F R I D A Y SEPTEMBER 13, 2002
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Volume CXXXVII, No. 71
An independent newspaper serving the Brown community since 1891
www.browndailyherald.com
U.S. News drops Brown to No. 17 among schools in 2003 rankings
Adam Theriault / Herald
IN NEED OF REPAIR The space inside T.F. Green Hall is currently undergoing renovations to improve the facility for the many student groups that rely on it. See story, page 3.
A year later, Sept. 11 trauma remains BY ELENA LESLEY
For some Americans, the psychological damage inflicted by the events of Sept. 11, 2001, loomed over everyday life long after the twin towers fell. In the year following the attacks, tens of thousands of people in the New York area exhibited symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and depression, said Murray Schwartz, who has worked with a “trauma group” sponsored by the American Psychoanalytic Association to gauge the attacks’ ONE YEAR AFTER SEVENTH IN A SERIES psychological impact. Conducting interviews primarily with New Yorkers and Boston-area residents, the group determined that “the most traumatized were those closest to the events,” he said. “People have had flashbacks, nightmares, anxiety about going on planes.” Schwartz, a professor of literature at Emerson College who has taught classes in Holocaust studies and psychoanalysis, said such responses to traumatic events are not unusual. Survivors of Hitler’s regime often exhibited similar symptoms of PTSD, he said. “PTSD has been a concern throughout the 20th century,” he said. “It was called ‘shell shock’ after World War I — we didn’t develop a term for it until later.” At Brown, mental disturbances experienced after the attacks were generally less severe than those confronted by New Yorkers, said Kent Yrchik-Shoemaker, a counseling psychologist with the University’s Psychological Services. In the immediate aftermath, Psych Services provided mostly practical assistance, helping students track down family and friends, he said. “We didn’t have a lot of students that were traumatized to the point that it interrupted their routine for very long,” he said. “It was particularly hard for new students because they had had roughly a week on campus.” He cited President Ruth Simmons’ University-wide
address that day as helpful to the Brown community. “I think it was comforting to students to have people of different ages around,” he said. “Many (professors) were in college during Vietnam and had some perspective of experiencing loss when they were 18 or 19.” Although Psych Services didn’t immediately experience an influx of students, some came in as the weeks and months wore on. For many of those who had previously struggled with PTSD or generalized anxiety disorder, the attacks triggered a renewal or heightening of symptoms, YrchikShoemaker said. Such trends held true outside of Brown as well. A study conducted by professors from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington showed that most Americans who fixated on contracting anthrax after the attacks had a history of hypochondrial tendencies, the American Psychological Association reported on its Web site. Though many such psychological disturbances tapered off several months after the attacks, “cognitive dislocation” experienced by numerous Americans has endured, Schwartz said. “People’s view of the world has been shaken by this, but it’s hard to measure,” he said. Yrchik-Shoemaker said the time period around the attacks’ anniversary will likely trigger symptoms of PTSD, depression and generalized anxiety disorder for both those who have experienced these conditions before and those who have not. “I’m a behaviorist, and all the cues are the same,” he said. “The weather’s the same, it’s the start of a new year, end of shopping period — familiar things that set the background for Sept. 11. People will probably wake up experiencing some kind of discomfort and sadness that they can’t quite put their finger on.” Herald staff writer Elena Lesley ’04 is a news editor. She can be reached at elesley@browndailyherald.com.
Brown might be one of only eight schools in the elite Ivy League, but don’t tell U.S. News and World Report, which last night announced that Brown doesn’t belong in the top 15 schools for the second straight year. Brown dropped to No. 17 in U.S. News and World Report’s controversial annual college rankings. Princeton ranked first, Harvard and Yale tied for second and five other schools tied for fourth. Cornell was the second lowest Ivy at No. 14. Last year, Brown ranked No. 16 in the national universities section. The magazine unveiled its 2003 rankings on its Web site last night. Complete rankings and statistical information on each school are available in the magazine’s print edition, which is currently available in some parts of the country. The magazine ranks schools based on peer assessment, freshman retention rate, graduation rate, student selectivity, financial resources, alumni giving rate, class size and other factors. Brown graduated 94 percent of its students last year and had the fourth highest graduation rate, according to U.S. News and World Report. In the liberal arts college section, Amherst College ranked first, and Swarthmore and Williams colleges tied for second. — Herald staff reports
2003 U.S. News College Rankings
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I N S I D E F R I D AY, S E P T E M B E R 1 3 , 2 0 0 2 T.G. Green Hall will undergo extensive renovations beginning Oct. 1 page 3
Downtown international art festival celebrates jazz of the world page 3
Annual Fund sets record year raising over $17 million from alumni giving page 5
Princeton University Harvard University Yale University Cal. Institute of Tech. Duke University Mass. Institute of Tech. Stanford University University of Penn. Dartmouth College Columbia University Northwestern University of Chicago Washington University Cornell University Johns Hopkins Rice University Brown University Emory University Notre Dame California-Berkeley
TO D AY ’ S F O R E C A S T Michael Rader ’95 says a study abroad experience — like his own in Israel — can change a life guest column,page 11
Men’s soccer team prepares to open season against U. of Michigan tonight sports,page 12
sunny high 79 low 58