Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Page 1

The Brown Daily Herald T uesday, J anuar y 29, 2008

Volume CXLIII, No. 5

ADOCH will not include early admits

Since 1866, Daily Since 1891

Nothing ‘ominous’ about subpoena, U. lawyer says

Mr. Speaker...

By Debbie Lehmann Higher Ed Editor

Students who were admitted early decision will not be invited to A Day on College Hill this year, as the Office of Admission prepares to make the event more intimate and address increased competition with peer schools. With about 2,000 students and parents descending on campus each April, overcrowding in recent years has started to take its toll on ADOCH, which Dean of Admission Jim Miller ’73 called “the most important matriculation event we do all year.” In post-ADOCH surveys, students who chose not to attend Brown often noted chaos, overly small venues and a lack of parking around campus, Miller said. “I think they felt it was ver y amorphous,” Miller said. “We want to make it more personal.” The Office of Admission considered holding two ADOCHs but found that this was “logistically impossible” and that it “made sense to focus on the students choosing which institution to attend,” Miller said. The decision to downsize ADOCH comes as the University faces increased competition with peer institutions. Har vard and Princeton recently dropped their early decision programs, so many students who would have applied to these schools early will now apply to Brown as well, Miller said. “We’re going to have a lot more overlap with our competition,” he said. In addition, the new financial aid policies at Har vard and Yale have “put added importance on the whole ADOCH experience,” Miller said. “Financial aid will be a ver y important factor, which makes it very important that students have the best possible experience at ADOCH,” Miller said. The University will offer other visiting opportunities to students who were admitted early decision, including the faculty lunches and tours that the Office of Admission holds each spring. Miller said early decision students “brought real energy to the program” and that the decision to exclude them from ADOCH was not an easy one. Besides a more intimate atmosphere, ADOCH will see a host of other changes this year. The Office of Admission has turned to the event planning group from Public Affairs and University Relations to organize the event. The event planners at PAUR will take the place of admissions officers who used to plan the event “late at night after reading files all day,” Miller said. There will also be classes designed specifically for admitted students. Though he has not heard from continued on page 6

3

METRO

Ch-ch-ch-changes Thayer Street says goodbye to Tom’s Tracks and hello to frozen yogurt, sandwiches and sushi

www.browndailyherald.com

U. plans to respond to study abroad inquiry by March By Michael Bechek News Editor

fessor of environmental studies, as they collaborate with students and faculty in exploring the issues they work on. “The program brings together people from the developing world who care about problems we deal with and are working with them day in and day out,” he said. The selective program, which

The subpoena Brown has received from New York’s attorney general in connection with his investigation of college study abroad programs is “not unusual” and is not a cause for concern, the University’s top lawyer told The Herald on Monday. “There’s nothing as far as I can tell that is ominous about it,” said Beverly Ledbetter, vice president and general counsel. The subpoena, which was also sent to 14 other schools earlier this month, requests general information about how the University conducts its study abroad program, but was “not tailored to Brown” specifically, she said. Such “broad inquiries,” Ledbetter added, do not mean anything is amiss at Brown’s Office of International Programs, and the information demanded by the subpoena was probably identical for all 15 schools. Andrew Cuomo, the New York attorney general, began his investigation in August after a New York Times article revealed objectionable practices

continued on page 4

continued on page 6

Meara Sharma / Herald

Students in New Pembroke 3 gathered to watch President Bush’s final State of the Union address Monday. See World & Nation, page 7

WISE guys arrive at U. to study nature By Alex Roehrkasse Senior Staff Writer

How does industrial growth affect groundwater pollution? What’s the effect of soil disturbances on aquatic ecosystems? This year’s Watson International Scholars for the Environment, who arrived on campus last week, hope to lend an alternative perspective to such issues, and hone the expertise it takes to

tackle them. The seven WISE scholars, hailing from Zimbabwe, Brazil, India, Nepal, Papua New Guinea and Trinidad and Tobago, will spend a semester at Brown receiving training and participating in a seminar on land-use change in the developing world. By sharing their experiences and expertise, the scholars act as both students and teachers, said Steven Hamburg, associate pro-

Whitehouse praises U.’s environmental efforts By Isabel Gottlieb News Editor

Min Wu / Herald

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-RI, spoke Monday in Salomon 101, arguing President Bush’s environmental policies are based in ideology instead of science.

5

CAMPUS NEWS

more protests Med school students protest the governor’s plan to end some health benefits for low-income citizens

11

OPINIONS

The Environmental Protection Agency under the Bush administration “has simply not lived up to its name or its mission,” Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-RI, told a full Salomon 101 on Monday afternoon. Whitehouse also addressed both national politics and local issues and praised Brown for its environmental initiatives. The Bush administration “has let politics govern policy and put blind ideology before scientific fact,” Whitehouse said. Whitehouse is a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, which last week held a hearing on the request by 16 states, including Rhode Island, to set their own regulations for vehicle tailpipe emissions, according to a Jan. 25 press release from Whitehouse’s office. The 16 states account for half the U.S. population and more than 30 percent of vehicles on American roads. In 2005, California set new emissions standards that will affect

Kid power Graham Anderson ’10 argues that minors deserve the right to vote, just like their parents

195 Angell Street, Providence, Rhode Island

cars built in 2009 and afterwards. If the states adopt California’s new standards, as much as 392 million metric tons of emissions could be cut by 2020, the press release said — the equivalent of removing 74 million of today’s cars from the road for a year and potentially saving the country $25.8 billion of gasoline. But in December the EPA denied the states’ request. In response, the EPW, led by Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., introduced a bill on Jan. 24 that would “direct the EPA to reverse its decision,” according to a Jan. 25 Washington Post article. Whitehouse commended Brown on having achieved in 1991 “one of the lowest energy densities and carbon footprints of universities of its kind.” He also recognized other University efforts, such as recycling about 35 percent of solid waste materials and reducing energy consumption in building projects, purchasing fuelefficient vehicles and delivering 90 percent of food left on dining hall trays to a local pig farmer, “resulting in what I’m sure must be among continued on page 4 tomorrow’s weather Cold, like the world won’t be in 50 years, according to Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse

rain, 45 / 23 News tips: herald@browndailyherald.com


T oday Page 2

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Menu

But Seriously | Charlie Custer and Stephen Barlow

Sharpe Refectory

Verney-Woolley Dining Hall

Lunch — Tuna Noodle Casserole, Couscous, Stewed Tomatoes, Cajun Potatoes

Lunch — Hot Turkey Sandwich, Vegetarian Pot Pie, Mashed Potatoes, Spinach with Lemon

Dinner — Curry Chicken & Coconut, Basmati Rice Pilaf, Roasted Cauliflower With Lemon Tahini Sauce

Dinner — Shepherd’s Pie, Vegan Vegetable Couscous, Baked Sweet Potatoes, Italian Vegetable Saute

Dunkel | Joe Larios

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

Enigma Twist | Dustin Foley

RELEASE DATE– Tuesday, January 29,by2008 © Puzzles Pappocom

Los Angeles Times Crossword Puzzle C r o sDaily sword Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis ACROSS 1 Singer Vikki 5 Intrinsically 10 Minute part of a minute: Abbr. 14 Village Voice award 15 Spew out 16 The last Mrs. Chaplin 17 Treaty of Versailles creation 20 Water world? 21 First name in cosmetics 22 Very, in Vichy 23 Spanish river to the Mediterranean 25 Decrease in strength 28 Rita, in a Beatles tune 33 Go by again, in a race 35 Cyberchortle 36 K thru 12 37 Lord’s Prayer verb 38 CBS drama costarring Scott Foley (who cocreated this puzzle), and a hint to puzzle theme that begins answers to 17-, 28-, 47and 61-Across 41 Actor Chaney 42 La __ Tar Pits 44 Ref. work chronicled in “The Professor and the Madman” 45 One of seven 47 Places to find bargains 50 More up-to-date 51 Count (on) 52 Some time displays, briefly 54 Engaged in battle 57 “I Can’t Help Myself” singers, with “the” 61 Lions and Tigers and Bears 64 “The African Queen” coscreenwriter James 65 Pittsburgh product 66 Pinocchio, famously 67 Perot of politics

68 Reporters as a group 69 Pennsylvania Avenue liners

30 Permit 31 Start of a wish 32 Roadside sign 34 Riverboat hazard 39 Hard to hang on to 40 Treeless arctic plain 43 Commercial costs 46 Make over 48 Certain Slav 49 Skier’s milieu 53 Selects carefully

54 Many miles away 55 Like many a pizza order 56 Tribulations 57 Run off 58 Trompe l’__ 59 Canterbury crib on wheels, basically 60 Pre-1991 pol. divisions 62 Cleopatra’s “poor venomous fool” 63 Paper size: Abbr.

DOWN 1 RC or Jolt 2 Help in wrongdoing 3 Mideast money 4 Annual Charles River event 5 Golfer Calvin 6 Self-absorption 7 Officials on the court ANSWER TO PREVIOUS 8 W-2 ID 9 Frat letter 10 Reeking 11 Chimney sweep’s target 12 -ess relative 13 Instance 18 Discord 19 Okla., before 11/16/1907 23 007’s alma mater 24 Misrepresent 25 Mack Sennett’s “The Shriek of __” 26 Catcher in the World Series’ only perfect game 27 More suitable 29 Give the slip xwordeditor@aol.com

Gus vs. Them | Zachary McCune and Evan Penn

PUZZLE:

Vagina Dentata | Soojean Kim

1/29/08

Nightmarishly Elastic | Adam Robbins

By David Kwong and Scott Foley (c)2008 Tribune Media Services, Inc.

1/29/08

T he B rown D aily H erald Editorial Phone: 401.351.3372

Join The Herald! Tonight, 8pm at 195 Angell St.

The Brown Daily Herald (USPS 067.740) is an independent newspaper serving the Brown

Business Phone: 401.351.3260

University community since 1891. It is published Monday through Friday during the aca-

Simmi Aujla, President

once in July by The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. POSTMASTER please send corrections to

Ross Frazier, Vice President Mandeep Gill, Treasurer Darren Ball, Secretary

demic year, excluding vacations, once during Commencement, once during Orientation and P.O. Box 2538, Providence, RI 02906. Periodicals postage 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: $319 one year daily, $139 one semester daily. Copyright 2007 by The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. All rights reserved.


M etro Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Page 3

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Middletown tots to be tracked on buses By Stefanie Angstadt Staff Writer

Kim Perley / Herald

Lt. John Ryan recently took over as commander of the district that includes Brown’s campus.

New year brings new police commander for District 9 By Nandini Jayakrishna Senior Staff Writer

When Lt. John Ryan walked into Kennedy Plaza on Monday, he was greeted by men and women whom he had seen on a daily basis when he was posted as sergeant there. Some shook his hand, and some hugged him. Some still called him “Sarge;” some congratulated him on his promotion earlier this month. A teenage boy told Ryan he misses him. Two weeks ago, Ryan left downtown to replace Lt. Paul Campbell as Commander of Providence Police District 9, which includes Brown, the Rhode Island School of Design and much of the East Side. Campbell was promoted to a detective lieutenant. “(Ryan) brought a mixture of human compassion and enforcement to police work here,” said Bobby Zabinski, a patrolman and one of Ryan’s oldest colleagues at the Plaza. Zabinski said Ryan was able to form relationships with people coming to Kennedy Plaza, many of whom suffer from alcoholism, drug addiction or mental illness. “You’ve got to establish a relationship with these people. It takes time to understand their problems,” he said. “(Ryan) is outstanding. He put a stamp on this place.” Despite his new office at the Brook Street substation and an unmarked car, Ryan said his new job as commander is in some ways more challenging than his job managing Kennedy Plaza. A Warwick native and University of Rhode Island graduate, Ryan said his biggest concern is that “no one (in his district) gets victimized.” He said he will seek to increase communication with the Department of Public Safety so that all the officers are “on the same page.” “(Lt. Ryan) will be an asset to the district,” said Mark Porter, chief of police and director of DPS. “I look forward to working with him.” Porter said he hopes to collaborate with Ryan to organize jointtraining programs for DPS and Providence Police Department officers to “enhance our emergency response.” Legacy and responsibility Ryan, who spends five to six hours driving around the district everyday, said he is currently trying to catch people drawing graffiti on sidewalks and street signs. But apart from being responsible for the safety and well-being of residents and students, Ryan will also face the challenge of living up to his predecessor’s legacy. When Lt. Paul Campbell was appointed head of District 9 in April 2005, the back wall of the Providence

Police Department’s substation on Brook St. was bare. Today, the sky-blue wall has a large PPD badge in the center, flanked on either side by DPS and RISD police badges. The words “Working in Partnership to Serve the Community” are painted above the badges. “I thought I’d better do something for the morale of my men,” said Campbell, who hired an artist to paint the wall and is “very proud” of it. According to Campbell, the violent crime rate in District 9 dropped 52.9 percent, from 51 violent crimes in 2006 to 24 in 2007. Campbell said the drop in crime came from putting more police officers on the street who are “more engaged” with the community. “It’s a safer neighborhood to live and work in, to go to school in,” he said, adding that he would like to see further reductions in burglaries, graffiti and theft from motor vehicles. William Touret, president of the College Hill Neighborhood Association said Campbell was “very successful” in his efforts to improve the quality of life on College Hill. Campbell was also instrumental in the enactment of a law requiring motorcyclists to park only in designated areas, opening up more parking space for other visitors to Thayer Street, The Herald reported on Sept. 20, 2007. By controlling the motorcyclists’ movement, Campbell also helped reduce noise pollution on College Hill, said Susan Hardy, CHNA treasurer. “He was always out and about, always getting to know the community on a first name basis,” she said. “I remember him walking down the street, talking to shopkeepers, doing research before taking action. It was really amazing.” Hardy said though she has not met Ryan yet, she is confident that he will continue Campbell’s work. “Lt. Campbell planted the seed. With every new person there is reinvention,” she said. “(Ryan) will bring his own special way of unifying and continued on page 4

This year, the backpacks of 80 students in the Middletown school district will contain the usual notebooks, pens and pencils, along with one major addition — radio frequency identification chips. The tracking devices, which are expected to be installed in the next two weeks, are part of a pilot program aimed to improve busing efficiency and communications, a move that has garnered criticism from the American Civil Liberties Union for its privacy concerns. Gaming ser vices company GTECH’s former director of engineering, Chris Collins, approached the Aquidneck Elementary School in August with his Mobile Accountability Program, a way to allow parents to track when their children are getting on and off their school buses, said his brother Ed Collins, Middletown school district’s facili-

ties manager. The pilot program, approved by the Middletown school board in November, has also equipped two buses with global positioning systems in order to monitor efficiency and delays. It will feature a real-time, secure access Web site that school administrators can access to track the buses and inform parents if their children are not on them. The Aquidneck school is the first and only client of MAP Information Technology Corp., a company started by Collins to improve communication between school buses and the families they serve. “When children are in school, there is 100 percent accountability for them. At home, parents are 100 percent accountable. On the bus, there is no accountability, and that’s a problem,” said Deborah Rapp, director of marketing and communications for MAPIT Corp. Collins came to learn about the

issues facing school busing systems through his brother Ed Collins, who has overseen the busing system for several years. In the past the process of having parents call in to find out about their children’s bus delays has been slow, Ed Collins said. “When you have 40 parents calling in, you can’t turn out the information fast enough,” he said. “We’re trying to be proactive in our ability to communicate and be accountable to the public,” he added. In addition, the program will help school administrators evaluate utilization of buses to see if and where they can improve bus efficiency, Rapp said. MAPIT will finance the pilot program for several months to test its effectiveness before selling it on the market. At the end of the testing continued on page 6

For Thayer, more sushi but less music by Simon van-Zuylen Wood Senior Staff Writer

The spices of Kabob and Curry can still be smelled from a distance, and the music playing from Johnny Rocket’s is the same, but Thayer Street has changed since classes ended in December. New developments include Juniper Frozen Yogurt, a remodeled East Side Perks coffee shop and the loss of Tom’s Tracks record store. Tom’s Tracks, at 281 Thayer St., closed over break. The independent record store opened in 1985 and sold records and used and new CDs. Only in Rhode Island used to be at 297 Thayer St., but relocated over break. The store, which opened in May, is a specialty shop which only sells merchandise made in the Ocean State. If novelty and entertainment shops are on their way out, restaurants are back in business. Juniper, which is located at 229 Thayer St. next to Tealuxe, serves all-natural frozen yogurt and smoothies. Rhode Island School of Design sisters Grace and Christina Kim opened the shop with their parents on Dec. 22. Business was slow for the first couple weeks, according to Grace Kim, but since Brown and RISD have resumed Juniper has received “good feedback and good reactions.” The menu offers smoothies and all-natural vanilla and blueberry frozen yogurt. Kim said the menu may expand by the summertime, but the store’s draw is quality, not quantity. The frozen treat is non-fat and low in calories, and tastes simply like yogurt, frozen-over. “Most yogurt takes more like ice cream,” Kim said. “If (customers) don’t like yogurt, they won’t like this.” Though Juniper’s product and

Meara Sharma / Herald

Juniper Frozen Yogurt, which also serves smoothies, opened on Dec. 22. atmosphere are different from those of Cold Stone Creamery or Ben and Jerry’s, sweet-toothed locals may now face some difficult decisions. Kim is not concerned that Juniper will lose business to its nearby competitors. “I don’t think Roba Dolce or Cold Stone is really competition — it’s so different. East Side Perks coffee shop, located inside Thai bistro Spice at 110 Waterman St., has changed management and will be renamed Hall of Fame Sandwiches. The sandwich shop will continue to serve coffee, tea and cakes, but will include a revamped sandwich menu, with options like the Bo Jackson Club and the Tom Brady. Hall of Fame Sandwiches will still be owned by Spice but will have a new manager, said employee Brendan Heine. According to Heine, Perks’ manager “did a terrible job with this place — got us into a lot of debt.” Hall of Fame Sandwiches is set to open officially within the next week. The sign outside of what will be Shark Sushi Hibachi and Grill still

says “Coming Soon,” but owner Ray Hugh says he needs five more months to prepare the Japanese restaurant for business. In August Hugh bought the space formerly occupied by La Femme Boutique, which is now located at 112 Waterman St., and Dunkin’ Donuts. Hugh, who owns the Asian restaurant Shanghai as well as Extreme Pizza and Wings next door says his new project is “very intense” and that “there’s a lot going on — you have to make sure everything is perfect.” Hugh says he is excited to be opening another business on Thayer Street and wants to create a student-friendly environment similar to Shanghai. Shark will feature an “incredible sound system,” Hibachi grills and a five-foot shark swimming in an 1800 gallon tank, Hugh said. Hugh foresees no obstacle in taking on Japanese cuisine for the first time. “You have a Japanese guy making Japanese food. If you have a Caucasian guy making Japanese food with more passion — he’ll beat him any day,” Hugh said.


Page 4

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Whitehouse speaks on climate change Scholars arrive at Watson continued from page 1 the happiest pigs in New England,” Whitehouse said to laughter from the audience. He also praised the recently launched Community Carbon Use Reduction program, which aims to reduce emissions to 42 percent below 2007 levels by the year 2020 for existing buildings. Climate change should be of special concern to Rhode Islanders, Whitehouse said, because of the state’s extensive coastlines and its economic reliance on the ocean. Narragansett Bay’s annual mean winter temperature has increased about 4 degrees Fahrenheit over the past 20 years, Whitehouse said, dramatically affecting the region’s ecology and economy. For example, some fish species that live in warmer water are replacing cold-water fish that are more commercially valuable, weakening the state’s economy. But global climate change could have a far more serious effect in the state than endangering certain species of fish. Rising sea levels could destroy many cities and towns, Whitehouse said. “Barrington would be submerged,” he said. “Downtown Providence, just blocks from where we sit, would be underwater.” To illustrate the astonishing speed of climate change, Whitehouse spoke of his trip to Greenland with other members of the EPW committee. Whitehouse said he saw a glacier in an ice fjord “melting so quickly that if you stand next to it for merely an

hour you can actually watch it move.” He added that the glacier moves twice as fast today as it did twenty years ago. Despite his criticism of the current administration and his grim visions of the globe’s future, Whitehouse was optimistic about Congressional efforts to address environmental issues, citing the Warner-Lieberman America’s Climate Security Act — which he called “an historic piece of legislation.” The bill would reduce greenhouse gas emissions in this country by 70 percent in the next 40 years. Whitehouse also stressed the economic repercussions of environmental legislation. He said the “cleantech sector” was projected to produce 50,000 new jobs in the next two years, and urged an increase in federal investment in climate change research. The Climate Security Act includes a cap-and-trade system which “will force polluters to pay for the costs of pollution,” Whitehouse said. Looking ahead, Whitehouse said America needs a new president “who will lead this country to action, so we can address this problem before it’s too late.” He publicly supports Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., in the 2008 presidential election. His support, Whitehouse told The Herald, is personal: “I have a long, long association with her.” He added that he had “many close friends in common” with the Clintons. According to Clinton’s presidential campaign Web site, Whitehouse is the co-chair of her campaign in

Rhode Island. In 1994, then-President Bill Clinton nominated Whitehouse to be the U.S. attorney for Rhode Island, according to Whitehouse’s Web site. He said that Hillary Clinton is also well equipped to deal with what he called the “Bush overhang” — problems created by the current administration that will burden the next. “I’m anxious that things will go seriously, seriously wrong in the early days and months of the new president’s tenure,” Whitehouse told The Herald. “I was very comfortable supporting (Clinton). I thought she was very, very capable in terms of being able to withstand whatever the Bush overhang threw at the next president.” Whitehouse replied with an enthusiastic “Oh, yeah” when asked whether Clinton agreed with him on climate change reform. “Every Democratic candidate is fantastic on this,” he added. Whitehouse’s lecture opened a week-long series on campus called Focus the Nation, part of the nationwide movement of the same name that is a “national teach-in on global warming solutions for America,” according to the organization’s Web site. The week’s events, run by the student group emPOWER, are a “big kick-off for the semester,” said Danielle Dahan ’11, who organized the Focus the Nation week at Brown. The week includes panels and discussions about climate change issues from corporate, religious and economic points of view, as well as a “green fair” and a symposium.

Ryan to take over as Dist. 9 police chief continued from page 3 working with the community of the College Hill neighborhood.” Campbell said policing in a district with “two great universities” is “different” from policing other districts because officers are responsible for the safety of “people from all over the world.” But he said he is confident that he is leaving the district “in good hands.”

“(Lt. Ryan) can talk to people, lead people, listen to them,” he said. “He has all the qualities it takes to be a good district commander in District 9. He’s a good man.” Campbell also said Brown students are generally law-abiding and “there’s no trouble outside of some loud parties.” “Brown and RISD students are good kids,” he said. “I know many by face and name. When I walk into Spats on a Friday night, they come

up to me to say hi.” Campbell, who will continue monitoring crime in District 9, said he is enjoying his new role as detective lieutenant. “It’s nice to put a coat and tie on and work up in the detective’s division on some high profile investigation,” he said. But Campbell said he does miss wearing a uniform. Though he has put most of his uniforms away, he has left one still hanging in his closet. “Just in case,” he said.

continued from page 1 began in 2001 with support from the Henry Luce Foundation and the United Nations Environmental Programme, gathers mid-career professionals from diverse backgrounds of environmental work in the developing world. Conceived as a sort of sabbatical for those who wouldn’t normally have such an opportunity, the program helps the scholars explore new ideas and practices in their field of work, Hamburg said. Jasjit Singh Walia, a WISE scholar and chief executive officer of the eco-tourism program in the Himachal Pradesh Forest Department in northern India, said that such a retreat helps him develop new perspectives on his work. “All these sabbaticals really help me to go back, re-learn, tell myself whether I’m doing it right,” he said. In addition to its reflective aspects, others say, the cornerstone of the program is the opportunity to build off of each other’s expertise. “All the interaction with all the people from other countries — this will be a fundamental combination of science and networking,” said Edenise Garcia, a WISE scholar and an environmental scientist from Brazil who now works in Vancouver. Though many people often think that solutions to environmental problems require lots of money, she said, a better answer can often be found by simply sharing ideas. “My main goal is to acquire simple but effective tools that environmental managers can apply,” she said. The other WISE scholars are Rahanna Juman, research officer in wetlands ecology at the Institute of Marine Affairs in Trinidad and Tobago; Bala Ram Kandel, senior community forestry officer with Nepal’s Department of Forests; Michael Avosa, program director for the World Wildlife Fund in Papua New Guinea; Abha Shende, advisory president of the Environment and Energy Department at the Mitarth Environmental Insti-

tute in India; and Lizzie Mujuru, unit coordinator and lecturer in the department of environmental science at Bindura University in Zimbabwe. Having only just arrived in Providence last week, the scholars may not yet be settled in, but they already have some first impressions of campus. “It’s not as beautiful as Portland,” said Walia, who visited Oregon recently. He nevertheless mentioned an “international flavor” around campus and noted that people are especially friendly. For Avosa, the weekend’s snow flurry was a first. “I sent an e-mail off to my family,” he said, smiling. Over the course of the semester, the scholars will participate in a number of workshops covering topics ranging from geographic information systems to environmental economics. They will also take part in a seminar that includes undergraduate and graduate students who study the fields the scholars work in. Jessica Hunter GS, who took the course last fall and now assists in managing the program, said that the scholars’ anecdotal evidence about putting environmental policy into practice lent a fresh perspective to her studies. “What was interesting to me was that despite being from extremely different places, they had to deal with the same sorts of challenges and overcome the same barriers,” she said. Hamburg said that the scholars’ perspective on issues of development and environmental policy colors his research as well. For example, though he had always been aware of the relationship between corruption and land-use change in the developing world, the accounts of a WISE scholar from Cameroon last year helped him realize how much the two phenomena are inextricably linked, he said. The program’s networking opportunities help the exchange of ideas and expertise continue after the scholars leave campus. Several students who have taken the seminar course have later traveled to work or undertake research projects with former scholars in their home countries. Hunter spent last summer with a scholar in Brazil exploring a case study for her thesis on the environmental effects of specially designed riverfront parks, or “greenways.” “It’s like one step better than study abroad,” Hamburg said of the opportunity to partner with WISE scholars on their own turf. Because students aren’t embedded with peers from the developed world, they get an unrivaled experience observing environmental policy-making and practice in the developing world, he said. Given the University’s push for internationalization, Hamburg hopes to see Brown recognize the potential for building upon programs like this one, perhaps hosting events internationally and exploiting a broad network of previous WISE scholars. “We’ve got the infrastructure. We’ve got the networks,” he said. “The key is funds.” But for now, he and the scholars will go about turning a semester in Providence into a “transformative experience.” “Everyone’s waiting for what I’m going to bring back,” Shende said. “I think I’m going to get experience that will help my work, my country ... I’m going to get something very big here.”


C ampus n ews Tuesday, January 29, 2008

New

Page 5

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

s

i n

B

r i e f

Africa scholarship fund well-received by student body The announcement of a new scholarship fund for students from sub-Saharan Africa was met with a largely positive reaction from the student body. “I was incredibly pleased and very proud to be going to a school that would do this,” said Nokuzola Jenness ’10, co-chair of the African Students Association. The $5.75 million gift from Israeli businessman Idan Ofer P’12 will fund the Advancing Africa Scholarship Fund. The fund will increase financial aid for African students and pay travel expenses for two trips home, as well as provide a monthly stipend once they graduate and return to Africa. Recipients of the scholarship will be required to sign a pledge to return to Africa for at least two years. President Ruth Simmons told The Herald on Jan. 24 that the gift will give more Africans the opportunity to attend Brown. International students have long complained about a lack of economic diversity among their peers, she said. “A lot of us either went to international schools or private schools,” Jenness said. The situation is unfair, she explained, because students from public schools who are just as talented lack the resources to pay for a Brown education. Godhuli Bhattacharya ’09, the other co-chair of ASA, agreed with Simmons’ assessment that the new fund will make it easier for Africans to attend. “Obviously it’s good news for all (African students),” Bhattacharya said. “We hope there will be a stronger African voice” and a greater representation of the continent, she added. Jenness praised the fund for offering money for return trips and encouraging students to return to Africa. A lot of students would like to go back, she said, but do not because of difficulty getting jobs. The creation of the fund marks one step toward the University’s goal to attract more international students. And though neither Simmons nor the press release announcing the gift mentioned it, the fund will also fulfill a recommendation of the Steering Committee on Slavery and Justice. That committee, chaired by professor of Africana studies James Campbell, recommended in its final report that Brown “dedicate particular attention to the recruitment of students from Africa and the West Indies.” Though he doesn’t know if the donor was even aware of this recommendation, Campbell said the gift certainly seems to address it. “Brown has always been an institution of international linkages, some of which we’re prouder of than others,” he said. The 21st century gives those connections a new importance, he said. - George Miller

Joy Neumeyer / Herald

Sareh Rajaee MD’10 and Ayana Morales MD’10 protest Gov. Donald Carcieri’s proposed cuts to Medicaid coverage.

Med students rally against proposed health care cuts

By Joy Neumeyer Contributing Writer

Donning white coats and brandishing posters with slogans such as “Health Care 4 All,” a group of Alpert Medical School students joined medical professionals and community advocates at the State House Jan. 23 to protest Gov. Donald Carcieri’s ’65 proposal to lower the maximum income level covered by RIte Care, a Medicaid program that provides health care for low-income families. Carcieri’s proposal, in an attempt to address the state’s $150 million deficit, would strip thousands of cov-

erage. Ocean State Action, an advocacy group that opposes the funding cuts, estimates that as many as 9,000 residents could be affected. The proposed cuts would lower the maximum household income for RIte Care coverage from under 185 percent of the federal poverty level, or $32,560 for a family of three, to 133 percent of the poverty level, or just $23,408 for a family of three. “This is representative of a larger degradation of Rhode Island state public health care,” said Dan Schwarz MD’10 , one of the med students who continued on page 9

Punching out of work and into the ring Cole “a classy fighter,” his trainer says By Sam Byker Senior Staf f Writer

After a nine-hour early-morning shift at the Sharpe Refectory, Dining Services worker Maurice Cole walks home having earned a rest. But rather than relax, Cole heads to Manfredo’s Gym in Pawtucket, where he spars, shadowboxes and hits punching bags for more than three hours each night. With only sixteen fights under

FEATURE his belt, Cole, a 24-year-old amateur boxer, is hoping to turn professional in the coming months. If he does, it will be just one more step in a meteoric climb to the top. “I can work with somebody for two or three days and tell whether they’re going to be a boxer or not,” said Cole’s trainer, Orlando Valles. When the two first met, Cole had no experience with the sport, but Valles saw potential in the young man. “I could tell that he had the ability to be a good boxer,” Valles said. “He had the right strengths.” At the time, Cole was dating Valles’ daughter, also a boxer, and one day accompanied her to the gym. “He didn’t want to box,” recalled Valles, “but I got him in just for the heck of it. … That’s how I noticed he had some skill. He didn’t know it himself.” Cole began to train every day, often putting in three or four hours at Valles’ gym after daytime shifts at the CVS store on Hope Street and a Japanese restaurant on the East Side. After ten months of practice, Valles entered Cole in his first amateur fight, against a more experienced boxer. Cole knocked him out in the second round.

Courtesy of Maurice Cole

Dining Services worker Maurice Cole is an amateur boxer who didn’t originally want to box, his trainer said. Soon Cole may be going pro. In the four years since, Cole has won the Southern New England Golden Gloves Tournament, the Brockton, Mass.-based Rocky Marciano Tournament and the regional U.S. Opens. Cole is used to being the underdog. In 2007, he fought in the Golden Gloves against Jason Ellis, a Portland, Ore.-based boxer with almost 200 fights behind him. A thrilling first round had the crowd going wild, but the second didn’t last long — Cole won with a knockout. The six-foot, 195-pound heavyweight combines the speed of a

much lighter boxer with a strength befitting his class. But he also fights with his head. “Maurice is a classy fighter,” Valles said. “He’s a thinker. … He knows how to pull punches.” His only flaw, Valles said, is a lack of aggression. Many boxers “are like street fighters — they got a mean streak in them and they think they’re tough,” Valles added. “Maurice never had a street fight in his life.” Valles respects Cole for it. “I just wish he’d get a little more mean when he enters the ring.” Cole’s close friend and fellow continued on page 9


Page 6

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

R.I. students Subpoena not a cause for concern, lawyer says to be tracked continued from page 1

Herald File Photo

In order to cut down on overcrowding, A Day on College Hill will no longer be open to students admitted early.

Early admits for class of 2012 to be kept out of ADOCH continued from page 1 any students yet, Miller said he expected that some would be disappointed by the new policy. He added that most students at Brown who attended ADOCH liked the event a lot. Brad Greenburg ’10, who attended ADOCH after being admitted early decision, said the program was “definitely a valuable experience” even though he was not choosing between schools. “It helped reconfirm why Brown was my first choice,” Greenburg

said. “Even though you’re bound to the school doesn’t mean you’re totally sure that’s the place for you. Visiting makes you feel better about your decision.” Greenburg said ADOCH was “definitely overcrowded,” with three pre-frosh sleeping on the floor of the Keeney double he stayed in. Still, he said he enjoyed meeting the people who would be in school with him at Brown. Inviting early admits to other events instead of ADOCH isn’t quite the same, but it’s better than nothing, he said.

at some colleges where universities’ study abroad officials had exclusive relationships with providers and had steered students toward these programs in exchange for cash incentives or perks, such as travel benefits or seats on the advisor y boards of those providers. Ledbetter said the University received the subpoena around Jan. 16 and that it planned to respond to the attorney general by sometime in March. Until then, Ledbetter’s office will work with the OIP to gather and present information about Brown’s study abroad program and its policies. “Usually, they’re asking for a lot of information and documentation,” she said, “so we have to review it.” As for the amount and nature of information the University will provide, and how that decision would be made, she added, “All those are still questions.” “It takes a lot of time to gather that information,” she said. Kendall Brostuen, director of international programs and associate dean of the College, declined to be inter viewed for this article. The Times reported Jan. 21 that Cuomo was expanding his investigation to include 15 schools, including Brown, Columbia, Cornell and Harvard. On Sunday, the Hartford Courant reported that Connecticut’s attorney general, Richard Blumenthal, has joined Cuomo’s investigation and has sent letters to ten schools in that state, including Yale. Benjamin Lawsky, a lawyer in Cuomo’s office, told the Times that the 15 schools subpoenaed by the New York attorney general were selected because of concern that some had “affiliation agreements” with study abroad providers.

Of five study abroad providers that Cuomo subpoenaed at the beginning of his investigation, four currently offer their services through the OIP, The Herald reported Nov. 29. The Center for Education Abroad at Arcadia University, the Danish Institute for Study Abroad, the Institute for the International Education of Students and the Institute for Study Abroad at Butler University were all among those that received letters from the attorney general’s office in August. But Ledbetter denied that there was any reason to be alarmed, saying that Brown was probably chosen because it is among those schools with “more robust study abroad programs,” while other schools do not have such resources. “I don’t think there’s anything problematic with Brown’s program,” she said. The other schools subpoenaed earlier this month by Cuomo’s office are Northwestern, American, Brandeis, Fordham, Alfred and Pace universities, along with Alfred State, Manhattanville, Siena and Hobart and William Smith colleges and the College of New Rochelle, Lawsky told the Associated Press. A spokesman at the attorney general’s Albany, N.Y., office did not return a message left Monday. The OIP does not directly address the subpoena on its Web site, but it does state that “Brown has never received discounts or commissions from, nor has it ever entered into exclusivity contracts with approved program providers.” Molly de Ramel, a University spokeswoman, said Brown did not yet have any additional information regarding the subpoena, and that it was “sticking to” the Jan. 22 statement that confirmed it had received the subpoena and planned to respond.

on buses

continued from page 3 period, Middletown school administrators will evaluate its impact on busing efficiency and communications and make decisions on whether to expand the program to the rest of the 2,500 students and 16 buses in the district, Ed Collins said. Concerned by the potential invasion of privacy the program raises, Rhode Island’s chapter of the ACLU sent a letter to the Middletown School District deeming the program invasive and unnecessary. “We were surprised that the school would consider implementing a program like this, in light of the obvious privacy ramifications,” said Steven Brown, executive director of the ACLU’s Rhode Island chapter. “This is a technology that was created and almost exclusively used to track commercial products and animals,” Brown said. “Many of the people familiar with the technology realize there are different issues involved when you begin tracking people with it.” Brown said the ACLU’s biggest concern is that students will become acclimated to being tracked. “It sets a very poor and dangerous precedent,” Brown said. “The thought that any government agency feels comfortable using this signals that implementation is likely to spread to other situations and people.” “We knew we would garner concern from parents,” Rapp said. “From the start, we knew we wanted to make it as minimally intrusive as possible.” Student information on the chips is limited to an eight to ten digit serial number, she said. Only school administrators will have access to the secure database that assigns the children’s names to their tag numbers which would only be cross referenced in the case of delay or emergency. “It’s not a GPS,” said Rapp. “It’s more like a bar code. The chips can only be read when children enter and exit the bus.” Rapp said the media has sensationalized the potential for the program to threaten the privacy of children and their families. To assuage these and other concerns, the school allows parents to opt out of the program, Collins said. But thus far, none have. Collins said parents from other schools have even requested the technology and families will have the final say as to whether or not the program is continued and expanded. “We’re trying to find out if this is a viable solution. If the parents are happy with it, we’ll look into that kind of system. If not, then we’ll rule it out,” he said. Providence school officials spoke with representatives of MAPIT last week and are in the process of evaluating whether the technology has relevance to the district’s busing needs, according to the district’s director of operations, Andre Thibeault. “We’re in the process of looking into that program and other ones that are very similar,” said Thibeault. “Busing efficiency is something we are looking to advance, and these are new technologies that have the potential to do that for us.”


W orld & n ation Page 7

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

A murderer returns to class

Bush claims progress in Iraq, the economy

By Patrick Whittle Newsday

By Michael Abramowitz anD Dan Eggen Washington Post

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. — As thousands of students filed into classrooms at Hofstra University on Monday for the start of the spring semester, N.B. Brooks sat at his laptop in the student center wondering whether the school was adequately prepared for one new 36-year-old undergraduate — Martin Tankleff, who was released from prison just weeks ago after serving 17 years in prison for his parents’ murders. “It’s not quite business as usual,” said Brooks, a junior information technology major, adding that the school should consider “not so much more security as perhaps redirected security. “Have professors keep tabs on him. Just keep an eye,” Brooks said. Despite the misgivings of Brooks and several other students, Hofstra officials said Tankleff will be treated like any other student at the 13,000-student university. A Hofstra spokeswoman confirmed that Tankleff is “newly enrolled” and taking two classes at the university this semester. “It was a normal first day of classes,” Melissa Connolly said. Tankleff, who was convicted in 1990 but released last month after an appeals court ruling, would like to enroll in law school someday, said a family spokesman. “I guess he did his time, he’s out now and he’s trying to start anew. Time will tell,” said Kevin Brewer, a freshman international business major. But some students said the school should have used some of its security

notification measures to inform them of Tankleff’s presence on campus. Josh Casey, a junior film major, said the school collected phone numbers and e-mail addresses from students last year so it could contact them in case of an emergency. The move, which came after the Virginia Tech massacre, could have been put to use to inform students about Tankleff, he said. “I think it’s pretty unsafe if he’s just here under no watch,” said Joe Conty, a junior business management major. Lonnie Soury, a spokesman for Tankleff’s family, said Tankleff plans to switch to full time in the summer or fall semester. He is paying for college with money from a trust set up by his parents’ estate, Soury said. Tankleff earned an associate’s degree with a concentration in criminal justice while in prison, Soury said. During his incarceration, Tankleff developed a passion for the law and for fighting wrongful convictions as he helped hundreds of prisoners with their cases, Soury said. Tankleff, who declined to comment, wants more than anything to “be like a regular student,” Soury said. “The only thing that we want to make sure is that his experience is normal,” Soury said. Sarah Rezvani, a sophomore broadcast journalism major, said it would violate Tankleff’s privacy for the school to inform students of his enrollment, which she nevertheless called “upsetting and scary.” She continued: “I don’t know the guy, but just that he was in that situation.”

Writers strike closer to an end By Richard Verrier and Claudia Eller Los Angeles T imes

HOLLYWOOD — Hollywood’s striking writers and major studios have moved closer to bridging their sharp divide after a week of talks, raising hopes that a new contract is within reach. The parties have narrowed the gap between them in some key areas, including how much writers should earn when films and TV shows are sold online, according to people close to the situation who insisted on anonymity because talks are confidential. The discussions could still derail, as they did in early December, observers cautioned. The parties remain apart over how much writers should be paid when their shows are streamed online and union jurisdiction over original content created for the Internet. Nonetheless, there is guarded optimism on both sides that the outlines of a deal could be reached as early as this week, paving the way for formal negotiations. Writers and studios alike face enormous pressure to cement an accord that would end the threemonth-old strike that has cost thousands of workers their jobs and the Los Angeles economy about $1.6 billion by one estimate. If the work stoppage continues it would upset program development for next season and spoil the Academy Awards show on Feb. 24. Talks revived last week after studios negotiated a contract with directors in quick order. The directors won terms that were superior

to those offered in the writers’ previous round of negotiations. A number of top writers, including several members of the Writers Guild of America’s negotiating committee, have viewed the directors pact as a flawed but workable model for their own agreement. They have strongly conveyed that message to guild leaders David Young and Patric M. Verrone. Citing a “press blackout,” representatives of the Writers Guild and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents the studios, declined to comment. The guild’s board of directors, which ultimately has to approve any contract, met Monday to discuss the status of negotiations. One main area of concern is a flat residual payment of $1,200 that studios gave directors for streaming their shows in the first year. Writers fear that such a rate could one day give networks greater incentive to rerun shows online where residuals would be a fraction of what producers currently are required to pay. For example, writers currently earn about $20,000 when a one-hour drama is rerun on the network. Additionally, writers have specific issues that need to be addressed that are unique to their craft. Chief among them is securing “separated rights” to their projects, which guarantees writers additional payments and credit when their work migrates from one medium to another, such as a web show that spawns a TV pilot. Talks are expected to resume Tuesday.

WASHINGTON — President Bush told the American people Monday night that his strategy to stabilize Iraq is achieving results “few of us could have imagined just one year ago,” even as he sought to reassure the public that his new stimulus plan will stave off the recession that threatens to overtake the nation’s economy during the final year of his presidency. Appearing before Congress for his seventh and last State of the Union address, Bush claimed vindication for his controversial decision a year ago to send a “surge” of about 30,000 additional troops to Iraq. “The enemy is still dangerous and more work remains,” Bush acknowledged, but with highprofile attacks, sectarian violence and civilian deaths falling, he said progress is unmistakable. “Some may deny the surge is working,” Bush said, “but among the terrorists there is no doubt. Al-Qaida is on the run in Iraq, and this enemy will be defeated.” Bush made clear he is not ready to accelerate a drawdown of U.S. forces, which are scheduled to return to pre-“surge” levels of 130,000 by mid-summer. He cited a warning from Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, that pulling troops out too quickly risks the recovery of al-Qaida in Iraq and an increase in violence. “Members of Congress,” he implored, “Having come so far and achieved so much, we must not allow this to happen.” Bush’s address highlighted the shifting priorities of an administration that had planned to focus its final year on the war and other international challenges, but has found itself moving quickly in the past month to address the burgeoning crisis in the economy. The past year has brought a growing tide of bad economic news for the Bush administration, culminating in last week’s global stock market panic over a collapsing housing market and other financial woes in the United States. The president called on Congress to finish work quickly on a $150 billion stimulus package, urging lawmakers not to “load up” the initiative with measures beyond the tax rebates and business incentives he agreed to last week with House leaders. “That would delay it or derail it, and neither option is acceptable,” Bush said. The president sought to calm citizens’ financial fears. “Our economy is undergoing a period of uncertainty, and at kitchen tables across our country, there is concern about our economic future,” Bush said. But, he added, “In the long run, Americans can be confident about our economic growth.” The president did not seek to revive the kind of ambitious social reforms that animated his past State of the Union addresses, such as proposals to create private accounts for Social Security or provide a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants. Instead, he offered a mixture of familiar initiatives, mixed in with modest new proposals on education, social services and assistance for military families, that his aides said stand a reasonable chance of approval before this summer’s political con-

ventions start in late August. One new proposal would devote $300 million to new grants for low-income children to attend religious schools. Bush proposed writing into law the rules requiring federal agencies to give equal consideration to religious-based groups providing social services to the poor. Bush, whose administration has come under fire in recent years over the poor treatment of injured soldiers, also unveiled several initiatives aimed at boosting federal assistance to families of veterans and active service members. One proposal would give hiring preferences to military spouses throughout the federal government; another would allow soldiers and veterans to transfer unused GI education benefits to spouses and children. Bush’s remarks suggested he remains undaunted by the low approval ratings that have characterized his presidency in recent years. “We have unfinished business before us,” the president said, “and the American people expect us to get it done.” Democrats chose a centrist redstate governor, Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas, to respond to Bush’s address with a note of conciliation. “In this time, normally reserved for the partisan response, I hope to offer you something more: an American response,” Sebelius said. While she described the stimulus package as only a “temporary fix,” she added, “There is a chance, Mr. President, in the next 357 days, to get real results and give the American people renewed optimism that their challenges are the top priority.” Even as he struck a bipartisan tone, Bush made clear to the Democrats sitting before him that he intends to employ fully the powers of the presidency until his final hours in office. Bush said he will use his veto pen and administrative powers to try to rein in the proliferation of “earmarks,” the projects inserted by lawmakers into annual spending bills and totaling roughly $17 billion in the last budget. Bush described such projects as wasteful government spending, and he warned he would veto any spending bill that does not cut in

half the number and cost of earmarks from the year before. He also said he will be signing an executive order requiring his agencies to ignore any earmark not included in the language of legislation. “The people’s trust in their government is undermined by congressional earmarks,” Bush said. Bush’s pledge on earmarks was met with skepticism from Democrats, and even some in the GOP, who noted that the practice increased dramatically while the Republican Party controlled Congress. “The number of earmarks exploded under Republican leadership in the House, and for six years President Bush did nothing to slow their growth,” said House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer, D-Md. In keeping with the traditional civility of the occasion, Bush was greeted warmly as he entered the House chamber. As has been the custom, the White House invited a mix of prominent and ordinary citizens to sit with first lady Laura Bush as a way of humanizing some of the broader themes of the president’s speech. Monday night the guests included a single mother from Tanzania who benefited from the U.S. global AIDS initiative; the co-chairs of his commission on health care for veterans; and several soldiers who served with valor in Iraq and elsewhere. Bush devoted special attention to the two main issues that could shape long-term perspectives on his presidency, with the souring economy joining the war in Iraq as the major focus of his administration. He also promised that America will do “everything we can” to achieve a peace deal between Palestinians and Israelis, which has become a major goal in his final year in office. On the economy, Bush painted a mixed picture. “In the short run, we can all see that growth is slowing,” he said. “America has added jobs for a record 52 straight months, but jobs are now growing at a slower pace. Wages are up, but so are prices for food and gas. Exports are rising, but the housing market has declined.” He also outlined small initiatives continued on page 8


Page 8

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Men’s tennis defeats BC, Colgate offense takes down m. icers Lehigh over the weekend continued from page 12

continued from page 12 took the final three games of his match to win 6-1, 6-3 and clinched the victory. The Bears took the court once again at 3 p.m. to face Lehigh. But unlike the men’s basketball team’s tightly contested victory over Yale, the tennis team’s match versus Lehigh was never in doubt. Brown swept the doubles and no singles set was closer than 6-3. Kohli led the way at No. 1 singles with a 6-3, 6-2 victory and Noah Gardner ’09 won at No. 2 by a score of 6-2, 6-3.

After the long day of play, numerous Brown players sported ice packs. Lee said the wear and tear was a result of the team pushing themselves, but the players should be “back and ready for the Ivy League season,” which starts at the beginning of April. However, key contributor Nathaniel “Skate” Gorham ’10 has already been lost for the year due to an ACL tear. Harris said that as a result, “there’s pressure on each person to step up a little more.” On Thursday, the No. 74 Bears will host No. 43 College of William and Mary at 3:30 p.m. in the Pizzitola Center. Brown lost to William and Mary 4-3 last season and has lost to the Tribe in its last three meetings. Consequently, the team will need to continue the form they showed in Saturday’s play. “Hopefully we’ll be up for the challenge,” Harris said. “It’s exciting to have a team that good here. We’re looking forward to working hard in preparing for them.”

to cut the lead to 2-1. “We played hard, we played well and we battled to make it a 2-1 game,” Grillo said. “We had a great opportunity to tie the game with a five-on-three, but we couldn’t quite get it done.” Brown’s comeback effort was short-lived, as Cornell put the game away in the final period. The Big Red capitalized on a power play opportunity to go ahead 3-1 just 3:41 into the period, and then added another goal on a breakaway with 2:54 left in the game, resulting in the final score of 4-1. The Bears headed to Colgate looking to reverse their luck on Saturday, and had many chances to take control from the beginning. Brown had three first-period power plays, but Bruno was only able to manage two shots on goal with the man advantage. The rest of the game told a similar story, with the Bears failing to convert on all six of their power plays. “It’s something that’s been a problem for us all year. Sometimes it comes down to effort, sometimes it comes down to capitalizing, and sometimes it’s the other goaltender making big saves,” Grillo said. “You

can do everything right with moving the puck, but you still have to finish.” Colgate’s offense, on the other hand, had no trouble finding the back of the net, and the Raiders took the lead with 9:35 remaining in the first period. Then, in the final minutes of the frame, Colgate found itself with a man advantage and did what Brown could not, capitalizing on the opportunity to take a 2-0 lead on a shot from the top of the right face-off circle. In the second period, the Raiders increased their lead at 5:09, again on a power play, when a low shot from the slot got past goalie Dan Rosen ’10 to put Brown in a three-goal deficit. Brown’s defense made several stops, including killing a 79-second 5-on-3 Colgate advantage. But once again, with the clock winding down, the Raiders struck, as an even-handed goal from the top of the left face-off circle gave them a 4-0 lead to carry into the third period. The Bears were whistled for another penalty early in the final frame, and just 1:23 in, Colgate added another goal to put the score at 5-0, where it remained for the rest of the game. This weekend’s two losses extend Brown’s losing streak to six games, and the team’s winless streak to 15

games, dating back to Nov. 10, a stretch in which the Bears have gone 0-13-2. This season, the Bears have averaged just 1.8 goals per game, by far the lowest average among all ECAC teams. Part of the problem has been the lack of clear offensive leadership this season, as many upperclassmen have struggled to score goals. “Some of the upperclassmen aren’t having the kind of season they’d like,” Grillo said. “We have five seniors, who are great kids, and good hockey players … and they’re hurting as much if not more than the other guys on the team, and they’re working their tails off.” Despite the struggles thus far, the team will remain focused on improving its play heading into the postseason. “The ultimate goal is to start playing hockey at the level we’re capable of, and we’ve got to make sure we’re giving a hard, consistent effort,” Grillo said. “It’s about this year, it’s not about the future … and the entire team has to get its act together, so to speak.” The team will look to turn things around when they host Harvard at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, followed by Dartmouth at 4 p.m. on Saturday, both at Meehan Auditorium.

Yale takes down w. hoops by more than 20 continued from page 12 downtown. Letdowns in the defensive end and consistent shooting by Yale doomed Brown to another second half beating and yet another loss to the Bulldogs. “No. 31 (Van Horne) didn’t miss,” Burr said. “They had lots of momentum with shots.” Imitating the start of their first half, Yale caught fire at the start of the second half and went on a 12-0 run, including two threes from Van Horne. O’Neal agreed with Jacobson, saying the letdown was due to poor rotation and the team’s inability to get back on defense. “There was a

certain point where it was hard to come back,” she said. That point probably came around the three-minute mark of the second half, when the Bulldogs went on another shooting spree, scoring eight points in a row to take a game-high 25 point lead at 68-43. Burr attributed the letdown to the Bears’ loss of momentum. “We need to learn to hold momentum defensively,” Burr said. “And at the same time battle offensively.” Yale’s lead allowed a few Bulldog reserves to get some playing time, while Brown’s starters continued to fight hard to keep the score close. This was the first time since the 1999-2000 season that Yale has completed a season sweep against

Brown. But despite their pair of wins within the last two weeks, Yale Head Coach Chris Gobrecht felt fortunate that her team would not have to face Brown again this season. “The score didn’t show how much Brown has improved,” Gobrecht said on the Bulldogs’ athletic Web site. “That team’s going to beat some people. I’m glad we’re done with them.” The Bears are also optimistic about their potential. “We’re confident that we’re moving in the right direction,” Burr said. Brown has back-to-back games in New York this weekend — first against Cornell on Friday, followed by Columbia on Saturday.

Bush speaks on economy in State of the Union continued from page 7 that reflect his continued interest in putting a Republican stamp on social problems that have historically been the province of Democrats or liberal groups. For example, he proposed a “Pell Grant for Kids” program that would provide $300 million in grant money

to schoolchildren who attend underperforming public schools, letting them use the funds to attend parochial or other nonpublic schools. The proposal is modest compared to the original Pell Grant program, which provided college students with nearly $13 billion in aid during the 2006-2007 school year, according to government figures. But the idea combines two

of the Bush administration’s policy hallmarks: a desire to offer “school choice” to disadvantaged students, and a focus on involving religious and faith-based organizations in federal government programs. Bush also renewed his call to strengthen the No Child Left Behind Act, which set up a system of testing and other benchmarks for the nation’s schools.

W. tennis falls to SMU by a small margin continued from page 12 beat her opponent 6-4, def. Vucetic was not fooled by her opposition’s surprise underhand slice serves, and was able to grab a break for the victory. Brett Finklestein ’09 also had a solid showing, coming up just short at fourth singles 7-5, 6-4. She, along with most of the team, was just a few points short of pulling off the upset. “We were all fighting out here,” Aboubakare said. “We were all in the match. It was just a couple of points here and there.” Still, it was a good start to a prom-

ising spring season. “At this point in the season against a strong team, I was pleased with the effort and attitude,” Head Coach Paul Wardlaw. said “There were tight scores up and down.” Wardlaw is optimistic about his team’s make up and potential. “We are maturing as a team,” he said. “We have a good core of sophomores and juniors and our freshmen have stepped in and are playing high in the lineup. It’s a cohesive team with strong character in practice and match play.” The team next looks to flex its early-season muscles at home against Boston College on Feb. 8.


Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Med students join protest continued from page 5 attended the rally. He echoed speakers at the event who stressed that the budget cuts will have a negative impact on emergency rooms in the state and will increase the burden of uncompensated health care. “Anyone who goes to the hospital will see a diminished level of services,” Schwarz said. Margret Chang, another med school student protesting, said that slashing RIte Care funding would most directly affect children of low-income families, whose coverage would be eliminated by the cuts. Care for certain illnesses that are preventable in childhood, such as asthma, she said, would suffer badly if Carcieri’s proposal were approved. The illness, if not treated early on, becomes more and more costly as the child ages, she said. Facing what will become a $450 million deficit for the 2009 fiscal year, which begins July 1, Gov. Carcieri has said that the RIte Care cuts would save up to $4 million this year. His spokesman, Jeff Neal, told the Providence Journal that while possible long-term cost increases as a result of the cuts were uncertain, “the financial benefits in the short term are very clear and definable.” However, many who attended the State House rally denounced this logic. Victoria Picinich, RIte Care action coordinator at OSA, said that “the so-called savings that the governor and other people think will happen will actually be the worst outcome.” Noting a “vicious cycle” of a lack of preventative care and overburdened, undercompensated doctors, Picinich echoed Lt. Gov. Elizabeth Roberts ’78, who also spoke at the rally. Schwarz agreed. “All of those people who would have received that medicine are in fact still humans and will in fact still get sick,” he said. “It’ll cost a lot more to fix (patients’) late stage problems than if you had addressed them at the outset.” Schwarz added that the cuts would deprive Rhode Island of federal matching funds, “actively removing money from the health care system.” Schwarz and Chang agreed that the State House protest was successful in its main mission of raising the issue of the RIte Care cuts’ potential impact on the state’s health care system to the level of public awareness, which Schwarz said is “difficult when the health care system is doing well.” Chang said she thought the image of Brown med students in white coats “will hopefully stay with the public.” “What we can contribute at this point is a powerful image of (our) conviction,” she said. Chang said that although Brown med students have taken up universal health care issues for many years, it “really took off” last year when OSA led a tutorial on why and how med students should get involved in lobbying. OSA has been directly involved with Alpert Medical School in health advocacy for several years and asked med students to get involved in the protest. “I think they’re fantastic,” Picinich said, praising the students’ quickness and eagerness to mobilize for the rally. Chang said that the Med School “invests a lot of time, energy, and resources” in putting medical students in positions to be advocates for patients and communities, noting that she participates in the Advocacy and Activism Scholarly Concentrations Program, which requires students to dedicate four years to pursuing a community health issue. Associate Professor of Pediatrics Patricia Flanagan, an adviser in the Scholarly Concentrations Program, said she sees “having a voice and speaking up when we see threats to

Page 9

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

the community” as “part of the culture” in the medical school’s program. Although she said she has been discussing RIte Care with her students for the past year, she added that “as things boiled up” to the proposed budget cut, “they really acted very much on their own” in getting involved. “They probably could have done it all without me,” she said. Alpert Medical students will continue to lobby against the RIte Care cuts before the legislative session begins. On Wednesday, Schwarz said, they will meet one-on-one with legislators about the RIte Care cuts, hoping to stress that the proposed cuts will “make or break” Rhode Island health care. Steve DeToy, director of government and public affairs for the Rhode Island Medical Society, said that “it was really reassuring to have medical students there” at the last rally and that he looked forward to their continued involvement in supporting RIte Care. Picinich agreed that the students’ presence was “invaluable.” “They’re the future doctors,” she said. “They’re the ones who will be at the front lines of this every day.”

Cole may leave the Ratty for the ring continued from page 5 Dining Services worker Pamela Andrews doesn’t expect to see that happen anytime soon. “He’s a sweetheart,” said Andrews, who has served students and faculty in the Ivy Room for more than 20 years. “Very well-mannered. He’s an excellent role model … just one of those young people that you don’t see too often.” Cole ended up in East Providence in 2002 after graduating from Putnam Vocational Technical High School in Springfield, Mass. He arrived with his step-sister, who came to Rhode Island seeking her father, whom she’d never met. Cole was 17. Andrews met Maurice a year later, after her son Justin befriended him. “From him being around the neighborhood we got close to him,” she said, “and I just adopted him like a son.” Cole was unhappy with his work at the time, and Andrews suggested he apply to work at Brown. Justin Andrews has been to

two of Cole’s fights. “The first time, I was nervous — I was like, ‘Damn, I don’t want my boy to lose. I wonder how he’s going to do,’” he said. “And he won. He whupped the dude.” Cole said some of his colleagues know about his boxing, and several times he’s brought his trophies to work. Now they want to see him fight. And they may get their chance later this week, when Cole competes for his fourth Golden Gloves title Feb. 1 in Fall River, Mass. After that, said Valles, he’ll be focused on the national title. Cole won a regional tournament last year and had the chance to compete in Tennessee for a spot on the 2008 U.S. Olympic team, but Valles decided he wasn’t ready. He would have been up against far more experienced boxers, Valles said, “and even though he fought his way there and won, I didn’t think he was ready.” If Cole places first, second or third at this year’s competition, he’ll have reached the top tier of

amateur boxing and will be able to compete internationally. Since many boxers continue fighting into their 30s, Cole has some time to make his mark. If he does go pro, Cole said, he’ll have a shot at televised fights and good money. Valles added that the rules of professional boxing better suit Maurice’s natural abilities, while amateur fighting rewards technique over damage and knockouts. Cole “is a guy that can let you do whatever you want for one or two rounds, and then he can knock you out in the third. In the amateurs, you can’t do that, because it’s all about points.” In pro boxing, scoring favors strategic boxers like Cole. For now, though, the pair is focused firmly on the present. “We’re gonna go. We’re gonna train. We’re gonna beat whoever it is that we have to fight, and see how well we can do,” Valles said. “People that watch Maurice say he has the ability to be a champion.”


E ditorial & L etters Page 10

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Staf f Editorial

More than a math mistake The recent revelation that the Motion Picture Association of America drastically overestimated its financial losses due to college students’ illegal downloading of movies is, frankly, comforting to hear. The MPAA had previously blamed college students for 44 percent of its estimated $6.1 billion loss tied to illegal downloading, but last week it admitted that the correct figure was 15 percent. As college students, we should all be glad to feel less at fault; after all, the majority of us are upstanding citizens who get our media through legal means, despite what those cranky old lawyers wanted everyone to believe. Whether this miscalculation was intentional or an honest error, it’s already caused enough damage. The disproportionate blame on students has given the MPAA undue policy clout with federal regulating authorities and directly with universities. While piracy certainly still happens at Brown, it’s likely far less of a problem than we previously thought. Does the University really need to be spending thousands of dollars on anti-piracy fliers and subscriptions to a legal downloading alternative? In recognition of its error, the MPAA should modify its policy initiatives to focus less on college students. But these latest events don’t really change the sad state of the film and music industries: In today’s market, it is often easier, faster and cheaper to download movies and music illegally than it is to buy them — even from a well-entrenched, heavily used marketplace like the iTunes Music Store. Files that come from illegal sources are often of higher quality than those from legal sources, and they also lack digital rights management, or DRM, the restrictive scheme favored by the MPAA and RIAA as the model for future distribution. We do not promote illegal downloading, nor do we believe that all digital media should be free, but as consumers, we can certainly ask that the legal solution be as quick, comprehensive and high-quality as the best illegal sites. The MPAA and its co-conspirator in resisting modernity, the Recording Industry Association of America, have spent most of the past decade suing their customers instead of creating a new distribution model. Meanwhile, open-source software such as BitTorrent has stepped in to provide the fastest means of distributing digital content. If the MPAA wants to reduce illegal downloading, it will have to cooperate with innovators to offer customers easy, fast, relatively inexpensive and device-independent downloads. Brown’s response to students’ illegal downloading hasn’t been too successful either. University officials deployed Ruckus, a legal, DRM-ridden alternative to illegal downloading of music, in September 2006. Without ownership, though, Ruckus is not a viable long-term solution. The consumers have spoken: We want to own our music and movies, and we generally won’t settle for compromises that stop us from putting them on our iPods or TVs. What can Brown do? Not very much, though it should look beyond Ruckus for something compatible with more students’ computers. But since we no longer should be seen as the culprits of nearly half of all illegal downloading in the United States, we as college students deserve more leverage in asking for reasonable, fast, easy and legal ways to purchase digital media.

J on G uyer

L e tt e r s Coach thanks U. for support To the Editor: On behalf of the Brown men’s basketball program, I want to thank the Brown community — students, faculty and staff — for its vociferous support of our basketball team on Saturday against Yale. The crowd was absolutely fantastic, and your vocal support of our team at home makes a difference in the success of our program. We hope to see everyone again at this weekend’s key

Ivy League home games against Cornell and Columbia, Friday and Saturday evenings, February 1 and 2. We NEED you! Thanks again. Craig Robinson, Men’s Basketball Head Coach Jan. 28

T he B rown D aily H erald Editors-in-Chief Simmi Aujla Ross Frazier editorial Arts & Culture Editor Robin Steele Asst. Arts & Culture Editor Andrea Savdie Higher Ed Editor Debbie Lehmann Features Editor Chaz Firestone Asst. Features Editor Olivia Hoffman Metro Editor Rachel Arndt Metro Editor Scott Lowenstein News Editor Mike Bechek News Editor Isabel Gottlieb News Editor Franklin Kanin News Editor Michael Skocpol Opinions Editor Karla Bertrand Opinions Editor James Shapiro Sports Editor Whitney Clark Sports Editor Amy Ehrhart Sports Editor Jason Harris Asst. Sports Editor Benjy Asher Asst. Sports Editor Andrew Braca Asst. Sports Editor Megan McCahill

Senior Editors Taylor Barnes Chris Gang Stu Woo Business Darren Ball General Manager General Manager Mandeep Gill Susan Dansereau Office Manager Alex Hughes Sales Manager Lily Tran Sales Manager Public Relations Director Emilie Aries Jon Spector Accounting Director Claire Kiely National Account Manager University Account Manager Ellen DaSilva Darren Kong Recruiter Account Manager Credit Manager Katelyn Koh Ingrid Pangandoyon Technology Director photo Rahul Keerthi Meara Sharma Min Wu Ashley Hess

Photo Editor Asst. Photo Editor Asst. Photo Editor Sports Photo Editor

post- magazine production Steve DeLucia Production & Design Editor Chaz Kelsh Asst. Design Editor Asst. Design Editor Alex Unger Catherine Cullen Copy Desk Chief Adam Robbins Graphics Editor

Join The Herald! Info sessions tonight, tomorrow and next Wednesday.

Matt Hill Rajiv Jayadevan Sonia Kim Allison Zimmer Colleen Brogan Arthur Matuszewski Kimberly Stickels

8 p.m. at 195 Angell St.

Managing Editor Managing Editor Features Editor Features Editor Associate Editor Associate Editor Associate Editor

Alex Unger, Designer Kimberly Arredondo, Catherine Cullen, Alexander Rosenberg Copy Editors Chaz Kelsh, Debbie Lehmann, George Miller, Joanna Wohlmuth, Night Editors Senior Staff Writers Sam Byker, Nandini Jayakrishna, Chaz Kelsh, Sophia Li, Emmy Liss, Max Mankin, Brian Mastroianni, George Miller, Alex Roehrkasse, Caroline Sedano, Jenna Stark, Joanna Wohlmuth, Simon van Zuylen-Wood Staff Writers Stefanie Angstadt, Amanda Bauer, Evan Boggs, Caitlin Browne, Marisa Calleja, Zachary Chapman, Noura Choudhury, Joy Chua, Patrick Corey, Catherine Goldberg, Olivia Hoffman, Ben Hyman, Erika Jung, Sophia Lambertsen, Cameron Lee, Christian Martell, Taryn Martinez, Anna Millman, Evan Pelz, Sonia Saraiya, Marielle Segarra, Melissa Shube, Gaurie Tilak, Matt Varley, Meha Verghese Sports Staff Writers Han Cui, Evan Kantor, Christina Stubbe Business Staff Diogo Alves, Steven Butschi, Timothy Carey, Jilyn Chao, Pete Drinan, Dana Feuchtbaum, Patrick Free, Sarah Glick, Soobin Kim, Christie Liu, Philip Maynard, Mariya Perelyubskaya, Paolo Servado, Saira Shervani, Yelena Shteynberg, Robert Stefani, Lindsay Walls, Benjamin Xiong Design Staff Ting Lawrence, Philip Maynard, Aditya Voleti, Wudan Yan Photo Staff Oona Curley, Alex DePaoli, Austin Freeman, Emmy Liss, Tai Ho Shin Copy Editors Kimberly Arredondo, Ayelet Brinn, Rafael Chaiken, Erin Cummings, Katie Delaney, Jake Frank, Jennifer Grayson, Ted Lamm, Max Mankin, Alex Mazerov, Ezra Miller, Seth Motel, Alexander Rosenberg, Emily Sanford, Elena Weissman

C O R R E C T I O N S P olicy 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 ommentary 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. L etters to the E ditor P olicy 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. advertising P olicy The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. reserves the right to accept or decline any advertisement at its discretion.


O pinions Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Page 11

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

The new statism: anti-smoking hysteria Sean Quigley Opinions Columnist French citizens greeted the New Year with an unpleasant reminder of how powerful the one-size-fits-all State has become in that nation of dependents. That is to say, the nationwide ban on smoking in restaurants, nightclubs and other enclosed “public” spaces, came into effect on Jan. 1. Now, it would be unfair to criticize only France, so I will refrain from doing so. Similar bans have been enacted in England, Ireland, many U.S. states and also many U.S. cities. At the core of the collective clamoring for these bans is, essentially, the claim that smoking is bad for you and for the people who choose to be in your company. Demagogues with chips on their shoulders and lust for power in their hearts may attempt to disguise their reasons for pursuing these bans, but their ultimate motivation is fairly palpable. Those who seek smoking bans are closet statists, if not outright ones, who have somehow concluded that the State is capable of moral action, and who have decided that all of its executive power should be mobilized to extirpate culture, tradition and “unhealthy” habits. Moreover, the means to achieving this ban are hardly in line with any long-standing notion of the prerogatives of local communities and neighborhoods, as most of the bans have been enacted by legislators far removed from the areas affected by the prohibition. This recent emergence of a culture of disdain for smoking and smokers alike is most disappointing, especially when one considers how much rich tradition is associated with smoking in general, and tobacco in particular. Estimates

suggest that tobacco smoking began approximately five thousand years ago in the Americas, and only within the last two decades have the plastic, empty, heavy-handed developed nations of the world decided to use the State and its agents to curtail a harmless vice. I reference smoking as a harmless vice because my argument about the encroachment of an impersonal State hinges on the purpose

When classes are over for the day, and one seeks to enjoy a drink and a smoke to take off the edge, one must avoid smoking in certain locations where laws have proscribed the former (and sometimes even the latter). When writing a piece of poetry, prose or personal correspondence, one must seek inspiration through the tobacco leaf in a location other than the traditional cafe or restaurant, for the State — yet,

These are interesting times, particularly in the United States, where the polar extremes of rampant obesity and lockstep fitness culture are the two camps to which one must retreat and location of smoking in our lives. Even a casual “smoker” (I prefer not to designate certain persons as smokers and others as non-smokers, but reluctantly use the phrase in keeping with modern parlance) has probably smoked a pack of cigarettes within the last month, which translates into twenty times when individuals have felt the presence of the State and its laws enforcing personal behaviors.

strangely enough, neither the writer nor usually the owner — has deemed such behavior inappropriate. These are interesting times, particularly in the United States, where the polar extremes of rampant obesity and a lockstep fitness culture are the two camps to which one must retreat. Long gone seem to be the days of a healthy degree of moderation, determined by the individual

who lives in accordance with his own version of self-discipline. Alas, it appears that the only options that leaders and laws claim that we now have are alleged risky behaviors and habits, or top-down versions of healthy living. Smoking ban advocates rest their claims on the misguided belief that health is the sole prerequisite for a high quality of life. When will our culture again reflect the eternal truth that living encompasses more than merely life and health? Even if tobacco is so incredibly dangerous — a premise, for what it is worth, that I do not completely accept — why have we chosen to exterminate traditional behaviors in restaurants, bars, and pubs altogether, without regard for their historical and spiritual contexts. As Alexis de Tocqueville noted almost 200 years ago: “It must not be forgotten that it is especially dangerous to enslave men in the minor details of life. For my own part, I should be inclined to think freedom less necessary in great things than in little ones, if it were possible to be secure of the one without possessing the other.” And so, if someone levels the charge that I am making a mountain out of a molehill, I would kindly remind him that it is not the major details of life where liberty is most crucial, but the minor ones. For if the State blatantly usurps one’s right to free speech, one knows that he has received a raw deal, and rightly protests that violation of liberty. But if the State gradually tears away at thousands of years of tradition, custom and culture, under the guise of philanthropy, would the same person be so quick to protest? I fear the answer to that question.

Sean Quigley ’10 is raising a glass and lighting a smoke, hoping for better days.

The politically disenfranchised: children BY GRAHAM ANDERSON Guest Columnist In the United States, what do all citizens under the age of 18 and incarcerated criminals have in common? Well, usually nothing — except that both are denied the right to vote. Many adults find it absolutely absurd that a U.S. citizen under the age of 18 should be allowed to vote in local, state and national elections. Nonetheless, during the Jan. 3 Iowa Democratic caucuses, citizens of the age of 17 who will be 18 by the time of the national election had the right to vote. During the Iowa Republican caucuses, citizens of the age of 17 and a half had the right to vote. These children voters played a significant role in setting the shape and tone of the future of the United States, even helping to propel Sen. Barack Obama to prominence, if not victory. Despite their influence, these Iowa voters under the age of 18 have unfortunately gained very little attention in the media and our minds. In recent years, the fight for children’s voting rights has gained some momentum. Children’s suffrage is an organized political movement with credible intellectual proponents. Indeed, several years ago Brown was one of the epicenters of the fight for children’s voting rights with its influential, although now defunct, student organization called the Association for Children’s Suffrage. Children have also been mobilizing into organizations like the National Youth Rights Association, providing eloquent and strong arguments for suffrage on their behalf. Nonetheless, children’s suffrage has failed to gain prominent attention because of the irrational fears of “adults” and the archaic ideology of paternal-

ism in our country. People under the age of 18 in the United States, must without exception, abide by local, state and federal laws, although minors are prohibited by law to vote. Some may call this a double standard, either benevolent or unfortunate, but I call it a betrayal of the democratic philosophies upon which this country was founded and has developed. While laws directly applicable to children, like driving-age restrictions and curfews, may purportedly be for “public safety” or the “best interests of children,” there are also valid countering

under the age of 18 are not allowed to serve in the military, and thus should not vote. Still, 10 U.S.C. §505(a) sets the minimum age of enlistment in the armed services at 17 years of age — below the voting minimum. Also, some naïve people may claim that if one is not old enough to serve in political office, then one cannot vote for political office. This argument is obviously absurd because the Constitution puts age minimums on who may ser ve in federal offices. Finally, one may argue that children, who if not uneducated must be inexperienced, do not need

It is incumbent upon all proponents of representative government and defenders of democracy to pressure our local and state governments to stop denying children their right to vote arguments in the interest of the personal liberties of children — which are silenced because children cannot vote. Children must also pay taxes and government-imposed fees when legally applicable. Whatever happened to the centuries-old idea of no taxation without representation? Some may argue that children do not have the same responsibilities to society that adults have. For example, one may claim that people

to vote because politicians and apparently adult voters already look out for their best interests. This final argument is interesting in that it evokes the long-standing theme of paternalism in the evolution of United States democracy. As histor y has shown, a paternalistic democracy simply does not work. AfricanAmericans and women were long denied the right to vote for largely the same paternalistic

reasons that children continue to be denied the right to vote. Children like all other American citizens, have two main things at stake: their current rights, and more importantly, their future. Issues like the imminent collapse of social security, the possible revival of the military draft and global warming may not affect the elderly politicians in Washington, nor even my parents, but they will drastically affect children like my younger sister. One hardly needs even an elementary school education to understand such issues affecting the future and to understand which politicians support or oppose positive solutions to them. If we want the problems of the future to be on the forefront of the political agenda, one of the most powerful actions we can take is to grant children of school-age their right to vote. Amendment 26 of the Constitution simply states that, “The right of citizens of the United States, who are 18 years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age.” States and localities can thus grant every United States citizen their right to vote regardless of age. Therefore, it is incumbent upon all proponents of representative government and defenders of democracy to pressure our local and state governments to stop denying children their right to vote. Children are not collectively stupid, children know what is in their best interests, and children deserve a right to vote because they are just as much a member of United States society as those above the age of 18. All Brown students should know that, because we were all denied the right to vote a few years ago, too.

Graham Anderson ’10 will vote for the children.


S ports T uesday Page 12

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

W. tennis comes up just short against ’Stangs By Jason Harris Sports Editor

The Sunday morning snow flurry outside the Pizzitola Center did not phase the warm-weather Mustangs from Southern Methodist University, who defeated the women’s tennis team 5-2. Though the team fought hard, the Bears dropped the first match in their spring season to the No. 58-ranked Mustangs who move to 2-0 in the infant season. After hanging tough in doubles but dropping all three matches (8-3, 8-1, 8-3), Bruno got its first win in second singles from Sara Mansur ’09. She was like a backboard, refusing to make mistakes. On back to back points she sustained a long rally and then hit a pair of crosscourt forehand winners to go up 3-0. In total she picked up the first five games and finished out the first set 6-2. Mansur once again jumped on her opponent in the second, getting an early break en route to a 6-2 win. “I just put a lot of balls back,” Mansur said. “I tried not to do too much, and she wasn’t that consistent.” Consistency for Mansur was crucial because she spent last semester abroad and is still rounding back into form. “Right now it’s about moving my feet,” she said. “I just want to get the ball back and build on each match.” Brown also received a valiant effort at first singles from Bianca Aboubakare ’11, who dropped the first five games of the first set. Serving at 1-5, she hit a pair of backhand winners, including one where she came charging in to get a drop shot, set herself and rip a shot crosscourt from her opponent, Natalia Bubien. Aboubakare then picked up her third straight game on a crosscourt forehand passing shot. With each point and game she picked up, Aboubakare’s shouts of “Mine!” indicating that Bubien hit the ball out became louder and more emphatic. By the time she took the lead at 6-5, she was calling “Mine!” even when she hit winners. Unfortunately she was unable to sustain the strong play long enough to get the set. Bubien came back to tie the set at six, and then won the first point of the tie breaker on Aboubakare’s serve, a break from which Aboubakare was unable to come back. After the close 7-6 defeat in the first set, Aboubakare looked as though her partial comeback had her energized for the second set, as she went up 40-0 on Bubien’s serve in the first game of the second set. Bubien fought off the triple break point and the loss seemed to take the wind out of Aboubakare’s sails. “She started hitting bombs for serves and there was not a lot I could do about it,” Aboubakare said. “(During the comeback) I concentrated more, but I lost my focus after that.” Aboubakare battled out the rest of the set, but wound up overpowered, 6-2 in the second. Brown’s other victory came at fifth singles, where Tanja Vucetic ’10 continued on page 8

Bulldogs take a bite out of Bears, sweep w. hoops By Whitney Clark Sports Editor

As in its game against Yale last weekend, the women’s basketball team, this time playing at the John J. Lee Brown 49 Amphitheater Yale 72 in New Haven, Conn., allowed a second half run by the Bulldogs to decide the game, with a final score of 72-49. With the game still in reach at halftime, 35-23 in Yale’s favor, Brown, which fell to 1-15 and 0-2 in league play, lost any momentum it had after the break and allowed the Bulldogs to pick apart its defense. On offense the Bears struggled as well, making just six out of the 21 shots they attempted, shooting just 28.6 percent compared to Yale’s 44.4 shooting percentage. Forward Betsy Jacobson ’11 said the fact that it was an away game definitely affected the Bears. “It put us down a little bit,” she said. “And we never actually picked it back up.” Head Coach Jean Burr also attributed the lackluster start to “being in their place.” Yale was most dominant in the second half, but the Bulldogs commanded the whole game. Yale had a quick start, scoring its first basket, a three-pointer, only seven seconds into the game. The Bears admitted to playing a lot harder in the beginning of the game their first time around with Yale last weekend. “We came out Ashley Hess / Herald a lot slower (this time),” said senior Senior captain Annesley O’Neal ‘08 looks to make a pass against Yale. O’Neal led captain Annesley O’Neal ’08. the Bears with 12 points in the game Brown ultimately lost 72-49. Despite a slow start, the Bears held on throughout the half. Early held onto that hope. waters.” in the game Brown took its first and “We definitely felt like we could Additionally, several players only lead at 6-5. Then at the 10:45 come back,” O’Neal said. mentioned that key shooters from mark, guard Sadiea Williams ’11 Jacobson echoed O’Neal’s Yale were being left open, giving brought the score to within one words, adding that better defense the Bulldogs more chances than at 15-14, but that was as close as and better transitioning would usual to score. Jamie Van Horne led Bruno would get for the remainder have made the difference for the the charge for Yale with 22 points of the game. Bears. on an astounding 6-9 shooting from Down only 12 points at half, the “They were a lot faster,” Burr continued on page 8 Bears were still in the game and said. “They tested our defensive

Road woes for men’s hockey By Benjy Asher Assistant Sports Editor

In two games over the weekend, the men’s hockey team dug itself a hole in the first period and was unable to recover, resulting in two Eastern 1 Brown College Athlet4 Cornell ic Conference losses. The 0 Brown Bears (1-14-4, 5 Colgate 1-8-3 ECAC) took a 4-1 loss against Cornell on Friday night, followed by a 5-0 loss to Colgate on Saturday. The Bears played their first game of the weekend at Lynah Rink at Cornell, a place that Brown Head Coach Roger Grillo called “one of the best atmospheres in all of college sports.” But the Bears struggled from the beginning, due in large part to disappointing play in power play situations. After a Brown penalty midway through the first period, the Bears looked to be in good position to kill the power play, but with 17 seconds left in the man-advantage, the Big Red found the back of the net with a high shot from the bottom of the left face-off circle, to put Bruno behind 1-0 at 14:40. Less than four minutes later, Cornell tacked on another goal to give the Bears a 2-0 deficit at the end of the opening frame. Things started to brighten in the second period, in which Brown stayed out of the penalty box entirely, a feat which helped them keep the Big Red scoreless in the frame. The Bears out-shot Cornell 10-8, but failed to take advantage of power play opportunities, including a 5-on-3 advantage midway through the period. But with just over five minutes remaining in the period, Bruno finally cut into Cornell’s lead, when Matt Vokes ’09 crashed the net after a shot by Ryan Garbutt ’09 was deflected by the goalkeeper. Vokes picked up the loose puck and fired a shot past the goalie continued on page 8

M. tennis trounces BC, Lehigh By Peter Cipparone Sports Staff Writer

After not playing serious matches since October, the men’s tennis team expected to be at least a little rusty going into matches against Boston College and Lehigh University on Saturday. Instead, Brown steamrolled its opposition en route to a pair of 7-0 victories. In its banner day, Brown won every singles match in straight sets and took 17 of 18 matches all together. Co-captain Saurabh Kohli ’08 led the Bears with four wins on the day, and Chris Lee ’09, Kendrick Au ’11, and Charlie Posner ’11 notched three wins apiece. “We worked hard and had great results,” Head Coach Jay Harris said. “It was important for everyone to get out on the court and be tested for the first time.” Lee pointed to hard work in the offseason as a key to the team’s success. “We’ve really progressed over the preseason,” Lee said. “Our first practice when we got back from break was at midnight. Our goal has been to get a lot stronger both physically and on court.” Lee also said stellar play from

young players contributed to the dominant performance “I think the freshmen did a great job today. I know when I was a freshman I wasn’t really ready for the demanding preseason practices, but these guys have worked hard.” Against Boston College, Brown opened strong by taking two of three doubles matches to capture the doubles point. But midway through the Bears’ first four singles matches, the team sat deadlocked with the Eagles. Playing on neighboring courts, Lee and Sam Garland ’09 slugged their way to five-games-all in the first set at No. 1 and No. 4 singles, respectively. At the same time, No. 3 singles player Jonathan Pearlman ’11 was tied at 3-all in the second set after taking the first 6-1. But Brown quickly closed the Eagles’ window of opportunity. Lee and Garland took their first sets with relentless baseline play and claimed early leads in the second set. The juniors never relinquished these advantages and recorded scores of 7-5, 6-3 and 7-5, 6-2, respectively. Meanwhile, Pearlman continued on page 8

Ashley Hess / Herald

Senior Saurabh Kohli ‘08 prepares to blast a shot from the baseline. Brown swept Boston College and Lehigh, losing just one of 18 matches in the process.


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.