Thursday, February 20, 2003 by The Brown Daily Herald

T H U R S D A Y FEBRUARY 20, 2003

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Volume CXXXVIII, No. 20

An independent newspaper serving the Brown community since 1891

www.browndailyherald.com

Friends, family celebrate life of Lamendola BY CARLA BLUMENKRANZ

Family, friends and teachers gathered Wednesday to celebrate the life of Sarah Lamendola ’04, a student who “was able to be that two-feet tall little kid just as she was developing into this beautiful young woman,” said her mother, Alene Lamendola, at the memorial service in Sayles Hall. Sarah Lamendola constantly impressed her faculty advisor, Karen Fischer, associate professor of geological sciences, with her exceptional self-confidence, Fischer said. Even when preparing to fly halfway around the world for a semester in New Zealand, Lamendola felt “no doubts or anxiety, just happiness and anticipation,” Fischer said. “If Sarah were here today, I am sure she would tell us all to go out and seize the world,” said Sara Read ’04, a friend of Lamendola. “She was never scared of living her life.” Harry Siple ’04 met Lamendola at A Day On College Hill and, ever since, his experience at Brown has been colored by the “crazy, magnetic pull of her personality,” he said. Making up names for everything from Kermit the car to Abraham the finger puppet, Lamendola “drew you into her world, and the next thing you knew, you’d find yourself talking about Kermit and Abraham,” Siple said. Lamendola was just as famous for her perpetual optimism, friends said. “I’ve got an idea: Go blow bubbles on the Main Green and eat lots of ice cream,” she wrote in an e-mail last summer to cheer up Kerry Miller ’04, Herald executive editor. “I remember thinking, ‘It’s just not fair. How can she be so happy?’” Miller said. Now, she said she understands what Lamendola meant — that there are “so many things in life worth experiencing and appreciating and being happy about.” Photographs showed Lamendola following her own advice, blowing bubbles on the Main Green, eating ice cream with zeal and laughing, smiling and making faces in the halls of her freshman unit. Friends and family members received bubble solution and wands with their programs and picked up Ben and Jerry’s ice cream bars in the foyer. In remembrances they passed up to the front of Sayles to be read aloud, friends and family testified that Lamendola “rocked my socks, literally,” acted like “living catnip,” making everyone happy all the time and “made me feel special in a way no one else has.” Lamendola “had the capacity to get you excited about life on a daily see MEMORIAL, page 4

Cassie Ramirez / Herald

BUILDING THE DREAM Teamwork and a ladder were required to fashion a massive snowman — or perhaps, snow beast — on the Main Green Wednesday.

Students debate Iraq war BY DANIELLE CERNY

Supporters and opponents of war with Iraq sounded off against each other in a loosely-formatted debate Wednesday night designed to address the concerns of a divided campus over an impending war. Hosted by Brown’s Debate Union, Young Americans for Freedom and the International Socialist Organization, the debate showcased six Brown student debaters, three antiwar and three pro-war. Both sides were allowed five minutes to make their original arguments, which were followed by brief rebuttals, and concluded with alternating questions from the two views. A forum was later opened to audience questions. President of the Debate Union Brookes Brown ’04 proctored the event. “Too often Brown is accused of being a place where not all views are represented,” she said. “It is important that we recognize the diversity of ideas on Brown’s campus.” The pro-war debate team was comprised of Joseph Lisska ’04, Joshua Marcus ’04 and Ari Gerstman ’05. Arguing against the war were Shaun Joseph ’03, Stephen Beale ’04 and Sasha Rosenthal ’04. Joseph gave the opening statement for the antiwar proponents, which centered on the lack of public support for war, the devastation Iraq would endure as a result of a U.S. attack and the human cost of war. “The U.S. has no plans of instilling a democracy after war. What they have is a shock and awe plan. This is a terrorist policy beyond the most twisted dreams of Saddam Hussein,” Joseph said. The pro-war advocates, first represented by Marcus, molded their argument around the consequences of not going to war — the horrific acts Hussein has taken against his own people and the need to

reinforce the validity of the United Nations. “None of the debaters are in disagreement that Saddam is evil. The question is has he gone against the U.N. enough to warrant an attack. Yes, no question about it,” Marcus said. “We’ve let a lot of middle fingers from Saddam slide,” he said. “Are we willing to wait for the final straw that breaks the camel’s back? Are we going to wait for Saddam to launch his own war that could kill five million people?” Marcus asked. The two sides remained sharply divided throughout the debate about what did and did not legitimize the need for war and about the existence of possible alternate solutions. Gerstman said the need for war boiled down to how long we would allow Hussein to violate U.N. requests and potentially build up an arsenal of nuclear weapons. The pro-war side also acknowledged the role oil plays in the motivation for action. “Even if all our interests in the Middle East were about oil, let’s at least get some good out of it and liberate the people of Iraq in the process,” Gerstman said. Ultimately, the antiwar advocates stressed the illegitimacy of an unprovoked attack that was not, Rosenthal said, a matter of protecting the United States, but was simply an act of revenge by an administration with hidden agendas. In the pro-war group’s final statements, Gerstman said “evil happens when good people sit back and do nothing.” Smitha Khorana ’06 was disappointed by what she said was a lack of passion from the debaters. “I thought it was really good that both sides were represented

ResCouncil approves Art House and Interfaith House as Bottega House disbands page 3

Grad students in education practice teaching at local schools like Wheeler page 3

This weekend’s Corporation retreat will focus on extending President Ruth Simmons’ academic enrichment program, said Secretary of the University Russell Carey. The Corporation, a group of 42 trustees and 12 fellows that directs the University’s academic and financial initiatives, meets three times a year in October, February and May, Carey said. The February meeting usually examines the University’s budget, including its tuition and fees, Carey said. Typically, the standing committees of the Corporation, which deal with specific aspects of the University’s organization such as athletics and investment of the endowment, meet individually, Carey said. He said a business meeting usually is held on one day of each Corporation meeting. But rather than convening the Corporation’s standing committees separately, Simmons has chosen to hold the meeting in a retreat format, with the Corporation as a whole coming together on Friday, Carey said. “You need different formats for different agendas,” Carey said. He said the retreat format is appropriate for the goal of February’s meeting — to continue crafting an “ambitious plan” for Brown’s evolution in the next decade. “The academic plans and future direction of the University are broad enough that they cut across committees,” Carey said. —Philissa Cramer

see DEBATE, page 4

I N S I D E T H U R S D AY, F E B RUA RY 2 0 , 2 0 0 3 Brown First program doesn’t hurt local businesses as much as expected page 3

Corp. meeting this weekend

TO D AY ’ S F O R E C A S T Poli Sci Prof. Alan Zuckerman examines Bush’s reasons for war with Iraq guest column, page 11

Hockey teams look toward playoffs, as wrestling falters in final home matches sports, page 12

sunny high 40 low 23

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

THIS MORNING THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2003 · PAGE 2 Pornucopia Eli Swiney

W E AT H E R TODAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

High 40 Low 23 sunny

High 43 Low 30 partly cloudy

High 39 Low 26 rain/freezing rain

High 35 Low 14 rain

GRAPHICS BY TED WU

A Story Of Eddie Ahn

CALENDAR COLLOQUIUM— “The Role of Spiritual Development for College Students,” Margaret Jablonski, Brown, Center for the Study of Human Development. Room 241, CIT, noon. LECTURE—“Lowest-low Fertility in Europe During the 1990s,” Hans-Peter Kohler, University of Pennsylvania, Population Studies and Training Center . Zimmer Lounge, Maxcy Hall, noon. WORKSHOP—“Black Women and Relationships: Self Image, Choice, and Social Construction,” Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. Room 103, Wilson Hall, 6 p.m. THEATER—“Senior Director’s Showcase: Valparaiso,” by Don DeLillo, directed by Benjamin Sugar ‘03, Department of Theatre, Speech and Dance. Leeds Theatre, 8 p.m.

Coup de Grace Grace Farris rocks biochemistry

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Columnist Hopper 6 Subside 11 1860s nickname 14 Really dug 15 Nocturnal fliers 16 Auction action 17 Part of a collection 18 Soothing succulents 19 Seasonal beverage 20 Jimi Hendrix classic 22 Beach area 23 Helpful contacts 24 Aced 26 Hit lightly 30 Frost lines 32 Renters, e.g. 33 1976 Ron Howard film 37 Poi, essentially 38 Bug 39 Once again 40 Cheech and Chong movie 42 Rocket fuel component, briefly 43 Silly 44 Light craft 45 Grow distant 48 “__ Love You” 49 Dedicated 50 This puzzle’s title 57 Boring accessory 58 Type of acid used in anemia treatment 59 It can precede or follow “to be” 60 Motel freebie 61 Sawyer of “Primetime Live” 62 Bender 63 62-Across consequence, maybe 64 “See ya” 65 Steel girder DOWN 1 Cellar door device 2 Caesar’s closer 3 Beloved

4 Refuse convenience 5 Puts on 6 Eastern nurses 7 Gaucho’s gadget 8 It covers everything 9 Them 10 Snowstorm starter? 11 Repeal 12 Kentucky’s northernmost county 13 Advanced with care 21 Terminate 22 Scorn 25 “Lilacs” poet Lowell 26 “Coppelia” costume 27 On the double 28 Gilpin of “Frasier” 29 Like forks 30 Hanky attachment 31 Early Nebraskan 33 Son of Seth 34 “I will sing __ the Lord...”: Exodus 35 Withered

36 Terrible year? 38 Like some basic organisms 41 Grass section 42 Capital east of Lake Victoria 44 CBS forensic drama 45 Zealous and then some 46 Throw out 47 Quotes

48 Shows impatience, in a way 51 Jai __ 52 The Flintstones’ pet 53 Minute quantity 54 Author Rice 55 Exercise discipline 56 Check 58 Rx overseer

My Best Effort Will Newman and Andy Hull

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE: M E A N

O N T O

Q U I T

U N T O

A K I T A

M A N O R

L O T T

A C H E

R H E B O I C K C A S O R N E W I O U L I N T H E R O A P

D O R A B E T H E S D A

S C R O D S E C H O A I L

N A P E O S T G O P O F A M I D K T A N A W I N K M I N E T T E D O A G O U T D E N O S A R M O R M E B R E B S B U I T S P

M A H R E

A V A I L

G E T B Y

D I A L

A V I A

M A N Y

I A T E

E T T A

S H E K

Survival & Reproduction Ross Loomis

02/20/03

xwordeditor@aol.com

Stumped? Call 1-900-226-4413. 99 cents a minute 1

23 26

43 45

MENUS

02/20/03

THE RATTY LUNCH — Vegetarian Six Bean Soup, Kale & Linguica Soup, Chicken Parmesan Grinder, Vegetable Strudel, Mixed Vegetables Creole, Cherry Tarts

V-DUB LUNCH — Vegetarian Garlic Soup, Egg Drop & Chicken Soup, Chicken Cutlet on a Bun, Vegan Tofu Raviolis with Sauce, Creole Mixed Vegetables, Cherry Tarts

DINNER — Vegetarian Six Bean Soup, Kale & Linguica Soup, Beef & Broccoli Szechwan, Cajun Baked Fish, Baked Macaroni & Cheese, Sticky Rice, Fresh Sliced Carrots, Stir Fry Vegetable Medley, Cheese Biscuit Bread, Chocolate Cinnamon Cake Roll

DINNER — Vegetarian Garlic Soup, Egg Drop & Chicken Soup, Beef Pot Pie,Vegan Ratatouille,Vegan Rice Pilaf, Fresh Sliced Carrots, Mandarin Blend Vegetables, Cheese Biscuit Bread, Chocolate Cinnamon Cake Roll

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD, INC. The Brown Daily Herald (USPS 067.740) is published Monday through Friday during the acaEditorial Phone: 401.351.3372

demic year, excluding vacations, once during Commencement, once during Orientation and

Business Phone: 401.351.3260

once in July by The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. POSTMASTER please send corrections to P.O. Box

Elena Lesley, President

2538, Providence, RI 02906. Periodicals postage paid at Providence, R.I. Offices are located at 195

Kerry Miller, Vice President

Angell St., Providence, R.I. E-mail herald@browndailyherald.com. World Wide Web:

Jamie Wolosky, Treasurer

http://www.browndailyherald.com. Subscription prices: $179 one year daily, $139 one semester

Joseph Laganas, Secretary

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

CAMPUS NEWS THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2003 · PAGE 3

MAT program helps students learn teaching BY MERYL ROTHSTEIN

Chaos abounds in Charlie Laurent’s third grade classroom at The Wheeler School as eight-year-olds scramble for their workbooks and fidget in their seats. Slowly but surely the noise dies down as Kate Geier GS, a student in Brown’s Master of Arts in Teaching program, says “thank you” to each of the quiet students. The 12-month MAT program consists of education in both elementary and secondary teaching. The program in elementary education includes courses taught at Brown as well as three clinical experiences teaching at a summer academic program, a Providence public school and the Wheeler School or the Hamilton School at Wheeler — a program for children with languagebased learning difficulties. Geier, like other students in the program, serves as a classroom teacher with the assistance of a mentor like Laurent. Although multiple elementary schools are involved in the MAT program, Wheeler’s “privileged educational community” plays an integral role in the program’s mission, said Lecturer and Clinical Professor of Elementary Education Polly Ulichny. “The focus of our program is to train teachers to work for the schools with the neediest kids,” Ulichny said. The hope is that the MAT students will learn “what makes Wheeler such an excellent educational experience and how you can take that into public schools.” Jeanette Epstein, director of the MAT program at Wheeler, said the joint Brown/Wheeler program encourages teachers to commit to local schools, an issue of great importance, particularly in such a small state. Epstein, who is also an adjunct lecturer at Brown, said, “All kids deserve great teachers. “There is a wealth of expertise” between Wheeler, Brown and the local public schools, she said. “Why isn’t this a wonderful thing to do?” Geier, who taught in a first grade classroom at Bailey Elementary School in South see MAT, page 4

Bottega house disbands BY SARA PERKINS

Bottega House, a four-year-old program house dedicated to creative expression, will disband at the end of the semester, due to the lack of interest of current members, according to house leaders and members of Residential Council. According to Residential Life rules, at least one-third of program house members must return in order for the house to receive ResCouncil approval. Bottega head Yasmine Soliman ’04 informed the council on Feb. 11 that the house, currently located in Olney House, cannot meet this threshold for the coming semester. Last March, The Herald reported Bottega had added 18 new members, but the combination of graduating seniors, rising seniors moving off-campus, rising juniors going abroad and students taking time off means the house does not have the necessary number of returning members “It was working really well first semester,” Soliman said. “Then out of the blue, many people decided they were going to take time off.” Noreen Cipriano ’04 said she was “saddened by the fact that they hadn’t advertised they were disbanding,” as she had considered Bottega an option. Bottega held three events last fall, all of

which house member Erika Litvin ’03 described as successful and well-attended. In addition to their fourth annual finger-painting event on the Main Green, they sponsored pumpkin carving and a “Fire and Ice Cream” study break. But as Bottega House disbands, two new program houses, Interfaith House and Art House, are slated to join the roster program houses in the coming semester. Interfaith House “aims to create a safe space at Brown to foster discussion, understanding and inter-religious dialogue” for both those with a religious background and those without, according to its charter. Created by Matt Hamilton ’05, Herald contributing writer Julian Leichty ’06 and Sushil Jacob ’05 with University Chaplain Janet Cooper Nelson, the house will host a variety of faith-related events, including “amateur theology” and interfaith prayer and meditation meetings. Although a spiritual successor to Bottega House, Art House plans to place special emphasis on building the art community at Brown and strengthening its connections to Providence artists, Candace Toth ’05 said. Toth said the relatively small size of see BOTTEGA, page 7

Brown First has little impact on local business BY ZACH BARTER

The University’s new Brown First policy has had a varying but largely marginal impact on area businesses, according to several College Hill vendors, dispelling fears of a broader decline as the policy takes effect. The policy requires student groups and departments to use University Food Services and Graphic Services before contracting with outside vendors. The policy first began to take effect early last semester. Brian Austin, manager of Meeting Street Cafe, which has catered lunches for several University departments, said initial reservations he had held about the policy proved to be unfounded. “It sounded rather absolute at first,” Austin said. “We thought that a lot of orders wouldn’t materialize, but for whatever reason those orders have continued to come in.” Despite the lagging economy, the slight decrease in orders caused by Brown First is not significantly hampersee BROWN FIRST, page 5

Arguments still on the table for University grading policy BY EMIR SENTURK

With less than a week before the next meeting of the College Curriculum Council, the University’s grading system remains undecided. On Feb. 25, the CCC will continue its discussion of the grading policy and will likely reach a decision on whether to suggest the proposal of adding pluses and minuses to the faculty. Nearly 82 percent of the faculty support the change, according to a survey conducted by the Harriet W. Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning last year. The Sheridan Center conducted the report in an attempt to gauge the extent of grade inflation at Brown, given its unique grading system. “Grades at Brown are being com-

pressed into the A range by a variety of dynamics, but that more A’s are being assigned over the last 10 years is undeniable if you look at the Office of Institutional Research Reports,” said Sean Yom ’03, one of the student members of the CCC. Associate Professor of Philosophy Bernard Reginster, who chaired the Sheridan Center survey on grade inflation and the Brown grading system nearly a year ago, attributes grade inflation not so much to the internal workings of an institution like Brown, but to the pressures applied by the outside world. “Internally, you want to be able to assist the students in the process of learning. On the other hand, you don’t want to damage their prospects in the job market or pro-

fessional schools,” Reginster said. Sixty percent of faculty surveyed by the Sheridan Center said they felt pressure to inflate grades, with 45 percent naming Brown’s grading system as the primary reason and 30 percent citing competition for graduate school and employment. “Ironically, when seeking to prevent students from being hurt by transcripts that reflect lower-than-deserved grades, some instructors unfairly end up rewarding the very same students with higherthan-deserved grades,” the report read. “The C is getting phased out of existence. Really, the only three grades you have at Brown are A, B and NC,” Reginster added. see GRADES, page 6

PAGE 4 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2003

MAT continued from page 3 Providence last semester, said she noticed a number of differences between Wheeler and Bailey. “Wheeler has a lot more resources and the kids come in with a lot more (academic) experience (at home),” she said. Geier said her work at Wheeler has been “invaluable” and the communication and helpfulness among teachers impressed her most. An advantage of the MAT program, according to Geier, is the small size of both Wheeler classes and the program itself, which currently has 13 graduate students. “You get a lot of classroom experience from the beginning,” she said. Both Ulichny and Epstein see the program as benefiting more than MAT students — students apply the lessons learned at Wheeler to the public schools and bring a lot to the entire Wheeler community, Epstein said. The program is “absolutely” mutually beneficial, she said. The program is also “an investment teachers have in giving back and producing the next generation of teachers,” Ulichny said. Students in Geier’s third grade

class said they generally did not see major differences between MAT students and regular teachers. Ellie Carver, one of Geier’s students, said “She’s the same and she’s different. She helps you like the other teachers, but she’s learning how to teach.”

Memorial continued from page 1 basis,” said Jessica Purmort ’04, turning to the inscription of a book that Lamendola gave her last year. “Live life like always and never before at the same time,” Lamendola wrote to her friend on the flyleaf. “Earth is a beautiful place ... be happy. Love, Sarahla.” About 100 people attended the service, including President Ruth Simmons. Lamendola died unexpectedly from pulmonary thrombolembolis in her dorm room two weeks ago. Herald staff writer Carla Blumenkranz ’05 can be reached at cblumenkranz@browndailyherald.com.

Debate continued from page 1

“It might have helped to have professors or people with a lot of factual evidence rather than people who are just debaters.” since that rarely happens at war-related events on campus, but I felt the panelists themselves weren’t as knowledgeable as some of the heads of the activist groups on campus,” she said. “It might have helped to have professors or people with a lot of factual evidence rather than people who are just debaters,” Khorana said. Herald staff writer Danielle Cerny ’06 covers campus activism. She can be reached at dcerny@browndailyherald.com.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2003 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD PAGE 5

Brown First

“Everybody seemed really happy with our prices and service.

continued from page 3

Things just kept getting bigger and bigger, but now that we have

ing Meeting Street’s operations overall, Austin said. “Business is about the best we could hope for given the circumstances,” Austin said. Austin also said that implementation of the policy has not strained Meeting Street’s relations with the University. He added that Brown First has made dealing with the University simpler by centralizing purchasing at UFS. “There’s no ill feelings between us and any of the departments,” he said. “We know them and they know us.” Caren Virtue, director of public relations at Eastside Marketplace, which has catered several University functions in the past, said the slight decrease in orders caused by Brown First has not impacted business to any significant degree. Eastside Marketplace has 300 to 400 regular customers and can weather any further decline in University orders, she said.

this policy, it’s just stopped growing. ... They can waste more money and make worse food and get away with it now that they don’t have any competition.” John Gianfrancesco Part-owner of Louis Family Restaurant “We certainly would be sorry not to get the business, but it wouldn’t impact us to a large extent,” Virtue said. John Gianfrancesco, partowner of Louis Family Restaurant, said, although business is continuing as usual, Brown First has had a noticeable impact on his catering operations. Louis, which began catering three years ago, received an average of three University-related orders per month before Brown First took effect. Now Louis is receiving orders from only one department, Gianfrancesco said. “Everybody seemed really

happy with our prices and service,” he said. “Things just kept getting bigger and bigger, but now that we have this policy, it’s just stopped growing.” Gianfrancesco criticized the policy for giving UFS an undeserved monopoly of University food operations. “They can waste more money and make worse food and get away with it now that they don’t have any competition,” he said. Austin also said UFS might not be capable of handling the increase in volume and variety of orders resulting from Brown First’s implementation. “There are some things that we

are set up to do better, and there are some things (the University) is set up to do better,” Austin said. “We pride ourselves on being able to do something lastminute.” Despite such complaints, the administration did not expect UFS and Graphic Services to handle every University order, said Vice President of Finance Ellen O’Connor. “We’re not trying to be all things to all people,” she said, naming ethnic foods as one area in which groups would be permitted to seek outside vendors. The administration has been in the process of identifying

select outside vendors to provide discounted services when UFS and Graphic Services cannot handle an order. Pizza Pie-er, Kinko’s and Ben and Jerry’s have all received special status under Brown First, O’Connor said. The administration discussed key points of Brown First with local businesses before the plan took effect and made a special effort to communicate with Thayer Street vendors, O’Connor said. “I think most of them were glad to be told about it directly,” she said. O’Connor said University departments have been fully supportive and cooperative during the implementation process. She estimated compliance at 95 percent. “The purpose of Brown First is to harness out-purchasing power and make the best use of Brown’s dollars to run an excellent university,” O’Connor said, not to “horrendously harm local businesses.” Herald staff writer Zach Barter ’06 can be reached at zbarter@browndailyherald.com.

n e w a n d i m p r o ve d : w w w. b r o w n d a i l y h e r a l d. c o m

PAGE 6 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2003

pepperoni nipples my ass. you’re the one with pepperoni nipples. and stop throwing snow.

Grades

The movement to

continued from page 3

fight grade inflation

At Columbia, student transcripts display the grade given for a course along with the percentage of students within the course who received the same grade. Similarly, at Dartmouth, undergraduate transcripts include the median grade and total enrollment of the courses a student chooses to take. At Harvard, the movement to fight grade inflation seems to be oriented not so much toward policy as toward increasing awareness of good grading practices among the teaching faculty. Earlier this year, the Harvard Crimson reported that there has been a downward trend in student GPAs after 16 years of increases. Last year, Harvard’s administration decided to switch to a 4.0 grading scale from its 15point scale. The new scale will take effect this fall. Administrators also decided to cap the number of students who receive honors at 60 percent. In 2001, 91 percent of Harvard graduates received honors. The new honors policy already applies to the Class of 2005. Harvard’s Dean of Undergraduate Education Benedict H. Gross told The Herald he plans to distribute a booklet on grading policies and practice to the faculty later this semester. The registrar at Harvard has also asked professors to submit the total number of each grade given for the courses they teach. Many Brown students have indicated they believe the addition of pluses and minuses may not be the best way to combat the problem. Last week, the Undergraduate Council of Students passed a resolution that stipulated its position against the addition of pluses and minuses to the grading system. Rajiv Aggarwal ’05, who sits on the Admissions and Student Services Committee of the Undergraduate Council of Students, is opposed to the addition of pluses and minuses.

seems to be oriented not so much toward policy as toward increasing awareness of good grading practices. Aggarwal said he believed his view represents that of the majority of UCS members. “Attacking the grading system head-on in an attempt to bring about grade deflation does not take into account all the other possible consequences of such an action. Pluses and minuses, which may not even work, put the institution in a completely different light than that which it has stood under for so long,” Aggarwal said. While UCS said in a statement to the University last week that it opposes pluses and minuses, it does not object to the exploration of other options that might provide better feedback between faculty and students and serve to counteract grade inflation. “Whatever needs to be done, pluses and minuses cannot be the only option. Adding them into a student’s transcript is far too incompatible with the educational philosophy of the school. Other options must be explored,” said Sam Hodges ’04, a member of the Academic and Administrative Affairs Committee of UCS. “I think that more research needs to be done on other grading system reforms. Initially, I believed that pluses and minuses might retrench grade inflation, but after more research into Princeton, Yale and other Ivies, I realize now that they might ironically entrench and expand inflationary trends,” Yom said. Herald staff writer Emir Senturk ’05 can be reached at esenturk@browndailyherald.com.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2003 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD PAGE 7

Perlmutter

Bottega

continued from page 12

continued from page 3

venting it — but my husband is dead. Baseball and the Orioles — they don’t matter.” I pressed 4. “You want the Kelci Stringer opinion on Steve Bechler’s death? If anyone can feel the pain of Bechler’s widow, you’re talkin’ to her. All of you media people, it’s just a story to you, there’s no way you can — wait, what’s that? You were surprised by his death? Practically every sport but baseball saw this coming. My Korey wasn’t on ephedrine, but why shouldn’t baseball take seriously a drug that may induce heatstroke? Did it really take the death of one of its own players for the league to consider change? How self-centered.” I pressed 5. “Welcome to GNC, may I help you? You’re looking for Ultimate Orange? I’m sorry, we’re all out — it’s baseball season, you know. I’m not even sure we still carry it, with the death of that baseball pitcher and all. It’s really given the stuff some bad press, as well it should. “Let me tell you something. I’m only a teenager working here so that I can steal some acne medicine, so I’m no expert on ephedrine; however, I am a big baseball fan, one member of the target audience that baseball has lost over the past decade. If baseball wants my friends and me to stay in the game, they had better tighten up on their drug policy. The new labor agreement is a pathetic cover for what needs to be done. Do you really think that Bud Selig considers Bechler’s death an unfortunate yet acceptable loss? He’s just praying that nothing like this happens again. Bud, take a hint: Do something about it.” Right on.

Brown’s visual art department and the demands of a visual art concentration mean “a lot of people on this campus (who) are very creative” don’t have the opportunity or studio space to fully explore art. “I feel like we’ve got a lot of interest, and word has definitely traveled,” Toth said. She attributes some of the interest to the dissolution of Bottega, and said Art House’s ability to secure facilities from ResLife is “very much related to Bottega’s folding.” But ResCouncil Chair Sanders Kleinfeld ’03 said the council “considered both Bottega and Art House separately. Bottega folded before we made a decision on Art House.” The new program houses are likely to be located on Wriston Quad, said Evan Metcalfe ’03, ResCouncil’s Lottery Chair. ResCouncil has decided to place Delta Tau, a fraternity currently located in Sears House, in Bottega’s space in Olney House, which also houses fraternity Sigma Chi. Goddard and Sears Houses have been proposed as possible locations for the new houses, but no final decision has yet been made. ResCouncil voted down a proposal to form Third Wave Feminism House by a margin of 3-4-1 said Andy Golodny ’03, a member of ResCouncil’s program house committee. A house needs a two-thirds majority to be approved. “Our main concern centered around doubts about the residential necessity of such a group,” said Golodny. “Any club can come in and say they would like to live together, but there has to be something beyond that.”

Eric Perlmutter ’06 hails from Chappaqua, N.Y., and hopes baseball finally does the right thing and bans ephedrine.

Herald staff writer Sara Perkins ’06 can be reached at sperkins@browndailyherald.c om.

PAGE 8 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2003

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2003 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD PAGE 9

W. hockey

M. hockey

continued from page 12

Brown’s Pam Dreyer ’03 made 30 saves. “We got in trouble on the penalty kill,” Murphy said. “When you are in the box you cannot take another penalty. We took some penalties at inopportune times, which came back to haunt us.” The team did not play this past weekend and did not practice Sunday or Monday. “We gave them a couple of days, but we did not want to give them too many days off so that they would lose their edge,” Murphy said. The team has only lost one player due to the weather; Jenny Rice ’03 is stuck in Vermont, but otherwise the team is intact for practice this week. The Bears face conference rivals Yale and Princeton at home this weekend. “If we sweep this weekend, we put ourselves pretty much in a position to have home ice in the first round of the playoffs which is what we want to obtain. Obviously we need to win two of the next three games after that,” Murphy said. Despite their recent slump, the team still has big goals for the playoffs, starting with some regular season victories. “I think that what we’ve done is pretty much set ourselves up for a winnable game plan. … For the next five games we kind of have some short term goals,” Murphy said. After a game that was lost for the most part because of defensive mistakes, the team will need to shore up that aspect of their game. Not only do the Bears have to play well physically in the upcoming games; they have to play well mentally. “The first start is just to get back to fundamentals, defensive hockey, be more disciplined. That has been the story of our year — lack of discipline and focus in the defensive zone. We just have to keep talking about it, and hopefully it will sink in and we’ll start getting hot around playoff time,” Murphy said. “There is no secret. It is just a matter of executing.”

always-clutch Les Haggett ’05 somehow found its way into the Cornell net. Despite several chances on an ensuing power play, the Bears failed to score and the game went into overtime. Danis stood his ground in overtime, making seven saves. “Our main goal was to put together a consistent effort,” Esdale said. “We definitely worked hard for all 60 minutes and the five-minute overtime.” The Bears came out the following night against a Colgate team — the same team they had not beat in nine games — looking flat. After losing 7-0 to Harvard the night before, Colgate came out

Sports staff writer Kathy Babcock ’05 covers the women’s hockey team. She can be reached at kbabcock@browndailyherald.com.

support the fresh air fund.

hard and scored two goals in the first five minutes. A resilient Ford, who had taken a penalty that led to the first Colgate goal, got Brown right back on the board. On Brown’s first power play of the game, he unleashed a blistering slap shot from the blue line that found the Colgate net. With 15 seconds remaining in the first, Esdale batted home a rebound off of a shot by Haggett and the Bears headed into the locker room even with the Red Raiders. “In the first 10 minutes we were not competitive and didn’t focus on what we needed to do,” Grillo said. “We didn’t panic and I liked the way the guys responded,” Korbl added. Much like the second half of the period, the rest of the game

saw the Bears outplay and outhustle the Red Raiders. The third and game-winning goal came off the stick of Rugo Santini ’06, and marked the first goal by a member of the freshman class. Linemates Pascal Denis ’04 and Chris Swon ’05 were instrumental in the play, orchestrating the fluid breakout that led to the goal. The fifth goal of the game left many people confused, especially the goal scorer, Jason Wilson ’03. After scoring the goal, Wilson was surrounded by teammates along the boards, and somehow his arm became stuck in the partition between the panes of glass. Eventually he escaped the wrath of the newly renovated glass, but both teams were unsure if the goal would stand, as the officials sent a player from each team to

the penalty box. A few minutes later the fifth and final goal finally made its way on the scoreboard. Danis finished the game with 28 saves. His impressive performance against Colgate along with the previous night’s 44-save extravaganza earned him ECAC Goalie of the Week status for the fourth time this season. “Yann is the foundation of our team,” Esdale said. “You can ride a hot goalie a long way. We know he’s going to be there every night.” This weekend the Bears look to move up in the standings as they travel up north to Vermont and Dartmouth. Sports staff writer Ian Cropp ’05 covers the men’s hockey team. He can be reached at icropp@browndailyherald.com.

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

EDITORIAL/LETTERS THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2003 · PAGE 10 S T A F F

E D I T O R I A L

Students First While the new Brown First policy may not significantly hamper the business of local food establishments, it serves as a detriment to Brown students. Instead of creating a monopoly of UFS and several hand-picked businesses, the University should examine how to improve the overall quality and affordability of its food services. If student groups were already tempted by on-campus dining options, there would be no need to artificially limit outside competition. What was once a relatively simple process — student groups could give an SAO purchase order directly to businesses or seek reimbursement for their catering selections — has turned into a maze of bureaucratic red tape and restricted options. Ordering off-campus pizza, for example, is a three-step process. According to the UFS Web site, students must jump through the hurdles of a drawn-out order and authorization process. Step 1: Record the details of each order onto an IPR and fax the IPR to the Catering Office. Step 2: When the IPR has been received, the Catering Office will provide you with a vendor-specific authorization number. Step 3: Once you have an authorization number, call and place your order directly. You will have to provide the vendor both the authorization number and your IPR number. The vendor will bill UFS, who will in turn, invoice you. Student groups craving some last-minute Pizza Pie-er are out of luck — without an authorization number, off-campus expenditures are not eligible for reimbursement. In addition to having to deal with UFS as a middleman, students are being told how they can spend their money. Yes, the funds are funneled through the SAO, but isn’t this the student activities money that comes directly out of our tuition? Money labeled in tuition bills solely for the benefit of student groups should be the last funds sacrificed to the poor economy, not the first.

SHANE WILKERSON

LETTERS

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD EDITORIAL Elena Lesley, Editor-in-Chief Brian Baskin, Executive Editor Zachary Frechette, Executive Editor Kerry Miller, Executive Editor Kavita Mishra, Senior Editor Stephanie Harris, Academic Watch Editor Carla Blumenkranz, Arts & Culture Editor Rachel Aviv, Asst. Arts & Culture Editor Julia Zuckerman, Campus Watch Editor Juliette Wallack, Metro Editor Adam Stella, Asst. Metro Editor

BUSINESS Jamie Wolosky, General Manager Joe Laganas, Executive Manager Midori Asaka, National Accounts Manager David Zehngut, National Accounts Manager Lawrence Hester, University Accounts Manager Bill Louis, University Accounts Manager Anastasia Ali, Local Accounts Manager Elias Roman, Local Accounts Manager Peter Scheeermerhorn, Local Accounts Manager Joshua Miller, Classified Accounts Manager Jack Carrere, Noncomm Accounts Manager Laurie-Ann Paliotti, Sr. Advertising Rep. Stephanie Lopes, Advertising Rep. Kate Sparaco, Office Manager

Jonathan Skolnick, Opinions Editor Joshua Skolnick, Opinions Editor

PRODUCTION Ilena Frangista, Listings Editor Marc Debush, Copy Desk Chief Grace Farris, Graphics Editor Andrew Sheets, Graphics Editor Kimberly Insel, Photography Editor Jason White, Photography Editor Brett Cohen, Systems Manager

P O S T- M A G A Z I N E Alex Carnevale, Editor-in-Chief Dan Poulson, Executive Editor Morgan Clendaniel, Senior Editor Theo Schell-Lambert, Senior Editor Doug Fretty, Film Editor Colin Hartnett, Design Editor SPORTS Joshua Troy, Executive Sports Editor Nick Gourevitch, Senior Sports Editor Jonathan Meachin, Senior Sports Editor Jermaine Matheson, Sports Editor Maggie Haskins, Sports Editor Alicia Mullin, Sports Editor

You can make a difference. letters@browndailyherald.com

Stephen Malkmus, Night Editor Marc Debush, Mary Ann Bronson, Copy Editor Staff Writers Kathy Babcock, Zach Barter, Hannah Bascom, Carla Blumenkranz, Dylan Brown, Danielle Cerny, Philissa Cramer, Ian Cropp, Maria Di Mento, Bamboo Dong, Jonathan Ellis, Linda Evarts, Nicholas Foley, Dana Goldstein, Alan Gordon, Nick Gourevitch, Joanna Grossman, Stephanie Harris, Shara Hegde, Anna Henderson, Momoko Hirose, Akshay Krishnan, Brent Lang, Hanyen Lee, Jamay Liu, Allison Lombardo, Lisa Mandle, Jermaine Matheson, Jonathan Meachin, Monique Meneses, Alicia Mullin, Crystal Z.Y. Ng, Joanne Park, Sara Perkins, Melissa Perlman, Eric Perlmutter, Samantha Plesser, Cassie Ramirez, Lily Rayman-Read, Zoe Ripple, Amy Ruddle, Emir Senturk, Jen Sopchockchai, Adam Stella, Adam Stern, Stefan Talman, Chloe Thompson, Jonathon Thompson, Joshua Troy, Juliette Wallack, Jessica Weisberg, Ellen Wernecke, Ben Wiseman, Xiyun Yang, Brett Zarda, Julia Zuckerman Pagination Staff Joshua Gootzeit, Lisa Mandle, Alex Palmer, Nikki Reyes, Amy Ruddle Copy Editors Mary Ann Bronson, Lanie Davis, Yafang Deng, Hanne Eisenfeld, George Haws, Amy Ruddle, Janis Sethness, Nora Yoo

COMMENTARY POLICY 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. Letter writers must call The Herald’s office at (401) 351-3372 to give voice confirmation of letter submission. 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, FEBRUARY 20, 2003 · PAGE 11

Why war with Iraq? A war with Iraq may not be desirable, but it is our best option LISTEN TO THE PRESIDENT AND YOU took place on their “watch.” No matter will hear the reason for this war: after that they were in office for less than a year Sept. 11, 2001, the world changed and we — they are responsible. Their behavior are targets. There are terrorist networks acknowledges this burden. They will do and states that are planning attacks on the everything they can to ensure that they do United States and its allies, and they will not fail another time. This is not about politics and the next election. use the most effective means Protection of citizens is the available to them. Traditional PROFESSOR state’s first responsibility. This notions of deterrence may no ALAN ZUCKERMAN burden applies even more so to longer apply. If they did, bin GUEST COLUMNIST the dominant power, whose Laden and al-Qaida would weakness could unleash forces never have attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon; of war and turmoil around the globe. Why does the president focus on Iraq they would never have blown up the night-club in Bali, the Israeli-owned hotel and not other enemies? Saddam Hussein in Mombassa, Kenya, the synagogue in has weapons of mass destruction. Only Tunisia and the American embassies in he denies this; everyone else acknowlKenya and Tanzania. If we do not disarm edges it. The debate at the United Nations Iraq now, we will face even more destruc- concerns what to do about it. Using these tive attacks in the future. The administra- weapons against his enemies inside and tion has developed a strategy for this outside Iraq, the Iraqi dictator commanded the deaths of more than a million pertransformed world. A simple principle drives the presi- sons, the mutilation of another million, dent’s strategy: He and his administration and the exile of more than four million. must protect Americans. That is his pri- The administration is not ignoring almary obligation; nothing is as important. Qaida. To the contrary, there is an ongoAnd so, he will do whatever is necessary to ing war with the terror networks. make sure that al-Qaida, North Korea, Successfully disarming Iraq — whether by Iraq or whatever source will never attack diplomacy or force — will send a powerful the United States again. Will the adminis- message to the other looming nemesis, tration succeed? No one can say, but they North Korea. Why does the president insist that we will try. If the president and his administration act now? For many people this is the key seem obsessed with this task, remember question. Why now? The administration they have failed once already. Bin Laden’s believes that the Iraqi dictator will use or attack that killed 3,000 people at the World threaten to use weapons of mass destrucTrade Center and the Pentagon, disrupted tion as soon he obtains the means to the lives of tens of thousands of families, deliver them. Observe North Korea, and rendered untold damage to the economy you can see a future Iraqi strategy in and weakened the symbols of America action: use the threat of weapons of mass destruction to extort land and people from his neighbors, not just the American aid and recognition demanded by North Alan S. Zuckerman is a professor of politiKorea. Indeed, as Saddam has in the past, cal science and chair of the department.

he will use the weapons to take what he wants from his people, neighbors and enemies. It is wishful thinking to suppose that he will not do this, and after the attacks on New York and Washington, the administration insists that we must never engage in self-delusion. We must not, as Condoleezza Rice articulates, look away, and thereby kick the issue down the road to a time when Saddam is even stronger. Not to act now is to offer the Iraqi dictator the ability to choose the moment of his attack or extortion. War is imminent. Bush’s need to defend against future attacks clashes with Saddam’s calculation that the American’s will not attack and, if they do, they will not have the resolve to defeat him. Because Saddam will not concede, Bush will act. Note a paradox here: Opponents of the war believe the United States is frothing at the mouth ready to invade, while Saddam believes that the United States will fold its tent and fade away. Why would he suppose that? Doesn’t he view Bush as a hopped up cowboy? No. If he did, he would have capitulated a long time ago. He would fear for his own life and that of his regime. Rather, he believes that even if the United States were to invade, it will not reach him. The people, houses and streets of Baghdad stand between him and Bush’s forces. The Americans will not be willing to climb over each and every Baghdadi, to knock down every home and to open every underground bunker in order to find him. Consider too what he wins, if his calculation is right: He is king of the world, the man who toppled the United States! And so Saddam refuses all diplomatic efforts to disarm him. And the longer he holds to this strategy, the more successful does he view it. He is daring the United States to

invade, expecting Bush to capitulate. The events of the past few weeks strengthen his resolve. He sees the United States and the United Kingdom as weaker now than at any point in the past year. As they continue to lose political support, he reasons, they lose the will to fight. That’s the lesson he draws from the divisions at the United Nations and NATO and the mass demonstrations against war: His enemy will not attack and there is, therefore, no good reason for him to destroy the weapons of mass destruction. With these clashing goals and calculations, we come to the brink of war. No one can say how this war will unfold. The worst-case scenario sees American and British troops trapped in Baghdad, a quagmire, which saps the administration’s and British government’s will to continue. This outcome will embolden Saddam, as well as North Korea and al-Qaida. Remember that they do not need reasons to attack the United States, only the means to do so. The bestcase scenario is a fearsome demonstration of American power that will topple Hussein, install a democratic government in Iraq, help the forces of peace in the Middle East and frighten and, therefore, deter those who would attack the United States and its friends and allies. To claim we are on the verge of war is not a bloodthirsty call for war. It is to understand how we need to ensure security in our world, which has been transformed by the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Now, American passivity invites attack. Iraq must be disarmed of its weapons of mass destruction. In this bleak and frightening world, the administration and those who support it view war as the least bad alternative.

Should we celebrate Nazis in our classrooms? Why cultural relativism must have some reasonable limits WHEN MY PERSONALITY SWITCH WAS cultures and subcultures within this counset to “evil” a few semesters ago, I jotted try, I suppose I am better for having read down the definitive column guaranteed to novels by African-American women about outrage as many people as possible in the their experiences in the South. At the very Brown community. What could be more least, these studies let me know that not counter-intuitive, in a community that cel- everyone in the world is like me and had all of the blessings and priviebrates cultural diversity, than leges of middle-class suburasserting that some cultures bia. were superior to others? When I name oppressed or However, it is clear to me now indigenous cultures, our that this is a far less divisive default attitude is respect. notion than I supposed — in Our attitude may be summafact, almost all of us agree with rized, “people in different it, even if some people think parts of the world generated they hold a contrary idea. unique cultural traditions and On paper, multi-culturalattitudes that should be ism (and its anthropological respected.” If our cultural cousin, cultural relativism) BRETT COHEN attitude of multi-culturalism sounds uncontroversial. In a POLITE was represented by Walt pluralistic society, it makes a CONTRARIAN Disney World’s Epcot Center, lot of sense to make all sorts of then every culture would be different cultures feel welcome, teaching students about different invited to have its own pavilion. But the reality is quite different. We cultures in a non-judgmental fashion beginning in primary school. In the sense study and cherish the indigenous cultures that multi-culturalism encourages educa- that we are predisposed to and find little tion in this fashion, it is unproblematic. “richness” in cultures we find abhorrent. I Clearly I’m better off for having learned can think of no better example than the about Japan in kindergarten, the Inuit of culture of Nazi Germany or of apartheid Alaska in third grade and the various peo- South Africa. Each possessed a rich if ples of Asia by ninth grade. With respect to (shockingly by our standards) racist, authority-driven culture full of literature and poetry and other such trappings dedicated to their way of life. It may seem Brett J. Cohen ’03 respects all people, but sweet for kindergarteners to dress up in not all cultures.

Japanese garb for a lesson on Japanese, but I have yet to see any kindergarteners don Nazi garb on Nazi culture day — not that there is a Nazi culture day, and I certainly don’t propose one. Here lies the contradiction. On the one hand, we assert respect for all different cultures. On the other, we only actually offer respect to the ones that possess some degree of compatibility with our own. Here at Brown, there are departments such as anthropology, comparative literature and others that at least in part undertake the task of attempting to present or understand the world from other cultural perspectives. But there is no department (and I’m not calling for one) dedicated to the Nazi perspective — a non-judgmental assessment of Nazi ideology that explores the intricacies and “beauty” of Nazi literature and culture. Neither is there a department that evaluates in a sympathetic light American skinhead culture, backwater Appalachian culture or inner city drug/pimp lord culture. It would seem to me that the multi-culturalist has two options. He may deny that these groups constitute “legitimate culture,” but this comes at a steep price: He must answer the question, “Who decides if a culture is ‘legitimate’?” Different cultures, after all, might have different ideas of what culture is, and so forth. The other option is to concede the point and suggest that centers should in fairness be estab-

lished, and that the Nazi culture, et al., be respected to the same extent as indigenous Ethiopian culture. Or perhaps a multi-culturalist will assert I’ve picked extreme examples, and that in fact, most cultures ought to be respected. But there are many examples of cultures that seem to fail in various ways. Were the British really wrong in preventing the New Guinean headhunters from continuing in their cannibalism? Wouldn’t the world be far better if the British had successfully conquered the whole of France? A jest, but the point remains: There are some cultures that themselves do not respect pluralism or multi-culturalism or rule of law. I would propose the following solution. We should respect all people (so long as they respect us) and respect people’s rights to adhere to whatever culture they wish. But we have no obligation to respect any particular culture or any particular system of beliefs of looking at the world if we have reason to believe it will lead to great evil. To the degree that we live in a pluralistic society where people are free to choose how to live, we feel safe in our contention that our culture is superior, while remembering that our people are not. There’s no sense in respecting something just because it exists. We shouldn’t assert that all cultures are equal (and should be respected as such) unless we’re willing to accept everything that entails.

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

SPORTS THURSDAY FEBRUARY 20, 2003 · PAGE 12

A dire call to baseball’s Selig CONSIDER THIS RECORDING I GOT after I called Bud Selig’s office late last night: “Hello baseball fans, you have reached Major League Baseball’s emergency hotline. We are currently mourning the death of 23-year-old Baltimore Orioles’ pitcher Steve Bechler, who died Monday due to a fatal heatstroke. Our heartfelt yet brief grieving period will conclude soon, at which point we hope to return to our normal business of bucking ERIC PERLMUTTER the trend set by PERL MUTTERS professional sports by tabling drug policy until another unfortunate incident occurs. Press 1 to speak with Commissioner Bud Selig; press 2 to speak with players union leader Donald Fehr; press 3 to speak with Bechler’s widow; press 4 to speak with late Minnesota Vikings tackle Korey Stringer’s widow; press 5 to be connected to your nearest GNC store.” I pressed 1. “Hello, this is Bud Selig. I stand for all of Major League Baseball when I express my deep sorrow for Steve Bechler’s family and friends. As his minor league team’s radio announcer said, ‘He was everything that was good about baseball. A solid ballplayer, and most importantly a good husband and citizen. His unfortunate death will remain on our minds for a very long time.’ What’s that you say? A death was inevitable? Let’s not get ridiculous here and forget that the legal drug ephedrine was one of several possible contributors to his death. Bechler had a minor untreated liver problem and a history of borderline high blood pressure. Perhaps most importantly, he took three pills containing ephedrine when the recommended dosage is two. “Baseball is firm on our policy of stopping harmful drug usage. In our opinion, ephedrine — when taken properly — does not fall into this category.” I pressed 2. “Fehr here. As the leader of the players union, I’m supposed to be the one to protect the players, teach them how to lead safe, rewarding lives as athletes and look out for their best interests. Drugs like ephedrine have drawn our attention for years, and we have continually disregarded the alleged possible consequences. It comes down to this: If players use the drug correctly, they can only benefit from it. The fans win, the players win — Am I wrong?” I pressed 3. “Hello. This is Kiley Bechler, widow of Steve Bechler. If you are calling with your support, we appreciate your kindness; feel free to leave a message. If you are affiliated with Major League Baseball, please hang up immediately, as we’re not the biggest baseball fans right now. The league’s shamefully lackluster policy, even if it were to be enforced, does not ban drugs like ephedrine that can trigger serious damage, or even death. I can hardly think about anything but Steve right now, but it needs to be said that baseball’s appalling lack of restrictions has gone too far. Apparently, the promise of stronger players and increased revenue outweighs the undeniable risks associated with these drugs. Sure, baseball might take steps to get serious about drugs now that one of its players has died, just as it always reacts to bad news rather than presee PERLMUTTER, page 7

Danis ’04 earns ECAC Goalie of the Week, as m. icers pick up three points BY IAN CROPP

It was a pleasant Valentine’s Day for the Brown men’s hockey team (11-10-3, 9-7-2 ECAC), and fortunately the affair lasted all weekend. On Friday night, in front of a packed Meehan Auditorium, the Bears scored in the final five minutes to earn a hard fought tie against No. 2 Cornell. The following night, the Bears battled back from a two-goal deficit to score five unanswered goals and defeat Colgate 5-2. The three points pushed Brown into a three-way tie for fourth place in the ECAC and into a potential position to gain home-ice advantage for the playoffs. Although there was no scoring for the first half of the Cornell game, it wasn’t from a lack of scoring opportunities and physical play. “We knew we needed to play physical against a big, strong team like Cornell,” said Head Coach Roger Grillo. The Bears focused on containing the explosive Cornell offense, which scored five goals when the teams met earlier in the season. Grillo opted to start the 6’3” pairing of Gerry Burke ’05 and Vince Macri ’04. “Cornell is a strong defensive team, and we are similar in that respect,” said Captain Tye Korbl ’03. “We play a tight lowscoring game and when we focus on the defense first, the offense will take care of itself.” Yann Danis ’04 played a huge part in the defensive effort, making many key saves throughout the game, and holding Cornell to only two goals on 46 total shots. Many times he faced a lone Cornell player in front, but showed great composure and never overcommitted. Brown got on the board first, off a power-play goal by Brent Robinson ’04. In what has come to be customary, powerplay unit blue-liners Scott Ford ’04 and Paul Esdale ’03 exchanged the puck, and then Esdale one-timed a pass to Robinson,

dspics

The men’s ice hockey team makes its final road trip of the regular season this weekend as it eyes the playoffs.The team heads to the University of Vermont and Dartmouth. who fired the puck past Cornell goalie Dave LeNeveu. Cornell would notch their first goal of the game before the period ended and then take the lead at 11:08 of the third. The Bears refused to throw in the towel and their continuous hard work paid off with 4:28 remaining, as a wrist shot of the see M. HOCKEY, page 9

W. hockey looks to avenge loss, earn home ice for first round BY KATHY BABCOCK

With playoffs looming, Brown women’s ice hockey faces difficulties. Last Wednesday the team dropped a 4-3 decision to cross-town rival Providence College. The loss — the first time in five years that the Friars beat the Bears — forced the Bears’ record to 9-10-4. “You are always disappointed with a loss,” said Head Coach Digit Murphy. “It is a question of executing the game plan, which we did not” manage to do. Brown scored first with a power-play goal near the 14-minute mark. Katie Lafleur ’04 scored with an assist from Kim Insalaco ’03. Four minutes later while the Bears were short two players, Danielle Culgin retaliated for the Friars, assisted by Jenn Butsch and Meredith Roth. By the end of the first period, the teams were tied 1-1, and power plays were the focal point for the rest of the game. In the second period, Providence took the lead quickly when Darlene Stephenson, assisted by Emily Gyrp, scored the Friars’ only non-power-play goal. Five minutes into the second period, Cassie Turner ’03 received the puck on the right side from Insalaco and Karen

Thatcher ’06 and scored with a slap shot. In a strange series of events, the goal was called back but later allowed when a Friars goal was called back. Less than three minutes later, Providence’s Rush Zimmerman capitalized on a power play with assistance from Kelli Halcisak. With both sides shorthanded, the Bears evened the score with a goal by Insalaco off of a pass from Katie Guay ’05. The game looked like it might be a repeat of the schools’ previous matchup as the teams entered the third period tied 3-3. “They scored two or three power-play goals against us. Take those goals away, and we win the game,” Murphy said. “If we continue to make those mistakes, we are not going to win. I think that we need to learn how to be more mature in when to take penalties and when not to. We are going back to the drawing board.” Five minutes and 43 seconds into the third period, Stephenson scored on a power play assisted by Culgin and Halcisak. The Bears were unable to come back, even though Providence’s Ashley Payton received a 10-minute penalty for misconduct at 14:15. Jana Bugden in goal for the Friars made 33 saves, while see W. HOCKEY, page 9

Wrestling swept by Ivy rivals The wrestling team (9-10, 1-3 Ivy League) suffered two severe losses over the long weekend, 34-7 to Columbia on Friday and 33-3 to the Cornell Big Red on Saturday. Against the Lions, only two Bears came away with victories — Nick Ciarcia ’04 and Mike Ashton ’06. Ciarcia came away with a 10-5 decision in 184 over Columbia’s Kirk Davis and Ashton recorded a 12-3 win at 141. Brown wrestlers were pinned three times by Columbia: Chris Ayers ’03 fell at 4:59, Adam Santee ’04 fell at 5:22 and Lucas Magnani ’06 fell 4:33. Michael Savino ’05 lost 9-2 at 157, and Anthony Marconi ’05 lost 12-3 at 133. Heavyweight Lee Beane ’06 dropped a 2-1 decision in double overtime and Doran Heist ’06 also recorded a loss at 197, 10-4. Against Cornell, Brown had another tough loss, 33-3. The Big Red, one of the strongest teams in the region, came into Saturday’s match ranked seventh in the nation and left with an Ivy League Title. Clint Frease ’03, who is ranked eleventh in the country, was the only Brown wrestler with a victory, defeating Cornell’s Byron Warner 3-1 at 141. Dave Saadeh ’06, Sean Jenkins ’04, Magnani, Heist, Beane, Savino, Marconi and Ciarcia gave valiant efforts in the loss. The Bears have one match left at Harvard on Saturday, Feb. 22, at 4 p.m. before they compete in the EIWA Championships and then the NCAA Championships. —Brown Sports Information