthropology prof discovers Native American human remains on three-year trip
Dorris ‘15 questions a rising trend of gluten intolerance and other diet restrictions
UNIVERSITY NEWS, 2
SCIENCE & RESEARCH, 4
OPINIONS 7
weather
Musical acts from Ke$ha to Deer Tick will perform in Boston and Providence venues this semester
t o d ay
tomorrow
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2 university news calendar TODAY
SEPTEMBER 6
4 P.M.
TOMORROW
SEPTEMBER 7
1 P.M. WBRU Welcome Barbeque
Providnece Walking Tours
88 Benevolent St. 4 P.M.
Swearer Center 6 P.M.
Tea at Alpha Delta Phi
What Is an Education?
Goddard House
Pembroke Hall 305
menu SHARPE REFECTORY
VERNEY-WOOLLEY
LUNCH Mediterranean Stir-Fry, Acorn Squash with Curried Rice and Chick Peas, Apple Squares
New England Clam Chowder, Breaded Chicken Fingers, Summer Squash, Veggie Nuggets, Apple Squares
DINNER Tortellini Provencale, Tilapia with Provencale, Braised Leaks Provencale, Caribbean Rum Cake
Vegan Black Bean Soup, Chicken Laredo, Cheese Ravioli with Pink Vodka Sauce, Braised Fennel
sudoku
Judge sheaths historic sword dispute After decades of contested ownership, a district court ruled the Civil War relic be returned to campus By CHAD SIMON STAFF WRITER
The decades-long saga of the University’s missing Civil War-era sword can finally be put to rest. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia ruled June 4 that a sword that disappeared from the University’s archives in the 1970s be returned to campus. The ruling ended a two-year legal battle with a couple who had purchased the sword and the University’s 36-year struggle to reclaim it. “The sword is back, safe and sound, at Brown University,” said Christopher Duggan, the attorney who represented the University during its lawsuit against Donald and Toni Tharpe, two private collectors who were accused of illegally holding the Civil War relic. Gifted to Colonel Rush Hawkins, whose wife Annmary Brown was the granddaughter of the University’s namesake Nicholas Brown, the Tiffany & Co. sword disappeared from the Annmary Brown Memorial in 1977. A collector spotted the sword — valued at $750,000 — at a show in Baltimore, Maryland in 1991 and notified the University, but efforts at the time to reclaim the relic from private collections failed, The Herald
» UCS, from page 1
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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2013
Gilman ’15 served as communications chair his first year at Brown. Internally elected students, who often face little competition, can also be involved in prominent campus conversations by working with the Faculty Executive Committee and the Corporation. External elections for other student government leadership positions such as UCS president, UCS vice president and Undergraduate Finance Board chair are held in the spring. No contest Candidates do not frequently face stiff competition in internal elections. In last year’s internal election, students ran unopposed for seven of nine available positions. Only the races for Corporation liaison and alumni relations liaison included more than one applicant, with three and two students running, respectively. UCS President Todd Harris ’14.5 said he does not think poor publicity is responsible for the lack of competition, since the elections are usually advertised through a campus-wide email, social media and a UCS booth at the Student Activities Fair. Rather, Harris said he thinks internal elections are often uncontested because the positions may target narrow pools of students with specific interests. “Some of these positions appeal to … people who have developed specialties and interests in playing certain roles on the Council,” he said. Admissions and Student Services Chair Sazzy Gourley ’16 said he thinks he earned his place as appointments
COURTESY OF UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES
After a legal battle between the University and private collectors, a sword stolen from the University 36 years ago will be returned. previously reported. When the sword first went missing, “the big kerfuffle was that some people thought it had been misplaced,” said Visiting Assistant Professor of History Megan Nelson. But the truth quickly emerged, she said. “It had the case with it, so it wasn’t accidental.” After the University filed a lawsuit against the Tharpes in 2011, authorities removed the sword from the couple’s possession and transferred the artifact to a secure vault in New York, The Herald previously reported. The Tharpes failed to convince the judge during the trial proceedings that they had acquired the sword lawfully and in good faith. “Mr. Tharpe did not appeal the judge’s decision,” said Beverly Ledbetter, University vice president and general counsel.
The historical resonance of the sword dates back to well before the 1977 theft. “Ceremonial swords such as this one were presented to officers of fairly high rank,” Nelson said. “The citizens of New York collected money and presented Rush Hawkins with the sword as a kind of memento, a memento of wartime and the respect and esteem that his socioeconomic class had for him.” The artifact also brought people together. “It’s actually part of a social network in the Civil War period,” Nelson said. “The sword was used to forge these connections between Hawkins and the men and women in his social circle in New York, and (when) he married into the Brown family … he became part of this social circle.”
chair — a position he held last year — though he ran unopposed. “It’s easy to say that I won because I was the only person that ran,” Gourley said. “But I had the right qualifications and fit the position.”
been on campus for only a few weeks. In last year’s internal elections, firstyears claimed seven of the 13 available positions, including appointments chair, webmaster, representative to the SAC and three representatives to the FEC. Bartlett said some internally elected positions are well suited to firstyears, while others require a student with more experience. “It’s a difficult balance,” Bartlett said. “For some positions, having a first-year is positive because (he or she has) a fresh perspective, but for some positions we want someone who has had more experience with the system.” Bartlett said first-years tend to make good UFB resentatives because “everyone, no matter how old they are, has to get the same training about the UFB process.” But older students tend to be better Corporation liaisons, she said, because they are more familiar with the way the Corporation works. The current system can encourage impromptu candidacies. Alana Bhatla ’16 said she decided to run for webmaster as a first-year because no other candidates emerged. “When they got to that election and no one was running for it, I just stood up and made a speech and ran for it,” she said. Gourley said he ran for appointments chair as a first-year because he wanted to learn more about how the University was run. “As an incoming freshman, I was obviously new to a lot of what was going on at Brown,” Gourley said. “I was drawn to the position because it allows you to learn a lot about the committees that make decisions about what’s happening at Brown.”
How much influence? Internally elected officers often help make influential decisions on campus. For instance, as appointments chair, Gourley headed the UCS Appointments Committee, which is charged with interviewing and selecting undergraduate representatives for University committees, including the University Resources Committee — the body that recommends an annual budget to the president — and the Student Conduct Board, which evaluates cases of alleged student misconduct such as sexual assault. But Gourley said he was principally responsible for scheduling interviews with applicants and did not have any more power over choosing applicants than did any other members of the executive board who served on the appointments committee. “I felt my role was about logistically facilitating the appointments process, rather than making the decisions about who gets to be on the committees,” he said. Bartlett, who served on the appointments committee, echoed Gourley’s sentiments. “He didn’t make the decisions, to be honest,” she said. “He really just organized things.” First-year, no fear Many first-years tend to run in internal elections, though they have
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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2013
Centuries-old state charter commemorates ‘living experiment’ A new State House exhibit features the original 1663 charter alongside other historical state documents By RILEY DAVIS STAFF WRITER
Centuries ago, the colony that would become the state of Rhode Island earned the nickname the “lively experiment” — a title stemming from the 1663 charter’s unusual nature and stance on government. In honor of that document’s 350th anniversary, the official Charter Museum opened at the State House on June 22. The original charter has been moved from a hallway in the State House to its very own exhibit space. On the first floor of the building, an unobtrusive door now opens onto a small but dramatically lit room featuring the charter and other relevant documents and artifacts from the time period. The main points of the charter emphasized in the exhibit are displayed on the wall: “… our royal will and pleasure is, that no person within the said colony, at any time hereafter shall be any wise molested, punished, disquieted or
called in question, for any differences in opinion in matters of religion …” The “charter succeeded in doing something that had not been done in the world,” said Charter Commission member Ted Widmer, who is also the former director of the John Carter Brown Library and assistant to President Christina Paxson for special projects. “It created a safe place for everyone to worship.” When Massachusetts banished future Rhode Island state founder Roger Williams in the winter of 1635, he found himself dissatisfied with how closely church and state were intertwined in the colony, according to the exhibit. He sought to create a settlement whose members could follow any religion without fear of persecution and settled in present-day Providence in 1636. King Charles II approved Rhode Island’s charter 27 years later, and thus a new type of settlement was born — one unique to colonial America. Despite the inclusive charter, Williams was not an idealist who believed
all religions should be accepted on a personal level. “Williams, at times, disagreed (theologically) with the people in Rhode Island, but he was always adamant that people be given full religious liberty,” said Linford Fisher, assistant professor of history. This was a value hard to find in 17th century colonial America, let alone the world, Fisher said. Artifacts in the exhibit are grouped under different headings such as “New Beginnings” and “Practicing Tolerance” and lead up to the charter. These groupings feature parts of Williams’ original writings, compacts between Rhode Island settlers and local Native Americans, and objects such as Williams’ compass and the seal from the original charter box. “It’s a really great display,” said Emma Dickson ’16, who interned for the State House this summer. “I was really impressed that they had physical objects and not just remnants of old texts explaining the history.” While the main purpose of the museum — to celebrate a state dedicated to religious freedom — is easily achieved, the museum does not include every
EMILY GILBERT / HERALD
Rhode Island’s state charter “created a safe place for everyone to worship,” said Charter Commision member Ted Widmer. aspect of Rhode Island’s establishment. It overlooks struggles undergone with natives, violations of the charter’s ideals and any issues maintaining religious freedom, such as the recent struggle for marriage equality.
The museum also succeeds in instilling a sense of pride in Rhode Islanders — most museum goers left the charter room smiling a little wider and chatting amongst themselves about their mighty, little state.
Alum’s film examines North Korean politics, identity ‘Juche Strong,’ directed by Rob Montz ’05, examines propaganda and ideology in the Kim regime By ANDREW SMYTH SENIOR STAFF WRITER
Western relations with North Korea have long been fraught, with multiple American citizens having been held captive in high-profile cases and State Department officials repeatedly being denied entry to the country. But, as an alum’s recent documentary demonstrates, American civilian access to the country is not unheard of. Students and alums routinely engage with East Asia’s most conspicuous dictatorship. “Juche Strong,” a new short-form documentary by filmmaker and onetime Herald opinions columnist Rob Montz ’05, addresses what Montz sees as “profound misconceptions” among Westerners about the Kim regime and its official propaganda apparatus. If standards of living are as poor and civil liberties as restricted as popularly perceived, Montz asks in the film, why aren’t more refugees crossing the Yalu River into China? Part of the reason, he
said, is Juche, an official state ideology of North Korea. Juche can be roughly translated as self-reliance and demands North Korean exceptionalism and isolation from the international community. American attitudes that satirize the regime as absurd or nonsensical underestimate the social and cultural resonance of the ideology in the Korean public at large, he added. “[Juche] basically gets nothing but scorn from … casual Western observers, but it plays a pretty vital role in keeping the country running and enabling the regime to continue to extract sacrifice and cultivate a sense of shared solidarity,” Montz said. The ideology is specifically linked to the religious and family structures of Korean people, Montz said. “One essential aspect of it is … the Confucian family structure, the idea of dynastic succession of Korean monarchs,” he said. In his film, which includes footage from his 2012 visit to Pyongyang
www.browndailyherald.com
in addition to interviews with scholars and one North Korean refugee, Montz attempts to understand how the country has resisted collapse despite the persistent anemia of the collective economy, according to the film’s website. “If there had not been such a wellmanufactured and deployed national ideology that could give millions of North Koreans some sense of greater purpose, some way to frame their suffering … there’s a good chance you would’ve seen some sort of concerted political uprising,” Montz said. But Juche is only a small part of Korean identity politics, said Matthew Reichel ’09, who has visited the country over 30 times as the director of the Pyongyang Project. The project, which Reichel co-founded with Nick Young ’09 after graduating with concentrations in international relations and East Asian studies, brings Westerners into the country to travel on state-sanctioned visits and to participate in humanitarian programs with North Korean citizens, The Herald previously reported. “I don’t think that Juche is really a center of North Korean identity as much
as being Korean is a center of North Korean identity,” Reichel said. “People from North Korea have struggled for over 60 years to claim legitimacy over what it means to be Korean, and they have … very different interpretations of their own national history.” In reference to the scarcity of refugees from the country, “The reality is, they’re Korean. That’s where they’re from, that’s where their family is,” Reichel said. Chris Heo ’14, a member of the Korean American Student Association on campus, traveled to North Korea with the Pyongyang Project in 2011 and interned with the organization last summer. “There’s a lot of people who secretly harbor very liberal thoughts, and I met them in North Korea,” Heo said. “They can’t say anything because they’re being monitored — they care about their family more than they care about voicing political dissent.” Montz, Recihel and Heo all said North Koreans consume far more foreign media than intended by the regime and have increasingly gained access to outside perspectives in recent years.
“You’d be hard-pressed to find somebody in Pyongyang who has not seen a foreign movie,” Reichel said. “When you get together with them and you have some really terrible Korean vodka and you start talking about things, they talk about the same things that basically everyone talks about, which is not the glories of the Kim Il-Sung family,” Montz said. The film received funding from The Moving Picture Institute, a production company founded by controversial human rights advocate Thor Halvorssen Mendoza and dedicated to “promoting liberty through film,” according to the foundation’s website. Montz, who worked for The Cato Institute after graduating from Brown with a concentration in philosophy, said his libertarian beliefs in the context of the American political system sparked his interest in North Korea. “[Juche]touches on some basic cognitive structures that are inherent in all people,” Montz said. “I think there’s a lot of pernicious political rhetoric regularly deployed by major political parties in America that is equally stupid and base.”
4 science & research
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2013
Alaska dig unearths old potential Arctic trade routes Clues found during the anthropological excavation reveal new information on Native American trade By ISOBEL HECK SENIOR STAFF WRITER
This summer, Professor of Anthropology Douglas Anderson led the first research-driven excavation of Native American human remains from a national park as part of a three-year-old archaeological dig. He, along with scientists from a myriad of other fields, have worked to excavate the site of what was once a regional capital of Northwest Alaska, said Edward Cleofe ’15, who worked with Anderson this summer. Research on the site, which was inspired by local folklore, began in 2010, Cleofe said. Even though the village, which was likely inhabited throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, had been buried, local people knew of its existence, he said. “This village was never really lost,” Cleofe said. Between 150 and 250 people likely
lived in the village, making it very large for its time. The remains show that the capital consisted of approximately 50 subterranean house pits that were designed as winter accommodation, Cleofe said. Thomas Urban ’05, the Weidenfeld Research Fellow at Oxford University and a former student of Anderson’s, became a part of the project in 2010 when Anderson asked him to do geophysical mapping of the site. Urban compared geophysical mapping to a doctor doing an X-ray versus performing surgery, noting that it gave the researchers a “much more complete picture” of the site before excavating all of it. The site is unique because of how large and complex it is, Urban said. Physical excavation of the site began in 2011, but ended when the remains of two humans were found, Urban said.
COURTESY EDWARD CLEOFE
The excavation team looked to examine trade routes by tracking the source of artifacts found during the team’s dig.
There are very tight restrictions on research of Native American human remains due to the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, Cleofe said. The researchers along with the local people of Kiana — the town nearest to the excavation site — had to convince the federal government to allow them to continue with the dig, said Zoe Weiss ’12 MD’16, who traveled to Alaska with Anderson’s team in 2011. The researchers were unable to return to the site until this past summer, Cleofe said. ‘A real legend’ The continuation of the excavation was made possible in part by the relationship Anderson had developed with the local people of Kiana, Cleofe said. The local people wanted the excavation to continue, Weiss said. “It’s very special when a group of people want archaeologists to continue excavating.” Becky DeAngelo ’96, a museum assistant in the archaeology division of the Yale Peabody Museum, has worked with Anderson on the site over the past 20 years. She said working with locals who want the project to be done is “a very satisfying way to do archaeology.” Cleofe said when he went into the village of Kiana, people would stop him in the street to ask whether he was working with Anderson. When Cleofe answered affirmatively, they were excited, he said. Local people in Kiana go to hear Anderson speak to them in -30 degrees F and complete darkness during the winter, he added. Kiana residents have also come to work on the site, Urban said, adding that Anderson is “a real legend in this region.” Tracking the past The researchers all called the excavation important to both the scientific world and to the local people.
» M SOCCER, from page 1 supported by experienced players like Kuntz and Daniel Taylor ’15. Bruno also has multiple options in attack, with the likes of Maurey, Salama, Escalona and Nate Pomeroy ’17 all poised to find the back of the net for the Bears. “Every season is different, but we want to be true to our team’s core
Kiana
Anchorage
200 mi
GREG JORDAN-DETAMORE / HERALD
Professor of Anthropology Douglas Anderson’s relationship with the local people of Kiana, Alas., helped the team’s excavation process progress. Weiss said because the village was inhabited during the beginning of European contact in the region, the goal of the excavation is to examine trade routes by tracking the source of the items found during excavation. Researchers found glass beads in one house and tools with metal heads in another, Cleofe said. Both items would have been acquired through trade with Europeans but dated to a time before European contact, he said. This discrepancy is “evidence of a huge trade network,” he said. Weiss also said the excavation is important because knowledge gained about the subsistence patterns and peoples’ interactions with the ecology of the area can be compared to the behavior of people who live there today. The researchers all said they feel the excavation is important for current Kiana locals. “There is a huge amount of value in having information about ancestors,” Cleofe said, “and that information has been largely erased by colonialism. Professor Anderson
has connected that to their lives in finite ways.”
values, and true to who we are as a program, and that is a team that is very difficult to beat,” Laughlin said. “We want to be a team that is committed to giving you everything you could possibly handle over the course of 90 minutes.” Bruno will face several top-ranked opponents including Ivy League rival No. 22 Cornell and the Indiana Hoosiers, the defending National
Champions. The Bears kick off their campaign Friday at home in the Ocean State Classic tournament against Bryant University (1-1) and will play again Sunday at Providence College (2-0). “Bryant is a good team,” Maurey said, “and based on how everything has been going in preseason, I think it will be a very good game. It will be close, but I think we’ll get the win.”
‘Only time will tell’ Both Cleofe and DeAngelo said they fear the project will come to a close when Anderson, who is now 78 years old, retires. Cleofe said Anderson’s last field season is in 2013, and DeAngelo said that if the Department of Anthropology does not hire another arctic archaeologist, “the connection is going to be lost.” DeAngelo said Anderson is “so modest” you would never know how influential he has been in arctic archaeology. “He doesn’t really like to draw attention to himself, but he has contributed greatly to the field,” she said. There is “a glimmer of hope that someone will be able to go up and continue the work being done,” Cleofe said, “but only time will tell.” Anderson was out of town at the time of this article and could not be reached for comment.
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2013
science & research 5
Researchers find evidence of water below moon’s surface Data gathered from NASA’s Moon Mineralogy Mapper challenges previously held beliefs on moon formation By ALBERT ANDERSON STAFF WRITER
For the first time, researchers have remotely detected evidence to suggest the existence of water under the surface of the moon. A team of researchers led by Rachel Klima ’06 PhD’08 used remote imaging data to discover magmatic water — water locked in minerals — originating from deep within the moon. The findings, published Aug. 25 in Nature Geoscience, provide further evidence that not all lunar water comes from outside the moon and open possibilities for future space research. Klima and her team used data gathered by NASA’s Moon Mineralogy Mapper — also known as the M3 — to determine the presence of magmatic water inside the lunar crater Bullialdus. The type of rock that holds magmatic water is normally only found deep within the moon but is thought to have been brought to the surface by the impact
» MUSIC, from page 1 and R&B. Known for its socially and politically aware lyrics and its engaging live performances, Franti’s music is most widely acclaimed for its celebration of common hope and humanity. Other shows at Lupo’s include The Gaslight Anthem tonight at 8 p.m., Manchester Orchestra Nov. 15 and Cold War Kids Oct. 21. Tickets to all three shows, which are open to audience members of all ages, cost between $16 and $25 and are available on the venue’s website. For a music festival closer to home, 95.5 WBRU and Deer Tick will present and curate Dudesmash 2, an outdoor concert in the courtyard of the Met Sept. 14 at 5 p.m. Tickets cost $22.50 in advance and $25 the day of the concert. Deer Tick, the event’s main headliner, is an alternative-folk band with humble roots in Providence. Singer-songwriter John McCauley, the man behind the moniker, struck out on a solo career in 2004, according to the band’s iTunes biography. Since then, he has joined forces with drummer Dennis Ryan and several other musicians. Deer Tick is known for its high-energy live shows, often peppering performances with “irreverent onstage banter,” according to a 2011 NPR review. A 2012 review in the Dispatch lauded the band for its “passion” and “pure, unadulterated, rock and roll madness.” Other Dudesmash 2 acts include local indie bands such as The Low Anthem, Joe Fletcher & the Wrong Reasons, Toy Soldier and Ravi Shavi. Alexa VanHattum ’16 said she plans to attend the event. “I absolutely love Deer Tick. Because they’re from (Rhode Island), they tour here all the time. But they don’t come to
that formed the crater. This confirms the water trapped inside comes from within the moon rather than from the surface, the researchers concluded. Klima was not initially looking for evidence of magmatic water. Instead, she was examining the composition of the rocks around the crater, she said. When she noticed some abnormal readings around the peak of the crater, she decided to give the area a more detailed look. The discovery could signify a major turning point in lunar study. “The paradigm that we’ve had since the Apollo missions is that the moon is bone dry,” said Peter Schultz, professor of geological sciences and member of the NASA team that discovered frozen water at the moon’s south pole in 2009. The presence of surface water on the moon previously has been attributed to external factors such as solar wind, which supported the idea that the moon was innately dry, Schultz said. The new evidence of magmatic water within the moon challenges this school of thought. my home state of Michigan very often,” she added. Though she hopes to attend, VanHattum said she hasn’t yet purchased tickets because it’s “hard to find friends who are willing to spend the money and time on a concert for bands they don’t necessarily know.” Deer Tick is also performing at the Boston Calling Music Festival this weekend at the City Hall Plaza, with other major artists including Kendrick Lamar, Vampire Weekend, Passion Pit and The Gaslight Anthem. Tickets cost $75 for each day or $130 for a weekend pass. Public transportation to Boston and back can be a hassle, especially for students with time constraints or on a budget, VanHattum said. She added that while having a car on campus this year will make it easier to travel, last year it was “a real issue.” Raven Carson ’16, who plans to attend a Paramore concert in Massachusetts Nov. 15, said she never attended an off-campus concert for the same reason. But there are ways around the obstacle. “The nearest concert location is usually in Boston, and I just never made it over there,” she said. “(When I go for) Paramore, I plan to stay with a friend at Tufts for the weekend, which will make the trip less pricey and much more convenient.” Even with the multitude of musical and theatrical productions at Brown, VanHattum said off-campus entertainment can be rewarding. “The on-campus events are nice, sure,” she said. “But they’re totally different from seeing one of your favorite bands live. And although it’s so cliche, it’s great to get out of the Brown bubble and into the city for a night to listen to some familiar music.”
“To say that it is magmatic water means that we have to reconsider our models for the formation of the moon,” Schultz added. With this discovery also comes the question of whether the water detected in the crater’s central peak is definitely lunar in origin. Solar wind has been ruled out as the source for the water because of the relatively highly concentrated levels of hydroxyl detected within the peak. “It’s also an impact crater,” Schultz said, “and so the question is — could the water have been delivered and simply trapped?” Klima said the odds of this possibility are “very unlikely because typically very little of the impacter will survive that kind of an event.” She added that any remaining matter would probably be distributed elsewhere in the crater as opposed to near the central peak. The M3 imager works by measuring infrared light reflected off the surface of the moon. Researchers observe the absorption rate and conclude the composition of the surface. “Where we have bright reflectance, there is no absorption. And where we have things like bonds bending and
vibrating, the light gets absorbed and so you have a drop in the reflectance,” Klima said. The detection of hydroxyl, a substructure of the water molecule, is key to concluding whether water is present. The data Klima and her team analyzed was gathered by an M3 on India’s Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft, which was sent into space in 2008. The project was the result of “intense activity by scientists and engineers in the U.S. and India over several years,” wrote Carle Pieters, professor of geological sciences and principal investigator of the M3 project, in an email to The Herald. The M3 collected data from November 2008 until a malfunction in August 2009 cut the mission short. By then, 97 percent of the moon’s surface had already been imaged, providing the data for Klima’s research. Evidence for magmatic water on the moon has been brought up before — notably by Associate Professor of Geological Sciences Alberto Saal in 2008 — but never by remote means. “That’s the key,” Saal said. “One thing is to send an Apollo mission, collect samples and bring them back. The other is being able to determine the presence
of magmatic water within the moon through remote sensing technique.” Saal said that the same remote technique could be applied to asteroids and planets that researchers currently don’t have samples from. But more questions remain about water and the moon. “What would be really nice is if we could start to map out regions where we do have potential rocks that contain magmatic water and see whether there are global pockets,” Klima said. She added that much about how the moon evolved could be addressed if other locations like the Bullialdus crater could be found. Understanding the moon is crucial to understanding the evolution of Earth, said John Mustard ’86 PhD’90, professor of geological sciences and environmental studies, as well as a science team member on the M3 project. “It has stabilized the earth’s orbit, it has created the fact that we have tides,” Mustard said. Understanding where water is and where it comes from may eventually help us to ascertain the biggest question of all, Mustard said — whether we are alone in the universe.
» STEM, from page 1
problem session. During the session he will help groups of three students on practice problems, Takayama said. The creation of more “blended classrooms” may be part of the AAU initiative, Takayama said.
Friday for three years. Takayama, Targan and Jim Valles, professor of physics and chair of the physics department, are the three principal investigators for the initiative. The resources provided by the initiative make it possible to make curricular changes for which there is already momentum, Valles said.
question.” Aiming to attract and retain students, administrators and faculty members will work to better integrate math into science and engineering classes, promote hands-on research and reform large lectures, Targan said. STEM fields have a high attrition rate — many students change their intended concentrations after the first year, Targan said. The trend is particularly pronounced in the physical sciences, he added. One common explanation for the high attrition rate is that students feel disengaged in their large introductory science lectures, he said. Research also suggests certain teaching methods may keep students more engaged. Students can be active learners in large classes by asking questions or at least writing them down, Targan said. Another strategy for engaging students involves changing the format of the lecture entirely. This semester, Associate Professor of Economics Pedro Dal Bo’s section of ECON 1110: “Intermediate Microeconomics” will feature two lectures and a problem session instead of three lectures, said Kathy Takayama, executive director of the Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning and adjunct professor of biology. This innovative approach is called a “blended classroom,” she said. Dal Bo will create 10-minute videos for students to watch prior to the
Integrating math The first phase of the initiative puts a greater emphasis on “mathematical competency” in STEM courses, Targan said. Students may have taken math “but don’t make the connection between the math class and the new context of a science subject matter,” he said. Science classes would review math basics in a format that could involve collaboration between departments, he said. Students may have “difficulty turning hard science problems into mathematical equations,” Takayama said. CHEM 0100: “Introductory Chemistry” and ENGN 0030: “Introduction to Engineering” are among the first courses to be reviewed for added “mathematical competency,” Takayama said. “One of the truly Brown things about this endeavor is that professors will meet across disciplines to compare some of their approaches and share ways in which these approaches have been successful,” Takayama said. For instance, she said, some science faculty members from across disciplines have met together to discuss teaching techniques every other
comic A & B | MJ Esquivel
Growing STEM Each school selected for the project submitted a grant request detailing its plans for reforming its STEM courses and its progress in doing so thus far, she said. Brown’s strengths included a focus on “mathematical competency,” interdisciplinary teaching and hands-on research classes, said Emily Miller, project manager for the initiative. Miller cited strong support for the STEM initiative among Brown faculty members and administrators. Bergeron, who helped write the AAU grant proposal, recently announced plans to leave the University in December to become president of Connecticut College. But she said her departure will not affect the STEM initiative, given the number of other administrators and faculty members involved with the project. “We take the idea of undergraduate education very seriously at Brown. We’re glad that AAU saw that and supported our efforts, which we think are going to make a big difference for the future,” Bergeron said.
6 commentary
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2013
DIAMONDS & COAL A diamond to the first-year who said, “I think it’s pretty cool that, at Brown, you have a convocation speaker basically telling you to question everything, even what he says and even what all of your professors say.” Which is why you should only believe what you read on the Internet. Coal to the Providence Police Department, which is “cautiously optimistic” it will receive funding to offset a 92 percent cut in federal grants. In the meantime, we’ll be “cautiously optimistic” we won’t get mugged. A diamond to the Rhode Island General Assembly for eliminating the sales tax on wine and spirits. Someone tell Obama we’ve found the ultimate economic stimulus. A diamond to Visiting Assistant Professor of History Megan Nelson, who said of a sword recently returned to University archives, “It’s actually part of a social network in the Civil War period.” It’s a well-kept secret that conflict began when Jefferson Davis poked Abraham Lincoln on Facebook. Cubic zirconia to the members of the outdoor track teams who toured and competed in both Ireland and England. We like a good challenge, but next time, compete against the French instead — they’re intimately acquainted with defeat.
A N G E L IA WA N G
A diamond to the medical student who said, “It’s very special when a group of people want archaeologists to continue excavating.” Especially once they’ve hit that third layer of dirty laundry sitting in your dorm room. A diamond to the senior who said of a camp dedicated to conflict resolution, “It’s not a place to be politically correct. Rather, political correctness may only hold back the discussion.” Eureka! An explanation for why MCM class discussions never get anywhere. Cubic zirconia to Residential Life for considering moving the housing lottery online. Recent reports suggest they will also consider relying on their flock of carrier pigeons in favor of email. A diamond to the female senior who said of UCS’s internal elections, “For some positions, having a first-year is positive because (he or she has) a fresh perspective, but for some positions we want someone who has had more experience with the system.” In other words, we’re tired of explaining the importance of a certain part of the female anatomy.
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commentary 7
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2013
Are you gluten-intolerant or just intolerable? CARA DORRIS opinions columnist
For years, Steve Jobs ate nothing but fruit — apples, pears, polychrome smoothies blended with precision. To the amateur hypochondriac, it sounds like a classic case of OCD. To the average Brown student, it is a lifestyle choice called fruitarianism. Jobs later died of pancreatic cancer. Some swear the two are linked. Though one would have to stalk a few farmers’ markets to find diehard fruitarianism at Brown, College Hill bears a cornucopia of other dietary restrictions — raw foodism, paleo, organic. The most common is known as “glutenfree.” Check any popular cafe on Thayer Street and you are bound to find a gluten-free menu. In sufferers of celiac disease, the immune system treats gluten, a protein complex found in most grains, as if it were a pathogen. The subsequent inflammation damages the intestinal lining, leading to malabsorption of vital nutrients. Without a glutenfree diet, sufferers may experience abdominal discomfort, rashes or even increased risk of intestinal cancer. According to a study by the University of Maryland
School of Medicine, only 1 percent of the world’s population actually has the disease. On the other hand, some selfproclaimed sufferers of “gluten intolerance” experience the same symptoms as celiac sufferers but lack the presence of transglutaminase autoantibodies that cause autoimmune diseases. The problem is that there is not a single blood test for gluten intolerance, so diagnoses rely on patients’ feelings. Lately it seems like the majority of people swinging around their quinoa cookies are not diagnosed with anything — unless it has a DSM-IV code. Some believe humans are not meant to consume gluten. After all, at the beginning of time — when we were blanketed in hair and only lived until 35 — we did not consume the protein. However, a significant reason people abstain is to lose weight. Others claim its absence leads to clearer skin, more energy and stronger sex drive. With a gluten- and lactose-free diet, even Miley Cyrus has seemed to work — or rather, twerk — off dozens of unwanted pounds. Yet according to the American Journal of Gastroenterology, 80 percent of those on gluten-free diets have no diagnosable condition, and many dieticians believe
the diets are only useful for people South Beach?” with celiac disease. “For everyone Pretend we are at a dinner parelse, going gluten-free is at best a ty. The person who claims to be fashion statement, and at worst South Beach would seem petty if an unnecessary dietary restric- he expected the host to change the tion that results in folly,” said Da- menu. But this is 2013. If a guest vid Katz, the director of Yale Pre- claims to be gluten-free, suddenly vention Research the host is responCenter, in an arsible for accom“Lately it seems ticle for the Huffmodation. like the majority ington Post. We have enAnd as celiac of people swinging tered the age of researchers Anpick-and-choose, around their tonio Di Sabatiself-imposed diquinoa-cookies are etary restrictions. no and Gino Roberto Corazza of not diagnosed with Paleo diet is mostthe University of ly meat. Fruitarianything — unless anism is only fruit. Pavia told Time Magazine, claims Raw food is anyit has a DSM-IV of gluten sensithing heated less code.” tivity “seem to inthan 104 degrees crease daily, with Fahrenheit. Lono adequate scicavorism is food entific support to back them up.” grown within 100 miles of purBut after watching Cyrus’ skel- chase or consumption. For every etal performance at the Video Mu- scientist who disputes these, there sic Awards, commenters on pro- is one who endorses them. Yet, as anorexia websites were literally I have learned the definitions of emoticon-ing with joy — “I am some of these “lifestyles,” it leaves gluten-free too! It really works.” me to wonder: Why do we love None of this is surprising. For the constraints? years Americans have sworn by People have begun to realize fad diets with promises of weight the potency of these “conditions” loss and pre-packaged happiness. to quickly shed weight, while still But this phrase sticks out in my hiding behind the ethical, moral mind: “I am gluten-free.” As in the and medical excuses they provide. verb, “to be.” I cannot think of any In a consumer culture with just other diet that defines who you too many brands of bread, anyare. Would anyone ever say, “I am thing that makes choosing food
harder actually makes everything easier. In other words, these dietary restrictions are so familiar to us because they are glamorized versions of their older cousins — diets. Designer diets. It is more than food. It is about having control over one’s life. It is a way to completely obsess over food while simultaneously depriving oneself of it. Eating disorder sufferers have done this for years. Of course conditions like gluten-free can be based on ethical, religious or medical choices. But we cannot ignore the possibility that some of these self-inflicted restrictions are not so different from commercial diets. The only thing that separates them is that diets are supposed to end. Instead, these are lifestyles. These are status symbols. And people use them to carve identities for themselves. So if you are not good at sports or yoga or naked Production Workshop performances, then at least you can be gluten-free. And you even get your own dating website: GlutenFreeSingles.Com. Doctor Atkins could never offer that. Cara Dorris ’15 believes gluten intolerance stems from gluten ignorance. She can be reached at cara_dorris@brown.edu.
Teach, preach and be merry NICO ENRIQUEZ opinions columnist
New York may not be the most beautiful city I have ever seen, but it definitely takes the cronut on constant energy and excitement. That’s because location is everything. It’s why Hamptons real estate is stratospherically expensive. It’s why semi-intelligent people such as myself semiidiotically give up half our paychecks to live in Manhattan in the 100-million-degree summer. It’s why so many people decide to concentrate themselves in cities across the world. A recent study by some of the United States’ top economists — Nathan Hendren and Raj Chetty, among others — combed through millions of American earnings records and revealed something fundamental about the hidden costs of location: Where people grow up may be the most important factor in determining whether they will strike American-dream gold or find themselves chained into their parents’ poverty. The study is the first to u Use enough data to compare the factors that lead to upward mobility in different cities.
Southeastern and midwest- and grew up in areas where ern cities like Atlanta or Colum- many local people participatbus, Ohio, had the lowest rates ed in religious or community of social mobility, while north- groups were more likely to rise eastern cities like New York or out of poverty. These first three western cities like Seattle had points seem to revolve around much higher rates. This dispar- the stability and consistency a ity occurs even when you con- community can provide for chiltrol for average income. Statis- dren. If poor children grew up in tically, a child from the bottom communities that also support25th income percentile in Seat- ed higher income families, they tle will do as well economically were also more likely to rise. as a 50th percentile child from All four of these areas seem to Atlanta. make up very difSurprisingly, ferent parts of a “Provide these the researchers child’s life — the children with found that interhome, the school, generational mothe church, the the proper role bility was only neighbors’ stanmodels and slightly affected dards of living. direction as they But they all repby higher taxes on the rich and develop and form resent two things lower taxes on — structure and the poor. They opinions about the security. Provide also found that these children world and they the number of lowith the proper will do well for cal colleges and role models and themselves.” their costs of endirection as they try did not affect develop and form mobility at all. opinions about What does this say about Presi- the world and they will do well dent Obama’s tuition proposal, I for themselves. Take away their wonder? support too early or leave them Instead, the researchers in the weeds and in all likelifound four key factors that af- hood, they will not rise to the fect intergenerational income same heights. The study found mobility. Children who attend- this to be true to the same extent ed better primary schools, were across all races. Black, white, Laraised in two-parent households tino — if you grow up in a com-
munity with these four structures, you have a good chance of advancing economically. The salience of a structured upbringing is supported by the fact that young children who were born into a low-mobility area but moved into a highmobility community did almost as well as those who had always lived there. Teenagers who made the same transfer did not see the same benefit. Clearly, the old refrain that poor people are poor because of an unchangeable part of the lazy character is not true. Many people live in poverty because they aren’t shown another path at a young age. Countless studies show that the United States lags far behind other wealthy nations like the Netherlands, Germany, France, Australia, Canada and Japan in upward income mobility. This is probably because our government does not provide the same focus on community structures. Ours is a country of growing wealth disparity. If we want to change that, we should stop just throwing money and food stamps at parents and reinvest in providing them with an enriching environment for their kids so they have a better chance for a future free from poverty. I have an out-of-the-box idea
that may help us solve these problems. Several studies have shown that the education levels of lowincome students regress substantially more than high-income students over the course of the summer. The government could use that down period in school to bus in, for free or at a low cost, low-income students to the preeminent public schools. Uncle Sam would pay the regular teachers at these schools a salary premium and offer a large cash bonus to the teacher considered the best at each school as an incentive to stay. This way, the government could use otherwise fallow resources, good teachers would be happily compensated, low-income students would be exposed to highly enriching environments that would also help them fight the testing gap between rich and poor, and low income parents would receive free daycare. Everyone wins. Nico Enriquez ’16 is out of space but would love to discuss any other ideas you may have. Please comment, email (nenriquez3@gmail.com) or find him on campus (you’ll probably see him on a longboard).
daily herald sports friday THE BROWN
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2013
WOMEN’S SOCCER
With eight seniors, experienced team eyes Ivy crown By using a ‘more creative attack’ the Bears hope to score more than last year’s 15 goals By LLOYD SY SPORTS STAFF WRITER
Anchored by a group of returning seniors, the women’s soccer team is entering the season with hopes of a conference title. After finishing last season with a 1-5-1 Ivy League record — second to last in the conference — Brown spent the offseason developing new offensive styles. “We’ve been focusing on being a lot more creative in our attack,” said goalkeeper Mary Catherine Barrett ’14. “This year, we have a lot more options.” Emily Wingrove ’14 said the changes are an attempt to improve the team’s goalscoring capabilities. “We only scored 15 goals last year,” Wingrove said. “We changed our formation to score a lot more this year.”
Bruno’s corps of eight returning seniors will give the team “more experience” than other conference squads, Wingrove said. Heading those seniors is captain Mika Siegelman ’14, a first team all-Ivy forward and midfielder who won the Ridgely MVP Award — voted on by the team’s members — at the end of last season. “Mika’s got amazing feet,” Barrett said. “She’s one of the most technically skilled players in the league.” “For our seniors, winning conference has always been one of our biggest goals,” Wingrove said. Barrett agreed, calling the Ivy title something “always in the back of our minds.” A number of other skilled Ivy teams stand in Bruno’s path. Princeton, last year’s undefeated conference champion, will return with what Wingrove called “a very talented team.” “Princeton was incredible last year, and they retained a lot of great players,” Wingrove said. “Harvard had one of the top recruiting classes in the conference,
COURTESY OF MADDIE WIENER
The women’s soccer team, under the leadership of a veteran crop of seniors, looks to pioneer a new offensive game plan to improve from its second-to-last place finish in the Ivy League and 1-5-1 Ivy record last year. while (Penn) had a really strong offense last year and keeps a lot of returning seniors.” Brown kicks off its season Friday with a non-conference game at Quinnipiac
University in Hamden, Conn. “As a Division I school, (Quinnipiac’s) going to be good,” Wingrove said. “We’re hoping to have a strong defense but really be on the attack and score a
lot of goals.” After trekking to Quinnipiac, Bruno will have its first home match Sunday at 1 p.m. in another non-conference tilt against St. John’s University.
MEN’S WATER POLO
Bruno opens season hosting Fall Classic this weekend After losing six seniors, the squad hopes to exceed last season’s success with high hopes for first-years By GEORGE SANCHEZ SPORTS STAFF WRITER
The men’s water polo season kicks off this weekend at the Katherine Moran Coleman Aquatics Center, where the squad will host eight teams from across the nation in the Bruno Fall Classic. The Bears will face off Saturday against the Stanford University Cardinals and the Harvard Crimson and will compete Sunday against the University of California at Irvine Anteaters and the Washington and Jefferson College Presidents. “It is an incredible opportunity for us, especially at home,” said Head Coach Felix Mercado. “Doesn’t matter who we play — we are going to try
to win each game. Our goal stays the same.” Next weekend, the team will host the Bruno Fall Invitational, when the Bears will take on the Navy Midshipmen, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Engineers and three other teams. “The home advantage is absolutely huge — in years past, we have had to travel a lot to play these sorts of matches,” said James McNamara ’14. “This will make a big difference.” Rematches against Harvard and MIT in Cambridge, Mass. will close out the month of September. With the departure of six seniors, the squad will need to focus more on speed, McNamara said. Every returning player will need to fulfill a new role, he added. There are also high hopes for the five first-years who will join the Bears, Mercado said. “These freshmen are going to play
EMILY GILBERT / HERALD
James McNamara ’14 and the men’s water polo team, looking to build off a dominant 29-4 record last season, will host tournaments during both of the following weekends to kick off their 2013 campaign. Herald file photo. big,” Mercado said, and “fill in the hole that was left by the seniors.” Last season, the squad finished fifth with a 29-4 record at the Collegiate Water Polo Association Eastern
Championship after a loss to Princeton. Despite last season’s successes, the squad hopes to continue improving, McNamara said. “ It’s a l l a b o u t E a s t e r n
Championships,” he said. “We need to win where it counts.” “Great team, great chemistry — I love coaching this team,” Mercado said. “Every day is better and better.”
Study finds lack of sleeps impairs memory, exam performance After being trained in a motor task, subjects showed improved performance after resting By MARGARET NICKENS STAFF WRITER
Though pulling an all-nighter often seems a necessary pre-exam ritual, new research indicates that lack of sleep can hurt students’ ability to retain information and perform well on exams. After measuring subjects’ abilities to perform certain tasks after getting four hours of sleep, Masako Tamaki, a postodoctoral research associate, found increased activity in the supplementary motor area of the brain’s cortex. This phenomenon, which happens during sleep, correlated with improved performance on a motor task. The findings were part of a study published Aug. 21 in the Journal of Neuroscience.
SCIENCE & RESEARCH
Previous studies suggest sleep plays a significant role in memory consolidation, or enhancement, Tamaki said. But researchers have had difficulty pinpointing which brain regions are involved in that process. Participants in the study learned a finger-tapping motor task and were then allowed to sleep. The researchers measured brain activity during sleep to determine if increased neural oscillations in specific regions correlated with better performance on the task when the subjects awoke. “Our study is kind of first to apply this detailed technique, the combination of MRI and MEG,” said Yuka Sasaki, an associate professor of research who worked on the study. Through the technology, the researchers were able to identify where neural changes occurred during sleep. Oscillations indicate activity within or
between neurons and are differentiated according to their frequency. Delta and sigma bands, two forms of neural oscillations, often characterize brain activity while sleeping. If subjects slept after being trained in the finger-tapping task, many experienced a significant increase in delta and sigma band oscillations in the supplementary motor area on the side of the brain opposite to the hand used during the task. The bands “may have different roles in consolidating memory,” Tamaki said. Giulio Tononi, a neuroscientist and psychiatrist with the University of Wisconsin, hypothesized delta oscillations may be related to reducing the number of synapses, or connections between neurons, during sleep. “If your synapses are growing too much, then you have no more space. So you have to make some kind of downscaling or normalization so that you would have a space for newer learning,” Sasaki said.
Another theory suggests “there is an active process, a central process to learning, which is one of the main sleep functions,” Sasaki said. Sigma oscillations are hypothesized to play a role in this process. Because the correlation between sigma wave activity and performance was stronger in her study, she said the sigma theory pointing to a central process of learning during sleep may be more viable, or that the two processes could be working together. The study found a significant correlation between increased activity during slow-wave, or non-REM, sleep and performance on a motor task. But Sasaki said memory consolidation may occur during REM sleep as well, though further research is needed to confirm this suggestion. Sasaki pointed to the extensive REM sleep during infancy, when people are learning a significant amount, as possible evidence for this phenomenon. Tamaki’s research contributes to a growing body of evidence that points
to the relationship between sleep and learning. “People with low sleep quality, their learning abilities are a little bit lower … such as schizophrenic patients and maybe depressed people,” she said. A higher count and frequency of spindles — such as delta and sigma oscillations — may also point to greater learning ability, she said. Tamaki’s finger-tapping task involves sequential learning . But she said she is interested in the role sleep plays in other forms of learning and is currently studying the relationship between visual perceptual learning and sleep. “Probably, we can use this knowledge to enhance your memory while you’re sleeping. We can’t do it right now,” Sasaki said. But with this new knowledge, the future of productive sleep looks bright. “Maybe we can invent a pillow that … would stimulate your SMA while you’re sleeping, and you would have better performance in piano playing,” Sasaki said.