Thursday, October 2, 2008 by The Brown Daily Herald

The Brown Daily Herald T hursday, O ctober 2, 2008

Volume CXLIII, No. 83

Off the hill, afloat in the Old World

Reported sex crimes more than double from ’06 to ’07 By Joanna Wohlmuth Senior Staff Writer

Gondolier sees a bit of Venice in Providence

The number of sex crimes reported at Brown more than doubled from 2006 to 2007, according to a report released last week, a change that University officials said demonstrated students’ increased willingness to seek campus resources following an incident. “The number change does not mean the prevalence (of sexual assault and rape) increased. It means that people reported and got support,” said Sexual Assault Response and Prevention Program Coordinator Trisha Glover. “It’s a success in that way.” The number of “forcible sex offences” committed on campus increased from four in 2006 to nine in 2007, according to the annual crime report from the Department of Public Safety. “I think to talk about the number, you have to understand the context

By George Miller Senior Staff Writer

They call Federal Hill Providence’s Little Italy, but there’s a little bit of Venice in the rivers, too. Just ask Michele (pronounced “Mee-KELL-ay”), who pilots gondolas on the Providence and Woonasquatucket five nights a week. Michele — real name Evan Smith ’09 — has seen Rhode Is-

FEATURE landers get romantic on the rivers. Smith says he’s heard a “huge” number of people pop the question from his perch at the stern of the gondola, and has never witnessed a rejected proposal. (He wonders, though, if sometimes the person proposed to waits for a private moment — sans Michele — to decline the offer.) Smith rowed in high school and his freshman year at Brown before starting as a gondolier with Providence-based “La Gondola” in June. The traditional Venetian boats don’t just carr y passengers on WaterFire nights—May through October, they ferry people celebrating birthdays and anniversaries, and more than a few getting engaged. The base fee for such an excursion is $79, though prices are higher on WaterFire nights and for trips that include special treats, like gold-rimmed keepsake wine glasses, framed photographs and specialty chocolates. The black-and-white-striped getups worn by the gondoliers seem straight out of the Old World,

Courtesy of Matthew Haynes

Evan Smith ‘09 pilots a Venetian gondola through the Providence River, dressed as a traditional Italian gondolier.

and the company’s two boats are even authentic Venetians, according to its brochure. But, Smith says of his fellow gondoliers, “none of us are even vaguely Italian.” Raphael is a student at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Leonardo at the University of Rhode Island and Marcello, the company’s owner, teaches physics. Marco, at least — real name Alan Days — was trained in Venice. Smith had no such luck, having to settle for 30 hours learning how to guide the long scull with a single 14-foot oar. If he dared to wear his striped shirt and straw hat, the traditional gondolier’s uniform, in that city, they’d “toss (him) off the boat.” The Venetian gondoliers’ guild requires all its

members to be native male Venetians — so the striped shirt stays out of the suitcase for now. Days founded the gondola company with his wife Cynthia in 1997, not long after the completion of a significant downtown revitalization that included uncovering and moving the rivers. He got the idea from the gondolas at Marco Island, Fla., he said. Days has since sold the company to new owners. Being a gondolier and rowing crew are both difficult, “but in very different ways,” Smith says. He wasn’t fully trained until mid-July, he adds. “The boat just wants to move in a circle,” he says. And with a continued on page 4

Beyond checking your heartbeat and curing your cold, Health Services now wants to help you orgasm — if you’re female, that is. An information page on female orgasm is in progress and should be posted on the Health Education Web site in a couple of weeks, said Naomi Ninneman, health educator and project coordinator. “It’s a piece of sexual health that will help develop comfort and familiarity with your body,” Ninneman said. “We want sex to be a positive experience.” Frequent visits from students concerned about not being able to attain the “big O” prompted the

www.browndailyherald.com

Students may have to pay for set-top boxes By Emmy Liss Senior Staff Writer

The future of cable on campus is filled with static. The campus’ cable infrastructure is in a “vast state of decay and has exceeded its usefulness,” said Richard Bova, senior associate dean of residential life. The system will be turned off completely at the end of the academic year. Students who would like to watch shows on a television set instead of on a computer may have to pay for set-top boxes

continued on page 4

after the change. The cable television system in dormitories was installed in 1980, according to Timothy Wells, director of telecommunications and network technology for Computing and Information Services. “At the time, it was state of the art,” he said. “In the ’80s they probably thought, ‘Gee, this will last forever.’” Fixing the current system — the legacy system, Bova calls it — would incur astronomical costs. The cables running across campus have physically eroded, and the accompanying electronic equipment is more than 25 years old, Wells said. Wells’s staff continued on page 4

Donald Kendall / Herald

Zipcar has changed its policy to allow Brown students as young as 18 to rent its cars.

METRO

continued on page 7

Aging cable TV system to be turned off after this year

project, Ninneman added. The Web site was compiled through the efforts of a variety of people, including students who had come to Health Ser vices with questions about climaxing and were contacted by staff members to help with the project, Ninneman said. She added that the site will be made public sometime this fall after revisions are complete. Allie Wollner ’10, a columnist for post-, The Herald’s weekly arts and culture magazine, and a member of an independent study on female orgasms, was sent a draft of the page. Wollner, who has been in con-

POSTSits down with Brown’s rock-star professors and learns to be happy

of the issue,” said Director of Health Education Frances Mantak. “It’s the most underreported crime across the country and across campuses.” “Anytime you see an increase in reporting,” she said, “it’s a positive thing that people came forward.” Glover’s position was created last year to provide more resources to victims of sexual assault. The work of the student-led Sexual Assault Task Force — which resulted in the announcement of a peer education program, a 24-hour campus sexual assault hotline and other resources — could have prompted more students to report sexual offenses last year, said Vice President for Campus Life and Student Services Margaret Klawunn. Most studies suggest that about 5 percent of college women will be victims of completed or attempted sexual assault each year, and fewer

ris k y b u si n ess ?

Health Services working to help some reach the ‘big O’ By Alexandra Ulmer Staf f Writer

Since 1866, Daily Since 1891

breaking the chains Waterfire marks 200 years since the abolition of slavery at Saturday’s lighting

CAMPUS NEWS

sust-’A’-inable Brown gets top grades for environmental responsibility from a nonprofit group

195 Angell Street, Providence, Rhode Island

12 SPORTS

See Metro, Page 3 turn for the better The field hockey team comes up with a big win to stanch a long losing streak

News tips: herald@browndailyherald.com

T oday Page 2

Thursday, October 2, 2008

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We a t h e r TODAY

Vagina Dentata | Soojean Kim TOMORROW

partly cloudy 66 / 43

partly cloudy 66 / 46

Menu Sharpe Refectory

Verney-Woolley Dining Hall

Lunch — Cajun Fettuccini, Nacho Bar, Beef Tacos, Vegan Tofu Pups

Lunch — Chicken Caesar Salad Wrap, Eggplant Parmesan Grinder, Grilled Santa Fe Chicken

Dinner — Mexican Cornbread Casserole, Honey Dipped Chicken, Nacho Bar

Dinner — Meatloaf with Mushroom Sauce, Cheese Souffle, Indian Curry Stir Fry

Brown Meets RISD | Miguel Llorente

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

Fizzle Pop | Patricia Chou

Enigma Twist | Dustin Foley

Los Angeles Times Daily oCrossword Puzzle C r o ssw rd Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

ACROSS 1 Objector 5 Early survival aid 8 Actress Mulgrew et al. 13 Old Dodge 14 Carp from Kyoto 15 Illusion 16 Questionable rebate 18 Two-time Grammy winner __ Lee Jones 19 Low-down joint 20 Tethered flier 22 Cause wrinkled noses, perhaps 23 Proverb ending 25 Stock holders? 27 Story in Kipling’s “The Jungle Book” 33 Batman cocreator 34 Wheat beard 35 Everest is on its border 36 Hirsute TV cousin 37 Military allotment: this puzzle’s is 30 “units” 40 The Hartford logo 41 Moved to a better fishing spot, maybe 43 “Messenger” molecule 44 St. Petersburg’s river 45 Humor named for its opening words 49 Spy 50 Flare, perhaps 51 “The Bridge on the River __”: 1957 film 53 “This bodes ill” 56 Hopscotch need 60 Tacked item 62 Big name in soy sauce 64 Performs the role of 65 Cooler 66 Aroused 67 Born __ 68 Ticker tape, briefly? 69 Distort

51 Heat amt. equal DOWN 37 Pioneering 1 “My Way” to 4,184 joules Pittsburgh radio songwriter 52 City SSW of station 2 Ruhr rejection Dallas 38 Ltd. cousin 3 Half time? 54 Dust Bowl 39 Mighty growers 4 Dark and fluid migrant 42 Surpass 5 Dossier abbr. 44 They didn’t make 55 Rube 6 Music with many 57 Crazily it subgenres 58 Vacation spot 46 Masseur’s 7 Baseball Hall of 59 Raised one’s targets Famer Cuyler hand, ostensibly 47 One high degree 8 Chiang __-shek 61 Word with mark or another? 9 Grow together or muff 48 Multiple 10 Cheats, in a way 63 It may be tapped letterman 11 Adams of ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE: Broadway’s “Wonderful Town” 12 Try to find 15 Extremely unlikely 17 Schnoz 21 Shaming syllable 24 “You’re making this up!” 26 Sawyer’s pal 27 Expose 28 Airing today and tomorrow, say 29 Grounded flier 30 Emcee’s job 31 Trumpet part 32 “Past Imperfect” memoirist Chase 33 Michael’s dad 2/21/08 xwordeditor@aol.com

Alien Weather Forecast | Stephen Lichenstein and Adam Wagner

Dunkel | Joe Larios

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M etro Thursday, October 2, 2008

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Waterfire to mark 200 years since abolition By Colin Chazen Senior Staff Writer

Min Wu / Herald File Photo

Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., helped to secure defense contracts for the state.

Rhode Island to get millions for defense Rhode Island will receive more than $93.45 million in defense and military contracts from the federal government in federal fiscal year 2009 after the Senate approved part of the government budget for the next fiscal year. This value is up from the almost $50 million in defense and military contracts Reed secured last year. The funds were requested by Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., and were approved as part of a continuing resolution that will fund most government agencies until March 2009, according to a Sept. 29 statement from Reed’s office. Among the items awarded to Rhode Island is a $4 million grant to improve anti-terrorism efforts at sea, a $29.9 million military fitness facility and $2.4 million to “expand a futuristic submarine attack center” in the Ocean State, according to the statement. “This federal investment is vitally important to the continued presence and growth of Rhode Island’s military facilities, which play an important role in our state’s economy,” Reed said in the statement. An estimated 16,000 people work in Rhode Island’s defense industry, which contributes around $1.6 billion annually to the Rhode Island economy, according to a 2006 report commissioned by the state to study the industry. Reed is a senior member of the Senate Armed Services and Appropriations committees, both of which are influential in determining the allocation of federal funds. The continuing resolution — which also contained Homeland Security funding, provisions to allow offshore drilling on U.S. coasts and a $250 million grant for cancer research in Rhode Island — was passed in the Senate on Saturday and the House last Wednesday, while members were negotiating the terms of the $700 billion bailout. — Scott Lowenstein

Saturday’s Waterfire will mark the bicentennial of the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade with chain burnings, recitations and other reminders of Rhode Island’s links to slavery. The event, called “A Thousand Ships,” is meant to introduce Waterfire’s crowds to the state’s checkered history and commemorate the victims of the slave trade. “People will come away with questions and learn a bit more about Rhode Island history,” said Mary Tinti, assistant to Barnaby Evans ’75, the Providence-based artist behind Waterfire. The event will begin at 6:30 p.m., when 1,000 crowd members will participate in a mass “libation,” pouring water from bottles into the river to mark the 1,000 slave ships that passed through Rhode Island. The observation will continue with a torchlit procession to significant downtown sights involved in the slave trade. At 8 p.m., a paper chain wrapped around a triangle of trees in memorial park, the site of the old port, will be lit to represent the “triangle trade” that existed between Rhode Island, West Africa and the Caribbean. A thousand luminaria will be placed inside the triangle in memory of the victims of the trade, according Waterfire’s Web site. The event comes two years after Brown’s Steering Committee on Slavery and Justice released a report outlining the University’s historic ties to slavery, including the use of slave labor in the construction of University Hall. Brown is a sponsor of the event. A special libation in honor of the late Professor of Africana Studies and History Rhett Jones, a key member of the Slavery and Justice Committee who passed away in July, was meant to be included in the ceremony but has been delayed because Associate Professor of Af-

Chris Bennett / Herald File Photo

Waterfire will commemorate 200 years since the end of slavery at Saturday’s event.

ricana Studies Anani Dzidzienyo — who was slated to pour the water for the event — is unable to attend on Saturday, Evans said. The idea for “A Thousand Ships” came from the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities and will kick off its Freedom Festival, a series of events this month dedicated to remembering the legacy of slavery. “They pointed out that very few communities were marking this important anniversary,” Evans said. “We wanted to create an awareness

about this.” As outlined in the Slavery and Justice Report, an estimated 60 percent of slave ships departing from North America left from Rhode Island’s busy ports. “If we can get 1 percent who come along to Waterfire to say, ‘Huh, I didn’t know Rhode Island was involved in slaver y,’ then it means we’ve done something,” said Andrew Losowsky, one of the event organizers, in a Sept. 29 Associated Press article.

Rent-a-car service lowers minimum age to 18 By Hannah Moser Contributing Writer

Thanks to a recent change in policy, students 18 years and older now have access to Brown’s expanded Zipcar fleet. Brown and Zipcar signed a contract in April lowering the age for members from 21 and adding two new vehicles to the University’s original collection of three. According to Elizabeth Gentry, assistant vice president of financial and administrative services, the previous age restriction of 21 was the University’s policy, and other schools were already allowing students to rent cars at 18. Zipcar spokeswoman Marian Martinez said that because younger drivers bring on added liability, contracts differ depending on the

The Brown Daily Herald Not in the pirate business since 2006.

age group each university opts to include. “Basically it nails down to insurance issues,” she said. Zipcar suggested the change in order to include a larger portion of the college-age market, Gentry said. The Zipcars at Brown are open to any community members registered with Zipcar, but those unaffiliated with the University are held to Zipcar’s 21-and-over rental policy. Some Brown students are already taking advantage of the change. After about half its members graduated last year, the equestrian team needed a new way to carpool to its practice site about 15 minutes from campus. Dakota Gruener ’11 said she heard about the new Zipcar policy from a student athletic group. “I signed up for Zipcar the second

it became available,” Gruener, 18, said. Gruener said she felt last year that most people didn’t know what Zipcar was, but she said now student use seems to be spreading. When she mentions Zipcar to people, Gruener said, they immediately want to sign up. “It’s kind of bad for me,” she said, since Brown has just five cars available near campus. Zipcar has cars in cities across the United States, as well as in Canada and the United Kingdom. According to the company’s Web site, where community members and students can apply to join Zipcar, membership is $30 a year for Brown staff, faculty and students. After obtaining a Zipcard, members pay to use the cars by the hour or by the day, but tolls and gas are included.

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Last call for regular cable, ResLife says continued from page 1 has tried to keep the system up and running, but “it was definitely not designed to be indefinite,” Wells said. However, running new cables through campus would be equally expensive and, “as technology changes, you don’t want to reinvest in old technology.” Bova said. In 2005, the University introduced IPTV, which gives students the option of streaming TV over the Internet. IPTV actually has “greater capacity in channel line-up” than the current cable system, Bova said. The Office of Residential Life has engaged Residential Council and CIS to begin discussions as to how “we would migrate from the failing legacy (system) to a total IPTV platform,” Bova said. Bova said he would like to have the new plan figured out by early next semester, but that discussions are still in the early stages. The infrastructure for the IPTV system is already in place, and “it’s more prudent to stream through a system that is stable,” Bova said. IPTV usage is already very high and the connection exists in all residence halls, in addition to many lounges and common spaces, Wells said. Most students interviewed by The Herald said the issue was ir-

Thursday, October 2, 2008

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

relevant to them, as they only watch television through IPTV on their computers. But many students do have televisions in their rooms and “people are going to get upset,” said James Reed ’09, chair of ResCouncil. After investigating and learning that updating the system is not an option, the council has begun discussing “the best way we can service the students at Brown,” Reed said. If students want to watch IPTV on a physical TV set rather than on a computer after the cable system is shut down, they will need to purchase a set-top box that links the Ethernet connection to the TV. Reed said ResCouncil is discussing multiple avenues for students to acquire the boxes — including rentals, buybacks and deposits — with the goal of “defraying the cost for students as much as possible.” Bova said ResLife will work to provide boxes for large common lounges, and they plan to discuss options for program houses, Greek houses and first-year units — places where having a functioning television may be integral to programming. ResLife is also looking at incorporating one set-top box into the suite fee students with a common room already pay, Reed said. “Students are not going to be used to having to pay for cable; we

recognize that,” Reed said. “This is going to be a significant issue for students. We’re taking it seriously.” Dylan Cashman ’10 said though he prefers to watch television on an actual TV rather than on a computer, he wouldn’t want to pay the extra money for a set-top box. “It sucks,” he said. “I feel like they take away a lot of amenities from us, and no one complains, so they keep doing it.” Margaret Klawunn, vice president for campus life and student services, presented the topic to the Undergraduate Council of Students last week and was confronted with a number of concerns. UCS will take part in further conversations about the switch to IPTV, and students present at the meeting asked about students who don’t have computers, the channel line-up on IPTV and whether recording shows was an available option on the IPTV platform. UCS President Brian Becker ’09 said an obvious concern is that “TV viewing will be different at Brown than what students are used to,” but said he sees a lot of potential in the IPTV system. UCS’s goal is to ensure that the new system is as efficient and accessible as possible. “We’re on the case to make sure this is as painless a transition as possible,” Reed said. “This is only the beginning of the conversation.”

Health Services has a new project: the female orgasm continued from page 1 tact with Ninneman for her independent study, was asked for feedback. She said the page is “accessible yet informative” and called the idea “fantastic.” “It’s not the most in-depth examination, but it’s absolutely a wonderful jumping off point,” Wollner wrote in an e-mail to The Herald. “I think it functions as both an explanation and a guide at different points.” Colleen Dinn ’08, a FemSex facilitator for two semesters, said she supported the new Web site. “It is important to focus on wellness and pleasure as well as (on) the more medical aspects of sex,” she said. As a FemSex facilitator, she said, many students came to her with questions about female orgasm, “because they felt like they had no one else to talk to.” “There is a huge need for honest, accurate information about sex,” wrote Marshall Miller ’96, a sex educator, in an e-mail to The Herald. He and his par tner, Dorian Solot ’95, also a sex educator, are the authors of the popular book “I Love Female Orgasm: An Extraordinar y Orgasm Guide.” Orgasm — derived from the Greek word for “to swell, to be excited” — is generally considered more difficult for women to reach than it is for men. Famed biologist and sex re-

searcher Alfred Kinsey called orgasm “an explosive discharge of neuromuscular tensions at the peak of sexual response” in his 1953 book “Sexual Behavior in the Human Female.” Some less medical definitions of orgasm include, from Paul Joannides’ book “The Guide to Getting It On,” an experience “somewhere between a hand grenade and a sunset,” and the French term “la petite mort,” or “the little death.” Student reactions to the idea of a female orgasm Web site were mostly positive. “All sexual pressure has been put on women, so it is a good thing,” David Menino ’12 said. “Do they have a page on male orgasm?” asked Sarah Tolan-Mee ’09. “My initial reaction is that I support transparency in female orgasm,” she said. “But it sounds a little strange that it would be on the health Web site.” If health educators are going to talk about “the protective part” of sexual health, Lily Cohen ’11 said, then “why not talk about the fun part?” When the Web site goes live, Wollner said, female students will be able to better “take control of their own sexuality and get what they want and desire.” “Learning doesn’t stop at the classroom door — it’s always possible that female orgasm could be the climax of a Brown education,” Solot wrote in an e-mail to The Herald.

Singing only when asked, student plays a gondolier continued from page 1 $50,000 boat, a mistake that damages the boat means a bad day at work. But mostly the water is just fine, excepting the occasional fish Smith says jumps in the boat uninvited. He’s only ever had one bad customer, he says, and even he wasn’t that bad. Some get a special treat: During one unexpected “torrential downpour,” he and his fellow gondoliers had to evacuate six elderly ladies from Baltimore, he said, and ended up singing to them while they all sheltered under a bridge. Not every group wants to be serenaded, he says. Some are content to chat with their companions.

But for those who want it, Smith can belt out — in Italian — “Santa Lucia,” a song he says sailors sing to protect their boats. Gondoliers also talk to their passengers about their lives, the boats and the city. “We know the history of any building you can see from the river,” Smith says. One story he likes to tell, while pointing out the high-tide line on the river as proof, is of the 1938 flood, which covered Providence with water, leaving the Biltmore’s lobby floor seven feet under. With water like that, gondoliers would be able to criss-cross the city daily. But the Venetians might object.

C ampus n ews Thursday, October 2, 2008

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Miller ’70 honored for advocacy of evolution

U. gets high marks for sustainable work

by Sanna Vohra Contributing Writer

Brown received a grade of A-minus and the title of Overall College Sustainability Leader on a report card released last week by the Sustainable Endowments Institute. The grade was a marked improvement from last year’s B and earned the University a spot among only 15 out of 300 schools reviewed to receive an A-minus, the highest mark awarded. The SEI, based in Cambridge, Mass., reviewed the performance of American and Canadian universities with the largest endowments in nine categories. Brown was awarded a grade of A in food and recycling, green building, student involvement, transportation, investment priorities and shareholder engagement — a measure of how well the University advocates for sustainable policies in companies in which it invests. The University received a grade of B in administration and climate change and energy, and a C in endowment transparency. The report card, which may be viewed in full at greenreportcard.org, explained that the C for transparency was given because “information on endowment holdings is not made available” to the University community. “It is one of the more difficult

Recently dubbed a “class act” by the New York Times Magazine, Professor of Biology Ken Miller ’70 is receiving yet another honor — the 2008 Distinguished Service Award from the National Association of Biology Teachers. The organization recognized Miller for his involvement in promoting and protecting the teaching of evolution in schools. The co-author of a textbook used in biology classes nationwide, Miller served as lead witness in a 2005 trial in Dover, Pa., where the school board had tried to mandate the teaching of intelligent design. He has also written two books about the relationship between science and religion, in which he argues strongly against the theory of intelligent design while maintaining that evolution does not conflict with belief in God. In a congratulatory letter, the association also recognized Miller for having “engaged millions of students in the exploration of biology and assisted thousands of biology teachers in their practice.” Miller’s most well-known work inspecting the relationship between evolutionary theory and religion is his book “Finding Darwin’s God,” which he described as a “point-bypoint defense of evolution and evolutionary theory” against common arguments raised against evolution such as, “The world is only 6,000 years old” or “The fossil record does not support evolution.” However, Miller said he in no way believes that evolution disproves the existence of God. Rather, he said he believes that evolution is a biological theory that addresses the how species have arisen, and that “it doesn’t address the theological question of whether a God exists.” “There are very good ways to

Chris Bennett / Herald File Photo

Professor of Biology Ken Miller ’70

understand evolution through a religious context,” he added. Miller said that first, evolution is a natural process, and second, that God is the creator of all natural processes. Thus, Miller said he believes that evolution would fit in the “sphere of that God’s creative work.” Being a Catholic, Miller does not think that believing in evolutionary theory refutes any of the beliefs of the Church. “I don’t think most Christians, myself included, read the Book of Genesis as a book of science,” he said. “Rather, it is a book which describes the Hebrew people’s understanding of the relationship between God and humanity.” Miller said his new book, “Only a Theory: Evolution and the Battle for America’s Soul,” which was published in June, has a different focus. It argues two main points. First, that the battle over evolution is not over, and second, that it is important for the country because “the battle will shape the way Americans view science,” he said. The U.S. stands to lose its position as a leader in science, he said, “if we raise up a generation of kids that are hostile to science because of what they are told about evolution.”

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Three days remain to register to vote in R.I. Even though voting will not take place until Nov. 4, the last day to register to vote in Rhode Island for the general election is Saturday. Sam Oliker-Friedland ’09, who regularly staffs a voter registration table on the Main Green and likes to yell, “Register to vote!” as loud as he can, said most students he talks to are already registered to vote. “I think there is an unprecedented excitement about the election this year,” said Oliker-Friedland, who has been working on voter registration throughout his time at Brown and said has noticed a significant increase in people answering his yells saying they are already registered. “People have been really engaged and following the primaries and registering to vote for the primaries last semester, which made a huge difference,” he said. Oliker-Friedland said he thinks there’s a good mix of people who register to vote in their home states and people who register in Rhode Island. “Some people want to strategically vote in their home states and some people strategically vote in Rhode Island,” he said. Samantha Adelberg ’11, who is from Washington, D.C., said she decided to register in Rhode Island because “my vote would matter more here.” The process of registering was easy, she added. LeeAnne Filosa ’10 said she knew a lot of Brown students who registered to vote in Rhode Island even though they are not from the state. Filosa is registered in and plans to vote in her home state of Massachusetts. Although Saturday is the formal deadline to register to vote in all national, state and local elections, Oliker-Friedland said any eligible voter would still be allowed after that day to vote in the presidential election by registering at City Hall. — Caroline Sedano

By Riley Blanton Contributing Writer

Emmy Liss / Herald File Photo

Brown received high marks from the Sustainable Endowments Institute for its green building practices, student involvement and recycling, among other things.

areas for schools to change,” said Lisa Chase, a spokeswoman for SEI. “Most schools haven’t had their endowment practices open to students and to the public historically.” Chase added that Brown had performed relatively well in that category despite the low grade, and that the University was “obviously taking steps” to improve transparency. She emphasized that positive change in endowment transparency was possible, despite apparent difficulties. The University of New Hampshire, which received a D last year, improved and earned an A this year, she said. The report card’s comments

were otherwise complimentary of Brown, citing in particular the University’s commitment of more than $20 million, “for energy efficiency upgrades to campus systems and facilities over the next several years.” The report card also praised the Community Harvest program — which allows Brown Dinning Services to purchase food products from 20 local farms — use of hybrid, biodiesel and natural gas vehicles on campus and the number and influence of student groups aimed at improving the University’s sustainability. continued on page 7

Africa scholarship fund aids first student By Brian Mastroianni Senior Staf f Writer

Dominic Mhiripiri ’12 is surrounded by books in a cubicle on the 13th floor of the Sciences Library, which is a long way from his home in Chitungwiza, Zimbabwe. Mhiripiri is the University’s first Advancing Africa Scholar, a title that comes with a lot of responsibility. “My coming to Brown, into America, is something that young people can look up to,” Mhiripiri said. “I need to be exemplary for those who I had to deal with, work with, live with in Zimbabwe — I need to be someone they can emulate.” Mhiripiri is the first student to benefit from the Advancing Africa Scholarship, which was announced

by President Ruth Simmons and Israeli businessman Idan Ofer P’12 in January. The scholarship comes from a $5.75 million gift from Ofer to fund a full Brown undergraduate education for students from subSaharan Africa. The scholarship pays the students’ travel expenses for two trips back to their home countries during their time at Brown. But it also requires that the students sign a pledge to return to Africa for at least two years following graduation, with the idea of encouraging recipients to make positive social change at home. As the endowment established by Ofer grows, multiple students will benefit from the scholarship each year, Simmons said. Ofer’s decision to choose Brown

to realize his philanthropic goals is nothing new to the University, Simmons said. “People would be surprised to know about individuals who make contributions to and spearhead programs at Brown without having a direct relationship with Brown,” she said. From the beginning, Ofer had clear goals in mind for the scholarship, Simmons said. “Our main goal in the initial stages was to think about how to shape the language and about how responsive it was to what he wanted,” she said. After a relatively short planning process, Simmons and Ofer announced the program at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. continued on page 6

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Thursday, October 2, 2008

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Student receives first African scholarship continued from page 5 The announcement of the program at the World Economic Forum was publicized in periodicals and newspapers throughout sub-Saharan African countries, Miller said. “I heard about the scholarship at the time of its announcement in Davos,” said Mila Owen ’12, who is from Zimbabwe. All but two of Owen’s graduating high school class left Zimbabwe for college, she said, so she thought programs that encourage students to come back afterwards are especially valuable. “It’s really the brightest people who will take the initiative to apply and leave the country,” Owens said. “It is wonderful that as a result of the scholarship, students return to their countries and ... use their skills.” Simmons said she hopes the program is only one step in allowing Brown to become more globalized. “If you look at the world today, you are talking about a greater interconnectedness of the world,” she said. “In order to understand the problems of the world, you need to internationalize education.”

“My nightmare is that Brown students will be running the world and won’t know how to do it,” she added. “They should know other languages and they need to leave that immediate circle, since an educated life is all about leaving, venturing out and knowing about more of the world.” Students selected for the scholarship must apply with the regular admissions pool, and the scholarship is awarded only after students are admitted, said Dean of Admission James Miller ’73. “We are looking for students from a sub-Saharan country who present the same kind of attributes that other Brown students present, such as academic achievement and leadership potential,” Miller said. Though the name of the scholarship recipient is not publicly announced, the admissions office has tried to make the scholarship visible to students living in sub-Saharan nations, Miller said. “We are hoping that the scholarship will bring visibility to Brown in sub-Saharan communities, and to be iconic, and let them know that there is a scholarship,” he said. “We want

to draw their attention to Brown and its educational programs.” The scholarship is not the only help Mhiripiri has received to ease his journey from Zimbabwe to Brown. After attending a small public school in Chitungwiza for four years, Mhiripiri won a scholarship to attend ILSA College in Harare, Zimbabwe. After two years he was eventually chosen as one of 20 students to participate in the United States Student Achievers Program, which was founded by alum Rebecca Mano ’87. USAP helped Mhiripiri practice for his SAT exams, write college essays and send out college applications. Mhiripiri, who has not decided on a concentration, said he hopes he can use his achievements to paint a brighter picture of Africa. “Africa has long been regarded as the underdeveloped continent,” he said. “We all need to change the world’s perception of (it).” “I want to go through Brown’s education to give something back to the continent,” he said. “We need to educate African students to allow Africans to help themselves.”

News tips? herald@browndailyherald.com

Thursday, October 2, 2008

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Administrators attribute increase in sex crimes to students’ reporting continued from page 1 than 5 percent of victims will report the crimes to law enforcement or campus security. “We never rely on reports,” Mantak said, to determine the prevalence of sex crimes on campus. “The best statistics are from well-constructed surveys,” she said. These surveys indicate that the number of reported sexual assaults and rapes at Brown is nowhere near the number of actual incidents, Mantak said. A victim’s decision not to report a sex crime or seek help can be influenced by a number of factors. Students may be unsure if their experiences constitute assault or rape, have difficulty speaking about their experiences to others and not know which resources meet their needs, Klawunn said. Complicated social values, fear of judgment and denial also inform many students’ choice not to report sex crimes. “This is not an issue that is a result of what happens at Brown,” Mantak said of underreporting. The number of incidents involving factors that could be linked with sex crimes on campus has not changed, said Senior Associate Dean for Student Life

Allen Ward, citing the stable number of alcohol-related incidents and unsanctioned parties as indicators that the campus environment has not changed. “We are always trying to address whatever environmental risk factors are involved,” Klawunn said. DPS publishes a report detailing the number and approximate location of crimes on campus each year in accordance with the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, which was passed by Congress in 1990.. The Clery Act requires administrators to report all incidents they judge to be sex crimes. The location and date of the offense must be known in order for it to be included in the count, but no investigation or other details are required. Statistics can also be amended if a student comes forward with information related to an episode that occurred in previous years. Because the location of one of the 2006 incidents was unknown, the official number in the report was actually three. A note was added to the report explaining the discrepancy. “If a student comes forward they are in no way pressured to give any

Brown labeled ‘sustainability leader’ in nat’l college survey continued from page 5 Julia Beamesderfer ’09, a leader of emPOWER, said she’s excited about the advances that have been made. “It’s great that Brown’s sustainability efforts have been recognized,” she said. Beamesderfer said emPOWER’s proposals to Brown’s Energy and Environmental Advisory Committee, which includes faculty members, administrators and students, were the impetus for several initiatives that have quickly become fixtures on campus — notably Community Carbon Use Reduction at Brown. The group “was instrumental in challenging EEAC to think big, not only to make reductions goals, but to make them significant,” Beamesderfer said. The pilot program for CCURB, called Project 20/20, employs Brown students who canvass homes in Providence’s low-income communities replacing incandescent light bulbs with energy-efficient compact fluorescent bulbs, which are donated by Wal-Mart. “Not only does it make (city residents) aware of sustainability issues, but it reduces their energy bills,” Beamesderfer said. Last year, emPOWER received a $350,000 grant from President Ruth Simmons and the Sidney Frank Foundation. The organization hopes that the money will provide for its ongoing campaign to turn students’ proposals into successful programs like Project 20/20, Beamesderfer said. Ginger Gritzo, energy and environmental programs coordinator at the Department of Facilities Management, agreed that student involvement played a large role in improving Brown’s grade. The University’s “commitment to green building,” was another significant factor in the SEI’s rating, Gritzo said. Facilities is seeking LEED certification for five construction projects under the organization’s Green Building Rating

System. Brown has implemented an overall plan to reduce its carbon footprint by 42 percent between 2007 and 2020, said Chris Powell, director of sustainable energy and environmental initiatives. In the first year of the program, from 2007 to 2008, the reduction was 7.7 percent — almost twice the 4 percent annual reduction required to meet the goal. He said he was confident that the program will meet, if not exceed, expectations. “Hopefully one of these days they’ll be handing out some A’s,” he said.

information they don’t want to give out,” Ward said. Marta daSilva ’09, who co-directed “Hush,” a documentary about victims of sexual assault, said she was glad that sexual assault statistics are becoming more realistic.

“We can’t perpetuate the misunderstanding that this doesn’t happen on our campus,” she said. “There is too much stigma and silence around it for it to be completely resolved.” DaSilva, who worked with the Sexual Assault Task Force last fall to im-

prove Brown’s resources for victims of sexual assault, said “the numbers are realistic and it’s a lot more telling of the threat on campus.” “It’s not just something you imagine happening to other people,” she added.

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T.O.’s antics look great to fans of NFC East rivals continued from page 12

out about this — even more than, say, seeing Jessica Simpson in the stands — is that this has always been a par t of T.O.’s M.O. His team does well for a while, and he keeps quiet. Then he starts to get frustrated with his role in the offense and begins to complain. A few weeks’ worth of screaming at his quarterback and coaches and this cyanide pill of a player — as freakishly talented as he may be — begins to tear apart his team from the inside. It happened to the 49ers in 2001, when T.O. constantly feuded with QB Jeff Garcia and head coach Steve Mariucci. And it happened even more publicly in 2005, when the Eagles suspended Owens for a good portion of the season for what the team called “conduct detrimen-

tal to the team” following a series of clashes with Eagles management and teammates — QB Donovan McNabb, most notably. His last straw with Philly came when he got into a locker room fist fight with a former teammate, who was brought in, ironically, to smooth things over between coaches and players. Of course, the Cowboys knew exactly what they were getting when they initially signed the sixtime Pro Bowler to a three-year, $25 million deal in 2006. Their only hope now is that their usually subdued head coach, Wade Phillips, has an antidote to T.O.’s venom.

Alex Mazerov ’10 thinks the Cowboys have 25 million reasons to run scared.

BrowNation redoubling efforts to recruit students continued from page 12 year. “Yes, we want to encourage people to go to games,” Riner said. “But Brown’s also such a huge, diverse group of people, so you ask yourself — how do you bring everyone together? Athletics is one way to do that.” Now, instead of paying the $40 membership fee this year, any student is welcome to join and be a member who participates in tailgates or charter buses to away games that BrowNation might organize. Students can pay $40 to start accumulating points at games to earn over $200 worth of merchandise. You can earn a point for each game you

attend, and for each friend you get to sign up. Prizes for the fall include a t-shirt, fleece jacket and hoodie, and gifts planned for the spring are windbreakers and water bottles. “For $40, it’s a pretty tremendous deal,” Riner said. He added the group was “trying to get money to subsidize the membership fee eventually.” Students can join the Facebook group online for the updates on member events, and they can also look for the BrowNation tables at the following events to sign up, get a free t-shirt and earn their first points right away. And more importantly, they will be showing their support for the Bears and coming together as a community, just as Riner envisioned.

Thursday, October 2, 2008

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Mistakes Field hockey to play Harvard on Saturday at noon doom v-ball in loss to URI continued from page 12

continued from page 12 “But we made more mistakes.” The second game was equally lopsided. Brown trailed 20-17 when Short called for the third time-out of the game and tried to gain some points with some substitutions. She put in Annika Gliottone ’12 at libero to replace starter Kim Bundick ’10. But it did not change the momentum of the game and URI wrapped up the second game 25-19. “I tried to change the lineup, but that didn’t work,” Short said. “We were ser ving too easy and consistently playing catch-ups.” Not even the two seniors could help the Bears get into a rhythm. “In the first two games, we weren’t playing,” Yess said. “We weren’t passing. We weren’t putting balls down. There was a lack of effort.” Things improved a little in the third game. Down two sets, the Bears could not afford any more room for mistakes. After scoring the first point in the game, the Bears fought to keep the lead. Brown had a short episode of offensive brilliance after it opened up a lead of three at 10-7. But Rhody immediately responded to tie it at 13-13. The game continued to be close with Brown leading by one at 20-19. The Bears got a breather when URI had a service error and gained a two-point cushion. Just points away from sealing the set, middle-blocker Danielle Vaughan ’11 blocked two consecutive balls at the net to give Bruno its first game win of the night at 25-20. “We had to refocus in the third game,” Yess said. “We had to pick up the intensity.” Unfortunately, the effort wasn’t enough to help the Bears turn the tide in the fourth and last game. URI again charged to take the early lead, which increased to five points at 19-14. The Bears pursued tenaciously. Captain Natalie Meyers ’09 made several huge digs to give the Bears a chance to stay in the game. With a miraculous comeback, the Bears closed the gap to two points at 18-20, then tying the Rams at 2020 before scoring two more points to put itself in front 22-20. The Bears were at the brink of upsetting again, but this time URI held on and stormed past the Bears at 24-23. In the last rally, Yess tried to put down the ball, but the URI blockers denied her the kill and the ball bounced off the blockers’ hands and onto the Bear’s court— match over. “We played scared,” Meyers said. “Maybe it’s because we won so many games. Today we played not to lose and we haven’t been playing well for a week.” But Meyers doesn’t believe yesterday’s play was a true showing of the team’s level. Short agrees. “We will make some adjustments (Thursday) at practice. We will expect better effort,” Short said. The team will face off against Yale in its first Ivy League match on Friday at 7 p.m. at the Pizzitola Sports Center. The next day, the Bears will travel to Yale for their second match-up with the Bulldogs. Bottom line, “We have to play harder,” Yess said.

Stags’ speedy forwards hampered the Bears. “We were really, really hesitant to get the ball to our attacking right, and they were able to jump on it because they were very quick,” she said. “They took it to us for a little while, they definitely did. I think not being able to get the ball to our forwards, which is one of our great strengths, certainly hurt us a little bit.” Taft had a simpler explanation. “I think the whole team got a little lackadaisical after the first goal, including the offense,” she said. It finally came back to bite them as the first half came to a close. Caroline Washburn ’12, making her first collegiate start at goalkeeper, had been doing a strong job to keep the Stags off the board, coming out of the cage and sliding to stop a shot midway through the first half. She got help when Michaela Seigo ’10 made a strong defensive save to short-circuit a Fairfield penalty corner, but Washburn was helpless

when the Stags tied the score. With 1:56 left in the half, Molly Byrnes got a stick on Emily Janis’s crossing pass right in front of the net and tipped it in, as Washburn could only watch from the other side of the cage. It was a deflating blow for the Bears. “It’s just hard when something like that happens and we let down at the end of the half,” Taft said. “It’s always tough to keep up the intensity towards the end of the half and we really work to do that.” Harrington said that the breakdown in clock management was frustrating, but she was pleased with the way the players responded. “I think that, honestly, the kids have become very responsible for their actions, and they knew that it was a series of bad plays on our part that let them squeak in and have so many attacking opportunities,” she said. That would be the last time that Fairfield would score. Seigo made another defensive save in the second half, but Washburn shined in her starting debut with seven saves.

“She took care of the simple,” Harrington said. “She did a good job of helping to organize the backfield.” The Bears barely sniffed the net until Taft struck for the game winning goal with 5:11 left. “It was a bouncing pass into the circle, and I was just able to get in front of my defender and spin around her and take another hard shot,” she said. Taft took three of Brown’s four shots in the game. The two goals gave her five for the season, one more than what last year’s co-leaders, Andrea Posa ’08 and Tacy Zysk ’11, finished with. “I think that Abigail Taft has a nose for the net,” Harrington said. “She has a natural scoring gift, and getting that second goal, she’s a kid that you want the ball in her hands all the time, especially in a clutch situation. To knock that home with not a lot of time left on the clock was really thrilling. I think that we’ve been through enough overtime games. It’s just really nice to end it in regulation.”

The Stags didn’t go quietly, though. Fairfield mounted a fierce attack over the game’s final minutes, threatening several times to tie the game, but the Bears never backed down. “They put a lot of pressure on us in our defensive end, but we were able to keep it off our feet and keep it wide,” Taft said. “We really worked to keep it on the right and just get it out of our defensive end.” Harrington said the team needed stronger finishes. “We weren’t quite as poised as I wanted us to be at the end of that game,” she said. “The kids recognize that and own that, and that’s something that we will work on as we move into the weekend and move forward with the rest of the season.” The Bears will need that poise when they host Ivy rival Harvard on Saturday at noon. “I think it’s going to be a battle,” Harrington said. “Harvard is a great team, and it’s going to be fun to have them here on Warner Roof. Any Ivy League game is an amazing atmosphere to play in.”

E ditorial & L etters Page 10

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Staf f Editorial

Time to junk J-term? During the summer, Brown students disperse across the globe, interning throughout the countr y, traveling abroad, working fun summer jobs or spending some much-needed time at home with family. It’s a time for self-development, exploration, saving money or just plain rest. Winter break, though, is rarely as meaningful. The month-long winter break affords Brown students little opportunity to learn something new. The break is too short to get a meaningful job or internship, and too long to pretend our parents aren’t driving us a little nuts. And this is nothing new — for certainly as long as we’ve been here, students have had to wrangle with a surprisingly long break. Januar y at Brown, a 10-day winter session that offers small classes to students who are willing to shell out several hundred dollars, seemed like a good idea at first. But as we near the end of its three-year pilot, it seems that the J-term has never realized its potential — as reflected in student interest. Last year, only 25 students participated and the year before that 19 did. The program’s failure to take off among students after two years could be the result of a sort of catch-22 — no one would participate in J-term unless they knew there would be a large number of other students enrolled, but that number could never increase enough to generate more interest because so few students wanted to be guinea pigs. So administrators’ warnings that J-term might not continue can’t be seen as good news, but they aren’t really surprising either. And assuming that no one expects a surge in interest this year (with at least 50 students needed to make the program solvent), ending J-term might be the most sensible choice. A debt-laden University shouldn’t continue to subsidize a program that is benefitting so few students. The program needs to be retooled, re-envisioned and resold to students. Allowing half-credit courses might entice more potential participants, especially those in danger of going on academic probation. The program would probably then have to be lengthened, or it could be tied to academic internships or other experiential learning that continues during the semester — or even during spring break. But administrators shouldn’t waste time jumping through hoops to create the credit option that might save J-term. It needs significant changes, and those changes probably won’t be made in the next few months. It seems that a winter session could be successful if it were meatier or more interesting. But Brown’s current J-term model — which started out as a timid pilot program, and hasn’t changed much — doesn’t seem like it can succeed.

ALEX YULY

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O pinions Thursday, October 2, 2008

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More nonsense from Brown activists Boris Ryvkin Opinions Columnist Activist schemes at Brown have grown at a fever pitch. In a column last month (“Brown students should be forced to think green,” Sept. 5), climate foot soldier Joshua Kaplan imagined the University as one giant laboratory, with sensors and displays providing daily reminders of our crimes against Mother Nature. His allies at emPOWER, Students for a Democratic Society and the Student Labor Alliance have come together to promote the Real Food Challenge, which demands a more ethical campus in thought and in diet. Kaplan’s piece leaves little doubt as to the intentions of Brown’s environmental extremists, just as the RFC demonstrates how far some are willing to go to force their lifestyles on others. Whatever happened to tolerance, disagreement and individual choice? Aren’t these the ideals liberals parrot on a regular basis? Apparently these only apply when the right kinds of choices are made and ideas held. Kaplan’s plan to rewire the University and “shove” our energy use in our faces is nothing short of frightening. His fanaticism about manmade global warming leads to the assumption that no amount of new evidence or testimony will make him question the alarmist consensus. Whatever is floating around out there can be explained away somehow. The 17,000 scientists who signed a petition opposing United States ratification of Kyoto and similar climate treaties are kooks in the pockets of big oil. The National Academy of Science study that debunked the

“hockey stick” model of temperature change in the International Committee on Climate Change Report is inconclusive. Kaplan’s view leaves no room for further discussion and those who remain stubborn on climate change must see the error of their ways: disagreement with alarmism is tantamount to a mental defect. Perhaps unwittingly, Kaplan has taken a page from the playbook of successive Soviet governments, which confined scores of political dissenters to mental institutions under a policy

uation. Four years of reprogramming should be more than enough to deal with pockets of opposition. The disdain for freedom and basic dignity inherent in Kaplan’s vision is shocking. Worse, it goes to show how far environmental extremists are willing to go to subordinate their less enthusiastic peers. Then there is the Real Food Challenge, whose proponents want Brown Dining Services to allocate 20 percent of its budget toward the procurement of “real food” (read: organic,

Joshua Kaplan’s environmental laboratory scheme and the Real Food Challenge are not only bad ideas; they are affronts to individual liberty and tolerance. of psychiatric detention. Kaplan envisions the University transformed into a massive laboratory. Students are dehumanized. Those who do the right thing and watch less television at night get rewarded while the culprits are punished. Kaplan believes this “mental impact” is worth the system’s financial burden, despite the acknowledged low environmental effect. Brown students will feel confident their minds are in the right place on climate change by grad-

fairly traded — you get the picture). It “tastes better, makes us healthier, supports small farms and saves the environment,” while the normal variety brings on obesity, hurts farmers and pollutes. All of these real food assertions are flawed. To base a policy change that will cost real money on taste differentials is both absurd and, frankly, tyrannical. The health benefits of real food have been disproven by countless studies.

One on milk, by Nutritionist Karen Collins at the American Institute for Cancer Research, contended that research does not support a health advantage of organic over conventional milk for any segment of the population. Even if their food were healthier, who are the RFC activists to decide what I can and cannot eat with my tuition and meal plan dollars? If they like organic, they can buy it at the local store or farmer’s market. Leave the food police arrogance at home! What about farmers and the environment? The same distortions and economic costs imposed on small farmers by fair-trade coffee remain with the RFC, but on a bigger scale. Farmers are subsidized for their inefficiency and more workers enter the food industry. Food prices fall, hurting the very same small farmers Real Food attempts to help. While RFC proponents stress how the extra resources farmers receive will be used for development and retraining, the economic realities of the matter suggest the exact opposite. The environmental impact of this will be miniscule and, to put it bluntly, my stomach and dietary rights come first. On another note, given the higher per-unit costs of ethical food, a simple 20/80 budgetary division is unlikely. Brown students may get more real food, but they will have to settle for less food in total. Joshua Kaplan’s environmental laboratory scheme and the Real Food Challenge are not only bad ideas; they are affronts to individual liberty and tolerance. The former wants to alter our behavior by monitoring our energy use. The latter wants to alter it by controlling the food we consume. It’s time that “live and let live” became more than simply a fine slogan at Brown.

Boris Ryvkin ’09 requires toxins in the air he breathes and the food he eats.

Filibuster-busting By Jeremy Feigenbaum Opinions Columnist I hope that most of you reading this plan on going to New Hampshire to canvass at least once. If you haven’t already, regardless of which candidate you support, please go — if only for the warm, fuzzy feeling you get at the end of the day when you realize that you won over voters in one of the most competitive states in the country. I know that you don’t need another column telling you to support Barack Obama. But you might need another reason to spend a full day in a state full of strangers who slam doors in your face, saying they’ve heard it before. That reason is Jeanne Shaheen. If you have been to New Hampshire, then she should be familiar to you. After all, the walls of the Obama Headquarters in Nashua are plastered with signs displaying her name. Chances are, though, that you don’t know much about her beyond the fact that she’s on the ballot under Obama and that you were supposed to ask voters if they planned to support her this November. If you have yet to visit New Hampshire, you have probably never heard about her at all. Well, Shaheen is running to become the first female senator in New Hampshire history and she’s a Democrat. That alone should not automatically inspire you to support her. Sure, you have read that a President Obama will need an expanded majority in the Senate (I’m still holding out for the filibuster-proof 60)

to pass his ambitious agenda. But you might want to know how Jeanne Shaheen actually differs from her opponent, incumbent GOP Senator John Sununu. I’m happy to oblige. As governor, Shaheen created 66,000 new jobs and turned around a budget deficit. Sounds like a person the Senate could use as it struggles to deal with a national economic crisis, doesn’t it? Someone responsible for crafting budgets probably has a unique perspective to bring to the negotiations over a $700 billion bailout plan.

power throughout the country because they supported Bush’s reckless foreign policy and the disastrous war in Iraq. Many of you support Obama with such fervor because of his anti-war policies; his foreign policy inspires me even more than his lofty rhetoric. He will have a friend in Jeanne Shaheen. She (or at least one of her staff members) writes on her Web site that we cannot continue this war indefinitely. And why should we invest taxpayers’ money in Iraq — a nation that enjoys a surplus? When we have collapsing

Unless we support candidates like Jeanne Shaheen, President Obama’s pro-choice, anti-war and pro-environment agenda will die in the arcane halls of the Senate. Compare that to Sununu, who voted for George Bush’s budgets that helped get us into this mess, opposed raising the minimum wage and supported tax breaks for companies that outsource jobs. Thanks, in part, to Sununu’s votes, we have a tremendous deficit and our jobs are moving overseas. In 2006, Republicans were swept out of

bridges and children without health care, we need to rethink our priorities. Shaheen will also be an effective advocate for women. Let’s face it: Having just 16 female members in the world’s greatest deliberative body is an embarrassment. She believes that having an abortion is a decision best made by a woman, her family,

her physician and her god. (Assistant Professor of Political Science Jennifer Lawless tells me that’s the most effective — i.e., poll-tested — way to phrase the issue, anyway.) Sununu is no defender of women’s rights. He has not voted in line with the interests of NARAL Pro-Choice America even once since 2000. Students for Choice, take note. We need to get Sununu out of Congress, ASAP. The contrasts don’t end there. On arguably the biggest issue facing us today, our reliance on oil, Shaheen and Sununu strongly disagree. EmPOWER, are you listening? Fifty-nine senators voted to invoke cloture on a failed motion to reduce tax breaks for Big Oil and instead invest in renewable energies. Sixty senators were needed. It doesn’t take a math genius to figure out that this bill, which would have helped move our economy towards energy independence, was defeated by a single vote. Senator Sununu cast that deciding vote against investing in green technology. That’s why we need more politicians like Shaheen, who constantly promises to subsidize alternative fuels. Unless we support candidates like Jeanne Shaheen, President Obama’s pro-choice, antiwar, pro-environment agenda will die in the arcane halls of the Senate. So when you next go canvassing, realize that you didn’t just support an inspiring presidential nominee, but also a phenomenal senatorial one. I’ll see you this Sunday?

Jeremy Feigenbaum ’11 sings, “Cause I’ve got a crush on Shaheen.”

S ports T hursday Page 12

Thursday, October 2, 2008

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Hoping T.O. takes down the Cowboys

Taft saves Bears with two goals in win over Fairfield

First, it happened to the San Francisco 49ers. Then to the Philadelphia Eagles. And now, it appears that the Dallas Cowboys may be condemned to the same fate: complete and utter dysfunction — and, as we Big D hatAlex Mazerov ers can only Maz’s Minute hope, eternal mediocrity — at the hands, and mouth, of Terrell Owens. As if watching my Washington Redskins pull off a thrilling 26-24 upset on the road against the universally proclaimed “best team in the league” last weekend wasn’t euphoric enough, viewers like myself were treated on Sunday to postgame interviews of T.O. being his usual megalomaniacal, teamdestroying self. Tucked in on “SportsCenter” among the ecstasy-inducing replays of Dallas QB Tony Romo’s intercepted pass and Redskins QB Jason Campbell’s two brilliant touchdown passes was this money quote from T.O. himself: Asked if he got the ball enough in the game, Owens said, “I would say no. I’m a competitor, and I want the ball. Everybody recognized that I wasn’t really getting the ball in the first half. I’m pretty sure ever ybody watching the game recognized it, people in the stands recognized it. I think my team recognized it.” Now, if he had said this after last week’s game against Green Bay — in which he had just two receptions, his lowest total since joining the Cowboys in 2006 — it would be one thing. But these comments came after a game in which T.O was involved in 20 of 58 total offensive plays! Romo threw to T.O. 18 times — just seven times for completions — and the star wideout also had two rushing attempts for 11 yards. They throw or give the ball to him 35 percent of the time and still lose, and he wants it even more? In fact, the Cowboys almost cer tainly threw the ball to T.O. too many times against the ’Skins on Sunday. Time after time, Romo seemed to force the ball to Owens, on several occasions throwing into double coverage. The result: 11 incompletions and an uncharacteristically unbalanced Dallas offense that was largely shut down by the Redskins’ defense. The Dallas run game, usually terrifying to opposing defenses, was almost nonexistent at Texas Stadium. Beastly running back Marion Barber had just eight carries for 26 yards, and speedy threat Felix Jones didn’t touch the ball at all. Ever y ball that Romo forced into T.O. was a missed opportunity for Barber or Jones to break open a big run, and the Cowboys’ apparent attempt to keep this me-first player happy by involving him in more than a third of its offensive plays probably cost them the game. Not that I’m complaining at all. What should freak Dallas fans

Abigail Taft ’12 scored just 1:39 into the first half and again with only 5:11 left in the second to propel the field hockey team to a Fairfield 1 2-1 victor y over Brown 2 Fairfield yesterday on Warner Roof. For the Bears (2-6), the win was significant for many reasons. The team avoided a third consecutive overtime contest, broke a five-game losing streak, eclipsed last year’s win total (1-16) and got their first home victory since a 5-2 victory over Bucknell on Oct. 22, 2006. “It feels amazing,” Taft said. “It’s so exciting.” Much of the game was ugly for the Bears, as the Stags held an 18-4 advantage in shots, but Bruno executed when it needed to. “We talk a lot about scoring first and finishing it,” said Head Coach Tara Harrington ’94. “We’ve been in a lot of tight matches this year, and we have yet to, with the exception of the Maine game, to really make the ball bounce our way. We didn’t play the greatest game of our lives today, but we started it and we finished it,

By Andrew Braca Assistant Sports Editor

Justin Coleman / Herald

Newcomer Abigail Taft ’12 was the star in field hockey’s 2-1 victory over Fairfield yesterday, scoring both goals in Bruno’s second win of the season.

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Rusty volleyball team lacks focus, effort as it falls to Rams By Han Cui Assistant Spor ts Editor

Last night was an off night for the volleyball team. The team hoped to conclude its non-conference season with a win Brown 1 against cross-town 3 rival URI and build URI some momentum going into its first match of the Ivy League season against Yale this Friday. Instead, the Bears played

completely flat against Rhody, who capitalized on Brown’s rusty play and put the match away 3-1. At first, the two teams went head-to-head with neither one able to pull ahead with a lead of more than one point. But URI gained the edge after scoring three consecutive points to increase its lead to 18-15. At that time, Head Coach Diane Short called for a time-out and showed her anger when she talked to her players.

“When I called the first timeout, the team was not playing with enough effort and lacked focus,” Short said. “That’s the only thing that gets me angr y — lack of effort and focus.” The time-out seemed to wake up the players. Right after resuming play, Lyndse Yess ’09 put down a kill, but URI did not lose control of the game and kept its threepoint lead when it scored its 20th point. At that point, URI went on a

7-2 run to finish the game, 25-18. In contrast to Bruno who could not deliver the kills, the Rams had everything going for them both offensively and defensively. URI outhit Brown .250 to .185 with three of its players posting double-digit kills. In addition, the Rams recorded 11 blocks to explain Brown’s low-hitting percentage. “We kept fighting,” Short said. continued on page 9

Student fan club is still going strong

• Men’s Soccer Saturday, Oct. 4, Columbia, Stevenson Field 7 p.m.

By Amy Ehrhart Sports Editor

• Men’s Soccer Tuesday, Oct. 7, Bryant, Stevenson Field 7 p.m.

After its rookie year, the athletic fan club BrowNation is still going strong, according to founder Moses Riner ’08. “We got about 130 to 150 people signed up at the Activities Fair, and we’re splitting up the membership and rewards program this year to make it more appealing to the broader student body,” said Riner, who is still manning his position as “co-chancellor” of the organization along with Christian Seale ’09 while studying abroad this year. He said he will most likely return to Brown to complete his Master’s degree in the Program in Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship Engineering next year. A transfer from Duke, Riner modeled the program after the Blue Devils’ Inferno Club, and as a result of his efforts, membership reached close to 300 last

• Women’s Soccer Wednesday, Oct. 8, Bryant, Stevenson Field 7 p.m.

BrowNationsponsored games

• Volleyball Saturday, Oct. 11, Dartmouth, Pizzitola Center 4 p.m. • Women’s Soccer Wednesday, Oct. 15, Sacred Heart, Stevenson Field 7 p.m. • Volleyball Friday, Oct. 17, Penn, Pizzitola Center 7 p.m. • Men’s Soccer Saturday, Oct. 18, Harvard, Stevenson Field 1p.m. • Field Hockey Wednesday, Oct. 22, Providence, Warner RoofOMAC 4 p.m.

Justin Coleman / Herald

Fans cheered on the football team in its 24-22 victory over Harvard Saturday.

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and we got the W. I’m extremely proud and happy for the kids.” Taft started the scoring when she came streaking up the right side of the field and took a diagonal pass from Leslie Springmeyer ’12. She went to the right to beat her defender and then rifled a shot that beat Fairfield goalkeeper Megan Ambrose to the left corner. “It was just a quick breakaway,” Taft said. “Leslie passed it up, and there was one defender to beat, and I got past her and took a hard shot. It went right to the corner.” Ninety-nine seconds into the game, Brown held a 1-0 lead. It was the third game in a row that the Bears had struck first. “It’s certainly progress,” Harrington said. “Going into this year, we talked about being a very attacking team. We’ve certainly scored a lot of goals this year, and I think that being able to attack first, draw blood first, sets the tone of the game.” But the Bears couldn’t build on their early offensive success, often failing to get the ball out of their defensive end and up to their forwards. Harrington said that the

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• Football Saturday, Oct. 25, Cornell, Brown Stadium 12:30 p.m.