Thursday, April 11, 2002 by The Brown Daily Herald

T H U R S D A Y APRIL 11, 2002

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Volume CXXXVII, No. 48

An independent newspaper serving the Brown community since 1891

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New student group aims to bring talk of conservative politics to the table BY ANDY GOLODNY

Campus conservatives are creating a new student group they say will allow a little-heard segment of the Brown population to have a say on political issues. On Monday night, the Undergraduate Council of Students approved category one status for Brown’s budding chapter of the Young Americans for Freedom. The YAF is a national conservative campus organization founded in 1960. “I want to start the process of creating a conservative community at Brown, and the first step is to give conservative students who feel under siege a space where they can voice their feelings,” said Herald columnist Stephen Beale ’04, a founding member of Brown’s YAF. Beale said one of the group’s “primary goals” is to invite conservative commentator David Horowitz to campus next fall. “The lack of conservative speakers here is atrocious, and I was very upset that the college Republicans did not invite him to speak here last year,” Beale said. “We want to create a conservative culture here which is presently lacking,” said Nicholas Kammer ’02, another founding member of the group. Beale also wants to use the new group as a springboard for restarting the Brown Spectator, a conservative campus publication that published from 1986 to 1991. The Brown YAF plans to engage liberal campus activists in discussion. see FREEDOM, page 6

Students, Univ. support services organize second annual Disability Awareness Day event BY CRYSTAL Z.Y. NG

The second annual Disability Awareness Day challenged students and faculty Wednesday to discuss and learn about mental and physical disabilities and accessibility issues for disabled students. Elyse Chaplin, coordinator for Disability Support Services, said Brown has approximately 370 students with mental and physical disabilities. She said students created Disability Awareness Day last year to raise awareness about disability issues. In the lobby of Salomon Hall, crafts, food and information booths offered interactive lessons about disabilities. A panel on disabilities featured students and included a performance by musician and storyteller Tim Van Egmond. Marcy Feibelman ’03.5, a member of the day’s planning committee, said the event created awareness and campus dialogue about disabilities. Feibelman has had a recurring disk injury since high school and said she realizes “how much more challenging this is for someone who has to go through this every day of their life.” Chaplin said the day helped “provide a vehicle for students with disabilities to share their stories and what has been helpful to them at Brown to increase access around campus.” She said her goal for Disability Awareness Day was to increase awareness of issues that affect people with disabilities and to work toward universal accessibility. Keally Dewitt ’04, who said she has clinical depression, said it was important to discuss disabilities with community members to increase awareness. “There’s probably a general bias towards disabilities in general. We need to add the issue to Brown’s diversity

Maria Schriber / Herald

Providence Mayor Vincent Cianci is the possible subject of a new Tribeca Productions motion picture.

Movie in the works on Cianci’s life, despite mayor’s reluctance to star BY ELENA LESLEY

Plans for a motion picture about the life of Mayor Vincent Cianci may soon be realized, despite the Providence icon’s reluctance to have his checkered past adapted for Hollywood’s big screen. The movie rights to a yet-to-be released book about Mayor Vincent Cianci’s reign in Providence spanning three decades have been sold to Tribeca Productions, said Mike Stanton, the book’s author and a Pulitzer Prize-winning Providence Journal reporter. “Renaissance Man: The Life and Times of Buddy Cianci and An American City,” which Stanton said he will send to Random House for editing at the end of the year, examines Cianci’s life through the prism of Providence’s history. “They say that all history is biography,” Stanton said. “I thought, what better person to tell the story of Providence through than Buddy Cianci?” The folks at Tribeca Productions agreed. The company assigned Pawtucket native Michael Corrente, director of “Federal Hill” and “Outside Providence,” to work on the screenplay version, the Boston Globe reported. Stanton said he feels those at Tribeca “share my passion for the subject.” Although not a Providence native, Stanton has had plenty of time to develop a love for his adopted city. A Journal employee since 1985, Stanton said he became

fascinated with Providence’s transformation from “a dying old factory town dominated by organized crime” to a tourist destination. Cianci says that in the 1970s, mayors were supposed to be social workers — today, they’re expected to be entrepreneurs, Stanton said. “Cities are hip again,” he said. Despite Stanton’s interest in Cianci, the mayor says he is not pleased with the forthcoming novel and potential movie. “I think it’s an attempt to be mercenary and to make money on my story,” Cianci told The Herald. “The city has become a theme park for journalists.” But the Globe reported that Cianci may be arranging “his own, more lucrative, book deal.” Cianci would not comment on this matter, saying only that he hoped any books or movies made about his life “would be accurate and not sensational.” Although Stanton said he expects his book to come out sometime next year, he’s not sure when Tribeca will start production on a potential movie. He said no schedule is set because both the book and movie will likely follow Cianci’s upcoming corruption trial. After all, “we still don’t know the ending yet,” he said. Herald staff writer Elena Lesley ’04 can be reached at elesley@browndailyherald.com.

see DISABILITY, page 6

I N S I D E T H U R S D AY, A P R I L 1 1 , 2 0 0 2 Mayor Cianci’s tourism study recommends new citywide marketing stragegies page 3

Oklahoma prof. Ortiz discusses recent growth of Latino fraternities page 5

Coalition of Concerned Students earns “Muzzle Award” for stealing copies of The Herald page 5

TO D AY ’ S F O R E C A S T Bret Cohen ’03 says leftists should abandon support for regressive tax structure column,page 15

Men’s lacrosse defeats Harvard, keeps Ivy League title hopes alive page 16

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THIS MORNING THURSDAY, APRIL 11, 2002 · PAGE 2 Ted’s World Ted Wu

W E AT H E R TODAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

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GRAPHICS BY TED WU

!#$% Happens Peter Quon and Grant Chu

CALENDAR COLLOQUIUM — ”Toddlers Remember Disaster Trauma,” Anahit Azarian and Vitali Skriptchenko, Barus Hall Dewey Library, noon. COLLOQUIUM — ”The New Indian Middle Class,” Sonalde Desai, University of Maryland. Maxcy Hall Zimmer Lounge, noon. LECTURE — ”The Remnants of War: Thugs as Residual Combatants,” John Mueller, Ohio State University. Watson Institute 353, noon. SEMINAR — “Security Protocols for Broadcast Communication,” Adrian Perrig, University of Berkeley. CIT Lubrano, noon. OPEN HOURS — Police and Security will be on hand to answer questions. Third World Center, 2 p.m.

Abstract Fantasy Nate Pollard

COLLOQUIUM — ”Mechanism of Collective Violence During the Rwandan Genocide,” Charles Mironko, Watson Institute. Watson Institute McKinney Conference Room, 4 p.m. LECTURE — ”Bioterrorism: Ready or Not,” Margaret Hamburg, Nuclear Threat Initiative. Sayles Hall, 4 p.m. READING — ”Leaving Katya,” Paul Greenberg ’90. Marston Hall, 4 p.m. LECTURE — ”The Exploration of Mars: Recent Results, Outstanding Questions, and Future Plans,” Jim Garvin, NASA. MacMillan Hall 115, 4 p.m. LECTURE — “Effects of Arsenic on Murine Preimplantation Embryo Development,” David Keefe, M.D. Bio-Medical Center 291, 4 p.m. LECTURE — An Evening with Cokie Roberts,” Cokie Roberts, ABC News. Salomon Center, 6:30 p.m.

Divorced, Middle-aged, Alcoholic Gang Yuri Zhukov and Dash Riprock

FILM — ”Tough on Crime, Tough on Our Kind,” Wilson 102, 7 p.m.

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1. Physical opening? 5. It might be genetic 9. Kind of fund 14. Latin lover’s word 15. Burden 16. Puerto Rican port 17. Darker-thanaverage stubble? 20. Studio stand 21. Tom of the P.G.A. 22. Chicago-toDetroit dir. 23. “Gerontion” poet’s monogram 25. View from Marseille 26. Color of some diamonds? 27. Poorly funded ’50s musical? 33. Marquis’ subordinate 34. Bother 35. Turns loose (on) 37. Seaweed, e.g. 38. Young turkey 41. School gps. 43. Backing strip 45. Popular resort 46. Reactions to mice, maybe 47. Unplayable slot? 51. Chi follower 53. “Do __ favor” 54. Amniotic __ 55. Claiborne of fashion 56. Russian fighters 58. Spicy cuisine 63. Overpaid talent agent? 66. Hole-making tool 67. Prefix with Aryan 68. Bits 69. Country road features 70. JFK postings 71. Ms. insert DOWN 1. A catboat has just one 2. Kuwaiti bigwig

3. “__ Driver”: 1976 De Niro film 4. Sitting on 5. Winter phenomenon 6. Lennon’s lady 7. Where to get down 8. Inuit, formerly 9. Areas of control 10. Mauna __ 11. Hardly emoted 12. 27 Down gowith 13. Took down 18. Montreal suburb __-Saint-Luc 19. Way up 24. Prefix meaning “within” 27. It’s in the bag 28. Outlet site 29. They may be electronic 30. Author of many dialogues 31. Porter’s “__ the Top” 32. Mature 36. “The Westminster Alice” author

39. Hats, slangily 40. Broadleaf and burley 42. Concorde, notably 44. Piano parts 48. Steed stopper 49. Mischievous bird 50. Zoning unit 51. First-year cadet

52. Missile sites 57. Excited 59. Baseball’s “Country” Slaughter 60. Señora’s “other” 61. Permits 62. Limerick language 64. Neckline shape 65. Nutritional no.

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METRO THURSDAY, APRIL 11, 2002 · PAGE 3

IN BRIEF Cianci, business mogul spar over rights to Web domain www.BuddyCianci.com Mayor Vincent Cianci and Wakefield businessman Harold Meyer are engaged in a cyberbattle over control of the Web site domain name www.BuddyCianci.com. Three weeks ago, Cianci called attention to the domain name by purchasing the rights to Web sites named after local media and Providence Journal publisher Howard Sutton. Cianci’s point, he said, was to demonstrate how easy it is to profit off someone else’s name. Cianci has since offered to sell the domain names to the members of the media who he named Web sites after for their original cost of $35 apiece. Meyer refuses to shut down the site, which criticizes Cianci and has links to negative media coverage. Facing the threat of litigation from Cianci, Meyer said,“Cianci doesn’t have a leg to stand on.” On Wednesday, Meyer accused Verizon Communications of routing Internet users away from his site.Verizon spokesperson Tracey Kennedy told the Providence Journal that Meyer’s accusations were “ridiculous”and “unfounded.” Meyer posted a link on his site to an archived Providence Journal article from April 30, 1999 describing Kennedy as Cianci’s “companion.”The article is about a fundraiser and birthday party for the mayor that Kennedy attended. M. Charles Bakst, a Journal columnist whose name Cianci purchased online rights to, wrote about the feud in a recent column. It appears that Cianci does not have the law on his side. In similar cases, judges have ruled complainants must prove the domain name is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark or service mark, that the owners of the domain name “have no rights or legitimate interests in respect of the domain name”and that the domain name’s use is in bad faith. Last year, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, then CEO of Bloomberg L.P., made an unsuccessful attempt to shut down a Web site that used his name. — Chris Byrnes, with reports from the Providence Journal

Report: Economy, not terrorism, threatens to squash tourism in RI BY CHRIS BYRNES

Mayor Vincent Cianci’s Special Commission on Business, Tourism and Culture — created after the Sept. 11 bombings — released a study last week detailing the short- and longterm impact of last fall’s terrorist attacks on the Providence economy. The report also made recommendations on how to sustain citywide economic growth into the future. The report, titled “Safeguarding the Providence Renaissance In the Post-September 11th Era,” concluded that although the city underwent a complete recovery from the economic implications of the Sept. 11 bombings, Providence’s economy is currently threatened by the national recession. Volume at T.F. Green Airport declined 28 percent in September and occupancy rates at local hotels fell 9 percent, according to the report. Customer volume at Providence Place Mall and the number of large functions at hotels also declined in September. Added to the terrorism threat was the impending nationwide economic slump, although Rhode Island has had it particularly easy, the report stated. Rhode Island’s February unemployment rate was 4.2 percent, compared to 5.5 percent nationwide, the report said. In addition, the Christmas shopping season was particularly strong in the region, particularly at Providence Place Mall. The area’s recovery was much better than that of many other cities, including San Jose, Boston, Dallas and Seattle, the report stated. Still, hotel occupancy rates fell from 80 percent in 1999 to 70 percent last year, and the recent construction of the Westin Hotel and the Courtyard by Marriott increased competition among hotels, the report said. The declining occupancy rates pose a significant problem to the city. The first recommendation made by the commission calls for the construction of more hotels. Financial conservatism imposed by the recession, coupled with the inability to secure financing because of the lower occupancy rates, led to a postponement of efforts to add or expand hotels in five downtown locations.

“Nevertheless, first priority must be given to this objective,” the report stated. The report cites the Providence/Warwick Convention & Visitors Bureau as saying the city needs twice its current number of rooms to take full advantage of the convention center. Other recommendations focused on marketing, transportation and attractions. The study called for the city to market itself as a package by offering discounts when tourists visit multiple destinations and by pitching Providence as a city with much to do and see. It also advocated unifying advertising efforts through better coordination between existing government agencies. The report said WaterFire has “more than any other image … become our signature as a city,” drawing up to 70,000 people some nights. As a result, the study urged continued state funding, allowing the event to focus on performance and not “endless improvisational fund-raising.” The report praised the Gravity Games for effectively attracting a young audience and giving the city national exposure. The games also occurred at a time when many teenagers were looking to buy back-to-school clothing and supplies, giving additional business to local vendors, the report said. Because the Gravity Games will not return to Providence next fall, “the focus should shift to creating an alternative attraction that appeals to youthful consumers during that same time period,” the report said. The report also recommended the creation of a similar winter attraction to supplement the new Fleet Skating Center. Although the new skating center became a “popular pastime,” its success has not matched WaterFire’s. One possibility includes creating a winter holiday ice show with “professional-quality staging, lighting, costumes and music.” Also necessary is more parking space — in addition to the roughly 7,000 spaces created by new garages by the mall and see TOURISM, page 6

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CAMPUS NEWS THURSDAY, APRIL 11, 2002 · PAGE 4

Third World Jewish Culture Week ends with expert lecture on gender in Bible BY KAVITA MISHRA

The first-ever Third World Jewish Culture Week ended Tuesday with a lecture by Naomi Franklin, a black feminist Biblical scholar at Bryant College in the West Indies. Franklin examined the role of gender in the Bible. The week was “a diverse look at non-European Jewish culture” and at “the aspects of Jewish culture that get neglected in the American Jewish discourse,” said Third World Jewish Cultural Week organizer Jordan Elpern-Waxman ’04. He said the week was held to educate Jews about the richness of their culture beyond European boundaries and to inform non-Jews that Jewish people are not strictly European. Jewish identity is not inextricably wedded to a purely European setting, Elpern-Waxman said. A Moroccan Jewish celebration of community called Mimouna kicked off the week last Thursday at the end of Passover, he said. About 150 students enjoyed food and dancing to Jewish songs in Hebrew and Arabic in Bigelow Lounge of Keeney Quad, he said. Selin Zalma ’02, an organizer and a Turkish Jew, said Mimouna recognizes the relationship between Moroccans and Jewish Moroccans. see BIBLE, page 6

U.’s writing proficiency requirement raises questions about consistent enforcement BY JINHEE CHUNG

Though the University’s writing proficiency requirement is in line with similar policies at peer institutions, some deans and faculty responsible for applying the policy say it may not be consistently enforced. Besides 30 course credits and completion of a concentration, students must “demonstrate competency in writing” to earn a Brown degree. The Course Announcement book and the Course Catalog dictate the terms of the writing proficiency, or English requirement, which states that entering students are “expected to have demonstrated the ability to write by superior performance in secondary school or college courses.” Students whom deans rule incompetent writers must enroll in a designated intensive reading and writing course. “The intention is not to refuse graduation,” said Robert Shaw, associate dean of the college. “It is to lean on students heavy enough to fulfill the requirement prior to graduation. It’s rare for a student not to graduate because of this requirement.” If a professor feels a student is not competent in writing, he can report it to a dean by placing a check mark when reporting grades, Shaw said. The registrar’s grading sheet provides a column for writing proficiency in addition to columns for grades and high distinction honors. “A lot (of professors) don’t use this, but some do, and we routinely get some checks,” Shaw said. If a student receives two checks, a dean will call that student in for consultation on how to improve his writing, Shaw said. There are a number of solutions to improve writing proficiency that a dean might recommend, he said.

“It might be taking a course or just getting help from the writing center,” Shaw said. “There is no standard procedure.” Though the writing requirement itself is clear, the extent to which it is enforced is not consistent, Shaw said. Other faculty and students agreed with Shaw’s assessment. The system of checks on the grade report is “not used as much as we would like it to be used,” said Lecturer in English Lawrence Stanley, director of the expository writing program. “My impression is that it’s not a common practice.” Though Stanley has used the check system to indicate needed improvement in writing, he said he is uncertain how many other faculty use the system. “I’m not sure how many people are aware of it or of how it works, that it is our way of identifying students that need writing instruction,” Stanley said. But some students said an equally serious problem may be that many students are uncertain of how the requirement works. “I don’t really know anything about the writing proficiency requirement,” said Van Nguyen ’05. Cynthia Lee ’04 agreed. “I had a vague idea some sort of writing requirement existed, but I don’t really know what it is,” she said. Lee said she has not been called in for consultation or been told to take a writing course. “But I don’t think that’s proof of whether it’s being enforced or not,” she said. Other universities also require demonstrated reading and writing proficiency, but to different degrees. At Yale, taking a writing class is strongly recommended but not explicitly required. The college’s see WRITING, page 6

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CAMPUS NEWS THURSDAY, APRIL 11, 2002 · PAGE 5

IN BRIEF Free speech group bestows “Muzzle Award” on anti-Herald coalition A free speech advocacy group gave one of its annual “Muzzle”awards to the coalition of Brown students who stole a press run of The Herald last spring. The Virginia-based Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression gives the awards annually to groups or individuals who “forgot that freedom of expression cannot be limited without being lost,”according to the center’s Web site. The center gave the coalition a muzzle “for stealing nearly the entire press run of a single issue of Brown University’s student newspaper from boxes across the campus,”a press release said. Last spring, a coalition of Brown students stole a day’s run of The Herald after the paper ran an ad authored by conservative activist David Horowitz opposing slave reparations. “While it is certainly this group’s right to protest the advertising and editorial policies of the paper, to physically deny others on campus access to the paper is contrary to the principles of free speech,”the release said. “That is factually not true,”said Shaun Joseph ’02, a former member of the coalition.“We were not denying others access to it because people could still read it online,”he said. “I’m not sure why this group still cares about this,”Joseph said.“They have no ideas what the issues were, and they are just trying to get media attention.” Other winners of this year’s “Muzzle”awards included U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld for denying journalists access to the war in Afghanistan and a Georgia high school principal for canceling a school production “Of Mice and Men”because it contained profanity. The winners receive a T-shirt of Thomas Jefferson with a muzzle over his mouth. — Andy Golodny

Ortiz details explosive growth of Latino fraternities, sororities on US campuses BY JONATHAN NOBLE

David Ortiz discussed the recent explosive growth of Latino fraternities and sororities in the forum “Demystifying Latino Greeks” at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Salomon 001. Ortiz is an assistant professor of educational studies at the University of Oklahoma, where he studies diverse student populations in higher education and is writing a book on the history of Latino Greek letter organizations. He said there are about 50 Latino Greek letter associations across the United States today, all founded since 1975. By last year, all but four of the major Latino fraternities and sororities had joined the National Association of Latino Fraternal Organizations. Only in the past ten years did Latino associations begin to consolidate, Ortiz said. The number of organizations and membership in each had grown so rapidly that Greek and university systems of support became insufficient, he said. A number of organizations appeared during the early 1980s, first in the Eastern United States and later spreading west, Ortiz said. They varied widely with locale, he said — those in the Southwest had a large Mexican American population and culture, whereas membership in California tended to reflect a large Chicano influence. Early on, Ortiz said, organizations often gave “no acknowledgement that other Latino Greek organizations outside the region existed.” Even when he was an undergraduate in the late 1980s, Ortiz said his fraternity at Texas A&M claimed to be part of the only national Latino fraternity. The 1990s saw a “tsunami” of new organizations, Ortiz said — Latino fraternities increased threefold, and sororities increased sixfold during that decade. A lack of alumni support hampered the development of national organizations for many years, Ortiz said. In the 1980s, most Latino fraternities and sororities relied on student leader-

ship, even at the national level, and failed to cultivate relationships with graduated members. As a result, they “lost a lot of what would be senior and important alumni who could guide us in the year 2000,” he said. Although many Latino Greek alumni started working with organizations during the 1990s, few of them were old enough to take advanced executive positions, he said. Recent years have seen an increased influence and changing roles for Latino fraternities, Ortiz said. He noted recognition on primetime cable programs and with corporate-sponsored national banquets, increased emphases on community service, a growth in legacy membership and a growth of Latino and multicultural Greek councils on college campuses. At the same time, he said Latino Greek associations must seek greater financial security if they are to thrive. Ortiz said these associations also need to work to make themselves more familiar with university administrators, faculty and students, especially those in traditional fraternities and sororities. Few administrators know the history or traditions of Latino letter organizations, he said, which are not always identical to practices in traditional Greek letter societies. He said “for many Latino Greek organizations, it’s forbidden to consume alcohol or be in bars with your letters on.” Nor has he found a university that has faculty advisers for Latino fraternities — many traditional Greek organizations, and even multicultural Greek organizations, work with professors. Ortiz said Latino Greek letter associations should reach out to other groups and try to bring in their national leadership to talk with traditional fraternities. “We need to be more proactive,” Ortiz said, “and we need to have more forums like this where we can have that see ORTIZ, page 6

PAGE 6 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD THURSDAY, APRIL 11, 2002

Freedom continued from page 1 “We disagree with the anti-war protests, and we want to make our voice heard that we love America, and we support America,” Beale said. Campus liberals said they were not particularly concerned by the formation of YAF. “This is a testament to the power of the organized left,” said Shaun Joseph ’02, a member of International Socialist Organization. He said it makes little sense for conservatives to mobilize when most policy is already in line with their beliefs.

Writing

“What is the point of (a conservative group) protesting the status quo?” he said. “It is their prerogative if they want to have conservative beliefs,” said Herald columnist Peter Asen ’04, a member of the Student Labor Alliance. “It is not bad for us to have a public debate and be challenged on where we are coming from,” he said. YAF founders agreed that an exchange of ideas is important but said they would like to see the range of topics increased to include some issues that are less frequently discussed. “Our goal is not to incite anger but to bring provocative topics to the forefront that are currently

not being discussed,” Kammer said. The group has 21 official members and expects another 50 to join as it continues to meet, Beale said. A group needs at least ten members in order to receive category one status. The largest student groups have category three status. Groups receive funding based on their status. “I’ve been quite surprised by the support,” Kammer said. “The turnout was much larger than I expected.” Herald staff writer Andy Golodny ’03 is a campus news editor. He can be reached at agolodny@browndailyherald.com.

Programs of Study catalog states that “students at Yale should choose at least one course, and preferably several, in which they write papers that are evaluated closely for clarity of expression.” Yale representatives said the college is very careful to make the writing proficiency standard a recommendation and not a requirement.

“Note that this is a ‘should’ rather than a ‘must,’” wrote Joseph Gordon, dean of undergraduate education at Yale, in an e-mail. Even so, 85 percent of Yale first-years choose to take a writing course in the English department or through the college’s Directed Studies Program, he said. Harvard requires a writing course for all students, according to Harry Lewis, dean of the college at Harvard. All Harvard undergraduates, except transfer students, must take an expository writing course in their first year.

Disability

Ortiz

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agenda,” she said. Chaplin said she was pleased with the day. “I was so impressed that we had such a great turnout,” she said, adding that the student panel was the most powerful event of the day. Richard Meister ’03 agreed and praised Chaplin for putting the day together. “I thought it was very well-organized,” he said. Chaplin said she hopes to hold another Disability Awareness Day in the fall so the campus can study these issues throughout the year. Disability Awareness Day was hosted by Disability Support Services.

dialogue.” The forum was held by the La Unidad Latina, Lambda Upsilon Lambda. The non-residential fraternity has nine members at Brown, said Vice President Pablo Quintanilla ’02. The forum was co-sponsored by the Office of Student Life, the Office of Residential Life and Native Americans at Brown and was supported by awards from the Campus Fund. The Campus Fund is a onetime initiative created by President Ruth Simmons last fall to provide $100,000 for leadership and cross-cultural programming on campus.

Herald staff writer Crystal Ng ’05 can be reached at cng@browndailyherald.com.

Herald staff writer Jonathan Noble ’04 can be reached at jnoble@browndailyherald.com.

Bible

Morocco and Syria, Zalma said. Myron Beasley, lecturer in the department of theater, speech and dance, detailed his life story as a black Jew from Ethiopia as part of the week’s festivities, Zalma said. The black Jewish community in general is a very small one, she added. Historically, Jews in the nonEuropean world have not had “a colonial presence,” ElpernWaxman said, but many Jews have lived in Morocco and the North African area for nearly two thousand years. “We’re hopefully going to do an Iraqi Rosh Hashana celebration in September,” he said.

secured its third win and maintained its best Ivy League start ever with three wins and no losses. “The match wasn’t as close as a 4-3 score indicates,” Malone said. “But, Yale showed that they didn’t go away. In the future, we need to keep on hammering at our opponents even if it looks like we have a win.” The Bears look to make their record 5-0 this weekend with two home games against Cornell at 2 p.m. on Friday and against Columbia at noon on Saturday.

Herald staff writer Kavita Mishra ’04 is a news editor. She can be reached at kmishra@browndailyherald.com.

Assistant sports editor Jesse Warren ’04 covers men’s tennis. He can be reached at jwarren@browndailyherald.com.

continued from page 4

continued from page 4 The Week, initiated by students, was organized through the Third World Center and BrownRISD Hillel, with financial support from several groups and departments including the Africana Studies Department and the ArabAmerican Anti-Discrimination Committee, Elpern-Waxman said. Other events included a Sephardic Shabbat service Friday evening at Hillel based on traditions of Sephardic Jews, those of Iberian or Mediterranean descent. After the service Cantor Moshe Tessone, director of Sephardic community activities at Yeshiva University, explained how services are held in other countries such as

Tourism continued from page 3 convention center — as well as better pedestrian crossings and continued operation of city trolleys. The city’s “hospitality” industry, which includes hotels, restaurants, shopping locations, art displays and entertainment options, grew in the last decade to become one of Providence’s five biggest industries, employing an estimated 7,700 people, the study said. This does not include the countless jobs created by commercial, institutional and governmental construction in the recent past; the value of these new buildings totals $1.1 billion, according to the report. Current and future construction is valued at $1 billion and includes the relocation of I-195, an underground storage tunnel for the Bay Commission, Brown’s planned Life Sciences building, a luxury apartment complex in the downtown area and a new High School for Performing Arts. Cianci created the Special Commission on Business, Tourism and Culture via executive order on Sept. 28, 2001, in response to declining tourism rates, the report stated. The commission that authored the report consisted of 29 representatives of the city’s hospitality industry. John Bowen, president of the Providence campus of Johnson & Wales University, served as chairman of the commission. Herald staff writer Chris Byrnes ’04 is metro editor. He can be reached at cbyrnes@browndailyherald.com.

M. Tennis continued from page 16

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

SPORTS THURSDAY, APRIL 11, 2002 · PAGE 7

W. rugby opens Ivy championship with 2 wins but loses in title game BY LIZ TERRY

After a weekend of mud and freezing cold temperatures, the women’s rugby team emerged from the Ivy League Rugby Championships with a second place finish, defeating Columbia 15-0 and rival Cornell 34-0 before falling to Dartmouth 10-0 in the championship game. The B-Side followed suit with a third place finish, falling 5-0 to Cornell but defeating Radcliffe 26-0. Eager to prove that they were better than their seventh seed indicated, the Bears faced off against second-seeded Columbia Saturday morning. Although several inches of snow covered the fields, the Bears came out afire. Just five minutes into the game, flyhalf Stephanie Bruce ’04 took a weak side pass from scrumhalf Alexis Thompson ’02 and ran 30 meters for the try (the rugby word for touchdown). Columbia regrouped after the early surprise and the remainder of the half was a defensive battle as both teams tried to adjust to the difficult field conditions. The Brown back line played strong defense, stopping Columbia’s offense before it even got started, and the forwards continually pushed over Columbia’s scrum.

Second rows Lindsay Strunk ’03 and Kathleen Pullum ’03 led the defensive charge. After a defensive stand that stopped Columbia only feet from scoring to close the first half, Brown came out racing again in the second half. Four minutes in, 8-man Liz Terry ’02 took the ball off the back of a scrum at midfield and sprinted 40 yards before passing off to a perfectly positioned Amy Wilder ’03. Wilder ran the remaining 10 yards into the try zone to complete the score. Ten minutes later, fullback Lauren Goldstein ’02 ran in a try off a pass from center Maxine Jackson ’05 to leave the final score at 15-0. Later that afternoon, Brown faced off against Cornell, eager to get revenge for a devastating onepoint defeat in last fall’s playoffs. There was little question that Brown would win this time around, as the Bears scored twice in the first seven minutes to jump out to an early 10-0 lead on tries by wing Corrie Shankler ’02 and center Rebecca Vitale ’04. Dominating Cornell in every part of the game, Brown added two more tries before halftime on runs by Bruce. The second half was more of the same as Brown refused to turn

Emily Hunt / Herald

Women’s rugby opened the Ivy League post-season with wins over higher seeded Columbia and Cornell but fell 10-0 to Dartmouth in championship game. down the pressure. Bruce and Vitale scored again, leaving the final score at 34-0 in what was one of the most satisfying victories for the team all year. Sunday afternoon the Bears took on Dartmouth in the championship game of the tournament. Field conditions were atro-

cious, as dirt was replaced by sticky mud. Despite aggressive defense and strong tackling from Brown, Dartmouth managed to sneak a try in midway through the first half. Wing Lindsay Clarida ’04 made several key tackles to keep Dartmouth from increasing their lead.

Field conditions only worsened in the second half as Brown fought hard to even the score. Hooker Jeanine Baillie ’02.5 and wing Kristy Zamora ’02 helped keep Brown in the game with their strong running. Despite the team’s see RUGBY, page 8

PAGE 8 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD THURSDAY, APRIL 11, 2002

Rugby continued from page 7 best efforts, Dartmouth added another try 13 minutes in and held on to win the game. The B-Side also played a strong tournament, bouncing back from a narrow defeat by Cornell to capture third place in their bracket. The Cornell match was close from the start. Eight-man Hannah Thompson ’02 and hooker Jessie Brown ’02 led the team with their intense play. The combination of scrumhalf Clarida and flyhalf Rebecca Davis ’03.5 managed Brown’s offensive attack, nearly scoring several times. Cornell’s try came with only nine minutes remaining, leaving the final score at 5-0. Although the

loss was frustrating, the continuity and support between Brown’s forwards and backs were encouraging, and the defense played well against a more experienced Cornell side. Sunday, the B-side took on Radcliffe and dominated from the beginning. Just two and a half minutes into the game, prop Megan Parker-Johnson ’04 scored to give Brown the early 5-0 lead. After a try from Cecilia Kiely ’04 put the team up 10-0, almost the entire team combined on a beautiful score less than a minute before halftime. With the ball on the right side of the field, Clarida reversed the play, and the ball was passed through numerous Bear hands as it crossed the field before being finished off by wing Laura Castagnino ’04. Brown played strong defense in

the second half, as Radcliffe sent in numerous reinforcements to try and even the score. The backs, led by Jessica Bowen ’02 and Davis, made solid tackle after tackle while continually forcing Radcliffe to lose ground. Midway through the second half, rookie Nancy Tom ’05 scored her first try ever off a pass from Bowen. Kiely made her fourth points-after kick of the day to bring the final score to 26-0. The Brown Women’s Rugby Team will be in action again this weekend as it takes on Smith at home on Saturday. A-Side kickoff is at 11 a.m. with B-Side following at 12:30 p.m. The game is held on the field directly behind the OMAC. Liz Terry ’02 plays for the women’s rugby team.

Final Grade continued from page 16 Eastern Conference, have faded back into second place. After the All-Star break, things have not been the same. Granted, they lost Keith Primieu and Jeremy Roenick to injuries for a few weeks, but they still lost five games in a row at one point. They used to hold a fivepoint lead over Boston in the Eastern Conference, but now they trail them by four points. Many have picked the Flyers to go to the Stanley Cup Finals; however, these assumptions may be false. The team does not play with any sense of urgency and lacks great goaltending after its players’ injuries. I predict that they will have a very tough time getting to the Cup Finals unless their number one center, Jeremy Roenick, whom they paid $5 million in free agency, picks up the slack. If they Flyers do not make it to the Cup Finals or win the Cup, this season is a failure.

NC - Milwaukee Bucks. Plain and simple, they suck. They are just a bunch of big complainers. Anthony Mason looks like a thug. Ray Allen is injured and gimps around. Glenn Robinson has had a feud with coach George Karl all season. George Karl needs to go on some Prozac, because his mood swings are way too erratic to provide any sense of composure with a losing team. They are 4-13 in their last 17 games, and they are playing like a bunch of playground junkies. Again, look at Anthony Mason; he is a big time thug, and his comments only put down the team. What Milwaukee needs to do is fire its coach at the end of the season and trade Glenn Robinson and Anthony Mason. Keeping Cassell and Ray Allen is a good idea because they are consistent impact players. As of right now, they need to stop all this “we are good, don’t worry, wait until the playoffs,” “Bling-Bling” stuff. They are headed for a first round defeat.

The Brown Daily Herald Join The Herald’s sports photo team. Call Emily or Michelle at 351.3372. Join Us.

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

WORLD & NATION THURSDAY, APRIL 11, 2002 · PAGE 9

IN BRIEF AT&T seeks OK for reverse stock split (L.A.Times) — AT&T Corp. surprised Wall Street on Wednesday by announcing a step typically used by tiny companies with poor prospects: a reverse stock split. The long-distance giant said it will ask shareholders to approve a 1-for-5 reverse stock split once management sells the company’s cable business.The effect should boost the market price of the stock, although the change won’t affect shareholders’ wealth. AT&T, whose shares have been battered since early 2000 along with most other telecom issues, appears to fear that the pending sale of the cable assets to Comcast Corp. could leave AT&T stock trading below $5, hurting the company’s image, analysts said. “They’re doing it because when you back out the Comcast offer for AT&T Broadband, the stock would be in the single digits, which is not what the largest ‘telco’ in the U.S. would like people to see,”said Vik Grover, managing director for equity research at brokerage Kaufman Bros.“It’s cosmetics.” The news wasn’t warmly received on Wall Street: AT&T shares fell 59 cents to $14.42 on the New York Stock Exchange despite a rally in the broader market Wednesday. Conventional stock splits, such as when a company gives shareholders two shares for every one outstanding, are considered bullish: Companies often use such splits to lower the market price of their shares after the stock has surged, to make the shares appear more accessible to the average investor.

Officer shoots actor in self-defense, but won’t face prosecution from D.A. LOS ANGELES (L.A.Times) — The Los Angeles County district

attorney’s office will not prosecute a police officer who fatally shot an actor during a Halloween costume party 18 months ago, concluding in a report issued Wednesday that the officer acted in self-defense. Los Angeles Police Department Officer Tarriel Hopper shot 39-year-old Anthony Dwain Lee after the actor allegedly pointed a replica handgun at him during a party at a mansion in the Benedict Canyon section of Los Angeles on Oct. 27, 2000. Hopper, a three-year officer at the time of the shooting, fired nine times, hitting Lee once in the back of the head and three times in the back. “Given the rapidly evolving manner in which this entire incident occurred, coupled with the immediate danger that he perceived, we are convinced that Officer Hopper was justifiably in fear for his life at the time he shot Anthony (Dwain) Lee,”Deputy District Attorney Michael Kenneth Pettersen wrote. Pettersen said in an interview Wednesday that Hopper, 28, reacted the only way he could because he believed the gun was real.The officer was forced to make a split-second decision to draw and fire his weapon, he said. “To ask him to wait any longer could have put his life and the life of others in the direct vicinity in peril,”Pettersen said. But Lee’s sister,Tina Lee-Vogt, disagreed, saying that the officer was overly aggressive.

Oil prices rise as strike grips Venezuela MEXICO CITY (L.A.Times) — Oil prices rose as Venezuela’s worst labor strife in 30 years began to disrupt supplies from the fourth-largest source of U.S. crude, highlighting the importance of the sometimes overlooked Latin country to the world market. Benchmark crude prices rose 31 cents Wednesday to $26.13 as Venezuela was paralyzed for a second day by a general strike called to protest the policies of President Hugo Chavez. Only Saudi Arabia, Canada and Mexico exported more oil to the United States last year. Some analysts said this week that as much as half of Venezuelan crude shipments, which averaged 1.28 million barrels a day to the United States last year, have been lost to the strike.The U.S. oil market could easily absorb such a loss for a short period, but prices would begin to spike if the interruption stretches out. Late Wednesday night, labor leaders announced that the strike would continue indefinitely. It was unclear whether that would cut oil output even further. “We have solid reports of lack of loading and ships queuing up in Venezuela. There are more than 25 empty oil tankers lined up at various terminals around the country waiting for oil,” John Kingston, global oil director at Platts, a division of McGraw-Hill, said earlier Wednesday.

With Powell en route, Israel says military offensive must continue HAIFA, Israel (L.A. Times) — On the eve of a crucial U.S. diplomatic drive, Israel on Wednesday again refused to withdraw from the West Bank cities it invaded 13 days ago and said a deadly suicide bombing on a bus earlier in the day showed why the offensive must continue. As the Israeli army reported that it had finally succeeded in conquering the embattled Jenin refugee camp, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and members of his government told the United States that while they appreciate America’s friendship, Israel will wage its war on Palestinian militants as it sees fit. “I hope our great friend the United States understands that this is a war of survival for us,” Sharon told reporters during a visit to troops at an army base overlooking the Jenin camp. “It is our right to defend our citizens, and there should be no pressure put on us not to do that.” In Madrid, Spain, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell and ranking officials from three other world powers called for an immediate end to Israel’s military operation in the West Bank and for both Israelis and Palestinians to end “this senseless confrontation.” Powell, who is expected to arrive in Israel late Thursday, huddled in a crisis session with officials from the United Nations, the European Union and Russia in the city where the current peace process was born 11 years ago. In the West Bank, the Israeli operation continued Wednesday. In the Jenin camp, mass surrenders were reported – along with large numbers of deaths. Scores of Palestinians and about 30 Israeli soldiers were killed in a week of fighting. Israel said Palestinian gunmen put up their stiffest resistance in Jenin; Palestinian officials accused Israel of “massacres.” In Bethlehem, a monk was shot and wounded when he stuck his head out of the besieged Church of the Nativity. Israeli troops said it was unclear who shot him. And in Haifa, the bodies of eight Israelis were plucked from a bus twisted and charred by a suicide bomber. The radical Islamic group Hamas claimed responsibility for the Haifa blast, the first suicide bombing to target civilians in a week. In the wake of the bombing, Sharon again rejected the U.S. and international pleas that Israeli forces pull out of the West Bank, digging in his heels hours before the arrival of Powell, who is making a long-shot attempt to broker a cease-fire. Hundreds of right-wing Israelis rallied Wednesday night outside the U.S. Consulate in West Jerusalem to

demand that the United States cease its pressure on the Sharon government. “Bush, Don’t Push!” read one gigantic banner. At the same time, the Defense Ministry announced a pullout from three villages: Yatta, Qabatya and Samua. The Jenin refugee camp, site of the last Palestinian resistance, succumbed after a week of shelling by Israeli tanks and helicopters. By midmorning, the resistance appeared to be all but over, although sporadic shooting was reported throughout the afternoon. One group of about 50 holdouts was reported to have become trapped deep inside the camp without ammunition as Israel bulldozers were bearing down. Jamal Hweil, one of the men, telephoned the pan-Arab Al Jazeera television network to claim that the Israeli army was refusing their surrender. Hweil said the men fear that the bulldozers will demolish their hide-out, with them inside. Residents of Jenin who were contacted by telephone said Israeli helicopters continued flying over the camp throughout the day without firing. But they said bulldozers went into action around noon, knocking down homes damaged by the assault and opening wide, dusty avenues between those left standing. Omar abu Rashid, a Jenin businessman whose house overlooks the camp from half a mile away, said he saw five bulldozers demolish several hundred of the camp’s 2,000 to 2,500 homes. Refugee families, ordered into the streets by the army, were dispersed to various neighboring villages. Men were separated from women. Residents complained of a large number of civilian casualties and the destruction of water, electrical and sewage infrastructure along with large amounts of private property – homes, stores and cars. Journalists were barred from Jenin. Two convoys, from UNICEF and the International Committee for the Red Cross, were allowed into the city to drop off food, medicine, other relief supplies and a generator for the city’s hospital but were barred from the camp. “In Jenin, people talked about 500 people killed in the camp,” said Bertrand Bainbel, UNICEF coordinator in the occupied territories. “I cannot tell you whether it’s reliable or not.” Saeb Erekat, a top Palestinian official, also claimed about 500 Palestinians had been killed in Jenin and in Nablus, the largest West Bank city, since the offensive began late last month in what he labeled a string of “Israeli massacres.”

White House support for Sharon diminishes WASHINGTON (Washington Post) — Israel’s continued defiance of President Bush’s demand for an immediate withdrawal of Israeli forces from Palestinian cities and towns is eroding support for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon inside the White House, administration sources said Wednesday. After months of steadfast backing of Sharon by the Bush administration, senior White House aides are beginning to express doubts about whether the Israeli leader can be a long-term partner in achieving the administration’s goals in the Middle East. White House aides also fear that Sharon’s intransigence in the face of Bush’s repeated demands over the past week for an end to the Israeli attacks could make the president appear ineffective and erode his standing in the world. As part of the emerging shift of opinion about the Israeli leader, some White House officials are now making a distinction between support for Israel and support for Sharon. “Sharon is arguably doing what he thinks needs to be done,” a senior administration official said. “After he’s finished, what’s next? The fear is that he knows no other way than being tough.” The administration’s tougher line on Israel is already facing resistance in Congress, with some lawmakers accusing the White House of compromising the moral clarity of its anti-terrorism crusade. Support is building for draft legislation proposed by Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., that would designate the Palestine Liberation Organization as a terrorist group, close down its Washington office and deny visas to its top officials. The State Department successfully lobbied against a similar measure last fall. Lobbyists for major American Jewish organizations have also been busy in Congress, “expressing concern about the kind of pressure that’s being brought to bear”

on Sharon’s government by the administration, according to someone involved in the discussions. Relations between the administration and Israel have grown increasingly tense this week as Secretary of State Colin Powell held talks with Arab and European leaders in the region in preparation for his scheduled arrival in Israel Thursday. In addition to meeting with Sharon, Powell intends to see Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat for cease-fire talks that the Bush administration hopes will lead quickly to new negotiations over the political issues underlying the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The administration, along with Israel, had been insisting for weeks that negotiations could only begin once a truce was in place. Powell’s statement on Tuesday that a truce would be “instantly linked” to political discussions represented a major shift in policy. For months, Bush had expressed unswerving support for Sharon, had put the onus on Arafat to stop Palestinian suicide attacks on Israeli civilians and had remained steadfast in refusing to involve his administration at the highest levels in seeking a solution to the conflict. But as Israeli troops and tanks occupied most of the cities of the West Bank over the past two weeks, Bush came under mounting pressure from Europe and the Arab world to act. Last Thursday, Bush for the first time called on Israel to withdraw its forces and announced that he was sending Powell to the Middle East. He followed that with a telephone call to Sharon on Saturday in which he said Israel must begin its pullout “without delay.” Although Israel moved out of two towns on Monday, Sharon has insisted that the offensive will continue, telling Israeli forces Wednesday that he had told Bush on Saturday that Israel was “in the middle of a battle” and would leave only when the job was finished.

PAGE 10 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD THURSDAY, APRIL 11, 2002

Bush calls for ban on human cloning WASHINGTON (L.A. Times) — On a day tinged with warnings that biologists could misshape the human race, President Bush urged a tentative Senate on Wednesday to pass a total ban on human cloning, even if used as part of research into cures for disease and disability. “Allowing cloning would be taking a significant step toward a society in which human beings are grown for spare body parts, and children are engineered to custom specifications. And that’s not acceptable,” the president told about 175 lawmakers, religious activists, researchers and disabled people in the East Room of the White House. He spoke of human “embryo farms” created by scientists to pursue research on cloning. And he warned that even if cloning yielded cures for disease, it “would create a massive national market” for women’s eggs, “and exploitation of women’s bodies that we cannot and must not allow.” The 15-minute speech marked the second time that Bush has devoted a major address to controversial advances in biology, a reflection of the speedy pace of the science. Last August, the president devoted the first primetime, televised speech of his term to the subject of embryonic stem cells, the medically promising cells that come from dissected human embryos. Bush spoke as lobbying intensified in the Senate in preparation for a vote on human cloning, expected before the Memorial Day day break next month. Opponents of cloning for any purpose said they brought several hundred members of anti-abortion and religious groups to Washington on Wednesday to lobby lawmakers. But 40 Nobel Prize winners urged the Senate to

allow cloning as part of medical research, warning that a ban “would impede progress against some of the most debilitating diseases known to man.” Cloning involves taking DNA from a donor, often from a skin or cheek cell, and merging it with an egg cell that has been stripped of its own genetic material. The result is an embryo with the same genetic makeup as the donor, although there have been no credible claims that any scientist has produced a cloned child. Theoretically, a human embyro created this way could be placed in a woman’s uterus and grown into a child. This is called reproductive cloning, and the Senate, House and President Bush are united in supporting legislation to make it a federal crime, punishable with heavy fines and jail terms. Some scientists want to create cloned embryos for a different purpose. Starting with DNA from a patient, they would make an embryo and dissect it after five days for its stem cells. The stem cells, in turn, might be grown into replacement heart, brain or other cells, as the patient required. Cells created this way would presumably match the patient’s genetic makeup and might be readily accepted by the patient’s body, avoiding the tissue rejection that is a major problem in transplants today. But cloning to make stem cells and tissues, often called therapeutic cloning, has drawn strong opposition from antiabortion groups and social conservatives. They say destroying an embryo is equivalent to destroying a child. In a lopsided vote of 265-162 last year, the House voted to bar cloning for any purpose, and Bush quickly praised the vote. But the

Senate is sharply divided. About 40 senators are believed to favor a total ban. An equal number are thought to back a proposal that would outlaw cloning to produce children while preserving it as a tool of medical research. Supporters of therapeutic cloning could be on the verge of picking up an important vote. As several lawmakers prepared Wednesday to file legislation that would permit research cloning, Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, placed a call asking them to hold off while he reviewed it with an eye toward offering support, said two people familiar with events. The measure would bar cloning for reproduction. Hatch is a conservative and abortion opponent, and his support could draw other Republicans to the bill. His spokeswoman declined to comment Wednesday. Bush’s speech was aimed in part at senators who have announced no position. It also won a warm response from social conservatives and religious activists, who form a core part of the Republican voting block and could be decisive in the coming mid-term elections. In his remarks, Bush cheered the medical advances expected to come from deciphering the human genetic code. But he called for “restraint and responsibility” in embracing the new powers of science. “We can pursue medical research with a clear sense of moral purpose, or we can travel without an ethical compass into a world we could live to regret,” he said. He cited three reasons to ban all human cloning. First, he said, a partial ban would be “unethical” because it would allow the destruction of embryos.

THURSDAY, APRIL 11, 2002

Bush approves sweeping personnel changes at top of US military command WASHINGTON (Washington Post) —

President Bush has approved sweeping changes at the top of the U.S. military that will put in place a new generation of relatively nonconformist officers who are likely to be more supportive of the administration’s goal of radically changing the armed forces, Pentagon officials said Wednesday night. The changes will, among other things, for the first time put a Marine in charge of U.S. military operations in Europe and Africa, officials said. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has worked for months on filling the top command slots, which involve the chiefs of U.S. forces in every region of the world except the Pacific as well as the heads of two of the four armed services. He has said he expects the moves to be one of his most significant acts at the Pentagon. For two of the most important positions – the top military job in Europe and the new head of the Army – Rumsfeld has selected independent thinkers who stand out among the current top brass as unconventional thinkers who are likely to be supportive of his drive to “transform” the military to better address terrorism and other new challenges. The changes come as part of the normal rotation of the top slots in the military. But Rumsfeld’s decision to package them together is a marked departure from the usual practice of filling the jobs in a piecemeal fashon, and underscores his goal of bringing radical change to the military at a time when it is waging a global war on terrorism. Rumsfeld has not disclosed to

aides how and when he plans to officially announce the nominations. But by reaching his decisions, discussing them broadly within the administration and securing the president’s approval, Rumsfeld has effectively made lame ducks of current holders of the positions. In the most significant move, Gen. James Jones, currently the Marine commandant, is slated to become Supreme Allied Commander, Europe, a position once held by Dwight D. Eisenhower and currently occupied by Air Force Gen. Joseph Ralston. Jones was picked, said a senior Defense official, because “he dared to be different.” The selection of Jones is not expected to be announced for several months and, like the other positions, requires congressional approval. His nomination is unusual for three reasons. It will be the first time a Marine has held the position. It will be the first time a Marine commandant has moved on to another top job in the U.S. military. And it will be the first time that the U.S. military commander in Europe will be somewhere born there. Jones was born in Paris and “spent his formative years” there, according to his official biography. By picking a general from the Marines, the service most comfortable with being “expeditionary” – that is, being able to deploy quickly to third world hotspots and engage in a variety of missions, from full-scale combat to peacekeeping – Rumsfeld also may be seeking to shake up the U.S. military in Europe. There are few Marines based in Europe, but there are several major Army headquarters there, and Pentagon officials have

hinted that those offices will be cut or abolished altogether in the coming years. It could not be learned whether Rumsfeld has picked Jones’ successor as head of the Marine Corps. In another unusual move, Rumsfeld has tapped Army Gen. John Keane, currently the No. 2 officer in the Army, to succeed the current chief of that service, Gen. Eric Shinseki, whose term runs out next year. Selecting a successor for the current chief so far in advance is highly unusual. Popular in the Army, Keane, a career infantry officer who once commanded the 101st Airborne Division, nearly was selected for the job in 1999 by then-Defense Secretary William Cohen. But Cohen passed him over out of the worry that picking someone who was then a relatively junior general, with just three stars, would be a slap in the face of the Army’s four-star officers, and might unnecessarily disturb a service already troubled by its sideshow role in the war the Yugoslav province of Kosovo that was then underway. Rumsfeld also has picked Army Lt. Gen. James “Tom” Hill to become the new chief of the Southern Command, which oversees U.S. military operations in South and Central America. That move has not yet been approved by the White House, officials said. Among top commands, the Southern Command slot is a considered a relative backwater, most important for its command of the U.S. counter-drug effort. But it could become more significant if the aging of Fidel Castro brings political turnover or instability to Cuba or U.S. military operations expand in Colombia.

Campaign finance reform dispute leads House to reject tax extension bill WASHINGTON (L.A. Times) — A campaign reform dispute caused the House Wednesday to reject an otherwise popular bill that would have extended the deadline for tax returns filed through the Internet and provided taxpayers other benefits. The 219-205 vote against the measure pushed by House Republican leaders was, to some degree, an embarrassment for both parties. Democrats, who led the opposition to the bill, won their argument that the legislation contained an unacceptable provision loosening financial disclosure requirements for certain political groups. Yet they faced the challenge of explaining to voters why defeating such an arcane proposal was more important than passing a bill dubbed the “Taxpayer Protection and IRS Accountability Act.” The bill would have changed the April 15 deadline for the first time in nearly a half century, granting some 50 million “e-filers” an extra 15 days to file, starting next year. It also would have expanded aid to lowincome taxpayer clinics and eased some penalties for taxpayers who make good-faith mistakes. But the financial disclosure

provision caused the vote to be viewed by most lawmakers as a question dealing more with campaign reform than taxpayer rights. For GOP leaders, the vote represented their second stinging defeat this year on campaign finance reform. Twenty-five Republicans strayed from the leadership line, demonstrating anew the strength of the coalition that backed a major campaign law enacted last month. Rep. Rob Portman of Ohio, a Republican leader on tax issues who supported the bill, blamed its defeat on partisan strife. Leading Democrats, though, praised the outcome as another victory for advocates of campaign reform. House Minority Whip Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said reformers had turned back “sneaky tactics employed by Republicans to try to railroad this vote through the House – using a bill with a popularsounding name.” At issue was a provision to ease 2-year-old rules requiring certain tax-exempt organizations active in politics to report their donations and contributions to the federal government. The GOP leaders said they merely wanted to exempt state and local groups that were already filing similar informa-

tion to state authorities. Critics said the provision could enable groups wishing to hide their political activity to take advantage of lax reporting requirements in some states. The result, they claimed, would be a weakening of current disclosure rules and of the newly enacted law curbing the unlimited political donations known as soft money. Rep. William M. Thomas, RCalif., chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee and the chief proponent of the provision, derided the criticism as an “urban myth.” But 25 Republicans joined 193 Democrats and one independent to block the provision and the entire bill. On another campaign finance matter, Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., announced that a coalition of groups is joining his legal challenge to the new campaign law. Among the groups McConnell said would be co-plaintiffs in a lawsuit seeking to overturn the law as unconstitutional: the American Civil Liberties Union, the National Right to Life Committee, the Southeastern Legal Foundation, the Libertarian National Committee and the Christian Coalition of America.

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD PAGE 11

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

OPINIONS THURSDAY, APRIL 11, 2002 · PAGE 13

Examining the realities of US workers’ needs While the left exaggerates the financial needs of workers, economics provides more compelling solutions THERE HAVE BEEN INCREASING CALLS including retirement benefits, health over the last few years for people to sup- care, better working conditions, salary, port living wages and better working bonus, stock, etc. The company is indifconditions, both in the Third World and ferent to providing $5 worth of better the United States. During this time, I working conditions (e.g. keeping the fachave written a number of articles, each tory cooler or improving the safety of a machine) and paying the addressing a specific issue workers five dollars more. If that was relevant. In one, I the workers prefer to have actually calculated the wage the money, it is in the comnecessary to have a nice life pany’s best interest to pay in a safe neighborhood with them money, instead of coola car. Another article dising the factory, so the comcussed the effects of trade on pensation will take that form. the living conditions of forAt equilibrium, then, not eign workers, while a third only are workers paid an outlined a number of deleteamount equal to their prorious effects of unionization. duction, but that pay is in the This, my final article on this ED VAN WESEP best possible form for the set of topics, will cover a REALITY workers. number of different themes, Now, when unions strike connected mostly by the for “working condition broad topic of low wages and improvements,” the company is indiffertheir determinants. The first topic that absolutely must ent to either making those improvebe covered is the claim by the moderate ments or simply paying the workers left that working conditions and health more. At the margin, workers are equally care can be separated from wages. happy with one dollar of improvements Unions, for example, often claim to be or one dollar of additional wage. Don’t striking because of these issues rather be fooled; it ought to be clear that workthan mere money, but I will show quite ers striking for working conditions only clearly that dollars and safety are exact- do so to curry favor with the public. Now I would like to discuss the ly the same. Companies are greedy: the left knows method that ought to be used in calcuit, the right knows it and economists lating a “living wage.” In my last article assume it. There is a fixed amount of on the topic, I calculated that the wage compensation that can be given to a necessary to live the good life is $5.64 worker, and it is equal to his production per hour, whereas more left-leaning (if it were less, then hiring him would be writers have argued for minimum wages profitable and another greedy company between $12 and $19 per hour. For the reader to decide which set of would hire her for more). Compensation can be composed of many things, figures is more reasonable, he must understand how each set of numbers was determined. The primary difference Ed Van Wesep ’02 will pursue a PhD in comes from the number of working parEconomics at Stanford University this fall.

“Companies are greedy: The left knows it, the right knows it and economists assume it.” ents. My numbers assume two working parents in a family of four; the left assumes one, thereby doubling the necessary wage to provide for one’s family. For the political group that liberated women, this seems an unreasonable and backward assumption. The second difference is our assumption of housing costs. I assume that workers will purchase a small house in a decent neighborhood. This can be done for $100,000 in most cities, and federally or state subsidized mortgages allow annual housing costs to come in under $6,000. Additionally, interest payments are tax deductible, further reducing the necessary “living wage” amount. The left tends to claim housing costs of over $12,000 per year, roughly what would be necessary to rent a small house in a good neighborhood These two differences amount to almost all of the divergence in our estimates. You, the reader, should decide which is more reasonable. Now that we have discussed what workers need, we can discuss how minimum wages affect citizens of this country. The long term supply of workers is relatively fixed, while demand for workers is downward sloping. That is, the higher the wage, the fewer the ways workers can be profitably employed and, therefore, the fewer workers that will be

hired. In the absence of a minimum, there would be an equilibrium where all workers work and wages are at some level. Now, if we set the minimum wage below this level, it will have no impact because companies are already paying more that that. Our current economy, in fact, reflects this possibility. The last time the minimum wage rose, only 1 percent of workers was affected, and these were almost entirely students rather than heads of a household. If the minimum wage is set above the equilibrium, companies will demand fewer workers than wish to work. While the wage will rise, unemployment will rise as well. The first to be fired will be the least productive (those who are uneducated, old, young and recent entrants to the workforce such as women and the poor). Those of us who currently enjoy the benefits of society will be better off, while those who are at the fringes or are discriminated against will experience the worst indignity our society has to offer. These issues are incredibly important and tend to be under-discussed. Understanding the equivalence of all forms of compensation allows voters and consumers to make good decisions when at the booth or the grocery store. Understanding the assumptions that the left makes when calculating what is a wage necessary to live allows us to decide for ourselves whether they have an accurate definition of “necessary.” Understanding that a high minimum wage hurts those most in need of help allows us to decide whether to help the most needy or those who already have a boost from society. I can understand those who are leftists; I just hope they can understand reality.

Less student activism on campus, more getting laid College is a time for learning and social development, political action can wait until after graduation THERE IS A COMMON THEME EXPRESSED to relinquish the presidency, allow Bill by most speakers who come to Brown Clinton to stay in office and hold new University. While they speak about a vari- elections in 2002. That goal was a long ety of ideas and causes, they all urge their shot to say the least, but still some people audiences to be active. Ted Turner, dedicated their evening to the vigil. Its Elizabeth Martinez and Al Sharpton are efficacy, however, was nil. There are many demonjust three recent guests who strations that are more constressed the importance of WILLIAM NEWMAN ventional with just as little students fighting for what GUEST COLUMN impact. For example, the war they believe in. I think they’re on terrorism has inspired stuwrong. dent activists to engage in We are students. We have classes. We’re young. We have our whole marches across campus. The fact remains lives to bear the burden of a flawed, that these marches have no impact on the imperfect world. Right now is not the leaders who continue the war. These time for that. We only get four years to run marches have no impact on voters who around like idiots, sing a capella, watch are already convinced of their point of MTV and hook up with each other. It view, for obvious reasons. They have no seems like such a waste to cut into that impact on voters who are not already convinced because most Rhode Islanders time to do what we can do later. People will argue that there is a huge vote Democrat. If the nation’s policy is too conservareason to be an activist in college. Their goal, be it the success of the Green Party, tive for students’ tastes, they need to consafeguarding abortion rights or contin- vince people from other states who are ued affirmative action, is so incredibly voting Republican. Assuming Brown stuimportant that it needs all the help it can dent activists went to conservative states get — and now. There are two reasons and protested there, those residents that a student should not be swayed by would not be convinced by Ivy League kids. They would appear strange and this argument. First, the efforts of student activists are arrogant to people who live and vote largely ineffective. My favorite example is using an entirely different set of values. Second, most issues are so complex the candlelight vigil held in November 2000 to urge President-elect George Bush that nobody should argue one side without knowing why the status quo exists. Walking down Thayer Street one day, I William Newman ‘04 recognizes the saw protesters urging the release of a man hypocrisy of having written this column.

“Whenever I see a speaker who comes to Brown urging students to be active, I see somebody who wants something from me.“ who was in jail for murder. They claimed it was a simple case of racism because “he was somewhere else when the murder took place.” Now don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that there isn’t racism, or that being somewhere else when a crime occurs isn’t good evidence of innocence. But I asked one of the protesters how he knew the man was somewhere else and his response was, “He said so.” It didn’t make me want to grab a sign and join the protest. Winston Churchill said, “If you’re under 30 and not a liberal, you have no heart,” but he followed that up with “If you’re over 30 and not a conservative, you have no brain.” As people grow up and learn more about the world, they realize that a lot of the causes they believed in when they were younger weren’t as simple as they thought. That is why the vast majority of people ignore college protests — college kids are young and often misinformed.

Whenever I see a speaker who comes to Brown urging students to be active, I see somebody who wants something from me. They want me to work and sacrifice my time to help their cause. Their cause might be right, but every one of us has a cause, too. We have to enjoy our college years. It’s an enormous privilege to go to Brown, and I do not see that as an obligation to be an activist but instead an obligation to make the most what Brown has to offer. Right now, somebody is thinking about writing a letter in response to this column. They want the voice of activism to stay alive. I have a message for that person: go get a beer. Relax. What’s on TV? I don’t know, but I bet something good’s on — one of those judge shows. I like those. Call some friends. Watch the show together. You’ll see what I’m talking about. College isn’t about being a soldier in a war for righteousness. It’s about learning, stressing and having too much to drink. Once you’re out of Brown, you can get jobs in which you have the ability to work with the policies with which you disagree and actually effect real change. Further, you can learn firsthand about those policies and alter them only if, with your new knowledge, you see they really need change. You can do all this while having some awesome memories from college.

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

EDITORIAL/LETTERS THURSDAY, APRIL 11, 2002 · PAGE 14 S T A F F

E D I T O R I A L

Requiring writing Associate Dean of the College Robert Shaw told The Herald there is no standard procedure regarding Brown’s policy for determining the fulfillment of the “writing requirement,” which all students must fulfill prior to graduating. Demonstrating competency in writing becomes a nebulous matter when paired with the free-form construction of the University’s curriculum, in which students may graduate without ever having taken a writing class. The current system, under which professors have the option of using check marks on grading forms to indicate poor performance in writing, is haphazardly employed. This leaves it virtually meaningless as a tool to measure proficiency. Even worse, once a student has received two check marks, no standard protocol exists to mandate the next step. Incompetence is to be determined on a case-by-case, subjective basis and followed by various, inconsistent solutions. It seems clear that the University must drastically re-examine a “writing requirement” which has no concrete “requirements” in the execution of its reprimands. Commanding every student to take a writing class in order to graduate goes against the tenets of Brown’s liberal learning policies; however, setting up a standardized placement test — to be given upon arrival on campus during a student’s first year — would be painless and would identify those students most in need of help early on. Students in need of writing assistance, as determined by this test, would receive assistance faster and would likely fare better in their ensuing courses. Another solution would involve creating a list of interdisciplinary writing requirement courses across several departments, similar to the University’s list of Liberal Learning courses. A policy like this would retain Brown’s reputation for choice in curriculum while establishing a set selection of classes in which “the ability to write” would clearly be a requirement of the course. At this stage, the phrase “writing requirement” is a distinct misnomer. The word “requirement” implies a concretely stated set of boundaries and expectations on the part of the University; partial, sporadic reinforcement unfairly picks on certain students while other, equally illiterate individuals never receive the help needed to turn them into functional writers.

D AV I N C H E N G

LETTERS Unlike other Mideast nations, Israel would like to exist in peace To the editor: I wonder where the Arab protests were from 1948 until 1967 when Palestine was occupied by Jordan and Egypt. Why has there been no response to the call by Hamas for the total destruction of Israel? After World War II, there were thousands of refugees in Europe, and all were absorbed. Only in the Arab countries does that not happen. It is a

fact that the refugees left Israel in 1948 so it could be destroyed by the Arab armies that were attacking. If you remember, Israel accepted the U.N. partition; it was the Arab world that did not. When the United States was attacked by terrorists we declared war and sent an army to destroy the bad guys. Why should we expect any less from Israel? Israel, by the way, is the only democratic country in the region. If you study history, you will see that Israel only wants to exist in peace on its tiny little piece of land. It is the Arab world that has constantly waged war to destroy it. Bruce Leibowitz P’03 April 10

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD EDITORIAL Beth Farnstrom, Editor-in-Chief Seth Kerschner, Editor-in-Chief David Rivello, Editor-in-Chief Will Hurwitz, Executive Editor Sheryl Shapiro, Executive Editor Brian Baskin, News Editor Kavita Mishra, News Editor Andy Golodny, Campus News Editor Bethany Rallis, Campus News Editor Elena Lesley, Arts & Culture Editor Juan Nunez, Asst. Arts & Culture Editor Jonathan Noble, Campus Watch Editor Chris Byrnes, Metro Editor Victoria Harris, Opinions Editor Sanders Kleinfeld, Opinions Editor Shana Jalbert, Listings Editor Maria DiMento, Listings Editor Marion Billings, Design Editor Stephen Lazar, Design Editor Stephanie Harris, Copy Desk Chief Jonathan Skolnick, Copy Desk Chief Josh Apte, Photography Editor Makini Chisolm-Straker,Asst.Photography Editor Allie Silverman, Asst.Photography Editor Grace Farris, Graphics Editor Nathan Pollard, Graphics Editor Brett Cohen, Systems Manager

BUSINESS Stacey Doynow, General Manager Jamie Wolosky, Executive Manager Jared Gerber, Associate Manager Angela Kim, Local Accounts Manager Hyebin Joo, Local Accounts Manager Moon-Suk Oh, University Accounts Manager Jan Vezikov, University Accounts Manager Eugene C. Cha, National Accounts Manager Joseph Laganas, National Accounts Manager Josh Miller, Classifieds Account Manager Elizabeth Tietz, Marketing Coordinator Shereen Kassam, Marketing Coordinator Tugba Erem, Marketing Coordinator Miguel Escobar, Subscriptions Manager Laurie-Ann Paliotti, Senior Advertising Rep. Kate Sparaco, Office Manager Jennifer Gillis, Advertising Representative P O S T- M A G A Z I N E Kerry Miller, Editor-in-Chief Zach Frechette, Executive Editor Morgan Clendaniel, Film Editor Alden Eagle, Theatre Editor Meredith Jones, Calendar Editor Juan Nunez, Asst. Features Editor Alex Schulman, Features Editor Theo Schell-Lambert, Music Editor SPORTS Jonathan Bloom, Sports Editor Nick Gourevitch, Asst. Sports Editor Maggie Haskins, Asst. Sports Editor Jonathan Meachin, Asst. Sports Editor Joshua Troy, Asst. Sports Editor Jesse Warren, Asst. Sports Editor Emily Hunt, Sports Photography Editor Michelle Batoon, Sports Photography Editor

The Brown Daily Herald Join The Herald’s sports photo team. Call Emily or Michelle at 351.3372. Join Us.

Bronwyn Bryant, Erika Litvin, Night Editors Stephanie Harris, Copy Editor Staff Writers Kathy Babcock, Brian Baskin, Jonathan Bloom, Carla Blumenkranz, Chris Byrnes, Jinhee Chung, Julie DiMartino, Nicholas Foley,Vinay Ganti, Neema Singh Guliani, Ari Gerstman, Andy Golodny, Daniel Gorfine, Ben Gould, Nick Gourevitch, Stephanie Harris, Maggie Haskins, Christopher Hayes, Shara Hegde, Brian Herman, Shana Jalbert, Brent Lang, Elena Lesley, Jamay Liu, Jermaine Matheson, Kerry Miller, Kavita Mishra, Martin Mulkeen, Alicia Mullin, Crystal Z.Y. Ng, Jonathan Noble, Ginny Nuckols, Juan Nunez, Sean Peden, Bethany Rallis, Caroline Rummel, Emir Senturk, Jen Sopchockchai, Anna Stubblefield, Brady Thomas, Jonathon Thompson, Joshua Troy, Miranda Turner, Juliette Wallack, Jesse Warren, Genan Zilkha, Julia Zuckerman Pagination Staff Bronwyn Bryant, Jessica Chan, Keunjung Cho, Iris Chung, Sam Cochran, Joshua Gootzeit, Michael Kingsley, Hana Kwan, Erika Litvin, Jessica Morrison, Caroline Novograd, Stacy Wong Staff Photographers Josh Apte, Makini Chisolm-Straker, Matt Rodriguez, Ana Selles, Allie Silverman, Vanessia Wu Copy Editors John Audett, Lanie Davis, Marc Debush, Daniel Jacobson, Harrison Quitman, Sonya Tat, Julia Zuckerman

CO M M E N TA RY P O L I C Y The staff editorial is the majority opinion of the editorial board of The Brown Daily Herald. The editorial viewpoint does not necessarily reflect the views of The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. Columns and letters reflect the opinions of their authors only. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR POLICY Send letters to letters@browndailyherald.com. Include a telephone number with all letters. The Herald reserves the right to edit all letters for length and cannot assure the publication of any letter. Please limit letters to 250 words. Under special circumstances writers may request anonymity, but no letter will be printed if the author’s identity is unknown to the editors. Announcements of events will not be printed. ADVERTISING POLICY The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. reserves the right to accept or decline any advertisement in its discretion.

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

OPINIONS THURSDAY, APRIL 11, 2002 · PAGE 15

Leftists should drop support for taxes on poor Leftists should abandon policies that effectively tax the bottom income groups ONE WOULD THINK THAT SELF-PRO- lot of it in the bank. So in terms of claimed activists would at least advocate income, a sales tax is like an income tax programs and tax schemes in line with where the bracket gets higher the poorer their stated position: minimizing the tax you are. As noted, one would think leftists burden on those at the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder. Indeed, I took would be against such assaults on the poor. Consider the Green this premise as a given for Party’s platform (http://www. many years, thinking of libergp.org/platform/gpp2000.html al Democrats, greens and #net): “The accumulation of socialists as the voices of the individual wealth in the U.S. voiceless in our society. But has reached grossly unbalmy faith in the left has been anced proportions ... We shattered, as it has been must take aggressive steps to shown so simply that the left restore a fair distribution of may be the poor’s worst income. We support tax enemy. incentives for businesses At first I thought only the BRETT COHEN that apply fair employee most callously indifferent CHECKMATE! wage distributions stanfeudalist would advocate dards, and income tax polipervasive regressive taxation, which falls proportionally more on poor cies that restrict the accumulation of people. The classic regressive tax is the excessive individual wealth.” Sounds consistent. Yet, the Green state sales tax on most goods and services (except basic food). While conserva- Party, along with the other leftists mentives argue that a sales tax (or as they are tioned above, supports a number of referred to in Europe, value-added tax) is effectively regressive taxes, including tarthe fairest of all, since a person can iffs, corporate taxes and minimum “choose” whether to be affected by the wages/unions. Take tariffs, probably the easiest tax on tax by not making purchases, this is pure farce reminiscent of the Marx Brothers. the poor to identify. The Green Party and As anyone with the slimmest back- liberal Democrats favor tariffs on prodground in sociology or economics can ucts imported into the United States to tell you, poor people spend a larger por- “protect American workers” from “unfair tion of their income (often all of it) as competition” in industries such as steel, compared to richer people, who keep a to which the Bush administration recently capitulated. Tariffs on imported steel will increase the costs of manufactures Brett Cohen ’03 has a rich soul. His such as cars considerably, and by far the columns appear on alternate Thursdays.

poor will bear most of this burden in terms of percentage of income. Worth it to protect the steel workers, you say? By some estimates, it costs nearly $500,000 per steelworker (http://www.citactrade.org/remedy/) — resources that could be going to many more needy people in the world. Given that there is no debate that import duties increase the price of goods, most people will eventually concede that tariffs harm those at the bottom. By contrast, if the average person were to nominate a tax that targeted the rich like a sniper, you can be pretty darn sure that would be corporate taxes. After all, a corporate tax, like an estate tax, doesn’t fall on a person — it falls on an unconscious legal entity. Indeed, icons such as Ralph Nader have made many a crusade against “corporate welfare” and have called on higher taxes on corporations. Unfortunately, corporate taxes don’t just fall on legal entities; they fall on (you guessed it!) working people, particularly those at the bottom, in the form of higher prices on products. Corporate taxes also have the nasty side-effect of reducing the amount of investment in the economy (by rendering many ventures no longer sufficiently profitable), which slows economic growth. Simply put, corporations will have fewer funds to reinvest in things like “hiring people” and creating new factories that might produce goods more cheaply and efficiently. I’m sure my hardest sell would be regarding unions. Surely unions, which

pretend to represent working people, help the poor? Well, they may help some poor people, but only by making others even poorer; as can be shown quite plainly, unions work in reverseRobin Hood fashion, taking from the relatively poorer and giving to the relatively richer. Naturally, the inclination of the leftist is to repeat that union wage gains come out of corporate profits. This is unlikely. Unions work very, very well, when established, at raising wages, especially when implanted in all competing firms of that industry; pay rates are on average somewhere between twenty-five to thirty percent higher than at non-union shops. Who pays for this large benefit? Everybody, especially poor (non-union) workers. Try sending a five-pound package by UPS ground shipping; it will run you $5.58, thanks to the Teamsters. Similar service from the much smaller, nonunion competitor FedEx Ground costs $4.00. Many such price differentials exist throughout the industry; consider the difference in prices between U.S. Air and Southwest Airlines, or the difference in prices on many household items at WalMart, as compared to a unionized department store or supermarket. I call upon all those who consider themselves left of center, as I do, to renounce support for these taxes that fall largely on the poorest, remembering that everyone, particularly at the very bottom, is a consumer.

Israel’s offensive part of a larger war against terrorism Despite Sharon’s failure as prime minister of Israel, the nation’s actions are crucial for its survival AS PRIME MINISTER OF ISRAEL, ARIEL Palestinians who pour into the streets Sharon has performed miserably and the dancing, distributing candy and firing people who ushered him into power guns into the air each time one of their should be ashamed of themselves. He young blows himself or herself to pieces seduced the Israeli public with promises of among a crowd of Israelis. Israelis are not security, but never presented a clear vision merely fighting against comparatively under-armed Palestinians but of a path to peace. That being against a dangerous ethos. said, I stand behind him and Palestinians have gone beyond the Israeli people in support of TEDDY KOTT GUEST COLUMN accepting terrorism directed at the offensive into the West civilians — most of them Bank because of its imporembrace it as a political tool. tance to the survival of Israel Palestinians have embraced this attiand to deter violence for political gains tude because the Palestinian leadership worldwide. Since 1948, nearly every power in the has prepared them for war instead of region has taken turns exploiting the peace. When Arafat refused the offer from Palestinian people. Most tragically, it is Ehud Barak at Camp David in 2000, an now clear that the people who have taken offer that conceded more than the Israeli advantage of Palestinians the most are public was willing, the Palestinian media their own leaders, foremost among them, portrayed him as a hero. For all of the Yasser Arafat. By fostering hatred and a debate about the extent of Arafat’s authorlack of respect for life among his people, ity, he no doubt could have eradicated Arafat has destroyed the moral authority messages of hate from Palestinian schools. they once had in demanding a state. The young adults who are now detonating Palestinians deserve a nation of their own, explosives around their waists were chilbut, because their leaders have seduced dren when Arafat signed the Oslo Accords. them with words of hatred and violence, Instead of growing up with visions of coexistence with Israelis, children came of age they will have to wait. Palestinians point to their procreation surrounded by messages of hate. This fostering of hatred is not unique to rates to underscore their ability to outlast Israelis in a war of attrition. More impor- Palestinians, but the clearest example of an tantly, in suicide bombings, they have Arab phenomenon. No Arab statesman has found a perfect way to prey on Israel’s main unequivocally condemned suicide bombweakness. As a Hamas spokesman chilling- ing or other forms of terrorism in the name ly articulated a few days ago, Jews “love life of legitimate resistance. As diverse as the more than any other people, and they pre- Arab world is, its leaders are always quick fer not to die.” Anybody who thinks that to come to a consensus in condemning these words are merely rhetoric from a Israel and expressing solidarity with the fringe extremist group ignores the scores of Palestinian uprising. These leaders — none of whom are democratically elected — Teddy Kott ’02 hails from Chevy Chase, Md. never even participate in extended public discussion of the tactics taken up by the This is his first guest column for The Palestinian people. Where are the Arab and Herald.

Muslim leaders to denounce the atrocities committed in the name of their religion and people? The current Israeli incursion into the West Bank will not succeed in halting terrorism. A push must come from within the Arab and Muslim communities to denounce suicide bombings. That voice, though it remains faint, does exist. Leaders of Malaysia and Bosnia, both majority Muslim states, recently raised the prospect of condemning suicide bombings at a conference in Kuala Lumpur, only to be shouted down by Palestinian delegates. That voice comes more powerfully from people like the family members of Ayat alAkhras, the 18-year-old schoolgirl who killed herself and two Israelis. They did not even know that she was even affiliated with the Al-Aksa Brigades, the military wing of Arafat’s political movement. “Had I known,” her father said, “I would have closed the door and locked it with a key.” As far as Arafat’s role in the violence, only two conclusions are possible. Either he has the power to prevent attacks and at best does nothing, or he has no control over his people and sits in a figurehead position. Regardless of which is the reality, how could the Israeli government consider him a true partner in peace negotiations? Syria and Iraq, Israel’s most militant enemies, have more influence than Arafat. Syria gives funds to organizations like Hamas that gain support for terrorism by providing health care and welfare services. Saddam Hussein recently escalated his reward to families of suicide bombers from $10,000 to $25,000, with a similar but less lucrative provision for those who die in the execution of other civilian attacks. World leaders must pressure Arab governments to condem suicide bombings in

unambiguous terms and to ease their suppression of a moderate movement. Arab leaders now offer justification for terrorism, choosing to call it martyrdom. There is never justification for terrorism. Arab leaders and Palestinian sympathizers point to the desperation of the Palestinians and their oppression at the hands of Israel. It is true that they are despondent and that Sharon’s actions have fomented anger, but many peoples in history have been as desperate and angry and chosen very different paths. This wave of terrorist attacks is a threat to the existence of Israel as well as to the world’s political climate. For those who think Israelis exaggerate their need for security, they should keep in mind the distance between Tulkarem and Netanya. A suicide bomber from Tulkarem in the West Bank killed 27 on Passover in Netanya, a city on the Mediterranean. You could walk between the two cities in just a few hours. The world must recognize that while Israelis are fighting for the existence of their nation, this war is being fought for all of us. If terrorists even appear to be victorious, it encourages the use of political terrorism everywhere. While the Israeli offensive will not completely halt terrorism, it sends the message that it will not go on unchecked. I hope that in 50 years we will look back on this period as a time when a dangerous ethos of terrorism threatened to take hold in the world, much like we now look back on Nazism. Those of us with this hope must speak out now and support Israel in what has become a necessary offensive, as well as push Israel to conduct it reasonably humanely and to take steps toward a lasting peace that includes things such as a long overdue freeze on settlements.

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

SPORTS THURSDAY APRIL 11, 2002 · PAGE 16

Bonds, Shilling get baseball honors; Flyers, Bucks slip

Men’s lacrosse keeps hopes of Ivy title alive with 9-8 thriller over Harvard

ANOTHER WEEK GOES BY, AND AGAIN it’s time to bestow some honors upon the best and worst in the sports world.

BY JONATHAN BLOOM

A – Barry Bonds, S.F. Giants. Someone should check Mr. Bonds’ medicine cabinet, because this JOHN VERDEAUX guy has to be on ANDREW FRANK something! In THE FINAL GRADE the Giants’ first five games this year, the all-time single season homerun leader has managed to put together, once again, a huge lead in the home run race with five. Bonds, after just seven games, is on pace to hit 116 home runs by the end of the season, a stat that many view as impossible, but at the same time, one can imagine this guy actually doing it. Although his stupefying power is his trademark, Bonds is arguably the most complete player in the game. In his 7,949 at bats, Bonds has only struck out six times out of every 100 times he stepped to the plate. This, most likely, can be attributed to his keen plate discipline and spectacular ability to make contact with the baseball. Bonds has almost 500 more walks and 1,200 more hits than he has ever had below 90% fielding (never committing more than six errors in one season). The list of amazing statistics goes on and on, leading me to my initial statement that Barry Bonds is arguably the best allaround player in the game today. It is scary to think that he continues to improve every year, leading us to question whether 116 homeruns is truly impossible. B – Curt Schilling, Arizona Diamondbacks. Wowsers! That is about all that comes to mind when I think about Curt. This 36year old right-handed pitcher defies the laws of aging and continues to get better. In his two starts this season, Schilling has combined for 26 strikeouts (17 alone in his last start), just seven hits and a 0.00 ERA in 16 innings. Even his left-handed counterpart Randy Johnson has not been as dominant so far this season. What makes his success even more amazing is that Schilling had another shoulder operation a couple of years ago. Many players never come back at 100% after these types of operations; however, that is obviously not the case for Schilling. Last season, he posted a career high in wins with 22, as well as a career low ERA at 2.98. Schilling has always been a solid pitcher. In 1993, he led Philadelphia to the World Series, and in 1997 he had a league high of 319 strikeouts. However, he has never shown the consistency and domination that he has over the opposition until recently, making him a truly astonishing athlete. He may even be the best pitcher in baseball, now that Pedro is not as good because of his shoulder, which puts a damper on Boston’s playoff chances. C - Philadelphia Flyers. The Flyers, who once stood atop the see FINAL GRADE, page 8

SCOREBOARD Yesterday’s Results Men’s Lacrosse

Softball

BROWN 9, Harvard 8

BROWN 4, Boston College 0 Boston College 10, BROWN 0

Baseball BROWN 6, URI 0 URI 6, BROWN 5

Held at bay for much of the game, Ivy League scoring leader Jon Thompson ’03 saved his best for last, netting the goahead and game-winning goals late in the fourth quarter of last night’s 9-8 win over Harvard. The scores, which came off two terrific passes from Rich Tuohey ’04 and Ryan Culligan ’05, improved the men’s lacrosse team’s record to 4-5 overall, but more importantly, 2-0 in Ivy League competition. The win keeps the Bears in contention for the Ivy League title, which would result in an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, a trip the Bears have not made since 1997. “It was definitely a big game for us,” said Head Coach Scott Nelson. “It’s our second one-goal win in Ivy play. Last time we let Yale back into the game, but tonight we played a full 60 minutes.” In front of a packed crowd at Stevenson Field, the Bears entered the second half deadlocked at 4-4 and came out strong in the third quarter. Off looks from co-captain Matt Kelley ’02 and Thomas Lipinski ’04, honorable mention All-American Jimmy Mormile ’02 scored back-to-back goals to give the Bears the 6-4 lead. Harvard’s Jeff Gotschall answered with 4:54 to play in the third, and the score remained 6-5 heading into the game’s final quarter. Mormile struck again just nine seconds into the fourth, with Culligan tallying one of three assists on the night. Harvard, though, bounced right back with goals from Mike McBride and Jay Wich to tie the score at 7-7. Off two Harvard penalties, Thompson broke the tie at the 5:31 mark off a cross-

field pass from Tuohey and added the insurance goal with 3:23 to play off a feed inside from Culligan. “Tonight the extra-man really came through for us. We missed a few chances early in the fourth, but in the end we pulled through,” Nelson said. “Tuohey and Culligan had two great passes, and Thompson finished strong. Our extra-man has come up big all season long.” Harvard’s Matt Primm pulled the Crimson within one with just over two minutes to play, but Harvard’s final possession in the waning seconds of the game fell short. A Brown defensive squad that played strong all game simply would not falter, dropping Harvard to 4-4 on the season and 0-3 in league play. “The defense really played great the whole game,” Nelson said. “We rode them hard, especially in the beginning of the game, and kept the pressure on throughout.” Brown led the Crimson 3-1 after one quarter of play, as Kelley opened the scoring, and midfielder Mike Hughes ’03 followed up strong with impressive back-toback goals. Harvard scored three unanswered in the second quarter before Brian Miller ’04 tied the game at 4-4 with 19 seconds left before the half. Brown outshot Harvard 38-24, with standout goalie Mike Levin ’04 stopping 10 shots in net. The Bears will continue their quest for an Ivy title this Sunday when they travel to Philadelphia to take on the University of Pennsylvania. Sports editor Jonathan Bloom ’03 covers men’s lacrosse. He can be reached at jbloom@browndailyherald.com.

Emily Hunt / Herald

Co-captain Jon Thompson ’03 scored the go-ahead and game-winning goals against Harvard to improve the men’s lacrosse team’s Ivy League record to 2-0.

M. tennis drops Yale while Women’s singles matches still in play tennis falls to JESSE WARREN

Co-captain Nick Malone ’02 and Adil Shamasdin ’05 pulled off a tight 9-7 doubles victory to give the Bears the doubles point, which would be the deciding factor in a 4-3 match against Yale on Tuesday afternoon. Though game-determining, the Brown men’s tennis team put the match away before the Bulldogs could get a single victory. Justin Natale ’03 and co-captain Chris Drake ’03 also picked up a doubles win (85) against Yale’s top doubles combo. Jamie Cerretani ’04 and Nick Goldberg ’05 played an intense and close match at third doubles but lost in the end by a score of 8-6. Natale served up the first point in singles play, winning with an emphatic overhead smash, setting the tone for the Bears. Meanwhile, Goldberg at sixth singles was the first to walk off the court, manhandling Yale’s Gabe Goldstein 6-1, 6-1. Malone soon followed with a win at second doubles 6-4, 6-2. After a tight first set, which went back and forth, Malone easily handled David Goldman in the second. Drake won the third singles match of the day with a victory over Chris ‘Brett Farve’ Shackelton in two sets, putting Brown up 4-0 overall and clinching the meet. Drake opened up the first game strong by breaking Shackelton’s serve and then won his own service. With the score 5-2, Drake’s opponent began to rally, but he was eventually held off. Drake won the game 7-5. In the second game, Drake handled the wind and Shackelton with ease, wining 6-3.

Drake’s consistent play caused his Yale opponent to spray the ball out of bounds for most of the game. The victory allowed the Bears to win the overall match, even with three singles players still on the courts. Cerretani, having one of his few bad days, lost at third singles to Andrew Rosenfeld, 6-4, 6-4. Cerretani had a rough start to begin the match and fell behind 25 early. He managed a late set comeback to pull the score to 4-5 but could not seize the victory. Cerretani made the second set close, but Tuesday was just not his day. He could not capitalize on Rosenfeld’s unforced errors and did not put the ball away when he should have. Shamasdin, who broke out a stunning first set 6-0 victory over Jonny Lu, dropped the second and third sets after re-injuring his stomach muscle. Shamasdin sprained his stomach muscle for the second time this season and could not maintain the intensity that he displayed earlier in the match. He lost the second set 4-6 and the third 1-6. Natale now stood alone, battling Ryan Murphy on Brown’s first court. Unable to win the first set (4-6), he attempted to make a second set comeback. Natale played tentatively at first, but he picked up his game late. He brought the score to 4-5, but Murphy pulled ahead to edge Natale 57. Yale won the last three matches of the day, but it was for naught, as Brown already see M. TENNIS, page 6

Yale, 5-2 BY SHARA HEGDE

The Brown women’s tennis team faced some tough competition last Tuesday against Yale. The women played some tight matches but ended up losing to the Lady Bulldogs 5-2. Brown received strong wins from Kerry Meath ’05 and Alexandra Arlak ’05. Meath captured a 6-0, 6-4 victory at number four singles, while Arlak took her opponent to three sets, eventually pulling out a 7-5, 3-6, 10-7 victory. Arlak was disappointed with the team’s loss but was optimistic about this weekend. “I wish we could have done better against Yale,” she said. “But looking ahead, I think we have a great chance to pick up some big wins against Cornell and Columbia this weekend.” Next up in the Ivy League for Brown are Cornell and Columbia. The women face Cornell this Friday in Ithaca and Columbia the following Saturday in New York. Sports staff writer Shara Hegde ’04 covers women’s tennis. She can be reached at shegde@browndailyherald.com.