Thursday, April 5, 2007 by The Brown Daily Herald

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD T HURSDAY

Volume CXLII, No. 44

5, 2007

Since 1866, Daily Since 1891

Venezuelan ambassador puts Chavez presidency into context BY CHAZ FIRESTONE SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Bernando Alvarez Herrera, the Venezuelan ambassador to the United States, told a packed MacMillan 117 last night that the rise of President Hugo Chavez — widely seen as a ﬁrebrand in the United States — must be understood in the context of the instability that preceded his 1998 election. “People have heard a lot about Hugo Chavez and Venezuela, and the chance to hear about the situation from an insider is very valuable,” said James Green, associate professor of history and director of the Center for Latin American

Rahul Keerthi / Herald The 16 cameras in the Sciences Library can be monitored at the guard’s desk and by Department of Public Safety personnel.

16 recently installed security cameras now monitor SciLi BY JESSICA ROTONDI STAFF WRITER

Approximately 185 security cameras now quietly observe locations on Brown’s campus, including Faunce House, the Power Street parking garage and — the newest addition — the 24-hour Friedman Study Center in the Sciences Library. “The logic behind installing the cameras was to enhance public safety. As we began to think through the implications of the Friedman Center’s extended hours of operation, we wanted to make sure that we provided adequate safety measures,” wrote University Librarian Harriette Hemmasi in an e-mail to The Herald. There are 16 cameras in the SciLi, according to Hemmasi. Cameras were installed during the construction of the study center, which opened at the beginning of this semester, according to Barbara Schulz, head of facilities and business services at the University Library. As an additional security measure, guards are present in the building from midnight to 8:30

Med School ‘Match Day’ sees primary care boost

a.m., Hemmasi added. Schulz said Mac Systems, which installed the SciLi cameras, furnishes most security camera installations on campus. There were 180 cameras on campus in November 2005, The Herald reported at the time — a sizeable increase from the 60 on campus in 2000. Given the center’s location off Thayer Street, “it’s easy to see the need for adequate safety considerations,” wrote David Cardoza, technical and support systems manager for the Department of Public Safety, in an e-mail to The Herald. “Cameras are not there to spy on people. They are there to provide a sense of what’s happening with this building,” Hemmasi said. There is one camera on B level of the SciLi, six on A level, eight on the ground level and one on the mezzanine, she wrote, while others are located outside the building to monitor entrances and exits. Hemmasi said the cameras help determine the cause of alarms, frequently set off by

cy programs for next year. Each March, the National Resident Matching Program — managed by the American Association of Medical Colleges — assigns graduating medical students to specialty-speciﬁc residency programs using a computer algorithm that considers ranked preferences of both applicants and residency

BY KRISTINA KELLEHER SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Breaking a downward local and national trend, 45 fourth-year medical students will go on to residencies in primary-care specialties next year. In all, 88 Alpert Medical School seniors were among the 15,000 medical and osteopathic school seniors nationwide to be “matched” March 15 into residen-

continued on page 4

Former Sen. Santorum to speak on traditional values tonight BY MICHAEL SKOCPOL SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Courtesy of Congress.gov Former Sen. Rick Santorum will deliver a lecture at 7 p.m. titled “The Dawn of an American Renaissance.”

INSIDE:

postINSIDE

Former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, a vocal advocate for moral values, will speak tonight on the decline of traditional American values. The lecture, titled “The Dawn of an American Renaissance,” is sponsored by the Brown Lecture Board and will take place at 7 p.m. in Salomon 101. Santorum “will chronicle his battles for the dignity of all human life, his effort to protect traditional marriage and his struggle to reverse the media’s onslaught against virtue,” according to the Lecture Board. Santorum served two terms as

POST- SUPERSIZES In its extra-large issue, postexamines the relationship between Brown and Pixar, talks with Fall Out Boy and lives free ... or dies

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5 FEATURE

a Republican senator from Pennsylvania, gaining a reputation as an outspoken social conservative with ﬁrm stances against gay marriage and abortion. Since losing his 2006 re-election bid to Democrat Bob Casey Jr., Santorum has returned to private law practice and serves as a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, described on its Web site as “dedicated to applying the Judeo-Christian moral tradition to critical issues of public policy.” “No matter if you agree or disagree with his speech or his values, I guarantee it will be a good speech,” said Lecture Board CoPresident Daniel Fombonne ’07, MAKE $ ON THE INTERNET Aaron Luryi ’07 is his own Internet startup — after designing software that logs AIM chats, he sells it on his Web site for $25 a pop

who explained that the Lecture Board felt bringing a speaker from the conservative side of the political spectrum would help balance the more liberal speakers Brown usually attracts. “A liberal way of thinking is very prevalent here,” said Sam Culver ’07, the Lecture Board’s vice president for media relations. “He is a good person to bring to challenge our audience and challenge the students here.” Tickets for the speech were distributed Wednesday and will also be available today free of charge to anyone with a Brown ID from 12 to 2 p.m. in Lower Faunce House.

11 OPINIONS

195 Angell Street, Providence, Rhode Island

SDS AND ITS CRITICS Students ffor a Democratic Society and guest columnist Jeff Wardyga ‘08 offer different views on the group’s protests of defense contractors

Studies, who moderated the lecture. “Students are fascinated by Chavez’s critiques of Washington policy.” Herrera spent much of his halfhour speech talking about the history of Venezuela and the problems it faced before Chavez was elected in 1998. Herrera pointed to a series of protests in the late 1980s and early 1990s as signs of a country in turmoil, despite being portrayed in foreign media as a stable nation. “There was an illusion of harmony in Venezuela,” Herrera said. “The riots were the starting points continued on page 8

A year after travel ban is lifted, students study in Israel BY RACHEL ARNDT SENIOR STAFF WRITER

A year after Brown lifted its ban on studying abroad in Israel, the University has ﬁve students studying in the country this spring and plans to send six more next fall. The ban on travel to Israel was part of the University’s more general ban — also lifted a year ago — against travel to countries on the State Department’s travel warnings list. After Brown Students for Israel collected over 2,000 signatures on a petition to allow study abroad in Israel, the University began permitting study in Israel in March 2006. The petition showed “the administration there were people who cared,” said Sam Zuckerman ’08, a member of Brown Students for Israel. When the ban was in place, some students determined to get to Israel temporarily withdrew from the University to do so. “People who want to go to Israel are going to go to Israel,” Zuckerman said. After students went on personal leave and returned to Brown, they were “often applying for retroactive credit,” said Kendall Brostuen, director of international programs and associate dean of the College. Brostuen said the BSI petition against the ban was “strongly supported by the University population.” Still, he said, studying in a country on the State Department warning list is a “decision (that) needs to rest with the student.” Students must ﬁll out waivers acknowledging that they “understand the inherent risk,” Brostuen said. He also encouraged students to “monitor the situation” while they are abroad in hot spots like Israel and said the University provides students with the State Department’s written warning for continued on page 4

12 SPORTS

COVERING THE BASES Sports columnists Ellis Rochelson ’09 rehashes baseball’s opening day and Tom Trudeau ’09 considers the merits of a closing pitcher

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VERNEY-WOOLLEY DINING HALL

LUNCH — Pepperoni Spinach Feta Calzone, Hot Turkey Sandwich, Kielbasa, Vegan Tofu Pups, Cajun Fettuccini, Home Fries, Fudge Bars, Cupcakes

LUNCH — Vegetarian Escarole and Bean Soup, Beef Vegetable Soup, Chicken Caesar Salad Wrap, Eggplan Parmesan Grinder, Zucchini and Summer Squash

DINNER — Honey Dipped Chicken, Spinach Fettuccini, Caribbean Rice and Peas, Chicken Soup with Tortellini, Brazilian Chocolate Cake

DINNER — Meatloaf Cheese Soufﬂe, Vegetarian Escarole and Bean Soup, Mashed Red Potatoes with Garlic, Cheese Bread, Brazilian Chocolate Cake

THURSDAY, APRIL 5, 2007

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D O K U

Fill in the grid so that every row, every column and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 through 9. Hi, How Are You | Alison Naturale

Deo | Daniel Perez ��

CR ACROSS 1 Tear canal 5 “Rocky” composer Bill 10 Treat meat, in a way 14 “Dies __” 15 Like a parabola 16 In a few 17 Court star 18 Document with Sonny Corleone’s lines highlighted? 20 Drink with sweet vermouth 22 Aquatic fun lover 23 Trial setting 24 Stylish 25 Chocolates, e.g. 27 More than fear 29 Tibias’ neighbors 30 Island east of Manila 31 Bath speed meas. 34 Some pop-ups 35 The role of Frenchy, in “Grease”? 38 Ground breaker 39 Queen’s subject 40 Sitar music 41 Surfer’s mecca 43 Fishing spot 45 Precipitated 46 Leans toward 49 Fired 50 Computer data acronym 51 Tracking animals 55 Madeline’s pursuits of movie roles? 57 Positive 58 Release 59 Certain Jamaican, religiously 60 Cuyahoga River outlet 61 Knocks (off) 62 Big blowout 63 Recipe meas. DOWN 1 Circum. ÷ pi

O S S W O R D

2 __ Major 3 “Love and marriage, love and marriage, go together like a horse and carriage,” e.g.? 4 Giggles 5 Mescal, e.g. 6 Be eloquent, in a way 7 Indiana-based sports gp. 8 Ga. neighbor 9 Some tags 10 Hauled 11 Modules 12 Ins and outs 13 Vestibule, for one 19 Julius Dithers’s wife, in comics 21 Clown’s bit 24 Floor model 25 Attempt 26 Ford a stream, e.g. 27 Super Bowl XLI winning coach 28 Indian prince 30 Itty-bitty biter 31 Travels for singer Chaka?

32 Advantageous position 33 Believed 36 Leftover bits 37 No New York Yankee is allowed to have one 42 Attitude 43 Dives 44 La Salle of “ER”

45 Attacks 46 Pretender 47 “Me too” 48 Electronic censor 49 Ram’s attacks 51 Get better 52 Mount of Greek myth 53 “Get a __!” 54 Witnesses 56 Metro area

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A date with danger? State House considers education tax credit Bill would address dating violence through education mandate BY SARA MOLINARO METRO EDITOR

Middle school and high school students in Rhode Island may soon be required to undergo dating violence education as part of the public school curriculum if proposed legislation is passed by the General Assembly. The legislation, which has been introduced in both the House and the Senate, is called the Lindsay Ann Burke Act, after a 23-year-old woman who was murdered by her ex-boyfriend in September 2005. He was convicted of the murder in January. The legislation was introduced by Rep. Eileen Naughton, D-Dist. 12, and Sen. Beatrice Lanzi, D-Dist. 26, at the request of state Attorney General Patrick Lynch ’87. “A moment is presented to us coming out of the tragic case” to attempt to prevent dating-related violence among young people, Lynch told The Herald. He said he believes an educational program is especially appropriate because Burke was training to be a teacher. Under the legislation, each school district would be responsible for incorporating dating violence education into its health education program for grades 7 through 12. Additionally, schools would have to establish guidelines and disciplinary procedures for dealing with acts of dating-related violence on school grounds or at school events, according to a press release from the attorney general’s ofﬁce. “It’s alarming, the amount of dating violence that occurs in schools,” Lynch said. “Worse is the silence associated with it. People are afraid to recognize it and reach out.” He added that most schools in the state have a “lack of a proper educational curriculum” to deal with the incidence and severity of dating violence. Terry Thornton, a student assistance counselor at Roger Williams Middle School in Providence, runs a violence prevention program at the school called Students Against Violence Everywhere. Thornton’s program is designed to teach students “the consequences of violence”

as well as “the skills of nonviolence” such as conflict resolution and anger management, she said, but does not emphasize dating-related violence. “The earlier you can start teaching kids about these things and skills to deal with the pressures, the better you are,” Thornton said. But, she said, a dating violence education program could be difficult to implement in Providence schools. “Schools in Providence are behind, academically,” she said, “It’s a tall one to fit in.” Thornton said she has been advocating for more nonviolence education in Roger Williams, but that “teachers are tapped out, so you have to bring people in, and that costs a lot of money.” But, Lynch said, “no one thinks costs are going to be very high at all.” He said the bill’s benefits — “saving one high school or middle school student from the horrors of domestic violence by encouraging them to speak up” — is worth whatever cost the program might bear. “The cost of saving that child is priceless,” Lynch said. The Katie Brown Educational Program is now developing a standardized curriculum and a program to train teachers to provide a similar dating violence education program, said Andy Robinson, an educator for the program. A nonprofit based in Fall River, Mass., it teaches a fiveday dating violence education program for grades 5 through 12 in schools across southeastern New England, according to its Web site. Though Robinson said he supports the legislation on dating violence, he said actually implementing it in school districts may be expensive. His program costs $500, but educators will teach for a reduced rate at economically disadvantaged schools if their schedules allow it, Robinson said. Frances Mantak, Brown’s director of health education, said she believes it is best to begin educating people about dating violence when they are young. “We have to be learning about it all the time,” she said, though she warned that such education would be “not effective if it’s not age-appropriate.”

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BY NICK WERLE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

A bill introduced last month in the state House of Representatives would create a tax credit for Rhode Island residents pursuing post-secondary education. The bill is designed to expand the current federal tax credit for education expenses to residents’ state-tax bill. “Rhode Island has identified the creation of a better-educated workforce as one of our priorities and one of our methods for strengthening our economy. Just like the federal government, we should provide a tax break for people who are working toward a degree,” said Rep. Edwin Pacheco, D-Dist. 47, the bill’s primary sponsor, in a press release. “Since they are spending a significant amount of money on their education, this tax break would provide them some needed relief. It will also serve as an incentive to encourage more Rhode Islanders to pursue higher education.” Under the legislation, a state taxpayer paying for a spouse, a dependent or his or her own education would be eligible for the deduction. Residents with an adjusted gross income under $65,000 or a combined $130,000 if filing jointly with a spouse would be able to receive $4,000 from the state. Individual returns up to $80,000 and joint returns up to $160,000 would be eligible for a $2,000 credit. “We woefully underfund education in Rhode Island at the gradeschool level and at the secondary level, and this will provide some relief to people who are having

trouble funding their education,” said Rep. David Segal, D-Dist. 2, a co-sponsor of the bill who formerly represented Providence’s Ward 1 — including much of Brown’s campus — on the City Council. “We’re way below average in per capita education funding,” he said. “For me, (a tax credit) didn’t make that much of a difference when I was paying for tuition because you have to come up with that money initially to even come in the door,” said Josh Marland GS, a Rhode Island resident paying for his own education. “What’s the answer to the initial entrance into college?” Segal said the criticism is legitimate. “For some people, this might not be the most efﬁcient method of doing it, but these things are always subject to modi-

ﬁcation as they move through the process,” he said. Some taxpayers said the state could do more to help with college tuition. “I’d love it if it passed — every little bit helps, and tuition is a nightmare for most people,” said Judy Knowles P’10, a resident of Newport. “Unfortunately, with a kid at Brown, we don’t really take advantage of the public institutions. It’s my opinion that no state or federal program is really enough.” “I think that there is a lot more they could do with the money on the front end,” she said. “Is it a real commitment to education or a symbolic one?” The bill is currently awaiting a hearing by the House Finance Committee. Segal predicted that a hearing might happen as early as this month.

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THURSDAY, APRIL 5, 2007

Matching season anxiety, uncertainty end for graduating medical students continued from page 1 programs. 84 percent of applicants from U.S. medical school were placed into one of their top three choices, according to the matching program. “We always have a lot of students going to other Ivies and to the West Coast” for their residences, said Philip Gruppuso, associate dean of medicine for medical education. “(We had) a lot of students going to Harvard-afﬁliated programs this year, which is normal.” Eleven out of the 88 Med School seniors will go onto Harvard-afﬁli-

ated programs this year. Ten out of 78 did last year, and seven out of 66 in 2005. Nationally, the number of seniors interested in primary care specialties continued to drop this year. Just 15 percent of this year’s applicants for residency positions selected primary-care programs in pediatrics, internal medicine or family medicine. “There is an extraordinary need nationally for primary care physicians as the baby boomers age,” Gruppuso said. Brown has been part of the trend for the last ﬁve years but bucked it

this year. “There has been a steady decline in the number of Brown students entering primary care residencies in the last ﬁve years, which was reversed this year,” Gruppuso said. “We don’t have a clue why.” This year’s class had a spike in the number of seniors going into internal medicine, pediatrics and an increasingly popular combination of the two known as “med/peds,” Gruppuso said. To begin the match process, graduating students submit applications in September to numerous programs. “You spend essentially most of your fourth year applying,” said Tamara Chang ’03 MD’07. For some competitive specialties, such as dermatology, students often apply to almost all available programs — as many as 60 in dermatology, according to Bob Dyer MD’07, who was matched to the dermatology program at Rhode Island Hospital. Students don’t always apply to programs in just one specialty.

After applying, seniors are offered interviews, which usually occur between early November and late January. “Not every place offers you an interview. It’s a big weed-out process,” Chang said. “A lot of people don’t go on all the interviews offered.” “It’s a scary thing, having no idea where you are going to be living for the next however many years,” said Chang, who applied to many residencies and was ultimately matched to the med/ped program at University of Massachusetts Medicine School in Worcester. Many students apply to programs throughout the country, but the University is relatively unique in the number of students who stay at Brown for their residencies, Gruppuso said. Fifteen seniors were matched with Brown residency programs this year, compared to 10 seniors last year and eight the year before. For Dyer, a native of Rhode Island who calls himself “quite a bit older

than the average student,” staying in Rhode Island for his residency was a priority. Dyer’s wife works in the state, and his parents and adult children live nearby. “I had a very unique situation. Most students are willing to relocate for their perfect match. I couldn’t,” Dyer said. This year, the match program saw a 9 percent increase in the participation of graduates of non-U.S. medical schools. Only 45 to 50 percent of international medical graduates typically match to a residency position, whereas the success rate for U.S. students is about 94 percent, according to the matching program. The National Resident Matching Program began in 1952 and is sponsored by the American Board of Medical Specialties, the American Medical Association, the Association of American Medical Colleges, the America Hospital Association and the Council of Medical Specialty Societies.

Students studying in Israel one year after travel ban ended continued from page 1 their chosen country. That risk wasn’t theoretical for Herald Opinions Columnist Benjamin Bright-Fishbein ’07, who ran into trouble while studying abroad in the Middle East last summer. Bright-Fishbein spent the ﬁrst semester of his junior year at the American University in Cairo and the second semester and following summer in Israel studying at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, during which he was not technically a Brown student. While visiting the West Bank last summer, BrightFishbein was kidnapped by Pales-

tinian gunmen. He was released unharmed after less than 24 hours. “I don’t think it’s that dangerous anymore,” Bright-Fishbein said of Israel. Many Jewish students at Brown want to study abroad in Israel “with the explicit permission” of the University, he said, and “they should be encouraged.” “Israel’s an exceptional country,” Bright-Fishbein added. While travel to countries on the W State Department list has generally been allowed since the ban was lifted, travel to a country can be restricted if the dean of the College and the Ofﬁce of International Programs believe it is too dangerous. Last summer, because of the war between Israel and Lebanon, the

University restricted travel to Israel, speciﬁcally an archaeological dig that had been planned in Appollonia just outside Tel Aviv Aviv, Brostuen said. Bright-Fishbein’s kidnapping in the West Bank was a “completely separate issue” and did not play a role in last summer’s restriction, Brostuen said. The OIP worked with the Program in Judaic Studies to ﬁnd universities in Israel that are “very hands-on,” Brostuen said. Currently, there are no Brown study abroad programs in Israel, though there are six approved alternative programs, including a program in Jerusalem and a program for environmental studies concentrators at the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies in Hevel Eilot.

16 security cameras now monitor SciLi continued from page 1 students exiting doors with fire alarms attached. “Most of the time it is just by accident, someone goes out (an) exit that has a fire alarm attached,” she said. The cameras can be accessed by security personnel at the library as well as by members of DPS. “The monitor on the guard’s desk at the Sciences Library/Friedman Center is for responding to alarms and door bells,” Schulz wrote, “not for the purpose of monitoring.” She said the images are monitored by DPS for alarm response during the day and that at night “there is more attention given since there is more chance for an incident when there is less staff around.” In addition to live monitoring, images captured by the cameras at the Friedman Center and other areas on campus are temporarily stored for future reference. “There is a DVR that records activity on the cameras for 60 days, then once that 60 days is finished and the DVR is filled up, it begins writing

again,” Hemmasi said. “In our situation, we don’t intend to archive information to check up on somebody,” she added. Cardoza wrote that the 16 cameras in the SciLi, though they could be watched in “real time,” are handled like all other University closed-circuit cameras. “Their main purpose is the digital recording of the actual video images,” Cardoza wrote. “Retrieval of that information is used solely for crime investigations,” he added. Cardoza cited vehicle theft in parking areas, vandalism and bike theft as examples when archived footage would be used. “To the best of my knowledge we have not had any problems,” Hemmasi said. She added that, should concerns with the current security system arise, a meeting between DPS ofﬁcials and library administrators would be held to address the situation. —with additional reporting by Abe Lubetkin

CAMPUS N EWS THURSDAY, APRIL 5, 2007

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

MYSTERY MOTORCADE

Ad hoc appointments to be standardized BY MICHAEL BECHEK SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Chris Bennett / Herald An unannounced motorcade on the Main Green caught students offguard during the noon rush to class.

NEW

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New faculty center to study vision The newly established Center for Vision Research, which brings together the nearly 30 faculty members in nine different academic departments currently researching vision at Brown, is scheduled to start its work July 1. The multidisciplinary nature of the center is one of its greatest assets, said Professor of Neuroscience Michael Paradiso, who will be co-director of the center with Michael Tarr, professor of cognitive and linguistic sciences. “We feel that we can accomplish more and have a bigger impact if we centralize things,” he said. Faculty in fields such as neuroscience, physics and cognitive science who had researched vision individually will now have a place to come together and share ideas, which should lead to more rapid and further progress, Paradiso said. In addition, Paradiso said,“research means money,” and organizing the center will help attract grants from the federal government and private foundations. Paradiso said the University will provide start-up money and cover administrative costs but will not provide research money, so such grants are necessary for the center’s survival. The National Institutes of Health recently awarded a $1 million training grant to the center to help it get off the ground. The grant from NIH is a “training grant specifically for grad students for vision research,” Paradiso said. Attracting top graduate students is crucial to the success of any university research program, Paradiso said, and he said the grant is “an acknowledgement that Brown is a real, great place to get training in this area.” Though the researchers do not yet have a specific plan for what research they will focus on, one topic they will address will be why building an artificial visual system is so difficult and how the hardware in a human visual system is different from that in a robot, Paradiso said. — Patrick Corey

Interim EMS manager appointed Tom Lawrence, who was recently named interim manager of Brown Emergency Medical Services, met Wednesday with student Emergency Medical Technicians to discuss the future of EMS. Lawrence will serve as manager this month while University officials seek a permanent replacement for former manager Richard Lapierre, who resigned from the post in February, wrote Director of Health Services Edward Wheeler in an e-mail sent Saturday to student EMTs. Lawrence is currently an EMS training coordinator for Rhode Island and Hasbro Children’s hospitals and has experience as an instructor for a number of EMT classifications, Wheeler wrote. Lawrence’s duties will include monitoring EMS procedures to ensure “what we are doing is safe, meets EMS state protocols, meets Joint Commission standards and is of high quality,” Wheeler wrote. Lawrence will also develop new care protocols, update EMS worker documentation and provide educational opportunities for student EMTs. “We are especially interested in looking at ways to enhance the educational experience of the student EMT program, and Tom Lawrence will be important in that effort,” Margaret Klawunn, associate vice president for campus life and dean of student life, told The Herald. The announcement of Lawrence’s appointment comes after the unexpected resignations earlier this semester of Lapierre and EMT Supervisor Anthony Fusco. Lawrence will “relieve the other supervisors from the extra shifts that they have been covering,” Klawunn said. His appointment will also help supplement the existing Health Services staff in April, which is typically a “busy month” for the department, Klawunn said. At Wednesday’s meeting with student EMTs, Lawrence “presented his ideas for EMS and told us what he wants to get done while he is here,” said Beth Hoffman ’07, a senior EMT EMT. “I hope that, since he has a fresh eye … that he can be objective in looking at what we are doing (at EMS) and help us improve,” Hoffman said. She added that she hopes he can “help to improve communication with the rest of Health Services.” “I am really excited. He is well-qualified. He will be great for the program, at least until we can get a permanent director,” Hoffman said. — Scott Lowenstein

Appointments to “short-term” University committees by the Undergraduate Council of Students will go through the standard appointment process outlined for established committees under an amendment to the UCS code proposed at last night’s UCS meeting. The amendment is expected to pass when it is voted on next week. The UCS code requires that any resolution or amendment to the UCS code be introduced at least one week before it is voted on. Appointments Chair Drew Madden ’10, who co-authored the amendment with Vice President Tristan Freeman ’07, said appointments to such “ad hoc” committees needed to be standardized to streamline the process and to maximize transparency in student government. Currently, appointments to such committees are not subject to some of the strict procedures used for standing University committees, including interviews of candidates and approval of appointees by the general body, though the appointments often follow those guidelines anyway. The amendment contains a

Eunice Hong / Herald File Photo UCS met Wednesday night to discuss changes to its code, among other issues.

provision for releasing the appointments committee of these requirements in the case of a “timesensitive” appointment. Also at last night’s meeting, Academic and Administrative Affairs Chair Sara Damiano ’08 introduced a resolution on student concerns over Banner. The resolution calls on professors to familiarize themselves with the system and for administrators to ensure that professors know how to use the course registration system. In an internal election, Gabriel Kussin ’09 was elected as an atlarge representative, ﬁlling a va-

cancy caused by the resignation of Brian Bidadi ’07. Bidadi was elected as UCS president in the spring of 2005 but resigned in January 2006 to take medical leave for a semester, later rejoining the council as an at-large representative and as the UCS representative to the Undergraduate Finance Board. Jose Vasconez ’10, a freshman class representative, was unopposed in the election for UCS/ UFB representative. Hapa Club was approved for Category III status. Students for Hillary and Mariachi Brown were approved for Category I status.

Luryi ’07 proﬁts from AIM logging for students, parents BY ISABEL GOTTLIEB STAFF WRITER

Aaron Luryi ’07 makes $1,500 a month without ever leaving the comfort of his room. Luryi has been CEO of Nalsoft, the software company he founded, since his freshman year. The mathematics and economics concentrator from Long Island sells the programs AIM Log Manager, RuitLeaguer and Subtitle Player, all of which he created. Luryi ﬁrst created a version of AIM Log Manager for his own personal use during his freshman year. He wanted a program that would record his conversations for future reference. “I chose to make it because it’s something I use, and I knew how to do it,” Luryi said. Though he has never taken a course in the Department of Computer Science, Luryi said he’s been “tinkering around with computer programs since seventh grade.” “So now I’m pretty good at it,”

Luryi said. In April 2004, shortly after creating the program, Luryi built the Web site Nalsoft.com to market and sell the program. The retail version included many new features, such as the capacity to sort buddies based on the number of conversations with the user, a graphing feature which tracks the

FEATURE number of conversations over time and a log of “buddy events” like signing on or off. Despite the innovations, Luryi could not ﬁnd a single buyer for three months. “I plunked down $70 to get a domain name, and I thought it was all a failure,” Luryi said. But in July 2004, Nalsoft found a customer. The program soon started to sell about one copy per week. Sales increased steadily over the next three years: Luryi now sells two or three copies per day, and raised his price from $14.99 to

$24.99 as demand increased. Most of Nalsoft’s customers fall into two groups: college students and parents who are monitoring their children’s Internet usage. For the parents, Luryi has created a special “stealth mode” which makes the program invisible on the computer and e-mails the conversations to the parents. “I think that’s very bad parenting, but I don’t question it,” Luryi said. “I’m just a businessman, I’m not going to make moral judgments. I personally wouldn’t do that to my kids, but people have different parenting methods.” After his success with AIM Log Manager, Luryi expanded Nalsoft and now sells two other software applications, RuitLeaguer and Subtitle Player. “Some of my friends are very hardcore Beirut players and form leagues, so I’ve made a software program to keep stats for the leagues,” Luryi said of Ruitcontinued on page 7

THURSDAY, APRIL 5, 2007

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Luryi ’07 profits from AIM logging continued from page 5 Leaguer. The program tracks players, teams and “hit percentages” and includes a game simulation window where someone can click on the cups on a computer screen when they are hit in the real game. “When I made this, I thought it would sell better than it has,” Luryi said. He said he has sold about 12 copies of the program, which has been available on the Internet since November 2005. Subtitle Player was born of Luryi’s love for foreign films. The program enables users to download a film and its subtitle file separately and watch them together. Luryi said he has had many customers from France, Portugal and Mexico. Subtitle Player, which sells for $10, has netted Luryi about $800 total. AIM Log Manager still comprises 95 percent of sales. “The reasons I commercialized it were that I liked being my own boss and being an entrepreneur,”

Luryi said. “I can’t go into business right away when I graduate — I need capital and a good idea — but in the end I want to be the head of a large company that I create myself.” He said he invests most of his profits in stocks and mutual funds. But he has also used his earnings for travel — recently, to Cancun and Asia. Luryi has already accepted a job for next year as a quantitative analyst at Goldman Sachs. He said he has not decided if he will keep Nalsoft in business. “After I graduate I’ll have a full-time job, so I don’t know how much time I’ll have to expand this business,” he said. In the meantime, Luryi said his business has been a success. “I guess there’s no product out there exactly like this — a hardcore AIM logging program — with so many options, so conveniently,” he said. “I found a little niche in the software market that hadn’t been filled yet. As soon as I fill it, people dive in and buy.”

W. tennis drops two matches continued from page 12 are really strong at the top. If we can win those ﬁrst two positions, it shows that we have depth and talent at the top as well.” Despite great efforts from the ﬁrst two singles players, Long Beach State took the last four matches in singles play, securing the victory. Brown next takes to the court this weekend, when it travels down Interstate 95 to take on league rivals Princeton on Friday and the University of Pennsylvania, who

won the Ivy League crown a season ago, on Saturday. Ames plans to return from her injury to ﬁnish the rest of the Ivy League season. “No matter what the pain is, I plan on playing the rest of the year,” Ames said. As for the rest of the season, Brown is conﬁdent that it can make a move on the rest of the Ivy League. “I think we are playing well right now, and I think we are going to play really well against Penn and Princeton,” Ames said.

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

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THURSDAY, APRIL 5, 2007

Iran returns 15 British detainees as ‘gift’ after two-week standoff BY RAMIN MOSTAGHIM AND KIM MURPHY LOS ANGELES T IMES

TEHRAN, Iran — Ending a tense, two-week diplomatic standoff, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Wednesday pardoned 15 British sailors and marines detained while on patrol in the Persian Gulf and said he was sending them home as a “gift” to the British people. The Iranian president made the unexpected announcement during a news conference at which he pinned medals on the border patrol ofﬁcers who oversaw the detention of the sailors on March 23. “On the occasion of the birth an-

niversary of the great prophet of Islam, and on the occasion of Easter and Passover, I would like to announce that the great nation of Iran, while it is entitled to put the British military personnel on trial, has pardoned these 15 sailors and gives their release to the people of Britain as a gift,” Ahmadinejad said. British diplomats appeared to be caught off-guard at the announcement, but scrambled to make arrangements for the sailors’ return to Britain, tentatively expected at midday Thursday. The British Foreign Ofﬁce said Britain’s ambassador in Tehran had visited with the detainees Wednesday. The logjam appears to have broken after telephone contacts Tues-

day night between Ali Larijani, Iran’s chief international negotiator, and Nigel Sheinwald, Blair’s chief adviser on foreign affairs, who is slated to become Britain’s new ambassador to the United States. It also followed the release in Iraq of an Iranian diplomat detained in Baghdad in February, prompting the British media to raise the spectre of a “secret deal.” British officials said the events were unconnected. Also in Iraq, the U.S. military disclosed Wednesday it was considering an “informal” request from Iran to allow a consular visit to five Iranians detained in Iraq since January. The Islamic Republic News Agency reported that an Iranian embassy official was scheduled to meet with the detainees. Maj. Gen. William B. Caldwell, a U.S. military spokesman in Iraq, said that an Iranian was among a Red Cross delegation that visited the five men.

“An informal request has come in for a consular visit, and is being assessed at this time,” he said. In his news conference, Ahmadinejad said the pardon did not represent a sudden shift in Iran’s position. “I didn’t change my decision suddenly. From the beginning, I didn’t want to have any confrontation. We wanted our rights,” he said. “The British government behaved badly, and it took longer.” He said no concessions had been offered by the British government in exchange for the release, but contended that British ofﬁcials had assured Iran there would be no future incursions into Iranian territory. “Nothing speciﬁcally was done by the United Kingdom. The U.K. government has sent a note, a memo, to the ministry of foreign affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and in that letter they mentioned

that incident would not be repeated,” the president said. “Of course, that decision that we are going to release the 15 British sailors is not related to that letter, and it was a gift from the Iranian people to the British people.” A Foreign Ofﬁce spokesman, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said he “certainly could not conﬁrm” that Britain offered any pledge not to “repeat” the incident. “I think if that area is raised as an issue in the future, then it could be considered in the future,” he said. Ahmadinejad’s pardon announcement came after the Iranian president had spent more than an hour of a scheduled news conference deploring historical Western transgressions against Iran, the plight of the Palestinians, the grim history of Iran’s war with Iraq and the actions of British sailors who “invaded” the territory of Iran.

Venezuelan ambassador speaks on context of Chavez presidency continued from page 1 of political change. If we want to understand the election of President Chavez, we have to see it in that context.” Herrera said the 1994 Summit of the Americas — one of a series focusing on promoting globalization and free trade in North and South America — was a key event leading up to the regime change that saw the election of Chavez. “The supposed consensus at the Summit of the Americas did not exist,” Herrera said. “It was an agreement of elites, not of the people.” Herrera said the summit was a catalyst in promoting a change of ideas in Venezuela. “We have to recognize that that path is part of the problem,” he said. “We have to reconceptualize everything, including the role of the state.” Now, Herrera said, there is more optimism in Venezuela about the future. “What is amazing is the way people have connected with the process of changes,” he said. “We have gone from a very pessimistic

world to a very optimistic world.” During the following questionand-answer session, which ran over an hour, it became clear that members of the audience held strong views both for and against Chavez’s government. Herrera answered the questions put to him patiently, taking over an hour to answer only eight questions. He was frequently given notes by his aides to help him answer some of the more speciﬁc questions. “Thousands of us in the United States would hail, support and salute the social transformation of Venezuela,” one man shouted into a microphone, “and we will do anything in our power to encourage and aid your new government.” A woman who identiﬁed herself as a Brown graduate student asked about Chavez’s use of rule by decree, which allows the leader to create laws without a legislative process. “You talk about participatory democracy in Venezuela,” she said. “But circumstantial and statistical evidence would seem to suggest that many Venezuelans are wary

about President Chavez’s increasingly expansive executive powers. How do you reconcile that focus on participatory politics with the reaction of the Venezuelan people?” “You need two to tango,” Herrera responded. “Last year we didn’t have a loyal opposition in congress, but let me tell you that the loyal opposition decided not to participate. They didn’t want to legitimize the regime, so they committed political suicide and decided to withdraw. Believe me, this is not something we like.” Students who attended the lecture said they appreciated Herrera’s appearance but wished he had been more substantive in his remarks. “I found that he didn’t actually say all that much,” said Carla Cornejo ’10. “I think it’s fair that we’re being presented with a different view, but it was clear that he was speaking like a politician.” Herrera briefly spoke about U.S.-Venezuelan relations, calling U.S. foreign policy “myopic.” But some students said they wished there had been a greater focus on the issue. “I was a bit disappointed with the main speech, because I thought he would go into the U.S. conflict,” said Daniela Rodriguez Da Silva ’10, who said she lived in Venezuela until coming to Brown. “He reflected perfectly the situation of my country by going around the most important issues.” Rodriguez Da Silva entered into a heated debate with Herrera after interrupting his answer to another person’s question, saying she wanted “to provide context for what he was saying.” Herrera said there was a concerted effort by Venezuelan private media to broadcast antiChavez propaganda, but Rodriguez Da Silva said the media only reacted that way after Chavez forced them to cover his speeches instead of the “violent” acts of his government. “I recognized that I interrupted him, so I apologized afterwards and explained why I felt so passionate about this issue,” she told The Herald after the lecture. “My father was kidnapped for three days a few years ago by the government and forced to do things he didn’t want to do.” The lecture was part of a “diplomatic dialogue” series of lectures run by the Center for Latin American Studies. It was also part of Latino History Month, which will continue through the end of April.

THURSDAY, APRIL 5, 2007

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Impressions on a young Trudeau: Papelbon to close is a mistake 2007 baseball season continued from page 12

continued from page 12 level of play, and if staff ace Dontrelle Willis pitches like he did on Monday — one earned run over six innings — the Marlins could be a surprise contender in the NL East. (Disclaimer: They were playing the Nationals, the consensus worst team in baseball. Let’s not get too excited.) In an outcome that not even the most delusional Boston-hater would’ve predicted, Kansas City ace Gil Meche held the Red Sox to one run in seven innings, striking out six and earning the Opening Day win for the Royals. Boston’s strength is supposed to be its offense, but even sluggers Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz couldn’t get much done against $55 million Meche. Meanwhile, Boston SP Curt Schilling was shellacked by the likes of Mark Grudzielanek and catcher John Buck. If these no-names keep producing, the Royals’ offense may deserve a second look. And the Red Sox can only hope that Daisuke Matsuzaka volunteers to pitch every day. On a quick sidenote — I spent my spring break in Florida and was lucky enough to witness Dice-K start a Spring Training game. I can’t overstate how intimidating he is on the mound — he is like no pitcher in the Majors. He doesn’t ﬁdget, wipe his forehead or chew gum. He stands with his back straight and shoul-

ders relaxed, staring at the opposing batter until he detects fear. His movements are slow, precise and reminiscent of Japanese Noh theatre. He reaches a state of “rojaku,” eliminating all unnecessary movements and embodying the true essence of competition and ferocity. The American League should be very nervous. Speaking of AL Cy Young candidates, expect Seattle SP Felix Hernandez to make a serious run for the crown. The King was clearly anxious to get his breakout season started, going eight innings with zero ERs, three hits and a whopping 12 Ks against Oakland. Hernandez is only 21 years old, but he’s already settled in as Seattle’s ace for the foreseeable future. It will be interesting to see how Felix fares against an offense more powerful than the punchless A’s — he faces the Indians (who scored 12 runs on Opening Day) next week. Other games to look out for this weekend: NYY vs. BAL, April 6 — SP Kei Igawa’s debut! CHC vs. MIL, April 6 — Can SP Rich Hill repeat his success from last year’s second-half? BOS vs. TEX, April 8 — Can SP Curt Schilling rebound against a much better offense?

Ellis Rochelson ’09 can ﬁnally stop pretending to like college basketball.

dying to insert Jason Isringhausen back into the closer’s role. It’s not rocket science. It doesn’t take a baseball genius to see how overrated the closer role is in baseball. What is the difference between a run given up in the second inning and a run given up in the ninth inning? Nothing other than the fact that one of them gets more press than the other one does. We remember the ninth inning losses, but no one seems to remember the games that were lost because replacement starter “A” — in Boston’s case, currently Julian Tavarez — gave up ﬁve runs in innings one through six, while Papelbon was wasting away in the pen. Closers don’t become ninthinning specialists because they are the best pitchers on the team. They earn the job because they are most effective over one inning, but not nearly as effective the second and third time through a batting order. Eric Gagne, for example, struggled as a starter but excelled as a reliever. Sometimes it’s a lack

buy the beck diet solution

of stamina and sometimes it’s the pitcher’s limited repertoire. Papelbon, however, is lacking in neither of those departments. He came up through the minors as a starter and scared the crap out of my brother, former Herald sports columnist Ross Trudeau ’06, and me in the fall of 2005 when he was given a few starts at the end of the season. Papelbon has pinpoint command of his mid-90s fastball but also has excellent secondary pitches that keep hitters guessing even in their second and third trips to the plate. His plus-plus splitter is among the best in the game, while he also ﬂashes an average slider and a show-me curve. If Mariano Rivera, the greatest closer of all time, had a second plus pitch to go with his legendary cutter, you can bet he would be in the Yankees starting rotation. Take this quotation from a blog written by ESPN’s Buster Olney, which reﬂects the idea of how pitchers mysteriously lose value if they aren’t supposed to be closers: “With Papelbon now set as the closer, Hansen and Delcar-

men are pretty much locked in as middle relievers when they hit the big leagues. Some executives with other teams had wondered if both faced an immediate future of diminished trade value.” Clearly the pitchers in question, Hansen and Delcarmen, don’t become any more or less effective if they are viewed as future closers, and yet their value declines simply because the path to Red Sox closer is now blocked. Listen, I’m not complaining. I’ll also clarify that I think Papelbon will once again be a dominating closer. The guy doesn’t walk anyone (76 Ks to 16 BB) and can get out both lefties (.203 BAA) and righties (.128 ), but I still hope he is the Boston Red Sox closer for as long as he is on the team. I’m guess what I’m trying to say is … suck-errrsss! Enjoy Julian Tavaraz every ﬁ fth day, Red Sox Nation. Ha ha ha ha! Let’s go Yank-kees.

You know what Tom Trudeau ’09 hasn’t had in awhile? Big-League Chew.

E DITORIAL & L ETTERS THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

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THURSDAY, APRIL 5, 2007

STAF F EDITORIAL

Let’s not shout at Santorum Self-proclaimed pro-lifers, gay marriage opponents and intelligent design advocates — whether students, faculty or visitors — are likely to run into vocal opposition on our campus. When Rick Santorum, a man who built his career ﬁercely advocacating each of these positions, takes the podium tonight, we hope students will listen and choose to agree or disagree respectfully rather than turning his lecture into something akin to “Nonie Darwish: The Sequel.” Two months ago, Nonie Darwish’s harsh criticisms of Islamism and Middle Eastern nations sparked anarchy in Salomon 101. Regardless of whether they agreed with her, student attendees expressed disappointment and even disgust at the personal attacks and shouting matches that broke out during the question and answer session. Tonight, Santorum’s speech could sadly elicit a similarly hysterical response. The Lecture Board’s decision to bring the two-term former Pennsylvania senator — who is largely derided by mainstream media and reviled by most left-leaning Americans — to our famously liberal campus may seem like asking for trouble. Landing a conservative speaker in Salomon may be a superﬁcial attempt to infuse Brown with intellectual diversity. But Santorum’s speech on what the Lecture Board described as “his effort to protect traditional marriage and his struggle to reverse the media’s onslaught against virtue” will undoubtedly challenge the views of many students and faculty. And so while we hope the event will spur a lively discussion as audience members ask questions of the senator, we also urge attendees to be civil. Displays of political vitriol not only embarrass our community and reinforce stereotypes about Brown but also diminish the University’s role as a forum for intellectual discourse. This time around, let’s show a guest that we know how to behave.

Risky travel With the University’s recent emphasis on internationalization — which has yet to touch undergraduates in a meaningful way — and the increased popularity of concentrations like international relations and development studies, we’re glad undergraduates are taking advantage of newly permitted study in Israel and other countries on the U.S. Department of State Travel Warning list. Before last March, University policy prohibited students from studying in countries on the State Department’s travel blacklist. But many students studied in Israel anyway, fending for themselves by withdrawing temporarily from Brown, enrolling as a visiting student at a local university and hoping to get retroactive credit at Brown after they returned. University officials finally buckled to swelling student pressure — marked by over 2,000 signatures collected by Brown Students for Israel — to allow study abroad in Israel. We’re relieved that University officials didn’t retreat from their policy change after a Brown student enrolled as a visiting student in an Israeli university was briefly kidnapped while traveling in the West Bank only a few months after the ban was lifted. Brown stands out among Ivy peers as uniquely supportive of study abroad experiences, and many concentration programs underscore the educational value of cross-cultural experiences. Though studying abroad in developing or politically sensitive countries is certainly riskier than spending a semester on College Hill, it’s a decision for students and their families, not administrators, to make.

T HE B ROWN D AILY H ERALD Editors-in-Chief Eric Beck Mary-Catherine Lader

Executive Editors Allison Kwong Ben Leubsdorf

Senior Editors Stephen Colelli Sonia Saraiya BUSINESS

EDITORIAL Lydia Gidwitz Lindsey Meyers Stephanie Bernhard Stu Woo Simmi Aujla Sara Molinaro Ross Frazier Jacob Schuman Michal Zapendowski Peter Cipparone Justin Goldman Sarah Demers Erin Frauenhofer Madeleine Marecki

Arts & Culture Editor Arts & Culture Editor Features Editor Features Editor Metro Editor Metro Editor News Editor Opinions Editor Opinions Editor Sports Editor Sports Editor Asst. Sports Editor Asst. Sports Editor Asst. Sports Editor

PHOTO Eunice Hong Christopher Bennett Jacob Melrose

Photo Editor Photo Editor Sports Photo Editor

General Manager Mandeep Gill General Manager Ally Ouh Executive Manager Darren Ball Executive Manager Dan DeNorch Laurie-Ann Paliotti Sr. Advertising Manager Ofﬁce Manager Susan Dansereau PRODUCTION Design Editor Steve DeLucia Copy Desk Chief Chris Gang Graphics Editor Mark Brinker Graphics Editor Roxanne Palmer Web Editor Luke Harris POST- MAGAZINE Hillary Dixler Melanie Duch Taryn Martinez Rajiv Jayadevan Mindy Smith

Managing Editor Managing Editor Managing Editor Features Editor Features Editor

Steve DeLucia, Aurora Durfee, Designers Ayelet Brinn, Joy Neumeyer, Lucy Stark, Copy Editors Senior Staff Writers Rachel Arndt, Michael Bechek, Oliver Bowers, Zachary Chapman, Chaz Firestone, Kristina Kelleher, Debbie Lehmann, Scott Lowenstein, James Shapiro, Michael Skocpol Staff Writers Susana Aho, Taylor Barnes, Brianna Barzola, Evan Boggs, Irene Chen, Nicole Dungca, Catherine Goldberg, Isabel Gottlieb, Thi Ho, Rebecca Jacobson, Tsvetina Kamenova, Franklin Kanin, Hannah Levintova, Abe Lubetkin, Christian Martell, Taryn Martinez, Zachary McCune, Nathalie Pierrepont, Alexander Roehrkasse, Jessica Rotondi, Marielle Segarra, Robin Steele, Allissa Wickham Sports Staff Writers Amy Ehrhart, Kaitlyn Laabs, Eliza Lane, Kathleen Loughlin, Megan McCahill, Marco Santini, Tom Trudeau, Steele West Business Staff Dana Feuchtbaum, Kent Holland, Alexander Hughes, Mariya Perelyubskaya, Viseth San, Kaustubh Shah, Jon Spector, Robert Stefani, Lily Tran, Lindsay Walls Design Staff Brianna Barzola, Jihan Chao, Aurora Durfee, Sophie Elsner, Christian Martell, Matthew McCabe, Ezra Miller Photo Staff Stuart Duncan-Smith, Austin Freeman, Tai Ho Shin Copy Editors Ayelet Brinn, Catherine Cullen, Erin Cummings, Karen Evans, Jacob Frank, Ted Lamm, Lauren Levitz, Cici Matheny, Alex Mazerov, Ezra Miller, Joy Neumeyer, Madeleine Rosenberg, Lucy Stark, Meha Verghese

JASON LI

LETTERS Readers respond to Quigley’s ’10 critique of modern-day celebration of Easter and Lent To the Editor: It is paradoxical to me as to how Sean Quigley ’10 can assert (“Lent and Easter have become a sham,” April 4) that while in “making specific sacrifices during Lent … no one is seriously harmed” and that the pagan-derived traditions (Easter eggs, candy baskets, etc.) breed a “selfish and consumerist society.” Why is the fact that these traditions are pagan-based such a crime? The truth of the matter is that these traditions serve to foster the development of the principles and morals Christians claim to hold dear. God knows it was probably only the Easter bread that brought my family together at the table on Sunday, but in the end it ended up unifying us and reminding us that life is about love and family. One could even argue that this parallels the way the Catholic Church functions, Catholicism being a very material-based religion in and of itself. It is the myriad rites and rituals and unnecessarily ornate robes, garments and hierarchies that

end up bringing religious constituents together. Having been raised a Catholic and traveled all over the country, I have come to appreciate Christianity in the United States as a highly evolved religion. Some may consider it sad that many families that label themselves as Christian really only participate in Christmas and Easter, and secularly at that. But even many believers realize that Easter is in fact the most joyous of all Christian celebrations, being that it conﬁrmed the divinity of Christ and ensured us all that there was a nice happy place we could go after we die. Pretty exciting stuff. Makes me so happy, I could go dye some eggs and eat a scrumptious feast of a brunch with all my friends and family. Peeps included.

Carrie Schepker ‘09 April 4

To the Editor: The opinions column by Sean Quigley ’10 (“Lent and Easter have become a sham,” April 4) was thoughtprovoking but based on some odd assumptions. First, his claim that the date of Easter is influenced by pagan spring festivals ignores the fact that the approximate date of Easter, unlike that of Christmas, is easily inferable from the Gospels — according to which the Crucifixion of Jesus took place on the eve of (or on the first day of) the feast of Passover, which occurs in the spring. Second, his attempt to link the length of Lent with the god Tammuz is doubly flawed. The death and resurrection of Tammuz occurred in late summer, not in spring. In addition, I would like his source for the claim that the mourning for Tammuz lasted 40 days. I hope I am not correct in perceiving here the influence of anti-Catholic polemics like Loraine Boettner’s infamous “Roman Catholicism” (not to mention secularist or neo-pagan works intending to discredit Christianity entirely). The more obvious source of the length of Lent is

the 40 days for which Jesus fasted and was tempted in the desert. Third, Easter sunrise services (which are a Protestant, not a Catholic tradition) also have an obvious source in the Gospel of Matthew’s statement that the discovery of the empty tomb was made “as it began to dawn.” Even leaving aside these errors, I am not sure I quite understood Quigley’s argument. Is he saying that a true Christian would be able to give up soda or television all year (I assume his reference to these as “eminently indispensable” is sarcastic), or is he saying that a true Christian should be above the practice of fasting? If the latter, he should take note that Jesus Himself fasted and clearly envisioned periodic fasting as part of His followers’ lives (see Matthew 6:16 — “When you fast, do not look dismal,” etc.).

James Kabala MA’03 GS April 4

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. COMMENTAR Y POLICY The staff editorial is the majority opinion of the editorial board of The Brown Daily Herald. The editorial viewpoint does not necessarily reﬂect the views of The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. Columns, letters and comics reﬂect the opinions of their authors only. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR POLICY Send letters to letters@browndailyherald.com. Include a telephone number with all letters. The Herald reserves the right to edit all letters for length and cannot assure the publication of any letter. Please limit letters to 250 words. Under special circumstances writers may request anonymity, but no letter will be printed if the author’s identity is unknown to the editors. Announcements of events will not be printed. ADVER TISING POLICY The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. reserves the right to accept or decline any advertisement at its discretion.

O PINIONS THURSDAY, APRIL 5, 2007

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

SDS should reconsider actions, principles

Stop the student debt spiral

JEFF WARDYGA GUEST COLUMNIST On December 15, 1791, the United States ratified the Bill of Rights. The document’s foremost amendment proclaimed several fundamental freedoms guaranteed to every American citizen, including freedom of speech and “the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” In the past few weeks, Brown’s chapter of Students for a Democratic Society has wholeheartedly embraced this amendment in two flagrant demonstrations that are worth addressing. At one protest, SDS members picketed in a circle around Raytheon’s booth at the Career Fair in Sayles Hall. SDS targeted Raytheon due to the company’s manufacture of defense technology products. As an engineering student, the prospect of working for an industry leader like Raytheon is extremely attractive to me. Just last year, BusinessWeek named Raytheon the seventh-best place to launch a career. While SDS strives to emphasize Raytheon’s role in the production of armaments, it fails to mention the multitude of other beneficial products the company manufactures for sonar, passenger aircraft and space systems. Megan Collins ’08 wrote that the Raytheon protest was a disservice to Brown students (“Raytheon protest was a disservice,” March 8). In its response to Collins, SDS stated that “we do not want to impede anyone from getting a job” – even though they did exactly that during the protest. I was personally inconvenienced as a result of SDS’ actions, although I’m happy to say that just this week I was offered a job with Raytheon. Nice work, guys — here’s an A for effort. SDS was at it again last month, staging a die-in rally at the offices of Textron, Inc. in downtown Providence. Textron is another large defense corporation that regularly contracts with the U.S. military. SDS’ demonstration included raspberry jam simulating blood, pantomimed cluster bombs and rushing a building after they were refused entry. One member of SDS was even arrested for disorderly conduct. If anything, this demonstration generated more comical sentiment than progressive political impact. I fully support the right to protest and speak out against something you do not believe in, but this should be done in a tasteful and diplomatic manner. As far as calling the protest “an overwhelming success,” if you think the charades enacted on Monday afternoon will cause a multibillion dollar company like Textron to stop making weapons and start hugging trees, you should probably look into joining some other club — perhaps related to self-help or psychotherapy. Let us return to the First Amendment. This “land of the free” was not given to us in a generous gesture, but earned through combat, bloodshed and the sacrifice of thousands of soldiers who gave their lives in the American Revolution. American soldiers have fought and are continuing to fight so that you and I can enjoy our inalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. In today’s world, this is accomplished with guns, laser-guided missiles, tanks and integrated defense systems — the very same products that corporate contractors regularly manufacture. I sleep better at night knowing that there are companies like Raytheon and Textron that are providing U.S. soldiers with the most technologically advanced combat systems in the world. Freedom isn’t free, and if the members of SDS would like to continue to exercise their freedom of speech, then I suggest they reconsider their principles, who they target and how they conduct themselves in their protests. Jeff Wardyga ’08 loves the smell of napalm in the morning.

STUDENTS FOR A DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY, BROWN CHAPTER GUEST COLUMNISTS Education is a right. Education is fundamental — it’s more than just a stepping stone towards a career. An educated citizenry is an essential element in the creation of a democratic society — a society in which individuals control the resources upon which they depend as well as the decisions that affect their lives. To deny access to education on the basis of wealth is both a gross violation of individual rights and a profound abandonment of the ideals of democracy. The rising cost of postsecondary education is therefore a cause for deep concern, both for individuals and for educational institutions. Brown made a commitment to accessible education — although late relative to other Ivies — by instituting a need-blind admissions policy. We believe Brown should live up to the spirit of the need-blind promise by following the example set by Princeton University and other institutions that have declared a tuition freeze. Brown should shift to a policy of financial assistance based on grants and scholarships rather than increasingly crushing student loans. The Corporation recently approved, without student input, a 5 percent increase in tuition and student fees. Next year, students will be paying $1,696 more in tuition. This sort of unilateral action has become a common University practice. Making decisions, especially financial ones, without even an invitation to student involvement is inherently undemocratic. It places the interests of students behind those of the institution which supposedly serves them. The Corporation is clearly more concerned with the financial well-being of the

University than with the financial realities its students face. Today, we pay double the amount in tuition and fees that students did 15 years ago. This rate of annual increase — on average 5.75 percent — is more than twice the average rate of inflation over the same period, 2.45 percent. To allow the cost of an already unaffordable education to increase at such an astronomical rate is socially irresponsible. Current total undergraduate charges amount to $45,948 per year. This is almost $4,000 per year more than the total annual median household income in the United States. In 10 years, at the current average rate of increase, the cost of tuition alone will be $62,238. This rise is incompatible with the belief that education is a right rather than a privilege — a belief that we hope the University shares. The myth that financial aid solves the inaccessibility of high tuition is just that — a myth. What financial aid really does is saddle those who cannot afford tuition with crushing loans at increasingly high interest rates. Student debt has already become a crisis: It is increasing nationally at more than $2,000 a second, with a total national burden of $462 billion. This surpasses the annual Department of Defense budget by over $50 billion. The University, through student initiatives like the New Curriculum, has historically been committed to the values of accessible education and to a student-focused process of participatory learning. However, recent insular administrative decisions have made it obvious that this commitment is wavering. Students didn’t even know the new registration system Banner, a $23 million expense, was going to be implemented — it was introduced without student involvement or consent. The University has also dramatically cut funding for graduate students, a decision made unilaterally without the consent of the students it will affect.

PAGE 11

Brown prides itself on providing an environment where students have the freedom to craft their own education. We are promised we will have direct involvement in our entire educational experience, yet we have been repeatedly excluded from decisions that shape that experience. The rising cost of education and the insularity of Brown’s decision-making process are fundamental problems that need to be addressed. The environment they produce privileges creating an “efficient,” affluent University rather than a center of liberal learning. This is a betrayal of everything the New Curriculum stands for. In the face of these trends, it is necessary for us, the students, to proclaim our concerns, needs and rights in a manner that the administration cannot ignore. Democratic education and intellectual growth require our individual and collective engagement. The financial inaccessibility of higher education is a problem not just for those who cannot afford the membership fee. We are all being denied the right to attend an institution that truly promotes democratic ideals and the principle of education accessible to all. Princeton could afford to freeze their tuition — it’s clear that other private institutions, like Brown, can do the same. It is time for us, the students, to recover our place as active participants in the Brown community.

Alex Ortiz ‘09, Alex Tye ‘10, Amy Littleﬁeld ‘09, Bucky Rogers ‘07, Donata Secondo ‘10, Ella Chary ‘07, Ingrid O’Brien ‘07, Jason Hitchner ‘10, Nicole Carty ‘10, Noah Wiener ‘09, Margaree Little ‘08.5, Mike da Cruz ‘08.5, Rick Ahl ‘09, Robin Peckham ‘10, Senia Barragan ‘08, Will Emmons ‘09, Will Lambek ‘09, Will Pasley ‘07, Vale CoferShabica ‘09, Connor Ashenbrucker ‘10, Alex Campbell ‘10 and Liz Sperber ‘06 are members of the Brown chapter of Students for a Democratic Society.

When I grow up, I want to be lazy MAHA ATAL

COLUMNIST ABROAD OXFORD, England — It is more than halfway through my junior year, and my parents and I are beginning to have the scariest of conversations. More and more, I find them asking me what it is I’m going to do with my life. They hope, perhaps, that I’ll display some youthful idealism and tell them I want to “see the world” or “help people.” They are somewhat disappointed when I tell them I’m worried about getting a job and paying the bills and that many of my friends are thinking the same thing. I am one of the lucky ones — financially, I will be running to stay in place, while many of my peers will be running twice as fast to catch up. In a recent New York Times column, Bob Herbert bemoans the rising cost of higher education. With tuition fees at top universities crossing the $40,000 mark and Pell Grants disappearing, today’s students have to rely increasingly on loans. As a result, young Americans are beginning life in the real world with the deck already stacked against them — with the burden of debt. No surprise, then, that jobs in finance and consulting are overtaking Teach for America and the Peace Corps as top choices for freshout-of-college first jobs. Twentysomethings can’t afford to spend five or 10 years in philanthropy when they have to pay off their college loans. Herbert, like my parents, laments the straight and narrow ambitions of our generation. A society where the young have lost their moral idealism is a “society in decline.” America, he says, will lose its competitive edge if it doesn’t act fast and start subsidizing college education. The U.S. Secretary of Education, Margaret Spellings, took a similar view when she spoke

at the Commission on the Future of Education, a national summit held at the end of March. Laying out 25 initiatives for colleges and universities to adopt, Spellings urged the nation to expand access to education across America. The recommendations were mostly reiterations of general principles we’ve heard before: They included revisions in financial aid policy, increased private-sector funding of need-blind aid, expansion of the Pell Grant program, creation of government incentives for institutions that successfully reduce costs for low-income students and the elimination of institutional barriers to the implementation of new aid programs. Like efforts to state-subsidize education or coax education funding from big business in the past, these proposals are meeting with resistance in America. They sound too much like European socialist education systems, fundamentally antithetical to the do-it-yourself, up-by-the-bootstraps model of American social mobility. Herbert and my parents are concerned with social injustice, with the tragedy that students can’t afford to take socially conscious public sector jobs. But there is something bigger and closer to the heart of American business minds than the moral justice of equal opportunity. The competitive threat to America posed by a debt-burdened youth is not the cost Herbert and my parents seem so alarmed by. It is the economic cost of creativity. Back in the day, college graduates could spend five years traveling the world and exploring jobs in new industries, even if they didn’t pay very well. Nowadays, as one of my friends says, “everyone dreams of being bankers.” But sending the best and brightest into high-paying jobs may be less valuable to the national economy in the long run than the decade of experimentation that graduates are giving up. In the coming decades, the global economic contours will be defined by new industries based around new technologies. Those still re-

lying on tradition — French wine-growers, for example — are faltering. The countries choosing to invest in the new and uncertain (such as the gamble India made in the 1990’s on software) are raking it in. Taking the first years out of college to experiment is more than a moral right, it’s an investment in the national economy. Facebook and Google, it’s worth remembering, are both the result of such adolescent experiments. Solving the big issues of our time will depend on taking chances — global warming and shrinking natural resources are not obstacles that can be overcome by expanding in traditional ways, they require a generation of leaders that can think outside the box. The paradox is that [pullquote] just when the open economic mind is becoming indispensable, America is confining its youth to the box of tradition with the cost of education. In doing so, America is confining itself to the box of second-best. Countries where young people are given the financial security to experiment, with their semi-socialist educational systems that we so often scoff at, may overtake America in innovation. In the 21st century, capital will follow creativity, and creativity needs comfort. It is time to bring back the lackadaisical, find-yourself spirit that allowed many Generation Xers, like the cast of “Friends,” to remain in career limbo into their early 30s. It is time to drop the moralizing rhetoric so often adopted by education reformers and start talking the language of business. Reclaiming our twenties is not an act of nostalgia for a slower paced world, and subsidizing education is not an exercise in achieving social utopia. These are acts of sound investment — and if America doesn’t buy in now, other countries will buy us out.

Maha Atal ‘08 is ﬁnding herself. She’ll be back in 2017.

S PORTS T HURSDAY THURSDAY, APRIL 5, 2007

PAGE 12

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

W. tennis drops 2 matches BY JUSTIN GOLDMAN SPORTS EDITOR

Jacob Melrose / Herald

Sara Mansur ’09 earned one of Brown two singles victories against Long Beach State on Tuesday.

Papelbon to close is a mistake I’m generally not too subtle about how much I hate the Red Sox, so why am I happy to hear that the man who had the eighth-lowest ERA in history (.92) and the lowest batting average against (.162) in history last season is primed to reclaim his spot as closer for the Tom Trudeau Boston Red Sox? Tru Story Because now we only have to see him dominate one inning per game — probably somewhere around 70 innings on the year, rather than 200. To plenty of people, this seemed like the logical move — Mike Timlin is hurt, Okajima can’t get it done against right-handed batters, Craig Hansen has struggled and will start the year in AAA, Manny Delcarmen is too inexperienced and the team’s most dominating pitcher, Jonathan Papelbon, is just chillin’ and ready to rock ‘n’ roll. For a team that had by far the best off-season in the Major Leagues, the Boston brass sure does seem dumb right now. Last year’s NLCS ended with a big hook from Cardinals’ starterturned-super closer Adam “Young” Wainwright that absolutely froze Mets outﬁelder Carlos Beltran with the bases loaded. Wainwright was again on the mound when St. Louis won the World Series, completing his magical run as closer during the post-season. So what did the Cards do with their secret weapon just a few short months later? They moved him into the starting rotation. And believe you me, folks, it wasn’t because they were continued on page 9

After two impressive non-conference wins against Syracuse University and the University of West Virginia, the women’s tennis team opened its Ivy League season on Monday against Yale. However, the momentum created from those two wins was not enough to overcome the Bulldogs, who defeated the Bears 61. Brown was back on the courts Tuesday in its last non-conference match of the season against Long Beach State University. But the No. 51 49ers overcame losses at first and second singles to down the Bears 5-2. The Bulldogs came out strong on Monday, winning the first doubles match. The twosome of Christine Alford and Olivia Nix defeated Sara Mansur ’09 and Michelle Pautler ’07, 8-6. Daisy Ames ’07 and Kathrin Sorokko ’10 won Brown’s only doubles match, defeating the duo of Lindsay Dashiell and Janet Kim 8-2. But Yale took the last doubles match to win the doubles point and take an early 1-0 lead. Singles play did not treat Brown any better. The Bulldogs took five of the first six singles

matches and cruised to victory. “All the matches were really close,” said Ames. “Some of the matches went to the third set, and some went to tiebreakers. They just got a lot more balls in the court then we did.” To add injury to insult, Ames, who has been playing first singles for Brown all year, hurt her back, forcing her to sit out of the Long Beach State match. “I’ve been having back problems for a while,” she said. “But by the end of my singles match against Yale, the pain was so intense that I could barely walk.” The Bears tried to reverse their fortune against Long Beach State. But the 49ers won all three doubles matches and cruised to win the doubles point. Brown did not go down without a fight. Bruno won the first two matches of singles play. Due to Ames’ injury, Pautler and Mansur played one step up from their normal two and three positions. Both played very well and disposed of their 49er counterparts. “Michelle did a great job at No. 1, and Sarah did a good job at No. 2,” Ames said. “It’s important to play well at the first two positions because a lot of teams continued on page 7

Track team opens season at Northeastern, Stanford BY MADELEINE MARECKI ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

The men’s and women’s track teams competed in two meets over spring break, taking some of the squad to the Northeastern Spring Open on March 24 and a smaller, select group to the highly competitive Stanford Invitational on March 30 and 31. Neither meet kept team scores, so the team only posted individual results. The less-competitive Northeastern meet served as an opportunity for athletes to get their competitive juices flowing, and many competed in events other than their primary specialty. The women’s team was lead by cocaptain Akilah King ’08, who captured first in the 200-meter dash, running 25.15 seconds, and won the triple jump as well, leaping 37 feet, 4.5 inches. Other notable performances included a slew of second-place finishes. Thelma Breezeatl ’10, fresh off of her win in the 60-meter dash at the Indoor Heptagonal Championships, finished second in the 200-meter dash. Classmate Jasmine Chukwueke ’10 placed second in the 400-meter dash and helped the 4x400 meter relay to a runner-up finish in 4:00.19. Former volleyball standout Rikki Baldwin ’07 continued the streak of secondplace finishes, claiming the runner-up position to King in the triple jump. Danielle Grunloh ’10 was the runner-up in the discus. The men had several strong individual performances, as well, including two wins by Jamil McClintock ’08, who won the 110-

meter hurdles and the 200-meter dash, running 14.58 seconds and 22.49 seconds, respectively. McClintock’s effort in the hurdles currently ranks him third in the Ivy League. Captain Paul Rosiak ’07 won the javelin with a throw of 199 feet, 10 inches and is currently ranked second in the league in the event. Andrew Chapin ’10 also claimed a victory, winning the triple jump with a leap of 44 feet, 2.5 inches. Matthew Jasmin ’09 placed second behind McClintock in the 200-meter dash, while Christian Tabib ’07 finished third in the 800-meter run. Bryan Powlen ’10 placed second in the discus, with teammate Kai Brown ’08 placing third in the same event. Miles Craigwell ’09 also broke into the top three, placing third in the triple jump. Brown also entered two 4x400 meter relays that claimed second and third place. The following weekend, a small group of athletes traveled to California with the hope of hitting Regional-qualifying times. Highlighting the effort was rookie Jenna Ridgway ’10, whose 16:40.08 effort in the 5,000-meter run nearly broke the school record set last year by All-American Anna Willard ’06. The time qualifies her for Regionals and ranks her second all-time for the Bears. Naja Ferjan ’07 and Lindsay Kahn ’09 nearly qualified for Regionals in their respective events, both missing the standard by less than a second. Ferjan completed the 800-meter run in 2:10.41, while Kahn clocked in at 10:50.28 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Brian Schmidt ’09 was the

Courtesy of Dan Grossman ‘71

Co-captain Akilah King ’08 sprinted and jumped to two ﬁrst place ﬁnishes at the Northeastern Spring Open on March 24, winning the 200-meter dash and triple jump.

standout performer for the men’s team at Stanford, running 14:20.60 in the 5,000-meter run. Schmidt’s time is good for eighth on Brown’s top-10 list. Another outstanding effort came from rookie Reginald Cole ’10, who leapt 47 feet, 10.5 inches in the triple jump. The performance ranks him ninth all-time for the Bears. The teams head to the University of Connecticut this Saturday for their next competition.

Impressions on a young 2007 MLB season Ah, springtime — the sun is shining, the birds are chirping and MLB.com has news to report other than “Clemens still undecided” and “Craig Biggio excited for upcoming seaEllis Rochelson son.” Yes, baseEllis’ MLB Exclusive ball has begun! The agonizing winter is over, and I’ve been poring through box scores to see what interesting storylines have begun to develop. Jake Peavy and Ben Sheets pitched brilliantly in their openingday starts. Peavy won his secondstraight Opening Day start for the San Diego Padres, allowing only three hits and no runs over six innings while notching six strikeouts. Sheets was even more impressive for the Brewers, holding the NL West-favorite (ha!) Los Angeles Dodgers to two hits and only one run over the full nine innings. Sheets and Peavy, finally injuryfree, will battle all season for the NL Cy Young Award. As the New York Yankees beat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 9-5 on Opening Day, the two teams revealed their most obvious strengths and weaknesses. The D-Rays boasted their unrelenting little-ball skills, getting a stolen base from three different players and smacking nine hits — eight of which were singles. Speedy second-baseman B.J. Upton and slugger Elijah Dukes finally have starting jobs, giving the offense a significant boost. Their glaring flaw remains their bullpen — no Rays reliever contained the Yanks’ bats, and two of their pitchers left the game nursing 27.00 ERAs. The Bombers, despite their image of being a slugger-heavy, three-run-homer-orbust team, played great all-around baseball. Alex Rodriguez, Johnny Damon and Bobby Abreu each had a stolen base. New York flexed their power with home runs from Jorge Posada and A-Rod. Jason Giambi and Cap’n Derek Jeter drilled clutch RBI singles, and Doug Mientkiewicz laid a textbook bunt down the third-base line. Sure, SP Carl Pavano was wild and hittable. But the Yanks’ underrated bullpen came in to pitch four and two-thirds scoreless innings, capped by Mariano Rivera striking out the side in the ninth. Lessons learned? The Devil Rays are a scrappy and capable team, and they will win some games against teams not from the Bronx. The Yankees proved that they will find ways to win ballgames, even when Carl Pavano is on the mound. The Florida Marlins might be way underestimated. On Opening Day, Florida destroyed the Washington Nationals, 9-2. Second-year players Hanley Ramirez and Dan Uggla, primed for sophomore slumps, got off to great starts: Ramirez went four for six, scoring four runs and stealing two bases. Uggla went one for four, walking twice and launching a home run. If that duo can maintain this continued on page 9