Monday, April 21, 2003

Page 1

M O N D A Y APRIL 21, 2003

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Volume CXXXVIII, No. 55

An independent newspaper serving the Brown community since 1891

Tibetan political prisoner talks of Chinese human rights violations

UCS Election Board removes remaining cash from candidate Rehmani ’04

BY SCHUYLER VON OEYEN

Showing remnants of the torture he endured as a political prisoner, Palden Gyatso — the second-longest serving political prisoner in Tibet — testified to Chinese human rights violations Friday before a crowd of about 100 students. Imprisoned from 1959 to 1992, Gyatso described his experience in the 1960s, along with 7,000 other political prisoners, as one of “total starvation.” “During those times, conditions were so bad that many prisoners were buried before they died,” he said. “In many ways, it was as bad as the Holocaust. We were only allowed one ladle of soup per day. When let outside, prisoners would eat anything green. One day, I even resorted to eating my own leather shoe.” Over the course of his first decade in prison, he said 70 percent of prisoners died. Wearing a traditional Buddhist robe, Gyatso spoke with a passionate but tranquil demeanor. He supplanted his words by showing scarring from torture and pictures from his book, “Fire Under the Snow.” Before his arrest, Gyatso attended a university, where he trained to become a Buddhist monk. In 1959, when he was 28 years old, he joined peaceful protests for a free Tibet. “For that, I paid the price of 33 years in prison,” he said. “Since 1959, I have paid 33 years of my life for my peaceful slogan (in support of) Tibet’s rights.” Forced labor assigned to political prisoners included the growth and harvest of vegetables. The consequences of inadequate production were fatal, he said. see GYATSO, page 4

Swearer panelists discuss challenges, rewards of college BY MERYL ROTHSTEIN

The challenges and rewards of college were stressed by panelists at the PreCollege Teen Summit hosted Saturday by the Swearer Center for Public Service. Panelists also highlighted the resources available to high school students in the college preparation process. The event included two panel discussions, a spoken word poetry jam including two HBO Def Poetry Jam poets and a resource fair with about 20 college recruiters. The Barus and Holley audience included over 80 students from Rhode Island public high schools. Many were recruited from Swearer Center programs, and flyers were handed out in public schools, said Rachel Cotton ’04, coordinator for the pre-college enrichment program in writing. “College is not easy,” said panelist Shelly Perdomo, who is getting her Master’s degree from the University of

www.browndailyherald.com

BY JONATHAN ELLIS

Joanne Park / Herald

Roger Fan ’94 stars in “Better Luck Tomorrow,” which opens this month.

Fan ’94 brings Asian-American cinema to the mainstream BY JOANNE PARK

From nomadic traveling through Europe to lounging around with MC Hammer, Roger Fan ’94 has done just about everything to bring one film, “Better Luck Tomorrow,” to the attention of mainstream audiences. In a Friday discussion, Fan, who plays one of the film’s bored suburban teens, described industry reluctance to back Asian-American films. “Better Luck Tomorrow” began to gather acclaim after screenings at the Sundance Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival in 2002. Roger Ebert, along with critics from the New York Times and Rolling Stone magazine, has touted the film as an innovative take on the media’s portrayal of Asian Americans. “Better Luck Tomorrow” explores the descent into violence of a group of Asian-American teenagers, in marked contrast with their straight-edged appearance, Fan said. “The underlying definition of ‘Better Luck Tomorrow’ is opportunity, for today and tomorrow, for Asian Americans,” he added. The cast of “Better Luck Tomorrow” is committed to its progressive script, Fan said. “We were all going through the same thing at the same time,” he said. “This film was such a labor of love. … This dynamic occurred where we felt safe around each other.” Before the discussion, Fan screened

“Better Luck Tomorrow: Genesis,” a behind-the-scenes documentary that features Fan and his co-stars, Parry Shen, John Cho, Sung Kang, Jason Tobin and Karin Anna Cheung. “This film has a distinct AsianAmerican tint of teen violence and teen angst,” Fan said. “The term positive portrayal is loaded. … It’s misconstrued as having good people onscreen.” In the documentary, the actors and writers — Justin Lin, Ernesto Foronda and Fabian Marquez — discuss the intended message of their film. Most of the actors had previously worked as extras for network shows like “Caroline in the City,” “Beverly Hills, 90210” and “NYPD Blue.” Fan had previously appeared in minor roles on “ER,” “Frasier,” “Party of Five” and “Corky Romano.” He also played a bodyguard in “Rush Hour.” “They have a mold already,” said Fan, of roles for Asian Americans. “Whether they’re playing tourists or doctors, they’re usually there for an ‘Asian’ reason,” he said. Fan said both “Better Luck Tomorrow” films represent an attempt to bring a three-dimensional quality to media portrayals of Asian Americans. With a budget of $250,000, filmmakers culled extras from local supermarkets and maxed out 10 credit cards before MC Hammer decided to finance

The troubles of Ahmad Rehmani ’04 in his campaign for president of the Undergraduate Council of Students continued Sunday, as the UCS Election Board eliminated his remaining campaign budget. As The Herald reported last week, Rehmani sent e-mails to three student groups seeking their endorsement for the upcoming election. Wednesday night, the Election Board cut his budget in half because UCS election policy prohibits the use of e-mail in a campaign for any reason. At that Election Board hearing, Rehmani was asked if he had sent e-mails to any groups other than Friends of Israel, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered Alliance and the Organization of United African Peoples, said UCS Representative Andy Golodny ’03, a member of the Election Board. Rehmani said he had not, Golodny said. But Rehmani had sent messages to the leaders of at least two other groups — the College Republicans at Brown and the Asian American Students Association — the same night, Golodny said. Joe Lisska ’04, vice president of the College Republicans, confirmed the group’s president received the e-mail. Rehmani said he told the Election Board Wednesday he didn’t remember sending any additional e-mails. He had sent the emails at around 10 p.m. Tuesday, about 24 hours before the Election Board hearing. Each candidate for any UCS post receives 10 fake dollars to use in the campaign so candidates will not attempt to outspend one another. For example, a banner costs three fake dollars, while a flyer costs 10 fake cents. The candidate pays the realworld expense of the promotional material. Because Rehmani had not been forthcoming about the other e-mails at his original hearing, the Election Board removed his remaining five fake dollars, said outgoing UCS President Allen Feliz ’03, a member of the Election Board. The Election Board could have disqualified Rehmani from the race but chose not to do so. Rehmani had not spent any of his fake budget before Sunday, Golodny said. “This time I did think (the Election Board’s decision) was unfair,” Rehmani told The Herald. He had called the original decision on Wednesday “fair enough.” “It’s kind of like double jeopardy,” Rehmani said. “They brought me back into the committee room with the same charges. They brought me back in because I didn’t give them all the names.” The Election Board is responsible for fully investigating an alleged violation before bringing charges, Rehmani said. “Those were the only three organizations that they knew of and I knew of at that point,” he said, referring to the board’s original Wednesday accusations. “How did he not know?” Golodny said. “It’s not double jeopardy. It would be double

see MOVIE, page 9

see TEENS, page 4

see UCS, page 7

I N S I D E M O N D AY, A P R I L 2 1 , 2 0 0 3 Green Party candidate for governor speaks against Iraq war at SASA weekend page 3

The Herald profiles the three candidates for this year’s UCS presidency page 5

TO D AY ’ S F O R E C A S T Perle protesters’ logic doesn’t hold up to history, Alex Schulman ’03 argues opinions, page 11

Cramphin ’06 dominates Dartmouth and discusses his first season at Brown sports, page 12

Albert Chang ’06 bids a teary farewell to basketball legend Michael Jordan sports column, page 12

partly cloudy high 63 low 43


THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

THIS MORNING MONDAY, APRIL 21, 2003 · PAGE 2 Pornucopia Eli Swiney

W E AT H E R TODAY

TUESDAY

High 63 Low 43 partly cloudy

WEDNESDAY

High 54 Low 44 showers

THURSDAY

High 54 Low 40 scattered showers

High 51 Low 39 few showers

GRAPHICS BY TED WU

A Story Of Eddie Ahn

CALENDAR LECTURE — “Strategies of Peace Building,” Michael Doyle, U.N. Special Advisor to Kofi Annan, Watson Institute. Room 117, MacMillan Hall, 7:30 p.m. LECTURE — “Autonomy, Equity and Environmental Justice,” Devon Peña, University of Washington, Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity. SmithBuonanno Hall, 5 p.m. READING — John Cayley, internationally renowned British digital and print poet, Department of English. Room 115, MacMillan Hall, 8:30 p.m. DEBATE — “UCS/UFB Candidates Debate,” candidates in this week’s election field audience questions and debate each other, Brown Debating Union. Wilson Hall 101, 9 p.m.

Coup de Grace Grace Farris

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 “Let me know,” on an invitation 5 Oscar winner Berry 10 Curly cabbage 14 Peace Nobelist Wiesel 15 Self-evident truth 16 “‘World Capitals’ for 200, __” 17 A real drag, man 19 Curse 20 Teeniest 21 Orders of drinks 23 Chess piece 24 Cutty __: Scotch brand 25 [Never mind that deletion] 27 “Hee Haw” extra 32 Haggard of country music 33 Authors Bagnold and Blyton 34 Bk. after Exodus 35 Elec. company 36 Studies at the last minute 37 Chaplin prop 38 “Give __ rest!” 39 Stratified rock 40 Big highway rigs 41 Attendance takings 43 Blueprint 44 Three feet 45 Wilmington’s st. 46 Country between Congo and Kenya 49 Bottle top with threads 54 Twine 55 Procrastinate 57 Off one’s rocker 58 Cybermessages 59 Lascivious look 60 Org. 61 Like maple trees 62 Be defeated DOWN 1 Cincinnati team 2 Run-down part of town 3 TV handyman Bob 4 In a recklessly hurried manner

5 Safe place 36 Acting-out parlor 47 Baby syllables 6 Allies foe game 48 Curved sections 7 Bouncing tune 37 Where a con 49 Kind of hockey 8 Online chuckle might tick off the shot 9 Green gems days 50 Paper-holding 10 Japanese 39 Large amount gadget drama 40 Velocity 51 1963 role for 11 Economist 42 President before Liz Greenspan Richard 52 Pub orders 12 Give temporarily 45 In a dull way 53 Ceremonial heap 13 Divorcées 46 Kareem’s alma 56 “__ little 18 List of mater teapot...” candidates ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE: 22 Eyes, poetically 24 Covers with T U N A R A B E L A P D ooze, as on a E N Y A I M R E A R R O W kids’ show K A O S B A G O F B O N E S 25 Brief fight B T W E L V E A V E N U E 26 “Law & Order” L E R O Y E D G E R B I N event F I N E S T A R T A S T O 27 Miami newspaper R O L F E H B O M B 28 Counting M A N O F M O R A L S everything M U N D I I N U R E 29 Andes pack C A N U N P L U G G A B S animal A E S O P P R E A N G S T 30 Russian F A D E I N B A B I Y A R Revolution W A R O F W O R D S A G E D leader O D O R E M C E E N E A L 31 Designer Saint Laurent L E D A D E U S A R N E 32 Naturalist John 04/21/03 xwordeditor@aol.com

My Best Effort Andy Hull and Will Newman

La Gatita Alejandra Cerna Rios

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04/21/03

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CAMPUS NEWS MONDAY, APRIL 21, 2003 · PAGE 3

IN BRIEF Green party candidate for Texas gov. speaks out against Iraq war at SASA Political Action Weekend As part of the South Asian Students Association’s Political Action Weekend, Green Party candidate for Texas governor Rahul Mahajan used his Friday keynote address to speak out against war with Iraq and address U.S. foreign policy. The events that ran on Friday and Saturday also featured panels on the conflict in Sri Lanka, exotification of South Asians in the media, South Asian political involvement and a play that shed light on domestic violence within South Asian communities. Mahajan compared the present U.S. policy in Iraq to British colonialism, citing Britain’s desire for democracy in India as parallel to the U.S. government’s aspiration for a regime change in Iraq, said Arjun Iyengar ’05, coordinator for the Political Action panel. He said Mahajan compared the famines in Iraq to the situation in India during British colonialism. “The purpose was also that South Asians should get active in politics,” Iyengar said of Mahajan’s speech.“I liked that he emphasized that political activism is the only way to get things moving.” Other events included a panel on class and religious conflicts in Sri Lanka following British colonization. Led by development sociologist Cynthia Caron, the discussion addressed the origins of the conflicts and the different approaches to peace. Another panel addressed South Asian involvement in American politics. This panel was led by New Jersey State Advocate Seema Singh, House Majority leader of the Photo courtesy of Don Blaheta

see SASA, page 8

The Brown Ballroom Dance Club’s annual spring formal, the Daffodil Ball, drew about 80 dancers to Leung Gallery.


PAGE 4 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD MONDAY, APRIL 21, 2003

Teens continued from page 1 Massachusetts at Amherst. Perdomo, who received her undergraduate degree from Mount Holyoke College, said the transition from high school was particularly difficult as a student of color at a predominantly white college. Panelist Dan McClure, a doctoral student at UMass, said inadequate writing and time management skills are other challenges many students face. It is important for high school students to begin improving these skills before they get to college, he said. In spite of these challenges, as well as the high cost of attending college, “the payoff is sweet,” said Stephanie Evans, assistant director in charge of youth education at the Swearer Center. “Education is something that no one can take away from you,” she said. “Having a college degree provided me with options and opportunities,” Perdomo said. Rodolfo Bugarin Jr., assistant director of financial aid at Brown, said students should think of college as a worthwhile investment in spite of the high cost. “A college degree in this country guarantees that you will not be in poverty,” he said. The panelists said motivation and refusal to give up are necessary to success. It is also crucial to take advantage of available resources, said Dilania Inoa ’99, literacy and schools coordinator

Gyatso continued from page 1 “They call it a criminal justice system, but the process is very degrading,” he said. Forced to kneel on a platform that was covered in broken glass, Gyatso watched as Chinese authorities bound his hands and stripped him naked, he said. “They asked if our ideology and allegiance to Tibet had changed. When I said no, they tortured me.” During his imprisonment, methods of torture only became more sophisticated, he said. “Since 1981, they have started to use more highly sophisticated weapons,” he said. “On one severe case, Oct. 13, 1990, two people held me in a chair. They asked if I still favored a free Tibet. They then shoved a rod into my throat. All of my jaw was full of blood. The tongue split like a delta. I have no teeth today.” Gyatso then displayed his toothless jaw. Gyatso said Chinese authorities often killed prisoners, and then charged families for the cost of the nooses and bullets used to execute them. The situation today may be slightly improved, but Gyatso maintains it is still very grim. While the Chinese may claim today that prisoners are not dying, starvation continues, he said. “Families can now visit the prisoners and bring food. Tibetans started feeding themselves and criminal Chinese inmates. When one Chinese prisoner claimed they had no right to starve him, he was deemed antiChinese and was shot,” he said. Despite the torture while in

for the Swearer Center. She said, without college preparation programs like Upward Bound, “I probably wouldn’t have made it to Brown. And I don’t think I would’ve made it out of here.” Many of the students in the audience will be the first in their families to attend college, said Nereyda Salinas, admission coordinator in the Boston region for Stanford University. The summit was intended to give them a “heads up” about the long preparation process and let them know “they are wanted in college,” she said. “They need to have certain people in front of them to … urge them to go to college, get an education, aim for knowledge,” said Kraal “Kayo” Charles, HBO Def Poetry Jam poet. Aaron Hampton, a 12th grade student at Rogers High School, said the panel’s acknowledgement of the challenges minority students face encouraged him to continue his education, despite difficulties. “I’m kind of at that point about giving up myself. But that (panel) really helped me to really think of my dreams and what I want to do with my life,” he said. Hampton said he will attend Roger Williams University next year. Eleventh-grader Reginald Campbell said he liked the honesty of the panelists and their ability to relate to the audience. “They don’t seem too distant from us,” he said. Herald staff writer Meryl Rothstein ’06 can be reached at mrothstein@browndailyherald.com.

During his imprisonment, methods of torture only became more sophisticated, he said. prison, Gyatso said he does not hold any grudges against the Chinese, even those who tortured him. “According to Buddhist philosophy, it behooves me to control my anger. Being angry will not return my 33 years; they are spent. To educate in a nonviolent, constructive manner, that might bring a peaceful end,” he said. Gyatso said advocates for a free Tibet hope for constructive negotiations with Chinese Vice President Hu Jintao in June when they will ask for Tibet to become an “autonomous region rather than an independent nation.” Since his 1992 release, Gyatso has toured the world, testifying to the human rights violations in Tibet and promoting nonviolent negotiations to end Chinese occupation. He appealed to the crowd to work constructively on his behalf. “The future is in your hands. Some of you,” Gyatso said, “may become representatives or even president of the United States. How you use your knowledge is important. You have great freedom and facilities here to accomplish great aims. Use them.” The event, which took place in MacMillan 115, was sponsored by Students for a Free Tibet. Herald staff writer Schuyler von Oeyen ’05 can be reached at svonoeyen@browndailyherald.com.


THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

CAMPUS NEWS MONDAY, APRIL 21, 2003 · PAGE 5

Candidates for UCS President As was the case last year, two juniors and one sophomore are choose between Rahim Kurji ’05, Ahmad Rehmani ’04 and Justin vying to become president of the Undergraduate Council of Sanders ’04. At that time, voters will also select other UCS and UFB Students. On Tuesday and Wednesday, students will be able to log officers and representatives. into an Internet voting site to read campaign statements and —profiles by Jonathan Ellis THE BROWN DAILY HERALD ENDORSES:

Rahim Kurji

Ahmad Rehmani

Justin Sanders

SOPHOMORE, INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

JUNIOR, POLITICAL SCIENCE CONCENTRATOR

JUNIOR, INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND

AND ECONOMICS CONCENTRATOR

UCS history Admission and Student Services Committee Chair, 2002-2003; Atlarge Representative, 2002 Platform highlights • Promoting Campus Life structural improvements • Fostering diversity, equality and social justice • Improving UCS’ receptiveness to student feedback

UCS history Associate Member, 2000-2001 Platform highlights • Increasing UCS communication and accountability • Supporting students on financial aid • Eliminating unnecessary University expenditures

ECONOMICS CONCENTRATOR

UCS history Campus Life Committee Chair, 2002-2003; Class of 2004 Representative, 2001-2002; Occasional meetings, 2000-2001 Platform highlights • Protecting student services from budget cuts • Expanding student services to complement academic initiatives • Supporting students on financial aid

The night before the Undergraduate Council of Students voted to support arming the Brown Police, Rahim Kurji ’05 didn’t get any sleep. For an issue where so much was at stake — in terms of University policy and the personal convictions of the students he had been elected to serve — Kurji said he couldn’t get arming off his mind. “I guess I’m very idealistic, and I take that as a good thing. Idealism can bring change,” Kurji said, speaking quietly, unassumingly, but also intensely. “I love Brown. That’s why I’m running. I want to make Brown as good as it can be.” Kurji, Admission and Student Services Committee Chair for the outgoing Council, said he wants to pursue concrete goals, a vision for the University and equality and social justice for students. Kurji, a Minority Peer Counselor and native of Houston, Texas, said his status as the only rising junior seeking election gives him a unique advantage as a student representative. While many seniors move off campus, Kurji said he would be “embedded more in the campus community,” able to connect to both upperand underclassmen. “I have the experience that it takes to be running for UCS president,” said Kurji, who was elected as an atlarge representative in the spring of 2002. His work on the Council this year allowed him to address short- and long-term Campus Life priorities while also influencing the University’s ideals, Kurji said. He provided input for the University’s statements on

Undergraduate Council of Students presidential candidate Ahmad Rehmani ’04 has almost no experience in student government — but that’s why he thinks you should vote for him. “I’ve seen the bigger picture,” Rehmani said. “I’d be in a better position (to speak) on behalf of the entire student body. … Someone on UCS would represent the opinions of those on UCS,” he added. His outsider mentality has already gotten him into trouble twice with the UCS Election Board — claiming ignorance of election rules and a faulty memory, Rehmani e-mailed the heads of several student groups soliciting their support and had his campaign budget cut as a result. But setbacks haven’t dampened Rehmani’s spirits in his efforts to make his four-part platform of communication, development, resources and community a reality. “I believe it’s important to convey (full) and accurate information” about UCS proceedings, Rehmani said. He decried Council work in executive session, which is closed to the public, press and associate members, except by special vote. Hailing from Lahore, Pakistan, Rehmani served as an associate member of UCS his first year at Brown. Associate members are not popularly elected and do not vote on the Council. Rehmani quickly became “disillusioned with how UCS works and disgusted with the behind-the-scenes politics,” he said. Rehmani left UCS to pursue other extracurricular interests, becoming president of the Pakistani Society at Brown and vice president of the Brown Lecture Board. As president, Rehmani said he would increase UCS communication, “forming a channel with every organization.” Groups should use student publications to voice their concerns, he said. The Council should improve its relationship and build a “strong alliance” with The Herald, he added. Rehmani sharply criticized this year’s Council for its fail-

Every UCS candidate for president claims to know what students want, but Justin Sanders ’04 says he has the experience and expertise to blast through the administration to get it. “My relationships with administrators give me a lot of sway in giving them feedback from students,” Sanders said. He said he has a proven track record of identifying problems and areas for improvement, taking suggestions from students and following through with solutions. Currently the chair of the UCS Campus Life Committee, Sanders said that as president, he would make sure budget cuts don’t get in the way of increasing student services and creating a strong campus community. Sanders, originally from Belmont, Mass., said much of his interest in running for the top spot comes from his extensive background in UCS. Sanders served as a class representative prior to his committee chairmanship and attended occasional Council meetings as a first-year. Addressing the University’s impending budget cuts is Sanders’ top priority in his campaign statement. He said he would make sure the administration seeks student opinion before scaling back student services. First-year counseling, health services and expanded library hours should be protected, Sanders said. He plans to fight the University’s proposal to reduce and consolidate the number of first-year units, he added.

see KURJI, page 7

see REHMANI, page 7

see SANDERS, page 6


PAGE 6 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD MONDAY, APRIL 21, 2003

Sanders continued from page 5

VOTE.

Brown spends upwards of $200,000 a year on the Faculty Fellows program, which could be cut, Sanders said. He also recommended cutbacks in health education — which he said was already ineffective at its low levels of funding — and in residential programming — noting that Residential Programmers themselves said the program was fruitless. If the administration plans to reduce student services, it should also reduce administrative overhead, Sanders said. Small offices with overlapping roles could be consolidated, he said, and the Office of Campus Life and Student Services could save money on redundancy with a centralized administration structure. Sanders said he has discussed administrative restructuring, among other topics, with President Ruth Simmons and soon-to-be interim vice president for Campus Life and Student Services David Greene. He meets with a member of the Campus Life Office at least every other day, he added. The University should not have cut undergraduate financial aid grants by $1,000 and re-allocated the money to graduate programs, Sanders said. “I think that’s somewhat antithetical to our mission as a primarily undergraduate university. We’re moving away from the ‘university college.’” Financial aid is a critical “student service” that needs to be protected, Sanders said. He added that graduate programs should be addressed in the upcoming capital campaign. “Just because it’s taken the capital campaign longer (than expected) to get started, it’s pretty irresponsible to cut from financial aid,” he said. Sanders said he would serve as a counterbalance to Simmons’ long-term Initiatives for Academic Enrichment, which “didn’t mention any student services, just faculty, faculty, faculty.” To illustrate his point, he constructed a metaphor of a house, saying that, while academics compose most of its levels, student services provide a critical support structure that cannot be ignored. “If there are so many things (to worry about) in your life, it’s already distracting you from academics,” Sanders said. “There’s almost as much stress in finding a place to work out as in doing a problem set.” Event planning takes too long, often requiring hours to be spent on processes that could be completed in minutes, he said. Sanders also wants to increase 24hour study spaces at the library. “If we don’t have improved spaces for study, we won’t be able to benefit from the academic enrichment program,” he said. UCS strays from its house rules too often and needs to follow a defined operating procedure to increase efficiency, Sanders said. He said he would try to balance the styles of the two previous UCS presidents, Allen Feliz ’03 and Rodrick Echols ’03, implementing a governance structure “that’s flexible in terms of initiatives but powerful in increasing motivation.” The Council should become more transparent and be “truly

representative,” Sanders added. It should use its “real advocacy power” to “actually voice concerns to the administration.” Sanders said he supported laying the groundwork for arming the Brown Police. “If it proves by the numbers to be the most efficient in reducing crime, we should go forward,” he said. But he noted the Bratton report recommended a series of measures, all to be implemented at the same time. He said he was hesitant to fully endorse arming until the University tried some of the other proposals, such as increased lighting and shuttle routes. Sanders said he “argued vehemently” against adding pluses and minuses to Brown’s grading system. “It would be a disservice to Brown if we just lumped ourselves together with all the other schools where you’ve got these very finite grading lines,” he said at a Dec. 12 UCS meeting. He called himself a “big fan” of Course Performance Reports but bemoaned the fact that professors rarely mention them to their students. In his campaign statement, Sanders wrote he oversaw the reopening of the Underground this semester and obtained the administration’s commitment to re-establish its 18-and-over policy. He said the Underground would likely operate as a café Sundays through Wednesdays and as an 18-and-over pub on Thursdays through Saturdays next year. Sanders also discussed with The Herald several options for feasibly allowing the pub to admit underage students. Sanders called himself a “big supporter” of co-ed housing, saying the University should not ignore overwhelming student support. He said the University’s major construction priority should be renovating the Ratty — and using its large footprint to build upward, creating additional levels for student group meeting spaces, large function rooms and practice spaces. UCS needs to increase its communication with the student body, Sanders said, outlining two ways he would gather feedback from the Brown community. The Council’s attempts at town meetings failed this year because of poor publicity, he said. If elected, he would hold regularly scheduled meetings that would focus on student feedback rather than UCS members talking, he added. “Any good student government takes that approach,” he said. Sanders has also been teaching himself HTML integration with Microsoft Access databases so he can set up online surveys, he said. Representative contact information will be listed on new class Web portals proposed by the administration, he added. Sanders’ other goals include adding athletic facilities and computer clusters, revising the University’s alcohol policy and ensuring the administration follows through on its commitment to build a new campus center. “I have the relationships, the experience and the drive to be able to protect (students’) interests and the services that affect them,” Sanders said. “That is where I will stand out.” Herald staff writer Jonathan Ellis ’06 covers the Undergraduate Council of Students. He can be reached at jellis@browndailyherald.com.


MONDAY, APRIL 21, 2003 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD PAGE 7

Kurji continued from page 5 affirmative action and its faculty hiring process, “issues that are integral to me as an individual and to the campus — and should be integral to the student government,” Kurji said. Kurji said his commitment “to issues of equality and social justice” separates him from his opponents. In that vein this year, Kurji worked to develop a list of underrepresented high schools in Brown’s admission process. He also addressed the high textbook costs that prevent some students from taking the classes of their choice. “Brown has diversity in numbers, but not in actuality,” he said. “I’ll try and do my best to work on that. “Certain groups, such as students with disabilities, don’t even come up in conversation and aren’t represented,” he added. More concretely, Kurji also worked this year to improve workout facilities at the Bear’s Lair, he said. If elected, Kurji said he would try to bridge the perceived gap between UCS and the rest of campus. “The role of the president should be to foster meaningful dialogue between groups,” he said. “Students should be determining what course of action UCS is taking.” Along those lines, Kurji has called for increased UCS transparency and student feedback. He said he would visit two different student groups each week to ask for input. UCS weekly meetings, which are open to the public but rarely attended, are too intimidating and procedural for outsiders, he said. Kurji noted the lack of UCS dorm rounds this year and also suggested the Council work with The Herald to gather student opinion. Other goals for Kurji include creating class officers for all four classes, 24-hour study spaces and snack bars, additional computer clusters and e-mail kiosks and a program in which students could use meal credits at any time of the day. Kurji said he would defend health and psychological services from budget cuts, and said he tried to defend Brown Outdoor Leadership Training from cuts or delays to its August hiking trip. But, he questioned the value of other programs, such as health education and the Faculty Fellows program. “We need to reevaluate how effectively we run programs like Residential Programmers,” he said, adding that creating more common spaces in lounges may be at least as effective in fostering community. Kurji could not decide on a single Campus Life priority, explaining that a student center, dining, athletics and performance spaces are his top priorities. Faunce House could be renovated into a theater facility, and student group space could be moved to a new student center, Kurji said. The University could also contract with the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority to bus students to larger performance venues, he said. With guns on campus a necessity, he said he preferred them in the hands of Brown Police rather than the Providence Police Department. But, Kurji emphasized the importance of addi-

tional training and screening for officers. “I don’t feel comfortable giving guns to the Brown Police right now,” he said. Adding pluses and minuses to Brown’s grading system would increase competition, Kurji said. “I’m glad it was killed in the College Curriculum Council. … It doesn’t follow liberal learning and the open curriculum,” he added. Bringing this perspective to residential life, Kurji said he believes the housing lottery should offer more options for coed housing, but leave final decisions up to students. As a member of the Faculty Committee on Admission and Financial Aid, along with his opponent Ahmad Rehmani ’04, Kurji said he was a “very strong advocate” for not increasing student loans and cutting grants. “Those loans should not have been made,” he said. “President (Ruth) Simmons understands that.” The administration should take greater care to explain its actions to students, Kurji said, to prevent an “us and them” mentality. For instance, he said the administration was “hypocritical” in claiming to be cashstrapped one day and purchasing a $1.3 million house for the provost the next. Kurji said Simmons’ academic enrichment plans are essential to the mission of the University. “We all are here to get our education,” he said. “By improving Brown’s academics, we improve the state of the University. But student and campus life should not be playing second fiddle.” As president, Kurji said he would try to reduce the “dichotomy” between life inside and outside the classroom. The Underground, “a vital campus space,” should be reinstated as an 18-and-over establishment, Kurji said. “Making Brown a better place for its students is something I’m very passionate about and dedicated to. I will do this with integrity and perseverance,” Kurji said. “I hope the student body will have faith in me.” Herald staff writer Jonathan Ellis ’06 covers the Undergraduate Council of Students. He can be reached at jellis@browndailyherald.com.

Rehmani continued from page 5 ure to foster communication with the student body at large. “I haven’t seen anyone from UCS come to me and ask what my organizations’ concerns are,” he said. “I know a lot of other organizations are facing the same problems.” “UCS was founded on the principle that student views would be integrated in the proliferation of the community,” Rehmani wrote in his campaign statement. He said he would hold regularly scheduled discussions with members of the student body and take their concerns back to Council. Rehmani said his goal of development revolves around the issue of improving the financial aid system. He currently serves on the Faculty Committee on Admission and Financial Aid, an advisory committee, with fellow presidential candidate Rahim Kurji ’05. Rehmani said he’s “expressed a clear concern for students on financial aid,” with an emphasis on decreasing the mounting burden of loans. Rather than increasing student loans, Rehmani sup-

UCS continued from page 1 jeopardy if he came in for the exact same three groups. But then we found out about two other groups. “I guess it’s kind of like perjury,” Golodny added. Rehmani said he did not send any e-mails after Tuesday and did not remember if he had e-mailed any groups other than the five known to the Election Board. Rehmani told The Herald Wednesday he was unaware that e-mail could not be used under any circumstance. His lack of intent apparently factored into the lenient original decision of the Election Board. In the UCS election rules, the “Endorsements Procedure” section reads, “UCS election board will send out the first e-mail to all (Student Activities Office) groups, please do not contact groups via email. “DO NOT SEND ANY INITIAL

ports the pursuit of increased alumni giving and the allocation of a portion of the University’s operating budget to replenish its endowment, he said. There has been much debate on campus surrounding the option of drawing on the University’s endowment to boost the lagging budget, but never the opposite. If elected, Rehmani would push for more effective use of University resources, he said. He pointed to departmental waste as a prime example of resource inefficiency, saying academic departments were squandering their funds. “I believe in pooling our efforts campus-wide in order to save resources that may be duplicated elsewhere. Clearly, current structures at Brown can be seen under the light of redundancy,” he wrote in his campaign statement. “UCS can voice its opinion on how funding should be used,” Rehmani said. “I’m sure there are other places in which money is going to waste.” Money saved by increased efficiency could be put toward financial aid, he said. He also advocated more campus events and “introducing other resources.” But with the University facing budget shortfalls and looking to

make cutbacks in Campus Life, Rehmani said he was “not entirely sure” what programs should be eliminated. To achieve his goal of community-building, Rehmani said he would work closely with student groups to increase and improve campus events. “A (student) space in a centralized location” should be the University’s top construction priority, he said. Rehmani said he supported the arming of Brown Police. He opposed the addition of pluses and minuses to Brown’s grading system, though he said he “hadn’t really thought about it.” Rehmani said his campaign is going well. “I’ve spoken to most of my friends — they’re supporting me in my efforts. I have some good people giving me support,” he said. “I’m a determined human being and I’m willing to represent the student body’s interest … on UCS,” he said. Rehmani said students should vote for him for a “well-knit, well-endowed Brown community.”

E-MAILS, DISQUALIFICATION MAY FOLLOW,” the rules state. Later, they warn, “NO E-MAIL AT ALL!!!!” “I could have been smart enough. I could have picked up the phone,” Rehmani said. In his campaign for the Advisory Committee on University Planning in his first year at Brown, Rehmani said he sent e-mails to his supporters reminding them to vote. No hearing occurred and he did not receive punishment, he said. Rehmani faces UCS members

Rahim Kurji ’05 and Justin Sanders ’04 in the election, scheduled for this Tuesday and Wednesday. “Having run previous Election Boards, I can understand how any semblance of deception or any attempt to give anything other than the truth … could cause serious concern for me,” Sanders said.

Herald staff writer Jonathan Ellis ’06 covers the Undergraduate Council of Students. He can be reached at jellis@browndailyherald.com.

Herald staff writer Jonathan Ellis ’06 covers the Undergraduate Council of Students. He can be reached at jellis@browndailyherald.com.


PAGE 8 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD MONDAY, APRIL 21, 2003

Fresh faces continued from page 12 spots is absolutely crucial. It doesn’t matter if you’re throwing 100 or 80. So I started throwing around 86, but trying to hit spots and use my curve effectively to get ahead in the count. It’s been a huge difference. I threw well at Cornell and was much more effective — didn’t get as many strikeouts as I’m used to, but we got the win, and that’s the only stat that counts. At Columbia, I pitched well and the defense played really well behind me, and that’s about all you could ask for. Is there a major leaguer who you try to emulate? I guess Tim Hudson, without the forkball. He’s a little taller than I am, but I think we weigh about the same. I love his approach on the mound. I wish I was Mark Prior, 6’5”, 230 pounds and built like a Greek god, but obviously I’m not. Yet. Yeah, the doc says I’m still grow-

“But I get a lot from my legs like Hudson; I’ve got a big long stride. I love his intensity on the mound.” ing. But I get a lot from my legs like Hudson; I’ve got a big long stride. I love his intensity on the mound; I love Roger Clemens’ intensity, Nolan Ryan’s intensity. My curveball has been my key, and spotting my fastball. So basically, just replace Hudson’s split finger with my curveball. A lot is made of Barry Zito’s methods for focusing on the mound, for example. How do you handle the mental aspect of the game? At every jump in competition, you have to step up your focus. I’m a much different person when I pitch. My eyes always focus at about the same distance — no matter what I’m looking at, it’s always 60 feet six inches. My demeanor on the mound is pretty much, “the plate is mine, I

don’t care who you are and I’m going to get you out.” Some people call that cockiness, but I think you need that as an athlete. I’m not afraid to come inside because in college, you have to be able to pitch inside, especially with aluminum bats. But I try to stay really focused; I know what I have to do. It’s a bit different at this level because the coach is calling the games. He calls every pitch? Yeah, he does that with most of the pitching staff. I shook him off earlier in the year, and the batter smoked one into the outfield. The coach is very vocal, to put it mildly, so he let me know right away that he didn’t appreciate me shaking him off, especially when he knew the hitter better than I did. Since then, I’ve only shaken him off once, and I heard about that one too. I haven’t shaken him off in a while and turns out that I haven’t given up many earned runs either, so I hope to keep that going. Sports staff writer Eric Perlmutter ’06 writes athlete of the week features.

SASA continued from page 3

House of Delegates Kumar Barve and Press Secretary for the Children’s Defense Fund Toby Chaudhuri. Director of the Coney Island Avenue Project Bobby Khan criticized the U.S. government for its civil rights abuses with respect to minorities following Sept. 11, 2001, in a panel titled “Immigration Post-9/11: What Now?” Iyengar said. “Perceptions of the ‘Other’,” explored the exotification of South Asians in the media. Led by Lakshmi Srinivas, visiting assistant professor of sociology at Wellesley College, the panel also observed reverse exotification of America by South Asians. The Political Action Weekend also featured a play by the Boston-based group South Asian American Theatre. “Interrogations” looked into the true story of a South Asian immigrant who murdered his wife, daughter and father-in-law. The play provided a look into domestic violence within South Asian households. “It talks about South Asian silence, about domestic abuse and the pressure felt as an immigrant,” said Priya Cariappa ’05, a coordinator for “Interrogations.” “The woman didn’t have the resources or contacts to leave the house, get educated or liberate herself,” she said. “A lot of people don’t realize that domestic violence is an issue within the South Asian community,” Cariappa said.“The fact is that it’s just as prevalent in the South Asian community as it is in an average American home.” Program coordinator and SASA Education Chair Vinay Ganti ’05 said the weekend provided a valuable opportunity to learn about issues relevant to South Asians.“I’m glad it happened,” Ganti said.“A lot of the panelists made insightful observations about acquiring a trust base with your constituency and such,” he said. —Joanne Park


MONDAY, APRIL 21, 2003 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD PAGE 9

Chang continued from page 12 ought to be. At that moment he taught me and taught the world that the individual is part of the game; he is not the game itself. Jordan played because he knew how much his fans had invested in him. He did not let us down. It does not need to be said that Jordan played every game with obvious determination and emotion, giving his best on every play. But during the 1996 Finals against the Seattle SuperSonics, Jordan’s emotions culminated in poignant Game Six. I remember the scene very vividly. As the buzzer sounded to give the Bulls the 1996 Championship title the first year after Jordan’s comeback, Jordan grabbed the ball and fell to the floor. His comeback had led the Bulls to the best combined regular season and playoff record in NBA history, 87-13. Jordan then ran to the locker room with the ball and collapsed on the floor once again. You could tell tears were about to be shed. This was his fourth NBA title, the first one after his comeback, and the first one after his father’s murder. To top it all off, the 87-75 victory over the Supersonics came on Father’s Day. As a kid in middle school, I could not contain my emotions. I

Movie continued from page 1 the film. “I wanted to help them fulfill the dream of ‘Better Luck Tomorrow,’” MC Hammer said in the documentary. However, Fan said finding a distributor for the film was a difficult process. Several companies offered six to seven figure contracts, but only on the condition that no Asian American characters were used, he said. “Asian Americans have a high capital disposable income. … Our buying patterns are similar to white people, so we’re classified as white,” Fan said of the film industry’s marketing strategies. “We don’t exist in any data in Hollywood.” Eventually, MTV films bought the movie for $500,000. Even then, “they didn’t know how this film would do, and weren’t willing to spend too much money on it,” Fan said. “We literally had no marketing budget.” Through word of mouth and email campaigns, the cast and crew spread news of the movie. Playing in just 13 theaters, the film grossed nearly $400,000 last week, more per theater than all other current films, Fan said. “We’re really on the verge of making history,” Fan said. “This could potentially be rolled out like a normal Hollywood movie.” Fan encouraged audience members to spread the word and see the film, because opportunities for Asian Americans in the film industry remain scarce. “The failure of (television’s) ‘All-American Girl’ created a stigma in Hollywood that took 10 years to recover from,” Fan said. “Buying a ticket for this film is like your vote.” Herald staff writer Joanne Park ’06 can be reached at jpark@browndailyherald.com.

saw how much the game meant to Jordan and how much he had gone through. What I saw was a man that had gone through life’s challenges and still maintained his passion and natural love for basketball. His come back to the NBA reflected that love and his refusal to let public criticism dissuade him from embracing it once again. And so Jordan, on April 16, 2003, graced the basketball court one last time and played in his last professional game. This game marked the culmination of a career at the top of every statistic. But even more importantly, it represented the end of a legend. As a sports fan I feel blessed that I was able to witness Jordan’s era. Sure, it would have been great to grow up watching Babe Ruth or Wilt Chamberlain play. But neither the Babe nor Wilt compare with Jordan and the legacy that he has left. Jordan’s influence on basketball has transcended every sport. No other athlete has his name used fittingly in a comparison like, “He is the Michael Jordan of golf.” When all other names are forgotten, his will be the one name no one forgets.

In 50 years I will be an old man. I will sit on my La-Z-Boy 2050 and watch what will then be a transformed NBA in which players do not worry about being humble, giving their best effort or passing the ball. My grandchildren will be sitting next to me and cheering every time a player gets called for a technical foul (by the year 2050 a bad attitude equates to a cool player) and sitting bored every time someone sets a pick or dishes out a dime. But then the responsibility will fall into my lap. I will turn off the TV during halftime and tell the story of Michael Jordan, a man whose commitment to the game was unprecedented, a man whose skill and humility far surpassed that of his nearest competitor. I will tell them of my idol, and how he taught me the right way to approach life. I will tell them about the stud that is Michael Jordan. I cried when Jordan’s career came to an end, but I find solace in the fact that his legend will live on forever. Albert Chang ’06 drinks Gatorade with every meal in the hope that someday, he’ll be like Mike.


THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

EDITORIAL/LETTERS MONDAY, APRIL 21, 2003 · PAGE 10 S T A F F

E D I T O R I A L

Sanders for President For the first time in recent memory, voters are faced with a tough choice for Undergraduate Council of Students president. Both Justin Sanders ’04 and Rahim Kurji ’05 have extensive backgrounds in UCS, ambitious platforms and the drive to carry them through. Their resumes and many of their goals are strikingly similar, with one major exception. While Sanders has spent considerable time working on Campus Life issues in UCS, Kurji has focused on admission and socioeconomic issues. Both areas are extremely important to the University and its students, but Brown’s current financial plight demands a UCS president extremely well-versed in administrative issues, especially those pertaining to the Office of Campus Life and Student Services. Sanders can fill this role. In light of looming budget cutbacks in Campus Life and President Ruth Simmons’ almost exclusive devotion to admission and academic issues, Sanders’ presidency would serve as an effective counterbalance to the University’s current thrust. Sanders has specific ideas for handling the upcoming Campus Life budget cuts, including reducing administrative overhead and identifying programs students find wasteful such as the little-used Faculty Fellows and Residential Programmer programs. These solutions are far more palatable to students than what the administration has proposed so far. Sanders’ thorough working knowledge of the administration and strong relationships with administrators will help him carry these solutions through. Although both Kurji and Sanders have expressed support for financial aid and disapproval of recent loan increases, in issues of socioeconomic diversity Kurji has a more proven track record. His collaboration with the Office of Admission in composing a list of underrepresented high schools for recruitment and work to lower textbook costs for students are both admirable undertakings. If elected, Sanders should be sure to devote increased time and attention to this area, in addition to Campus Life. In contrast to his competitors, Ahmad Rehmani ’04 has little background in UCS and only a vague understanding of the organization’s operation, as well as a feeble grasp of the administration. His campaign has also been marred by morally questionable actions that have prompted the Election Board to eliminate his funding. The student body should be proud to elect either of the two qualified candidates. But with the threat of budget cuts in programs and services many students hold dear and, more importantly, in an area where students can have some say in their fate, the strongest voice must be chosen to represent them. That voice is Justin Sanders.

ANDREW SHEETS

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OPINIONS MONDAY, APRIL 21, 2003 · PAGE 11

Employ the Silence Radical egalitarians should look to their own history before exaggerating the dangers of conservative ideology I DID NOT ATTEND THE RICHARD sor at an obscure arts college, D’Souza an Perle-Paul Kennedy debate that aroused a American Enterprise research fellow, and good bit of controversy in these pages of Ralph Reed a GOP mobilizer on the state late, and thus cannot comment on the and local level. Certainly they couldn’t be events of that afternoon specifically. It plausibly accused of perpetrating “genoseems fair to say Mr. Perle was not cide,” as Professor William Keach said of Perle, nor of being “very pow“silenced” in the literal sense erful, very wealthy… memof the word; it also seems fair bers of the establishment,” at to say a number of students least no more than Keach made complete asses of himself (“Perle should have themselves, in a manner been silenced” April 9). David commensurate with the genHorowitz never made it to eral decline of the American Salomon, but one can only university in past decades. imagine the histrionics. Here is also not the place When shouting down ideofor a specific appraisal of logical disagreeables, it has Perle, who, both sides of the actually mattered little what “free speech” argument have ALEX SCHULMAN BORN TO RUN side of the political spectrum seemed to agree, is a figure of the speaker is on. D’Souza and unrepentant evil, a Satanic Reed are conservatives; Paglia conspirator who runs the is a progressive who voted for world from his Defense Policy Board Bat Cave. Indeed, if this were true, Ralph Nader. Her crime? Arguing that biothen perhaps the recent letters defending logical differences between the sexes the disruptors’ actions would have logic influence their behavior, and that many on their side. Should not Mephistopheles “date rape” charges might be trumped up. be held to a different standard of “free Even stranger was the treatment given to speech” than the ordinary mortals he eminent Harvard scientist E.O. Wilson (Sociobiology), who, despite being a cardworks to torture and oppress? Unfortunately, that simply won’t wash, carrying liberal Democrat who long assoif for no other reason than this: In the ciated with progressive causes, was called past decade alone, the same treatment a fascist and a Nazi, shouted down and (or worse) has been doled out to the likes even physically assaulted at lectures, all of Camille Paglia, Dinesh D’Souza and for bringing up many of the same issues of Ralph Reed, and that’s just here at Brown. genetics and biological determinism. And You may consider the above figures of rel- if liberal Wilson is the reincarnation of Dr. ative menace, but they clearly do not Mengele, as was argued, one shivers to have the frightening access to power think what the disruption crowd made of Perle (apparently) does: Paglia is a profes- conservatives Charles Murray and Richard Hernnstein “The Bell Curve,” who have dared to deal with the confluence of race, class, IQ, crime and societal success. Sadly, this is Alex Schulman ’03’s final colThe rationales were not identical to umn for The Herald. We’ll miss him.

those used on Perle, but only a short step away. E.O. Wilson may not actually be a Nazi, but because the Nazis experimented with biology and behavior and so did he, he waded into unacceptable waters. Because Paglia argued that the historical position of women might be biologically explainable, and not simply a social construction, she must obviously want women sent back to being “barefoot and pregnant.” And since Murray and Hernnstein observed that blacks tend to score lower than whites on IQ tests, and that IQ correlates strongly with social pathologies and successes, it must follow they want institutionalized apartheid, or perhaps even the return of slavery. After years of having to suffer the above, it would be interesting if — perhaps only for a year — we turned the tables in the other direction. Imagine if we employed the same tactics in dealing with those in the academy who most vociferously denounced the likes of Sociobiology and The Bell Curve, radical egalitarians like Stephen Jay Gould (R.I.P.) and Richard Lewontin, or the scores of other academic feminists and assorted trendy theorists who insist that biology is a patriarchal lie and that vague social forces and power structures shape everything about us. Is the above a progressive viewpoint? I can think of a few instances in which it wasn’t without its dark side, including the 20 million murdered by Stalin, the 30-60 million murdered by Mao and the million each put up by Pol Pot and Mengistu Haile Mariam. If the likes of Duke’s Frederic Jameson and our own William Keach are “Marxists,” and if the activists among us had no trouble associating Paglia and Wilson with rapists and Nazis,

shouldn’t there at least be a contingent of concerned Brown students who periodically storm Keach’s lectures holding up the harrowing photographs of starved peasantry from Stalin’s collectivization, or the bone yards of Khmer Rouge? Should the radical egalitarians — a ruling academic viewpoint these days, at least in the humanities — have to answer for the crimes of those who also believed human nature was a fiction, that the liberal, Enlightenment notion of the individual subject was false, and that the brain was infinitely malleable? Last fall, regarding the coming war on terrorism, Professor Keach informed The Herald that David Horowitz encouraged us to “embrace genocide.” He seems to throw the word around a lot. By making an identical jump from writing to material result, couldn’t we also say that you, Professor Keach, encourage us to embrace genocide? After all, you are in the Marxist tradition, as were Lenin, Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, etc. It probably sounds silly on its face when I put it like that — and silly it is. If E.O. Wilson could have resurrected Nazism, it seems equally plausible to say the various radical egalitarians, poststructuralists, gender feminists and other deniers of human nature that rule the roost these days, could very well turn our campuses into a “Democratic Kampuchea” in miniature, where cities are emptied of their undesirables and children made to chant party dogma while they work. Of course I’m not suggesting Harvard and Yale will house the next killing fields. But I believe it was Marx himself who suggested history repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce.


THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

SPORTS MONDAY APRIL 21, 2003 · PAGE 12

Bye Mike, you will be missed

Awful luck for KG, Griffey

IN THE PAST FOUR YEARS, I HAVE ONLY cried twice. The first time was when my pet hamster Gadget died (I loved that guy). And the second time was when Michael Jordan played his last game against the Philadelphia 76ers last Wednesday, emotionally saying farewell to a game that he once helped re-create. As Jordan jogged off the court and through the corridor to the locker room after his team’s 20-point loss, a compilation ALBERT CHANG of video clips came ALBY RIGHT BACK on that included all of Jordan’s most memorable moments in basketball. I recognized all of the clips, and soon enough the tear ducts in my eyes started to let out the waterworks. I honestly could not help it. So I just gave into the power of the moment. A whirlwind of thoughts and emotions engulfed me, sending to my mind recurrent flashbacks of my younger days when I idolized Jordan to the point that I thought him to be the “greatest man alive,” in every sense of the term. I turned off the TV after the game was over and for 30 minutes I just sat there in my carpeted Perkins room, contemplating how it was possible for one person that I had never even met to have such an all-enveloping impact on me and my tear ducts. And then I realized it was never anything Jordan had said to me or to the media that captivated my attention and admiration. I did not need to know Jordan for him to be my idol. Simply by observing Jordan’s actions while I was growing up had created a place for him in my heart and that of every avid sports fan. We all know of Jordan’s many NBA titles and MVP awards. But certain moments stand out in the midst of all of his towering accomplishments. By and far my most memorable moment in Jordan’s career was during Game Five of the 1997 Finals against the Utah Jazz. Jordan was questionable for the game because he was suffering from a serious flu. But nonetheless Jordan decided to play. The results were mind-blowing. Jordan ended up scoring 38 points and hit the final threepoint shot to break the tie and win the game. But the icing on the cake for me was that after the game Jordan, so physically debilitated, collapsed in the hands of teammate Scottie Pippen and had to be carried off the court. All at once this scene demonstrated the pain, dedication and love that encapsulated Jordan’s decision to play. What I witnessed at that moment was sacrifice and a leader’s understanding of his role. Jordan’s play epitomized what basketball

THE LAST TWO WEEKS, WHILE INITIALLY promising for two of sports’ most gifted athletes, have only yielded freakishly awful results. For Kevin Garnett and Ken Griffey Jr., whether it’s something in the water or just horrible luck, it’s time to get the hell out of Dodge. Garnett’s about to lose in the first round of the playoffs for the seventh year in a row with Minnesota, and Junior’s spent the last three weeks continuing his horrendously cripJON MEACHIN pled stay in SUICIDE SQUEEZE Cincinnati. Talk about a guy who can’t get a break: Kevin Garnett has spent the last six seasons hearing about how he can’t win the big one, how he’s not clutch, how the Timberwolves haven’t won a first-round playoff series and how you can’t build a champion around him. But this year, after dominating the regular season, averaging 23.0 points and more than 13 rebounds a game, Garnett led the T’Wolves to the fourth seed in the West and home-court advantage for the first round of the playoffs. This was supposed to be the year that Minnesota broke out of its playoff funk, overcame the Wally Sczerbiak/Kevin Garnett feud and made it to the second round. Of course, all home-court advantage got him was a series against the three-time defending champs, the Los Angeles Lakers. While I’m not completely counting them out, the Timberwolves got hammered in Game One of the series, giving up 28 points in the first half to Kobe. I wouldn’t be surprised if they only lasted three more games. Three defeats later, Garnett will answer the same questions that have plagued him his entire career. He’ll enter next season with the same lackluster supporting cast, put up huge numbers in the regular season and be on vacation by mid-April. Ken Griffey Jr. came to the Reds in 2000 as one of the most potent offensive threats and best center fielders in baseball history, but his time in Ohio has been bizarrely brutal. His performance on the field has been painful, and the torn hamstring and dislocated shoulder he’s suffered haven’t helped his cause either. After two abysmal years with his dad’s former team, Ken Griffey Jr. came into the 2003 season with high expectations and a determination to show off the talent that got him $12.5 million a year. Only five games into this season, however, Griffey dislocated his shoulder diving for a drive into center field and will spend at least six weeks on the disabled list. In the four years prior to joining the Reds, Griffey averaged more than 50 homers a year and more than 150 ballgames a year. In three years with the Reds, he’s played fewer than 110 games and had less than 25 home runs a year. In three years, he’s gone from one of the best in baseball history to an injuryplagued has-been. Don’t count Griffey out, but his drop in production and injury count is disturbing. He desperately needs to get out of Cincinnati and start again, and while $12.5 mil is a tough price tag, the Yankees could always use a backup outfielder.

see CHANG, page 9

SCOREBOARD Baseball

Men’s lacrosse

Dartmouth 4, BROWN 1 Dartmouth 6, BROWN 5 Dartmouth 5, BROWN 1 BROWN 4, Dartmouth 3

Dartmouth 14, BROWN 10

Softball

Men’s crew

Dartmouth 4, BROWN 3 BROWN 6, Dartmouth 2 Harvard 4, BROWN 3 BROWN 5, Harvard 1

Defeated by Northeastern on Saturday

Women’s lacrosse Cornell 15, BROWN 11

Women’s crew

Men’s tennis

Defeat Boston University on Saturday

BROWN 4, Columbia 3 BROWN 5, Cornell 2

Men’s track

Women’s tennis

Finished second at the UConn Invitational on Saturday

BROWN 6, Columbia 1 BROWN 5, Cornell 2

Women’s track Finished third at the UConn Invitational on Friday

dspics

With two wins over the weekend, the men’s tennis team remained undefeated in the Ivies.

F R E S H

F A C E S

Cramphin ’06 perfect for baseball in Ivy League INTERVIEW BY ERIC PERLMUTTER

Meet James Cramphin ’06, a starting pitcher for Brown’s baseball squad. A native of Simsbury, Conn., James has earned a solid spot in the rotation and is 3-0 in Ivy League competition. In his last 25 innings of work, James has surrendered only three earned runs, most recently posting a complete game win against Dartmouth on Saturday. So you’ve secured a spot in the rotation — did you expect that? That was one of my goals that I set forth coming into the season. Coach said that I would have a shot because we have a really young team — we’re only graduating two seniors. He stipulated that nobody really had a spot but Chris Davidson ’05, who is our ace. The rotation was wide open after him, so for any pitcher on the team, the goal was to nail a spot in the rotation. It’s still not fleshed out because our pitching has been inconsistent, which shows in our record. How did a tie find its way into your record? Yeah, I forgot about the tie. It was the first time I’d ever been a part of a tie and I’ve been playing since I was 8. I hated it — I’d rather lose. We had a plane to catch, and the game went into extra innings but we had to leave. Kind of anti-climactic. Anyway, back to the rotation. There are a couple other freshmen. I’m really proud and excited about our freshmen class. We’ve bonded really well — for example, Shaun McNamara ’06 and I have a friendly rivalry that makes us better. We both ran crosscountry, so we’re always trying to beat

each other in conditioning drills. We’re just about the same speed, so it’s a perfect match there. We throw about as hard as each other, we have similar stuff on the mound — we’re always competing. So I had hoped to get the two spot in the rotation, but, like I said, it’s still up in the air. Are you happy with the way things have gone so far? I’m happy with the way it’s going, yes. I had mono all winter, so I couldn’t lift or do anything really. One of my goals was to gain about 15 pounds — I’m a pretty small guy — and I gained them, but got mono and lost 13 of them and have only gained back a couple. That was really disappointing. In my first start back, Coastal Carolina, who was ranked 30th or something at the time, shelled me. I gave up nine earned runs in four innings, which opened my eyes to the real college game. I just went in with the same approach as high school, where I thought I could reach back and throw it hard. In high school, 90 (miles per hour) was gas that nobody could hit, but Coastal could. So after that game, two of our captains came up to Shaun and me. We were getting ripped, walking guys, getting hit. They told us, “Everybody knows you’re the future of this team, but you’ve got to just keep learning from every game.” We’ve been trying to do that. Well, you pitched a couple of beautiful games of late, so something must be working. Well, the main thing I took out of the Coastal game was that hitting your see FRESH FACES, page 8

Jon Meachin ’04 hails from New York City, and would have no problem being George Steinbrenner’s personal assistant if the money was right.


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