Monday, December 1, 2003 by The Brown Daily Herald

M O N D A Y DECEMBER 1, 2003

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Volume CXXXVIII, No. 120

An independent newspaper serving the Brown community since 1891

Bringing bigname speakers requires bargaining, connections

Brown AIDS researcher on the path to vaccine BY TED BROWN

Brown University is home to a proclaimed genius, according to Esquire magazine. The magazine included Doctor Anne DeGroot in its December issue featuring the 38 best and brightest people in America. DeGroot, also an assistant professor of community health, does research in Brown’s bio-medical department and is developing a vaccine for AIDS. The magazine looked for mavericks — people willing to push the envelope in their field of work — for the so-called genius list, she said. DeGroot said she felt honored to be included in the list. “It’s nice to be recognized for my work instead of being called crazy,” she said. She said the major difference between her lab and other labs working on an AIDS vaccine is that she is working on a globally relevant vaccine that will protect against all strains of HIV, not just strains that are prevalent in the United States. “We have some truly crazy ideas about how to make that possible,” she said. “Some

BY DANA GOLDSTEIN

Sara Perkins / Herald

The Main Green stood cold and empty over the weekend as students straggled back to campus from their Thanksgiving sojourns with friends and family. Some of those who remained on campus enjoyed Thanksgiving dinner at the Third World Center's annual meal.

see VACCINE, page 3

Brown scientists named AAAS fellows BY JONATHAN HERMAN

Some Brown professors consider scientific achievement a reward in itself. But receiving honors from the American Association for the Advancement of Science isn’t bad either. Professor of Chemistry David Cane and Professor of Biology Johanna Schmitt were named AAAS Fellows in the Oct. 31 issue of Science, the weekly magazine of the AAAS. The two are among 348 scientists named fellows this year. Cane, a member of the Department of Chemistry since 1973, is an organic chemist who studies how nature makes compounds like vitamins and enzymes. “It’s like when you have a children’s toy,” Cane said. “You have three bricks and we try to understand how these blocks are snapped together.” Cane and his research associates study an antibacterial substance present in soil and Vitamin B6. After they identified the enzymes used to create these chemicals, the researchers tried to “trick” the enzyme into using different substances and observed how these variations affected the resultant molecule, Cane said. Cane said he was excited when the AAAS notified him, but was resistant to celebration. “Obviously, the main reason I do my work is to search for the answers to these scientific questions and satisfy my own curiosity,” Cane said. A professor of biology, Schmitt studies the mechanisms plants use to adapt to changes in climate. She conducts field-

work in New England and North Carolina on simple plants often used in genetic research. “We’re interested in measuring natural selection in the real environment and more doing it by traits like the number of flowers and seeds,” Schmitt said. Her group discovered that plants adapt differently in different climates. For example, a modification in an observed plant to respond better to cold weather will be more prevalent in specimens grown in New England than in North Carolina. “You could start out with the same

plants and 100 years later the ones in North Carolina would be different winners in each location.” Not even the shock of winning the fellowship could stop Schmitt from her work. “Honestly, I was too busy writing lectures and writing grant proposals to celebrate,” Schmitt said. “The reason scientists do the work (they) do is because they love it.” Herald staff writer Jonathan Herman ’07 can be reached at jherman@browndailyherald.com.

Sarah Green ’04 gives advice to seniors bothered by questions about their futures column, page 7

In the days before Thanksgiving break, the line of students hoping to obtain one of the coveted tickets to today’s lecture by filmmaker Spike Lee spilled out of Faunce House onto the Main Green. Tickets were free despite Lee’s $23,000 honorarium funded by the Lecture Board and the Undergraduate Finance Board. The Lecture Board’s annual budget of $62,854 is provided by the Undergraduate Finance Board, which draws its funds from the combined total of undergraduate student activities fees, currently $120 per student. This semester, the Lecture Board allotted $5,500 to cosponsor lectures with student groups such as the Brown Space Club, the South Asian Students Association, Brown Sistahs United and WORD, a spoken word poetry group. The rest of the budget was reserved for attracting “one big name speaker,” Lecture Board Co-President Emily Boness ’04 told The Herald last month. Boness and Lecture Board Vice President Adam Deitch ’05 described to The Herald in November the lengthy process of bringing a big name speaker to campus. Boness said the Board begins each semester with a “wish list,” taking into consideration each speaker’s cost and availability, as well as personal connections to Brown students that might encourage a celebrity to come for a reduced rate. In the past, personal connections helped bring to campus film director Martin Scorsese, MSNBC talk show host Chris Matthews P’05 and Doonesbury cartoonist Gary Trudeau P’06. Deitch said comedians Jon Stewart and Conan O’Brien are repeatedly on the “wish list,” but lacking personal connections and facing honoraria that run between $100,000 and $200,000, the Board cannot afford to bring them to campus. see LECTURE, page 3

PLME early applications rise for Class of 2008 BY AMY HALL GOINS

Applications to the Program in Liberal Medical Education are up 20 percent so far this year, a “significant increase,” according to Michael Goldberger, director of admission. The University has received 247 applications to date as part of the early decision pool, compared with 207 from last year. As of Nov. 21, the Office of Admission had received 1,907 early applications total, compared to 1,871 by the same date last year. Goldberger called the 1.9 percent increase “meaningless.” Although early decision applications for the Class of 2008 have been rolling in, Goldberger said it is too early to tell if any major patterns have emerged in

the applicant pool. Some of the early applicants will later request to be placed in the regular decision pool, he said. Likewise, some applicants have sent all their application materials, but the office has not formally coded their applications as early decision. The race and ethnicity of 20 percent of the applications have yet to be recorded but will probably be done by mid-December, he said. Applicants usually indicate their expected area of academic concentration, Goldberger said. The distribution for the various areas remained the same this year — no group had a difference greater than one percent.

I N S I D E M O N D AY, D E C E M B E R 1 , 2 0 0 3 Recent column in the Herald is unintelligent in manner presented, says Cory Saunders ’04 letter, page 6

www.browndailyherald.com

Cross country’s Gaudette ’05 becomes All-American after national competition sports, page 8

The number of students with relatives who attended Brown rose from 6 to 8 percent, he said, and applications from public school students increased by 1 percent. While there was a 2 percent rise in applications from New York, the number of applicants from the South dropped by two percent. Fifty-four percent of early decision applicants will apply for financial aid, compared to 55 percent of last year’s pool. Brown’s current early decision policy is that applicants may not apply to any other early decision or early action prosee PLME, page 3

TO D AY ’ S F O R E C A S T Antoine Walker is nearly useless for Dallas, says Andrew Tobolowsky ’07 sports column, page 8

All in all, future looks good for USC to enter Bowl College Series title game sports, page 8

sunny/wind high 50 low 25

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

THIS MORNING MONDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2003 · PAGE 2 Coup de Grace Grace Farris

W E AT H E R MONDAY

TUESDAY

High 50 Low 25 sunny/wind

WEDNESDAY

High 35 Low 15 sunny/wind

THURSDAY

High 32 Low 18 sunny

High 38 Low 24 sunny GRAPHICS BY TED WU

A Story of Monk Scott Yi and Eddie Ahn

MENU THE RATTY LUNCH — Vegetarian Cream of Tomato Soup, Beef Noodle Soup, Clam Strips on a Bun, Fettucini with Vegetables, Cauliflower, Green Beans & Peppers, Magic Bars, Chocolate Vanilla Pudding Cake, Raspberry Yogurt Pie, Lamb Roast

V-DUB LUNCH — Vegetarian Japanese Noodle Soup, Potato Vegetable Chowder with Ham, Cavatini, Vegan White Bean & Eggplant Casserole, Sauteed Zucchini & Onions, Magic Bars

DINNER — Vegetarian Cream of Tomato Soup, Beef Noodle Soup, Beef Pot Pie, Chicken Stir Fry, Vegan Garden Chili, Tomato Rice Pilaf, Peas with Pearl Onions, Carrots in Parsley Sauce, Ricotta Pepper Bread, Magic Bars, Chocolate Vanilla Pudding Cake, Raspberry Yogurt Pie

DINNER — Vegetarian Japanese Noodle Soup, Potato Vegetable Chowder with Ham, Lemon Broiled Chicken, Brown Rice Garden Casserole, Au Gratin Potatoes, Cauliflower, Green Beans & Peppers, Asparagus Cuts with Lemon, Ricotta Pepper Bread, Raspberry Yogurt Pie

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

CROSSWORD y ACROSS 1 Ale server 4 One of 16 in a cup: Abbr. 8 Get to fit 13 Tarzan raiser 14 Not a copy: Abbr. 15 Hemoglobin deficiency 16 Cable modem alternative, briefly 17 “The Art of the Deal” author 19 Spotless 21 Frozen Wasser 22 His, to Henri 23 Linked flower garland 26 Half a quart 27 Smart guys? 28 Some Caltech grads 29 Three-card scam 30 Tableland 31 Glass container 32 Maine city 33 Wealthy ruler 36 Calf roping sites 39 Elaborate neckwear 40 “__ be a pleasure” 44 Chris of tennis 45 Partner of place and show 46 Actor Zimbalist Jr. 47 Large wine containers 48 Drugged drink 50 Had dinner 51 Director Craven 52 Takes five 53 Straw-hatwearing Opry comedienne 57 Halloween mo. 59 Packing a punch 60 Oxford or pump 61 Scot’s negative 62 Move stealthily 63 Condiment for French fries 64 Pampering place DOWN 1 Steno’s need

2 Luxurious 34 Outdoor parking 43 K-O connection 3 Beer drinkers’ area 45 Curl of smoke bulges 35 Hit on the head 46 Hole for a lace 4 Of the present 36 Completely does 48 Track event 5 Unbroken horse over 49 Flamboyant 6 Commandment 37 Loud clapping Flynn violation 38 Peace between 51 Flirt with an 7 Jack Nicklaus’s nations eye gp. 41 Colorful 54 Teachers’ gp. 8 Picnic crashers seashells 55 Double curve 9 “__ 42 Camera 56 “So that’s it!” Rosenkavalier” protection 58 Lipton product 10 Chuckle-evoking ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE: 11 Kind of cheese flavored with A I S L E S E A T B L A S S peppers A I M A T C H I L D C A R E 12 Bartender K A R M A C O L D W A V E S 15 Tennis server’s R E Y L E M A N S O P T S edge A N D O V E R D U H 18 Wahine wreaths S E I U A W L I N E T S E T S E 20 The ones that got away A D D I T I O N S S O R E S 23 TVA project H O W G O E S I T 24 Miami cagers S I D E C H A I R N E G R I 25 Like much E I N S C R E E N O T O E strenuous T A N G E N T L P S S S W exercise O L A M A R A P A N O U T 26 Popes S K I P O U T O N A T I L T 29 Calf’s call E A T T O L I V E 31 Prime ribs au __ D I N G O 32 Uplifting E Y E O P E N E R S E G A R undergarment 12/01/03 xwordeditor@aol.com 1

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My Best Effort William Newman and Tim Moen

12/01/03

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Vaccine continued from page 1 involve sending the DNA for the vaccine on a piece of filter paper to scientists in countries that need it.” DeGroot’s vaccine is based on epitopes, little pieces of protein associated with the virus that stimulate the immune system. Her lab uses cutting-edge computer software, maps epitopes that are conserved in all HIV strains and puts the epitopes into raw DNA to make a vaccine. “It’s not any one of those three ideas that’s revolutionary; it’s the combination of the three.” DeGroot began her work on an

Lecture continued from page 1 In an e-mail to The Herald, the Board’s co-president, Lindsey Murtagh ’04, wrote that the Lecture Board targeted Lee because, “We believe he will present ... an exciting and interesting lecture that will appeal to a wide range of students. In addition, we felt his perspective and interests differ from many of the other speakers we have brought in the past.” Boness wrote in an e-mail that a member of the Lecture Board emailed Lee’s agent over the summer. The agent responded, beginning a series of negotiations on Lee’s speaking fee, Deitch said last month. Because speaking agents get paid on commission by their famous clients, Boness said it is worth their while to make sure an event actually takes place by not quoting an unreasonable price. The bargaining process can make a “significant” difference in the price that gets paid, he said. “Speaking at an Ivy League school attracts some speakers,” Deitch said, adding that if the lecturer is not in the midst of a speaking tour, he or she will sometimes come up with a new speech especially for the Brown audience. Murtagh wrote that when speakers arrive on campus, they normally give a question-andanswer session to Lecture Board members and invited guests before the speech and attend a reception with students after the event. But because Lee told the Lecture Board he is on a tight schedule, his only activity at Brown other than his lecture will

AIDS vaccine in 1996. She is trying to cut the typical time period for developing a drug from 20 years to 10. “We will be ready for human testing in 2005,” she said. Many Brown students are a part of DeGroot’s group, the Global Alliance to Immunize against AIDS. She started the organization to help fund her work and to aid in coordinating efforts to test the vaccine in Mali in western Africa at the same time it is tested here. It is important to do work in Mali to prepare the area for vaccine tests, DeGroot said. “The premise for our work in Mali is that AIDS vaccine trials cannot take place if the population does not have access to HIV care, if the scientists and doctors are not full and willing partners in

The bargaining process can make a “significant” difference in the price that gets paid. — Adam Deitch '05 be a dinner at the President’s Mansion with President Ruth Simmons, members of the Lecture Board and “selected students and faculty,” Murtagh wrote. Still, Murtagh said she has only one regret about Lee’s appearance — “that Brown lacks a large enough venue to accommodate all the students who want to see him.” Herald senior staff writer Dana Goldstein ’06 can be reached at dgoldstein@browndailyherald.c om.

the program and if the average person in the country does not understand vaccines and the reason for doing clinical trials,” she said. She said the long-term objective of the organization is to improve worldwide immunization, but the short-term goal is to start with Mali. “Start small, build a solid foundation and grow organically.” GAIA is planning several activities for the week following World AIDS Day today. In addition to many guest lecturers, there will be an open lab of the HIV vaccine research facility from noon to 4 p.m. on Dec. 5. Students can take a shuttle from Faunce Arch to the DeGroot’s lab to see how the vaccine is made and how it works.

PLME continued from page 1 gram. In recent years, many schools have reevaluated their admission policies. Harvard University went from a non-binding early action policy where students apply early to only one school to one where students could apply early to multiple schools. They later returned to their original policy. Yale University switched to a non-binding early action policy similar to Harvard’s from a binding early decision policy, Goldberger said. He said he believes the policy changes “wouldn’t change who would end up at Brown, or at Harvard or at Yale.” Herald staff writer Amy Hall Goins ’07 can be reached at agoins@browndailyherald.com.

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MONDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2003 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD PAGE 5

Tobolowsky continued from page 8 hate in a basketball player. We’re talking about a guy who was No. 1 last year in attempted three-pointers by more than 50 shots, and at the same time, only 79th in percentage made. Only 86 guys shot often enough to make the list, meaning that a staggering 92 percent of the league’s three-point shooters could be counted on to make the shot more consistently and yet not one of them had the nerve to try as many times as Walker. What’s more, in general field goal percentage, Walker somehow managed to do worse. He was “only” sixth in attempts, and there were only 106 people in the league who had enough shots to make the list. So he’s second to last in field goal percentage and NUMBER ONE in three-pointers attempted! It must be understood, folks, that I do not go out of my way to attack people. Not that I’m too nice — I’m just too lazy. But, at the beginning of this year, Mark Cuban — lord and master of the Dallas Mavericks — traded a bunch of players no one’s ever heard of, along with Raef LaFrentz (who I long ago suggested be traded to the Pacific Northwest for lumber), to the Boston Celtics for Tony Delk and Antoine “I’ll be shooting three’s till you eat my shriveled and pitiless soul” Walker, thus bringing him to my hometown and my home team. To be fair, Walker has so far behaved himself, like he promised he would, and to be quite honest, he has far exceeded expectations — rebounding, passing and yes, even shooting. Still, the whole thing feels like James Bond’s girlfriend. She’s hot, she’s got a cool name, but you know somewhere down the line she’s

either going to get blown up by Goldfinger or take the last shot in a close game and airball it. That’s just the way the script plays out, but I’ll leave him alone for now. Ahem. There is one other thing I want to briefly mention, not simply because it’ll make this column look more like legitimate news, but because, hey, I want to briefly mention it. There is a high chance that Antonio McDyess will either come back by the time this column is read or shortly thereafter. This is very exciting news for New York Knicks fans, who are already working out reasons to hate him because, well, they’re Knicks fans, but who are probably thrilled deep, deep down inside themselves. McDyess hasn’t played since suffering a knee injury after the first 10 games of the 2001-2002 season, and he has never even suited up for the Knicks. During his last full season, though, he averaged 20 points and 12 rebounds, while shooting just about 50 percent from the field. Should he return to form (which probably will not be the case for a little while), can the Knicks, with Allan Houston, the game’s best three-point shooter, and Keith Van Horn, the game’s highest sock wearer, make the playoffs? Yes. They’re in the East, where I could make the playoffs. Could they make the Finals? Yes. See above, substitute “me and some of my more athletic friends” for “I.” Could they win it all? That’s the big question, and the answer is no. Well, that’s it, those are my thoughts for the week. I descend now into the depths of my cave to emerge when the moon is full and the Mavs are on TV. And I won’t be wearing pants. Andrew Tobolowsky ’07 hails from Dallas, Texas.

M.X.Country continued from page 8 “I don’t think I could have accomplished anything else,” Gaudette said. “Winning the team title at Heps would have been enough. But at the three biggest races of the season, we won the Heps team title; I qualified at the regional meet and then was All-American at nationals. I couldn’t ask for anymore.” Gaudette’s teammates could not ask for anymore either. With his All-American finish, Gaudette more than proved the Brown team deserved its try at nationals as well. “We felt that we would have been a top 20 team if we got a chance to go and Jeff finishing All-American definitely confirmed that,” said teammate Michael DeCoste ’04. “We were all mostly on an upswing through the season, running better each race, including Jeff. We could have done it as a team.” Gaudette agreed. “My placing alone proved that we should have been there. If you put my teammates in the national results, in terms of where they finished at the regional meet, we would have finished in the top 20. And that’s being conservative. That proves we should have been there.” Herald staff writer Melissa Perlman ’04 covers cross country. She can be reached at mperlman@browndailyherald.com.

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EDITORIAL/LETTERS MONDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2003 · PAGE 6 S T A F F

E D I T O R I A L

SHANE WILKERSON

LETTERS Bassichis column substitutes mockery for argument To the Editor:

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 Maggie Haskins, Sports Editor Jonathan Meachin, 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, Project Manager Elias Roman, Human Resources 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

POST- MAGAZINE 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

Daniel Bassichis' recent column, "An immodest proposal,” Nov. 21, is exceedingly unacademic and unintelligent, not because of its thesis but

because of the manner in which it is presented. Instead of using his discursive intellect to demonstrate his perspective on the manner, one third of the allotted space is devoted to facetiously mocking Mr. Beale. This manner of argument is exceedingly juvenile and does absolutely nothing to solidify his stance. Mr. Bassichis, in the future, please use valuable opinion space to provide an argument, not a sarcastic derision of another author. Cory Saunders ‘04 Nov. 24

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OPINIONS MONDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2003 · PAGE 7

Senioritis: the no-job syndrome Advice on surviving these nerve-wracking months for those who haven’t yet found a job or a graduate program ARE YOU TIRED, RUN DOWN, LISTLESS? roommates have insisted on including and it was full of good ideas. So thanks, Do you poop out at parties? Is it because this arithmetical faux-pas on our answer- Dad. (Other seemingly unrelated but also your family and overachieving friends ing machine. No love. None. My only useful life wisdom from my dad: A) When keep asking you what you’re going to do hope is that you, gentle reader, will look trying to put together your new fan, bookpast this could-happen-to-anyone gaffe shelf or Connect Four game, don’t force it. after you graduate? I feel your pain. I know the scenario all and know that when I say 2 + 2 = 5, I am, B) Sand or wet leaves can be just as sliptoo well. “So,” they say, dribbling gravy on of course, alluding to Orwell.) The point pery as ice, and bridges freeze first. C) If their Land’s End button-downs as they being, with all this going on, you hard- your computer or other electronic device suddenly freezes, thaws or explodes, first lean toward you over the stuffing, “Going ly have time for planning the Future. But let it be known that failing to pro- try “cycling the power.” (This is not a refto graduate school? Taking the LSATs? Think you’ll get any fellowships? How’s the cure prearranged permission to penetrate erence to some kind of Mercedes Lackeythe practical professions (paid a pittance) esque process of wizardry for which you job search going?” Actually, you want to say, “I’m already prior to partaking in your postgraduate must don a robe of scarlet and silver and slogging through an assigned 3,000 pages period of personal progress does not be able to telepathically communicate of reading per semester, writing approxi- mean you are proceeding down the prim- with your magical cat, horse, hawk, wolf, bardic lesbian lover or sword. Simply turn mately 150 pages per semester, spending rose path. In fact, the people who poke their prep- the thing off and then back on.) Mom’s something like 16 hours a month at the gym and going to all those Brown stu- py noses so pompously into your plans advice, also apparently tangential but, I dent-type things, like Mikhail Gorbachev are prying open a perilous package filled suspect, applicable to all aspects of life with panic and pressure that you are including the quest for employment: Say speeches, Daily Jolt polls and forays passionately trying to keep pad- please and thank you, do your homeinto Berk’s (but only to look, not to locked. What have you to prove? work, and don’t take any crap from anybuy!) while running up Thayer to You’ve got plenty of pep. And those one. that annoying class you have on 2. When you go into Career Services and pushy people are simply too proPembroke campus and comsaic to picture a life off the preva- they tell you to meet with someone your plaining about David Horowitz, own age or younger, go back to Career lent path. Pshaw! Ratty food, people less smart So here is my advice to you: Services and tell them you want to talk than you, people who work 1. Go out and buy yourself with someone who knows what he or she harder than you, CNN, a copy of “What Color is is talking about. When Career Services BRU, SUV’s and the Your Parachute?” I hands you a huge book full of useless BUPD over pints of IPA know this sounds information in place of actually helping at the GCB. Not to stupid. I hardly you (it’s amazing how much space useless mention the time and screamed for joy information can fill), hand the book back effort it takes to calsarah when I discovered the to them and tell them to help you. When culate all those avergreen book among my Career Services tells you to look online, ages and figures.” better than birthday presents. tell them that only 6 percent of job(Which is more than (“Happy Birthday. Now hunters actually find jobs online. Then you think, considercats get a job.”) But I was walk out of Career Services and go buy a ing that last year I able to get through the copy (with your declining balance, preferpublished a column book in an afternoon, ably) of “What Color is Your Parachute?” in which I boldly asserted that 100 minus 86 is 24. And yes, my Of course Sarah Green ’04 has a plan. She just won’t tell you what it is.

3. Put your GPA on your resume. Until someone (in the Connecticut College career services office) told me to do this, I didn’t know that if you leave your GPA off your resume, employers assume it’s below a 3.0. Maybe that explains why I didn’t get any jobs until I started listing the damn thing. 4. There are some things in life that necessitate oodles of advance planning and strict adherence to deadlines. Finding a job is not one of them. Most fellowships are available not only to graduating seniors, but to people two or three years out of college. You can apply for some, like the Fulbright, any time. Furthermore, most Americans change jobs at least eight times. So rather than thinking, “Oh my god, I have to find my calling in life panic panic panic,” or thinking, “Sweet Jesus, I don’t know what I’ll do if I don’t have a job by graduation fcuk fcuk fcuk,” (I am of course implying you ought to work at French Connection United Kingdom) simply accept that this will not be your last opportunity to find, or define, your dream job. And, at the age of 22 or thereabouts, you are still allowed to worry about things other than dental benefits and 401(k)s. Such as, for example, whether you want to starve in Paris or San Francisco. 5. Look the people getting on your case squarely in the eyes and take “What Color is Your Parachute?” and ram it youknow-where. Of course, they probably already have a large foreign object lodged in that exact location. Whether you want to remove that object before inserting “What Color is Your Parachute?” is, like everything in your life, up to you.

co m i n g s oo n

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

SPORTS MONDAY DECEMBER 1, 2003 · PAGE 8

NBA Thoughts: Dirk, ’Toine and McDyess I GOT A LITTLE FEEDBACK AFTER MY last column. While most of it was along the lines of “Nice work,” “You’re the man,” “Father my children,” “I’m building you a shrine,” etc., there were some people who felt my references might have been too ANDREW TOBOLOWSKY obscure. Not SPORTS GUY D e n n i s Mi l l e r- s t y l e o b s c u r e (Tracy McGrady is as out of place in Orlando as Ashurbanipal in Ur of the Chaldees!) but obscure nonetheless. And that’s not right. This is a column for beginners too. Let’s work through this thing. Leave no Brownie behind. Because you are my eyes and ears, my sun and stars, and your blood is my blood, you care about what I care about. So I’m going to talk a little bit about the issues in the NBA that deal directly with me, and you’re going to love it. You’ll love it like the Divine Adoratrix of Amun loved the father of the Egyptian gods. Unless that’s too obscure. (Which it isn’t.) Just how good could Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks be? Here’s a little bit of sabermetrics for you. Last year, he averaged 25.1 points per game. Sure, compared to Kobe Bryant, who averaged 30, or Tracy McGrady, who averaged 32.1, it doesn’t seem THAT impressive. But check this out. Dirk averaged only 18.6 shots per game for his 25.1. That’s way better than Kobe’s 23.5, or T-Mac’s 24.2, or Antoine Walker’s 3,000.5. Imagine if he was allowed as many shots as Tracy. I don’t have time to do the math, but how many points would that net him per game? Something like 1,500? Yeah — something like that. A word here about Antoine Walker, because I obliquely referenced him a moment ago, and it’s likely that I will refer to him in many of my future columns. Last year Antoine Walker showcased everything I see TOBOLOSKY, page 5

Jeff Gaudette ’05 finishes 38th at NCAA Cross Country Championships, named All-American BY MELISSA PERLMAN

When Jeff Gaudette ’05 qualified for the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships as an individual, he described the feeling as bittersweet. Knowing he would be racing without his Brown teammates at the national meet, some of the excitement of advancing was lost. “The team is happy that someone is going to represent Brown,” Gaudette said after the Northeast Regional meet in Boston, Mass. “But we’re all missing the team aspect. We deserve to be there and hopefully I’ll show why Brown should be there in the first place.” Gaudette met his challenge and ran well at the Cedar Falls, Iowa, meet on Nov. 24, earning All-American status. Finishing the 10K in a time of 30:14.5, Gaudette placed 38 in a field of 255 runners. The NCAA names the top 25 American runners as recipients of All-American honors. This bumped Gaudette ahead of 16 internationally born athletes to qualify as the 22nd American finisher in the race. Gaudette started the race off slower than he hoped to and found himself in 110th place at the first mile mark. By the two-mile mark, he had only moved up to 80th place despite recording a 9:30 split, a time he considered very fast. “National races are different,” Gaudette said. “In a normal race if you’re decent, you are out front. But in this one, I was running fast but I was still engulfed with runners.” Finding himself in the middle of a pack of runners, racing as fast as he could, Gaudette started to worry. “To be in 80th place at the two-mile mark with a time of 9:30 is fast for a 10K,” he said. “I started to think to myself, ‘I guess I’m not as good as I thought I was.’” Gaudette, however, bit his tongue and decided that it was now or never to make his move. He immediately picked up his pace and started concentrating on passing runners. “I thought about (my teammates’) faces seeing me in the 60s or even 80s,” Gaudette said. “I had to give it one more

try for those guys that were sitting at their computer screens watching.” With a mile to go, Gaudette was in 50th place and started to recognize more of his competitors. While Gaudette used those recognizable faces and names as a confidence builder in the earlier stages of the race, now those same runners were starting to cause him concern. “I could probably recognize everyone in the top 45,” Gaudette said. “But in the end it had a negative effect because I was concerned as I passed them.” Gaudette focused on his own race and spent the final 400 meters trying to sprint by anyone he could. He finished in a crowded pack of 17 runners — all within two seconds of each other. It was not until after the race results were posted that Gaudette knew for sure he was an AllAmerican. “As soon as the results went up, we knew,” Gaudette said. “(Coach John Gregorek) and I were counting those runners that we knew weren’t American off the top of our heads. We came up with 14.” Despite being two runners off, Gaudette and Gregorek still counted enough athletes to determine that Gaudette had finished in the top 25. Due to Gaudette’s outlook on running — always thinking there is more he could have done — Gaudette wondered if he could have raced even better. After returning to Brown and realizing he was the first Brown runner since Chris Schille ’88 to be named an All-American, all of that changed. “It clinched what it meant to me,” Gaudette said. “It all sank in when I saw I was the first All-American at Brown in 15 years since we’ve had so many great runners and teams. Just to see the company I was in was amazing.” Gaudette’s top 40 finish at nationals as a junior already has him looking toward next year. He is aiming for a top 20 finish and sees this year’s championship race as a stepping stone in the right direction.

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Jeff Gaudette ’05 was the first men’s cross country runner to earn All-American status since Chris Schille ’88 in 1988.The NCAA names the top 25 American runners as recipients of All-American honors.

see M. X. COUNTRY, page 5

With a little help, Trojans can wrap up spot in BCS title game (L.A. Times) — Not even after a weekend of

leftover turkey and wild Rice (a 49-19 winner over Louisiana Tech) can we say for certain the University of Southern California will strengthen, lose and/or maintain its lead over Louisiana State in Today’s bowl championship series standings. Our stock answer in all matters involving the vagaries of Bowl College Series computers is: Wait and see. That said, this is a good time to be holding USC stock. What we know: USC began a bye weekend with a 2.15-point lead over LSU for the all-important No. 2 position in the BCS. If the Trojans maintain that lead through next Saturday, they will play for the national title in the Jan. 4 Sugar Bowl. What we know: LSU swamped Arkansas (bad for USC), Tennessee beat Kentucky (good for USC), Georgia beat Georgia Tech (good for Georgia and USC), Florida State beat Florida (good for USC), Rice beat Louisiana Tech (good for USC), Hawaii beat Alabama (good for USC). Brief but non-binding BCS summation: looks good for USC.

Down in the Southeastern Conference, Tennessee’s win over Kentucky coupled with Florida’s loss to Florida State assured that Georgia will face LSU in Saturday’s South Eastern Conference title game. This helps USC because, if LSU beats Georgia, LSU will lose the .40 quality-win deduction it has been receiving for a regular-season victory over the Bulldogs. Quality-win points are awarded for victories over schools in the BCS top 10. Georgia is currently No. 7 but probably would drop from the top 10 with a loss. A BCS timeline of games that affected USC national title hopes: LSU 55, Arkansas 24: It wasn’t the win that hurt USC as much as how LSU won. The victory Friday enhanced the Tigers’ national reputation and left open at least the possibility No. 3 LSU might pass No. 2 USC in either the writers’ or coaches’ polls. Any flip-flop would cause a BCS standings fluctuation. You ask: How could anyone, coach or writer, drop USC after the Trojans won their last four games by a cumulative score of 135-38?

Well, you never can tell with pollsters. In 1997, you’ll recall, the coaches dropped their No. 1 team, Michigan, after the Wolverines won the Rose Bowl. The coaches instead awarded their share of the national title to Nebraska in what many believe was a going-away gift to retiring coach Tom Osborne. Unlike the faceless computers, the human polls might be affected by regional biases or conference preference. Let’s say you’re a voting coach and LSU is in your conference. Doesn’t it make your conference look better if you move LSU to No. 2? Remember too that, should LSU jump USC into the No. 2 spot in the coaches’ poll, the coaches don’t have to reveal how they voted or why. Associated Press poll votes, by contrast, are public record. LSU’s win over Arkansas could also boost the bayou team’s computer numbers. Last week, USC was No. 2 in four of the seven computers used in the ratings, but these things tend to be unpredictable (LSU was No. 9 in the New York

Times’ ratings). And you remember all those weeks USC was getting no margin-of-victory bounce for lop-sided victories? This week, it is LSU that will not benefit for beating up on Arkansas. Tennessee 20, Kentucky 7: USC needed this win because it forced a three-way tie in the SEC East and essentially sent Georgia to the title game under the conference’s tiebreaker rules. Tennessee had won 18 in a row in this series, but this turned out to be a whiteknuckle finish for Trojan fans following the play-by-play on the Internet. Kentucky took an early 7-0 lead before Tennessee rallied, although the Volunteers didn’t clinch the victory until Cedric Houston’s 11-yard touchdown run with 1:27 left. Georgia 34, Georgia Tech 17: LSU wanted Georgia to win only if Tennessee lost. Instead, the Tennessee and Georgia victories pushed the Bulldogs into the SEC title game. You couldn’t blame Georgia’s players, and even its coach, for scoreboardwatching even while they were playing Georgia Tech.