Tuesday, March 9, 2004 by The Brown Daily Herald

T U E S D A Y MARCH 9, 2004

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Volume CXXXIX, No. 28

An independent newspaper serving the Brown community since 1891

Proposal aims to expand Medical School admission

24-hour study space opens in New Pembroke, space in Faunce House to follow

BY MERYL ROTHSTEIN

For the first time since the 1980s, the Medical School will open its application process to students completing their undergraduate education at any college or university, pending the approval of a two-year experiment announced by Provost Robert Zimmer at a faculty meeting last Tuesday. Unlike most medical schools, Brown’s medical school currently accepts only students from the Program in Liberal Medical Education, current Brown undergraduates or those from special avenues, like postbaccalaureate programs, according to the Medical School’s Web site. An open application process will help the school “get the best students it can get,” Zimmer said. “It can’t help but enhance what is already a really incredible student body.” A broader mix of students from the top schools in the country will inevitably enrich the Medical School’s culture, he said. The proposed change is also a way to increase visibility of the Medical School, said Interim Dean of Biology and Medical Sciences Richard Besdine. Because most undergraduates at other colleges cannot apply to Brown’s medical school, pre-medical students and their advisors might not know of it, Besdine said. “Having the name of Brown in front of more people will ultimately be good for the college and the graduate program,” he said. “We’re terrific, and everybody should know that we are.” Greater visibility in communities relevant to medicine inevitably increases a school’s attractiveness to students, those seeking residencies, faculty, federal granting agencies, potential donors and many others, Zimmer said. The standard admission process, which will be open to students entering in September 2005 and 2006, will not increase the size of the class or reduce the number of enrolled PLME students, Besdine said. The opportunity to open the application process resulted from a two-year window with fewer PLME students that left 10 to 12 spots open, he said.

BY KATE GORMAN

more difficult to provide these accommodations, she said. “The problem of rooms is always a big one,” Axe said, especially during midterms and finals period. One possible solution is a testing center that would provide extra rooms for students to take exams, as well as extra proctors. But Axe said the possibility of such a center is “still in the idea stage at this point.” DSS is currently in the process of upgrading some of its equipment, such as voice-activated software that transfers

Students pulling all-nighters now have places other than the Center for Information Technology to watch the sun rise. The first of two new 24-hour study spaces is now open on the ground floor of New Pembroke #4, said Ari Savitzky ’06, chair of campus life for the Undergraduate Council of Students. Another 24-hour study space is set to open in a few weeks in Faunce House, Savitzky said. These spaces are the first of many forthcoming near-term improvements to community and campus life, he said. Planning for the 24-hour spaces and other common-area renovations began at the beginning of this academic year, Savitzky said. “There has been a big push to improve common resources on campus in order to make students’ academic and social lives better, and the study space at New Pembroke #4 is a part of that,” he said. Savitzky said students and administrators involved in creating the space looked for a regional balance of places to study on campus, since the Rockefeller and Sciences libraries are a long walk from Pembroke campus. “The 24-hour spaces fit into our larger vision for building community at Brown by creating an environment where students are able to interact and engage with one another,” said UCS President Rahim Kurji ’05. The New Pembroke #4 facility will help meet the demand for late-night study areas, he said. “It is especially good for those students who may not feel safe going to a library late into the night,” Kurji said. Sonia Gupta ’06, UCS Chair of Admission and Student Services Committee worked with Savitzky on getting 24-hour spaces established on campus. “We requested that the spaces have card access, computer networking capabilities, computer clusters, study conducive furniture, study carrels and vending,” Gupta said. But not all of these amenities are available yet, said David Greene, interim vice president for campus life and student services. Greene said getting the 24-hour study spaces open and available for students to use as soon as possible was a higher priority than opening them with all of the planned amenities intact. “The way the New Pembroke #4 study space is set up right now, with literally borrowed furniture, is not how it will stay. We will be renovating both the New Pembroke #4 and Faunce 24-hour study spaces over the next couple of months and over the summer,” he said.

see DISABILITIES, page 5

see STUDY SPACE, page 5

Nick Neely / Herald

Monday’s snow came after several weeks of warm weather, dusting Sayles Hall and the Main Green.

College students’ mortality caused primarily by accidents, suicide BY SARAH LABRIE

Brandy Cooks ’04 remembers attending a weekend party at a fraternity house. Almost everyone there was intoxicated, but Cooks most clearly remembers one student who drank until he vomited and passed out. The most striking thing about the situation, said Cooks, was that the people around him didn’t seem to be at all concerned for his well-being. “People just looked at him as though it weren’t unusual,” she said. Decades ago, college students were being killed in conflicts such as the Korean and Vietnam wars. But today, accidents related to alcohol like the one Cooks observed and suicide are the leading causes of death on college campuses, according to multiple studies. The recent media focus on Harvard University’s high rate of depression among students — a Harvard Crimson poll reported that 80 percent of Harvard undergraduates felt depressed at least once last year — has some colleges wondering what they can do to safeguard students’ mental health. A 2002 Harvard study found that a high rate of excessive drinking on college campuses helped make motor vehicle accidents the leading cause of death

see MED SCHOOL, page 4

among college students. The study also revealed that levels of binge drinking among students remain the same as in the early 1990s, despite more concentrated efforts on the part of administrations to end it. In addition, alcohol abuse may lead to depression and suicide, further increasing mortality rates. “I can understand how these issues would effect the lives of college students,” said Serena Hon ’06, who has worked with Brown’s Emergency Medical Services for three semesters. On Friday and Saturday nights, Hon said she estimates that more than 90 percent of the calls EMS receives are due to alcoholrelated injury or illness. Depression is also a central contributor to campus deaths. A Kansas State University study found that over the course of a decade the number of students who report depression doubled and the number of students who report considering suicide tripled. Another study, by the American College Health Association, found that a third of students surveyed felt depressed to the point where they were unable to function normally. Nine see MORTALITY, page 4

Brown was pioneer in accommodating learning disabilities BY STEPHANIE CLARK

Brown is considered a pioneer of support programs at competitive universities for students with learning disabilities, according to Executive Associate Dean of the College Robert Shaw. The flexible structure of Brown’s curriculum is helpful for students with learning disabilities, Shaw said. Disability Support Services, which provides support for students with a wide range of physical, psychological and learning disabilities, offers a number of resources for learning-disabled students. The most common of these include the use of volunteer note-takers, extended time and quiet rooms for taking tests and

textbooks on tape for students who have difficulties with their reading load, said Cathie Axe, coordinator of Disability Support Services. Learning-disabled students are also provided with ample opportunities to discuss academic issues with qualified administrators, such as Axe or Shaw. The job of DSS is to “work with the students and provide the support they need, and also to support the professors,” Axe said. The faculty in general is “very supportive” of students who need special accommodations for exams, but with the growing numbers of such students, it has become

W E AT H E R F O R E C A S T

I N S I D E T U E S D AY, M A RC H 9 , 2 0 0 4 Underground rail tunnel could allow Brown to expand outward metro, page 3

www.browndailyherald.com

Christopher McAuliffe ’05 says the abortion fight is more than men versus women column, page 7

Providence needs cities’ help to improve, writes Councilman David Segal column, page 7

W. ice hockey finishes successful regular season, bests Yale University sports, page 8

Senior m. basketball players set new Brown record for wins during a college career sports, page 8

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

THIS MORNING TUESDAY, MARCH 9, 2004 · PAGE 2 Coup de Grace Grace Farris

TO D AY ’ S E V E N TS THE VULNERABILITY OF ALBANIA IN THE GLOBAL MIGRATION SYSTEM: LINKING POLICY AND SCHOLARLY PERSPECTIVES noon (McKinney Conference Room, Watson Institute) — with Kosta Barjaba, visiting senior fellow,Watson Institute.

MAINSTREAMING VISIONS FOR WOMEN’S HUMAN RIGHTS 7 p.m. (Salomon 001) — Brown alum Charlotte Lapsansky will discuss how a culturally relevant human rights framework can strengthen organizing against domestic violence both at home and abroad.

Four Years Eddie Ahn

MENU SHARPE REFECTORY LUNCH — Vegetarian Black Bean Soup, Beef Barley Soup, Grilled Tuna Sandwich with Cheese, Pasta Spinach Casserole, Lamb Stir Fry, Corn Cobbets, Cherry Tarts with Bavarian Cream, Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Sour Cream Icing, Lemon Meringue Pie.

VERNEY-WOOLLEY DINING HALL LUNCH — Vegetarian Liz’s Great Vegetable Soup, Chicken Gumbo Soup, Chicken Fajitas,Vegan Taco, Vegan Refried Beans, Mexican Succotash, Cherry Tarts with Bavarian Cream. DINNER — Vegetarian Liz’s Great Vegetable Soup, Chicken Gumbo Soup, Roast Pork Jour Ouvert, Cavatelli Primavera,Wild and White Rice Pilaf, Broccoli Cuts, Mashed Butternut Squash, Onion and Dill Rolls, Chocolate Cake with Sour Cream Icing.

DINNER — Vegetarian Black Bean Soup, Beef Barley Soup, Fiery Beef, Sesame Chicken Strips with Mustard Sauce, Garden Vegetable Lasagna with Meat or Meatless Sauce, Sticky Rice with Edamame,Vegetables in Honey Ginger Sauce, Sugar Snap Peas, Onion and Dill Rolls, Cherry Tarts with Bavarian Cream.

Last Minute Michael Chua

PUZZLES What should come next in the sequence of words: cat, albatross, bear, rhinoceros, ostrich, ______, ...

Porkchop Sandwiches Nate Saunders

(Answer at bottom of page)

BY VEER BHAVNAGRI

Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis ACROSS 1 Mellows, as wine 5 Broadway hit 10 Make eyes at 14 Marcel Marceau, e.g. 15 Without much energy 16 Winter fabric 17 Corrupt 18 Like much pub ale 19 Diamond or Simon 20 Ask for mercy 23 Football filler 24 Citrus drink 25 Toothbrush brand 27 Robin’s retreat 29 Robby of “Forbidden Planet” was one 33 Major conflict 34 Garfield, to Jon 36 Highlands hat 37 O’Neill’s daughter 38 Take an unnecessary risk 42 Like Liberace’s hair 43 Itsy-bitsy 44 Gold, to Gustavo 45 Barely earn, with “out” 46 Jetson canine 48 Well-mannered man 51 Ship’s slip 53 Way to get there: Abbr. 55 Dawn goddess 57 Get closer to home, in a way 62 Picnic spoiler 63 Press agent’s concern 64 Once, once 65 Ticklish muppet 66 Tony’s love in “West Side Story” 67 Border on 68 Elk kin 69 Continuously 70 Keyboard blunder

DOWN 37 Double-reed 49 Within earshot 1 One-celled instrument 50 Even chance organism 38 Event with 52 Caruso, e.g. 2 Cry uncle cakes and 54 Tire pattern 3 Political cookies 56 Spat refugee 39 Some extra 58 Star’s car 4 Kind of help hours 59 Fed 5 Musketeer 40 Dampen 60 Rabbit weapon 41 Incited relative 6 Cattle trough 42 Surfing area 61 Wiped out 7 Not supporting 46 Cry of triumph 62 Checkers 8 Eastern 47 Beginning choice European ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE: 9 More than just promote R A P P R A Y S C A B B Y 10 Team bigwig A A R O N O P E R A U S A 11 Sneaks out of S I C K O M I N I M S T Y camp, maybe S H O O T T H E B R E E Z E 12 Noted fictional E M U L A T E A R C O reporter T A T I S C U T E A V E 13 Pipe bend V I A A K I M T I X 21 Horse opera 22 “What’s __ to W A G E P R I C E F R E E Z E like?” O M I T Y S L O R R 26 Playtex offering E M A G A S I F A B B A 28 Nimble D E A N A S H T R A Y 30 Aquatic player S U I C I D E S Q U E E Z E 31 Taproom A R T U R A A A 32 Melville’s Tahiti C H A S E S M E A R C A Y B A T H O story H A N D Y H R E S H E A F 35 Body shop services 03/09/04 xwordeditor@aol.com 1

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Hopeless Edwin Chang

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Penguiener Haan Lee

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METRO TUESDAY, MARCH 9, 2004 · PAGE 3

Old train tunnel could see new life as Brown park-and-ride, but use is far in the future BY ROBBIE COREY-BOULET

A train service linking College Hill to East Providence is one of several proposals meant to address demand for parking space on College Hill, but University officials have not approved the idea, said Executive Vice President for Planning and Senior Advisor to the President Richard Spies. The train service would allow the abandoned East Side Railway Tunnel to resume service to Providence residents after a hiatus of more than 20 years. The tunnel links the Providence and Seekonk rivers, running from Benefit to Gano streets, and operated from its official opening in 1908 until 1981. The proposal was conceived by Robert Manchester ’66 of Burlington, Vt., and has the support of East Providence Mayor Rolland Grant, according to the Providence Journal. Manchester is currently a lawyer looking at property for a potential development in East Providence. The plan would allow people to park in a new lot in East Providence and be taken by train to College Hill. “It makes sense, and it has a lot of institutional backing,” Grant told the Journal. “It seemed to be a wacky idea” at first. Brown administrators said the idea is still very much in its conceptual stage and requires further research and evaluation by University and Providence officials. “We still don’t have anything to report” in terms of action taken by the University, said Director of Real Estate and Administrative Services Abigail Rider. “I think that’s several years off if it happens,” Spies said. “I think anything like that would require a fair amount of time and money to get it ready to use, if it could be done at all.” The Journal reported Dec. 29 that the idea “has the backing of Brown University.” Spies refuted reports of the University’s approval, writing in a letter to the editor of the Journal, “We have not, as of yet, reached any conclusions nor developed any interest

in any specific development projects or opportunities” related to the proposal. But the University is actively seeking ways to solve the parking problem, which has been exacerbated by construction and other space-consuming projects, Spies said. “It’s a real problem that is getting worse year by year,” Spies told The Herald. “There are some things that will happen next year that will make it even more so.” The University must find room for trailers needed for the Life Sciences building, he said. The tunnel was most recently in the news after a 1993 party thrown at the Benefit Street entrance by Brown and RISD students led to officer injuries and student arrests. The party, which took place the night of May 1, was in celebration of “the pagan origins of May Day,” according to the Journal. Police, who called the party “satanic,” attempted to break up the group of 300 students because of ventilation concerns. When students resisted, officers resorted to using pepper spray, which incited students to throw rocks at police cruisers and attack policemen. “My people got the … beat out of them,” then-Police Chief Bernard Gannon told the Journal. In the end, seven officers were injured and eight partygoers were charged with disorderly conduct, including one Brown student and five RISD students. The incident created tension between Brown and RISD and the city of Providence. Residents were outraged that students, many of whom did not pay local taxes, could contribute to such chaos and violence, the Journal reported. Prior to 1993, citizens had long debated what to do with the East Side Railway Tunnel, as alternate railroad routes and a decrease in railway traffic seemed to make the Providence tunnel obsolete. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, the city considered switching the tunnel’s function from railroad to highway transportation, a move that was expected to improve traffic

Nick Neely / Herald

The east tunnel portal (above), characterized by graffiti and abandoned shopping carts, sits in stark contrast to the west portal, a newly made parking lot.The proposal to resume use of the tunnel aims to redefine both. going into and coming out of the downtown district. In 1953, the Journal reported that thenProvidence Mayor Walter Reynolds had fielded offers from the Clarkeson Engineering Co. of Boston, which had drawn up plans for a highway conversion. The deal ultimately fell through. The highway issue resurfaced in early 1964, as the city debated whether to go forward with an $8 million conversion plan. A Journal editorial encouraged readers to think beyond transportation purposes, wondering if the tunnel could be used as a “massive underground vault for storage of records against the danger of enemy nuclear attack.” In researching future plans, the

University must deal with more modern concerns, especially those of residents who wish to see Brown’s development remain on College Hill. The University’s Strategic Framework for Physical Planning recently concluded that Brown will eventually need to look elsewhere for expansion, Spies wrote in a letter to the Journal. “The University’s long-term growth needs cannot be fully accommodated on College Hill,” he wrote. “I would like to emphasize that Brown cherishes its Providence roots and its home in one of the nation’s most beautiful historical districts.” Herald staff writer Robbie Corey-Boulet ’07 can be reached at rcorey-boulet@browndailyherald.com.

PAGE 4 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD TUESDAY, MARCH 9, 2004

Mortality continued from page 1 percent had considered suicide during the year. “A lot of people went through periods of depression, especially their freshman year, because it’s such a rough transition period,” said Felicia Mercer ’04. She said that in her experience, friends who sought help at the University’s Psychological Services generally came away dissatisfied. “Psych Services tends to not want to deal with the issues at hand. Instead of actually trying to treat the student, they encourage students to take time off or to take medication. It makes students feel as though their problem is worse than it really is,” she said. A screening program at Emory University allows students to learn more about depression and to receive help via the Internet. The program is part of a long-term study by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention aimed at uncovering the causes of suicidal depression in young people. Colleges with high rates of suicide among students tend to be higher ranked and more academically challenging, according to media reports. In 2001, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology had the highest rate of suicide among students, and Harvard ranked second. Large urban universities, especially those with a high enrollment of white males, are particularly susceptible to student suicide, according to the

Med school continued from page 1 At the end of the two years, the Medical School will evaluate the program, Besdine said. “If we get all (summa cum laude) and 4.0 students who are diverse and socially conscious about medicine the way our current classes are … then that would be a powerful message that we should strongly consider trying to figure out a way to admit those

Daily Princetonian. Rises in rates of depression might have occurred as a result of an increase in competition and stress on campuses. Higher numbers of depressed students overworks the psychological staff, which might keep some students from getting help they need. At New York University in 2003, three undergraduate students committed suicide in the fall, leading the university to post guards by the library stairwell where two of the deaths occurred. Depression led students at MIT and Harvard to take their own lives this year; an MIT junior killed himself by jumping off a bridge, days after Anthony Fonseca, a Harvard junior, was found dead in his dorm room of an apparent suicide. Belinda Johnson, director of psychological services at Brown, said Brown will not follow Emory’s example of online counseling, and instead continue to offer a more personal approach. The Office of Student Life provides grief counseling for students affected by the deaths of other members of the Brown community. These students invited to meet with a dean from the Office of Student Life, as well as counselors from Psychological Services and a representative from the chaplain’s office. Students also work together with the chaplain’s office to create a memorial for the deceased. “It’s a healing process,” Johnson said. Herald staff writer Sarah LaBrie ’07 can be reached at slabrie@browndailyherald.com.

students,” he said. But the Medical School has not given much consideration to admitting more students yet, he said. The school’s facilities are barely adequate to accommodate the current number of students, making an increased class size nearly impossible, he said. In preparation for the changes, Director of Communications for the Medical School Sarah Baldwin-Beneich said she is preparing a view book, a hot sheet, Web sites and possibly a DVD to present at college fairs and send to other colleges. The proposal is tentative and will not be official until a discussion takes place with faculty this spring, Zimmer said. The proposal has been discussed and approved by the Division of Biology and Medicine, he said. Herald staff writer Meryl Rothstein ’06 edits the Arts & Culture section. She can be reached at mrothstein@browndailyherald.com.

TUESDAY, MARCH 9, 2004 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD PAGE 5

Disabilities continued from page 1 vocal information into text, and a machine called the Kurz-Weil 3000, a reading and scanning device that helps students take notes more effectively, Axe said. While the resources Brown provides for students with learning disabilities are comparable to programs at equally selective schools, Shaw said Brown is unique because it was one of the first to offer them. Brown’s support program was started in 1984 by then-Dean of the College Harriet Sheridan, after she was approached by a few students requesting specific accommodations for learning-disabled students. Sheridan was especially dedicated to the cause, Shaw said, because her own son was affected by learning disabilities. When the program was first instituted at Brown, “you could

Study space continued from page 1 Greene said student input will be influential in determining what type of furniture, lighting, computers, internet access and room layout are best for the spaces. “The University is starting a more aggressive plan of renewal, and a regular funding cycle has been set up to fix cosmetic problems in the dorms as well as create new common spaces around campus,” Greene said. After the

Hockey continued from page 8 Bulldogs took the early lead, scoring a wrap around goal from right outside the post after only one minute of play. Brown’s Lindsey Glennon ’06 evened the game five minutes later, taking one home with a rifle shot from the slot. Christine Holdredge ’07 and Krissy McManus ’05 earned assists on the play. Ashlee Drover ’06 gave Brown the 2-1 lead with a tally to the top right corner from outside the crease at 16:49. Brown dominated the second period from the drop of the puck, perfecting its shot selection and stuffing every Bulldog attack. Link schooled the Yale goalie halfway into the period with her 25th goal of the season, giving the Bears the 3-1 lead. “The best thing about this game was that we came out stronger every period,” said Glennon. “We outplayed this team because we

have named the schools that had programs for learning disabilities on two hands,” Shaw said. A law passed in 1973 required all schools to provide resources for learning-disabled students, but “most schools ignored it,” Shaw said. It wasn’t until the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 that schools began adopting policies similar to the one Brown had instituted in 1984. The number of Brown students identified as having learning disabilities or Attention Deficit Disorder has grown significantly since the program was created, Shaw said. While five students participated at the beginning of the program, about 180 are currently registered as having either learning disabilities or ADD. The increase has in part been due to earlier identification of learning disabilities in children, Shaw said. The number of learning disabled students has “plateaued” at about 2 percent of the student

body in recent years, a number consistent across the Ivy League, Shaw said. Shaw said other schools with notable learning-disability support programs include Curry College in Massachusetts, which offers the Program for the Advancement of Learning, a “structured support program” that offers “comprehensive, strengthbased support,” according to the program’s Web site. As for Brown, Shaw said the goal of DSS is to provide students with the tools they need to realize their full academic potential. “If they want to learn French, we want to help them learn French. That’s our job,” Shaw said. A pamphlet entitled “Learning Disabilities and Alternate Learning Styles,” written by former Brown students with learning disabilities, identifies Brown as particularly conducive to the success of learning-disabled students. Because all students have

24-hour space in Faunce is opened, work will begin on two new satellite fitness centers at Andrews and Emery halls, which will be completed over the summer, he said. There are also plans to renovate community lounge spaces in Andrews and Barbour halls and Arnold Lounge in Keeney Quadrangle, Greene said. The budget for the overall renewal process of the Faunce study space, New Pembroke #4 study space and the lounges is $400,000, he said. “One thing we’re doing differ-

ently this year than we’ve done in the past is we’re bringing in an architect and designer and meeting with them and a group of students to work together and make residences as desirable for students as possible,” Greene said. Miller, Metcalf, Caswell, Hegeman and Machado dorms will all be renovated, Greene said. “Possibly all will be completed this summer, but if some require more creative design work, then that will take longer,” he said.

wanted it more, and that felt good.” Zucker added Bruno’s fourth goal with minutes remaining in the third, scoring a top-shelf tally from the point. Glennon clinched the victory with her second goal of the showdown, scoring a flopper inside the blue. “We played 60 minutes of strong hockey,” Murphy said. “It was definitely the best senior game I have ever been a part of and a great game to watch.” Captain goalie Katie Germain ’04 stopped 21 shots on the day, earning the win. The Senior Day victory earned fourth-seeded Brown home ice for the first round of the ECAC playoffs. The Bears will host fifth-seeded Princeton at Meehan Auditorium Friday in the first game of a best-of-three series. Herald staff writer Lexi Costello ’06 covers women’s ice hockey. She can be reached at lcostello@browndailyherald.com.

the option of taking anywhere between three and five classes a semester and can opt to take classes S/NC, students with learning disabilities can choose the program of study that best suits their needs. Shaw said learning-disabled students do as well as other Brown students. If the transcripts of learning-disabled students were examined, “you couldn’t tell those

transcripts from another hundred you grabbed at random,” he said. Axe pointed to faculty support as a large factor in the success of the program. “The general climate here is a positive one,” she said. The program would be even more successful, Axe said, if more students took full advantage of the resources available. “I really want the students to come see me more than they do,” she said.

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

EDITORIAL/LETTERS TUESDAY, MARCH 9, 2004 · PAGE 6 S T A F F

E D I T O R I A L

Medical mission It might be an instance of retrograde thinking to believe that an expanded medical school will sacrifice Brown’s nature as a university college. The Brown Medical School, with its emphasis on public service and dynamic public health program, epitomizes the kind of thinking the University is known to foster. It follows that the strengthening of the Medical School can only further the University as a whole, in terms of benefits to medical students and upper-level undergraduates as well as in terms of its mission. Nevertheless, we worry that the decision to open the Medical School to applicants outside its traditional application pool, announced by Interim Dean Richard Besdine in January, will compromise the unique quality of the institution. Besdine said the Medical School will look for diverse, socially conscious applicants — but only after noting it would be a “powerful statement” to consider applicants with summa cum laude on their diplomas and 4.0 averages on their transcripts. Brown doesn’t even compute students’ grade point averages, let alone distinguish among honors for graduating seniors. The traditional model of a Brown medical school student is a participant in the Program for Liberal Medical Education, which rewards pre-meds for not grade-grubbing in their biology classes or sacrificing learning to study for the MCAT exam. By providing a more relaxed route to medical school, Brown encourages PLME students to develop critical thinking skills and discourages the level of competition common among medicalschool-bound students. It almost goes without saying that broadening the Medical School’s applicant pool should not come at the expense of PLME’s scope. According to Besdine, the number of national applicants accepted will not affect the number of spots available to PLME students and other Brown undergraduates. Still, we wonder what it means that the Medical School intends to accept precisely the kind of applicants the College does not produce. Brown already has a national-caliber medical school, and it makes sense to solicit applications on a national basis. But if Brown undergraduates aren’t the right applicants for the program the Medical School strives to be, then in what medical school do Brown pre-meds belong?

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD EDITORIAL Juliette Wallack, Editor-in-Chief Carla Blumenkranz, Executive Editor Philissa Cramer, Executive Editor Julia Zuckerman, Senior Editor Danielle Cerny, Arts & Culture Editor Meryl Rothstein, Arts & Culture Editor Zachary Barter, Campus Watch Editor Monique Meneses, Features Editor Sara Perkins, Metro Editor Dana Goldstein, RISD News Editor Alex Carnevale, Opinions Editor Ben Yaster, Opinions Editor Christopher Hatfield, Sports Editor PRODUCTION Lisa Mandle, Design Editor George Haws, Copy Desk Chief Eddie Ahn, Graphics Editor Judy He, Photo Editor Nick Neely, Photo Editor

BUSINESS John Carrere, General Manager Lawrence Hester, General Manager Anastasia Ali, Executive Manager Zoe Ripple, Executive Manager Elias Vale Roman, Senior Project Manager In Young Park, Project Manager Peter Schermerhorn, Project Manager Laird Bennion, Project Manager Bill Louis, Senior Financial Officer Laurie-Ann Paliotti, Sr. Advertising Rep. Elyse Major, Advertising Rep. Kate Sparaco, Office Manager POST- MAGAZINE Ellen Wernecke, Editor-in-Chief Jason Ng, Executive Editor Micah Salkind, Executive Editor Abigail Newman, Theater Editor Josh Cohen, Design Editor Allison Lombardo, Features Editor Jeremy Beck, Film Editor Jessica Weisberg, Film Editor Ray Sylvester, Music Editor

Theodore Geisel, Night Editor Jennifer Resch, Copy Editor Staff Writers Marshall Agnew, Kathy Babcock, Zaneta Balantac, Elise Baran, Alexandra Barsk, Zachary Barter, Hannah Bascom, Danielle Cerny, Robbie Corey-Boulet, Lexi Costello, Ian Cropp, Sam Culver, Gabriella Doob, Jonathan Ellis, Justin Elliott, Amy Hall Goins, Dana Goldstein, Bernard Gordon, Aron Gyuris, Krista Hachey, Chris Hatfield, Jonathan Herman, Miles Hovis, Masha Kirasirova, Robby Klaber, Kate Klonick, Alexis Kunsak, Sarah LaBrie, Kira Lesley, Matt Lieber, Allison Lombardo, Chris Mahr, Lisa Mandle, Craig McGowan, Jonathan Meachin, Monique Meneses, Kavita Mishra, Sara Perkins, Melissa Perlman, Eric Perlmutter, Sheela Raman, Meryl Rothstein, Michael Ruderman, Marco Santini, Jen Sopchockchai, Lela Spielberg, Stefan Talman, Joshua Troy, Schuyler von Oeyen, Jessica Weisberg, Melanie Wolfgang, Brett Zarda Accounts Managers Daniel Goldberg, Mark Goldberg, Victor Griffin, Matt Kozar, Natalie Ho, Ian Halvorsen, Sarena Snider Pagination Staff Peter Henderson, Alex Palmer, Michael Ruderman Photo Staff Gabriella Doob, Benjamin Goddard, Marissa Hauptman, Jonathan Herman, Miyako Igari, Allison Lombardo, Elizabeth MacLennan, Michael Neff, Alex Palmer, Yun Shou Tee, Sorleen Trevino Copy Editors Stephanie Clark, Katie Lamm, Asad Reyaz, Amy Ruddle, Brian Schmalzbach, Melanie Wolfgang

ANDREW SHEETS

LETTERS Column on off-shoring misses humanitarian angle To the Editor: The dispute over globalization, specifically “offshoring” of American jobs to developing nations, is another one of those debates where neither side ever addresses the arguments of the other. While Peter Ian Asen (“Gesturing forward, marching backward,” March 8) is completely correct in pointing out the flaw in Thomas Friedman's New York Times article — his claim that jobs going offshore are predominantly low-paying, low-prestige jobs in the United States — he doesn't answer the fundamental humanitarian argument for offshoring: namely, that citizens of third-world nations have just as much a right to work in high-tech industries as citizens of developed nations. The problem with off-shoring is not that American jobs are being taken overseas, since there's nothing that makes these jobs “American” to begin with (unless you subscribe to some sort of race-superiority theory), but that the jobs being taken off-shore excludes any sort of elite, corporate executive jobs.

Globalization, in its current form, excludes any executive employees, since the corporate executive isn't going to decide to export its own job. This is a prime example of where the government ought to step in. If an enforceable law were passed that would make it a legal requirement to export the same proportion of top-level positions as bottom-level ones to a foreign country, the problems with current offshoring policies would be solved. It would prevent off-shoring from ever altering the society of the United States, since in order to ship both high and low-level jobs overseas, companies would be decreasing the net payroll of the American public (including the upper-class, which drives a lot of America's consumption) and thus decreasing their potential market for sales. What would end up happening is companies would move their entire operations overseas: hiring foreign workers, and foreign CEOs and selling to the increasingly consumerist foreign public, while back at home there would still be an incentive to hire American workers and CEOs so that they could keep consuming. The problem with off-shoring is not its existence, merely the socioeconomically lopsided form it is currently taking. Of course, the same thing could be said about American society as a whole. Michal Zapendowski ’07 March 8

speak up. write letters. opinions@browndailyherald.com C O R R E C T I O N S An article in the March 8 issue of The Herald reporting on a weekend orchestra performance contained several inaccuracies and omissions. The correct title of one of the works performed

was “Ellis Island: The Dream of America.” The orchestra performed at Veterans Memorial Auditorium. The violin concerto performed was composed by Jean Sibelius.

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

OPINIONS TUESDAY, MARCH 9, 2004 · PAGE 7

CHRISTOPHER McAULIFFE

Moralizers obscure debate over abortion After reading Rachel Marshall’s exultation of Roe v. Wade and concomitant demonization of pro-life beliefs (“And like that – poof, they’re gone!” March 4), I feel compelled to wonder what makes her so certain in her orthodoxy as to be comfortable banishing any semblance of moral ambiguity from the abortion debate. Why, indeed, does much of the pro-choice lobby refer to adherents to the pro-life position as “antichoice”? Is murder a choice in the metaphysical system of those who use this diction? Should we begin referring to pro-choicers as being “anti-life” or “pro-death”? Apparently, a balancing of rights and obligations with an eye toward the inherent moral uncertainty of the abortion question is not a task that far-left pro-choicers are prepared to take on. And why should they? How perfectly convenient it is to parse the issue simply in terms of rich white men seeking to colonize women’s bodies. So is abortion murder? I don’t know. No matter the strength of conviction on either side, pro-lifers don’t know, pro-choicers don’t know and the government most certainly doesn’t know. However, many people do hold this belief, and a slight majority of them, according to recent polls, are women. Even as their numbers increase, pro-lifers have all but been made into aliens in their own country. By judicial fiat, the Supreme Court has declared that no state may ban abortion, even when a vast majority of its residents equate the practice with murder. Additional governmental meddling has sought to restrict pro-lifers’ rights to protest and forced taxpayer funding of organizations that promote and finance prochoice activities. Most Democrats now hold that being pro-life is sufficient grounds for disqualification from

consideration for any high judicial office. While many Christians are pro-choice on pragmatic grounds, their belief system makes it impossible for them to recognize a fundamental right to an abortion. It seems that they need not apply for judicial vacancies. Personally, I tend towards the view that the ambiguity of the issue requires government restraint. This means, however, restraint on all sides of the argument. The federalist system under which the United States

Federalism sorts out the abortion divide. ostensibly operates is intended to recognize the vast cultural differences between the many regions of this country. Clearly, states have the right to regulate moral issues, particularly when they involve matters of life and death. Of course, no level of government may take away fundamental rights, either those enumerated in the Constitution or those private and consensual behaviors deeply rooted in the nation’s culture and tradition. However, abortion is in none of those categories. It is not protected by an enumerated right, it is not deeply rooted in American culture and tradition and its consensual nature is arguable at best. States should probably not ban abortion, but neither should the Supreme Court feign divine omniscience by forcing a particular moral code on the entire country, absent grounding in the Constitution. Some may now ask if federalism was not the very sys-

tem which perpetrated the great evils of slavery and segregation. Indeed, defenders of these odious practices often used federalist arguments to justify their positions, though their discontinuation is, in fact, a tribute to federalism’s success. Federalism exists to protect rights, not to deny them. It is also a two-way street: The federal government is perfectly justified in acting to protect the fundamental rights of its citizens. Still, it cannot overstep its enumerated powers, such as it is now attempting to do by banning all “partialbirth” abortions. This example also proves that federalism is not a partisan issue; indeed, absent federalism, Vermont and Massachusetts would not have the option of recognizing same-sex marriages and civil unions under their respective jurisdictions. Pro-choicers’ concerns for women’s rights are well taken. It may not be fair that a woman in a state that has banned abortion must carry her fetus to full term, but neither really is it fair that women must alone bear the burden of carrying and delivering children, wanted or not. Considerations of individual rights are, indeed, fundamental in a liberal society. I am certainly glad that Rachel Marshall seems to recognize this, and I invite her to help me secure my right not to be robbed blind by tax-and-spend progressives. However, reducing so uncertain and enigmatic an issue as abortion to a good fight of empowered women versus conniving men is more convenient than it is descriptive. Our society must be protected from moralizers of right and left. The similarity between the two is something that seems to be lost on much of the pro-choice left. Christopher McAuliffe ’05 is a political science concentrator.

Providence versus standard economic strategy GUEST COLUMN BY DAVID SEGAL

It is an unfortunate fact that much city policy, particularly standard economic development strategy, relies not on the creation of good, but on the displacement of it from one municipality to another. Frequently, as municipalities compete for a benefit and undercut each other to attract it, the value of the benefit to any of the relevant communities diminishes. Recent economic development in Providence focused on tourism serves no good on a regional scale. Investment in new hotels (construction of several of which is underway or will commence this spring) and other pretty things will supposedly allow Providence to lure ever larger, higher-profile conventions to town. Thousands of mostly wealthy visitors will flock to Providence when these conventions pass through, and they will spend freely in the city’s restaurants and boutiques and bodegas. In this process we might create some, but not a great amount of new tourism. For the most part, we will only nab travelers who would have vacationed elsewhere, and swipe conventions from other municipalities along with all the benefits these conventions yield. More disturbing is the way in which municipalities compete for industry, jobs and corporate headquarters. Soon after I took office, the GTECH Holdings Corporation (which prides itself as being largely responsible for the rapid global growth of automated lotteries), based in West Greenwich, R.I., drew the attention of state and local lawmakers when it did a jig and waved its hands in the air and screamed, “Over here! Look at me! I'm gonna run away to Massachusetts, and you just try and stop me!” Providence tried and (I hope to nobody’s surprise) succeeded almost immediately. We bested a bid from suburban Boston by offering an $8.3 million, 20-year tax break from the city, and a sweet 20-year contract to manage the Rhode Island Lottery. Several years ago, in the negotiations that eventually led to the construction of Gillette Stadium, Robert Kraft and the Patriots — who are normally great fosterers of regional unity — played Foxboro and Massachusetts

against Hartford and Connecticut against Providence and Rhode Island. Kraft and co. made it evident that conversations to move the Patriots to each city and state were, or had been, underway. Connecticut actually offered to fully finance the stadium project with public dollars, which led to a Massachusetts offer that was more lucrative for the Patriots than what the team would have received had they originally stated their interest to stay put. These three examples reveal that our municipalities are investing tremendous volumes of thought, energy, time and money into endeavors that do little to improve quality of life in the aggregate whole of the region or the country. Luring tourism and business

Trading stadiums and lottery contracts to other cities. from elsewhere makes Providence more attractive but other communities less so. Lives of those in Providence improve, but lives elsewhere are worse. To value the well-being of residents of Providence, or any city for that matter, more than the well-being of others would be to succumb to psychotic impulses analogous to those that yield nationalism and all the terrible consequences thereof. A dollar is more useful to a poor man than to a millionaire. In that sense, a tourist or a corporate headquarters or another economic generator is more meaningful to Providence than to, say, Boston. This fact might be grounds by which to rationalize our attempts to woo business from other cities. A given development is not, however, worth more to us than to Worcester, Hartford, Bridgeport or other nearby cities that are in

worse shape than we are. Competing with these communities is much more difficult to justify. As dilapidated city centers throughout our country compete against one another for economic development, they reduce that development’s public value and lose billions of dollars in potential tax revenue on an annual basis. Providence might be better off with a particular corporate headquarters than without, but competition for development makes cities worse off in the aggregate. Individual cities are not able to combat this problem on their own. This is, in theory, why we have state and federal governments. In Rhode Island it is illegal for one municipality within the state to use tax incentives to lure an existing development or business from another Rhode Island community. (The GTECH move from West Greenwich to Providence was justified via a lengthy legal opinion defining it as an expansion rather than a relocation.) Analogous federal laws restricting interstate tax concessions would be useful. Some might fear that certain businesses could be driven offshore if tax breaks here are made less available. But a nuanced law could be made to cover businesses whose markets or resources are predominantly domestic. (The Patriots, for instance, would never threaten to move to, say, Jakarta in order to lower operating costs.) Industries with real flight risks could be exempted, and tax breaks could be allowed when one locality can prove that it isn’t using such incentives to entice an entity operating elsewhere in the United States but is intervening to prevent otherwise inevitable job exportation. A second, also terribly unlikely solution would be the banding together of states and cities in pacts not to use tax concessions to steal businesses from one another. But this would require an unusual degree of cooperation, and I don't think the harm that comes from interjurisdictional competition is evident to most governmental officials. David Segal is Providence’s Ward 1 City Councilman.

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

SPORTS TUESDAY MARCH 9, 2004 · PAGE 8

M. basketball seniors finish careers with new Brown record after beating Cornell BY JOSHUA TROY

Nick Neely / Herald

Lindsey Glennon ’06 scored two goals in Sunday’s 5-1 win over Yale.The fourth-seeded Bears will host fifth-seeded Princeton on Friday in the first round of the ECAC playoffs.

W. ice hockey wraps up fourth seed and home ice in opening round with win over Yale BY LEXI COSTELLO

The women’s ice hockey team finished its regular season at home this weekend, falling 6-3 to Princeton University Saturday but coming back to beat Yale University 5-1 Sunday. Against Yale, Brown took a 1-0 lead midway through the first period, after 10 minutes of dominant offensive attacks. Amy McLaughlin ’05 launched a rocket from outside the crease, and Jessica Link ’05 was at the goal post to cherry-pick the rebound for a goal. The teams battled head-to-head in this first frame, trading momentum back and forth. Finally, with only 13 seconds remaining, Link capitalized on a Tiger turnover and took the puck to the Tigers’ top shelf, faking out the goalie with a delayed wrist shot. Keaton Zucker ’06 assisted on the play. Princeton narrowed Bruno’s lead in the second stanza with an early goal. The Bears regained the two-goal advantage on the power play when Kathryn Moos ’07 notched her ninth goal of the season with a low corner shot just outside the crease. The Ivy rivals picked up the pace towards the close of the second, playing intense and aggressive hockey that cost them 4 penalties each. It was Princeton, however, that found the pockets in the Bruno net twice in the second to level the score at 3-3 going into the third. “They scored some inopportune goals that really messed with our momentum,” said Zucker. “We played really well but couldn’t seem to finish our plays.” At the 2:21 mark, Princeton extended its scoring streak with a deep slap shot from the point. While Brown battled for the game,

BROWN SPORTS SCHEDULE Tuesday, March 9 Women’s Lacrosse: vs. UNH, 3 p.m., Stevenson Field Gymnastics: at MIT, Cambridge, Mass.

outshooting the Tigers 12-5 in the final frame, the Bears could not connect for the late goal. Princeton added two more tallies for the 6-3 defeat, ending the game with an open-netter. “There were a lot of calls that hurt us,” said Head Coach Digit Murphy. “We outplayed them, and we’re a more aggressive team. It just didn’t seem to go our way.” The following afternoon, Bruno picked up its 32nd consecutive win over Yale. The see HOCKEY, page 5

After the team lost two of the top three scorers in school history, many predicted men’s basketball (14-13, 10-4 Ivy) would have a disappointing season. But with the exception of an 81-74 loss to Columbia University Friday night, the team has exceeded all expectations. A 69-66 victory over Cornell University Saturday gave the team four consecutive winning seasons for the first time in school history. “They’ve been part of a lot of winning here that has not happened in 90 years,” said Head Coach Glen Miller, of his three seniors. “They expect to win and mean a lot to the whole basketball team.” The road loss to the Lions marked the one time the Class of 2004 lost to Columbia. Despite the defeat, the seniors on the team finished with winning records against every Ivy League team aside from the University of Pennsylvania and Princeton University. The seniors, Jamie Kilburn ’04, Mike Martin ’04 and Patrick Powers ’04, in four seasons never lost to Dartmouth College and lost only once to Cornell and Columbia. Their success in the Ivy League led Brown to four straight winning seasons as well as school records for most team and Ivy victories in a four-year span. “It is a great achievement,” Kilburn said. “When we came in here, we all knew we would be part of something on the rise. We’ve accomplished a lot of things, coming short of the NCAA tournament a few times.” Against the Lions, the Bears held a 43-36 halftime lead and appeared to be on their way to win. But after Columbia opened the second half with an 18-1 run, Brown never recovered. Leading the Bears were Jason Forte ’05 and Martin, who each finished with 19 points. Forte completed his allaround effort by dishing out eight assists and pulling down six boards. Meanwhile, Powers set a new singleseason record for three-pointers and finished the game with 13 points and

nine rebounds, despite fouling out in the second half. Kilburn was the fourth Bear to reach double figures, finishing with 14 points and six rebounds, while Columbia’s Matt Preston led all scorers with 22 points. In the team’s final game of the season, against Cornell, Bruno almost let another halftime lead slip away. After pulling out to a 20-7 lead, the Bears held a 33-24 edge at break. The margin would not hold, as Gabe Stephenson’s lay-up with 8:15 to play tied the score at 52. But Powers’ two free throws with 7:58 remaining put Brown in front for good. Martin sealed the win, making both free-throw attempts with less than 11 seconds to play. The win was the 64th for Kilburn, Martin and Powers, extending a school record. Powers finished the game with a team-high of 19 points, while his three three-pointers pushed his single-season record to 77. Kilburn added 15 points on seven-of-10 shooting, on his way to a place on the Ivy League Weekly Honor Roll. Kilburn finished the season shooting 62 percent from the floor in league play, with a league-high 98 field goals. Forte and Martin again finished with identical scoring totals, notching 14 points each. Forte also added four assists and a team-high seven rebounds, making him the first player in Ivy League history to lead the league in both scoring and assists in league play, averaging 21.8 points and 5.8 assists. The Bears will finish in second or third place in the Ivy League, depending on the outcome of Tuesday’s game between first-place Princeton (12-1 Ivy League) and second-place Penn (10-3). Rounding out the standings are Yale University at 7-7, Columbia and Cornell, both at 6-8, Harvard University at 3-11 and Dartmouth at 1-13. Herald staff writer Joshua Troy ’04 is a former sports editor. He can be reached at jtroy@browndailyherald.com.

Rubinson ’86 and Quigley eliminated, new-look Zach shines on “Dream Job” BY BRETT ZARDA

Each week, the finalists for ESPN’s reality show “Dream Job” compete for a position as the next “SportsCenter” anchor. Included in the field are Brown alum Lori Rubinson ’86 and Maggie Haskins ’04.5. In week three of the competition, the 10 remaining contestants paired up to co-anchor the show and interview a “sports expert” on a breaking news story. Rubinson and Haskins, the only two female contestants, were paired in an all-Brown team. Here’s how I ranked the individual performances of each contestant (co-anchor in parentheses). 1. Zachariah Selwyn (Mike Hall): Trimmed his hair and put on a suit. That may be all he needs to win this thing. He formed solid follow-up questions during interview and looks the most natural among the contestants without sounding fake. 2. Hall (Selwyn): Gave a

Kilbornesque performance. He’s witty and worked well with Selwyn. I just don’t think I’d enjoy drinking a beer with him as much as his co-anchor. 3. Aaron Levine (Casey Stern): Asked open-ended, quality questions and just looked like he fit. In my opinion, only Levine and the top two have a real shot at this thing. 4. Stern (Levine): As polished as Levine, but looked awkward on camera. It’s not his fault, but his Smurf frame may cost him in the end. 5. Kelly Milligan (Nick Stevens): Made a crucial factual error and still reminds me of a used-car salesman. He might sound too polished. There’s only room for one Bob Ley at ESPN. 6. Haskins (Rubinson): Still writes as well as anyone, but fumbled a few times and looked awkward while Rubinson spoke. Haskins needs to tone it down a bit and clean up the mistakes to break into the contenders.

7. Stevens (Milligan): Did just an average job. The judges find him smug, so he won’t last long. 8. Rubinson (Haskins): Eliminated. Even a reference to group showers with Haskins couldn’t save Rubinson. She looked uncomfortable, struggled to get quality responses during the interview and lacked any continuity with Haskins. 9. Chet Anekwe (Michael Quigley): Too much Tyrese, not enough Mike Tirico. Quigley didn’t help him any. 10. Quigley (Anekwe): Eliminated. This was painful. Quigley stuttered, paused and said “um” more than Dubya during a press conference. He never belonged. Tune in Sunday at 10 p.m. to watch the final eight contestants, including Haskins. Herald staff writer Brett Zarda GS can be reached at bzarda@browndailyherald.com.