Thursday, April 27, 2006

Page 1

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD THURSDAY, APRIL 27, 2006

Volume CXLI, No. 58

www.browndailyherald.com

An independent newspaper serving the Brown community since 1891

DEEPER INTO SCIENTOLOGY Cults, conspiracy theories and religious wankery — oh my! post- delves into devotion INSIDE

WHILE YOU WERE DRINKING The police log for Spring Weekend includes multiple laptop thefts and a bias-related incident near the OMAC CAMPUS NEWS 5

TIPPING HIS HAT Longtime editor Chris Hatfield ’06 reminisces about his years writing for The Herald SPORTS 24

Slight increase in EMS calls reported for the year

TOMORROW

mostly sunny 57 / 40

Chaos and management failures marred Sex Power God

U. officials aware of O’Reilly intentions before party

BY MELANIE DUCH SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Although calls to Brown Emergency Medical Services were up slightly this year compared to previous years, those familiar with these statistics told The Herald the increase is nothing out of the ordinary. EMS responded to 653 calls this school year as of March 31, 172 of which were alcohol- or drug-related. Of this total, 158 — or 24 percent— involved alcohol only, while five involved other substances and nine involved both alcohol and other substances. Though the number of alcohol-related calls increased this year, this increase was proportional to the increase in total calls, said Richard Lapierre, manager of EMS. Last year’s statistics indicated that 23 percent of calls to EMS were alcoholrelated, according to a Feb. 24, 2005 Herald article. “Every year we get more and more alcohol calls, but if you look at it in relationship to total runs, it stays the same,” he said. “25 to 27 percent are alcohol- or drug-related and that pretty much tracks the same across country. It’s not as though Brown has this unique problem.” Lapierre added that local fire departments also experience an increase in the number of calls each year. “I think it’s very similar to what happens to other communities,” said Amy Sanderson-Roderick, an EMS supervisor. “It gets a lot more exposure each year and people are more likely to utilize it knowing it’s there. (At Brown) there is a pretty big campaign to get students to call EMS when their friends are intoxicated.” A large portion of calls to EMS comes in September and April because of eager first-years and Spring Weekend, Lapierre said. “Being away from home for the first time, the restrictions of living at home are

TODAY

mostly sunny 62 / 40

BY ERIC BECK NEWS EDITOR

Austin Freeman / Herald

Emergency Medical Services, which is based at Andrews House, had responded to 653 calls this year as of March 31. Of these, 172 were alcohol- or drug-related. Despite an increase in calls from last year, University officials said they are not concerned.

see EMS, page 12

Slavery and the Brown family: an alternative history Book by direct descendant of Browns will tell different story BY ALEXANDRA BARSK STAFF WRITER

Though the University Steering Committee on Slavery and Justice was expected to submit its report to President Ruth SimBROWN mons this spring, it CONFRONTS is unclear when the SLAVERY report will be subLast in a series mitted or whether it will be released publicly before summer. In this, the last in a series on the committee and its work, The Herald interviews a Brown family member currently at work on a book about her family’s history. As the University Steering Committee on Slavery and Justice investigates the University’s historical connections to slavery and the slave trade, one direct descendant of the Brown brothers hopes to tell another part of her family’s story. More than two centuries after the University was named after Nicholas Brown, Sylvia Brown, who resides

in London, began working on a book about her family’s history. Her research focuses on the years between 1740 and 1840, a period that saw the University’s founding in 1764, the American Revolution and a debate over the slave trade in Rhode Island — though this last element is not central to her work. Though the slavery and justice committee has researched the Brown brothers’ ties to the slave trade, Sylvia Brown hopes her account will redress what she called an “imbalance” in the portrayal of her family. “(I’m) not trying to deny anything. (I’m) simply saying that there is a much better story to tell, but it’s been neglected,” she said. After some initial research, Brown realized that her family’s engagement in the slave trade played a smaller part in its legacy than recent media focus on the Browns might suggest. The committee acknowledges University benefactor John Brown was not a prominent see S & J, page 9

The inability of student event managers, University administrators and Department of Public Safety officers to adequately respond to a series of unforeseen complications led to a breakdown of event management at Sex Power God in November, the year-end report of Queer Alliance’s dance committee and interviews with QA student leaders and University officials show. Sex Power God, which was held by QA in Sayles Hall Nov. 12, resulted in 24 students requiring emergency medical care and attracted national attention when it was featured on Fox News’ “The O’Reilly Factor” Nov. 14 and on O’Reilly’s syndicated radio program “The Radio Factor” the following day. University officials learned the day before Sex Power God that O’Reilly had been tipped off about the party by a number of “conservative students” and intended to send a producer to film the event, said QA Co-President Josh Teitelbaum ’08, who coordinated and staffed the party. Teitelbaum met that day with student activities administrators to discuss how to prohibit cameras and handle a rumored protest by the same conservative students who contacted the Fox News pundit, but “by the end of that day, we were told that the University news office had talked the producers out of doing (the segment).” In the aftermath of Sex Power God, see SPG, page 14 EDITOR’S NOTE This is the last print issue of The Herald for the semester. Web updates: Visit www.browndailyherald.com for breaking news and sports updates.

U. embarks on $41 million renovation of utilities Project will include water pipe replacement BY KYLE MCGOURTY STAFF WRITER

Construction began Monday to replace the University’s high temperature hot water distribution pipe, commencing the first phase in a 10-year renovation of utilities that will cost Brown over $41 million, according to administrators. The replacement of the high temperature hot water distribution pipe will interrupt traffic on four College Hill streets, according to Facilities Management’s construction plans. The plans call for replacing the piping that runs from the central heat plant at 135 Lloyd Ave. down Hope Street, along Cushing Street and across Thayer Street. In addition to replacing piping, the Editorial: 401.351.3372 Business: 401.351.3260

utilities upgrade will include installing regional chilling plants and replacing electrical transformers and wiring. The regional chilling plants will provide airconditioning for campus buildings including the J. Walter Wilson building, the Olney-Margolies Athletic Center and the new Life Sciences Building. The deterioration of the University’s infrastructure was visible in February when a leak in the high temperature hot water distribution pipe necessitated emergency repairs on the Main Green. But the University is not upgrading solely because of the February leak, said Richard Spies, executive vice president for planning and senior advisor to see PIPING, page 12

Ross Frazier / Herald

Following repairs on the Main Green in February due to a leak in the high temperature hot water distribution pipe, the University has begun the first phase of a 10-year, $41 million plan to renovate utilities on campus.

195 Angell Street, Providence, Rhode Island

News tips: herald@browndailyherald.com


THIS MORNING THE BROWN DAILY HERALD · THURSDAY, APRIL 27, 2006 · PAGE 2 Jero Matt Vascellaro

WEEKEND EVENTS “A DAY WITHOUT A MEXICAN” 7 p.m., ( Watson Institute) — The film “A Day Without A Mexican,” a mockumentary about what happens when all Mexicans leave Los Angeles, will be shown. “PALESTINE: RECONSTRUCTION OR DECONSTRUCTION” 7 p.m., (MacMillan 117) — Hanan Ashrawi, a well-known Palestinian politician and scholar, will speak in the wake of the recent elections in Israel and Palestine.

SHAKESPEARE ON THE GREEN SPRING FESTIVAL 8 p.m., (Faunce House) — Come see a production of David Williamson’s “Dead White Males” directed by Michael Dean ’08. Performances of Shakespeare’s “Henry IV” begin Friday.

Chocolate Covered Cotton Mark Brinker

MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR ALISON MICHENER ‘06 Sunday, 7:30 p.m., (Manning Chapel) — Family and friends will gather for a service of thanksgiving followed by a reception in Peterutti Lounge.

MENU SHARPE REFECTORY

Deo Daniel Perez

VERNEY-WOOLLEY DINING HALL

LUNCH — Grilled Ham and Swiss Sandwich, Savory Spinach, Spanish Potatoes, Artichoke Pepper Calzone, Vegan Tofu Raviolis with Sauce, Sweet Potato Fries, Turkey and Wild Rice Soup, Vegetarian Cream of Pea Soup, Cheesecake Brownies, Pineapple Upside Down Cake

LUNCH — Vegetarian Six Bean Soup, Minestrone Soup, Hot Roast Beef on French Bread, Baked Macaroni and Cheese, Summer Squash, Cheesecake Brownies

DINNER — Roast Turkey with Sauce, Mashed White and Sweet Potatoes, Sauteed Broccoli with Garlic, Carrots Vichy, Italian Bread, Vegetarian Gnocchi a la Sorrentina, Baked Potatoes, Pizza Rustica, Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Frosting

DINNER — Vegetarian Six Bean Soup, Minestrone Soup, Grilled Cilantro Chicken, Vegan Ratatouille, Roasted Herbed Potatoes, Zucchini, Carrot and Garlic Medley, French Fried Eggplant, Italian Bread, Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Frosting

Silentpenny Soundbite Brian Elig

RELEASE DATE– Thursday, April 27, 2006

Los Angeles Times Crossword Puzzle CR O S Daily SWO RD Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

ACROSS 1 Besch who played the mother of Kirk’s son in “Star Trek II” 5 45th state 9 Facetious “Great!” 14 Bereft 15 Specify 16 It’s new in Nicaragua 17 Kind of price 18 “Tadpole” actor Robert 19 James and Jones of jazz 20 Loaded 23 Aroma source 24 Vietnam’s last emperor Bao __ 25 PanAm rival 28 Bohemian glassmaker Ludwig 31 Put new paper on 33 Nattered 36 Something to divvy up 38 Conger and moray 39 “The fix __” 40 Loaded 41 Fill with cargo 42 Liquid butter 43 Cruising 44 “Stand and Deliver” actor Edward James __ 45 Claim in a game of tag 47 Lorelei, for one 49 “__ who?” 50 Trojans’ sch. 52 Popular pieces 56 Loaded 60 After-dinner order 62 “Deadwood” actress Jewell 63 Reed and Rawls 64 Culture: Prefix 65 Elegant horse 66 Scope starter 67 Mountain climber’s tool 68 Johnson son-inlaw 69 Abstruse DOWN 1 Book jacket bit

2 Ancient Greek 33 Loser to King in 48 Dr Pepper rival region called “the tennis’s “Battle of 51 Brown smoke birthplace of the Sexes” 53 British weight unit philosophy” 34 “... who lived in 54 Practice piece 3 Building block __” 55 Online msg. 4 Loaded 35 “Also sprach board 5 Company formed Zarathustra” administrator by the 1986 author 57 Collector’s suffix Sperry37 Anthem opener 58 Archie’s boss, in Burroughs 40 Legendary soul detective fiction merger seller 59 Snatch 6 Soft rock? 44 Phone co. helper 60 __ gratia: by the 7 Part of AARP: 46 Emulate grace of God Abbr. Columbo, vis-à61 Short space 8 “The Great” king vis his suspect saver of Judea ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE: 9 Diaper-covering T-shirt 10 Largest Rwandan ethnic group 11 Tropospheric wind current 12 Eggs 13 Casual greetings 21 “East of Eden” son 22 You’re on it 26 __ Pepper: 1975 Redford title role 27 Altar settings 29 Wings 30 Port on the Seine 4/27/06 32 Loaded xwordeditor@aol.com

Freeze-Dried Puppies Cara FitzGibbon

Mission Delicious Rebecca Case

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Editorial Phone: 401.351.3372

The Brown Daily Herald (USPS 067.740) is published Monday through Friday dur-

Business Phone: 401.351.3260

ing the academic year, excluding vacations, once during Commencement, once

Robbie Corey-Boulet, President

please send corrections to P.O. Box 2538, Providence, RI 02906. Periodicals postage

during Orientation and once in July by The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. POSTMASTER

Justin Elliott, Vice President Ryan Shewcraft, Treasurer David Ranken, Secretary By Karen M. Tracey (c)2006 Tribune Media Services, Inc.

4/27/06

paid at Providence, R.I. Offices are located at 195 Angell St., Providence, R.I. E-mail herald@browndailyherald.com. World Wide Web: http://www.browndailyherald.com. Subscription prices: $179 one year daily, $139 one semester daily. Copyright 2006 by The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. All rights reserved.


METRO

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD · THURSDAY, APRIL 27, 2006 · PAGE 3

Providence has one of nation’s highest property tax burdens

Brown drops out of Senate race, backs Whitehouse

Experts say Brown’s large footprint is boon, not bane

BY BEN LEUBSDORF METRO EDITOR

BY SONIA SARAIYA STAFF WRITER

Commercial property taxes in Providence are the third highest in the nation, according to the Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council, raising concerns that economic growth in Providence will stagnate. While some community activists say Brown’s large property holdings drive up property taxes, some experts disagree. The University is one of the largest landowners in the city and has tax-exempt status as an institution of higher learning, according to Richard Spies, executive vice president for planning and senior advisor to the president. In lieu of property taxes, Brown voluntarily pays a certain amount to the city each year — an amount determined in an agreement between the city and Brown, Providence College, Johnson and Wales University and the Rhode Island

“In order for an inclusionary zoning ordinance to stand up in court, you need to demonstrate that you’re not diminishing a developer’s ability to make full use of their property,” Segal said. “Everything (PolicyLink) did was predicated on the notion that we not stop development or diminish profit margins at all.” Segal said the City Council seems supportive of the ordinance. “I’m feeling pretty confident we’re going to be moving forward with something,” Segal said. “Hopefully we’ll achieve some sort of perfect consensus at this meeting.” Members of the Student Hunger and Homelessness Action Coalition sponsored a “Day of Action” last fall to bring public awareness to the need for affordable housing in the city. Fiona Heckscher ’09, president of SHHAC, was present at the “Day of Action” and at PolicyLink’s March presentation to the City Council. She said density is a major concern regarding inclusionary zoning, since some fear a greater density — in addition to

Secretary of State Matt Brown ended his campaign for the U.S. Senate Wednesday, throwing his support behind former Attorney General Sheldon mattbrown.org Whitehouse in Secretary of the Democratic State Matt Brown recently ended his primary. “When I be- campaign for the U.S. Senate. gan this campaign, it was with the goal of sending another Democrat from Rhode Island to serve in Washington. Today, I am ending my own campaign for United States Senate, but the goal remains the same,” he said in a written statement. “These days, it takes an enormous amount of money to run a Senate campaign, and I simply will not have the resources in the final stretch to run successfully,” he added. Brown pledged his “full support” for Whitehouse. “Sheldon is a good man who loves his family and state,” Brown said. “I will do everything I can to help elect him and I know Sheldon Whitehouse will be a great Senator for Rhode Island,” he added Whitehouse praised Brown and his campaign for their “boldness, energy, vision and conviction” in a written statement. “Now that the time has come where it makes sense to unify behind one candidate, the strength of Matt’s conviction is apparent in his announcement today,” he said. Brown also garnered praise from Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. “Matt Brown is a class act. His decision today takes us one step closer in our quest to pick up seats in the Senate this year,” Schumer said in a written statement.

see HOUSING, page 6

see SENATE, page 6

Jean Yves Chainon / Herald

University officials cite Thayer Street’s vibrancy as one positive effect of Brown’s presence in Providence. School of Design, the city’s four private higher education institutions. That payment started at $1 million three years ago and has risen 1.5 percent each year since then. When the University buys property, it becomes tax-exempt, but the University continues to pay taxes on the land for five years. After that five-year period, Brown pays two-thirds the original amount for the next half decade, then

one-third for the following five years. This agreement is an attempt to “give the city time to adjust,” Spies said. Experts say the high commercial tax rates detailed in the RIPEC report are not an attempt by Providence to offset revenue lost to University-owned tax-exempt properties. see TAXES, page 4

Inclusionary zoning could soon come to Providence PolicyLink report recommends development of affordable housing BY ANNE WOOTTON METRO EDITOR

Members of the Providence City Council and the Department of Planning and Development will meet Friday to discuss a potential inclusionary zoning ordinance for the city — the last step before the ordinance is formally introduced to the council. The meeting follows months of consultation with a number of Providence’s affordable housing advocacy groups. On March 16, a representative from national nonprofit research organization PolicyLink presented a report to the City Council on the feasibility of providing increased affordable housing in Providence without profit loss for developers. PolicyLink, which has also conducted inclusionary zoning studies for New York City and Washington, D.C., recommended that Providence require 12.5 percent of units in high-rise developments to be affordable and 15 percent of units in lowrise developments to be affordable. In general, housing that costs more than 30 percent of its occupants’ income is considered unaffordable. 40 percent of

Providence residents pay more than 30 percent of their income for housing. “Low-rise is slightly more economical in general, so you can accommodate more (affordable) housing in the lowrise than the high-rise,” said Ward 1 City Councilman David Segal, who has been a major proponent of an inclusionary zoning ordinance. The PolicyLink report recommended that half of the affordable housing provided should be affordable for people earning between 80 to 100 percent of the median metropolitan income in Providence, and the other half should be affordable for those with incomes between 60 and 80 percent of this number. “The metro median is still substantially higher (than the median income in the state), but it would still do something to alleviate some of the pressure,” Segal said. Coupled with incentives to offset the cost of building affordable housing units to developers, which include density bonuses and reduced parking requirements, an inclusionary zoning ordinance in Providence would not lead to reduced profits from developers, its backers say.


PAGE 4 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD THURSDAY, APRIL 27, 2006

Taxes continued from page 3 “It has nothing to do with Brown,” said Gary Sasse, director of RIPEC. While tax burdens are a “complex issue,” a change in Brown’s tax-exempt status “would not change the findings.” Both Sasse and Charles Francis, chair of the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, said Providence universities are “economic

engines for the city.” Francis expressed concern over commercial property taxes in Providence but described Brown’s yearly payment to the city as sufficient to make up for its tax-exempt status. “I don’t think it’s unwarranted for them to be not paying,” he said. Ronald Dwight ’66, treasurer of the College Hill Neighborhood Association, disagreed. “Brown continues, in its arrogant way, to think it’s the Roman Catholic Church,” he said. “They

think they’re supplying so much of a benefit to the city.” Since 60 percent of property in Providence is tax-exempt, according to Dwight, and the University is the largest landholder among tax-exempt organizations, “Brown is largely responsible” for the high property taxes, he said. “The recent payment Brown paid is peanuts compared to Harvard or Yale,” he said, citing Harvard University’s recent $500 million reimbursement to the city of Cambridge, Mass., and Yale University’s agreement to pay $250 per student to New Haven, Conn., each year. According to Dwight, only property used for “purely educational purposes” should be taxexempt. He questioned the taxexempt status of the Inn at Brown and student residence halls. “When students live in my buildings, I have to pay taxes,” he said. He characterized the University as “a wealthy institution” with wealthy students. “It’s not a lot to ask a few percent more in taxes,” he said. The issue of Brown’s tax-exempt status is “not a new problem,” Spies said. The University’s charter also stipulates Brown’s tax-exempt status, he said.

“Brown continues, in its arrogant way, to think it’s the Roman Catholic Church,” Dwight said. “They think they’re supplying so much of a benefit to the city.”

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.

He said it is both “principled” and “practical” to continue the current system. “This is a private institution serving a public purpose,” Spies said. States across the country tax privately owned enterprises with “private purposes” to have them contribute to society, he said. “Universities,” on the other hand, “contribute by what they do. We’re not taking from the federal government,” he said. Spies also pointed to the “particular opportunity around universities for larger economic development,” citing “some of the most successful and improved cities” as capitalizing on a university’s presence to develop economically. Spies pointed to Thayer Street as an area benefited by Brown’s presence. “It would be hard to imagine a commercial district like that without the University,” he said. Universities not only attract retail shops aimed at students but also “knowledge-oriented economic activity,” Spies said. “Silicon Valley is not where it is by accident, it’s there because Stanford (University) is there.” But Dwight said “Brown highly over-exaggerates the benefit they have to the community,” citing “toxic waste” and “huge buildings under our noses” as “basically attacking the quality of life on the East Side.” “Brown is going to do to Providence what Yale did to New Haven,” Dwight said. “Elites are not going to try to spend all this money (on property taxes) when the community is deteriorating.” “Brown has been freeloading for a long time,” he added. The RIPEC report also notes that residential property taxes in Providence fell from a ranking of 12th for a $300,000 home in 2004 to 24th in 2005.


CAMPUS NEWS THE BROWN DAILY HERALD · THURSDAY, APRIL 27, 2006 · PAGE 5

Seniors tapped by MTVu BY LYDIA GIDWITZ CONTRIBUTING WRITER

A group of four Brown University seniors won the first-ever Digital Incubator Award, a $25,000 grant given by MTVu and Cisco Systems, for their creation of the virtual rock ARTS & band Tower 8 and a corresponding CULTURE Web site. Tower 8 is a group of superheroes who live in a post-apocalyptic world where music and creativity have the power to combat evil. The prize is awarded to students who use broadband technology in unconventional ways. Michael Ashton ’06, Gavin Brown ’06, Sadie Barchini ’06 and Daniel Cannizzaro ’06 comprise one of 10 groups that will together form the first student-run digital development team for MTVu, MTV’s 24-hour college network. The team’s final project will combine elements of short-form programming, gaming, blogging, instant and text messaging and podcasting into the network’s programming, according to a Cisco press release. Ross Martin, head of MTVu programming, said he was attracted to the Brown group’s submission because “their show is a metaphor for the power of music. They show how music can change the world. We were very drawn to that.” Having first heard about the contest from Assistant Professor of Modern Culture and Media Mark Tribe, Brown, who is the producer and music composer of Tower 8, was immediately intrigued and became interested in creating an interactive experience with broadband. Brown tapped his friend Cannizzaro to be the project’s art director and Ashton to be the animator and visual effects developer. After auditioning several people, Cannizzaro brought Barchini into the project as the voice of the characters. As part of its submission, the team created innovative music videos with the goal of changing the way music and digital media interact. Instead of using music as a background or as a way to tell the story, “the music is the story” in Tower 8’s videos, according to Brown. The ultimate effect is the visualization see TOWER 8, page 8

POLICE LOG

Laptops, jewelry, wallets reported stolen during Spring Weekend BY SIMMI AUJLA SENIOR STAFF WRITER

during business hours at its headquarters, located at 75 Charlesfield St.

The following summary includes all major incidents reported to the Department of Public Safety between April 21 and April 24. 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

Friday, April 21: 1:45 a.m. Complainant reported several of his articles of clothing were taken out of dryers in a laundry room in Archibald House. There are no suspects or witnesses at this time. 2 a.m. Complainant reported her laptop, camera, jewelry box and wallet were stolen from her unsecured room in Poland House between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m.

Saturday, April 22: 1 a.m. Complainant reported his cell phone, bank card and $10 were stolen from his room in Mead House, which he left unsecured for approximately five minutes while taking a shower. 1:30 a.m. Complainants reported that a laptop, iPod, several compact discs and DVDs were stolen from their unsecured suite in Vartan Gregorian Quad A between 12 a.m. and 1:30 a.m. The residents said they have had diffisee POLICE LOG, page 8

McDonagh’s ‘The Beauty Queen of Leenane’ brings focus on theatrics to Brown BY ILA TYAGI STAFF WRITER

During the week leading up to Commencement, Production Workshop will present “The ARTS & Beauty Queen of Leenane,” a work from CULTURE award-winning playwright Martin McDonagh that chronicles the mounting cruelty between a mother and her daughter as the daughter encounters her last chance at love. Set in a remote town in Ireland, the play — which has yet to be cast — tells the story of a 70-year-old mother, whom director Austin Campion ’06 described as “an old, bitter sadist.” For much of the play, which

also features two brothers named Ray and Pato Dooley, the mother forces her middle-aged daughter, Maureen, to remain cloistered in their cottage. “It’s a very, very dark play . . . and it’s hilarious,” Campion said. McDonagh is renowned for his distinctive blend of despair, violence and black humor. He has written two trilogies, the Galway trilogy and the Aran Islands trilogy, featuring plays with names like “A Skull in Connemara” and “The Cripple of Inishmaan.” He is best known in America for “The Pillowman,” which opened on Broadway in April 2005. McDonagh won an Academy Award this year for “Six Shooter,” a short film he wrote and directed. Campion, who pitched this play

three times before his proposal was finally accepted, believes “The Beauty Queen of Leenane” will appeal to a more overtly theatrical sensibility that has formerly been underrepresented at Brown. He said the fact that actors at the University are students as well as performers and artists has created a predilection for “heavily dramaturgical” plays that are “satisfying both theatrically and scholastically.” He added that he hopes “The Beauty Queen of Leelane” will focus on the former. “It tells a really good story,” Campion said, adding he believes “The Beauty Queen of Leelane” is one of the best plays from the last 10 years. Performances will be held in T.F. Green Hall from May 23 to May 26.


PAGE 6 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD THURSDAY, APRIL 27, 2006

Housing continued from page 3 mandated affordable units — will “irrevocably change the nature of the neighborhood.” “I don’t think that’s a legitimate concern,” she said, dismissing the idea that an inclusionary zoning ordinance would result in changed dynamics in neighborhoods the city is “loathe to lose.” Boston, several West Coast cities and part of Washington, D.C., have adopted inclusionary zoning, and almost all the measures in those cities have been retained and even strengthened since they were introduced. Boston Mayor Thomas Menino recently increased Boston’s affordable housing mandate to 13 percent, and on the West Coast, some mandates have reached 20 percent or more. Segal said statewide studies in California and elsewhere show that inclusionary zoning ordinances do not cause a reduction in new developments. “If you’re not reducing the total amount (of housing units created), it means a lot of affordable units,” Segal said. On April 20, Mayor David Cicilline ’83 unveiled a five-year housing plan for Providence and recognized local elected and nonprofit leaders who have fought in recent years to bring more af-

Senate continued from page 3 Brown and Whitehouse both sought the Democratic nomination for the Senate seat currently held by Sen. Lincoln Chafee ’75, R-R.I., who is facing his own primary fight with Cranston Mayor Stephen Laffey. Businessman and Marine veteran Carl Sheeler, another candidate in the Democratic primary, criticized Brown’s decision to endorse Whitehouse. “Like most Rhode Island citi-

fordable housing to the city. “One of the greatest challenges this nation faces is our affordable housing crisis. It is widely reported and too often ignored,” Cicilline said in a press release. Affordable housing is the centerpiece of Cicilline’s plan, which proposes the use of Tax Increment Financing and the waiving of fees for affordable housing units where possible, among other strategies. Bert Cooper, program coordinator for Providence Plan’s Providence Local Learning Partnership, said he doesn’t see anything hindering the eventual passage of the inclusionary zoning ordinance. There were a few recommendations PolicyLink was unable to provide for the city, Cooper said, such as which administrative agency would be appropriate to oversee implementation of the ordinance. But “in terms of where it’s going, we’re sort of trying to figure out how to advance it through the City Council and the mayor’s office — we think there’s interest on both sides,” Cooper said. “I would like to see it move forward, one way or another,” he said. An unyielding market Luxury condominium highrises are being built downtown, but the federal government cut Providence’s housing assistance money by 10 percent in 2006 af-

zens, I am deeply disappointed that Matt Brown, who has positioned himself as a reformer, is now backing the ultimate political insider, Sheldon Whitehouse,” Sheeler said in a written statement. “I ask for the vote of Matt’s supporters who hold a higher view of what public service should mean.” Brown’s campaign fell into disarray last month after Roll Call reported that it directed major donors to give money to three state Democratic parties at the end of 2005. Those parties gave large contributions to Brown’s campaign — an apparent evasion of campaign

ter reducing it by 6 percent in 2005. Thomas Deller, director of the Department of Planning and Development, told the Providence Journal in 2005 that about 13 percent of housing in the city is affordable, though most of it is in Providence’s poorest neighborhoods. The state mandate for affordable housing is 10 percent. If an inclusionary zoning ordinance had been introduced in the city five years ago, Segal said, “we’d have 500, plus or minus, units of affordable housing right now. (Providence’s housing situation) has certainly grown worse over that period,” he added, citing the “very expensive” units going up downtown as an example. “There’s still a lot in front of us and still a real need to do it,” Segal said. Heckschler said the Providence housing market is the third most “overheated” in the nation, meaning it has one of the greatest disparities between the price of housing and the quality of what is actually on the market. “It’s out of control,” Heckschler said. “This is the first year that a minimum-wage earner cannot afford a one-bedroom apartment anywhere in the nation.” She said an inclusionary zoning ordinance would be a way of “making sure that people creating housing take control as stakeholders” in the Providence housing market.

finance laws that triggered an investigation by the Federal Elections Commission. Brown then announced his campaign manager, Dennis Newman, had left and was replaced by Tim Patterson, Brown’s chief of staff in the secretary of state’s office. A few weeks ago, another staff shakeup followed, as four key staffers were let go. As of March 31, Brown had only $35,000 left in his campaign war chest for the primary, having spent much of his money on early television advertising. That was far less than Whitehouse, who had almost $1.4 million left, or Sheeler, who had $211,000 on hand. Brown initially resisted abandoning his campaign. He said in an April 20 televised statement that “I don’t trust the leadership in Washington — Republican or Democrat — with my baby’s future. So I’m in this race. I’m in it to win.” But Brown’s decision to drop out was “not surprising,” said Nathan Gonzales, political editor of the Rothenberg Political Report in Washington, D.C. “It was a matter of when he gets out of the race, rather than if he gets out of the race,” he said. Jennifer Duffy, a Rhode Island native and managing editor of the Cook Political Report, said Brown likely made his decision in the last day or so. “Generally, these decisions are made at the last minute. You sort of have this ‘aha!’ moment where you realize that this effort is not sustainable,” she said. Duffy said it is unclear who benefits more from Brown’s decision: Whitehouse or Chafee. “Obviously, in the short haul, Whitehouse is helped more. (His campaign) can scrap their primary budget and focus on the general election,” she said. “In the long run, perhaps Chafee is helped a little bit, because independents who want to have their voices heard may vote in the Republican primary.”


CAMPUS NEWS THE BROWN DAILY HERALD · THURSDAY, APRIL 27, 2006 · PAGE 7

Gillis ’07 and Townsend ’08 to debate today Runoff for UCS president lasts until Friday night BY BRIANNA BARZOLA CONTRIBUTING WRITER

During its last general body meeting of the semester, the Undergraduate Council of Students confirmed details regarding the runoff election for UCS president — which pits John Gillis ’07 against Zachary Townsend ’08 — and heard an update on changes to the meal plan. The runoff election between Gillis and Townsend will begin at 10 a.m. Thursday and end at 10 p.m. on Friday. After the meeting, Kate Brockwehl ’08, chair of the UCS Election Board, told The Herald the two candidates have decided to host a debate and question-and-answer session. The moderated event — scheduled to run today from 12:15 p.m. to 12:45 p.m. on the steps of Faunce House — will allow students to ask questions and voice concerns before the elections end Friday, Brockwehl said. Sara Gentile ’09, chair of the Student Activities Committee, and Deanna Chaukos ’08, chair of the Campus Life Committee, briefed the council on recently approved changes to Brown’s meal plan options that will be in place next year. The current meal plan — which allows students to choose among weekly options ranging from seven to 20 meals each week — will remain intact, but the concept of “block plans” will be added as an additional option. Students opting for a “block plan” will receive slightly fewer meals and more flex points. The “block plans” will remain consistent with the prices of existing meal plans. The most expensive block will offer 460 meals — which works out to roughly 14 meals each week — and 500 flex points for the academic year. Other options include purchasing 330 meals and 350 points or 240 meals and 250 points. Along with more flex points, the “block plan” also includes more guest credits. For exam-

ple, the block that offers 460 meals each year will also include 10 guest credits. Dining Services is currently working on a potential meal plan for students living off campus or who are off the standard meal plan that would provide 25 meals per semester along with 400 flex points. Such a plan represents an attempt to encourage these students to stay on the meal plan, even if they do not regularly eat in dining halls, Chaukos said. Chaukos also said UCS members are also working with Dining Services to “get the word out” about these added options and clarify both new and old meal plan options. “Many students are still unsure about how the meal plan we have now works,” she said. Following the presentation on meal plans, Gentile brought up a new student group that refers to itself as “Sex Power God Group.” This group’s purpose is to “explore the ideology of Sex Power God and attempt to have more courses offered on the expressions of sex as well as attempt to bring speakers to Brown,” Gentile said. Though the group’s purpose and goals were well-received by UCS members, the group’s name — which directly references Queer Alliance’s annual party in the fall — has sparked protest from QA members and led to a debate on whether to formally constitute the group. The council delayed making a formal decision regarding the group’s status, and members agreed the issue will be resolved at a later date.

State death benefit for emergency workers excludes domestic partners BY GEORGE MESTHOS SPORTS STAFF WRITER

East Providence Patrol Officer Cheri Almeida knows when she goes out on patrol METRO that she might not come back. So does her girlfriend and life partner, Kristina Neveu. But if Almeida is killed in the line of duty, Neveu would receive nothing under Rhode Island’s current one-time death benefit law, while the spouse of a police officer would receive $100,000. For four years, some Rhode Island state legislators have been trying to change the law so domestic partners will also qualify for benefits. Before Sept. 11, 2001, there were no state one-time death benefits. But after the terrorist attacks in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania, the General Assembly passed legislation for a one-time death benefit for the families of police officers, firefighters, correctional officers and other emergency personnel killed in the line of duty. But domestic partners were not provided for in the bill. Sen. Rhoda Perry P’91, D-District 3, brought this omission to the attention of the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Joseph Polisena, D-District 25, while it was still before the General Assembly. Polisena promised that if Perry voted for the bill as it stood at the time, he would co-sponsor an amendment with her that would identify domestic partners as family members eligible for benefits. Polisena — a retired firefighter of 22 years and registered nurse — said the exclusion of domestic partners was an unconscious oversight when the bill was first drafted.

“They deserve the same protection as anyone else,” he said. “It was just an omission, if you will, an accidental omission when the legislation first went in. So it needs to be changed. It needs to be modified so it protects everyone that’s a police officer, a firefighter or a correctional officer,” he said. Polisena said he does not approve of same-sex marriage but said he favors protecting all emergency personnel and their families. “These are people who put their lives on the line no matter what their sexual preference is,”

Polisena said. “They need to be compensated just like anybody else. As I said on the Senate floor, if you’re hanging out of a building on the third floor, or if your child is choking on a grape, you don’t care who’s coming to rescue, whether they’re gay or straight, as long as they’re coming to help.” Perry’s amendment to the onetime death benefit bill, first introduced in 2002, would expand the scope of eligible family members to include domestic partners. It uses the same language as the see ALMEIDA, page 9


PAGE 8 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD THURSDAY, APRIL 27, 2006

Tower 8 continued from page 5 of the music itself, he said. “The music and the animation go hand in hand,” added Cannizzaro, who threaded paintings, 2D animation and photos through the videos. “We want to create a mythology of the world that isn’t a derivative of any cliché science fiction movies or novels,” Brown said. The group is currently interested in expanding the project into different forms of digital media. Cannizzaro said the Tower 8 Web site will provide interactive experiences with songs, short films, episodes, e-graphic novels and on-line sketchbooks and journals. “We’ve created a multi-faceted world and want to take it into different realms,” Barchini said. The team plans to use the grant money on computers, music equipment and art supplies in order to further the project this summer. — with additional reporting by Herald Contributing Writer Allissa Wickham

Police Log continued from page 5 culty securing their suite door and have contacted Facilities Management to repair it. There were no signs of forced entry, and there are no suspects or witnesses at this time. 3 a.m. Two complainants reported that sometime between

Agreement is reached on new trade center tower BY LUIS PEREZ NEWSDAY

NEW YORK — Finally, a deal. After months of public wrangling and accusations, the landlord of the World Trade Center site dotted the i’s Wednesday on a “conceptual” agreement with the site’s leaseholder that would have the buildings destroyed on Sept. 11, 2001, rebuilt in less than a decade. At an afternoon meeting, the board of the Port Authority voted unanimously to approve the $2.1 billion deal that developer Larry Silverstein agreed to in concept and in writing a day earlier. With the agreement in place, the rebuilding focus is most likely to shift now to the controversial memorial site, which is mired in a court battle to settle design and safety issues between some outspoken family members and a state-appoint-

the hours of 11:15 p.m. on April 21 and 2:50 a.m. on April 22, a computer monitor and $80 were stolen from their unsecured room in Mead House. There are no suspects or witnesses at this time. 10:45 p.m. Complainant reported her laptop was stolen from her room in Woolley Hall between 5 p.m. and 10:45 p.m. The student said the main door to her room was secured, but a side door to a kitchen was unsecured. There are no witnesses or suspects at this time. Sunday, April 23: 3:15 a.m. Complainant reported his laptop was taken from his room in Archibald House sometime between 3 a.m. and 3:15 a.m. The complainant’s roommate was in the room at the time of the larceny. The roommate stated that an unknown person, whom he believed to be the complainant, entered the room and began shutting down the computer. The roommate said the suspect’s voice and physical features resembled the complainant’s, so he went back to sleep. Upon waking 15 minutes later,

ed memorial foundation. Under the terms of the agreement, the Port Authority, which owns the land, would lease and control the Freedom Tower and another skyscraper at the site, wresting some control from Silverstein, who still gets to build it. He will also develop three office towers along Church Street. “Our agreement allows construction to begin literally tomorrow,” said Anthony Coscia, chairman of the authority’s board, who added that the last of the buildings is to be completed by 2012. The dealmakers have until September to settle some issues, but both sides said the framework is flexible and will prevent the hold-ups, missed deadlines and name-calling that have come to define the trade center redevelopment. Melanie Lefkowitz contributed to this story.

the roommate stated he noticed the laptop missing and the same subject tampering with his Xbox. The suspect left the area when questioned. The suspect was described as an approximately 5’8” white male with a crew cut and a thin, athletic build. Monday, April 24: 12:05 a.m. Complainant reported his backpack and several other items were taken from a laundry room in Mead House. The backpack was later found, but its contents were missing. There are no witnesses or suspects at this time. 3:06 p.m. Complainant reported that two male subjects yelled obscenities at her from their vehicle while she was walking south on Hope Street near the Olney Margolies Athletic Center. The subjects were described as white males with brown hair who were between 40 and 50 years old. A bias-related incident form was filed with this report, and the matter is under investigation. Source: Department of Public Safety


THURSDAY, APRIL 27, 2006 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD PAGE 9

S&J continued from page 1 figure in the Rhode Island slave trade, but Sylvia Brown said the degree of attention on her family — rather than broader historical questions — is misleading. “Most people were barking up the wrong tree, and the family had very little involvement in the slave trade,” she said. While some have characterized John Brown as an adamant defender of slavery, Sylvia Brown argues that he was in fact just a “consummate capitalist” who opposed government intervention in any of his many business activities. Because he lived in a century in which every aspect of life was touched by slavery, John Brown’s business ventures were inevitably connected to slavery, she said. Moses Brown and Nicholas Brown Jr., the University’s namesake, she added, were active abolitionists. She recently began writing after a year and a half of research,

Almeida continued from page 7 state’s employee health care legislation to outline the criteria a domestic partner must meet to qualify for death benefits. To be eligible, domestic partners must demonstrate that they have lived together for at least a year, are not married to anyone else and share some property or assets, such as a house or bank accounts. Almeida and Neveu are not yet domestic partners, but they meet all of the other qualifications of the possible amendment. The two women have lived together for over three years. They share a $240,000 mortgage, utility bills and joint checking and savings accounts. “God forbid anything happens to me, but we own a house together,” Almeida said. “What’s going to happen to her? She gets nothing, and that’s not fair.” A bill’s complicated journey For three years the amended bill failed to pass. Last year, Perry gained support from Polisena and three other co-sponsors — including Sen. Michael Damiani, D-District 18, a former police officer. The Senate unanimously passed the bill on May 26, 2005. It then went to the House and was referred to the House Judiciary Committee. Rep. Edith Ajello, D-District 3, has tried since 2002 to pass a similar bill in the House but has been unsuccessful. Ajello said the House Judiciary Committee recommended no passage on the amended bill on June 28, 2005. Ajello was absent for the vote. With the bill dead and unable to reach the House floor, and the General Assembly’s session almost over for the year, Perry quickly drafted a new bill — identical to the old one except

though a release date for her book has not been determined. The book will chronicle the Brown family’s evolving business ventures as emblematic of the country’s parallel shift from a mercantile to an industrial economy. Sylvia Brown said her family’s history tells the story of the United States’ growth into an economic power on a smaller scale. Two events triggered her inspiration for the book. When a Townsend desk on which she had done her homework as a child sold in 1989 for $12.1 million — the highest price ever paid for a piece of American furniture — Sylvia Brown gained a new interest in the value of her family’s history. Her father, retired U.S. Navy Captain Nicholas Brown, sold the desk to raise money for the restoration of the Nightingale-Brown House on Benefit Street, which now houses the University’s John Nicholas Brown Center for the Study of American Civilization. Then, in 2003, the creation and media coverage of the University’s slavery and justice commit-

tee compelled her to further explore her family’s history. Thanks to her family’s careful preservation of its records, Sylvia Brown had no dearth of information to work with. Now housed at the John Nicholas Brown Center, John Carter Brown Library and the Rhode Island Historical Society, the Brown family’s archives represent one of the most complete records of an American family. But Sylvia Brown said the same extensive archives that have made her research so rewarding are partly responsible for the focus on her own ancestors rather than other Rhode Island families who were more deeply implicated in the slave trade. “We’re the ones providing the information, so we’re the ones who’ve been associated with the slave trade,” she said. Though Sylvia Brown said she admires the slavery and justice committee’s efforts to confront the past, she hopes it can soon begin to look toward the future: “These demons have to be put to rest, and I hope the findings of the committee will do that.”

for its number — and asked the Senate for immediate consideration on June 29. There were no objections, and the Senate again passed it unanimously. This time, the bill was referred to the House Finance Committee instead of the Judiciary Committee, with the rationale that the bill entailed state funds. The Finance Committee recommended the bill’s passage. When the bill reached the House floor, the debate became “mean-spirited,” Ajello said. Both she and Perry attributed this to “dissident” House Democrats who oppose the party leadership and disrupt legislation at any opportunity. The “dissidents” joined with House Republicans in protesting how the bill had been rejected by one committee and approved by another. But objections were not based on the bill’s substance, according to Ajello. On July 1, the last day of that year’s legislative session, the heat of the debate matched the early summer swelter in the State House. Eventually, with the debate still raging into the night, the bill was tabled, taking it off the floor. The provision of death benefits for domestic partners was dead until the next session of the General Assembly, which began in January. “I was upset,” Neveu said. “That they wouldn’t grant us this one little peace of mind in a time that would be traumatic and devastating.”

lesbian community is more concerned with the marriage equality bill right now. “So we wanted to push for our number one bill,” Perry said. But the death benefit bill is not going away. “I just hope that none of the police, firefighters or as I said, (Emergency Management Technician) personnel, or correctional officers perish and their family (does) not get taken care of because they have a different sexual preference,” Polisena said. “I just hope that doesn’t happen.”

An uncertain future New bills were introduced in the House and Senate this year, but each has stayed in the Judiciary Committees. The Senate version has been held for further study since March 23, and the House version is scheduled to go before the committee on May 1. The bill is likely to stay on the backburner for the near future. According to Perry, the gay and




PAGE 12 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD THURSDAY, APRIL 27, 2006

EMS continued from page 1 no longer there,” he said. Many first-years try to see “how much vodka (their) little bodies can tolerate.” 10 percent of this year’s total calls to EMS came from students participating in Brown’s summer programs, Lapierre said. Summer students traditionally have problems with alcohol similar to first-years, he said. “They’re away from home,” he said. “We had a problem (with intoxicated students) when (summer programs) first started. They were literally jumping out dorm windows and crawling into the clubs of Providence.” Sanderson-Roderick added that sometimes “homesickness turns into physical illness.” After these initial problems, the University instituted a notolerance alcohol policy for the summer program, and EMS has seen a sharp decline in the num-

Piping continued from page 1 the president. “Basically, the last couple of years, people have been working on a master plan for the central utilities systems,” Spies said. “Many of the components have reached the end of their useful life,” he added. Director of Engineering Carlos Fernandez led the team that assessed the University’s infrastructure. The team produced

ber of alcohol-related calls from student participating in summer programs. Despite this, summer program participants make up the second-largest percentage of cases taken by EMS, behind only undergraduate students, who make up 69 percent of cases. 4 percent of the calls EMS receives come from graduate students, while 7 percent come from faculty. EMS, which was founded in 1978, boasts five full-time paid supervisors and over 120 student volunteers. Its services include advanced life support service, an ambulance and 24-hour on-call care to the Brown community, even those living off campus. At all times, there is at least one paramedic who can provide aid during a cardiac emergency. There is also a student emergency medical technician and a student volunteer who assists the EMT by carrying bags and completing other tasks, Lapierre said. Lapierre said Brown is “very supportive” of EMS, as evidenced by the five paid supervisors. Over

Spring Weekend, the University increased this support by adding several EMS foot patrols and a second ambulance. EMS student workers, who normally work for free, were also paid for their services during Spring Weekend. Timothy Satty ’09, a volunteer EMS worker, said he believes Brown should lend the same support to EMS as it did during Spring Weekend on a more regular basis. Kate Tsunoda ’08, a former EMS volunteer, said she believes the investment in EMS is worthwhile. “An EMS staffed with students creates a unique support network that empowers and is really special,” she said. Sanderson-Roderick added that because the “the city of Providence … already has a very stressed EMS system,” students calling Providence rescue officials could experience long waits. Brown EMS, on the other hand, is “pretty quick to get on scene, in case of a true emergency,” she said.

a report for the administration that analyzed the various utilities around campus and set construction priorities. Fernandez said he believes the work to replace the piping will continue into 2007. The good news, Fernandez said, is that the piping excavations that will affect streets around campus and the water flow to campus will be finished by November. At that point, construction will be rerouted so the main system is unaffected, he said. Replacing the high temperature hot water distribution pipe will cost the University $20 million alone, Fernandez said. Bidding for several contracts to renovate the utilities took place in February. Facilities Management has funds earmarked for the utilities renovations that will last until 2010, at which point the University will need to allocate more money to the maintenance budget, Fernandez said. “I don’t have any doubts the University will find funding for the next phase,” he added. The University is paying for the utilities renovations primarily through borrowing, though some funds raised during the ongoing Campaign for Academic Enrichment will go toward the effort, Fernandez said. Spies said the University borrows periodically to maintain facilities. “Unfortunately we haven’t

found any donors interested in piping upgrades,” he added. At its April 6 meeting, the City Council paved the way for Brown to begin construction when it approved an easement allowing the University to repair the high temperature hot water distribution pipe under several city streets. Even though Brown’s construction plans include improving sidewalks after excavations are complete, Ward 1 City Councilman David Segal said Providence is not helping to pay for the construction. Segal worked with University administrators on obtaining the easement from the City Council. “We had relaxed conversations about who needs to be contacted,” he said, adding that he “can’t imagine that they’ll have any problems.” Spies said the University has notified residents on College Hill about the construction. Barbara Harris, president of the College Hill Neighborhood Association, declined to comment on the construction because she has not heard from neighbors on the issue. Spies said he expects the new utilities system to last 25 to 50 years. “But, replacement schedules depend on individual parts,” he added. “No one is happy about it but they are understanding of the need to do it,” he said.


WORLD & NATION THE BROWN DAILY HERALD · THURSDAY, APRIL 27, 2006 · PAGE 13

Senate report urges dismantling of FEMA BY SPENCER HSU WASHINGTON POST

WASHINGTON — Hurricane Katrina exposed flaws in the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Homeland Security that are “too substantial to mend,” and FEMA should be dismantled and rebuilt inside the troubled department, according to the final report by Senate investigators. The report, to be released to key senators Thursday and to the public next week, makes 86 recommendations that would undo major changes made when President George W. Bush and Congress launched the department in 2003, and would reverse parts of a reorganization ordered by Secretary Michael Chertoff last summer. It stops short of restoring FEMA to independent, Cabinet-level status, as many in Congress and former agency directors want, but would promote its chief to confer directly with the president in a crisis, according to a summary released to news organizations. The 800-plus-page report, “Hurricane Katrina: A Nation Still Unprepared,” incorporates many findings by earlier House and White House investigations but goes further in recommending structural changes in how all levels of government — especially the Homeland Security Department — respond to catastrophes. It would replace FEMA with a new National Preparedness and Response Authority whose head would report to the secretary but serve as the president’s top adviser for national emergency management, akin to the military role served by the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. It would reunify disaster preparedness and response activities that Chertoff decoupled, and restore grant-making authority taken away by Congress in redefining a stronger national preparedness system with regional coordinators, a larger role for the National Guard and the Defense Department and more money for training, planning and exercises. “We have concluded that FEMA is in shambles and beyond repair, and that it should be abolished,” Chairman Susan Collins, R-Maine, said in a written statement released by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, which held 22 hearings, interviewed more than 320 people and reviewed more than 838,000 pages of documents. The report by the 16-member panel formally kicks off a frenzied effort by Congress to make fixes before the June 1 start of hurricane season. By framing the debate around FEMA’s fate, the report defers to President Bush’s request to not carve it out of the Homeland Security Department

even as it faults his administration, among 24 findings, for failing to fund and coordinate disaster readiness efforts after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and for emphasizing terrorism at the expense of natural disaster preparedness. The administration was also faulted for bungling the storm response by neglecting warnings, failing to grasp Katrina’s destructiveness, doing too little or taking the wrong steps before the Aug. 29 landfall. The report also found design flaws in New Orleans levees and failures by city and state leaders. The Senate report said making FEMA independent would “do nothing to solve the key problems that Katrina has revealed, including a lack of resources and weak and ineffective leadership,” and could lead to wasteful duplication. The Senate report is the only bipartisan national inquiry into the storm, which killed 1,330 people, displaced 1 million families, swamped 80 percent of New Orleans and led to a $100 billion federal response. House Democrats boycotted their chamber’s effort, fearing a partisan whitewash, and called for an independent panel styled after the one that investigated the Sept. 11 attacks. Afterward, several Democrats said its findings were complete, but should have called for Chertoff’s removal. Wednesday, the ranking Democrat on Collins’ committee, Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., added a written statement excoriating Bush and his aides for being “surprisingly detached” before and just after the storm and for not cooperating with Senate investigators, who he said should have subpoenaed the White House. “The president failed to provide critical leadership when it was most needed, and that contributed to a grossly ineffective federal response to Hurricane Katrina,” Lieberman said. As Bush headed to the Gulf Coast Thursday, White House spokesman Scott McClellan reiterated the administration’s stance to keep FEMA “where it is.” Rep. David Reichert, R-Wash., who chairs a House Homeland Security subcommittee, has proposed reuniting disaster preparedness and response functions within FEMA, which Chertoff split up in a reorganization of the Homeland Security Department. A bipartisan group of committee leaders warned April 12 that “removing FEMA from DHS would only exacerbate the agency’s problems” with hurricane season starting June 1. But Rep. William Shuster, RPa., chairman of a House Transportation and Infrastructure subcommittee, would make FEMA independent, as would Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., head of the Government Reform Committee.

www.browndailyherald.com

Iran warns of retaliation if attacked for nuclear program BY MOLLY MOORE AND THOMAS RICKS WASHINGTON POST

PARIS — Escalating the threats between Washington and Tehran, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned Wednesday that his country would strike U.S. targets around the world in the event it is attacked over its refusals to curb its nuclear program. “If the U.S. ventured into any aggression on Iran, Iran will retaliate by damaging U.S. interests worldwide twice as much as the U.S. may inflict on Iran,” Khamenei said in a speech to a workers’ assembly, according to the Iranian news agency IRNA. His statement adds to a campaign of defiance by senior Iranian officials in advance of a report on Friday by the U.N. atomic watchdog agency, which analysts predict will cite Iran for defying U.N. Security Council demands to halt its uranium enrichment program. The heightened tensions between the United States and Iran have helped drive oil prices to record highs and have set in motion intense diplomatic meetings aimed at heading off greater destabilization in the Middle East.

In a spate of statements this week, Iranian officials have also threatened to cut oil production, export nuclear technology, bar international nuclear monitors, make their nuclear program entirely secret and withdraw from the nuclear NonProliferation Treaty. While Bush administration officials have said they have no plans to attack Iran, they have repeatedly said they have not ruled out that step. U.S. military experts are confident that U.S. forces could carry out extensive airstrikes against Iranian targets, but there is disagreement about how much of a setback such raids could impose on the Iranian nuclear program, much of which is housed underground. Two main options are under consideration, say people familiar with Air Force thinking. The first would be a quick series of strikes against several dozen nuclear-related facilities, lasting only a few days and followed by a U.S. statement that the bombing would resume if Iran retaliated. The second option envisions a lengthier, more ambitious campaign of waves of strikes by bombers and cruise missiles aimed at hundreds of targets,

hitting not just nuclear-related facilities but also the headquarters of intelligence agencies, the Revolutionary Guards and other key government offices. Many experts worry that Iran, dominated by Shiite Muslims, would retaliate against U.S. and British forces in neighboring Iraq by mobilizing Iraqi Shiites. It might also attack U.S. and British installations in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain through the help of Shiites in those countries. In other scenarios, Iranian agents would stage terrorist strikes against civilians in the United States, Europe and elsewhere. The recent statements are “a war of words,” said Gary Sick, a professor of Middle East policy at Columbia University and longtime monitor of Iranian politics. “Neither side has anything to gain by an attack on the other, but there is a chance of an accident triggering something and that’s what makes the situation so dangerous.” The Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency’s report Friday to the U.N. Security Council on the status of Iran’s uranium enrichment program will shape debate in the council see IRAN, page 14


PAGE 14 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD THURSDAY, APRIL 27, 2006

SPG continued from page 1 University officials created an ad hoc committee to review social event policies, asked an existing committee to consider the University’s alcohol policies and launched a disciplinary investigation of QA. QA’s dance committee prepares an internal report each semester outlining the successes and failures of its events. The committee chairs decided to release the report this year because of “the extraordinary circumstances surrounding” Sex Power God, the report said. Due to the Office of Student Life investigation of QA that resulted in sanctions against the group, QA leaders had declined to speak publicly about Sex Power God until this week. “People in the (Student Activities Office) and elsewhere basically told us that now is not the time to bring any of these issues out (because) the investigation is still pending and it’s in your best interest to stay quiet,” Teitelbaum said, adding that QA leaders were encouraged to stay quiet even after the ruling was handed down because the sanctions “were still to be interpreted.” Chaos and improvisation As student event managers — many of whom were QA members — were confronted with unexpected situations and their event management plan unraveled, they were stretched too thin and had to improvise to try to regain control of the party, QA student leaders and University officials told The Herald. “Responsibility for what hap-

pened lies in multiple places and is shared. … There was a broad sense that multiple things went wrong, some of which could be associated with the Queer Alliance and the organizers and some of which couldn’t be,” said Ricky Gresh, director of student activities. The QA report and event managers indicated that problems arose from the party’s start. Even though DPS officers were supposed to lock all interior and exterior doors in Sayles prior to the start of the event, party managers arrived to find all the doors unlocked, Teitelbaum said. The QA report added, “Event organizers later came to find out that as a result of the doors having been left unlocked, people had hid upstairs for hours while they waited for the event to start.” Some students apparently played the drinking game Beirut in an upstairs Sayles classroom before the party, the report stated. As the night progressed, student managers were faced with more challenges: a large number of people showed up to the party intoxicated, the line to get into the party was difficult to control, students tried to break in through windows and the back door and groups of students without tickets congregated and consumed alcohol on the Main Green outside of Sayles, watching the spectacle and adding to the confusion. “Any one of these problems on their own probably would not have undermined the whole party,” Gresh said. “But there were so many of them that I think it overwhelmed the management that was available.” Medical distractions Student managers and DPS

officers were drawn away from their assigned posts to attend to intoxicated students needing medical assistance or to stop students from breaking in through windows or other doors. Medical assistance required in Sayles was either directly caused by alcohol consumption — DPS officers and student managers attended to many students vomiting in the building — or by the actions of intoxicated students, such as when students tripped on steps. “One of the things the officers typically try to do is focus on the exterior areas, but they kept being called in to deal with (Emergency Medical Services) calls inside the building,” Gresh said. Referring to the official findings of Assistant Dean of Student Life Yolanda Castillo-Appollonio, the judicial case administrator who handled the QA investigation, Associate Vice President of Campus Life and Dean for Student Life Margaret Klawunn said, “She reported that the Department of Public Safety provided four officers and one sergeant to staff Sex Power God. This number was arrived at based on previous events and the number of expected guests. Although all accounts indicate the number of officers present would have been sufficient had the officers not spent much of the night assisting EMS, there could have been some consideration put into increasing the number of officers or adding other staff to assist with crowd management.” DPS officers were also drawn away from Sayles to assist intoxicated students outside of the building — one DPS report indicates that an officer responded to a student vomiting outside of nearby Salomon Center, Klawunn said. ‘Compromised’ perimeter In addition to the large number of students requiring medical attention, event managers were also unprepared for intoxicated students who tried to break into Sayles. “The perimeter of the building was completely compromised. … Every entrance was compromised,” said Talia Stein ’09, a member of QA’s executive board. Students tried to break into Sayles by entering through the back door, by climbing a tree to access a second-floor window, by hoisting up friends to first-floor windows and by breaking the grates on basement windows. Referring specifically to the incident when students climbed a tree to crawl in through a second-floor window, the QA report said, “This is something that a

Iran continued from page 13 that could begin as early as next week. At issue would be possible international responses to Tehran. An IAEA official declined to comment on the contents of the pending report. Iran dispatched an envoy to Vienna on Wednesday to meet with representatives of the IAEA, but neither side expressed optimism about a last-minute breakthrough. Iranian leaders have said they will not stop their uranium enrichment efforts, but rather plan to expand them. “I think it’s pretty clear what that report is going to say,” White

party manager could not possibly control, although DPS officers did try to insist that a party manager should be posted at the window.” “After several instances of asking DPS for help, DPS officers did position themselves at the window and proceeded to send unwanted patrons back down the tree from which they came,” the report continued. Stein said it was inappropriate for student managers to have to handle peers intoxicated enough to decide to climb a tree to break into a building. “We’re small and not intimidating, so it was really something that DPS needed to do,” she said. When DPS officers initially refused to cover the secondfloor window, Teitelbaum said he asked a custodian to accompany the student manager at the window “to look big.” Confusion at the door The main entrance of Sayles was also the site of chaos throughout the evening. Three main problems arose at the door: intoxicated students had to be identified and handed over to EMS, the temporary tattoos used as tickets had to be inspected to ensure their authenticity and the surging line of partygoers waiting to enter had to be controlled. “As some intoxicated students began arriving at the event and event managers were beginning to need assistance in turning these students away and into the hands of EMS, no DPS officers were in the lobby, nor could any be easily located,” according to the QA report. Stein said the admission process was initially orderly — each partygoer passed by two student event mangers, each of whom checked for fake tickets and signs of intoxication. Intoxicated students were immediately handed over to EMS, Stein said. But two or three significant waves of people severely tested the event managers. At times the managers couldn’t effectively control the surges and inspect each person, so some intoxicated partygoers might have passed through, Stein said. At one point, when students walking toward Sayles to enter the party converged with the crowd milling outside the venue to create a “mob scene,” a DPS officer unilaterally decided to close the main Sayles doors, creating confusion among the event managers and mayhem outside the hall as the crowd of students trying to get in grew, Teitelbaum said. “(The officer’s) solution was to stand in front of the doors, put his hands on the doors and liter-

House spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters Wednesday, “which is that this is a regime that is in noncompliance with its obligations; this is a regime that is not abiding by the agreement it made with the Europeans to suspend all its enrichment and enrichment-related activities.” Under an agreement reached with Britain, France and Germany, Iran had suspended enrichment work while negotiations continued toward an agreement under which Iran would receive economic and political incentives in exchange for a permanent shutdown of controversial aspects of its nuclear program. It recently restarted the enrichment work. Iran says its nuclear program

ally hold them shut,” Teitelbaum said. While the doors were closed, the officer engaged in a “physical altercation” with a confused partygoer trying to get through the closed doors and swore at student managers who tried to intervene, Teitelbaum said. Shortly thereafter, the officer reopened the doors, creating an uncontrollable surge of people. Teitelbaum said the officer apologized “only after being threatened with the possibility of a complaint being filed against him.” QA leaders also said the four DPS officers assigned to the event were insufficient. In addition, the QA report stated that the officers arrived late — three arrived about 15 minutes after the start of the event, and the fourth was significantly later, Teitelbaum said. Klawunn confirmed that one officer was late and “we addressed that as soon as we knew about that,” adding that the officer was finishing his regular shift before moving to the party. Teitelbaum and Gresh both said that issues with punctuality of DPS officers also arose at QA’s Starf*ck in Spring 2004. Though additional DPS officers arrived at the event as the night progressed, Stein said, “We were uncomfortable with the level of security. … When we really needed (DPS officers), we couldn’t find them.” Change in policy and philosophy In the wake of Sex Power God, University officials established the Ad Hoc Committee to Review Social Events Policy and Procedures, which completed its report in March. The report recommends that a contract security service be used to manage the door and provide support to student managers at large social events like Sex Power God. “The policies that we had in place at the time (dating from 1996) said that students should have primary responsibility for management (of social events),” Gresh said. But Gresh added that students involved in the recent policy review told administrators they “don’t want to have all that responsibility on our own.” “That’s a philosophical shift that is represented between the two reports,” he said. Teitelbaum said QA leaders have long been advocating for additional security support. “The biggest joke about the new policies is that … most of the policies are things that we’ve already incorporated in the past voluntarily or things that we have been asking for,” he said.

is exclusively directed toward generating power. But U.S. officials accuse it of using the program as a cover to develop nuclear weapons. The Security Council has instructed Iran to stop its uranium enrichment program out of concern that it puts the country a step closer in the years-long process of building a nuclear bomb. Iranian authorities, playing to a domestic political audience, have cast the U.N. demands as an effort by the West to trample on its sovereign right to develop a civilian nuclear program. “The Iranian nation and its officials are peace-seekers and the Islamic republic would not invade anybody,” Khamenei said Wednesday.


WORLD & NATION THE BROWN DAILY HERALD · THURSDAY, APRIL 27, 2006 · PAGE 15

Self-serving self-service BY DANA MILBANK WASHINGTON POST

WASHINGTON — Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines. Gas prices have gone above $3 a gallon again, and that means it’s time for another round of congressional finger pointing. “Since George Bush and Dick Cheney took over as president and vice president, gas prices have doubled!” charged Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., standing at an Exxon station on Capitol Hill where regular unleaded hit $3.10. “They are too cozy with the oil industry.” She then hopped in a waiting Chrysler LHS (18 miles per gallon) – even though her Senate office was only a block away. Sen. Charles Schumer, DN.Y., used a Hyundai Elantra to take the one-block journey to and from the gas station news conference. He posed in front of the fuel prices and gave them a thumbs down. “Get tough on big oil!” he demanded of the Bush administration. By comparison, Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., was a model of conservation. She told a staffer idling in a Jetta to leave without her, then ducked into a sushi restaurant for lunch before making the journey back to work. At about the same time, House Republicans were meeting in the Capitol for their weekly caucus (topic A: gas). The House driveway was jammed with cars, many idling, including eight Chevrolet Suburbans (14 mpg). America may be addicted to oil, as President George W. Bush puts it. But America is in the denial phase of this addiction — as evidenced by the behavior of its lawmakers. They have proposed all kinds of solutions to high gas prices: taxes on oil companies, domestic oil drilling and releasing petroleum reserves. But they ignore the obvious: that Americans drive too much in cars that are too big. Senators were debating a war spending bill Wednesday, but the subject invariably turned to gas prices. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., engaged his deputy, Dick Durbin, D-Ill., in a riveting colloquy. “Is the senator aware that the L.A. Times headline reads today, ‘Bush’s Proposals Viewed as a Drop in the Bucket’?” “I’m aware of that,” Durbin replied. Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., responded with an economics lesson. “Oil is worth what people pay for it,” he argued. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., sounded the alarm. “We are one accident or one terrorist attack away from oil at $100 a barrel!” Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, made a plea for conservation. “We have to move quickly to increase our fuel efficiency,” she urged. But not too quickly. After lunchtime votes, senators emerged from the Capitol for the drive across the street to their offices. Sen. John Sununu, R-N.H.,

hopped in a GMC Yukon (14 mpg). Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., climbed aboard a Nissan Pathfinder (15). Sen. Ben Nelson, DColo., stepped into an eight-cylinder Ford Explorer (14). Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., disappeared into a Lincoln Town Car (17). Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., met up with an idling Chrysler minivan (18). Next came Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., greeted by a Ford Explorer XLT. On the Senate floor Tuesday, Menendez had complained that Bush “remains opposed to higher fuel-efficiency standards.” Also waiting: three Surburbans, a Nissan V8 Armada, two Cadillacs and a Lexus. The greenest senator was Richard Lugar, R-Ind., who was picked up by his hybrid Toyota Prius (60 mpg), at quadruple the fuel efficiency of his Democratic Indiana counterpart Evan Bayh, who was met by a Dodge Durango V8 (14). As a political matter, Democrats clearly sense that they have the advantage on the high gas prices, judging from the number of speeches and news conferences. “The cost of Republican corruption when it comes to energy is hitting home very clearly for America’s middle class,” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., exulted Wednesday morning. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, DMich., introduced an amendment to repeal oil-company tax breaks and distribute $500 tax rebates to consumers. It was quickly ruled out of order. But Republicans were clearly feeling defensive. “We passed an energy bill last year, last July,” House Speaker Dennis Hastert, Ill. pleaded at a morning news conference. “It changes CAFE (corporate average fuel econo-

my) standards. It changes some of the things that we can do – I’m sorry, changes not the CAFE standards, but changes some of the supply issues, boutique fuels, all these things.” Only Sen. Mark Dayton, DMinn., who can speak freely because he is retiring, was willing to note the disconnect between rhetoric and action. “People say, understandably, ‘Solve our energy problems right now, but don’t make us do anything differently,’” he said on the Senate floor. If the politics of gasoline favor Democrats at the moment, the insincerity is universal. A surreptitious look at the cars in the senators-only spots inside and outside the Senate office buildings found an Escort and a Sentra (super-rich Wisconsin Democrat Herb Kohl’s spot had a Chevy Lumina), but far more Jaguars, Cadillacs and Lexuses and a fleet of SUVs made by Ford, Honda, BMW and Lexus. A sampling of senators’ and staff cars parked along Delaware Avenue NE found that those displaying Democratic campaign bumper stickers had a somewhat higher average fuel economy (23 mpg) than those displaying GOP stickers (18 mpg). A fuel-efficiency rating could not be found for the 1970s-era Volkswagen “Thing” owned by Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C. Maybe, lawmakers are starting to learn. When GOP senators held a lunch Tuesday a couple of blocks from the Capitol, many of them took cars. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., emerged from the lunch looking for his ride when he spied the Washington Post’s Shailagh Murray. Reconsidering, he set out on foot. “I need the exercise,” he reasoned.

Plans grow for rally seeking end of Darfur violence BY ALAN COOPERMAN WASHINGTON POST

WASHINGTON — An unusually broad coalition of 164 humanitarian and religious groups, ranging from Amnesty International to the National Association of Evangelicals, is planning a huge rally on the National Mall this Sunday to call for intervention to end the violence in Sudan’s Darfur region. With the added draw of celebrity speakers such as actor George Clooney and Olympic speedskating gold medalist Joey Cheek, organizers expect tens of thousands of people to converge on Washington. “Stop Genocide” rallies also are planned in Chicago, San Francisco and 15 other cities. An allied campaign, called A Million Voices for Darfur, aims to deluge the White House with 1 million postcards. The goal is to push the Bush administration to support a multinational peacekeeping force for Darfur, where Sudanese government-backed militias have killed tens of thousands of civilians and driven 2.5 million from their homes since 2003. Christian groups first took a strong interest in Sudan in the 1990s, stirred by reports that Arab raiders were enslaving Christians in the South. They helped prod the Bush administration to broker a peace treaty that formally halted the fighting in the South last year. The crisis in Darfur, which began as the war in the South waned, has resonated even more widely. Muslims see brethren in need. Jews have responded to the cry of “never again.” Beginning with interfaith rallies a year ago that drew fewer than 100 people to the Mall, the issue has united

religious groups that seldom cooperate. It also has caught fire among high school and college students. “What we do about Darfur says a lot about us and the conscience of our generation. We don’t have that excuse anymore, saying we didn’t know about it, there’s nothing we can do,” said Adam Zuckerman, a senior at Deering High School in Portland, Me. He raised $6,000 to bring a busload of Reform Jews and Sudanese immigrants from Maine to the rally. Keeping the peace within the diverse Save Darfur Coalition has not been easy; Tensions have arisen, in particular, between evangelical Christians and immigrants from Darfur, whose population is almost entirely Muslim and deeply suspicious of missionary activity. Organizers rushed this week to invite two Darfurians to address the rally after Sudanese immigrants objected that the original list of speakers included eight Western Christians, seven Jews, four politicians and assorted celebrities — but no Muslims and no one from Darfur. Some Darfur activists also have complained about the involvement in the rally of a Kansas-based evangelical group, Sudan Sunrise. Last week, after an inquiry from the Washington Post, Sudan Sunrise changed its Web site to eliminate references to efforts to convert the people of Darfur. Previously, it said it was engaged in “one on one, lifestyle evangelism to Darfurian Muslims living in refugee camps in eastern Chad” and appealed for funds to “bring the kingdom of God to an area of Sudan where the light of Jesus rarely shines.”


PAGE 16 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD THURSDAY, APRIL 27, 2006

Demand fuels surge in Boeing’s first-quarter earnings BY PETER PAE LOS ANGELES TIMES

Boeing said Wednesday that its first-quarter earnings climbed nearly 30 percent, lifted by a continuing surge in demand for its commercial airplanes. The world’s largest aerospace company said net income climbed to $692 million, or 88 cents a share, from yearearlier $535 million, or 66 cents a share, despite lower revenue and profit from its defense business. Revenues increased 12 percent to $14.26 billion from $12.68 billion, bolstered by a 48 percent jump in commercial aircraft sales as the Chicago-based company booked 176 orders and delivered 98 airplanes, or 28 more than last year’s quarter. “Boeing is off to a very good start this year,” said James Bell, the company’s chief financial officer in a teleconference call with analysts Wednesday. Boeing’s earnings beat analysts expectations by 12 cents a share but its stock slid 29 cents to $84.82 as some investors were disappointed that the company didn’t raise its financial outlook for the year. Cai von Rumohr, aerospace analyst with Cowen, said the first quarter results were “super” but that the company was being cautious in not raising earnings or revenue projections at the moment. “We think this is just conservatism,” he said. Bell said Boeing could revise its guidance in the second quarter, adding that the latest boom in commercial aircraft demand could be broader and last longer than in past industry cycles in which surge in orders in one year was often followed by a sharp drop. Last year, Boeing posted a record 1,002 orders for commercial jetliners, more than triple that of 2004 as Asian and Middle East airlines

bought airplanes after a long industry slump. The Boeing airplanes range in size from the 110-seat 737 to the 400passenger 747 and costs between $40 million to $250 million each. Bell said he doesn’t expect the company to match the record orders but added that the fall off in orders are not likely to be as “dramatic” as in the industry’s past boom and bust cycles. “Early indications are that this cycle may go longer and be more protracted,” Bell said, adding that domestic airlines and large European carriers, recovering financially, are expected to gradually begin returning to the aircraft market to replenish their old fleets. With the rosy outlook, Boeing officials said the company is in unusual position of worrying more about how to ramp up production than about selling airplanes. Boeing has already sold 353 of its new fuel-efficient 787 jet, enough to keep the production floor at maximum capacity until 2010. Airlines ordering now won’t get the airplane until 2011, so some airline executives have pressed the company to bump up the production rate so they could get the 787 earlier. “We’re always studying it, but it is a very complex issue,” Bell said. ``It’s not going to be something you can just turn on.’’ The up tick in commercial aircraft sales helped offset lower revenues and profits at the company’s defense and space business. Commercial airplane sales climbed to $7.1 billion from $4.8 billion while defense revenues fell 6 percent to $7.12 billion from $7.6 billion. The decline mainly reflected lower revenues from a spy satellite program and the sale of the Rocketdyne rocket making business last year.

Rove testifies 5th time on leak BY JIM VANDEHEI WASHINGTON POST

WASHINGTON — White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove sought to convince a federal grand jury Wednesday that he did not provide false statements in the CIA leak case, testifying for more than three hours before leaving a federal courthouse unsure whether he would be indicted, according to a source close to the presidential aide. In his fifth appearance before the grand jury, Rove spent much of the time arguing that it would have been foolish for him to knowingly mislead investigators about his role in disclosing the identity of undercover CIA officer Valerie Plame to the media, the source said. His grand jury appearance, which was kept secret from even Rove’s closest White House colleagues until shortly before he went to court Wednesday, suggests prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald remains keenly interested in Rove’s role in the case. Rove for the first time partly waived his attorney-client privilege to detail conversations he had with his attorney, Robert Luskin, about the leak and his knowledge of it, the source said. Rove’s testimony focused almost exclusively on his conversation about Plame with Time magazine reporter Matthew

Cooper in 2003 and whether the top aide later tried to conceal it, the source said. Rove testified, in essence, that “it would have been a suicide mission” to “deliberately lie” about his conversation with Cooper because he knew beforehand that it eventually would be revealed, the source said. Lawyers involved in the case said Wednesday that they expect a decision on Rove’s fate soon. The source’s account could not be corroborated by the prosecutor’s office, which has declined to discuss the case. Luskin said in a statement that the top Bush strategist testified “voluntarily and unconditionally” at Fitzgerald’s behest. “In connection with this appearance, the special counsel has advised Mr. Rove that he is not a target of the investigation,” Luskin said in a statement. “Mr. Fitzgerald has affirmed that he has made no decision concerning charges.” Regarding Rove’s testimony, Luskin said that it centered on information that has surfaced since he last testified, in October 2005. A spokesman for Fitzgerald declined to comment on the case. The leak investigation, which led to the indictment last year of Vice President Dick Cheney’s former chief of staff, I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, began after administration officials were ac-

cused of disclosing Plame’s identity as part of a broader White House effort to discredit critics of the administration’s justification for the Iraq war. Specifically, Fitzgerald began investigating in late 2003 whether administration officials illegally disclosed Plame’s post at the CIA to discredit allegations made by her husband, former ambassador Joseph Wilson IV. In the summer of 2003, Wilson publicly charged that Bush had twisted intelligence about Iraq’s efforts to obtain nuclear weapons material to justify the invasion. The disclosure of Plame’s name was used to argue that because she had helped set up a trip Wilson took to Niger to investigate Iraq’s efforts to obtain nuclear material, that mission was little more than a boondoggle. Fitzgerald has not charged anyone with the original crime. But in October 2005, a grand jury indicted Libby on charges of perjury, making false statements and obstructing justice in the course of the investigation. Libby’s trial is scheduled to begin early next year. He has denied the charges, and his lawyers say that he is guilty of nothing more than a faulty memory and that he is the victim of an see ROVE, page 19

Judge convicts mother who put children in trunk on road trip BY CANDACE RONDEAUX WASHINGTON POST

WASHINGTON — A Stafford County, Va., woman was convicted Wednesday of contributing to the delinquency of a minor for making her daughters take turns riding in the trunk of a cramped four-door sedan during a long summer road trip from Alabama to Loudoun County. Loudoun Circuit Court Judge Thomas Horne dismissed a felony charge of cruelty to children against Cheryl Ann Schoonmaker-Brown. But he agreed with prosecutors that SchoonmakerBrown endangered her children — ages 8 and 10 — when she put them in the trunk and allowed others to ride in the car with improperly fastened seatbelts during a more than eight-hour journey July1. “If we were in Alabama I wouldn’t hesitate to find the defendant guilty of a felony,” Horne said. “I think it’s very likely that a child could die from being in a closed trunk on a summer day in Alabama.” But Horne noted that the circumstances had changed by the time Schoonmaker-Brown reached Virginia. When her 10year-old daughter was in the trunk, a partially collapsed seat back that opened into the trunk provided an airway and an escape for the girl, witnesses said. The judge ruled that Schoonmaker-Brown’s actions, therefore, did not meet the standard for the more serious felony charges, which carry a prison term of up to five years. Schoonmaker-Brown’s misdemeanor conviction means she could face as much as a year in

jail, a $2,500 fine or both. Cassandra Esslinger, a friend and one of six people in the car, testified that SchoonmakerBrown told Cassandra’s mother that she would rent a mini-van for the five-day trip. But when they arrived at the car rental shop, Schoonmaker-Brown balked at the price and opted for a cheaper Nissan Sentra, Cassandra said. Schoonmaker-Brown told her 12-year-old daughter not to worry when the girl became concerned that anyone riding in the trunk could be hurt. “She said, ‘That’s what bumpers are for,”’ Cassandra told the judge. Cassandra said she was seated in the back with SchoonmakerBrown’s 12-year-old and infant daughters while the 10-year-old rode up front and the 8-yearold was in the closed trunk. After the girl begged to be let out of the trunk, her mother waited 30 minutes before complying by stopping at a gas station, Cassandra said. Schoonmaker-Brown laughed when her 8-year-old daughter began singing what she called the “I’m so hot song,” Cassandra said. When the girl emerged from the trunk bathed in sweat, cheeks flushed and stripped down to her underwear, SchoonmakerBrown turned up the air conditioning, then allowed her 10year-old to crawl into the trunk crammed with luggage, a laptop and a Boston terrier pup. Later, Schoonmaker-Brown stuffed a case of wine into the trunk along with her daughter after stopping at a winery, Cassandra said. Schoonmaker-Brown’s exhusband, who has custody of the

children, testified that he had warned his ex-wife repeatedly about her failure to use seatbelts for the children before he called authorities in July. Days after his ex-wife was arrested, Curtis Schoonmaker taped a phone conversation with her. On the tape, SchoonmakerBrown admitted that the girls rode in the trunk but shifted the blame for the incident onto her children, saying they had been acting unruly lately. “Those girls get me in more trouble,” Schoonmaker-Brown said on the tape. Schoonmaker, a Loudoun home inspector who lives in the Aldie area, said he learned about the incident a day after his exwife dropped the children off at his house. Schoonmaker-Brown’s attorney, Eric Strom, successfully argued that his client’s actions did not merit the charges originally filed against her. He said the Stafford County airline worker had not acted willfully, adding that prosecutors had not presented proof that the children would have been harmed. Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Nicole Wittman tried to convince the judge otherwise. “There is no justifiable excuse for putting a child in the trunk of a car, especially when you’re driving down the freeway,” Wittman said. Prosecutors and Schoonmaker-Brown’s ex-husband said they were disappointed with the ruling. “I think this is pretty light,” Schoonmaker said. “It’s disturbing, and I think it reinforces the thought to her that this was excusable.”


WORLD & NATION THE BROWN DAILY HERALD · THURSDAY, APRIL 27, 2006 · PAGE 17

Welfare reformer Robert Carleson, 75, dies BY DENNIS MCLELLAN LOS ANGELES TIMES

Robert Carleson, who helped initiate major changes in the California welfare system in the early 1970s and implemented them as part of Gov. Ronald Reagan’s administration, has died. He was 75. Carleson, of Alexandria, Va., who continued to focus on welfare reform initiatives as a special assistant to Reagan in the White House, died Friday in a Washington, D.C., hospital after a brief illness, said his wife, Susan. Carleson was chief deputy director of the California Department of Public Works in 1970 when Reagan tapped him to lead a task force in revising the state’s public assistance programs and reducing welfare spending. Reagan then appointed Carleson director of social welfare for the state. In August 1971, the legislature passed a compromise welfare reform bill that Reagan described as “the most comprehensive . . . ever attempted any place in the United States.’ “Bob was one of several people who played an important role when Gov. Reagan and Bob Moretti, the (Democratic) speaker of the Assembly, hammered out the welfare reform bill in 1971,” said Lou Cannon, author of five books on Reagan. “Carleson was obsessed with cracking down on (welfare) fraud, which wasn’t trivial,” he said. “A number of Democrats, and actually Reagan himself, wanted to crack down on fraud and (also) raise the grants of the neediest Californians,” which had not been raised in many years. “The final bill that was passed was a damn good bill. I think it’s

a better bill than (former President Bill) Clinton and the Republicans passed 30-something years later,” Cannon said, referring to the 1996 law Clinton signed after bipartisan support in Congress resulted in sweeping changes to public aid programs. Although declining welfare rolls were a national trend in the 1970s, Cannon said, “a study by the Urban League showed that California’s (welfare) rolls declined more than other states’ after the state bill was passed. “Bob was a key leader in Gov. Reagan’s effort to reform welfare, and as director of social welfare he was the guy who had to do the hard work in the field to make sure that the governor’s reforms took hold,” said James Hall, who served as secretary of health and welfare and secretary of business and transportation during Reagan’s governorship. Martin Anderson, who served as Reagan’s early White House domestic and economic policy adviser and has written six books on Reagan, said he once asked Carleson, “What did you guys do? California’s welfare rolls went down enormously and yet there was no screaming and yelling. He said, ‘We were accused of cutting people off the welfare rolls, but we didn’t do that. We carefully applied the law.’ The word spread around that, according to him, people began to understand if you wanted to do some gaming with this it didn’t work. You had to show that you were poor.” And as the number of people on welfare decreased, Anderson said, “more money was available to give to those who were on welfare a significant increase.” In 1975, after serving two years as the U.S. commissioner of welfare, Carleson started a

management consulting business and continued to press for welfare reform. He joined the Reagan White House as a special assistant to the president for policy development and was instrumental in shaping the Reagan welfare reforms contained in the Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981. After Carleson left the White House, he consulted with governors on welfare reform and in 1994 advised congressional leaders in both parties on replacing the six-decade-old welfare entitlement program with finite block grants to the states. The plan was signed into law in 1996. Born in Long Beach, Calif., on Feb. 21, 1931, Carleson served as a Navy officer in the Korean War. After earning a degree in public administration at the University of Southern California, he went into the field of city management. In California, he served as a public works administrator for Beverly Hills and in municipal positions in Claremont and Torrance. He also was the city manager of San Dimas and Pico Rivera before entering state government. In addition to his wife, Carleson is survived by three children from his former marriage, Eric, Mark and Susan Klembeck; and five grandchildren.

Bush picks new spokesman from Fox News BY CRAIG GORDON NEWSDAY

WASHINGTON — He has called President George W. Bush politically impotent, “the boy who can’t say no” to big spending and “something of an embarrassment.” And that’s someone incoming White House press secretary Tony Snow actually likes. Democrats fare worse — they’re “Defeatocrats” in the conservative pundit’s view — and some in the press corps have a “hate Bush” mentality. Bush Wednesday made Snow the first media figure in 30 years to be the public face of the White House — betting that someone from the world of sharp-elbowed political commentary is just the kind of person who can help revive an administration on life support. For Bush, the move appears squarely aimed at wooing back wandering conservatives — disenchanted over Iraq and big spending — by enlisting a genuine star in the firmament of conservative punditry who appears regularly on talk radio and the Fox News Channel. Snow also played a small but significant behind-the-scenes role in exposing the Bill Clinton-Monica Lewinsky sex scan-

dal by introducing Linda Tripp to a literary agent who helped Tripp get Lewinsky to share details of the affair. But that past career puts Snow outside the mold of past White House secretaries who started their jobs as relative unknowns and often steered a more measured course in speaking at the world’s most visible podium. Instead, Snow carries to the podium years worth of his own opinions, which could complicate his ability to articulate Bush’s views, especially when they differ with his own wellpublished ones, analysts said. In addition, Snow acknowledged Wednesday he would have to tone down his own remarks, particularly to Bush. He said he believes Bush picked him to offer his unvarnished advice “but probably not in those exact words,” Snow said. Bush joked about it, saying he asked Snow about some of those negative comments. “He said, ‘You should have heard what I said about the other guy,’” Bush said. Rich Bond, a former Republican National Committee chairman, said of Snow, “Having to eat some of his past words will cause him some heartburn, but none of it is fatal to Snow or the president.”



THURSDAY, APRIL 27, 2006 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD PAGE 19

Rove continued from page 16

www.browndailyherald.com

overzealous prosecutor. The Libby case has served as a constant distraction for the White House and comes at a politically turbulent time for the president. A court filing by Fitzgerald earlier this month, for instance, provided the new and politically damaging revelation that President George W. Bush authorized Libby to disclose previously classified information about Iraq’s weapons programs. The president did not authorize Libby to leak information about Plame, however, according to Libby’s legal team. Rove, who recently gave up his role in White House policy as part of a staff shake-up, testified only hours after Bush named Tony Snow as his new press secretary. Snow replaces Scott McClellan, who has come under fire for initially telling the media that Rove was not involved in the Plame leak. In grand jury appearances and other conversations with federal investigators, Rove has testified that he discussed Wilson’s wife briefly with columnist Robert Novak and Cooper before she was publicly unmasked in July 2003, according to lawyers in the case. Fitzgerald zeroed in on Rove’s contact with Cooper Wednesday, according to the source who provided Rove’s version of events. The source said Rove testified in February 2004 that he did not recall discussing Plame with Cooper. Rove told the prosecutor that at the time he had no recollection of that short conversation with one of the scores of reporters he talks to in his job. Cooper later testified and then a wrote a first-person account that Rove told him that Wilson’s wife was in the CIA and authorized her husband’s CIA mission. Rove would later tell the grand jury that he had forgotten that conversation and remembered it only after his legal team unearthed a crucial e-mail. That message — written by Rove to then-deputy national security adviser Stephen Hadley shortly after the Cooper conversation — shows Rove saying he waved the Time reporter off Wilson’s claim. Luskin found the e-mail as part of a document search he conducted before Rove tes-

tified a second time in October 2004, telling the grand jury that the conversation must have taken place. All the while, Fitzgerald suspected that Rove was acknowledging what had happened only because new evidence was surfacing, according to lawyers in the case. But Rove and his lawyer have presented an alternative explanation: that Rove genuinely did not remember his conversation with Cooper, and testified to that effect even though he was aware of rumors that he was one of Cooper’s sources. The new information Luskin cited in his statement Wednesday relates to this part of the saga. After agreeing to a partial waiver of attorneyclient privilege, Rove testified Wednesday about a conversation Luskin had with former Time magazine reporter Viveca Novak, the source said. (Viveca Novak is not related to Robert Novak, the columnist who first revealed Plame’s identity in 2003.) Luskin had informed Fitzgerald about that conversation last October, a few days before Libby was indicted, in a last-ditch effort to save Rove from the same fate. Luskin told the prosecutor that Viveca Novak had informed him that she had heard from other Time reporters that Rove was Cooper’s source for a July 2003 story on Plame. Luskin shared this information with Rove — before Rove testified that he did not recall his conversation with Cooper. Wednesday, Rove told the grand jury that it would make no sense for him to lie in February, knowing that all of this would soon be public, the source said. But the timing of that Luskin-Novak conversation is in dispute. Novak has said she testified that the conversation took place between January and May of 2004 — which could place it either before or after Rove’s initial grand jury testimony. Moreover, Rove did not know at that point that Cooper would later be forced to testify and reveal him as a source, according to lawyers who follow the case. Rove also testified that he was aware that several aides had been subpoenaed in the case before that first grand jury appearance and that they would be forced to turn over documents.

Hatfield continued from page 24 id first-year with a crazy love for sports; I’m leaving an egomaniac with a somehow more intense love of sports, mostly thanks to what I’ve experienced as a Brown Bears fan. I’ve had the pleasure to see some truly great players pass through College Hill, including Earl Hunt ’03 and Alai Nuualiitia ’03 of the men’s basketball team, Yann Danis ’04 of the men’s ice hockey team, Adom Crew ’04 of men’s soccer, Nick Hartigan ’06 of the football team and Sarah Hayes ’06 of the women’s basketball team, to name a few off the top of my head. I’ve witnessed some fantastic games: the Brown-Penn men’s basketball tilts in 2003 and 2004, the Brown-Harvard men’s tennis matches during the past two years and countless games that Danis single-handedly stole from superior teams like Harvard or Cornell. To be perfectly honest, I would have followed all of these teams anyway. I may have been more inclined to skip the occasional game and do my coursework had I not been writing or editing (apologies to all my professors while we’re on the subject), but I’m just a fan at heart. This gig just got me a lot closer to the action in exchange for relaying information to The Herald’s readers. Seeing the football team win the Ivy League Championship honestly ranks up there for me with the Red Sox World Series win and the last two Patriots Super Bowl wins, and that’s saying something. (Nothing comes close to the American League Championship Series wins over the Yankees or the first Super Bowl. But I digress.) The best part of the whole experience has been talking with the people on both sides of the pendulum that is the newspaper. There are few things more satisfying than having someone recognize you from the column you wrote in that day’s paper or having an athlete thank you for giving them a good, honest write-up about the previous night’s game. My favorite such memory involves the legendary DJ Lefty, who now works at the Gate during lunch but who used to be the world’s greatest omelet chef at the Ratty. One morning, as I waited for my pepper-onionmushroom-tomato-cheese, he recognized me from a column I’d

written about the NBA Playoffs that day. He’s not as big a campus celebrity now, but back then, the only step above DJ Lefty in terms of campus personality was probably Ruth Simmons. That’s when I knew I was on to something. On the other side is the athletes, who have proven to fill the same wide spectrum of personalities one finds in any cross-section of Brown students. Most have been among the classiest people I’ve met here. Some have proven to either be not quite so gracious or just miserable in terms of talking about their sport, making excuses and complaining about their coverage. Strangely enough, it’s almost always the teams who don’t perform well who do this. We here at The Herald apologize if we can’t make all of you out to be all-stars, but then again, that’s not our job. We’re here to report what’s happening, not give you clips to show the folks at home. But again, nearly all of my experiences with Brown’s athletes and coaches have been positive. The ones I’ve dealt with for my stories have almost always been unfailingly accommodating, available for even the most timeconsuming interviews for features and even stories for my journalism classes. There are too many people to name to thank all of them, but just know that your time and insight were much appreciated. In fact, they’ve been disarmingly willing to chat at times. The first time I interviewed women’s basketball coach Jean Marie Burr, she asked me if I was planning to go into journalism as a

career. I was prepared to go into the whole spiel I’d given to various people over and over about what internships I’d done and where I was looking before I realized I was, in fact, there to interview her. Unsung in this whole process are the good folks in the Office of Sports Information. Whenever we needed press passes, information, pictures or anything related, the good folks of sports info were there for us. Chris Humm, Jeanne Carhart and Kristen DiChiaro, keep up the good work. So, thanks to all of you for reading. Extra special thanks to everyone who has written for me; the layout, photo and copy editing folks who are the backbone of this publication; and all the editors who’ve cleaned up my often rushed copy. But now, I’ve got to catch a cannon ball to take me down the line. My bag is sinkin’ low, and I do believe it’s time. Chris Hatfield ’06 has covered baseball, men’s basketball, men’s crew, fencing, field hockey, football, women’s ice hockey, men’s soccer, men’s and women’s squash, Tae Kwon Do and volleyball; written columns about Brown sports and national sports; covered the odd Campus News story; and written a captivating review of Legs and Eggs at the Foxy Lady during his eight semesters writing for The Herald. He also did not notice the coincidence of going out on his 86th byline — the same as the number of years between Red Sox World Series wins.


PAGE 20 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD THURSDAY, APRIL 27, 2006

Year End continued from page 24 enced a turnaround would be an understatement. The team has won 67 games since that season and is once again an Ivy power. In men’s tennis, Brown did not even field a team until 1960 and did not win a match in league play until 1964. After boasting some strong teams in the late 1980s, Bruno again slipped back to doormat status. Following a 3-4 Ivy year in 2001, however, Brown has won three of the past five titles and has supplanted Harvard as the annual favorite in the conference. The latest title, by a team loaded with first-years, shows that the men’s tennis team does not rebuild — it reloads. Beginning in the fall, Brown made waves in the Ivy sports world. But throughout the year, the individual efforts of Brown athletes popped up in national headlines as well. On the gridiron, running back Nick Hartigan ’06 was a finalist for both the Walter Payton Award, given to the best player in Division IAA, and a Rhodes Scholarship. Hartigan was also a unanimous choice for the Asa A. Bushnell Cup as the best player in the Ivies. Linebacker Zak DeOssie ’07 was a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award, given to the nation’s top defensive player. Additionally, for his work in guiding Brown to its first-ever outright Ivy title, Estes was a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Award for the nation’s best coach in I-AA. Then in January, two Brown alums earned championship rings of their own, when Whipple and Sean Morey ’99 helped the Pittsburgh Steelers win Super Bowl XL. The men’s soccer team also generated a few headlines with its playoff feats. Brown knocked off in-state rival the Univer-

sity of Rhode Island in the first round of the NCAA Tournament with a come-from-behind victory. A goal from Keith Caldwell ’06 off of a set play midway through the second half forced overtime, and Ben Brackett ’07 recorded the golden goal four minutes into overtime. The win set up a showdown with the University of Maryland, College Park, the tournament’s eventual champion. Brown gave up an early goal but almost rallied late in the second half to tie the game and force overtime. Following the season, Caldwell became the sixth former Brown standout to be selected by a Major League Soccer club when he was drafted by the Colorado Rapids in the MLS Supplemental Draft. Brittany Grovey ’06 and the women’s distance medley relay team were named All-Americans for their efforts on the indoor track team. Competing with a stress fracture in her shin, Grovey still managed to place ninth in the triple jump at the national competition on March 12. The medley relay squad, composed of Naja Ferjan ’07, Anna Willard ’06, Kelly Powell ’06 and Akilah King ’08, came in eighth at the national competition to earn a spot on the All-American team. Others who generated national recognition included Breck Bailey ’06, who won the Skillman Award given to the best senior collegiate squash player in the country. Wrestler Michael Savino ’06 qualified for the NCAA Championships. Fencer Ruth Schneider ’06 was also an All-American and competed at the national tournament. The Bears’ gymnastics team sent six competitors to Nationals as well. The 2005-2006 campaign was one for the ages at Brown, and this season’s success bodes well for the future of Brown athletics.

Rookies continued from page 24 9.575 at the ECAC Championships. At the USAG National Competition, Anderson placed

Coaches continued from page 24 fense to take advantage of the deadly tandem of seniors Colleen Kelly and Sarah Hayes. Her pressure deDSpics.com fense and Women’s Coach of 1-3-1 trapthe Year Jean Marie ping zone, a Burr staple of her time at Brown, led the league in steals, creating 66 more than Princeton, the next closest squad. The Bears allowed only 60.7 points per game, which was good for third in the Ivies.

Athletes continued from page 24 eraging 2.63 per game. A 5’8” guard, she led the Bears in rebounding and finished fifth in the league with an average of 7.1 per contest. Hayes was also the only guard to shoot over 50 percent from the floor. Over the year, Hayes had three 20-point games, including a career-high 25 against Hampton University in an 86-71 victory at the Brown Classic. Her most clutch performance came in the Bears’ 64-62 defeat of Harvard in Cambridge, Mass., where Hayes drained a jumper with 0.4 seconds left to give Bruno the win. Throughout her career, Hayes amassed over 1,000 points, 600 rebounds, 250 assists and 250 steals, becoming only the second player in league history to accomplish that feat. Hayes also captured almost every major individual award for a player, becoming the league’s rookie of the year in 2003, making second

M. tennis continued from page 24 to destroy the Bulldogs in doubles play. At first doubles, co-captain Phil Charm ’06 and Chris Lee ’09 dominated Rory Green and Rowan Reynolds, cruising to an 8-2 victory. Dan Hanegby ’07 and Saurabh Kohli ’08 had a similarly easy time at second doubles, defeating Brandon Wai and Michael Caldwell 8-3, while Eric Thomas ’07 and Sam Garland ’09 defeated Milosz Gudzowski and Chris Lawler 8-2 at third doubles. “Yale is very tough,” Charm said. “To win the three doubles matches that quickly was great.” Though everything had gone as planned for the Bears during the doubles matches, they had to make adjustments on the fly from the start of singles play. After deciding Lee was too injured to compete, Brown was forced to re-shuffle its lineup minutes before play began. Against Columbia two weeks ago, Lee injured

11th on the vault and 14th in the all-around competition. She was a steady contributor for the Bears all season and earned ECAC Rookie of the Week honors for her performance in the Bears’ home opener on January 29. She won the beam

event that week and scored the meet’s second highest allaround total. She also won the award the following week after helping the Bears past Ivy rival Cornell.

Brown did not receive a single vote to win the Ivy League and was picked to finish fourth in the preseason rankings, but with Burr’s guidance the team captured its first Ivy title since 1994 and the fifth in her career. Brown went 12-2 in the Ancient Eight and was undefeated at the Pizzitola Center for the first time in school history. — Justin Goldman

Following the graduation of four seniors from last season’s championship squad, Harris was forced to integrate a quartet of first-years into a team with the talent to contend once again. He successfully utilized his four rookies, and three made significant contributions during the title run. Brown was ranked as high as No. 41 this season, and the Bears rallied back from an early season defeat to the then-No. 52 Un i v e r s i t y of Pennsylvania and won their final five Ivy matches to earn the title.

Jay Harris — men’s tennis The men’s tennis team captured its second straight Ivy League title this season in Harris’ third year as head coach. The Bears have steadily improved under Harris, and he has helped to develop three players currently touring professionally. Harris might have done his most impressive work this year.

— Stephen Colelli

DSpics.com

— Stephen Men’s Coach of the Colelli Year Jay Harris

Nick Hartigan ’06 — football One of the best running backs in the history of the Ivy League wrapped up his career this fall by leading Brown to a 9-1 overall record and its first-ever outright Ivy League championship. Hartigan, the team’s running back, led the nation in rushing yards per game with 172.7 and also amassed 1,727 yards on the ground in 2005. That total broke Hartigan’s own school record set in 2003 and was the second

highest in Ivy history. He was a unanimous selection for Ivy League Player of the Year and only the second Bear to win that award. Hartigan had five games of over 190 yards rushing including an astounding 252 and four touchdowns against the University of Rhode Island. He closed out his career in fashion with 229 yards and three scores against Columbia to clinch the Ivy title. In his four years at Brown, Hartigan gained 4,492 yards and scored 54 touchdowns — both top the school lists. His 54 scores set a league record for touchdowns, and he also owns the career mark for points with 326. He was named the CoSIDA All-American of the year following the season. One of the most decorated athlete in the history of Brown athletics, Hartigan was also a finalist for a Rhodes Scholarship and the Walter Payton Award, given to the top player in Division I-AA. — Justin Goldman

his hip, and, though somewhat compensating for that problem yesterday, he developed a groin injury that prevented him from continuing. He had planned to play at fifth singles, with co-captain Luke Tedaldi ’06 playing sixth. Instead, Tedaldi shifted to fifth singles, while Garland took over the sixth position. “That showed how much of a team we are,” Harris said. Brown shook off the uncertainty immediately, however, and stretched its lead to 2-0 when Thomas won the third singles match 6-4, 6-1. But after Basu Ratnam ’09 lost 6-2, 6-0 to Gudzowski at second singles, the match got a bit tighter. Tedaldi gave the Bears a crucial win at fifth singles, defeating Green 6-4, 6-3. Seconds later, Garland finished his 6-1, 7-6 (2) defeat of Reynolds, and the Bears were Ivy League co-champions. Garland was unaware his win had clinched the title until his excited teammates ran onto the court hugging each other. “It was a fun experience, especially being a surprise,” he said.

Kohli and Hanegby lost the remaining singles matches in close third-set tiebreakers, but, since the Bears had already won the title, the team was exuberant. Charm and Tedaldi drenched Harris in champagne, and, luckily, there was enough bubbly left for Harris to lead a toast to “the entire Bruno family.” Afterwards, the Bears poured coolers over the heads of Harris and Assistant Coach Jamie Gresh. Harris said when the Bears won the title last year, he saw the shadows of the players behind him and dodged the cooler in time for Kohli to be doused instead. This time, the Bears made sure to soak the right man. Overall, Tedaldi and Charm finished their last Ivy season extremely pleased. “This win shows how much the team has grown the entire year,” Tedaldi said. “We were 1-1 in the Ivies, and then we won five straight matches. I’m really proud.” Charm agreed. “It’s amazing,” he said. “We’ve accomplished what no other Bruno team has done.”

team All-Ivy in 2004, earning first team All-Ivy honors in 2005 and finishing her career with the Player of the Year trophy. Hayes is also a standout in the classroom. She was named a District I Academic All-American by the College Sports Information Directors of America for each of the past two years. For all her accomplishments, Hayes was named Cox Sports Television and the Rhode Island Basketball Media Division I Women’s Player of the Year — the third consecutive Bears player to garner that honor.


OPINIONS EXTRA THE BROWN DAILY HERALD · THURSDAY, APRIL 27, 2006 · PAGE 21

Maintaining Brown’s values The co-chairs of the Save the Bookstore Coalition summarize the ongoing debate over outsourcing BY SIAN ROBERTS AND MAHATS MILLER GUEST COLUMNISTS

It has now been nearly two months since the Bookstore Review Committee issued its recommendation that the Brown Bookstore be outsourced to an outside vendor. Since that time, opposition to this recommendation has galvanized this campus in an unprecedented way. The Bookstore Review Committee’s report allocated two months to public discussion of its recommendation. It’s no exaggeration to say that a public consensus has formed: an informed public has weighed the benefits and consequences of outsourcing and has deemed this recommendation to be unacceptable. The committee’s deadline is upon us — the summer approaches — and it is now time for the administration to make its decision. Let us review the current state of the debate. The Save the Bookstore Coalition has extensively researched the costs and benefits of self-operation versus outsourcing and we have made our findings available to the general public on our Web site. By contrast, administrators have repeatedly withheld information, equivocated or misled the public regarding the bookstore’s profitability, financial contributions to the University, rents paid to the University and operational restrictions placed upon the bookstore. We have compiled a list of

these equivocations on our Web site. We have been consistently straightforward about our support for the bookstore’s independence. While claiming not to have made a decision, University administrators in their public remarks have repeatedly indicated a clear preference for outsourcing. On April 12, we delivered a petition signed by 1,201 people in support of

have publicly expressed their support for continued self-operation of the Brown Bookstore. The committee’s recommendation to outsource has received no significant public support; it clearly lacks a public mandate. We have gained the support of people from a wide cross-section of the community, including community leaders Sen. Rhoda Perry P’91, D-District 3, Rep. Edith

The outsourcing recommendation enjoys the support of only a handful of administrators, who have made little effort to reach out to the community or to build consensus. keeping the bookstore independent to President Ruth Simmons and Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration Elizabeth Huidekoper. To date, the administration has not responded to this petition. Over 1,200 people, most from the Brown and College Hill communities,

Ajello, D-District 3, Ward 1 City Councilman David Segal and the Fox Point Citizens Association. The outsourcing recommendation enjoys the support of only a handful of administrators, and they have made little effort to reach out to the community or to build consensus. We have received support from within

the publishing, bookselling and literary communities, including author and McSweeney’s founder Dave Eggers, novelist and Adjunct Professor of Literary Arts Robert Coover, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and Professor of History Gordon Wood and Rusty Drugan, executive director of the New England Booksellers’ Association. The only industry support that the committee’s recommendation enjoys is from chain vendors like Barnes and Noble College Booksellers or Follett; indeed, the administration has turned a blind eye to the negative impact large vendors such as these have on the publishing and bookselling industries. We want a new and improved self-operated Brown Bookstore. Recent comments by administrators on the review committee, as reported in The Herald, suggest that outsourcing is an option that some administrators will support at any cost to Brown. As an institution whose mission statement articulates a commitment to “serve the community, the nation, and the world by discovering, communicating, and preserving knowledge and understanding in a spirit of free inquiry,” outsourcing to a vendor would be to betray our values. As graduation quickly approaches, now is clearly not the time to sully our institution’s good name.

Sian Roberts GS and Mahats Miller ’08 are co-chairs of the Save the Bookstore Coalition.

The myth of corporate inevitability Politicians cannot effectively represent their constituents as long as corporations hold so much political power BY KAILIN CLARKE GUEST COLUMNIST

Take a walk through my sister’s affluent suburban neighborhood in Palo Alto, California and, I swear, after a while you just might forget that there are pain and injustice in the world. Pass by its perfectly arranged gardens, brand new toys strewn on freshly cut lawns and boys casually walking home in their soccer uniforms, and your mind is a blank. But wait. Before you zone out, check out the separate city of East Palo Alto — that is, unless you are scared to, as so many Palo Alto residents are. The city of East Palo Alto is a different slice of life. While I visited my sister every summer during the dot-com boom of the late 1990s, watching her and other Silicon Valley workers earn hefty salaries and stock options, low-income Bay Area communities like East Palo Alto were choking on the toxic waste produced, in particular, by the computer chip and hardware manufacturing industry. Interesting juxtaposition, no? With half the median household income of its prosperous neighbor, East Palo Alto was once home to a majority-black community and still remains a social and cultural base for Silicon Valley blacks who attend church and other functions there. Sadly, that base is disintegrating as rising property values and taxes force most of the remaining black residents out. The rise results from a few major sources of development that appeared there in 2000: upscale housing developments to lure Silicon Valley workers, a giant shopping center including Home Depot, Best Buy and IKEA stores and a Four Seasons Hotel, where a dingy area called Whiskey Gulch, whose name speaks for itself, used to be located.

These developments have raised property prices while kicking out small businesses and bringing only low-paying retail jobs to the area. In other words, while there may be more jobs, they do not pay enough to support the higher cost of living there. The various corporations that came into the city in 2000 never conspired to ruin a black community; their decisions were simply aimed at making the highest profits possible. The black community in East Palo Alto was not ignorant of the predictable results

ated an economic disparity between people of color and the white majority. The importance of money in politics therefore puts people of color at a huge disadvantage. For example, according to the Color of Money Project, almost 85 percent of federal contributions from California come from zip codes with a majority of white, non-Hispanic citizens. Republicans and Democrats alike spout rhetoric about protecting small businesses and communities. Yet because of the need to satisfy campaign contributors, real so-

Real solutions for limiting corporate power from steamrolling community interests are rarely, if ever, on the table. of letting in superstores like IKEA. Churches, community groups and the city’s newspaper all voiced strong opposition to such a development. Yet their voices failed to be heard beyond city limits. To understand why, we must first acknowledge the enormous power that campaign money has in determining who runs for office, who wins and who has the ear of elected officials. The candidate who raises more money during his or her campaign usually wins the race. How much money an organization donates to a candidate during campaign season is almost always correlated with how strongly the candidate, if elected, argues for policies which benefit the organization. Centuries of discrimination have cre-

lutions for limiting corporate power from steamrolling community interests are rarely, if ever, on the table. Corporations were not this powerful 30 years ago. Despite his association with Watergate, President Richard Nixon approved several measures opposed by business, such as an increase in the capital gains tax, limits on the use of tax shelters, a stronger occupational safety and health bill and stronger regulations on air pollution. It was not until the little-known SUNPAC ruling in 1975, permitting corporations more control over their political action committees, and the Federal Election Commission’s 1978 approval of “soft money” contributions, that corporations were on the road to influencing our democracy

in the way they do today. I outline that brief history lesson to prove a point. The government decides how much power corporations have. The inevitability of the corporate takeover of our lives is a myth. In a different legal and political climate, East Palo Alto could have negotiated for better wages and benefits for employees of these big-box retailers before letting them in. At this juncture, one might ask how Arizona managed to create a discount prescription drug program and how Maine ever passed a bill for a form of universal health coverage. The pharmaceutical industry may be the industry best known for its undue influence on public policy. The answer is that Maine and Arizona have passed brilliant bills to reduce the influence of special interests on their political processes. By providing a voluntary system of public funding for campaigns, elected officials can avoid owing favors to big business and instead focus on fairly representing their constituents’ interests. Democracy Matters, a student group at Brown, is fighting to replicate such a bill in Rhode Island to produce pro-democratic structural change. Please go to www. cleanelectionsri.org for information on our plans for next year and how you can be involved. “Urban regeneration” in East Palo Alto does not have to be a euphemism for relocation of poor people of color and replacement with more well-heeled residents. When governments take back the reins and resume their once esteemed roles as regulators of corporate power, cities regain the authority to derive the meaning of such terms for themselves.

Kailin Clarke ’07 is currently taking a semester off to work in California.


EDITORIAL/LETTERS THE BROWN DAILY HERALD · THURSDAY, APRIL 27, 2006 · PAGE 22

STAFF EDITORIAL

Diamonds and coal Coal to Kaavya Viswanathan, the Harvard University student author who recently admitted to copying material from another novelist. Plagiarism is bad enough, but plagiarizing from books titled “Sloppy Firsts” and “Second Helpings” is what those of us in the industry refer to as overkill. A cubic zirconium to students at the University of Maryland, College Park, who passed a referendum calling for a relaxation of the school’s marijuana policies during student government elections. Though we support students at other schools advancing progressive legislation during elections, it only reminds us that Brown students can’t even choose between multiple candidates. Coal to Ronald Dwight ’66, who recently compared Brown to the Roman Catholic Church. If you ask us, there’s enough historical baggage surrounding University Hall right now without comparisons to the Vatican. Coal to Rhode Island’s aggressive tax credit for film production companies, which makes the state competitive with countries like Luxembourg. Evidently, someone in City Hall decided we weren’t ever going to win that rivalry with Boston, anyway. A diamond to free cone day, if only for reminding us how much we’re willing to pay to eat our ice cream in peace. Here’s hoping we don’t have to listen to another marching band — or overhear certain Ben and Jerry’s enthusiasts brag about how many times they’ve gone through the line — for a full calendar year. A diamond to newfound free time. Let’s hope we keep it together better than certain students in Brown’s summer program, who were “literally jumping out dorm windows and crawling into the clubs of Providence,” according to EMS manager Richard Lapierre. Though if our recent performance on the kickball field is any indication, things don’t bode well. Speaking of kickball, a diamond to the endurance of Herald staffers, most recently evidenced by our inspiring extrainning victory over the College Hill Dependent. Never mind that certain members of our staff were not in a position to step up to the plate by the end — let alone take a victory lap.

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD EDITORIAL Robbie Corey-Boulet, Editor-in-Chief Justin Elliott, Executive Editor Ben Miller, Executive Editor Stephanie Clark, Senior Editor Katie Lamm, Senior Editor Jonathan Sidhu, Arts & Culture Editor Jane Tanimura, Arts & Culture Editor Stu Woo, Campus Watch Editor Mary-Catherine Lader, Features Editor Ben Leubsdorf, Metro Editor Anne Wootton, Metro Editor Eric Beck, News Editor Patrick Harrison, Opinions Editor Nicholas Swisher, Opinions Editor Stephen Colelli, Sports Editor Christopher Hatfield, Sports Editor Justin Goldman, Asst. Sports Editor Jilane Rodgers, Asst. Sports Editor Charlie Vallely, Asst. Sports Editor PRODUCTION Allison Kwong, Design Editor Taryn Martinez, Copy Desk Chief Lela Spielberg, Copy Desk Chief Mark Brinker, Graphics Editor Joe Nagle, Graphics Editor

PHOTO Jean Yves Chainon, Photo Editor Jacob Melrose, Photo Editor Ashley Hess, Sports Photo Editor Kori Schulman, Sports Photo Editor BUSINESS Ryan Shewcraft, General Manager Lisa Poon, Executive Manager David Ranken, Executive Manager Mitch Schwartz, Executive Manager Laurie-Ann Paliotti, Sr. Advertising Manager Susan Dansereau, Office Manager POST- MAGAZINE Sonia Saraiya, Editor-in-Chief Taryn Martinez, Associate Editor Ben Bernstein, Features Editor Matt Prewitt, Features Editor Elissa Barba, Design Editor Lindsay Harrison, Graphics Editor Constantine Haghighi, Film Editor Paul Levande, Film Editor Jesse Adams, Music Editor Katherine Chan, Music Editor Hillary Dixler, Off-the-Hill Editor Abigail Newman, Theater Editor

Allison Kwong, Night Editor Chris Gang, Amy Ehrhart, Copy Editors Senior Staff Writers Simmi Aujla, Stephanie Bernhard, Melanie Duch, Ross Frazier, Jonathan Herman, Rebecca Jacobson, Chloe Lutts, Caroline Silverman Staff Writers Justin Amoah, Zach Barter, Allison Erich Bernstein, Brenna Carmody, Alissa Cerny, Ashley Chung, Stewart Dearing, Kristina Kelleher, Hannah Levintova, Hannah Miller, Aidan Levy, Taryn Martinez, Kyle McGourty, Ari Rockland-Miller, Chelsea Rudman, Kam Sripada, Robin Steele, Spencer Trice, Ila Tyagi, Sara Walter Sports Staff Writers Sarah Demers, Amy Ehrhart, Erin Frauenhofer, Kate Klonick, Madeleine Marecki, George Mesthos, Hugh Murphy, Eric Perlmutter, Marco Santini, Bart Stein, Tom Trudeau, Steele West Account Administrators Alexandra Annuziato, Emilie Aries, Steven Butschi, Dee Gill, Rahul Keerthi, Kate Love, Ally Ouh, Nilay Patel, Ashfia Rahman, Rukesh Samarasekera, Jen Solin, Bonnie Wong Design Staff Adam Kroll, Andrew Kuo, Jason Lee, Gabriela Scarritt Photo Staff CJ Adams, Chris Bennett, Meg Boudreau, Tobias Cohen, Lindsay Harrison, Matthew Lent, Dan Petrie, Christopher Schmitt, Oliver Schulze, Juliana Wu, Min Wu, Copy Editors Chessy Brady, Amy Ehrhart, Natalia Fisher, Jacob Frank, Christopher Gang, Yi-Fen Li, Taryn Martinez, Katie McComas, Sara Molinaro, Heather Peterson, Lela Spielberg

JOSEPH NAGLE

LETTERS No single solution for drinking problem To the Editor: In response to the recent article on Spring Weekend Emergency Medical Services calls (“Spring Weekend alcohol and drug calls double,” April 26) and the column by Michael Morgenstern ’08 (“New alcohol policies backfire,” April 26), we wanted to offer some additional perspectives. As members of the Ad-Hoc Committee to Review Social Event Policies and the Alcohol and Other Drugs Subcommittee of the Campus Life Advisory Board, we have been part of a collective campus effort to review and evaluate policies, practice and campus culture. The review of current policies was not predicated solely on one weekend’s events in November. Over the past several years, Brown has seen a rise in the level of drinking reported by students on campus — it is precisely our concern for student safety that has guided and will continue to guide policy development. It does not surprise us that this year’s Spring Weekend had a higher number of EMS calls than last year’s given that EMS calls have been higher all year and the culture of calling EMS is growing stronger on campus each year. We didn’t expect a drastic change in drinking on campus during what was, in some cases, the first implementation of policies. Event policies on campus exist to provide standards and guidelines; however, exceptions can always be made when students make their case and address the concerns presented. As an example, SpagFest organizers were told that they could make a case for not charging per drink, but they did not do so.

We have and will continue to be part of a campus-wide effort. There is no one solution that will work, and we need to have a more comprehensive framework for evaluating this issue — instead of only looking at EMS statistics, as was the approach of the April 26 article. Certainly, leaving things as they are when excessive drinking is on the rise on campus is not the right solution. We look forward to continuing to work on these issues and to working with the Brown community to develop what Brown has always developed — a uniquely Brunonian solution to a complex and daunting set of issues. Nancy Barnett Assistant Professor of Psychiatry Ricky Gresh Director of Student Activities Margaret Klawunn Associate Vice President for Campus Life Jason Lambrese ’06 Deborah Lister Manager of Event Support, Facilities Management Frances Mantak Director of Health Education Kathleen McSharry Dean of Chemical Dependency Stephen Morin Director of Environmental Health and Safety Grisel Murillo ’07 April 25

Printed course bulletins still valuable To the Editor: I am writing in response to a recent letter by Daniel Leventhal ’07 (“Course Announcement Bulletin obsolete now,” April 12). The biggest problem with having course information online is not one that can be solved simply by improving the Web site, as he asserts. For many people, looking through a book for courses is inherently more conducive to browsing than looking online, where you have to type in specifications before viewing

courses. Even if a substantial number of students think that the paper bulletin is no longer necessary, it still should not be phased out entirely. Administrators should simply make it available from the Office of the Registrar instead of automatically delivering it to every student’s mailbox. Malka Key ’09 April 19

CORRECTIONS POLICY The Brown Daily Herald is committed to providing the Brown University community with the most accurate information possible. Corrections may be submitted up to seven calendar days after publication. C O M M E N TA R Y P O L I C Y The staff editorial is the majority opinion of the editorial board of The Brown Daily Herald. The editorial viewpoint does not necessarily reflect the views of The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. Columns, letters and comics reflect the opinions of their authors only. LET TERS TO THE EDITOR POLICY Send letters to letters@browndailyherald.com. Include a telephone number with all letters. The Herald reserves the right to edit all letters for length and cannot assure the publication of any letter. Please limit letters to 250 words. Under special circumstances writers may request anonymity, but no letter will be printed if the author’s identity is unknown to the editors. Announcements of events will not be printed. A DV E RT I S I N G P O L I C Y The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. reserves the right to accept or decline any advertisement at its discretion.


OPINIONS

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD · THURSDAY, APRIL 27, 2006 · PAGE 23

A call to action As finals approach, we should channel history’s most productive individuals to stave procrastination BY KEVIN ROOSE GUEST COLUMNIST

We, the Brown student body, do many things really well. We sing, we paint, we juggle, we write and we compute, all with the same aplomb that got us here in the first place. But, without a doubt, what we do best is waste time. Reading period and finals are nigh upon us, which means that we’ll be spending our time more ineffectively than ever, eschewing papers and problem sets in favor of watching the “Chronic-WHAT-cles of Narnia” for the 17th time. Oh, sure, we’ll get our finals done eventually, but not before Facebook voyeurism, Xbox gaming and sunny afternoons on the Main Green push schoolwork out of the present and into bleary-eyed, Red Bull-fueled early morning last-minute cram sessions. Knowing that I’m probably not the only Brown student who can’t work well in the spring, I set out to discover what we, the purported leaders of tomorrow, are up against. I found a world beyond procrastination — a world where a four-page paper would only take me two hours, where I could do my work and still get to sleep in the pre-Morning Mail period, where studying for a French exam would take precedence over rearranging the shirts in my closet by sleeve length. My friends, I have seen the Promised Land, and it’s scary as hell. Contrary to popular belief, procrastination is not the de facto setting of the human cerebrum — some people actually transcend slack-

er’s inertia and check off the items on their to-do lists at breakneck pace. Take, for example, the world inhabited by masmids, Hasidic Jewish boys who spend their teenage years in yeshiva studying religious texts for up to 16 hours a day. 16 hours a day. I read that number over and over, and felt the profound sadness that comes with knowing that I’ve

Guinness World Record for Most Prolific Author. Hamilton wrote an estimated 72 million words under several pseudonyms between 1908 and 1961. That’s almost 1.4 million words a year and over 3,700 words a day. That’s a ton of inspiration for one man, to say nothing of the hand cramps. But it’s not just the writers among

Contrary to popular belief, procrastination is not the de facto setting of the human cerebrum — some people actually transcend slacker’s inertia and check off the items on their to-do lists at breakneck pace. never once in my life done anything for that long. In the time one masmid studies daily, I could (and probably would) watch two entire seasons of “Saved by the Bell,” enough to see Mr. Belding ask, “Hey, hey, hey, what is going on here?” approximately four hundred times. Or consider Charles Harold St. John Hamilton, a British writer who holds the

us who can take a lesson from history. Math types would be well served to consider Leonhard Euler, the Swiss mathematician, whose lifetime output filled 70 large volumes, and who was said to have often written complete mathematical proofs between the first and second calls for supper. Musicians can be prodded on by invoking the spirit of George Frid-

eric Handel, who composed his Messiah in a mind-blowing 24 days. Engineering majors, the poor things, can channel Shunpei Yamazaki, a Japanese inventor who holds 1,432 patents (and counting) on his tech products. Around every corner of history, there’s someone waiting to make us feel bad about ourselves. But perhaps we shouldn’t be so discouraged. I mean, there’s no way college can be just about papers and problem sets, right? No man is an island, after all, and if we just worked in solitary confinement all the time, we’d either be really unhappy or computer science majors. On the other side of the coin, the annals of history aren’t filled exclusively with workhorses, either. The story of I.A. Shapiro, an eminent Shakespearean scholar, gave me some solace. Shapiro was hired by Oxford University Press to edit and compile the collected letters of John Donne in 1930. He was still working on the project when he died at age 99 in 2004. And he didn’t even have Facebook. Or console yourself by thinking about Noah, of Biblical ark-construction fame. It took him 100 years to build and populate a freaking boat. So go on, spend your afternoons flinging Frisbees, put your pens down and blow off a little steam now and then, but whatever you choose to do, be careful — history is watching.

Kevin Roose ’09 put off writing this article until last night.

Power on stage One concert-goer is unnerved by the power dynamic on display in Common’s “audience participation” woman or that his intent was malicious. row sufficient consent to be touched by a ing, so why didn’t I feel that way too? BY ROSANNA DENT GUEST COLUMNIST

I had lost track of time, but about halfway through his Spring Weekend set, Common called for a volunteer from the audience to come up on stage. He specified that he wanted a lady and selected one of the many enthusiastic hand-wavers. After introducing himself to the young woman and the young woman to the audience of hundreds, he proceeded to serenade her and dance with her. On any given Saturday night, thousands of people dance in this fashion, bodies held close, enjoying the excitement of meeting someone new. But I stood horrified as I watched Common press his face to this young woman’s neck. Many of us have become accustomed to the sweaty closeness of nightclubs or dance floors, and a certain level of physical intimacy with strangers. Perhaps the young woman enjoyed every moment of her center-stage exchange with the self-announced fivetime Grammy nominee. But the key word here is “perhaps.” Standing on stage in front of a sea of faces, could she have rejected Common’s advances? With the anonymity of a typical dance floor comes the protection of friends dancing nearby and the ability to decline interaction without judgment from the company at large. If she wasn’t comfortable with his dancing so close to her, could she have pushed him away? Maybe she would have had the self-awareness and confidence to say “no” if she felt uncomfortable. I certainly know I wouldn’t have been able to, had it been me standing in the spotlight. I am not trying to suggest Common was purposely taking advantage of this young

This was not a blaring infraction of appropriate behavior or a misogynistic assault. What upset me most was the subtleness of the power dynamics at play, and the fact that no one seemed to notice. If a sidewalk performer asked for a volunteer as part of his act and then proceeded to touch her neck and dance closely

stranger? My reaction was visceral. As I watched the exchange progress on stage, I felt familiar dread at the thought of not being able to stop someone from touching me. Powerlessness is terrifying, and the fact that hundreds of people were watching accentuated my discomfort. The initial tempta-

Standing onstage in front of a sea of faces, could the female volunteer have rejected Common’s advances? If she wasn’t comfortable with his dancing so close to her, could she have pushed him away? with her, an audience would respond very differently. For some reason the crowd filling Meehan Auditorium completely accepted Common interacting this way with the volunteer he selected. Why was it acceptable for him to behave this way, on a stage in front of hundreds of people? Fame engenders a certain amount of respect and credibility in many cases, especially with such a well-liked artist as Common. But was volunteering from the front

tion was to dismiss my unease, since apparently few other people in the crowd found anything problematic with the situation. However, since one of my friends and I were both fidgeting with discomfort, it is likely other members of the audience were also upset. I stood there shocked at what was unfolding before me, but was at a loss for anything I could do to change the situation. The audience in general seemed happy to go along with what was happen-

I am guessing that most of the spectators rather enjoyed the “audience participation” aspect of the performance. They got to see a Brown student brought onto stage, see her enjoy herself dancing with a prominent star and cheer loudly in support of her nerve, since it is difficult for most people to stand up in front of such a crowd. There is an excitement in the suggestive physical interaction of two strangers, and I was disquieted by the voyeuristic quality to this type of performance. The implication for all the female Common fans out there was: this could be you. As the young woman left the stage, Common thanked her for “being a good sport,” and said that while many other women get scared up on stage, she seemed particularly calm. I expect he attributes the discomfort of previous volunteers to stage fright and the fame intimidation factor. I couldn’t help but wonder how many of those women left the stage feeling violated and objectified. I am questioning why we, as a general audience, found his behavior acceptable when it would have been extremely difficult for the young woman involved to say “no.” Dancing with her and touching her face may seem fine, but how far could he have invaded her personal space before someone from the audience would have acted to intervene? This is only a small event, a subtle demonstration of power dynamics ingrained throughout U.S. society. But ultimately, inattentiveness to situations like this implicitly condones them and perpetuates larger systems of domination.

Rosanna Dent ’06 has a not-so-common complaint.


SPORTS THURSDAY THE BROWN DAILY HERALD · APRIL 27 , 2006 · PAGE 24

Kings of the court: M. tennis wins Ivy crown BY ERIN FRAUENHOFER SPORTS STAFF WRITER

The men’s tennis team made history Wednesday afternoon by defeating Yale 4-3 to claim a share of the Ivy League title. The title is the third in the program’s ex-

Ashley Hess / Herald

Eric Thomas ’07 won in singles, 6-4, 6-1, and in doubles with Sam Garland ’09, 8-2.

istence, and all three have come since 2002. “This is the first time in the history of the program that the team has won back-to-back Ivy titles,” said Head Coach Jay Harris. The victory also marks the first time the team has remained undefeated at home for a season, which Harris called “a huge point of pride.” The Bears finished their conference season with a 6-1 record, identical to the University of Pennsylvania’s. Because the two squads finished with matching records, the teams will share the title. The Bears barely lost to Penn 4-3 at the beginning of the season, but on Sunday they will travel to Philadelphia for a rematch that will decide which team will advance to the NCAA Tournament. “We’re a different team than we were three weeks ago,” Harris said. “We’ve grown a lot over the Ivy season.” The growth was apparent from the start of Wednesday’s match. It took just 45 minutes for the Bears see M. TENNIS, page 20

Hartigan ’06, Hayes ’06 head impressive list of Brown athletes during 2005-06 With The Herald’s last issue, the Sports Desk takes an opportunity to select its top male and female athletes from the past year. Sarah Hayes ’06 — women’s basketball Hayes had one of most impressive all-around sea-

Ashley Hess / Herald

see ATHLETES, page 20

The 2005-06 athletic season was among the most successful in the University’s history. Four teams — football, men’s soccer, women’s basketball and men’s tennis — won Ivy League Championships, and the men’s and women’s crew teams are ranked among the top 10 in the country.

Three of those six teams captured titles in sports in which Brown has not been an annual contender. This year’s success should change that fact. While the men’s soccer team has been a frequent participant in the NCAA Tournament and captured its 18th Ivy crown this season, the football, women’s basketball and men’s tennis teams are not traditional Ivy title contend-

The Herald’s seasonal all-stars Fall Season Top Teams Men: Football and Soccer Women: Volleyball Top Performers Ben Brackett ’07 (M. Soccer) Matt Britner ’07 (M. Soccer) Andrew Daniels ’07 (M. Soccer) Zak DeOssie ’07 (Football) Jay Fantone ’06 (M. Water Polo) Mike Gartner ’09 (M. Water Polo) Jamie Gasperella ’06 (Football) Lauren Gibbs ’06 (W. Volleyball) Kim Lavere ’06 (W. Soccer) Leigh Martin ’06 (W. Volleyball) Owen Washburn ’06 (M. Cross Country) Hilary Wilson ’06 (W. Soccer)

Winter Season Top Teams Men: Indoor Track Women: Basketball Top Performers Breck Bailey ’06 (M. Squash) Ray Bobrownicki ’06 (M. Track) Dallas Dissmore ’06 (M. Track) BROWN SPORTS SCOREBOARD WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26 W. LACROSSE: Harvard 12, Brown 7 NO. 70 M. TENNIS: Brown 4, Yale 3 W. TENNIS: Yale 5, Brown 2

Distance Medley Relay: Naja Ferjan ’07, Akilah King ’08, Kelly Powell ’06, Anna Willard ’06 (W. Track) Jake Golenor ’06 (M. Track) Brittany Grovey ’06 (W. Track) Myria Heinhus ’06 (W. Ice Hockey) Keenan Jeppesen ’08 (M. Basketball) Colleen Kelly ’06 (W. Basketball) Jessica Larson (W. Swimming) Hayley Moore ’06 (W. Ice Hockey) Kelly O’Hear ’07 (Skiing) Eileen Robinson (W. Swimming) Ruth Schneider ’06 (Fencing)

Dan Petrie / Herald

Female Player of the Year Sarah Hayes ’06

ers. Head Coach Phil Estes has done a remarkable job transforming the football program into one of the Ancient Eight’s best. Prior to his arrival, the Bears had only finished atop the Ivy League once since its inception in 1956. The football squad won a championship in 1999, Estes’ first on the job after replacing Mark Whipple ’79, but since then it has struggled with consistency. Over the previous four years, despite boasting many of the league’s top players, Brown’s record was 19-20. On the court, the women’s basketball team was mired in mediocrity in the late 1990s. After winning their fifth conference crown in 1994, the Bears finished between fourth and last place in the league from 1998-2002, bottoming out with a 5-22 overall record in 2002. To say Brown has experisee YEAR END, page 20

On Sept. 18, 2002, my first column for The Herald’s sports section ran. It was a response to a column that had run previously, written by Adam Stern ’06 — no, I CHRIS HATFIELD don’t think he’s relatTHE WEIGHT ed to the Red Sox outfielder — that suggested Major League Baseball would be better off contracting teams.

Eight semesters and approximately 85 bylines later — not including the four or five briefs I wrote as “Herald Staff Reports” during my two semesters on the editorial board — I’m officially done. This is, if I’ve counted correctly, my 86th and final bylined story, and since I’ve got all kinds of favors left to call in, I can put whatever I please in here. It’s good to have five semesters’ worth of editing under your belt. I came to Providence a timsee HATFIELD, page 19

Burr, Harris led teams to Ivy Championships in ’06 Jean Marie Burr, head coach of the women’s basketball team, and men’s COACHES OF tennis Head Coach Jay THE YEAR Harris have been selected as The Herald’s coaches of the year. Jean Marie Burr — women’s basketball In her 18th year as head coach, Burr had one of her finest seasons on the Bears’ bench and earned her 11th

winning season. Under her, Brown finished with an 18-10 record. Burr now has 261 wins, which is the most for any male or female basketball coach at Brown. Despite losing center Holly Robertson ’05 and forward Andrea Conrad ’05, the team’s top two inside players from a year ago, Burr turned this year’s squad into an uptempo, coast-to-coast ofsee COACHES, page 20

Rock solid rooks: Geppert ’09, Anderson ’09 Scott Geppert ’09 and Brittany Anderson ’09 have been selected as The Herald’s male and female rookie of the year for their outstanding performances and contributions to their teams in their first year on College Hill.

Spring Season Top Teams Men: Tennis and Crew Women: Crew Top Performers Amie Biros ’07 (W. Lacrosse) Larry Haertel ’08 (M. Golf) Dan Hanegby ’07 (M. Tennis) Paige Lansing ’07(W. Water Polo) Will McGettigan ’06 (M. Lacrosse) Mary Seid ’06 (Softball) Bryan Tews ’07 (Baseball) Kent Walls ’06 (M. Track) Kelsey Wilson ’09 (Softball) Anna Willard ’06 (W. Track)

Male Player of the Year Nick Hartigan ’06

Last call: the reflections of a graduating scribe

Ivy title teams defined 2005-06 BY STEPHEN COLELLI SPORTS EDITOR

sons in Bears’ history in 20052006. She was a unanimous selection to the All-Ivy first team for the second consecutive season and was named Ivy League Player of the Year, the first ATHLETES OF B r o w n player to THE YEAR win the a w a r d since Martina Jerant ’94. Hayes finished second in the league in scoring with 15.8 points per game and led the league in steals for the second straight season, av-

Ashley Hess / Herald

Male Rookie of the Year Scott Geppert ’09

Scott Geppert ’09 — men’s soccer Geppert started 13 out of 16 games for Brown in his rookie campaign and led the team with 14 points. That total ranked ROOKIES OF fourth in the THE YEAR league and was tops among Ivy League rookies. He had four goals, good for fourth on the team, and six assists, tying him for the team lead. For his efforts, Geppert earned the Ivy League’s Rookie of the Year Award.

Stepping into a starting role early in the season, Geppert had an immediate impact for the Bears. In Brown’s 5-0 victory over St. Peter’s College in the second game of the year, Geppert notched his first collegiate goal and never looked back. He had three game-winning goals, tops on the team. He was also named Ivy League Rookie of the Week twice and tallied two goals and five assists during conference play. — Justin Goldman Brittany Anderson ’09 — gymnastics Anderson was named to the All-ECAC first team in the beam event after posting a score of see ROOKIES, page 20


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

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