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THE BROWN

vol. cxlviii, no. 66

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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2013

Cultural groups hide unofficial funds from UFB Citing insufficient UFB funding for events, some student groups turn elsewhere for cash By MAXINE JOSELOW SENIOR STAFF WRITER

HERALD FILE PHOTO

Leaders of cultural groups — such as the South Asian Student Association, which puts on a spring culture show — said underfunding by the Undergraduate Finance Board has led to difficulties supporting programming.

Several cultural groups — that in recent years have felt underfunded by the Undergraduate Finance Board — are supplementing their official UFB funding with unreported cash to afford putting on festivals and events, The Herald learned from interviews with cultural group leaders. Though the board is supposed to serve as student groups’ main source of funding, it has historically struggled with a small student activities endowment and failed to meet some groups’ financial needs. » See UFB, page 3

College Hill to cosmos: alum joins astronaut class Jessica Meir ’99 will join the NASA team that could be involved in a future mission to Mars By ANDREW JONES STAFF WRITER

Brown alums inhabit places all across the world, but within a couple of decades Jessica Meir ’99 may push Brunonian boundaries even further — to Mars. In June, NASA announced Meir would join the newest astronaut class, which is preparing for possible missions to a nearby asteroid and

SCIENCE & RESEARCH

to Mars. The eight-member class, made up of scientists and military pilots, was chosen from a pool of more than 6,000 applicants, according to a NASA press release. Composed of four men and four women, the team will join the 46 active astronauts at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, according to the NASA website. Their astronaut candidate training began last month. Basic training, which generally lasts about two years, includes land,

water and flight training, said Duane Ross, NASA’s manager for astronaut selection and training. The astronauts will also learn Russian in order to communicate with fellow space scientists. The trained astronauts will then take NASA jobs before being assigned to a mission in a few years, Ross said. The new class of astronauts could be involved in missions to a nearby asteroid or to Mars, according to the press release. Before that, they may perform missions on the International Space Station. Meir embodies all of the traits that NASA looks for in astronaut

candidates, Ross said. NASA seeks applicants who have practical, hands-on experience and the ability to adapt to various situations, he said. All astronaut candidates must also have a degree in engineering, math or science. “It was just her whole package that made her stand out,” Ross said. Meir concentrated in biology at Brown and then earned her PhD from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. She focused her academic career and research primarily on the physiology and adaptations of vertebrates in extreme environments, according to the Institution’s website. She has » See ASTRONAUT, page 3

School of Engineering grows with new hires New lab space and an interdisciplinary approach helped lure six new faculty members By ASHNA MUKHI CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Six new faculty members will join the School of Engineering this year as part of an ongoing expansion. The new hires will arrive following the University’s April announcement of a new $160 million campaign to grow the School of Engineering, which will include investments in personnel and building space. Most of the new faculty members will have lab spaces in the new Building for Environmental Research and Teaching, formerly Hunter Laboratory, when renovations on the building are complete early next year, said Dean of Engineering Lawrence Larson. Though the expansion of the School of Engineering will also include a new building on College Hill, campaign organizers are currently focused on nurturing and mentoring the new faculty members, Larson said. Four of the six new hires specialize in biomedical engineering, a field in which students have recently expressed interest and that administrators identified as a key » See ENGINEERING, page 2

DOMA reforms federal financial aid for same-sex couples and their children

By DORI RAHBAR CONTRIBUTING WRITER

inside

Students who are children or legal dependants of same-sex couples may gain access to more generous federal financial aid in the wake of the Supreme Court’s June decision striking down the Defense of Marriage Act, though the University’s financial aid policy will not change. The Court’s decision means that the incomes of both spouses in a same-sex marriage will now be taken into consideration for students of same-sex couples applying for financial aid or currently paying off student loans. Married gay students will also be able to count their spouses’ income

in applying for aid. The new federal regulations affect all legally-married gay couples and all children of married gay couples, regardless of whether they attend college in states that do not recognize samesex marriages, said Karen McCarthy, a policy analyst for the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. But federal regulatory changes stemming from the decision will not affect the University’s financial aid policies because the Office of Financial Aid already considers married same-sex spouses as part of an aid applicant’s household when awarding aid, said Director of Financial Aid Jim Tilton. “Not much is going to change,” Tilton said. “We’ve always looked at aid for what the student says the family situation is.” But the new federal regulations » See DOMA, page 5

BRITTANY COMUNALE / HERALD

Director of Financial Aid Jim Tilton said that though the ruling is unlikely to change official University policy, he hopes it will encourage more open discussion about families’ financial situations.

Stay in school

No choice

Let’s cooperate Gutsy research

Thirty-one grads from the class of 2013 joined the Teach for America corps

Schwartz ’13 responds to argument for restriction on abortion

Enzerink GS argues for greater collaboration at universities

Study results hint at better oral drug delivery

NEWS, 4

OPINION, 7

SCIENCE & RESEARCH, 8

weather

The U. already recognizes same-sex marriages in determining aid packages for students

t o d ay

tomorrow

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2013

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While the School of Engineering is currently housed in Barus and Holley, the school will expand to new locations on college hill and has hired six new faculty members this year as part of a $160 million campaign.

» ENGINEERING, from page 1

crossword

growth area for the School when expansion plans began, Larson said. Biomedical engineering “gives us a great opportunity to collaborate with the division of biology and medicine and a wonderful opportunity for collaboration with local hospitals and medical schools,” Larson added. The other two new faculty members focus on chemical engineering and solid mechanics, according to the press release. Larson and Associate Dean for Development and Planning Robert Rome said the promise of new research space played a key role in attracting new faculty members to campus. “One of the reasons we were so successful was we had this wonderful renovated Hunter Lab that we could show them,” Larson said. “The potential at Brown is so great,” Rome said. “You can picture what the School will look like in the next 10 years,

so a lot of young faculty think it’s the place to be.” Administrators stressed that students will remain a top priority in the School’s expansion. One key area of focus remains the School’s corporate outreach program to help connect students with internships and employment opportunities, an initiative that students have consistently requested be further developed, Rome said. “Although we have this big research enterprise that we’re growing, the question is always, ‘How does it benefit students?’” he added. One of the four hires in biomedical engineering studies brain science, a specialty of the University and an area administrators have targeted for further investment, Larson said. Some of the new faculty members said they were drawn to the School because of its interdisciplinary nature, strong community and talented students. “The undergrads as well as the grad

students are exceptional, and I could feel that already as I started teaching my first class here and interacting with students,” said Assistant Professor of Engineering Anita Shukla, who joined the University this fall and is co-teaching ENGN 1490: “Biomaterials” this semester. Shukla specializes in biomedical engineering. “I like that Brown is very small and very interdisciplinary,” said Assistant Professor of Engineering Ian Wong, who is co-teaching the course and whose research also focuses on biomedical engineering. “There are a lot of people here working on different things, but since everyone is so friendly, we end up talking about it and going in new directions that we wouldn’t have expected.” The University’s engineering program is unique because of its significant attention to applied science, said Assistant Professor of Engineering David Henann, who focuses on mechanical engineering research. He added that his specific field — solid mechanics — is a “historical strength” of the School.

university news 3

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2013

» ASTRONAUT, from page 1 been involved in a variety of research, including studies on the diving physiology of emperor penguins and seals in Antarctica and bar-headed geese’s flights over the Himalayas. In 2002, Meir became a NASA aquanaut in the world’s only undersea research laboratory, located off the coast of Key Largo, Fla., according to the website. At Brown, Meir was a brilliant student and dedicated friend who was good at everything she did, said Jaclyn Mason ’99, Meir’s close friend and first-year roommate. “What I’m looking forward to most, the big one, would be eventually, hopefully flying in space since that has been my dream since I was about five years old,” Meir said in a NASA astronaut candidate video profile. Meir was unable to be reached for comment because NASA does not allow astronaut candidates to speak to news outlets after training has begun. “She had a goal, she achieved it, and every step she took was directed toward that goal,” Mason said. Meir was a highly motivated student at Brown, said Jim Head PhD’69, a professor of geological sciences who taught Meir in GEOL 0010: “Face of the Earth.” “She was very sharp, very enthusiastic,” he said. “She got the highest grade in the class.” Head now has an especially salient connection with Meir and NASA — he is involved in the geology portion of the astronaut candidate training.

» UFB, from page 1 UFB leaders said they were unaware of the illegal cash until their conversations with The Herald. The vice president of a prominent cultural group on campus, who asked to remain anonymous to avoid punishment from the UFB, told The Herald his group keeps “shoe box money” to “act as a buffer in case the funds we receive from UFB run out.” The group secretly holds around $200 of the proceeds from its fundraising events in a private bank account, instead of an account with the Student Activities Office. He added that the UFB has decreased the group’s funding for the spring semester over the years, though the group’s most costly event occurs in the spring. “We have had to resort to using our hidden money a lot more frequently than in the past,” he said. Another leader of a cultural group, who also wished to remain anonymous, told The Herald her group keeps unreported cash to spend on alcohol for its events. She said her group started this practice because UFB does not fund alcohol, since it serves an undergraduate population that mostly has not reached the legal drinking age. Many of the leader’s group members are graduate

COURTESY OF NASA

Jessica Meir ‘99, second from left in the back row, is one of eight candidates in training to become members of NASA’s newest astronaut class. He sometimes travels to the Johnson Space Center to teach about geology in outer space, and sometimes the astronaut candidates come to Brown, he said. A Brown education provides a springboard for exploration after

graduation, especially in Meir’s case, Head said. “The whole atmosphere at Brown is interdisciplinary with plenty of exploration. It creates an atmosphere of problem solving. Jessica is a good example of that. She’s a product of that

students and faculty members, she said. “Groups aren’t supposed to keep outside accounts, but occasionally we learn about one,” said Timothy Shiner, director of Student Activities and the Stephen Robert ’62 Campus Center. When representatives from the SAO learn of groups keeping outside accounts, they meet with the group leaders to determine their reasons for keeping the accounts and ask them to stop, Shiner added. But this practice has not caught the attention of UFB leadership. Leila Veerasamy ’15, chair of the UFB, said she had not heard of cultural groups keeping outside funds. Fredrick Rhine ’15, who served as a UFB representative for 13 cultural groups last semester, said he also did not know of any unreported funds in existence. “I think it’s problematic for groups to do that and not tell UFB, and then come in and ask UFB for money,” Rhine said. “It’s not fair to other groups.” Veerasamy said the practice put groups that did not keep unreported funds at an unfair disadvantage, since UFB would view them comparably to groups that may have more money. But student cultural group leaders told The Herald they thought other cultural groups may keep unreported cash because they feel underfunded

by UFB. “It makes sense why groups would be forced into having to do that if they felt underfunded,” said Meghal Shah ’14, vice president of the South Asian Students Association, the largest cultural group on campus. Shah said SASA often suffers from a lack of funding from UFB, such as when the group cancelled plans to host filmmaker Sarovar Banka ’02 two years in a row because it could not afford to pay for his travel. But Veerasamy said she does not think cultural groups are underfunded. “If some cultural groups are feeling underfunded, it’s because there’s been miscommunication and they don’t understand that they can come in for appeals,” she said, adding that she would work to address the issue of miscommunication this year. The board’s new policy on food may curb the use of outside accounts. UFB has not funded food in the past, but starting this semester, it will cover the cost of 50 percent of the food for an event. “A lot of cultural events are often centered around food,” said SASA President Gayatri Mehra ’14, citing SASA’s Dinner Dance and Senior Celebration as examples. “So funding for food will definitely affect what cultural groups can do.”

environment.” Brown has maintained a strong relationship with NASA, with two other alums currently working there, Head said. Head added that he was delighted to see a former student chosen for a

program he has followed and been involved with for years. He called the newest astronaut class “extremely and highly motivated.” “They’re some of the best students,” Head said. “It’s a real thrill to see her name this time.”

4 university news

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2013

Teach for America continues to attract high number of graduates Grads report facing challenges in their new positions, but find working with students rewarding By MICHAEL DUBIN SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Thirty-one graduates from the class of 2013 joined the Teach for America corps this year, compared to 36 members of the class of 2012 last year, according to data from TFA and CareerLAB. The number of Brown students entering TFA places Brown 10th among mid-sized schools, or institutions with between 3,000 and 9,999 undergraduates, according to TFA. Brown is one of 14 such schools to send at least 30 graduates into the corps this year. The number of Brown students who joined the corps this year indicates students’ continued interest in education, wrote Jim Amspacher, career advisor in Careers in the Common Good at the CareerLAB, in an email to The Herald. In 2012, 129 students took jobs in education immediately following graduation — more than in any other field, according to a CareerLAB survey of postgraduate plans for that year. TFA hired more graduates of the class of 2012 than any other employer, according to the survey. Jeremiah Otah ’13, a TFA corps member teaching 15-year-olds at Leadership Public Schools Oakland R&D in Oakland, Calif., said he took a somewhat “untraditional” path to teaching compared to corps members

from other universities in terms of undergraduate education, having studied economics at Brown. Otah said his motivation for joining TFA was much more typical of the corps. The neighborhood in which he was raised in St. Louis had a significant TFA presence, and corps members taught some of his childhood friends, he said. “I saw these young teachers that were dropping my friends off at home, saw these young teachers that were hanging around on weekends,” Otah said. “It was really intriguing for me to see that at a young age, to see teachers in sort of this different light.” Entering Brown, Otah said, “I knew regardless of what I decided to study, I was going to apply to Teach for America because it was something that … I would be able to relate to,” and it would allow him to use his education to make an impact. Otah, who worked as a TFA campus representative his senior year before he was accepted, said the students who joined the corps seemed genuinely interested in TFA as a way to teach rather than as a way to gain credentials. He said conversations with others joining the corps focused on moving to their new community and the privilege of participating in the program, not their plans following the two-year commitment to TFA. Passion drove their work, he said.

COURTESY OF TEACH FOR AMERICA

The class of 2012 took more jobs in education than any other field immediately after graduation, and Teach for America hired more 2012 graduates than any other employer, according to a CareerLAB survey. “A year ago from today, I didn’t really understand and comprehend how much work it was going to take just to be an effective teacher,” Otah said. “How I’m feeling right now, to be honest, it is extremely hard.” Despite the challenging work and limited hours of sleep — Otah said he wakes up at 5 a.m. and goes to sleep around 1 a.m. — he said he still enjoys

it because of his students. “My mind is constantly thinking and ruminating on how I can be better, what I need to do to help each student to achieve what they want to achieve.” Otah said his only disappointment with TFA is the way some people in the organization make certain assumptions about how students will behave because they grew up in

low-income neighborhoods. Femi Alese ’13, who teaches elementary school students at the recently opened Achievement First Providence Mayoral Academy, said he applied to TFA because he wanted to be a “positive role model” like some of the great teachers he had. Alese said the outstanding training » See TFA, page 5

university news 5

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2013

» TFA, from page 4 he has received at his placement site, which includes getting paired with a veteran teacher, has been one of the highlights of his experience so far. But Alese had less praise for the TFA summer training institute, saying the “rigid” rubric mentoring teachers had to follow in evaluating new corps members “hindered the feedback I received.” Anthony White ’13, former Undergraduate Council of Students president who is currently teaching second graders at Dean Petersen Elementary School in Las Vegas, said he decided to apply because TFA seemed like a synthesis of his interests in working in low-income neighborhoods and education advocacy. He ultimately decided to accept an offer to join because of “the amount of impact you can have in Teach for America,” he said. “My students are definitely the best part of it. … They are extremely eager to learn,” White said. “They

really look up to you, and they really want to achieve certain goals.” Like Otah, White said the work is demanding. “If you’ve never done lesson planning before, if you’ve never really studied the art and craft of teaching, it’s really hard to catch up” to peers who completed teaching programs, he said. “I find it really difficult that I have to almost work twice as hard to get to a level where I feel fully comfortable.” Taro Shigenobu ’13, who is teaching at Henderson Collegiate in Henderson, N.C., wrote in an email to The Herald that her decision to join TFA arose from a passion “to fight educational inequity and to narrow the achievement gap” and to do meaningful work directly after graduating. Summarizing the experience so far, Otah said, “Right now, I’m feeling tired, I’m feeling excited, I’m feeling humbled, I’m feeling enthused. I’m feeling just really, really blessed.” -With reporting by Whiting Tennis

» DOMA, from page 1 will allow for a smoother financial aid process for the University, Tilton said, because it could increase dialogue between students and administrators about families’ financial situations. “The striking down of DOMA helps everyone treat students exactly the same,” he said, adding that students with parents in same-sex marriages will feel like they can more freely approach his office for aid opportunities. “We can really sit and deal with families” now that DOMA has been struck down, Tilton said. “It’s really going to open up the conversation about who really is involved in the family,” he added. But Tilton said considering a broader definition of family when awarding financial aid does not necessarily correlate with receiving more

aid, noting that in some cases, applicants may end up receiving less aid because both of their parents’ incomes are counted. Married students affected by the decision will not necessarily receive more financial aid or easier loan repayment options than they did when DOMA was still the law, said Lucie Lapovsky, principal for Lapovsky Consulting and former president of Mercy College, a multi-campus institution in New York. “It just depends on your family status,” Lapovsky said. “If you’re just a student and you are married to someone, your whole income will be considered.” The reformed process for federal student loans will allow for a more accurate representation of families’ financial situations but does not automatically increase the amount of aid, McCarthy said.

Financial aid experts said the timeline for revising federal regulations on aid remains unclear. “We don’t really have any guidance yet,” McCarthy said. Recommendations by the U.S. Department of Education on how the court’s ruling should affect federal financial aid are under review by the U.S. Department of Justice, which is still analyzing the impact of the Court’s decision striking down DOMA, McCarthy said. Though many state governments currently use the federal financial aid application forms, it remains uncertain whether states that do not recognize same-sex marriage will change their application processes now that the federal application will recognize married same-sex couples, McCarthy said. If these states choose not to continue using the federal forms, they will have to design a completely different application process, McCarthy said.

comic A Horse of Any Other Name | Zach Silberberg

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M A N Y B E A R S AT A S I N G L E FA I R

EMILY GILBERT / HERALD

Last night’s activity fair in the OMAC featured over 250 student groups.

6 commentary

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2013

EDITORIAL

Syrian conflict calls for campus discussion

We stand at a pivotal moment as President Obama bids Congress to support a diplomatic — or, if necessary, military — intervention in Syria to halt President Bashar al-Assad’s regime’s reported use of deadly chemical weapons. While we may feel detached from the conflict or powerless to influence the outcome, we, as educated students and members of an intricately connected world, have a duty to be informed about the crisis. If we do not learn about and question events such as this international crisis, we miss out on a vital opportunity to apply the tools of a liberal education. Brown endows students with a comprehensive liberal arts education, in the hopes that its students will graduate able to think critically and thoughtfully. At the center of this goal is the liberal learning model, whereby each student will become “broadly educated” and apply that knowledge beyond the classroom to “lead a full and engaged life.” It is difficult to become “broadly educated” about Syria, as the facts about the current situation are hazy. Even the world’s leading news sources such as the New York Times and the Washington Post struggle to decipher what is truly occurring. Still, we must work toward a greater understanding of the crisis to determine our individual roles and the international community’s place in the conflict. Mark Twain once said, “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes.” The current turmoil in Syria is part of a long history that we can understand only if we look toward the region’s past. Syria’s identity has been forged by a legacy of colonialism, joint occupation, partial independence, violent coup d’états and a stake in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Western world has often involved itself in the affairs of the Middle East, despite widespread controversy and questionable success. We must ask whether intervening in President Assad’s regime will yield the same results as the past and how we can diverge from previous results of history. Furthermore, we should ask why now, after months of violence, Obama has proposed the use of diplomacy — or, if all else fails, force — in Syria. According to the Guardian, the death count in Syria is approaching 100,000 while chemical weapons account for only a small fraction of casualties. It was not until an alleged chemical attack on Damascus that killed about 1,500 that Obama proposed forceful intervention. The explanation lies in Obama’s “red line” reference. According to the New York Times, Obama said at a news conference in St. Petersburg that “failing to respond to this breach of this international norm would send a signal to rogue nations, authoritarian regimes and terrorist organizations that they can develop and use weapons of mass destruction and not pay a consequence.” Decades of international intervention have established America as the world police. Given that the use of chemical weapons has been banned by international law, Obama’s language suggests it is America’s duty to step in. But is this the role that the United States should still attempt to uphold in the international arena, or has the time come to take a step back from foreign intervention? We must take advantage of the intellectual atmosphere and the resources at our disposal in order to grapple with these difficult questions, inform ourselves about the situation in Syria and draw our own conclusions. If we seek out these opportunities, Brown offers a forum to learn more about the conflict and share diverse perspectives. For example, our own Middle East studies department offered a teach-in Monday night, examining the crisis in Syria and new developments. Professors should seek to draw ties to Syria and discuss the current events in their lesson plans when relevant, and students should attempt to become active members of the discussion, both in and beyond the classroom. Editorials are written by The Herald’s editorial page board: its editor, Rachel Occhiogrosso, and its members, Daniel Jeon, Hannah Loewentheil and Thomas Nath. Send comments to editorials@browndailyherald.com.

Z H E N G YA N G G AO

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Sept. 11 merits personal commemoration To the Editor: Today marks 12 years since the 9/11 attacks, but the memory is already starting to feel distant. Walking around campus, engrossed in studying and meeting up with friends, one might feel like today is just any other day. But most of the Brown community lived through that treacherous day on which nearly 3,000 perished and the nation was plunged into fear and chaos. Many of us can easily invoke where we were when we first learned of the attacks. And so many of us were deeply affected by it in some way or another. For me personally, as a New Yorker, I recall the fear of hoping my parents would come home safely from work, and

Q U O T E O F T H E D AY

“ Right now, I’m feeling tired, I’m feeling excited, I’m feeling humbled, I’m feeling enthused. I’m feeling just really, really blessed.” — Jeremiah Otah ‘13 See TFA, page 4.

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I remember the sight of smoke persisting over the Manhattan skyline for weeks. As an American Muslim, I recall the unwanted spotlight it put on people of my religious community, at times making us victims of ill-informed perceptions. And as someone who lost a relative in the attacks, I recall the everlasting wound it inflicted on members of my family. It is important that we not let each passing year gradually wear away at the fading memory of 9/11. Rather than an organized commemoration, if we each take some time to talk to each other about this day, or simply put our actions, worries, arguments and disagreements in the scope of what today is, we can do some justice to the memory of a day we are all fortunate to have survived. Ryan Din ’14

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2013

Powers ’15 sets the wrong precedent on abortion GABE SCHWARTZ guest columnist

Andrew Powers’ ’15 opinion from last semester (“On Abortion,” Apr. 15) was bold and largely well-reasoned. In it, he laid out a philosophical and legal case against abortion, maintaining not only that we already acknowledge the value of expected consciousness, but also that we have legal precedent enforcing the upholding of that value. As he asserts, “child rearing and animal breeding” are already “universally accepted precedents … hold[ing] that individuals are morally responsible for that which they create.” These precedents, Powers wrote, “should apply to fetuses analogously since what we should truly value is the potential consciousnesses of individuals.” Therefore, “the parents of a fetus are morally required to act in its best interests, and thus abortion — the destruction of this potential consciousness — is unethical.” I protest. In fact, neither of the above cases is analogous, neither practically nor legally. Animal hus-

bandry, in which we are allowed to create and destroy entities without reflexive, humanoid consciousness at will, has utterly nothing to do with abortion. Animal husbandry, in fact, claims that an entity you created — or had a hand in creating — is in your hands to kill or maintain at your leisure, even if it is just to eat something you find tasty. Though I personally disagree with that logic, it remains a sufficient retort. Child rearing is also inappropriately applied. Child rearing assumes the child is already born and endowed with its own independent consciousness. This is not the case with fetuses. But there is real established legal precedent to draw from in order to decide whether denying someone access to an abortion is ethical: self-defense and the right to bodily autonomy. Say someone was going to physically restrict and nauseate you for nine months, then force a seven-pound mass through your vagina. Just to add insult to injury, that person also isn’t paying for related health expenditures. In fact, you’ll be paying for his or hers. If such a person attempted to

accost you in an alleyway and Therefore, if a developing fetus force these violations upon you, and the pregnancy it engenders then you would be in your full threaten your bodily autonomy, rights to commit acts of self- it is imperative you be allowed defense sufficient to keep those the right to abort it. Here arises a harms from being inflicted. In- seemingly tricky but actually notherent in this foundational legal so-tricky specter: consent. Clearprecedent is the right to bodily ly, if you want to be pregnant and autonomy, and we allow it to be have a baby, that is okay. If you defended with murder, if nec- are engaged in consensual BDSM, essary. If someone attempted that is perfectly legal. And so to shove a sevhere the pro-life en-pound mass skeptic might in“To undermine through your vasist that since the abortion is to gina and the only woman involved way to stop them chose not to use undermine the from doing so was control — very right to self.” birth to shoot and kill let us forget that him or her, you birth control does would be allowed to do so. not work 100 percent of the time, This remains true regardless and that rape exists — or even of the mental state or cognitive merely chose to have sex, knowcapacity of any assailants. If they ing there was a risk of pregnanwere psychopaths who also had cy, then she ought to be forced to severe cognitive limitations such bear the child anyway. that they couldn’t understand Actually, no. If a woman walks the impact of their actions, nor alone at night in a dangerous stop themselves, nor even think, neighborhood of her own voliyou could still kill them and re- tion, knowing there was a risk main blameless under the law. she might be accosted or raped, This legal precedent also stands she would still be well within her regardless of whether or not that rights to defend herself with leperson could acquire greater thal force against a bodily assault, cognitive capacities — or, in this again regardless of the mental case, any consciousness at all — state or cognitive capacity of the at a later date. assailant. Her rights, in this situ-

ation, are still being violated. It doesn’t matter that she entered into a situation in which her rights might be more likely to be violated or not. What does matter is that they are being violated per se. If this legal precedent does not hold, than you would be guilty of murder for defending yourself with lethal force against being violently tortured or beaten, given that the neighborhood you entered into — and were subsequently beaten in — was particularly dangerous. Not to mention that you might not have known that the neighborhood was dangerous, or that birth control only works if you use it correctly, and therefore couldn’t give meaningful consent to taking the risk in the first place. Clearly, such a legal or ethical stance is dangerous and unconscionable. To undermine abortion is to undermine the very right to self. Gabe Schwartz ’13 can’t believe we’re still talking about this. He is a recent alum, sexual assault peer educator, coordinator emeritus of the Queer Activism Committee and public policy researcher.

The moon at 50 SUZANNE ENZERINK opinions columnist

This month marks the 50th anniversary of an obscure milestone in the Cold War. On Sept. 20, 1963, in a speech to the United Nations, President John F. Kennedy P’83 proposed a joint lunar mission with the Soviet Union. The man who had ascended to his Camelot on the platform of the space race then suggested far-reaching cooperation with the U.S.’ main nemesis, a country it had been pitted against for the allegiance of the Third World ever since 1945. Unlike land, “(s)pace offers no problem of sovereignty,” Kennedy remarked. “Why, therefore, should man’s first flight to the moon be a matter of national competition?”Fifty years later, even in the absence of a militarized conflict of ideologies, this spirit of international cooperation to push the boundaries of scientific knowledge has been lost entirely. All areas of life, material and immaterial, are now defined in terms of ownership and monetary value. Putting national interest first stifles innovation and development, and a constant cost-benefit analysis precludes true experiments of thought and production. It would serve us well to take the

conciliatory sentiments and the manities last year. In the words willingness to take risks of 1963 of the committee, given the lowas a blueprint for new coop- er job prospects for humanities eration between rivals, wheth- students, “you better really want er they be domestic or foreign. to do it, because you may have Under the nomer of protection- to pay more.” Even Oregon’s piism, countries, and by extension, oneering tuition-free education their universities, are harm- trial, a groundbreaking step in ing their knowledge economies making higher education availmore than aiding it. able to all, ties participants to a Take academia and research. 20-year payback plan. In conIn the 1960s, it cost the United trast, Scandinavian countries do States 50 cents not charge tuition per American per “Putting national fees to citizens week to fund the of the European interest first stifles Union, no matter Apollo project, and in later years, the intended mainnovation and critics condemned development, and jor.C omp et it ion the billion-dollar a constant costlaunch that did between universinot bring the naties to attract the benefit analysis tion any monetary most and brightprecludes true gain. The scientifest minds of the ic advancements nation and globe experiments that stem from also has economof thought and research as part ic ramifications. production.” of the lunar projRankings are imect are often disportant, and atregarded. In other words, the end tracting a preeminent faculty product is seen as more impor- with lots of publications is, sadtant than the process. The space ly, one of the main factors to seeffort, as Kennedy acknowledged, cure a top-10 position. A highwas largely “an act of faith and vi- profile superstar professor does sion,” an experiment in thought, more for enrollment than do five technology and innovation with- equally qualified professors that out any certain benefits. could teach smaller sections. Universities are currently re- Universities are competing for luctant to undertake such sweep- the small segment of established ing projects. Payment is crucial. academics, often seeing backA Florida task force infamous- and-forth traffic in terms of hires ly recommended lower tuition — even President Christina Paxfor science degrees over the hu- son and former President Sim-

mons — whereas the National Science Foundation reports that for about 40 percent of PhD graduates “nothing” awaits upon graduation. This is a vast base of knowledge that is lost because structures for cooperation are not firmly in place. Many graduates end up taking jobs overseas out of necessity. On a more concrete level, the focus on “us” before “them” is hard to step away from in terms of production as well. China has a near monopoly on rare earth minerals and is exponentially curtailing their export. The minerals are central to the development of a wide range of technologies such as missile guidance systems, electric car batteries and solar panels. This not only harms the manufacturing industries of other countries, including the United States, but also impedes environmental initiatives that would benefit the globe. Logically, if American businesses will not be able to obtain the needed ground materials to produce sustainable technologies on a mass scale, there is no impetus for these companies to invest in them either. Similarly, the U.S. government observes that cooperation with Europe in energy diplomacy remains very problematic due to dependence of Europe on Russia. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton remarked that “the role that energy plays in

nearly every relationship that we have in every region of the world (is crucial).” In other words, the world is divided along lines of dependence. Energy dependencies reverberate in foreign policy, research and development and economic relations. Knowledge is not shared, but hoarded to ensure maximum economic revenue for individual countries or powerblocks. We can all play our part. Kennedy’s example shows the importance of an individual’s willingness to cooperate. Many years later, Khrushchev’s son Sergei revealed that the Soviet chairman had decided to accept the president’s offer after several weeks of contemplation. But it was not to be. Before Khrushchev and Kennedy had the chance to make concrete plans for cooperation, Kennedy embarked on his fateful trip to Dallas, TX. His successor, President Lyndon Johnson, discontinued the conciliatory efforts, and the Cold War continued to dominate global policy for twenty-five more years. Cooperation cannot just be the vision of one man in order to succeed. It has to be the norm of all individuals, a standard to aspire to. Only when the “I” and the “you,” the “us” and the “them,” disappear will innovation reach its full potential. Suzanne Enzerink GS is a firstyear PhD student in American Studies.

daily herald science & research THE BROWN

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2013

Study could help develop new oral medicines Researchers examined the digestion of particles in rat intestines, providing insights into oral drug delivery By ALEX CONSTANTINO STAFF WRITER

A sustained-release insulin pill — which would release insulin over a longer period of time as opposed to in spurts — is one step closer to fruition, thanks to research from the University’s department of molecular pharmacology, physiology and biotechnology. The research revealed the gut is more capable of absorbing small particles than previously thought. The findings — published Aug. 20 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences — could allow oral drug delivery for medications that are currently only available in injectable form. This could make it easier for diabetics to take insulin, allowing them to swallow a pill rather than injecting themselves at regular intervals. “Our digestive systems are designed to break down proteins,” said Daniel Cho ’07 PhD’12 MD’15, one of the study’s authors. But these same systems also break down life-saving

drugs such as insulin. The study examined how microspheres — particles a fraction the size of cells but still far larger than drug molecules — were absorbed in rat intestines. Rats were chosen because they have similar intestinal characteristics to humans, Cho said. Using electron microscopy, the authors could see the particles after they were absorbed. They also could quantify which organs the particles reached and how long they took to get there — findings that could be significant for other studies on how the body processes nanoparticles, Cho said. Finally, the researchers studied how the particles were absorbed by administering drugs that blocked certain absorption mechanisms. They tested four drugs that inhibited the absorption pathway known as endocytosis, in which one cell engulfs another substance. They found that all four drugs tested reduced absorption of the microspheres, pointing to endocytosis as the major absorption pathway in the intestine.

The findings could “have great impact on the overall process of drug discovery, development and delivery,” Chong-Su Cho, a research associate at Seoul National University of Korea, who was not involved in the study, wrote in an email to The Herald. The results challenge the traditional notion that large particles are only engulfed by cells in specific regions of the intestine, he wrote. Only a small portion of intestinal cells are capable of the mechanism, called phagocytosis, making them “difficult” to target for drug delivery, the study’s authors wrote. Chong-Su Cho indicated that additional insight into the mechanism is necessary before this knowledge can be applied to drug delivery in humans. He said other barriers remain, such as protein drugs degrading while the microsphere is made. Encapsulating drugs in small biodegradable spheres could “protect a protein from the harsh environment” of the intestine, Daniel Cho said. If developed, microspheres could aid patients by allowing “controlled and sustained release” of drugs that would be “otherwise rapidly destroyed,” he wrote.

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SCIENCE & RESEARCH ROUNDUP BY PHOEBE DRAPER, SCIENCE & RESEARCH EDITOR

Flagellum findings Brown researchers recently found new insight into how bacteria swim through fluids, according to an Aug. 12 University press release. The researchers discovered a relationship between how coiled the bacteria’s spring-shaped flagellum is and the speed with which bacteria can move through viscous fluids. Unlike humans, who move most easily through fluids with low viscosity, bacteria move with greater ease through viscous substances, such as mucus or cervical fluid, the researchers said in the release. This is because viscous fluids are filled with polymers, which the bacterium push off of with their spiral flagella to propel themselves forward. The researchers found themselves in a “really interesting fluiddynamics problem,” said Thomas Powers, professor of engineering and physics and one of the study’s authors, in the release. The team’s computing led them to find that the tightness of the coil — the “pitch angle” — of the flagellum’s helix determines the bacteria’s speed in viscous fluids. The higher the pitch angle, the tighter the coil, and the faster the bacteria cruises through viscoelastic fluids, according to the release. The findings could shine new light on issues of infection and fertility, which both involve bacterial swimming, according to the release.

Ice on Mars Brown researchers have developed a new explanation for a unique type of crater found on Mars, according to an Aug. 5 University press release. More than 600 ejecta craters — featuring two distinct layers that form rings around the impaction site — have puzzled planetary geologists since the 1970s, according to the release. But James Head, professor of geological sciences, and David Kutai Weiss GS propose the Martian surface was once covered with meters of glacial ice, a unique surface that led to the strange doublelayered rings around ejecta craters. They propose that when the impact that caused the crater hit Mars’ icy surface, rock and debris flew away from the impact site to create the crater, according to the release. But because of the slippery ice surface of Mars, the debris didn’t stay put on the rim of the crater — it slid down the crater’s icy sides and formed the unusual double layer. The findings “could tell us a lot about the history of the Martian climate on a global scale,” Weiss said.

Psychotherapy on the decline

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The decline of psychotherapy to treat individuals with mental health problems may be due to the field’s failure to embrace evidence-based techniques, according to a special issue in Clinical Psychology Review, edited by Brandon Gaudiano and Ivan Miller, professors of psychiatry and human behavior. In the review, the professors argue that the psychotherapy field has not quantified and communicated the evidence backing its practice, leading to psychotherapy’s declining presence in the mental health treatment world, according to a University press release. At the same time, the pharmaceutical industry has backed up its treatment practice with mounds of biological evidence, winning the attention of doctors, politicians and insurance companies, according to the release. Between 1998 and 2007, the fraction of mental health patients in outpatient facilities receiving just psychotherapy decreased by about five percent, while the proportion of patients with medication-only treatment increased about 13 percent, according to the release. Miller and Gaudiano concluded that the psychotherapy field should embrace scientific studies, and they highlighted mobile technology as a new opportunity for psychotherapists to deliver care and fold into health care teams, according to the release.