Tuesday, March 21, 2006

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD TUESDAY, MARCH 21, 2006

Volume CXLI, No. 38

www.browndailyherald.com

An independent newspaper serving the Brown community since 1891

BREATH OF FRESH AIR Thayer Street business owners say the year-old statewide smoking ban has had little effect on business METRO 3

SWIPED FROM SEARS Camera, belt, iPod and sorority portrait lifted from Sears last week, as reported in this week’s Police Log CAMPUS NEWS 5

LIFE AFTER STARF*CK Adrian Muniz ’07 argues that Starf*ck’s cancellation may have some benefits for gays on campus OPINIONS 11

TODAY

TOMORROW

mostly sunny 45 / 29

partly cloudy 44 / 30

Brown, Microsoft Research present pen-based computing initiative

BY KYLE MCGOURTY STAFF WRITER

Top administrators from Brown and Microsoft Research unveiled plans yesterday for the creation of the Microsoft Center for Research on Pen-Centric Computing, a multifaceted initiative of pen-based computing at Brown in which Microsoft will invest $1.2 million over the next three years. The announcement came at a joint press conference held at the Center for Information Technology.

Pen-based computing digitalizes the writing process; an inkless stylus replaces the pen, and the technology employs a digital monitor instead of a sheet of paper. It combines “the convenience of the pen and the power of computing,” said Vice President for Research Andries van Dam. In introducing Richard Rashid, senior vice president of Microsoft Research, President Ruth Simmons cited Microsoft’s worldwide and inescapable influence, noting that “Microsoft has changed how we think.”

Throughout the conference, Rashid cited many

Jacob Melrose / Herald

Rick Rashid, senior vice president of Microsoft Research, spoke about Brown’s new $1.2 million partnership with Microsoft at a press conference yesterday.

Magaziner ’69 P’06 P’07 details AIDS work

BY JONATHAN HERMAN SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Ira Magaziner ’69 P’06 P’07 discussed last night the challenges facing the AIDS-ravaged continent of Africa and the contributions made by the William J. Clinton Foundation’s HIV/AIDS IniJonathan Herman / Herald tiative, which Ira Magaziner ’ 69 P’06 P’07 he chairs. He also addressed his role in spearheading the universal health care program former President Bill Clinton advocated at the start of his first term. Magaziner spoke in Sayles Hall before a crowd of students, politicians and community members.

“There is an opportunity by 2008 to make a turn on this disease,” Magaziner said, explaining why the Clinton Foundation has focused on HIV treatment and prevention.

He told an anecdote of a meeting with former President of South Africa Nelson Mandela, who also headed the African National Congress, that led to the birth of the Clinton Foundation’s HIV/AIDS Initiative.

According to Magaziner, Mandela told Clinton, “I’m too old to do this, but you said you wanted to do something for Africa, so do it.” Clinton then turned to Magaziner and

said he would spearhead the initiative if Magaziner would run it.

Magaziner said African leaders advised him that, “If we don’t do anything about AIDS, it’s going to sabotage anything e lse we are trying to do.” see MAGAZINER, page 6

reasons why Microsoft chose Brown over other schools, emphasizing “Brown’s leadership role” in computer and science research.

Microsoft likes to support excitement and innovation at universities, he said. “We devote 15 percent of our money for basic research to universities,” he added.

Simmons said the University traditionally excels in scientific research and study and added the new relationship between Microsoft and Brown is part of the growing “partnership between industry and academy.” As an aside, she cited this partnership’s role in “enhancing national security.”

As of now, 16 pen-based digital devices are used on campus, and this number will grow over the next three years. These interfaces will be open only to students in select classes participating in the study. Professor of Chemistry Matthew Zimmt, who was also at yesterday’s conference, said he currently uses the technology in his class. see MICROSOFT, page 4

Four frats fail ResCouncil’s beefed-up fall review

BY REBECCA JACOBSON SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Behavioral issues caused four fraternities to fail Residential Council’s fall review, which was enhanced this year in an effort to hold program houses and fraternities more accountable for their behavior in residence halls.

The review, which was conducted in November, is also intended to make members of fraternities and program houses more mindful of independents living nearby, according to Tal Itzkovich ’06, chair of ResCouncil’s Program House Committee.

Phi Kappa Psi was cited for poor treatment of independents and hazing; Theta Delta Chi had $11,000 in water damage, 12 illegal air conditioners, offensive graffiti, a broken fire extinguisher, excessive trash on the patio and complaints from Harambee House members; Delta Phi had issues with independents and acts of arson; and Sigma Chi failed due to complaints from the Student Activities Office about parties, flooding issues, excessive trash and damage to an electrical panel due to beer spillage.

All houses that failed the fall review will have to appear at a

New belly-dancing club far from a flop

BY ILA TYAGI STAFF WRITER

Though Brown has had bhangra, Brazilian, ballroom and break-dancing clubs for years, the University had long gone without a belly-dancing club. That changed recently with the formation of the Amira Belly Dance Company, founded by Anna Chacon ’08, which put on its first performance Friday.

Amira, which means “princess” in Arabic, held auditions March 4 and currently has 12 members, all of whom are women. After just three practices, the group took to the stage for the first time at Friday’s Norouz Soiree, hosted by the Persian Club.

Chacon, who described herself as being of Costa Rican, Lebanese, Moroccan, Cuban and Venezuelan descent, said that apart from a few colleges in her hometown of Miami, belly dancing is virtually nonexistent at the collegiate level.

This is partly because experienced teachers are difficult to find in America.

Chacon first learned belly dancing at an early age from her grandmother and has been working with professional teachers for seven years. Two of her teachers were winners of the Ms. America and Miss World of the Belly Dance competition.

Chacon has also received advice on how to start

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her own troupe from members of the Bellydance Superstars, a group of the top eight belly dancers in the world. Chacon teaches classes at the Olney-Margolies Athletic Center and also gives private lessons.

The members of Amira described the reaction to Brown’s first belly-dancing troupe as overwhelmingly positive. see BELLYDANCING, page 6

Sonya Mladenova / Herald

The Amira Belly Dance Company had its first performance Friday night.

195 Angell Street, Providence, Rhode Island

spring review, which will be held sometime between Spring Weekend and the beginning of reading period, Itzkovich said. If issues are not resolved by the spring review, ResCouncil will set probations, the nature of which will depend on the severity of the offenses. Punishments could include issuing a letter of apology, a semester-long ban on activities or a loss of recognition by the Office of Residential Life.

Itzkovich said last fall’s review process was more stringent than in years past. Previously, he said ResCouncil had merely asked program and Greek house heads if they had good relations with independents, but last fall the council checked with other offices, such as ResLife, the Office of Student Life and the Department of Public Safety, to compile behavioral details. Itzkovich said he is confident the tougher review process will result in improved behavior.

“This is the first time ResCouncil has really stepped up and notified the program houses that they were doing things wrong,” he said. “There’s a process now where they know that we’re actually going to be checking, and they’re going to start being more considerate. I doubt we’ll see the same number of problems next year.”

Senior Associate Dean of Residential Life Richard Bova agreed the beefed-up review process has led Greek houses to understand the validity of the concerns.

But Aaron Telch ’07, president of Delta Phi, said he did not consider the fall review to be see FALL REVIEW, page 4

News tips: herald@browndailyherald.com

THIS MORNING THE BROWN DAILY HERALD · TUESDAY, MARCH 21 , 2006 · PAGE 2 Jero Matt Vascellaro

TO D AY ’ S E V E N TS HANNAH ARENDT SEMINARS FILM SCREENINGS 6 p.m., (Pembroke Hall 210) — The Pembroke Center, the Watson Institute and the Cogut Center for the Humanities will co-sponsor screenings of Jean Luc Godard’s film “Notre Musique” and Anne-Marie Mieville’s “Nous Sommes Tous Encore Ici.” ISRAELI MOVIE NIGHT 7:30 p.m., (Hillel) — Friends of Israel will sponsor a screening of “The Get” (The Divorce), a short satire about issues facing Israeli women today.

OPEN MIC NIGHT 8 p.m., (The Hourglass Cafe) — A series of peer performances will be held to benefit the Children’s Cancer Society.

RHODE ISLAND BUDGET CUTS INFO SESSION 8 p.m., (Wilson 302) — The Brown Green Party will sponsor speakers from Rhode Island for Health Care, Ocean State Action and the Brown Medical School, who will discuss the effects of Gov. Don Carcieri ’65’s proposed budget on access to health care in Rhode Island.

M for Massive Yifan Luo

MENU SHARPE REFECTORY

Chocolate Covered Cotton Mark Brinker

VERNEY-WOOLLEY DINING HALL

LUNCH — Popcorn Chicken with Dipping Sauces, Red Rice, Corn and Sweet Pepper Saute, Pancakes, French Toast, Tater Tots, Kielbasa, Hard Boiled Eggs, Magic Bars, Hot Fudge Pudding Cake

LUNCH — Vegetarian Corn and Tomato Soup, Bean and Bacon Soup, Chicken Mole Chili, Baked Manicotti with Tomato Sauce, Corn and Broccoli Casserole, Magic Bars

DINNER — Orange Turkey, Au Gratin Potatoes with Fresh Herbs, Herbed Turnips, Fresh Vegetable Melange, French Bread, Chocolate Pudding, Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

DINNER — Vegetarian Corn and Tomato Soup, Bean and Bacon Soup, Pot Roast Jardiniere, Stuffed Spinach Squash Red Potatoes with Fresh Dill, Oregon Blend Vegetables, Asparagus Cuts with Lemon, French Bread, Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Homebodies Mirele Davis

RELEASE DATE– Tuesday, March 21, 2006

CR O S Daily SWO RD Los Angeles Times Crossword Puzzle Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis ACROSS 1 “Now I know my __”: line in a tots’ song 5 Imbibe 10 Essence 14 Donnybrook 15 Part of A/V 16 Citizens’ rights org.

17 Without racial prejudice 19 Jury member 20 Extinguish 21 Cookie holder 23 Room with a remote 24 M-1, for one 26 Dave Brubeck signature piece 28 Sch. with a Providence campus 29 Some cameras, briefly 31 Frisco gridder 32 Trucker’s oasis 35 Truck weight unit 36 Concise 40 __ Fail: Irish coronation stone 41 %#&!#! ones 43 __-ski 46 Place to fish from 47 Spy org.

48 Intensely zealous 50 Biblical hymn 52 Assist 53 College yr. division 54 No spendthrift 56 Martinique et Corse 58 Leakproof 62 Yugoslav expresident 63 Royal proclamation 64 Weirdo 65 Word that can follow the last words of 17-, 26-, 36-, 48- and 58Across 66 Makes an impression 67 Another: Span.

DOWN 1 Eyebrow shape

2 Short life story?

35 Despot of yore 46 Hair gel 3 Aloof sort 37 Anonymous Jane 49 Cut down 4 Kind of pigeon 38 Snail on la carte 50 Low mil. rank 5 Pats gently 39 “Bubble, bubble, 51 Bulova 6 Eliminate (an __ and trouble competitor option), with “out” ...”

54 Religious 7 Infamous Amin 42 “Cheers” offshoot 8 Fictional teenage barkeep 55 Crafts’ partner turtles 43 Anticipates 57 Tippler 9 Maker of the 44 Writer Roth 59 Tuna container EasyShare-one 45 Head for on 60 Vert. opposite camera horseback 61 Ring decision 10 Obvious space ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE: 11 Stranded in a chalet, perhaps 12 Record keeper?

13 Insurrectionist Nat 18 Regret 22 High repute 24 Karel Capek robot play 25 Angers 26 On its way, after “in” 27 Penalized, as a speeder 29 Span. miss 30 Ewe’s hangout 33 Available, as a flat 34 Faces the day 03/21/06 xwordeditor@aol.com

Freeze Dried Puppies Cara FitzGibbon

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD · TUESDAY, MARCH 21, 2006 · PAGE 3

One year after smoking ban, Thayer Street sees business as usual

City and state move to divest from Sudan

BY HANNAH FURST STAFF WRITER

BY THI HO STAFF WRITER

Following the decision of Brown’s highest governing body to divest from companies that do business with Sudan last month, both the city of Providence and the state of Rhode Island are considering doing the same.

At the March 16 meeting of the City Council, Miguel Luna of Ward 9 and David Segal of Ward 1 introduced a resolution for the city of Providence to divest from all companies that do business with the Sudanese government.

According to Scott Warren ’09, a leader of Brown’s Darfur Action Network, the resolution is significant because — if it passes — Providence would become the first city in the United States to divest from Sudan.

After the University’s decision to divest from Sudan on Feb. 25, Warren said, DAN has focused on encouraging both the city of Providence and the state of Rhode Island to divest as well.

“Divestment is getting everybody involved,” he said. “College students and city officials are helping to stop genocide in Darfur.”

Luna stressed the University’s crucial role in leading the divestment movement. He said he introduced the resolution after Brown students approached him about the issue.

Segal said the timing of the resolution seemed right.

“We were hoping we could capture some of Brown’s momentum,” he said. He added that he hopes the resolution will trigger divestment movements nationwide.

The resolution has been referred to the City Council Finance Committee, which will review the proposal, assess the city’s investments and make amendments as necessary. The current resolution is only one sentence long, and the committee will develop the resolution further. Later in the process, the committee will have an open hearing on the legislation.

If the resolution passes the five-member Finance Committee, it will then go before the full City Council for a vote. Segal said he is hopeful this vote will take place April 6.

Luna said that while Providence residents may feel helpless when confronted by an overwhelming problem like genocide in Darfur, there are concrete steps that can be taken at the local level to effect global change.

“We have to be responsible for what happens around the world, especially with our money,” Luna said. see SUDAN, page 8

Jacob Melrose / Herald

Zacharaiah Chafee, a downtown Providence lawyer and cigar smoker, approves of the one-year-old smoking ban.

One year after the Rhode Island General Assembly passed a statewide smoking ban, local restaurant and bar owners say a feared loss of business has not materialized.

The ban, officially known as the Rhode Island Workers’ Safety Act, went into effect over a year ago, on March 1, 2005. It prohibits indoor smoking in public facilities.

On Thayer Street, Andreas Restaurant co-owner and managing partner Nicholas Mackris said the smoking ban has not affected business at all.

“Our initial fear was that it would negatively affect business, but fortunately our fears were not realized,” Mackris said. Because of the ban, he said, he has noticed more see SMOKING, page 4

Democracy Matters pushes Clean Elections bill at State House

BY CAROLINE SILVERMAN SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Students from the Brown chapter of Democracy Matters testified before the State Senate Judiciary Committee on March 7 as a part of their effort to pass Clean Elections legislation, which would allow candidates for state office to publicly finance their campaigns.

“The students really spoke eloquently at the hearing,” said Sen. Rhoda Perry P ’91, D-District 3. “I concur with what they said,” she added.

“The only way for (politicians) to get to office is to play the (money) game — they’re forced into it. One of the things I remember saying in my testimony is ‘don’t hate the player, change the game,’” Jon Bogard ’09 said.

About four students testified before the committee, and about 30 others attended in support, Bogard said, adding the room was “literally filled to capacity.”

The Brown chapter of Democracy Matters was founded two years ago by Herald Opinions Columnist Te-Ping Chen ’07. Together with Common Cause and other groups, it backs a Clean Elections bill that would create a “fully voluntary system of financing public elections” at the state level, according to Bogard.

The proposed system would “level the playing field for candidates for public office,” Bogard said. “Money has become a prerequisite for holding office, which is not a just system, and it’s not an effective system.”

“It would reinvigorate the voting population,” he added. Constituents are “going to be more inclined to participate in the political process,” he said, also noting, “it would allow greater opportunities for women and minorities.”

“It expands the number of people who can think about running for office — because it does cost money” to do so, said Rep. Edith Ajello, D-District 3, who is backing the legislation in the R.I. House of Representatives.

“A public funding mechanism is the only way to have real democracy,” said Caroline Colesworthy A.M. ’05, who also testified before the Senate committee. “The halls (of the State House) do not reflect the citizenry by any stretch of the imagination.”

Perry is sponsoring the bill in the Senate.

“As has been seen on a federal level, the more that big sums of money” from lobbyists play a role in politics, “the more likely it is that there is going to be the possibility of corruption,” she said.

Perry said the bill would bring about “more dialogue, more debate and more honest exchange” between public servants and their constituents.

Under the bill, candidates for state office would need to demonstrate a level of public support before qualifying for public financing by collecting $5 donations, with the number of donations differing for each statewide office. Upon returning the collected sum to the Clean Elections fund, public financing would then kick in.

The bill was introduced last spring but did not come to a vote, according to Bogard.

“Some people who think about running might not have five to seven thousand dollars of their own money … they can use to start a campaign,” Ajello said. “Seven thousand dollars might seem dismaying for some people, (but) 50 $5 contributions seems less dismaying.”

Bogard said if a publicly funded candidate is runsee ELECTIONS, page 4

PAGE 4 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD TUESDAY, MARCH 21, 2006

Microsoft continued from page 1 At one point, Simmons cited Thomas Friedman’s “The World is Flat” to emphasize the importance of “investing in science and technology.” This investment produces “better tools” for the “academy, industry and government,” she said.

During the conference, van Dam presented an initial demonstration of the pen-based computing technology. Touching an electronic stylus to the surface of the digital tablet, he scrolled through various programs to be used in different areas of study, which included music, chemistry and mathematics.

The pen-based research will examine “how we use (computers)” and “how we interact with them,” van Dam said during the presentation. The research will be multi-disciplinary and will add to the study of “gesture recognition” and “machine learning,” two technologies that contribute to pen-based computing, van Dam said.

Pen-based computing is at the forefront of a technological advance that changes the way people interact with electronic interfaces, Rashid said. “We are reaching a point in the future where any surface can be an interactive surface,” he said.

“Input and output will soon be equal.”

Chris Maloney ’06 demonstrated a program designed for an organic chemistry class titled Chem Pad. On the tablet PC’s screen, Maloney drew an alcohol molecule. Immediately, the

program converted his drawing into a three-dimensional balland-stick representation of the molecule.

“2-D doesn’t convey all the information about the molecule,” he said, adding that Chem Pad enables a student to immediately visualize the three-dimensional representation.

Van Dam compared the pen’s note-taking value to the keyboard’s. Typing is an “unnatural fit” for certain subjects, such as chemistry, he said. “The pen is mightier than the keyboard,” he added.

Rashid emphasized that students outside of the sciences will profit from pen-based computing as well, citing the music program that was presented earlier.

Malloney has used a prototype of the tablet PC during the past four years. He told The Herald he would “have to think about” why a humanities student should get excited about pen-based computing.

In a demonstration at the conference, a member of van Dam’s research team told The Herald, “There are a lot of programs that can be used in the humanities, but most are pretty boring right now.”

But Rashid maintained that the technology will benefit students studying a variety of fields.

“These devices will eventually replace paper print media,” he said, as he scrolled through a novel he was reading on his pocket PC. During the conference, Simmons lauded Rashid for his contributions to science, but noted that “he did major in comparative literature” as an undergraduate.

Elections continued from page 3 ning against a privately funded opponent, the “clean” candidate would receive “dollar-fordollar” matching funding up to three times the initial amount.

Similar laws have come into effect in Maine and Arizona in 1996 and 1998, both through voter initiative. Connecticut also passed a Clean Elections bill last December. Binder said these cases helped persuade Rhode Island legislators by demonstrating “political feasibility.”

Colesworthy said “Maine and Arizona have had higher voter turnout” since their Clean Elections laws went into effect, “which really suggests a rebirth of public interest.”

The bill will soon be consid-

Smoking continued from page 3 people smoking outside the restaurant than before. But, he added, it has not posed a problem.

Thel Spiridas, manager of Paragon, said the smoking ban has not affected business, but agreed there are now more smokers outside than before the ban went into effect.

Phil Williams, owner of Fish Co Bar & Grill, which is located at 515 South Water St., also said he has not seen his business affected by the smoking ban.

“I think people have stopped smoking,” Williams said.

Wickenden Pub, one of the few small bars that was exempt from the ban until this fall, has

Fall review continued from page 1

Fill in the grid so that every row, every column and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 through 9.

Solution, tips and computer program at www.sudoku.com.

“very transparent or publicized.”

Though members of the fraternity have felt subject to closer scrutiny this year than in the past, Telch said the majority of fraternity members did not know about the details of the report or why Delta Phi failed. He said that since Sex Power God, there has been a general sense that administrators have been setting stricter guidelines for parties and general behavior. Telch added that he hopes Delta Phi members will abide by these rules in order to pass the spring review.

Bova said the majority of issues

ered by the House Finance Committee, according to Bogard.

“For me, fundraising is the worst part of running for office,” Perry said, adding that she “would wager the vast majority of candidates would agree.”

“Once you get a candidate free from having to spend 50 or even 75 percent of their time (running for office) free from fundraising endeavors,” Perry said, candidates could spend “so much more time connecting with the public they are to serve.”

Perry said that while she thought the Clean Elections bill is “an exciting idea,” “it will take some years probably to pass.”

With the state facing a budget deficit of hundreds of millions of dollars, “I’m enough of a realist that I can say I don’t have much hope that it will pass this year,” Ajello said.

Even the name doesn’t help — according to Perry and Ajello, calling publicly financed elections “clean” sounds good to activists but makes it harder to sell to politicians.

“It puts our colleagues on the defensive,” Ajello added. “As a sales job with our colleagues, it makes it a bit harder, but on the other hand, in selling to the general public, it’s catchy.”

Bogard said he relished his experience testifying before the committee.

“The experience of testifying was an incredibly transformative one,” he said. “It illuminated the necessity for me of participating in a democratic government.

It was extremely empowering to walk into the State House and testify to the legislature, knowing that they were public servants and knowing they were a legislature serving my interests.”

made efforts to increase comfort for smokers by reserving an area behind the pub specifically for smoking.

But Nick Jaquith, a bartender at the pub, which is located at 320 Wickenden St., suggested efforts to placate smokers are not needed, as he believes there are fewer smokers than before.

Jacquith, who is a smoker, said he has no problem with the ban.

“I think (the smoking ban) is totally fair. If I were a non-smoker, I wouldn’t want to be in a smoke-filled bar,” he said.

Another local smoker, Providence lawyer Zachariah Chafee, said he likes the ban.

“I’m happy that the ban has gone into effect,” he said. “I think it’s helpful to the waitresses and bartenders.”

But not all smokers are happy

with the ban. One Thayer Street puffer, Harry Smith, said he sees the ban as a nuisance.

“I go to a lot of shows. A lot of venues have a certain number of smokers that they’ll let out, and I’ll often be booted out of shows when I go outside to smoke,” Smith said.

The experiences of local business seem to be part of a statewide trend — despite fears that the ban would hurt businesses, the smoking ban has possibly helped to stimulate them.

David Gifford, director of the state Department of Health and associate professor of medicine, told the Associated Press last October that tax revenues generated by restaurants and bars increased by 21 percent in the first four months after the law went into effect.

with fraternities, such as complaints about noise and trash, are resolved quickly. He emphasized that such issues are not unique to fraternities, adding that they appear throughout the residential system.

“To put it in perspective, to say that independents who are living between two program houses suffer more than any other student or are happier than any other student is not the case,” Bova said.

Bryant Mairs ’08 disagreed.

Mairs, a transfer student, was placed in Goddard House, which contains Delta Phi, but moved out in November because of the behavior of fraternity members. In addition to noise levels, Mairs said Delta Phi members did not clean up after parties and kept residents up at night by smashing glass bot-

tles on the patio. He said that after one party, a few Delta Phi members threw up in the basement and set their vomit on fire. At another party, Mairs said two strippers were hired and led around the house naked. He estimated that eight or nine independents have moved out of Goddard over the course of the year.

Telch denied claims that fraternity members set vomit on fire.

He said he hadn’t heard about the stripper incident, either.

Andrew Aziz ’07, also a transfer, shared a room with Mairs in Goddard and moved out in February.

He echoed Mairs’ complaints.

“These people are so unbelievably noisy, and it seems like they never went to sleep,” Aziz said.

“The building smelled awful, and they never cleaned up. It was just unsightly.”

Aziz said fraternities should be subject to investigation after parties in order to ensure that they clean up. He said if fraternities are not held to a stricter code of conduct, they will continue to commit offenses.

Itzkovich, on the other hand, said ResLife now looks at program housing as more of a privilege than a right, adding that as a result fraternities will begin to take their behavior more seriously.

“Program houses haven’t been punished for a lot of things they’ve done in the past, so they’ve thought that they have the right to live there and no one would take it away from them,” he said. “But now they’re realizing that they have a privilege and they have to contribute back to the community through standards that we set.”

CAMPUS NEWS THE BROWN DAILY HERALD · TUESDAY, MARCH 21, 2006 · PAGE 5

U. to begin utilities upgrade next month

BY SPENCER TRICE STAFF WRITER

The University will begin construction next month on a project aimed at updating portions of the campus utilities system, which is deteriorating and inadequate for current needs, according to University officials.

“The campus infrastructure is very old,” said Carlos Fernandez, director of engineering at Facilities Management, who has been a key figure in the project since it was proposed three years ago.

“The administration is taking utilities very seriously,” Fernandez said, adding that he was not surprised by the February hot water pipe leak on the Main Green that cost the University over $300,000.

“Fortunately, we haven’t had any major catastrophes.”

Richard Spies, executive vice president for planning and senior advisor to the president, echoed Fernandez’s concern regarding the utilities system, saying he believes the system is currently operating at its capacity. “The infrastructure at Brown is not what it needs to be,” Spies said. “The leak is one piece of evidence.”

The first phase of the project, which Fernandez said is set

to start next month, received $27 million in funding and should be completed by the end of 2008.

The project is designed to increase the utilities system’s ability to support new buildings while enhancing its reliability and energy efficiency. The project also aims to eliminate costly and disruptive leak repairs, a goal addressed in the University’s Site Utilities Master Plan.

Renovating the utilities system would also alter the distribution and location of heat, air conditioning and electrical sources on campus.

Spies said he sees this plan as an opportunity to move away from the current system of supplying utilities through smaller systems that serve individual buildings. “It is a lot more efficient to centrally provide heat support to the larger buildings on campus,” he said.

Facilities Management workers recently undertook efforts to update and repair the Central Heat Plant, which is located on Lloyd Avenue near the Olney-Margolies Athletic Center.

The University runs and uses the plant to supply heat to many campus buildings.

In reference to the distribution, modernization and relocation of utilities, Spies said the

project will cause Brown “to play the role a city would play” by rearranging its power and heating supplies.

Spies compared the current focus on utilities to an effort to update Brown’s communications system that occurred five years ago. Ultimately, Spies said, modernizing the communications setup on campus was a very positive change.

Similarly, the utilities plan directly addresses the needs of faculty and staff.

“You can add faculty and staff, but if you cannot supply need, they cannot do their work,” Spies said.

“Most people don’t think of heating and power on campus,” Spies added. “They take it for granted.”

Fernandez said he is unsure how many phases the project will ultimately entail, but added that additional phases for a complete systems upgrade will be further evaluated by this fall.

Due to better organization and a staggered order of construction, the utilities project will not disrupt community affairs as much as the February Main Green leak did, Fernandez said.

“There will maybe be an impact on traffic, but not on heating,” he said.

Students, professors juggle pre-break exams

BY JOSH TOBIAS STAFF WRITER

While studying for a midterm might not be as appealing as lying on the beach or skiing, students say having midterms directly before spring break has not seriously affected their vacation plans. Though several exams have caused scheduling issues.

“I don’t mind having (exams) right before spring break,” said James Kraemer ’08. “I would rather have an exam right before break than after break than after — that way it’s not hanging over my head all of break,” he added.

But several students have asked their professors to reschedule midterms to better accommodate their schedules, with some students asking for exams to be moved earlier than the Friday before break.

Maria Carkovic, administrative director of the commerce, organizations and entrepreneurship concentration and teacher of EC 150: “Current Global Macroeconomic Challenges,” rescheduled

a midterm in her course after several students asked her to move the exam from the Friday before spring break to Wednesday.

Carkovic said she gives midterms when she has “covered enough material” in order to have an effective exam. Since the class had covered enough information to have the exam early, Carkovic said she was willing to give the exam on Wednesday.

But, Carkovic said she would not have moved the exam if she felt that the class was behind in the material.

“It wouldn’t have mattered (if students complained),” she said.

Students in other classes have also asked professors to change midterms scheduled just before spring break. Kraemer said his midterm in PH 8: “Introduction to Relativity and Quantum Physics” was moved because of student complaints.

Originally scheduled for after spring break, the midterm was shifted to this Friday so students would not have to study over break. However, students voted in

class to reschedule the midterm again, back to after the break, a decision Kraemer said Valles made after an in-class vote.

Kraemer, who also has a midterm in BN 102: “Principles of Neurobiology” this Thursday, said having midterms just before spring break has not been a major inconvenience for him.

Ruthie Rosenberg ’09, who is currently taking CH 35: “Organic Chemistry” and has a midterm in that class this Wednesday, also said her exam scheduling has not proved problematic.

“The plan was always to leave when spring break started,” Rosenberg said. Several members of the class said most students were not planning on leaving for break early.

Akriti Bhambi ’09, another student in the class said that she had originally planned leave campus on Friday morning, a decision that was “not because of the midterm.”

“If (the midterm) was on Friday from 7 to 9 p.m. that would have been bad, but Wednesday is not too bad,” Rosenberg said.

POLICE LOG

Several thefts in Sears reported last week

BY SIMMI AUJLA SENIOR STAFF WRITER

taken to PPD Headquarters for processing.

The following summary includes all major incidents reported to the Department of Public Safety between March 10 and March 16. It does not include general service and alarm calls. The Providence Police Department also responds to incidents occurring off campus. DPS does not divulge information on open cases that are currently under investigation by the department, the PPD or the Office of Student Life. DPS maintains a daily log of all shift activity and general service calls which can be viewed during business hours at its headquarters, located at 75 Charlesfield St.

2:24 a.m. A student on Brown Street flagged down a DPS officer for assistance and reported that he was being threatened by a group of males at the scene.

The student and his friends were apparently involved in a physical confrontation with the group of males earlier. The officer interviewed the parties and transported the complainant and his companion to their residence hall. The other parties left the area without further incident.

Saturday, March 11: (No time specified.) Complainant reported that his camera and belt were stolen from his unsecured room in Sears House at approximately 2:30 a.m. on March 10. The student also reported many people were in the building at the time of the incident. DPS detectives are investigating the case. There are no suspects at this time.

2:11 a.m. A DPS officer on patrol noticed a male subject yelling at a group of students near Wayland Arch. The officer approached the man and requested to see identification. The officer told him his behavior was inappropriate, and the subject left the area without incident.

2:29 a.m. Two students reported a bias-related incident to DPS headquarters. The students reported that two male subjects shouted racial and homophobic epithets at them and threw a bottle on the ground while they were walking on Meeting Street. Both subjects fled the area on foot.

The students said they wanted to inform DPS of the incident and declined support services.

12 p.m. Complainant reported his iPod was stolen from his room in Sears House sometime between 3 p.m. on March 10 and 12 p.m. on March 11. DPS detectives are investigating the case. There are no suspects at this time.

Sunday, March 12: (No time specified.) On a routine patrol of the Brown University Stadium, a DPS officer took a male subject into custody for disorderly conduct. The subject, who did not have any affiliation with the University, was

Monday, March 13: (No time specified.) A student reported that a sorority composite portrait, valued at $1,000, was removed from the wall of a first floor hallway in Sears House between 10 p.m. on March 10 and 5 a.m. on March 11. The student said there was a party in the building around that time. DPS detectives are investigating the case.

Tuesday, March 14: 10:52 p.m. DPS responded to a report of five students climbing up a fire escape outside of Arnold Lounge. A PPD officer also responded to the scene.

The students were directed off the roof and the on-call Community Director was notified.

Thursday, March 16: 2:25 a.m. A DPS officer responded to a report of a person screaming for assistance in Buxton House. The officer found a student injured from an accidental fall from the thirdfloor restroom window. Providence rescue workers responded to the scene and transported the victim to Rhode Island Hospital for emergency treatment and care.

12:43 p.m. A DPS officer responded to a report of broken glass throughout a third-floor corridor in Chapin House. University custodians cleaned the area. No injuries were reported.

8:22 p.m. DPS and PPD officers responded to a report that a student at the Gate was concealing a handgun in his bag.

Officers apprehended the subject, found a soft air pistol on the student and confiscated it. The Office of Student Life is handling the incident.

Source: Department of Public Safety

PAGE 6 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD TUESDAY, MARCH 21, 2006

Magaziner continued from page 1 The foundation began work in the Bahamas and Rwanda and has since expanded to India, China, Ukraine and many other African nations, Magaziner said.

A major barrier to treating those infected with AIDS in these countries has been the expense of drug therapy, he said.

“In countries where their income per capita is $300, it’s hard to convince them to spend $1,300 per person for treatment,” Magaziner said.

The foundation’s most prominent success has been reducing the cost of anti-retroviral drugs, the primary treatment for patients liv-

ing with AIDS. The foundation reduced the cost of AIDS medication by at least one-third through a contract with Indian suppliers of generic HIV drugs, Magaziner said.

He also touched on the major domestic health initiatives that Clinton addressed as president.

After his speech, Magaziner was asked about recent portrayals of the Clinton administration and its fight for universal health care. He said the public campaign against health care reform successfully thwarted the plan.

“The opposition spent over $100 million in advertising — in direct mail and direct radio — to appeal to these swing voters,” he said. “It was a very active campaign and very well financed that we could not counter. The White House is not allowed to engage in

campaigns (like that) over policy.”

In his speech, Magaziner said Clinton was the sixth president to support legislating universal health care.

“We got further than anybody else, but then eventually we got politically slaughtered,” he said. Almost “every other developed country and many other developing countries have universal health coverage.”

Magaziner said health care in the United States is in dire need of reform because 30 to 40 percent of costs go to administrative spending.

“Now we spend more than any other country on health care and our health outcomes are worse,” he said.

The United States’ health sector became very costly as a tangential effect of companies’ thirst

for profit in the late 1960s. Since that tiem, the number of people with health care dropped and administrative costs rose as corporate profits rose, Magaziner said.

“The (health) insurance companies found more and more that the best way to make money was to find and cover (only) healthy people. And the second way was to deny claims,” he said.

Beyond the topic of public health, audience members asked Magaziner after the address about his career and connections to the Clinton administration.

“I think Senator Clinton is going to be re-elected to the Senate and hopefully succeed at that,” Magaziner said in response to a question about whether Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., would run for president in 2008. “Whether it’s

Senator Clinton or not, I hope the country is ready to have a woman president if (the female candidate) is the best candidate. It’s too early to tell if she would want to run.”

The lecture, which was sponsored by the Brown and Yale University chapters of the Roosevelt Institution, followed a forum and dinner. Students from both universities presented their health policy initiatives and research to an audience of invited students, administrators, politicians and alums.

Sasha Rubel ’06 described her research and humanitarian work in Mali incorporating AIDS education into West African means of artistic expression. She said theatrical and song-based peer education is the most effective way to transmit knowledge to African communities.

Bellydancing

sometimes seen as promiscuous. However, she is quick to add that there is “a community” that embraces belly dancing, knowing it to be a cultural art form rather than a display of vulgarity.

Chacon’s belly-dancing classes at the OMAC have waiting lists, and she receives e-mails at least twice a week from students expressing interest in her dance company.

She added that the term “belly dancing” is a misnomer, as the form requires dancers to focus on several parts of their body, not just their abdomen.

The term “belly dancing” was introduced at the Chicago World’s Fair in1893 by American spectators trying to describe the dance performed by an Egyptian woman calling herself “Little Egypt.” Belly dancing is known as “Raqs al-Sharqi” in the Middle East, which translates as “Dance of the Orient.”

Milena Gianfrancesco ’08 said she hopes the company’s performances will show belly dancing to be “the beautiful dance that it is” and thereby help give the style the same respect in America that it has in countries such as Egypt.

Gianfrancesco cited the music used to accompany belly dancing as the main reason why she loves the dance form. She said its ability to draw audiences in helps contribute greatly to its popularity. Artists like Shakira, who incorporate moves from belly dancing into their concerts and music videos, are also helping to increase awareness of the art form.

All the group members stressed that the reaction to their debut performance at No-

rouz Soiree was extremely supportive.

“The entire room took to us really well,” Ajmiri said. “Every time we did something cool, people would shriek. I was distracted by all the flashes (from cameras).”

Even Azikiwe, who said she dislikes performing in public and was “mortified” by her somewhat revealing costume, said the informal atmosphere of the Soiree and the attendance of many friends helped ease her nervousness.

A playful, uninhibited atmosphere is a mark of the group’s practice sessions as well. Troupe members agreed that one of belly dancing’s best qualities is that it encourages women to embrace parts of their body they are often insecure about. Group members said they often bare their midriffs during practices, regardless of what their bellies may look like.

Azikiwe, who is of Nigerian descent, said she had issues with her slim build, which differs from the Nigerian ideal of a woman’s body. Though she believes that belly dancing moves look better when “you have more meat on you,” Azikiwe believes the dance form has been good for her body image.

Chacon said she chose to name the company Amira because it means “princess” in Arabic. “Every girl is born a princess,” she said, and the name illustrates the dance form’s ability to enhance a woman’s selfconfidence.

Because the Amira Belly Dance Company is classified as a category I student group, it does not receive funding from the Undergraduate Finance Board. The costumes for the debut performance were ordered from Egypt and paid for by members, an expenditure that Azikiwe said “put a dent in my wallet.”

As the troupe becomes more established, its members said they hope to receive funding from the University and raise money through performing at cultural parties and putting on their own shows. Chacon said she would like to see men taking belly-dancing classes and joining the troupe in the future, as belly dancing is not restricted to women in Egypt and the rest of the Middle East.

Many group members also said they hope to keep dances exciting — both for themselves and their audiences — by obtaining better costumes, which can cost anywhere from $500 to $5,000, and improving their dance routines. Some day, Chacon would also like to take her troupe to the Middle East to meet the Bellydance Superstars and gain valuable experience.

continued from page 1 Nkiru Azikiwe ’06, the only senior in the group, said she is surprised a belly-dancing troupe was not started earlier, arguing that there is a great deal of interest in belly dancing on campus.

Most members of the group have some familiarity with the dance form, with experience coming from classes taken off campus, at the OMAC or over the summer in Egypt and Lebanon, the bellydancing centers of the world.

Afshan Ajmiri ’08, whose first experience with belly dancing involved dancing with Chacon at the South Asian Students Association’s cultural show last year, said “98 percent” of the people she has spoken to have been excited and intrigued by the new group.

However, the group has had to deal with a few off-color remarks from people who perceive the dance form as degrading to women. For instance, a few minutes before its debut performance at the Soiree, Ajmiri had to field questions from one attendee who asked if belly dancing was “prostitution dancing.”

“Even if you feel that way, there are some things you don’t say,” Ajmiri said. “(The attendee) was making a judgment on us before she had seen us perform.”

Chacon agreed that lack of awareness of the richness of Middle Eastern culture — and of belly dancing’s folkloric roots — mean that belly dancers are

WORLD & NATION THE BROWN DAILY HERALD · TUESDAY, MARCH 21, 2006 · PAGE 7

Shareholders prod companies to disclose political spending

BY JONATHAN PETERSON LOS ANGELES TIMES

WASHINGTON — Under pressure from shareholder activists, a small but growing number of major U.S. companies have agreed to disclose their political donations on their corporate Web sites.

Campaign contributions are a matter of public record, but a complete picture of a company’s political giving is difficult to obtain because the donations can be scattered over scores of individual campaign finance reports at the local, state and federal level.

Since late last year, companies including Amgen, Staples and Bristol-Myers Squibb have agreed to post their contributions on their Web sites. Other companies, including PepsiCo, Coca-Cola and Eli Lilly enhanced their political disclosure policies last fall.

“This is an issue that shareholders have latched onto,” said Daniel Rosan, program director for public health at the Interfaith Center On Corporate Responsibility, a coalition of faith-based investors that has pressed politically active pharmaceutical companies to make the disclosures.

The relationship between money and politics has long held allure for some of the public. But recent events have fueled the demands for greater clarity, advocates of disclosure maintain.

The legal travails of lobbyist Jack Abramoff, former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay and former U.S. Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham are a reminder that the political arena can be tainted by scandal that potentially can reflect on donor corporations.

Even before the raft of political scandals, frauds at Enron and other politically active corporations had prompted calls for greater transparency in donations. Advocates contend that companies stake part of their reputations, for better or worse, when they enter the political battlefield.

“Risk is important — the risk to shareholders, the risk to companies, the risk to directors,” said Bruce Freed, co-director of the Center for Political Accountability, which has championed the cause.

The effort may be starting to affect how corporate-watchers define proper transparency. Institutional Shareholder Services, a proxy advisory firm, recently said that for the first time it will consider supporting political disclosure resolutions at annual corporate meetings in the coming months.

The measures may be considered at more than 40 companies during their upcoming annual meetings, including Home Depot, General Dynamics, Boeing, Wyeth, and Citigroup.

Most of the measures call on companies to prepare a report documenting their contributions and their in-house guidelines for making them. This report would be submitted to the

board audit committee and posted on the corporate Web site.

Some of the measures would have companies disclose their trade association dues, as well.

In a survey last fall, 65 percent of investors told Institutional Shareholder Services that they viewed full public disclosure of a company’s political contributions as important or very important.

“At the very simplest level, shareholders are asking what are you doing with my money?” said Jim Letsky, a senior analyst at Institutional Shareholder Services.

Not that all of Corporate America has joined the cause.

The proposal “would create a duplicate system of public reporting that would not confer upon our shareholders a benefit equal to the resources expended,” said Diane Dayhoff, Home Depot’s vice president for investor relations, in a letter to shareholder activists.

“Additionally, we believe that requiring board oversight of each political contribution we make would unnecessarily distract the board from other matters and would not enhance shareholder value,” Dayhoff wrote.

What surprises some is the emerging group of companies that has embraced the goal of greater political transparency.

Earlier this month, the board of Staples agreed to post corporate political contributions on the company Web site. “It was a nice easy negotiation,” said Margaret Covert, shareholder activism coordinator at NorthStar Asset management, a socially conscious investment firm in Boston. “They really wanted to do the right thing.”

In response, NorthStar dropped the resolution it had prepared for Staples’ annual meeting. When shareholders brought a similar measure to Amgen, the company came back with a surprise: Rather than trying to kill the resolution, it said it would recommend a yes vote on the measure at its annual meeting in May. Corporate contributions can be hefty. Since 2000, Citigroup has contributed more than $3.8 million, BellSouth (which is being acquired by AT&T) more than $3.3 million and Wyeth more than $1.8 million, according to the Center for Political Accountability, which has spearheaded the movement for Web-based disclosures.

Bristol-Myers Squibb sprinkles modest contributions among candidates in various states, according to its recent Web posting. But when prescription drug prices became an issue in California’s 2005 election, with two competing propositions on the matter, the company dug much deeper into its pockets, spending $4,548,500, according to its Web site.

The user-friendly disclosures are “consistent with our efforts to enhance transparency throughout the company,” said Tony Plohoros, a corporate spokesman.

www.browndailyherald.com

Muslim prison chaplain finds more trouble outside

BY JOSH GETLIN LOS ANGELES TIMES

NEW YORK — When he spoke to Muslim students last year at a conference in Tucson, Ariz., the top chaplain in New York’s City’s jail system talked tough to his audience, making comments that drew no media attention.

Umar Abdul-Jalil said “predators” should not be released from jail into the Muslim community, singling out Omar Abdel-Rahman, the blind cleric who plotted to blow up the World Trade Center. He criticized the lack of work re-entry programs for Muslim inmates.

But the chaplain’s other comments at the conference drew heated criticism this month — sparking calls for his termination — when they surfaced in New York newspapers. AbdulJalil blasted “Zionists of the media” and said “the greatest terrorists in the world occupy the White House,” according to a transcript of his remarks.

Last week, city officials gave him a two-week suspension without pay but decided that he could retain his $76,602-a-year job. The decision satisfied few — and it has triggered an angry debate over free speech and its limits in the aftermath of Sept.

11, 2001.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who announced Abdul-Jalil’s suspension at City Hall, said he was balancing the cleric’s right to free speech with the city’s requirement that employees who make public statements clearly indicate that they are speaking for themselves — and not for New York City. Abdul-Jalil, executive director of Ministerial Services for the Department of Corrections, did not make such a distinction during his remarks last April before the Muslim Students Association, Bloomberg said.

“The Corrections Department is not suspending the imam for what he said, but for what he didn’t say,” the mayor said. He added that the action was not taken because of “statements which many New Yorkers would find inappropriate and offensive.”

Bloomberg conceded, however, that “this decision will not satisfy extremists on either side of the political spectrum. Some will demand that he be fired; Others will demand that there be no penalty at all. ...We have tried to strike a balance.”

As criticism of the decision grows, New Yorkers have wrestled with a key question: Is the chaplain a provocateur, or a Muslim whose message was misunderstood?

Adbul-Jalil criticized his suspension after the mayor’s press conference, saying that his comments had been taken out of context.

The 56-year-old Bronx man, who supervises 40 chaplains of all faiths at the Department of Corrections, apologized if anyone had been offended by his comments, noting “I preach love and respect for people of

all faiths.” He said he was considering an appeal of his suspension, but declined further comment, as did his attorney, Norman Siegel, former chief of New York’s Civil Liberties Union.

Critics on both sides have blasted Bloomberg for ignoring what one attorney in the case called “the 800-pound gorilla in the room.” If Abdul-Jalil had spoken only about innocuous matters — and failed to make the distinction — no one would have cared.

Pundits and politicians have weighed in: New York Post columnist Andrea Peyser ridiculed Bloomberg for “an act of breathtaking wimpishness.” Rep. Pete King, R-Long Island, who chairs the House Homeland Security Committee, declared that “a person with those views should not be allowed to serve in any government agency.”

Siegel was critical of Bloomberg’s decision for different reasons. He said at a press conference that courts “have consistently held that a government employee, off the job, not discussing confidential information” can express whatever views he or she wants. He believes it was preposterous for the mayor to suggest the content of Abdul-

Jalil’s comments in Arizona was not relevant to his suspension.

For some, Abdul-Jalil’s comments were a surprising exception in a career that has won praise from many. Indeed, Martin Horn, chief of the Department of Corrections, noted at Bloomberg’s press conference that an internal investigation gave the cleric high marks for his professionalism, even-handedness and compassion for all inmates.

“This is an individual who has unfailingly been available to all inmates in their times of need, irrespective of religion, including Jewish inmates,” he said.

As Horn spoke, six other chaplains voiced support for their colleague, who is also the imam of the Masjid Sabur mosque in Harlem.

As the controversy grew last week, the chaplain announced he had been a supporter of President George W. Bush and campaigned for him. He did not explain how that support was compatible with his comments about terrorists in the White House.

“What hurts is to have my patriotism questioned,” he told reporters. “I’m a full-blown American. As an American, I have a right to disagree.”

PAGE 8 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD TUESDAY, MARCH 21, 2006

Sudan continued from page 3 Warren said while the city’s divestment will not involve a large sum of money, he believes the action is still significant. “It’s a national movement that keeps on growing,” Warren said, adding that local efforts may prompt neighboring cities and states to follow suit.

Meanwhile, at the state level, Rep. Joseph Almeida, D-District 12, has requested the drafting of a similar divestiture bill.

So far, only three states have divested from Sudan — New Jersey, Oregon and Illinois.

The divestment bill, once drafted, would need to be approved by the House Finance Committee before being voted on by the full General Assembly.

If passed, the bill will go to Republican Gov. Don Carcieri ’65.

Rep. Edith Ajello, D-District

3, said she hopes to co-sponsor the bill and is optimistic it will pass and serve as an example for others.

“Our investments are small in comparison to other states, but this is something where we can say, ‘We don’t want any part in that,’” she said.

Ajello said she believes the bill will garner bipartisan support in the General Assembly.

Rep. James Davey, R-District 15, agreed.

“You can’t put a Democrat or Republican label on this,” Davey said. “It’s from the heart; it’s about how you feel government should work.”

Davey also credited Brown’s decision to divest as leading the way on the issue.

“Brown showing some leadership here gets people off their chairs and on their feet, doing something they might not have otherwise done,” he said.

www.browndailyherald.com

Study cites genetic link on compulsion disorder

BY JAMIE TALAN NEWSDAY

There are people so disabled by obsessive thoughts and compulsive behavior that they can barely get out the door in the morning. Now, scientists have identified a gene that may be responsible for the disorder.

When scientists studied the families of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder, they saw that many inherited a certain type of gene for a molecule called the serotonin transporter. The molecule shuttles the chemical serotonin throughout the brain.

The latest genetic studies from the laboratory of David Goldman of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism have found that people with disabling obsessive-compulsive disorder have too many serotonin transporters — the gene is more active than it should be.

Another defective form of the gene is linked to suicidal behavior and depression.

The most popular antidepressants block these transporters, which may explain why some people with obsessive-compulsive disorder who are treated with these medicines find that their obsessions subside.

“Ultimately, this finding could lead to a test for OCD or at least a way to figure out who will respond to treatment with SSRIs,” the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors like Prozac and Zoloft, said Goldman, a co-investigator of the study, which appears online in the American Journal of Human Genetics. It will be published in the May issue. Goldman is a psychiatric geneticist.

This is the first gene for a psychiatric illness that has been associated with a “gain of function,” meaning the gene is working too much. Several years ago the federal researchers, in collaboration with Japanese investigators, identified a much rarer but similarly acting genetic change in two families with severe obsessivecompulsive disorder.

In this latest study, Goldman

and his colleagues looked at two samples of patients, one in the United States and one in Canada.

This particular form of the gene was twice as common in people with obsessive-compulsive disorder as in those without the condition.

About 2 percent of the population suffers from symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Scientists believe that the brain’s frontal lobes, where socalled executive functions such as thinking, task-switching and organizing take place, are strongly linked to other brain regions associated with emotion and repetitive behavior, and that the stronger bond sets in motion this anxiety-ridden behavior.

“This is a major clue to the neurobiology of OCD,” said Goldman. “Why these people have these symptoms could also inform us about the normal range of obsessional behaviors,” which are often invaluable for everyday organization.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder is characterized by excessive handwashing, checking of things and hoarding.

“It’s an important study,” said Dr. Eric Hollander, director of the Compulsive, Impulsive and Anxiety Disorders Program at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in Manhattan.

Hollander’s group focuses on repetitive behaviors in many psychiatric conditions, from autism to obsessive-compulsive disorder to addictions. His group recently infused the bonding hormone oxytocin, best known for its roles in labor and breastfeeding, into adults with autism and found they showed an increased social response.

Equestrian continued from page 12 team sport in college,” Peloquin said.

Hayley Goldbach ’09 and Kelly Qu ’08 did their part to represent the underclassmen, earning second and third in advanced walktrot-canter.

Despite being significantly behind UConn, the women are optimistic for their last meet.

“Who knows, maybe their bus will break down or something,” Gilbard said.

Gymnastics continued from page 12 “We are really starting to come together and we have done a great job building from each meet.”

For the six seniors competing for the final time in the Pizzitola Center, the meet was a culmination of four years of hard work and fond memories.

“It was sad that this was our last home meet,” Cavett said.

“Gymnastics is a unique sport.

We train almost 20 hours per week from when we’re little girls to even be at the level to compete in college. Once our season is over, the seniors will never really do gymnastics again.”

The team will return to practice this week to prepare for the ECAC Championships at URI Saturday.

TUESDAY, MARCH 21, 2006 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD PAGE 9

W. lax continued from page 12 that emerged from the defeat — namely, the balanced attack and determination Brown showed in rallying from the early deficit.

“Everyone on the team is so connected on the field; we really worked well as a unit,” Buzzell said. “We supported each other even though we weren’t playing as well as we could have.”

Brushing off the previous afternoon’s tough loss, Brown turned the tables on Sunday against Delaware. This time, it was the Bears who utilized a big run to take a comfortable lead early in the second half.

The Blue Hens scored two goals in the first 11 minutes to take a 2-0 lead, but Brown scored the next six, keyed in part by two more goals from tri-captain Staley, who went on to record her second hat trick in as many days. Mimi DeTolla ’08 got things started with a free-position shot at 16:07. Biros and Staley followed with two unassisted scores, and then Biros set up Krystina DeLuca ’09 to give the Bears a two-goal cushion. Staley added another just before the half, and after Buzzell slammed one home three minutes into the second half, it looked as though the Bears would split the two-game trip.

Unfortunately, it was a shortlived lead. Delaware knotted the game at six-all just six minutes after Buzzell’s goal. The Blue Hens would have won in regulation had DeLuca not come through with her sixth goal of the

Fitness continued from page 12 another day.

My true love is watching girls in the gym get really catty and fight with each other over the elliptical machines. After a few rounds of pacing and aggressive staring, someone finally wins and gets on the open machine. Then they make sure that every TV is turned to America’s Next Top Model and start churning their legs as if they’d been dumped in the ocean with two broken arms. For the next three hours, they will suck down about 175 packs of Splenda, drink 15 Red Bulls and repeat over and over, “She is soooooo not hot!”

There are a lot of pretty cool guys in the gyms too, and because I respect their coolness I’ve designed a workout program especially for them. The program is actually just one lift called “the curl to bench press.”

It combines the only two lifts you guys ever do, and when performed in front of a mirror wearing a small tank top, it’s the only exercise you’ll ever need. It also won’t get you so big and strong that you lack the flexibility to properly pop your collar. Follow this program and you’ll progress into one sweet, sweet guy. The frat will love you, but unfortunately your testicles won’t. Sorry, it’s just the price you have to pay to be cool.

Personally, most of my exercise comes from doing Jazzer-

year with five minutes to go to extend the game. Delaware’s Katie Muth sent the Bears packing at the 1:38 mark of overtime with her second goal of the game.

“It was obviously really disappointing to lose in overtime after taking a big lead,” Staley said. “You can look back and say ‘could have, would have, should have,’ but we fought hard. … We won’t let the loss carry over and affect our practices and our game (Thursday against the College of the Holy Cross) this week.”

Besides the impressive play of the team’s six first-years who saw action over the weekend, the balanced attack the Bears exhibited and the determination to rally from a demoralizing deficit against Temple, Staley stood out as the brightest star on the weekend.

The six goals moved Staley into ninth place on Brown’s all-time list with 82, and she moved into a tie for 10th on the career points list with 111.

The senior said she is simply trying to enjoy every minute of her final collegiate season.

“I’m just having a lot of fun right now,” Staley said. “We have so many players who can score on this team right now that it makes things a lot easier on me. I know that if I’m not scoring someone else is stepping up and filling in.”

The Bears will try to bounce back from its tough road trip with a short jaunt up Route 146 to face Holy Cross on Thursday. After a tough 6-5 loss to the Crusaders last year, Brown is focused on getting back to its winning ways in impressive fashion.

“I think, in general, we have the stronger team,” Staley said.

“We’ll be looking to take out a little frustration on them.”

cise tapes. I also do a lot of wallowing and quite a bit of fidgeting. If I really need to drop a few pounds I’ll bump up my scurrying and add a few sets of doddling. Meandering fits in there too, but it’s complicated, and as a fitness expert I hardly have time to explain it to novices. All I can say is make sure you go through an extensive warm-up because this routine is totally X-

Three years after invasion, Iraqis’ outlook divided

BY JOHN WARD ANDERSON AND OMAR FEKEIKI WASHINGTON POST

BAGHDAD — By almost any standard, Bashar Muhammed, the owner of a thriving Internet cafe, is a Baghdad success story. Three years after the United States invaded Iraq and overthrew Saddam Hussein, the Internet business here is booming, and Muhammed has what most Iraqis could only dream of under Saddam: freedom, a cutting-edge job, lots of customers.

But when conversation turns to his life and prospects, he sighs and voices frustration that Americans just don’t get it.

“It is true that we got freedom after the war, but uncontrolled freedom — chaos and violence,” he said in a cool, deliberate tone.

Five of his relatives have been killed in car bombings and assassinations, Muhammed said, noting that most recently an uncle was killed for being a Sunni Arab.

“The new generation is growing on violence and sectarian ethics, and this will affect Iraq for many years to come,” he said. “We are living a more devastating war every day.”

As Iraqis on Monday marked the third anniversary of the U.S.led invasion, there was a stark difference between their pessimistic outlook and some U.S. officials’ upbeat assessment. With insurgent violence grinding on, essential services sagging below preinvasion levels and the prospect of civil war looming, many Iraqis question whether Saddam’s ouster was worth the cost.

Many thousands of their

treme (with at least three or four X’s), and it will totally blast the bi’s and tri’s and really tear up the glutes and hammies.

In closing, you should all be extremely self-conscious the next time you go to work out, because I’m watching, and I’m judging.

Hugh Murphy ’06 needs a spotter to pop his collar.

countrymen have been killed. In December, President George W. Bush estimated the Iraqi toll at 30,000.

Laith Muhammad a student in Fallujah, 35 miles west of Baghdad, listed the risks Iraqis face these days. “We either die by the Americans, the insurgents in the name of jihad, the security companies, which kill you and leave you laying in the street, the Iraqi police or...the death squads,” he said. Such squads are widely believed to be operating from within the country’s Interior Ministry. Muhammad cited private militias as yet another threat.

“Three years after the American invasion of Iraq, I have only one wish,” he said. “I do not want democracy, food, electricity and water. I just do not want to die.”

Other Iraqis, however, are less quick to blame the United States.

Sardar Muhsin Maheed, a student at Mosul University, said too many people blamed the occupation for all of Iraq’s ills. He traced most problems to Saddam, suggesting that issues such as the poor economy are legacies of the ousted president.

“The (United States) has liberated us from Saddam and his oppression,” he said. “We are not ready to form a democratic state, and that is because of the burden left by Saddam’s regime.”

Another of Saddam’s legacies was sectarian tension, he said.

An Iraqi government has been democratically elected, but the politicians and their parties are creating a new Iraq based on religious and ethnic interests.

Luay Mohammed, a Sunni Arab who spent 35 years working for the Education Ministry, said he was forced to retire because the government and the ministry are now run by Shiite Muslims. His son could not get a job “because he is not a Shiite and he did not suffer” under Saddam, Mohammed said, his voice laced with bitterness and sarcasm.

“We’ve been waiting for years for true democracy to come, a democracy that makes everybody live and work together with respect and love. But here it is: a democracy with maximum chaos,” he said. Now, all of his sons have cellular telephones — not because it is hip or because of a communications boom, but because the security situation demands it. “This is what democracy has brought us.”

The U.N. sanctions that had been imposed on Hussein’s government have been lifted, and a vibrant free press has emerged.

But unemployment is stuck between 27 and 40 percent, while oil production — which the government counts on to generate 90 percent of its revenue — remains below prewar levels.

“The toppling of Saddam Hussein’s regime was worth everything,” said Fakhri Fikry Kareem, owner and publisher of the daily Meda newspaper, one of more than 100 newspapers that have begun publishing in Iraq since Saddam’s fall. Despite a rocket attack on his office, a bomb attack on his car and the killing of three of his reporters, Kareem said, “I have never felt as free to speak any day in my life as today.”

EDITORIAL/LETTERS THE BROWN DAILY HERALD · TUESDAY, MARCH 21, 2006 · PAGE 10

STAFF EDITORIAL

Party foul It should come as no surprise that many incidents listed in the Department of Public Safety’s weekly police log often take place between Thursday and Sunday nights, when the atmosphere in on-campus residence halls differs markedly from earlier in the week. But the pattern of certain events becomes strikingly predictable to devoted readers of the log, as repeated incidents of stolen property and verbal or physical confrontation are commonplace. This week’s log is no exception — along with reports of damaged property and a threat following an apparent physical altercation, stolen items in the log include an iPod, a camera and a sorority composite portrait valued at $1,000.

So goes the weekend on any typical college campus, one might claim. But the seemingly incessant nature of these incidents, combined with the findings of Residential Council during its fall review of fraternities and program houses, perhaps indicates a larger problem that calls for University intervention.

Four fraternities failed the review, which was designed in part to hold members of Greek and program houses more accountable for their behavior while living in University buildings. During the process, members of ResCouncil heard allegations of arson, excessive property and water damage, improper disposal of trash, broken air conditioners and graffiti. Granted, some of these reports may not have been investigated fully and could be unsubstantiated, but ResCouncil clearly had reason to believe that at least some of them are valid.

Perhaps more concerning is the fact that two fraternities were cited for poor treatment of independents living in their buildings. As many students emerging from this week’s housing lottery can affirm, those living on campus don’t always end up in ideal living situations, and this reality should not be worsened by the unruly behavior of the student group living next door.

We commend ResCouncil for strengthening its review policy for fraternities and program houses, a change that was made in part with these independents in mind. As the University continues to examine its policies surrounding social events, we believe stricter guidelines and enhanced accountability for on-campus behavior are in order. This stance has nothing to do with one infamous weekend in November, but instead reflects some troubling characteristics of the typical weekend at Brown.

If certain violations are not corrected by the spring review, we encourage ResCouncil to follow through on possible punishments and probations, so long as the process is conducted in a transparent manner. If, however, the review process and rationale for certain findings are not well publicized or explained, as Delta Phi President Aaron Telch ’07 suggested to The Herald, it will be difficult to convince the student body that resulting restrictions have been applied fairly.

ROX A N N E PA L M E R

LETTERS Don’t hold your tongue!

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OPINIONS

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD · TUESDAY, MARCH 21, 2006 · PAGE 11

Welcoming the huddled masses Current immigration reform proposed on Capitol Hill fails to address several fundamental issues

BY JULIA MCDOWELL GUEST COLUMNIST

Debate over immigration reform legislation has buzzed in Washington, D.C., for some time now. Nearly everyone agrees that the system is a mess and reform is needed. In addition to addressing the fates of the 12 million undocumented immigrants already living and working in the country, legislation must consider future immigrants and protect human rights. As major contributors to the U.S. economy and society, recent and future immigrants must be given a path to citizenship. The primary proposal, authored by Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., does not adequately address these fundamental issues.

I have spent my four years at Brown working with an organization called English for Action, teaching English classes to members of the immigrant community in Olneyville as well as engaging in social justice work. My students and colleagues include Guatemalans, Mexicans, Salvadorans and immigrants from other nations, and they have all come searching for a better life. Some are lucky enough to have their families here with them. A few arrived with documentation, allowing them access to some social services and letting them work with some labor protections. Many of my friends, however, came alone with no documents, using their minimal earnings to sustain themselves here and send earnings home to their families, siblings, parents and communities.

One friend, a young man from Guatemala, arrived at English class recently with his eyes barely open. I asked him if he was okay. “I worked a lot today,” he said.

I asked what time he had started. “Four.

But I left early this afternoon, at 5:30, so I could come to class. I told them I couldn’t work anymore today.” He was referring to 4 a.m., and classes run from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Many of my friends in Olneyville work such hours for low wages — with no compensation for overtime. And this only tells part of the story. Many live in cramped apartments in which landlords have clearly violated fire codes and safety regulations, have no access to health care or a driver’s license and experience daily discrimination. They have little judicial

tion. That his granddaughter should attend an Ivy League university is a testament to both his and my parents’ hard work and attests to the notion that there actually is something to the “American Dream.”

Apart from the roughly 1 percent of the population whose descendants originally inhabited this land, we are all immigrants.

Policy has oscillated over time, from naturalizing nearly everyone upon arrival, to denying citizenship to certain ethnic groups, to mass amnesty to the contradictory and exclusionary system we have to-

Apart from the roughly 1 percent of the population whose descendants originally inhabited this land, we are all immigrants. recourse for crimes committed against them. Those who attend English classes at night are giving up time they could spend with their families or relaxing to invest in education.

My grandfather emigrated to the United States as a child from Scotland with his family and was naturalized soon after. He was unable to graduate from high school and sold newspapers and labored in the railroad yards during the Great Depression. After fighting in World War II and being taken as a prisoner of war, he worked for decades as a union boiler-maker in the steel mills of Pittsburgh to help my three aunts and my father attain higher educa-

day. Changes in such policies have enormous impacts on peoples’ lives for generations. Had my grandfather been denied the benefits of citizenship, would I be attending Brown today?

Many voices are weighing in on the immigration reforms. Big business wants cheap labor without rights and restrictions. President George W. Bush has advocated a “guest worker program” to cater to the desires of business. Racism has a voice — anti-immigrant groups are wellorganized and well-funded. On the Texas border, there are unauthorized militias, called the Minutemen, who shoot people as they cross the desert.

Recent immigrants also have a voice.

Brave members of the immigrant community are protesting all over the country, despite the risks this entails. Work stoppages in Philadelphia, tens of thousands of protestors in Chicago and boycotts in New England have continually demonstrated the magnitude and importance of the immigrant community in the United States. The protests are making an impact: Specter recently announced that more time would be taken to discuss citizenship paths for guest workers and undocumented immigrants living in the United States.

Public pressure must continue to force these essential elements into the bill.

One major current obstacle, however, is that undocumented immigrants cannot vote. The right to protest and organize, vote and enjoy full access to the courts are all privileges restricted to citizenship. Undocumented people have the same human rights as American citizens do. Citizens must join them in calling for comprehensive, responsible and just immigration reform.

Please join members of the immigrant community, activists and students to protest unjust immigration legislation and push our representatives to take a stand. Tomorrow at 3:30 p.m., activists will congregate at the YMCA at 160 Broad St. and march to the offices of Sen. Lincoln Chafee ’75 office at 170 Westminster St.. Call your Senators and tell them that you want all immigrants and guest workers to have a path to citizenship and full labor and human rights.

Julia McDowell ’06 is a member of English for Action. She asks you to contact her for more information.

We’re here, we’re queer, but you should already know that How cancelling StarF*ck means gay sexuality at Brown can finally come out of the closet

BY ADRIAN MUNIZ OPINIONS COLUMNIST

While at the Brown Bookstore last week, I looked at the covers of two very different publications that both deal with issues surrounding the gay community.

First, I begrudgingly picked up Out Magazine, arguably the most popular gay and lesbian publication in the country. Its cover featured a series of headline teasers that, as they do monthly, almost make me want to jump right back in the closet for their lack of ingenuity. Frankly, I’m not interested in how Madonna’s new album is a “thank you” to us gays for resuscitating her musical career, nor do I care about where I can get that new line of Dolce & Gabbana flip-flops that are the must-have for any queer tourist at Disneyland’s Gay Days. Because Out only tells us what the newest gay fads are, what new gay films to see and what gay new fashions we all need to run out and buy, it fails to give any real perspective on how your average gay and lesbian can assimilate into the surrounding world and be a person, not just a gay person.

The second publication was The Herald, which featured a front-page article reporting that the Queer Alliance had cancelled this spring’s StarF*ck dance, the second semester counterpart to Sex Power God that Bill O’Reilly loves to hate.

Since this year’s Starf*ck has been cancelled, many at Brown are already mourning the sexual freedom that the

dance offers. Most of the gay students with whom I’ve spoken say they’re disappointed Starf*ck has been axed because now they won’t get the chance to “be themselves.” Queer Alliance Co-President Josh Teitelbaum ’08 echoed this

world in which our heterosexual friends live. According to QA, for some reason we need a special venue and special date in which homosexuality can be showcased.

Just like Out, which only promotes the idea of a niche gay culture separate from the heterosexual mainstream, Starf*ck

Now that Starf*ck has been cancelled, we can begin to look at ways to make our sex lives something that is not just kitschy and worthy of celebration twice a year, but something to bring with us to every other party at Brown. when discussing StarF*ck’s cancellation with The Herald (“Queer Alliance cancels StarF*ck, citing alcohol concerns,” March 3); he argued that the dances were meant to “create a safe space for people to explore their sexuality.”

Despite Queer Alliance’s good intentions, Sex Power God and StarF*ck only promote the idea that alternative sexual lifestyles must remain separate from the

and Sex Power God reinforce the idea that homosexuality should only be accepted in certain “safe” contexts.

With StarF*ck out of the way, my hope is that we can now look toward a future in which Brown mustn’t hold biannual parties in order to satisfy our alternative sexual desires. We can begin to look at ways to make our sex lives something that is not just kitschy and worthy of

celebration twice a year, but something to bring with us to every other party at Brown — whether that be at Buxton, fraternity houses or even your dorm room or off-campus apartment — where people get drunk, strip a couple of layers off and have a “good time.”

Like many of us, I came out of the closet years ago and vowed never to return. The idea that I should somehow be ashamed of myself for feelings I cannot control seems both medieval and cruel, and I’m sure many will agree. Sure, I don’t go around with rainbow patches on my sleeve, but I’m still gay, like many of you reading this now. And, like you, I don’t think I need to be handed a permission slip to make out with someone at a party, or even hold hands for that matter. Now that StarF*ck and Sex Power God might be gone forever, I see nothing but a grand opportunity for all of you Brunonians who once thought that you could only be yourselves on the dance floor two nights a year to realize that there are 363 other days in which it should be okay to express your identity.

If Sex Power God returns in the fall, you may not see me there, but those of you who do attend should remember that your freedom doesn’t rely on a dance. We should all be free to be ourselves whenever we choose.

The dances may be gone, but we’re not. Remember that.

Contrary to popular belief, Adrian Muniz ’07 really likes being gay, despite his perpetual singledom.

SPORTS TUESDAY THE BROWN DAILY HERALD · MARCH 21, 2006 · PAGE 12

Lose one early, lose one late: W. Another win for equestrian, but lax drops a pair to fall under .500 UConn lead is likely out of reach

BY AMY EHRHART SPORTS STAFF WRITER

Although the equestrian team had one of its best shows of the year at the Johnson and Wales meet Sunday, the gap between first-place University of Connecticut and the second-place Bears remains too big to overcome in time for the Zone championships April 8.

Bruno defeated UConn 37-35 for the third meet in a row but remains 26 points behind the Huskies overall, with only Saturday’s Connecticut College Show left before Regionals.

“It’s pretty much impossible at this point, UConn would have to do really poorly next week (for us to gain the lead),” said captain Grace Peloquin ’07.

Brown’s seniors had a banner day Sunday, placing two riders in the top five in the open flat competition. Ariana Arcenas ’06 took second, and Alexis Gilbard ’06 was

Kori Schulman / Herald

Kate Staley ’06 scored three goals in each of the women’s lacrosse games this weekend.

BY STEPHEN COLELLI SPORTS EDITOR

The women’s lacrosse team traveled off campus for the first time this season over the weekend and returned to Providence with two tough losses — falling 16-11 to Temple University on Saturday and 9-8 to the University of Delaware in overtime on Sunday. Though the Bears, now 2-3, lost their winning record on the trip, their confidence remains intact.

“These were really tough losses. They hurt pretty bad,” said Bethany Buzzell ’09, who scored her fourth and fifth goals of the season against Temple. “But we also did many good things in (the games). We just have to focus on the positives (from this weekend) and improve on them as we move forward into Ivy (League) play next month.”

Against Temple, Brown dug itself into a hole and never recovered despite outplaying the Owls for most of the last 45 minutes. Temple raced out to an 8-1 lead just over 11 minutes into the game, after a run of seven goals in seven minutes broke an early 1-1 tie.

“I think we came out on our heels a bit against Temple and they took advantage of it,” said attackman Kate Staley ’06. “They built a big enough lead on us that we couldn’t make it up. If we would have played the whole game the way we played in the second half, I think we would have won.”

Led by hat tricks from Staley and Amie Biros ’07, the Bears did all they could to climb out of the seven-goal deficit. Buzzell scored her first goal of the game on a free-position shot at the 16:50 mark to snap Temple’s run, and Justine Lupo ’08 notched her fifth goal of the season four minutes later to bring the Bears a bit closer.

However, Temple got the last goal of the first half with just 1:42 left and then tallied the first goal of the second half to increase the Owls’ lead back to six at 115. The Bears never got within four goals the rest of the way.

Buzzell mentioned that the Bears did not play their best in the loss but that the team would draw on the positives see W. LAX, page 9

one of those damn infomercials I want to take a Richard (edited for content) Cheney hunting trip.

There is another fitness celebrity that I’d like to recognize: Chuck Norris.

Ahh, nevermind, that joke’s getting a little tired, and we all know that Chuck Norris doesn’t get tired. But do you know what tired gets? A roundhouse to the face! Actually, a roundhouse to the face and an e-mail from Career Development Center about this amazing job fair that gets your hopes way up until you actually go and find out it’s a complete load of crap, they really can’t help you get a job, and you realize that after graduating you will owe your first-born child and possibly your left hand, and you’ll never outrun them, and you lose three fingers to a loan shark in Reno, and you find yourself living in a tent outside of Butte, Mont., when the Bursar’s people finally catch up to you, but you narrowly escape, and you run like a dog escaping the pound, and the world seems so cold and lonely, and all you ever wanted was to be happy, and now you just drink and drink until you’re a

see EQUESTRIAN, page 8

Gymnastics seniors say ‘so long’ to the Pitz with second-place finish

BY HUGH MURPHY SPORTS STAFF WRITER

The gymnastics team took second place in its home finale Sunday at the Pizzitola Center. The Bears battled for first place the entire meet with Ivy League rival Yale, but ultimately were upended by the Bulldogs, 189.225 to 188.075. The University of Rhode Island finished third at 187.425, while Southern Connecticut State University brought up the rear with 183.525.

The competition was a farewell performance for Brown’ss six seniors — including Amber Smith ’06, the team’s top scorer for most of the season — and cocaptains Mandi Baughman ’06 and Sarah Cavett ’06.

A first-year turned in Bruno’s top performance of the day: Brittany Anderson ’09 led the Bears with an all-around score of 37.425, just ahead of Smith at 36.825.

Anderson started her day with a fourthplace finish in the vault. Teammate Sarah Durning ’08 tied for third in the event with a score of 9.525.

Cavett earned a mark of 9.650 on the

Going crazy about the fitness craze For those of you who aren’t living under a rock or haven’t been shot in the face by the vice president, you know that the fitness industry is booming. How much is it booming? Let me tell you, booming to the tune of some one million, billion, trillzillion dollars. Seriously, trust me. The industry is HUGH MURPHY growing so fast that BLACK ELK SPEAKS it even has its own TV shows and over-tanned celebrities.

Let’s take a look.

Tony Little, the face of the Gazelle, is my favorite fitness celebrity. He looks a bit like a porn star turned motivational speaker who then turned back into a porn star, but, who, by this time, was too far out of the game and had to start selling crappy fitness equipment — but still dresses like a porn star just to keep up appearances. Really, the guy makes Richard Simmons look like the Casanova of the fitness world. Every time I see

behind her in fourth place.

Cody Auer ’09 turned in a second-place finish in the second class for the open flat, and Whitney Keefe ’08 came in fourth, while Gilbard and Keefe came in first and second in the third class, respectively.

Two more key wins came from Rachel Roemer ’06, who is the lone regional qualifier for the Bears so far. She won both the intermediate and open classes in the fences event.

“Rachel winning both classes was huge for us,” Gilbard said. “We were just solid with that event today, which helped towards the end with team points.”

It was a close call until the end of the day, when Kristen Beck ’08 took first in regular walk-trot-canter to seal the victory for Brown.

“So much of the pressure is performing for the team because it is really more of a

tired broken old man… sorry… I need a moment.

My old friend Dr. Phil has his own supplement line called “Shape UP,” which has been discontinued and is currently facing a class-action lawsuit.

Phillip’s key to weight loss is apparently pushing worthless pills on overweight women with low self-esteem who have either an “apple body-type” or a “pear body-type.”

I’ve created three supplements of my own design, produced under the Black Elk label. There is the Dr. Phil pill for the “I look like I was eaten and then subsequently excreted by an elephant seal” body type. There is also a PETA pill, which is made of a fibrous material that can be rolled and smoked in a trust fund check while you ponder more ways of convincing the voting public that liberals are a bunch of arrogant, out-of-touch pansies. Finally, the Family Circus pill is actually just poison in the shape of a lollipop with Bil Keane’s name on it, but that’s a story for see FITNESS, page 9

bars to take third place and lead Brown to a team score of 47.2. Smith and Anderson followed with scores of 9.5 and 9.4, respectively. The overall bars score was the highest by the Bears this season.

“We have been working really hard to compete (on) bars like that as a group,” Cavett said. “We went out there Sunday with determination to all hit our routines, and we all did it.”

Bruno was hurt by an unexpectedly rough day on the beam. Baughman was the team’s top scorer in the event with a mark of 9.475. Jessica Pestronk ’08 was the next highest scorer with 9.250.

“We didn’t quite come together on the beam, which is usually strong for us.”

Pestronk said. “Luckily we really hit the other events.”

Floor exercise, the final event of the afternoon, proved the most successful for Brown, with Smith tallying a 9.625 to lead the team to a score of 47.575, Bruno’s highest total score in the event all season. Jessica Pouchet ’06 and Pestronk were right behind Smith with scores of 9.6 and 9.525, respectively.

Brown’s combined team score of 188.075 was its highest of the year.

“We did so well this weekend,” Smith said. see GYMNASTICS, page 8

Ashley Hess / Herald

Jessica Pouchet ’06 scored a 9.6 on the floor exercise to help Brown record its highest total in the event this season.