Thursday, September 25, 2003

Page 1

T H U R S D A Y SEPTEMBER 25, 2003

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Volume CXXXVIII, No. 79

An independent newspaper serving the Brown community since 1891

www.browndailyherald.com

UCS meets with four architects in charge of future design

Davis ’06 trains to run New York Marathon with her father

BY KRISTA HACHEY

“It is understandable that the graduate school would want to cut the funds for undergraduate TAs, but we have an unstable situation,” Cane said. “What we found ourselves in is a situation where there’s no funding for undergraduate TAs.” He said his department relies heavily on TAs, since the 17 students in each laboratory should not be left unsupervised due to safety issues with chemicals. And Cane said he would prefer graduate TAs for upper-level courses, where labs present more safety hazards. Graduate students — who are supposed to teach, Cane said — are especial-

The Undergraduate Council of Students met Wednesday night for the first time with four architects who will help design the future of the Brown campus. The architects, from Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates, attended the meeting to discuss ways the spirit of Brown’s students can be better fostered by its buildings and infrastructure. Members of the firm showed a keen desire to hear and understand the visions students have for campus improvements. “Their skills as both architects and planners give such a depth to this team — they are people who know how to build great buildings,” said David Greene, Interim Vice President for Campus Life and Student Services. “During our initial discussions with them over the summer, it was clear that they understood Brown, its culture and were willing to get into it. They were quickly engaged in the substance of the issues, which showed us what might be possible in future conversations.” The dialogue between UCS and the firm encompassed large-scale projects initially proposed in the University’s master plan, which outlines potential changes to the campus for the next few decades. UCS representatives voiced student grievances about the lack of a student center, and large-scale performance space as well as the general decentralization of the campus. Though the firm has worked on projects at Princeton, Dartmouth and UPenn, the architects said they were sensitive to the unique needs of Brown’s campus and student body. “Something that is fundamental to the way we work is that we don’t jump into making assumptions about where buildings should be located and what their purposes should be,” said architect Sylvia Fuster ’96. “We arrived yes-

see TAS, page 5

see UCS, page 7

BY HANNAH BASCOM

Last Sunday Elizabeth Davis ’06 ran 18 miles — a typical weekend activity as she enters her 13th week of training for the New York Marathon. “It’s draining, it’s tiring to do all this running,” she said. “It’s hard to balance schoolwork and running … but it will all pay off in the end.” Her training began after watching her father, Elliott Davis, cross the finish line of the New York Marathon last year. “It was one of the most motivating experiences I’ve ever had,” Elizabeth Davis said. “After the race I jokingly said ‘Dad I want to run with you next year’ and he held me to it.” The father-daughter team started training July 1 for this November’s race. They ran five days a week and crosstrained one day a week. Sunday mornings, the day of their long run, they woke up at 4 a.m. to escape the intense summer heat of the Virgin Islands, where they live. Even since she’s been at school, Elizabeth Davis has sacrificed her Saturday night plans in anticipation of her long Sunday runs. “Friends get upset that I can’t go out, but I tell them this is the most important thing I’ve ever done in my life, and I’ll make whatever sacrifices to cross the finish line with my dad.” Besides the obvious importance to Elizabeth Davis of running as part of a father-daughter team, the marathon takes on new significance because Elliott Davis is battling stage IV kidney cancer. He was diagnosed in 1997, and then went into remission until the cancer reappeared two years ago. Even with ongoing chemotherapy treatments, Elliott Davis is able to run because the side effects do not affect his training. “He is an amazing inspiration for me. He’s a very strong person and an incredible role model for everybody,” Elizabeth Davis said. Despite the distance between them this fall, father and daughter speak frequently to keep each other motivated. “We talk after every long run and compare how it went,” she said. “He’s my best buddy — I miss having him to do the long runs with.” The rest of the family is also becoming involved in the marathon, flying from St. Thomas or Duke University to be there when the two cross the finish line. The runners plan on having matching t-shirts made, with “His Daughter” and “Her Father” on the back. With the Nov. 2 date approaching, Elizabeth Davis is feeling confident that they will both finish with strength. “When I started off I thought ‘There is no way I’m going to run 26 miles,’” she said. “I still can’t believe I can do it, but it feels good to say I ran that many miles.” Herald staff writer Hannah Bascom ’05 can be reached at hbascom@browndailyherald.com.

Michael Neff / Herald

BEND AND STRETCH: Ellen Schneiderman ’05 (Left) and Natalie Combes ’04 (Right) stretching canvases in List’s Painting Studio.

Cut in TA funding creates emergency for profs BY LOUIS TEE

Budget cuts in the Chemistry Department created a near-crisis this semester when qualified students were placed on the first-ever wait list for CH 36: “Organic Chemistry.” Fifteen students in the pre-med requirement course initially could not be accommodated for a lab session due to a lack of funding for teaching assistants. “I was really worried I couldn’t get into the class, since I’m a pre-med,” said Akilah Jefferson ’05, who was placed on the wait list. But Jefferson said after an additional graduate TA was added and several students dropped out, all wait-listed students were allowed a spot in the class. Taking into account the students who took the prerequisite CH33: “Equilibrium, Rate, and Structure” and CH35: “Organic Chemistry” courses last term, professors projected that there would be around 260 students enrolled in the class this semester. But such projections were ignored, said Professor of Chemistry David Cane, a lab supervisor, when the number of chemistry graduate TAs was reduced by 30 percent at the start of this academic year. This reduction left the department short seven to nine graduate TAs, Cane said. The graduate school also cut funding for 30 departmental undergraduate TAs, he said. In response, Provost Robert Zimmer provided the department with emergency funding for 25 undergraduate TA positions, Cane said.

Facilities improved during summer months; ground broken for new work BY ZOE RIPPLE

During the summer many of Brown’s existing facilities were improved, and ground was broken to make way for new facilities. About $25 million was spent for design and construction of the 46 projects, according to John Noonan, associate vice president of facilities management. Improvements included painting, carpeting and exterior landscaping of the Keeney Quad dorms, a “complete renovation” of the T.F. Green building, construction of Marvel athletic fields and

I N S I D E T H U R S D AY, S E P T E M B E R 2 5 , 2 0 0 3 RISD alcohol policy leaves students in fear of punishment, and without a safety net RISD news,page 3

Head of RISD’s photo department speaks on the evolution of the photo as art form RISD news, page 3

President Bush is unashamedly flouting environmental law, says Nate Goralnik ’06 column, page 11

laboratory renovations in Metcalf and Barus and Holley. Ground was broken to make way for a new Life Sciences building, located next to the Bio-Med Center. A new facilities management headquarters was also built on Lloyd Avenue. The construction of the new Life Sciences building on Meeting Street has made things “difficult” said Scott Miracle, manager of the Shell station on Angell Street. “Its harder to access the building,” see RENOVATIONS, page 5

TO D AY ’ S F O R E C A S T Schuyler von Oeyen ’05 says students need to take the initiative to create school spirit column, page 11

Men’s tennis dominates doubles, fares well in singles at Harvard Invitational sports, page 12

mostly sunny high 75 low 55


THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

THIS MORNING THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2003 · PAGE 2 Coup de Grace Grace Farris

W E AT H E R THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

High 75 Low 55 mostly sunny

High 71 Low 57 showers

High 76 Low 63 partly cloudy

FRIDAY

High 73 Low 58 t-storms

GRAPHICS BY TED WU

Three Words Eddie Ahn

MENU THE RATTY LUNCH — Vegetarian Fagoli Soup, Egg Drop and Chicken Soup, Chicken Fingers, Grilled Chicken, Yellow Cake with Chocolate Icing, Apple Crisp.

V-DUB LUNCH — Vegetarian Eggplant Vegetable Soup, Chicken Mulligatawny Soup, Hot Turkey Sandwich, Raspberry Sticks. DINNER — Vegetarian Eggplant Vegetable Soup, Chicken Mulligatawny Soup, Baked Stuffed Pollock, Vegan Paella, Multigrain Bread, Yellow Cake with Chocolate Icing.

DINNER — Vegetarian Fagoli Soup, Egg Drop and Chicken Soup, Chicken in the Rough, Cheese Tortellini with Meat or Meatless Sauce, Cajun Potatoes

Greg and Todd’s Awesome Comic Greg Shilling and Todd Goldstein

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Silents star Bara 6 Sealed 10 Course with sines 14 19th president 15 Great 16 Get new cabinets for, as a kitchen 17 Roll 20 Traveler’s ordeal 21 Easter buys 22 Given to back talk 23 Jury member 24 Sought a seat, perhaps 25 Roll 33 Circus employee 34 Catch 35 One-million link 36 Show of approval 39 No longer in use 42 Singer Janis 43 Pershing’s WWI command 45 “__ Mio” 46 Roll 51 10-Across function: Abbr. 52 Plant anchor 53 Branch sticker 56 “Trillion” prefix 57 Savers’ options 61 Roll 64 Gillette brand 65 Where Pioneer Day is celebrated 66 Jai alai basket 67 Chastise, with “out” 68 Uses an axe 69 Census __

8 Actress Merkel 40 Something to go 54 Don’t just dislike et al. on? 55 Gumbo 9 Gymnast’s goal 41 Seagoing letters ingredient 10 Class cutter 44 Scratcher, at 56 Lug 11 Complete turns, times 57 Opinion briefly 47 Real riot 58 ’60s secretary of 12 Fateful day for 48 “__ and Lovers” state Caesar 49 Changes shape, 59 Part of a Molière 13 Like some Rin a way play rated movies 50 Laugh heartily 60 Sky light 18 Had too much 53 Lift up a 62 “Say that again?” of, with “on” mountain 63 World Series mo. 19 Grandson of ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE: Abraham 23 Gilpin of S C R O D A B B E S G O O “Frasier” C L A R A E T D E L I H U 24 Lounging wear R H O N O N O R T H O D O X 25 Zeno, notably D U G B R E W E D A M O R 26 Kind of battle G E T S A S T O R I E S 27 Microwave I N A F O G R I N S E maker 28 On a pension: S O P D E A D O N H O S P Abbr. F O R T D I X A R I A I M 29 Boiling U S O P E N I O N A X E D 30 Red wine A C C E N T L E G A L choice I S L A M T O O L K I T 31 Reunion T E A R U P O N E D I N T attendee R A B B I T R E D U X 32 Idaho, informally I N D T R A I N O P A R T A G E 37 Sculls 38 Opposite of S E X S I E T E B A K E S paleo09/25/03 xwordeditor@aol.com 1

2

3

5

6

7

8

9

10

15 18

19

20

21

22

23 25

26

27

29

33

34

36

37

42

43

38

54

13

30

31

32

35 39

40

44

48

41

Jero Matt Vascellaro

45 49

51 53

12

24

28

47

11

Hopeless Edwin Chang

16

17

46

DOWN 1 This partner 2 Minuscule margin 3 Brontë heroine 4 Schoolroom sight 5 Baseball bat wood 6 Woodworker 7 Big hit

4

14

My Best Effort Andy Hull and William Newman

50

52

55

56

57

61

62

63

64

65

66

67

68

69

By Bruce Venzke and Stella Daily (c)2003 Tribune Media Services, Inc.

58

59

60

09/25/03

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD, INC. Editorial Phone: 401.351.3372

The Brown Daily Herald (USPS 067.740) is published Monday through Friday during the aca-

Business Phone: 401.351.3260

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

Elena Lesley, President

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

Kerry Miller, Vice President

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

Jamie Wolosky, Treasurer

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

Joseph Laganas, Secretary

http://www.browndailyherald.com. Subscription prices: $179 one year daily, $139 one semester daily. Copyright 2003 by The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. All rights reserved.


THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

RISD NEWS THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2003 · PAGE 3

RISD alcohol policy can result in punishment for sick students

RISD photo head speaks on evolution of the photograph as an art form BY MICHAEL MELLER

The photograph in your scrapbook might not be just a snapshot — it might be a work of art. Gary Metz, head of RISD’s Photography Department, spoke to approximately 50 people in the RISD Museum Wednesday about the evolution of photography as an art form. The lecture was the first of three in a series titled “Art Becomes Photography: Stieglitz to Siskind to Sherman.” The series introduces an exhibit showcasing the work of Aaron Siskind, a highly regarded mid20th century photographer who taught at RISD in the 1970s. The exhibit is being presented in the year of the 100th anniversary of Siskind’s birth. Metz talked about how photography was able to change the way people could see the world, and how it became an artistic undertaking in the 20th century — as fine paintings had been before. He demonstrated his point by showing a variety of paintings as well as 20th-century artistic photographs. Metz said photography enables people to capture elements of scenes that do not typically stand out. “We begin to see things that we can’t see

BY MICHAEL RUDERMAN

One Friday night last year Suzannah Park RISD ’05, then a Resident Advisor, found one of the girls in her dorm lying in the street, drunk, in need of medical attention. But calling RISD Department of Public Safety was out of the question — the intoxicated sophomore refused to allow Public Safety to take her to the hospital, and there was nothing her friends or Public Safety could do about it. Park’s sophomore was afraid a trip to the hospital would result in disciplinary action once she got back to campus. RISD policy prohibits alcohol use by minors, making any call for medical help a potential disciplinary matter. Had the student accepted the ride from Public Safety, she would have been transported to Rhode Island Hospital by a Providence ambulance, said Raymond McKearney, Director of RISD Public Safety. The hospital visit would likely result in disciplinary proceedings at the school, said RISD Associate Provost for Student Affairs Edward Dwyer. The student ultimately decided to go to a friend’s off-campus apartment. If she Michael Neff / Herald

see PHOTO, page 5

Brittany Kleinman, a RISD student, relaxes on the RISD beach.

see ALCOHOL, page 5



THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2003 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD PAGE 5

Alcohol continued from page 3 had instead returned to campus, Public Safety still would have called a Providence ambulance to take her to the hospital, McKearney said. And she still would have had to face the consequences. “For any violation of the regulations a hearing will be held,” McKearney said. Brown students can call Brown University Emergency Medical Services or the Department of Public Safety in an alcohol-related crisis without fear of disciplinary repercussions. “The hope is that students will hear the message clearly,” said Brown Associate Dean for Student Life Jean Joyce-Brady. “The health and safety of the students and their peers is most important.” Many Brown students appear to have gotten the message. “I’ve witnessed the consequences of drinking too much,” said Ryan Keller ’07. “And if my roommate came back and I thought his life were in danger, I would call EMS.” The different outcomes of alcohol-related medical emergencies at RISD and Brown stem from RISD’s stricter alcohol policy.

“We are alcohol-free on the RISD campus,” said Dwyer, citing departmental and gallery functions as some of the few occasions where alcohol can be served under strict guidelines. On-campus parties are also regulated tightly, he said. But students say the strict regulations are sometimes ignored. RISD’s 390 freshmen live on the main campus, where alcohol is theoretically prohibited. “I had one resident last year who drank all the time,” Park said. “But if you come back walking, everything’s fine. Just be sly.” In the nine outer houses, upperclass students are permitted to vote on whether or not they want their dorm to be dry. All the houses voted to allow alcohol this year. Only students over the age of 21 are allowed to drink in their dorm rooms. Brown’s policy on alcohol in residence halls is “very ambiguous,” said Mary Ottinger ’06, a Women’s Peer Counselor in Andrews. While underage students are not permitted to have containers of alcohol, alcohol is not explicitly prohibited in underclass dorms because some students living in those buildings may be of legal age, Joyce-Brady said. “I don’t want to see beer pong in the hallways, and I don’t want to

see drunken roommates bothering those who live with them,” said Linnea Sanderson ’06, a WPC in Keeney. “So if it has to happen, it’s best if people are just safe and keep it to themselves.” To ensure students’ safety, Brown has its own ambulance service and treats patients at Brown Health Services. RISD does not handle such matters in-house and instead transports all patients in need of medical care to Rhode Island Hospital in Providence ambulances, McKearney said. Regardless of where patients are transported, administrators from both schools said they keep confidential any records of incidents involving alcohol use, unless the police must be notified if a crime occurred while the patient was intoxicated. Both RISD and Brown send reports of any alcohol-related incident to their respective Offices of Student Life. At Brown, Student Life will pursue disciplinary action only if a crime was committed. Students at both schools insist they would contact public safety or EMS if a friend needed medical attention, whatever the consequences the next day. “If they were really sick and needed someone to help them, I would call EMS even if it got them in trouble,” said Becky Gammon RISD ’07.

Renovations RISD

TAs

continued from page 1

continued from page 3

continued from page 1

Miracle said, because the construction backs the property. Business has been slower due to the construction, Miracle said. Kenneth Dulgarian, owner of the College Hill Bookstore, said that while “small inconveniences are normal,” the construction “has not been an impediment for us.” He praised the University administration and Gilbane Building Company for being neighborly, professional and efficient during the construction of the Life Sciences building. Students have been enthusiastic about Keeney renovations. The new Keeney is “better than what I’ve heard it used to be like” said Jay Vowles ’07. Vowles said resident counselors and “anyone at orientation” alerted freshmen to changes in the dorm. The revamped Keeney “looks good ... but they only used one coat of paint, and it chips right off. But that’s the only minus. Everything else is nice,” said Lee Beane ’06, an RC who also lived in Keeney last year. The new Marvel fields are “perfect. ...They are the best fields club sports have been given since I’ve been here,” said Kate Maurer ’05, a captain of the women’s Ultimate Frisbee team. The fields have been expanded and re-sodded, and a building that once sat on the field has been removed, Maurer said. Facilities management is also undertaking several new projects this year, including new laboratory space on 70 Ship St. in Providence, Noonan said.

with our eyes,” he said. Paul Schmid said he came to RISD with his wife from Boston to learn about photography and its connection to art. Metz’s presentation changed the way he thinks about photography, he said. “I had no idea that photography could be looked at as we look at (paintings),” Paul Schmid said. Paul Schmid’s wife, Tina, said the pair plans to attend the next two lectures in the series, as well as the exhibit of Siskind’s photography. “I can’t wait to learn a lot more about Siskind, whom I don’t know much about,” Tina Schmid said. Other members of the audience included photography professors and others involved in photography in other capacities. The next lecture of the series will be on Oct. 8 and will examine photography in the mid20th century. It will be given by Jan Howard, Curator of Prints, Drawings and Photographs at the Museum. The Siskind exhibit, “Interior Drama,” opens at the RISD Museum Nov. 14.

ly valuable to the department because they have a firm grasp of the subject and can grade exam papers. They also monitor two lab sessions a week, he said. Undergraduate TAs, in contrast, have other courses, lab sessions and activities, and can only supervise one lab class every week, Cane said. But he said undergraduate TAs are still vital to the department. “This might seem like an insignificant part of funding in the university, but we rely heavily on teaching by undergrad TAs” for lower-level courses, he said. Cane recommended that the Office of the Dean of the College ensure a reliable source of funding for undergraduate TAs based on departmental need. This policy would be useful in preventing emergencies such as CH 36’s TA shortages, Cane said. Such shortfalls have happened before, but never on such a drastic scale, he said. “We need to make sure we have enough TAs,” Jefferson said. “It would be nice if we can add one or two more lab sessions.” The chemistry department is working on plans to provide a more accurate assessment of the number of TAs needed, based on enrollment, Cane said.

Herald staff writer Zoe Ripple ’05 can be reached at zripple@browndailyherald.com.



THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2003 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD PAGE 7

UCS continued from page 1 terday with the aim of absorbing the character of the environment, not to impose. We want the campus to evolve with the patterns that are already here.” Fuster, a former architectural studies and urban studies concentrator at Brown, said her ties to the University strengthen her desire to see to it that the University’s identity is preserved as it undergoes new and important developments. “Brown emphasizes individualism and the education I received here helped me cultivate my personal voice,” she said. “The question that arises in my mind is how does a school that is so much about individualism reconcile that with the concept of community.” Discussion centered on what a student center would look like and what purposes it should serve. “There should be a place that has food, computer networking, a (study space) that is more relaxed than a library,” said representative Natalie Schmid ’06. “You are more likely to run into people and interact when there are a couple hundred students in a space at once. The way the campus is set up now, places are either really crowded or empty.” Campus Life Committee Chair Ari Savitzky ’06 said there was a possibility of creating a student center in the form of several buildings located in a precinct. Regardless of what form the center takes, students must feel like the building or complex of buildings is theirs to use and transform, he said. “Many students haven’t even been to the second floor of Faunce,” he said. “We need a student center that can make students feel like they own the building.” Meeting attendees explored the need for connector routes between various parts of campus and how the firm plans to address this issue. “Relationships between the buildings are as important as the buildings themselves,” said Robert Venturi, a partner in the architectural firm that will take a leading role in designing the new campus. “It is on those walkways that people meet, make connections and community is enhanced. Both UCS and the firm showed an eagerness to work with each other and shape ideas into tangible, desirable changes on campus. Savitzky highlighted some new developments in campus life, including the opening of the renovated T.F. Green building, a performance space on Young

Discussion centered on what a student center would look like and what purposes it should serve. Orchard Avenue that houses two theaters, a dance hall and practice rooms. The Campus Life Committee expects to get funding from the Undergraduate Finance Board in order to make the New York Times and Providence Journal available at the Ratty and V-Dub. UCS Communication Chair Tim Bentley ’04 told The Herald that the Electronic Address Book will be further upgraded before December of this year and will include the option to input cell phone numbers and addresses. “The current version is written in a more modern programming language that will last longer than that of the previous program,” he said. “It is faster, has better search capabilities, and these features will be even more apparent in the second incarnation.” Bentley also clarified recent developments regarding online registration, citing January 2005 as its earliest possible launch date. “The (Computing and Information Services) and the Dean of the College are enthusiastic about moving in this direction,” he said. “They are carefully deciding which vendor they want to purchase software from and how much customization it will require. A major issue surrounding this is the fact that Brown does not compute GPA. There is discussion as to whether or not that will be continued.”



THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2003 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD PAGE 9

Water polo continued from page 12 opposed to looking at the four quarters together as a whole. With this new focus, Brown played to win the entire game. The Bears saw exceptionally strong play from Sean Tiner ’06, who scored four goals, drew two ejections and had two steals. Tricaptain Doug Grutzmacher ’04 and Payton each put in two more, in addition to a goal apiece from Graeme LeeWingate ’06 and D’Avino. Brown was awarded an additional advantage as one of the major offensive threats on the Iona team was ejected from the game in the last quarter due to misconduct. Although the Bears were already ahead on the scoreboard at that point, the defense took full advantage of the situation to overwhelm and defeat their flustered opponent with a final score of 10-7. “It could have easily been a one-goal game because Iona is a strong team,” Clapper said, “so it feels good to come away with that win.” The team’s next match is its first at home this season and against its biggest rival, Harvard. In spite of the fact that the Harvard team is rebuilding this

M. tennis continued from page 12 Goddard, advanced to the semifinals of the doubles bracket before again falling to Brown players. “I was very happy with his (Thomas’) play overall,” Cerretani said. “He really gave me a tough match in the quarters. I definitely expect great things from him and he expects big things from himself.”

The team’s next match is its first at home this season and against its biggest rival, Harvard. In spite of the fact that the Harvard team is rebuilding this season, the traditional rivalry will incite an extremely intense and close game. season, the traditional rivalry will incite an extremely intense and close game. “Harvard will probably play their best game of the year against us, so we have to play every minute to come out with a win,” Clapper said. The game will be held on Sept. 25 at the Smith Swim Center. Contributing writer Jinhee Chung ’05 covers men’s water polo. She can be reached at jchung@browndailyherald.com.

While the results from the weekend’s tournament were positive, both Coach Harris and the players said they felt there was still more work to be done on the practice courts. “We were playing on six cylinders this weekend, and we need to be playing on eight,” Cerretani said. The Bears are now looking forward to the Northeast Invitational, which will be hosted by Brown from September 26 to 28.


THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

EDITORIAL/LETTERS THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2003 · PAGE 10 S T A F F

E D I T O R I A L

Damage control Emergency Medical Services should be one number that nobody’s afraid to call. The RISD sophomore who preferred to spend hours drunk on the side of a street rather than receive medical attention, and the resident advisor who wasn’t willing to make the call are two of what are likely dozens of reasons why RISD must reexamine its alcohol policy. When students get to college, the vast majority of them drink. Whether a school bans alcohol from campus completely, like RISD, or pursues a “see no evil” policy like Brown, the results are going to be more or less the same. What matters is harm reduction. At Brown, first-years are told repeatedly that a call to EMS on a Friday night will bring a swift, potentially life-saving response, and nothing else. At RISD, freshmen must determine whether a drunk friend is sick enough that the risk of serious injury outweighs the potential disciplinary actions that could be taken. And if the health risks aren’t enough, consider the neighbors. Clearly few students at RISD are bothered by alcohol in dorms. All upper-class dorms voted this year to allow alcohol. The College Hill Neighborhood Association, on the other hand, has complained vocally about damage and noise emanating from off-campus parties. In other words, they want college-aged drinkers as far away from their property as possible. Banning alcohol from campus merely exports drinking to other parts of the Hill, areas where the residents likely want to deal with the consequences of alcohol consumption even less than RISD administrators. Yet more importantly, the RISD administration is putting the lives of its students in danger. Zero tolerance policies never work. The least RISD can do is give its students options.

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 Rachel Aviv, Arts & Culture Editor Jen Sopchockchai, Asst. Arts & Culture Editor Carla Blumenkranz, Campus Watch Editor Juliette Wallack, Metro Editor Jonathan Skolnick, Opinions Editor Philissa Cramer, RISD News Editor Jonathan Meachin, Sports Editor Maggie Haskins, Sports Editor

BUSINESS Jamie Wolosky, General Manager Joe Laganas, Executive Manager Joshua Miller, Executive Manager Anastasia Ali, Project Manager Jack Carrere, Project Manager Lawrence L.Hester IV, Project Manager Bill Louis, Project Manager Zoe Ripple, Project Manager Peter Schermerhorn, Local Accounts Manager Elias Roman, Local Accounts Manager Laurie-Ann Paliotti, Sr. Advertising Rep. Elyse Major, Advertising Rep. Kate Sparaco, Office Manager

PRODUCTION Zachary Frechette, Chief Technology Officer Marc Debush, Copy Desk Chief Yafang Deng, Copy Desk Chief Grace Farris, Graphics Editor Andrew Sheets, Graphics Editor Sara Perkins, Photo Editor

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 Micah Salkind, Features Editor Ellen Wernecke, Features Editor Abigail Newman, Theater Editor Doug Fretty, Film Editor Jason Ng, Music Editor Colin Hartnett, Design Editor

Hassan Fathy, Night Editor Marc Debush, Katie Lamm, Copy Editors Senior Staff Writers Zach Barter, Danielle Cerny, Dana Goldstein, Lisa Mandle, Monique Meneses, Joanne Park, Meryl Rothstein, Ellen Wernecke Staff Writers Kathy Babcock, Hannah Bascom, Carla Blumenkranz, Philissa Cramer, Ian Cropp, Jonathan Ellis, Stephanie Harris, Hanyen Lee, Julian Leichty, Allison Lombardo, Jonathan Meachin, Sara Perkins, Melissa Perlman, Eric Perlmutter, Cassie Ramirez, Lily Rayman-Read, Zoe Ripple, Emir Senturk, Jen Sopchockchai, Adam Stern, Stefan Talman, Joshua Troy, Schuyler von Oeyen, Juliette Wallack, Jessica Weisberg, Brett Zarda, Julia Zuckerman Accounts Managers Laird Bennion, Eugen Clifton Cha, In Young Park, Jane C. Urban, Sophie Waskow, Justin Wong, Christopher Yu Pagination Staff Lisa Mandle, Alex Palmer Photo Staff Gabriella Doob, Benjamin Goddard, Marissa Hauptman, Judy He, Miyako Igari, Allison Lombardo, Nicholas Neely, Michael Neff, Alexandra Palmer, Yun Shou Tee, Sorleen Trevino Copy Editors Emily Brill, George Haws, Katie Lamm

SHANE WILKERSON

LETTERS Loss of medical data is a definite risk involved with Prop. 54 To the Editor: It’s heartening that Akiva Fleischmann and Alex Schulman were inspired to research the actual text of Proposition 54, but they should have investigated both sides of the health care exemption debate rather than just Connerly’s. It is true that section (f) of the proposition states that “otherwise lawful classification of medical research subjects and patients shall be exempt from this section,” but the fact is that this medical exemption is not the

panacea it seems. Nearly every health care organization in California has come out against Proposition 54, citing the exemption’s misleadingly narrow focus (a full list of groups is available on www.defeat54.org, the official anti-Prop. 54 Web site). According to the Dr. Jack Lewin, CEO of the California Medical Association, the legally vague medical exemption would apply in reality only to a “miniscule number of people participating in a small number of studies and surveys.” Much can be said about Proposition 54’s potential risks and benefits, but it’s foolish to suggest that this loss of medical data should not be counted among the risks.

Chris Hu ’06 Sept. 24

W

rite letters

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. 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, SEPTEMBER 25, 2003 · PAGE 11

Don’t ever, ever save the whales President Bush wants no environmental protections, no exceptions NRDC v. Evans concerned the Navy’s DESPITE SHARP FLUCTUATIONS IN President Bush’s overall approval rating, testing of low-frequency active sonar the majority of voters have remained con- (LFA), which the Navy wants to use to sistently opposed to the Bush administra- track enemy submarines at long range. tion’s environmental agenda, and with LFA is especially useful because it travels good reason. Since his inauguration, much farther than traditional mid-frePresident Bush has gutted the Kyoto quency sonar and helps the Navy track diesel-powered submarines accords on global warming, whose engines are too quiet to pushed to encroach upon the be identified by passive sonar. Alaska National Wildlife But for endangered marine Refuge and handed over the mammals and sea turtles Environmental Protection swimming within range of the Agency and the Interior sonar, the experience can be Department to lobbyists from jarring and even deadly. LFA industries that poison our emits blasts of sound that water, pollute our air and reach 215 decibels. At close destroy our forests. But most range, this is a volume equivaAmericans are still unaware of lent to standing next to a rocksome of the darkest details of NATE GORALNIK et launch without earplugs. Bush’s environmental record. ORDERS FROM THE BOSS Acoustic trauma of that magIn this column we’ll considnitude exerts massive preser the recent court case sure that can rupture delicate National Resources Defense Council Inc. v. Evans, in which environ- tissues and cause whales and dolphins to mental groups accused various federal die of internal bleeding. Those who iniagencies of violating numerous environ- tially survive will be left crippled as a mental regulations protecting endan- result of damage to the natural sonar they gered species from harassment by govern- rely on to navigate, feed, mate, communiment conduct. Responding to the plain- cate and avoid predators. This was the case in 2000, when an tiff’s charges, Bush litigators launched a shocking, all-out attack on the very notion active sonar test conducted in the of global environmental protection that Bahamas caused 17 dolphins and beaked was breathtaking for its blatant disregard whales to panic and beach themselves. for the fate of marine life. Here are the Seven whales died of dehydration and severe hemorrhaging in the brain. The 10 facts. that were successfully returned to the ocean disappeared from the area forever, Nate Goralnik ’06 shouts out to the Ursa and are widely presumed to have died as Minors!

a direct or indirect result of the injuries they sustained. Sound waves emitted by LFA are especially dangerous because they travel farther than traditional mid-frequency active sonar and because they operate on the frequency used by large endangered mammals such as the blue whale and the humpback whale. They also cause disoriented whale calves to separate from the families that nourish them and protect them from predators. As U.S. Magistrate Elizabeth Laporte wrote in her 73-page opinion, the threat that LFA poses to marine mammals, sea turtles and salmon is enormous. “There is little margin of error without threatening their survival. For example, if even a few endangered gray whales of the mere 100 which remain near Sakhalin Island are disturbed by LFA and fail to mate or give birth, that population might well disappear permanently. … Absent an injunction, the marine environment that supports the existence of these species will be inevitably harmed.” These serious environmental concerns were met with indifference and even contempt by the Bush administration, which callously argued that environmental law does not oblige the government to protect endangered species in habitats more than 200 miles from the American coast. Clearly, the administration’s view is that environmental law does not constitute a meaningful commitment to conservation, but is merely an empty formality to be manipulated,

circumvented and ignored. Laporte correctly found this shocking lack of respect for the environment to be “arbitrary and capricious,” not to mention illegal. In the end, Laporte issued a permanent injunction forcing the Navy to test LFA in a fashion consistent with environmental law — that means being sensitive to endangered species both at home and abroad, standard procedure for most federal projects. But the Bush administration just won’t allow it. Frustrated by the ruling, the Bush administration is pushing for Congress to scale back environmental regulations like the National Environmental Policy Act in order to allow the military broader discretion to pollute critical habitats and harass endangered species. This means environmental concerns never have to enter the discussion: The Navy will test LFA wherever it wants, whenever it wants, no exceptions — even if it means extinction for sea turtles or blue whales. This is sheer madness. The Bush administration’s zealous impatience with environmental law cannot possibly indicate anything resembling a thoughtful environmental policy. The only explanation is that Bush’s Earth Day piety is a pack of lies. He is just like any other extreme conservative, burning with a reckless ideological hatred for environmentalism that, if legally sanctioned, will irreparably damage global biodiversity. If President Bush destroys the environment today, it is we who will be left to pick up the pieces tomorrow.

Turn left on Elmgrove Ultimately, school spirit is something students need to create for themselves The problem may not be entirely a fault “WE HAVE A FOOTBALL TEAM?” A confused freshman remarked at the Ratty of the students or administration. As the a couple of days ago when The Herald Providence Journal pointed out in an artiprinted the results of the Brown football cle last week, the Ivy League stubbornly team’s first game of the year, a victory at continues to wait until the third week of the University at Albany. “That’s news to September to kick off their football season each year, while virtually me.” every other league across the The days when freshmen country has already played a could be tested without notice minimum of two to three about their knowledge of games. The result is that stuschool songs and reprimanded dents don’t become accusfor failing to display their class tomed to going to games at hats are over. The individualisthe beginning of the year and tic, noncompetitive nature of aren’t properly alerted when the Brown philosophy embodthe first home game arrives. ied in the New Curriculum Still, there seems to be an seems to have left little room SCHUYLER appalling lack of school spirit. for a meaningful sense of camVON OEYN Not only are students uninpus unity. The University ALL THINGS CONSIDERED formed, but they don’t see reaencourages passionate comson to care. Only a small mitment to all clubs and activminority of Brown students ities, but few of these organizations make a claim to represent the know the words to either Brown’s main fight University as a whole. The best opportuni- song, “Ever True to Brown”, or the eponyties for display of school spirit naturally mous alma mater. The minority that does fall to our sporting events — those crown- know the words is generally limited to the ing moments when great athletes give our cheerleaders, the members of the busy students something to stand up and Undergraduate Council of Students who signaled a commitment to school spirit by shout about. Don’t get me wrong. Brown is not a learning the words at a retreat last weekend member of the Big Ten or ACC sports divi- and the infamous Brown Band. The Brown Band seems to be the best sions. We’re not supposed to be a perennial power or a regular on ESPN news clip exemplar of school spirit on campus. It highlights. But that doesn’t mean we appears at every football game, home or away, major campus events and at hockey should ignore our sports programs. and basketball games in the spring. It also serves as an ambassador to other schools Schuyler von Oeyen ‘05 thinks Brown and brings cheer to alumni who still needs to cast away the shackles of Ivy remember the days when most Brown stuLeague bondage, move to California and dents knew the words to their University’s join the Pac-10.

songs. The Brown Corporation recently demonstrated its commitment to increasing the reputation of the University by voting to standardize the Brown logo on all printed materials and to print “Brown” instead of “Brown University” to help bolster name recognition. As great as these outside commitments are, we students have a commitment to bolstering school spirit inside the community here and now by starting to take the issue into our own hands. Few Brown students are probably aware that the well-organized Brown Sports Foundation has planned an extensive 125th football season celebration this year, celebrating 25 years of football at each of the five homes games, beginning with the University of Rhode Island on October 4. This seems to be an opportune moment for students to come out of their isolated dorm rooms and instill a new sense of community. And with the likes of ESPN broadcaster Chris “Boomer” Berman ’77 and Penn State football coach Joe Paterno ’50 coming to town in October, Brown sports fans couldn’t ask for better company. Part of the issue, however, may be the lack of Brown dominance in two major sports — football and basketball — now and historically. The University of Pennsylvania, the traditional jock school of the Ivy League, and Princeton University have cleaned Brown’s clock in basketball for the past century. Not until last season did the men’s basketball team win an away game at Princeton, snapping an NCAA record 70-some losses to an opponent outside home court advantage. The high attendance last year at the Princeton and Penn

basketball games seemed a phenomenon of fair-weather fans. Ideally, we would like to instill a sense of school spirit where winning isn’t the primary source, but I realize winning brings fans and inspires people, so maybe if we act now we can establish a real sense of spirit while our team has winning seasons so that if the team falls into a rebuilding year, there is still some sense of collective identity left over. I remember being at the Penn basketball game last year and seeing the line of students extended from the Pizzitola Center to the swim center. Once inside the arena, the student-designed signs, the blaring Band, and the spinning rally towels gave the sizable student population there a rare sense of community, even if it was primarily built on the opposition of a common enemy. (The fact Brown has no clear-cut rival school may be another reason for lack of school spirit.) The pulsating energy inside the arena was certainly deflated when Penn escaped a Brown comeback with a fourpoint victory, but the prevailing attitude seemed to be “Penn may have won this year, but we’ll be back.” The band is already looking into having an official procession from the main campus to the Brown Stadium on home football game days and UCS is looking into making busing services more accessible. Still, these organizations cannot fabricate spirit of whole cloth. The raucous crowd at Stevenson Field for the recent BrownStanford soccer game was a welcome beginning. It will ultimately be up to the student body to make use of any policy changes by attending these games.


THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

SPORTS THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 25, 2003 · PAGE 12

Players look to solve Men’s tennis dominates doubles bracket and fairs well in singles at Harvard Invitational Chinese puzzle CARSON, Calif. (L.A.Times) — The Chinese women’s team is practicing, divided into perfect rows, performing wu shu, tai chi and various soccer drills in unison, each player stone-faced, committed. It’s for an Adidas commercial, but, for the Chinese, it’s no act. The rhythmic thumping of soccer balls can be heard in the apartments above, waking United States midfielder Aly Wagner. She rousts several teammates out of bed. Still wiping the sleep from their eyes, they stagger down to the field to watch, transfixed by the Chinese regimentation. China’s star forward, Sun Wen, breaks out of her line, approaches Wagner in a high-noon pose, performs several elaborate tricks with the ball and then kicks it to her, as if to say, “Show me what you’ve got.” Words appear on the television screen. “To be continued.” It’s nervous time in the Chinese camp as they prepare for their second game in the Women’s World Cup, Thursday night against Australia in the Home Depot Center at Carson. It’s always nervous time in the Chinese camp. This might be apocryphal, but the story is told in China of the male soccer player so devastated because his team let down the country by failing to qualify for the 1996 Atlanta Olympics that he lapsed into a coma that lasted for months. Fewer people in China are as interested in the women’s team, but the followers are no less intense. When the Chinese lost at home in the quarterfinals of the first women’s world championship in 1991, fans stoned the coach’s house. Although the Chinese women have remained one of the world’s most talented teams, they have never won the World Cup or the Olympic gold medal. They came closest in the 1999 World Cup, losing to the United States, 5-4, on penalty kicks at the Rose Bowl. Tony DiCicco, the U.S. women’s coach in 1999 who is serving as an analyst on the West Coast for ESPN during the World Cup, calls the Chinese “the Buffalo Bills” of women’s soccer. Many experts predicted this would be the year of the Chinese, with the World Cup again on their soil. Chinese officials expected crowds of 70,000 to back the team for its games. That was before the SARS outbreak, which caused FIFA, soccer’s international governing body, to move the tournamentto the U.S. But even before then, there were troubling signs for the Chinese. FIFA ranks them No. 4 behind the U.S., Norway and Germany despite the fact the Chinese are no longer dominant even in Asia, losing three years in a row to North Korea. After the loss in the Asian Championships last year, Chinese officials brought back former coach Ma Yuan’an as an advisor to the current coach, Ma Liangxing. Yuan’an, who coached the team in the 1995 and 1999 World Cups, had either retired or been retired, depending on who tells the story, after China failed to advance beyond the first round in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. That sort of arrangement worked for Brazil in the men’s World Cup in 1994, when the federation recalled legendary coach Mario Zagallo to advise Carlos Alberto Parreira. The Brazilians won. On the other hand, DiCicco said it wouldn’t have worked if he had been asked to assist U.S. Coach April Heinrichs. That’s the reason he’s commenting for ESPN from the West instead of the East, where the U.S. is playing its opening games. “I expect if I was hanging around April’s team, that would create tension,” DiCicco said. Because of cultural and language differences, it’s difficult for outsiders to determine whether two coaches are better than one for China. “It seems to be a happy camp,” DiCicco said. But a large contingent of Chinese media at Carson is constantly probing the relationship between Old Ma, as they call the former coach, and Little Ma, as they call the current coach. Their questions were particularly pointed after the team’s lackluster performance in a 1-0 victory over Ghana on Sunday night. China had beaten Ghana, 7-0, in the 1999 World Cup. To be continued? “We’re in for a hard time if we continue playing like this,” Sun acknowledged. Sun, not Mia Hamm or Michelle Akers or Brandi Chastain, won the Golden Ball as the most valuable player of the 1999 World Cup even in a losing effort.

dspics

Jamie Cerretani ’04 (left) and doubles partner Adil Shamasdin ’05 won the doubles title. Shamasdin was 2nd in singles. BY CRAIG MCGOWAN

Brown men’s tennis began its 2003 fall season with a bang at the Harvard Invitational from September 19 to 21. Three doubles teams advanced to the semifinals and two Brown players played in the singles semifinals. Adil Shamasdin ’05 advancing to the finals before falling to Harvard’s Dave Lingman. The three-day tournament saw teams from Harvard, Brown, Rutgers, Boston University, Tufts and MIT compete in singles and doubles brackets for individual titles. All 10 Brown players competed in the A-Flight singles bracket, and the Bears also entered five doubles teams. Brown doubles dominated the bracket, as three of the four semi-final teams were made up of Bears. The eventual victors, Jamie Cerretani ’04 and Shamasdin, played their closest match of the tournament against their Brown opponents in the semi-finals, Kris Goddard ’04 and Eric Thomas ’07. “Doubles is a huge strength of our team,” said Head Coach Jay Harris. “This early, it’s tough to do really well at doubles.” Cerretani and Shamasdin dominated the doubles

bracket en route to their victory. They won four matches by a combined score of 32-6, with five of these lost games coming in their match against Goddard and Thomas. In the final, Cerratani and Shamasdin shut out the Harvard team of Gideon Valkin and Jack Li, 8-0. In singles, Shamasdin and Cerretani both advanced to the semi-finals, but were forced to play each other to advance to the finals. In a grueling match, Shamasdin defeated Cerretani 6-0, 5-7, 6-2. “(Adil) came out smoking; he played great tennis in the first set,” said Cerretani. “I have to tip my hat to him. He definitely opened my eyes a little bit.” After defeating Cerretani, Shamasdin faced the number one seed, Harvard’s Dave Lingman, in the final. While Shamasdin played well, Lingman handed him a 6-2, 6-2 defeat to claim the individual title. First-year Thomas, playing in his first collegiate tournament, opened a few eyes with his strong play. Thomas advanced to the quarterfinals of the singles bracket before falling to Cerretani 6-4, 6-4; and, partnering with see M. TENNIS, page 9

Four goals by Sean Tiner’s ’06 lead m. water polo to big win over no. 14 Iona BY JINHEE CHUNG

The men’s water polo team had another exciting pair of contests last Saturday against two solid teams: Queens College and No. 14 Iona College. Despite solid performances in both games, the Bears came away with a loss and a win, bringing their record to 1-1 in the conference and 2-4 overall. In their last match-up against Queens at the North/South Tournament in Princeton, the Bears came out on top with a final score of 5-4. The team let their guard down defensively, however, in the first few minutes of this game, allowing Queens to rack up points on the scoreboard. “We didn’t give them opportunities,” said Head Coach Todd Clapper, “but we allowed them to score more easily due to mental lapses on our part.” The Queens team also returned this weekend with one of their star players, formerly on the Brazilian national team, back from an injury. “He really completely changed how we played the game on both offense and defense,” said Pat Sandys ’05. “We always had to worry where he was, which automatically took one person away from the rest of our defense.” Despite the unexpected addition to the Queens lineup, Brown held the Knights to only six goals, thanks to an aggressive defense that stepped up after the first quarter and stopped five out of six of Queens’ power play oppor-

tunities. In addition, a stellar performance by goalie Jay Fantone ’06 led the way for Bruno’s D, as he stopped 13 shots in the opening game alone. Newcomer Thomas Payton ’07 led the Bears offensively, scoring two goals and drawing three ejections. Teammates Paul D’Avino ’05, Andy Wiener ’06 and Sandys also lit up the scoreboard, with one goal each. The game was decided against the Bears in the last few moments when Brown drew an ejection from Queens, creating a man-up offensive opportunity but failing to follow through. “At the end with 16 seconds left, we threw the ball away because of a miscommunication during the power play,” Clapper said. As a result, the final score on the board was 6-5, with Queens coming away with the victory. In the second game of the day against Iona, the Bears left no room for any uncertainty and dominated the pool all four quarters, coming out strong on both ends from the very beginning. “We were pumped up and ready to go,” Sandys said. “We were very angry about losing the first game to Queens, and as a result it was a very aggressive game on both offense and defense.” The team had a new outlook for this match, and decided to play each quarter individually like a game, as see WATER POLO, page 9


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.