Thursday, October 9, 2008 by The Brown Daily Herald

The Brown Daily Herald T hursday, O ctober 9, 2008

Volume CXLIII, No. 88

So soon? Spring classes up on Banner by Sarah Husk Contributing Writer

Although the Nov. 4 registration deadline for the second semester is still nearly a month off, Spring 2009 courses have now been added to Banner. According to Lora Rossi, associate registrar for course information, Banner was updated Oct. 1 to include next semester’s schedule of courses. Despite some student frustration with Banner, Rossi said the office had encountered no problems using the new system. In terms of the timeframe for updating Banner with the next semester’s courses, about a month in advance of registration is “probably going to be our normal procedure from here on out,” Rossi said. The popular alternative to Banner among students, Mocha, which is not officially supported or managed by the University, has yet to be synchronized with the new data for Spring 2009 courses. Adam Carb ’07, a programmer at Mocha not directly involved in updating the Web site for next semester, said students can expect to see the spring semester’s courses on Mocha soon. “We’ll put the spring courses up ASAP,” he said. “We were waiting for them to go up on Banner.” For some students, the Banner continued on page 4

Since 1866, Daily Since 1891

UCS wants young alums on Corp.

Now on land, flagpole once raced at sea By Connie Zheng Staf f Writer

The flagpole on the Main Green doesn’t typically inspire romantic flights of fancy in the students studying on the grass next to it.

Chancellor tells council he supports the idea

FEATURE Yet the flagpole, a campus mainstay since 1939, is as much an historical artifact as it is an overlooked lawn fixture. A closer inspection of the pole reveals an index-card-sized bronze plaque near its base that reads, “This flagpole was formerly the mast of an American racing yacht and was presented to Brown University by its owner, C. Oliver Iselin.” The 50-foot-tall landmark comes from not just any dinghy, but — according to letters in University archives — from the Columbia, the first vessel to win the prestigious America’s Cup twice in a row, and only one of three yachts in the history of the 157-year-old race to do so. Charles Oliver Iselin was a banker who crewed the Columbia to its first victory in 1899 with his wife, Hope Goddard Iselin, daughter of former Chancellor William Goddard 1846. After the Columbia crushed Britain’s Shamrock that year, the schooner — owned by Iselin’s friend and colleague J.P. Morgan — took home the trophy again in 1901, defeating Britain’s Shamrock II. Though the Iselins did not participate in the 1901 race, Hope Iselin had already made her mark in sailing history as one of

By Mitra Anoushiravani Senior Staf f Writer

she said, the group was unable to get either space or funding for the endeavor. Stricker said his preliminary efforts to find space have been similarly frustrated. He has asked around both inside and outside the University, but to no avail. “The best offer that has been given is a tent outside of Blue State (Coffee),” he said. Stricker said he gathered between 300 and 400 signatures in support of the bicycle co-op at the Student Activities Fair last month, and that he has been approached frequently by students interested in his proposal. If given a workspace for the co-op, Stricker said he’d like to first start an informal program that would build and repair bikes for students. In time, he said, the co-op might give rise to a bike exchange program of the kind Sieff proposed. The exchange program would keep a supply of bicycles at various locations around campus for students’ use — for example, to

The Undergraduate Council of Students has written a preliminar y proposal outlining its interest in creating a permanent position for a recent graduate on the Corporation, the University’s highest governing body, in hopes that the alum would be able to add a youthful perspective. UCS has presented the current proposal to a few members of the Corporation, including Chancellor Thomas Tisch ’76. Tisch has told the council he is committed to making the issue a top priority, UCS President Brian Becker ’09 said. The proposal, drafted in March, includes three suggestions for how the Corporation could add young alumni members. For example, one proposal would put three young alums on the Corporation’s Board of Trustees, which has 42 members. The young alums would be chosen every other year and serve six-year terms. The recent graduates would “not be beholden in any way to UCS or any other student organization on campus,” said Melea Atkins ’10, a former corporation liaison for the council. “The point of this is not that they are a representative of the current student body, (but) instead that they would offer the perspective of a student and have the full powers of a trustee.” “The young alum will be a Corporation member like any other,” Becker said. “This isn’t about getting someone on the Corporation for our sake. It’s really about making the Corporation better,” said former UCS Vice President Zachar y Townsend ’09.5, who worked on the proposal in its early stages. “It’s about giving the Corporation the ability to have more information while they’re making decisions.” The UCS proposal does not include a course of action on creating the position. Becker said that it is not up to UCS to decide how a young alum will be selected to ser ve on the Corporation. Now that UCS has drafted a proposal, members will continue to advocate for it. But Tisch must bring the proposal to the Corporation in order for its members to take action, Becker said. Atkins said council members hope the Corporation will discuss the proposal before the end of the academic year. Russell Carey ’91 MA’06, senior vice president for corporation affairs and governance, said in a presentation to the Brown University

continued on page 4

continued on page 6

Min Wu / Herald

The 50-foot-tall flagpole on the Main Green was the mast of a champion yacht.

the first women to participate in the male-dominated sport. The Columbia’s life of fame and glory came to a halt when she lost to the Reliance in 1903, and she suffered further humiliation in 1904 when businessmen

considered converting her into a restaurant. Those plans never came to pass, and in 1913, she was cut up for scrap at Hawkins Yard in City Island, N.Y., accordcontinued on page 4

Since bikes are everywhere, one wonders, can’t we share? By Riley Blanton Contributing Writer

Brian Kelly / Herald

Meghan Short ‘12 biked past Keeney Quad. There is some support for a bicycle co-op.

Postspends Columbus Day weekend with Zac Hanson and finds a new center www.browndailyherald.com

METRO

With bicycles locked to railings and trees all around campus, adequate amenities for bike owners are noticeably absent on College Hill. But Joseph Stricker ’10 thinks he has the solution. Stricker, who transferred from Vassar College a year ago, would like to introduce a bicycle co-op — which already exists at Vassar — that would build new bikes from used or abandoned parts and provide inexpensive repairs. “There’s a pretty big bike culture at Brown,” Stricker said. “It seems like Brown is itching for this type of program.” Indeed, the campus might seem to have an itch — and last year the Brown Outing Club made efforts to scratch it, according to Carly Sieff ’09, a student leader of the group. The club made proposals to both the Student Activities Office and the Undergraduate Finance Board, she said, to create a bike sharing program that would allow students to borrow bikes on a short-term basis. Unfortunately,

embarking on a big plan Providence has a plan to plant 40,000 trees in the city in the next 12 years

CAMPUS NEWS

crime log: smoked out Buxton House residents in trouble after unwittingly setting off the smoke alarm

195 Angell Street, Providence, Rhode Island

12 SPORTS

BLESS MY HEART Field hockey finds a way to win again, edging Sacred Heart, 3-2 on the road

News tips: herald@browndailyherald.com

T oday Page 2

Thursday, October 9, 2008

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

We a t h e r TODAY

Vagina Dentata | Soojean Kim TOMORROW

partly cloudy 70 / 51

sunny 72 / 48

Menu Sharpe Refectory

Verney-Woolley Dining Hall

Lunch — Cheese Tomato Strata, Vegan Tofu Pups, Hot Ham on Bulky Roll, Wild Colonial Risotto

Lunch — Sloppy Joe Sandwich, Enchilada Bar, Falafel in Pita Bread, Swiss Fudge Cookies

Dinner — Spice Rubbed Pork Chops, Cajun Corn and Tomatoes, Beef Saute with Cumin

Dinner — Roast Turkey with Sauce, Shells with Broccoli, French Bread, Butternut Apple Bake

Free Variation | Jeremy Kuhn

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

Epimetheos | Samuel Holzman

Enigma Twist | Dustin Foley

Los Angeles Times Puzzle C r o sDaily s woCrossword rd Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

ACROSS 1 Get by 5 Very close 10 Puts two and two together 14 All in favor 15 Kick out 16 Hungry person’s request 17 Guatemalan volcano named for a flood it caused in 1541 18 Rags-to-riches author 19 Words before uproar or instant 20 Christmas decorating chore? 23 Soothe, in a way 25 Once-sacred snakes 26 Running bowline, essentially 27 Accepted postulate 29 Serv. branch 32 Need some spice? 35 Basic language lesson word 38 May birthstone 39 How some stocks are sold 42 Org. funded by FICA 43 Dental success? 45 Dost own 46 Hardly chic 47 Like some pretenses 51 Wine town near Turin 54 Small cells 55 Divulge likely candidates? 59 Girl lead-in 60 Showed wonder 61 Jazz phrase 64 Agitated state 65 Without breaking 66 Carbon compound 67 Title film character thought to be based on Hearst 68 Really good 69 Glimpse

DOWN 1 Tax whiz 2 URL ending 3 Anti-inflammatory dressings 4 Actor Morales 5 Schnozzes 6 Yellow-flowered perennial 7 Enlists 8 First name in fashion 9 Reagle of “Wordplay” 10 Córdoba cohort 11 Hawaiian crooner 12 Mild oaths 13 Common thing? 21 City west of Boise 22 Like Beethoven’s “Pastoral Symphony” 23 Lacking color 24 They may be final 28 Creole vegetable 30 Center of authority 31 Drawing intro 33 Contemporary of Dizzy and Billie 34 Palms, perhaps

35 Pool microorganism 36 Deerskin products 37 Japanese port 40 Prank 41 1974 CIA spoof 44 Hides 45 In the know 47 Holder of spirits 48 Blue Cross competitor

49 Like 35-Across 50 Pacific ray 52 Tuckered out 53 Lingerie item 56 Support, with “for” 57 Chaplin spouse 58 Shoe insert 62 Coxcomb 63 Something in the ointment?

Alien Weather Forecast | Stephen Lichenstein and Adam Wagner

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:

Fizzle Pop | Patricia Chou

xwordeditor@aol.com

3/6/08

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

3/6/08

The Brown Daily Herald (USPS 067.740) is an independent newspaper serving the Brown 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 Thursday, October 9, 2008

Page 3

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

In health class, homework is more than just reading Class teaches through service projects By Colin Chazen Senior Staff Writer

Min Wu / Herald File Photo

Mayor David Cicilline ’83, at a news conference on campus last month, is supporting a plan to plant 40,000 trees in Providence.

A billion trees for the world? City to do its part By Shara Azad Contributing Writer

The Providence landscape is set to get a bit greener thanks to Trees 2020 — a campaign launched by the city’s parks department and Groundwork Providence, a local nonprofit. The program is a response to a study conducted by Doug Still, the city forester, that found that as lush as the city may seem, only 23 percent of it is covered by a tree canopy, said Ray Perrault, the director of Trees 2020. The project’s funding comes from the Helen Walker Raleigh Tree Care Trust of the Rhode Island Foundation. Seeking to persuade property owners across the city to plant 40,000 trees by the year 2020, the campaign, with its motto — “Plant a Tree for Providence, See Good Things Grow” —officially started last Wednesday.

Trees 2020 would subsidize costs for anyone who agrees to plant trees as a part of the cause. Local nurser y owners would charge participants between $55 to $75 per plant, said Perrault. The program will also offer participants advice about the trees that they can plant and ways to care for them. The project will be the city’s contribution to the United Nations’ goal of planting a billion trees worldwide to curb global deforestation, according to a press release from the mayor’s office. “Trees can grow property values, provide shade for our residents to enjoy and a place for our kids to play,” Mayor David Cicilline ’83 said in the release. “They can also help ever yone save on energy costs by blocking blustery winter winds and simmering summer sun, and they have a profound effect on the health of our environment by reducing our

State’s tax revenue decreases By Nandini Jayakrishna and Scott Lowenstein Metro Editors

As expected, the economic downturn is af fecting the state’s revenue. Rhode Island tax receipts dropped about 17 percent for the first quarter of fiscal year 2009 — from $882 million last year to $735 million this year — according to a report released yesterday by the state Department of Revenue. Though the state had lowered its expectations in light of the weak economy, the $735 million total came in $25.5 million below the legislators’ projected sum for the first quarter, which runs from July 1 to Sept. 30. The State House Fiscal Advisor y staf f called the drop in tax revenue “cause for concern,” in a companion repor t it released Wednesday. The decline comes at a time when the state is already strug-

gling under a $33 million deficit from last year. The House report warned that the state’s deficit could grow to about $60 million by the end of the current fiscal year. Rep. Steven Costantino, the Democratic chairman of the state’s House Finance Committee, said the declines in tax revenue were largely due to increased unemployment and lower incomes because of the struggling economy. “Look at the income numbers,” Costantino told the Providence Journal on Wednesday. “This is definitely linked to the lack of jobs.” Amy Kempe, a spokeswoman for Gov. Donald Carcieri ’65, told the Journal, “This is the first quarter, and the administration has been holding the line on personnel costs and spending.” “Just as Rhode Islanders have been asked to tighten their belts,” she added, “so is the state.”

carbon footprint and replenishing the amount of oxygen in the air.” According to Perrault, trees can even decrease crime rates because more trees mean the temperature will be an average of 10 degrees lower, helping people not to lose their heads due to the heat. Perrault also said there is a sentimental value to planting a tree, which is like “the best bank account in the world” because it offers “hundreds of years of enjoyment and pleasure,” he said. “When you plant a tree knowing that someone can enjoy its shade years later, it’s a great feeling.” Perrault said. “There are so few things in our lives that can touch someone on the other side like that.” Perrault said that he would like students from Brown and other college students in the area to get involved with the project, adding that the University should also consider planting on its campus.

The lights inside the apartment were turned off to save money. But the sole resident, a woman with AIDS in her late 20s, lit up the room, performing three spoken word poems for Austin Youngsoo Ha ’12 and an AIDS advocacy worker. Youngsoo Ha had come to the apartment as a volunteer with AIDS Care Ocean State, but also as part of a class assignment. For close to 20 years, students in Professor of Family Medicine Stephen Smith’s class, PHP 0070: “Cost Versus Care: The Dilemma for American Medicine” have been volunteering in the Providence community as part of their weekly assignments. The service-learning component of the class challenges students’ beliefs and forces them to question their value systems, Smith said. “The class itself focuses on intellectual aspects of health care policy,” Smith said. Health care “is more than that — it’s working with real human beings.” Many students in Smith’s class choose to work in traditional health care settings like the emergency room at Rhode Island Hospital, but some volunteer at hospices, old age homes and advocacy organizations like AIDS Care Ocean State. The placements allow students to “compare the theories we talk about in class to real-world experiences,” Smith said. A wide range of projects are acceptable, as long as they put

students “outside of their comfort zones amongst people with different cultures, different languages, different class situations,” he said. Jillian Robbins ’11 chose to work at the Martin Luther King Elementary School for her volunteer project. Tuesday mornings, she teaches kindergartners the alphabet and plans activities around the letter of the day. “The themes that we discuss in class are still present,” Robbins said. “You can tell the students’ socio-economic backgrounds superficially from just what they’re wearing.” Most students choose from a list of about 15 organizations contacted over the summer by Sheela Krishnan ’10, the class’s teaching assistant. Students are required to volunteer with their organization for four to five hours a week and to keep a journal of their experiences. The journal and their weekly discussion sections count for 20 percent of the course grade. “I wanted to take a course on AIDS,” said Youngsoo Ha, who participated in a service learning project in Kenya his junior year of high school. “There’s no better way to learn about AIDS than by being close to patients.” A Program in Liberal Medical Education student, Youngsoo Ha said the class and working with AIDS patients affirmed his decision to become a physician. “What’s the good in learning about American medicine if you’re not going to do something about it?” he asked. “I’m increasingly realizing the American health care system needs repairs.” Smith, who is retiring next year, continued on page 4

Page 4

At other colleges, models for a bike-sharing co-op continued from page 1 travel between classrooms, libraries, dormitories and dining halls. As an example of how such an exchange might operate, Stricker cited a program at Vassar which for $10 provided students with keys that could unlock bikes stationed across campus. Another possible model of a bike exchange program that Stricker thinks could work is the Yellow Bikes Cooperative at Middlebury College. The Middlebury program, according to the school’s Web site, began with nine refurbished bikes in 2001, and within a year had 230 students as members, paying an annual fee of $6 to use the ubiquitous

yellow bikes. Clear Channel Outdoor, a division of Clear Channel Communications, pioneered a public exchange program called SmartBike in cities in France, and has seen success with the program in urban areas across Europe and in Washington, D.C. The company has recently proposed bringing the program to the campus of Kent State University in Ohio, according to a story last month in the student newspaper the Daily Kent Stater. Stricker said the impetus and precedent for a University bicycle co-op and bike exchange exist, and he plans to see these programs come to fruition.

New courses up on Banner continued from page 1 updates have not been too pressing a concern. “I had a vague idea that courses were up, but I haven’t started planning anything yet,” Gina Chen ’11 said. Chen, a student in the Program in Liberal Medical Education, said she knows she will need to take

Thursday, October 9, 2008

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

BIOL 0280: “Introductory Biochemistry” this spring, but beyond that, has not yet put too much thought into the details of next semester. Max Mankin ’11, who has already checked out the course schedule for the spring, said he found the lack of updates for cross-enrollment courses to be an obstacle in planning.

Flagpole may be America’s Cup mast continued from page 1 ing to the Web site for the 32nd America’s Cup. But letters from the University archives say the Columbia’s life did not end completely in the junkyard. “We have a record that (the flagpole) was a gift from you to the Naval Unit at Brown in 1918 and that it was originally a mast from one of the cup defenders,” President Henry Wriston wrote to Hope Iselin on Nov. 9, 1939, inquiring about the origins of the flagstaff after it had been erected on campus. The inquiry was a reaction to a letter Wriston received a few weeks earlier from Paul Francis Gleeson ’32, who suggested that a “small brass plate” with the “names (sic) of the yacht, where built, donor of the staff, etc.” be attached to the flagpole. There are currently no records in the archives of any gifts given to the Naval Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, according to Jay Gaidmore, University archivist. In a reply dated Nov. 30, 1939,

Iselin, whose husband had died in 1932, wrote that it had been a gift from her late husband, and that “it was a mast from Columbia, I am quite sure.” Both she and Wriston sent letters of inquiry to Tom Brightman, the service manager of the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company, the Bristol-based firm that produced the Columbia and other sailing thoroughbreds. But when Brightman replied on Nov. 22, 1939, he wrote that company records did not confirm “which of the American Cup Defenders masts it was which Mr. Iselin gave to Brown University.” Though he concluded in that letter that “all the evidence here points to the strong probability that it was one of the masts from the ‘Columbia,’” in a letter one week later to Stanley Power of the New York Yacht Club, Brightman wrote that the University’s flagpole was too small to be a mast from a Cup Defender. “For all we know, that could be an old telephone pole,” said Joe Ellis ’12, turning around from his

prone position on the grass for one more look. “That does look very beefy for a flagpole.” After two more letters from Hope Iselin asserting with authority — both her s and that of her stepson — that the flagpole originated from the Columbia, Wriston and then University Vice President James Adams were unsure how to identify the pole. In a memorandum to Wriston on Jan. 4, 1940, Adams wrote that they were faced with two options. The first was to disregard Brightman’s statement, rely upon Iselin’s testimony, and inscribe the plaque on the flagpole with, “This flagpole was formerly the mast of the Cup Defender Columbia and was presented to Brown University by C. Oliver Iselin.” The second was to “dodge the issue” and inscribe, “This flagpole was formerly the mast of an American racing yacht and was presented to Brown University by C. Oliver Iselin.” Adams and Wris ton followed the latter course, and the mast of steel and Oregon pine remains unattributed.

Homework is learning by volunteering continued from page 3 said community service works well for every subject, not just health care. A couple of years ago, he attended a conference at Bentley College where he met a professor of English who used service learning in his literature

classes. While studying “King Lear,” students also volunteered at an elderly care home. “They understood what it was to become old,” Smith said. Smith has been teaching “Cost Versus Care” since 1985 and said he consistently receives e-mails from for-

mer students describing the class as a “transformative experience” and one that produced “revelations.” Health care is about people, he said, and studying it should be too. “You have to look beyond the line at the heart and soul as well,” Smith said.

C ampus n ews Thursday, October 9, 2008

Page 5

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Officers remind students E-survey: Bruno strongly favors Obama of illegality of marijuana The following summary includes all major incidents reported to the Department of Public Safety between Sept. 24 and Oct. 1. It does not include general service and alarm calls. The Providence Police Department also responds to incidents occurring off campus. DPS does not

CRIME LOG divulge information on open cases that are currently under investigation by the department, the PPD or the Office of Student Life. DPS maintains a daily log of all shift activity and general service calls which can be viewed during business hours at its headquarters, located at 75 Charlesfield St. Friday, Sept. 26 7:10 a.m. An officer was dispatched to the Brown Office Building regarding homeless persons sleeping on the ground a short distance from the front door. The subjects were advised that they were trespassing on Brown University property and were give trespass citations. They were referred to Crossroads homeless shelter. 9:35 p.m. While conducting an exterior check of the Sarah Doyle Women’s Center an officer noticed that one of the window panes in a first floor window was broken. Facilities Management was notified of the broken window and a work order was placed. There are no suspects at this time. Saturday, Sept. 27 12:01 a.m. An officer reported that he observed a male possibly throw something onto the property of 55 Power Street. The individual, who is known to both Brown University Police and Providence Police, was detained and questioned. The male was compliant and stated he has been in trouble with the law before. No contraband or weapons were in his possession and the area was searched but nothing was found. The subject was released at the scene. 12:52 a.m. A student stated that she had placed her wallet on a couch at a party in Sears House. In the wallet were her cell phone, Brown ID and a debit card. She also reported that the wallet was attached to her keys. She was away from the wallet from approximately 11:30 p.m. until midnight. When she returned to the couch the wallet and its contents were missing. The keys to which the wallet had been attached were still there. There are no suspects at this time. 12:54 a.m. While investigating the cause of a fire alarm at Buxton House, an officer observed smoke coming from a room. Upon entering the open room officers observed an ashtray in plain view with what appeared to be the remnants of marijuana cigarettes in it. They also smelled a faint odor of marijuana. Additionally, there were two glass bottles of alcohol on a table. As the building was cleared for entry by the Providence Fire Department, two students returned to the room. They admitted that they had been in the room smoking and didn’t realize they had set off the smoke detector. They were reminded that marijuana

is illegal, that the drinking age is 21, and that smoking and glass bottles are not allowed in dorms. They were informed that a report would be filed for disciplinary action and the officers confiscated both the suspected marijuana and liquor. The matter has been turned over to the Office of Student Life. Sunday, Sept. 28 1:09 a.m. Officers were dispatched to Young Orchard #2 for a disturbance between two roommates. The matter is being investigated by the Department of Public Safety and has also been turned over to the Office of Student Life. 4:00 p.m. A student stated that on Sept. 25 at approximately 1:30 p.m., her dorm room in Chapin House was secured and locked as she left for the weekend. Her roommate left on Sept. 26. The reporting party returned on Sept. 28 at approximately 4 p.m. to discover a damaged dorm room door. The damage appeared to have been an attempt to gain entry. There was no entry gained into the dorm room, and nothing was missing. There were pry marks on the wooden door, door lock-mechanism, and door frame. Facilities Management was notified. There are no suspects at this time. Monday, Sept. 29 5:09 p.m. Two Brown students stated that they had left their dorm room in Caswell Hall at noon and returned at 5 p.m. They stated that the door to the dorm room was not locked. A laptop that was locked to a desk was taken. The cable that it was fastened with had been broken. Another laptop that was not secured was stolen as well as an iPod. There are no witnesses or suspects at this time. Tuesday, Sept. 30 9:05 a.m. The Coordinator of Special Projects for Dining Services stated that at about 10 a.m. on Sept. 29, the Food Manager for Dining Services informed him that there were three signs missing from outside Room 129 in the Sharpe Refectory. Later, a supervisor for Dining Services informed the coordinator that she noticed the signs missing at about 6:30 a.m. on Sept. 29. One brass sign is missing from the door to the Chancellor’s Dining Room. The other two are made of a plastic composite and are missing from the wall to the east of Room 129. 2:21 p.m. A Brown student reported that she placed her laptop computer on a chair in her room in Morriss Hall on Sept. 28 at 1 p.m. When she went to look for her computer on Sept. 30 at 1 p.m., she noticed that it was missing. She reported that she did not use her computer during the above times mentioned. She also stated that her room door was unlocked at different times. No sign of forced entry or damage found. The laptop has LoJack theft recovery software. Wednesday, Oct. 1 4:43 a.m. Complainant stated that she left her vehicle at 8:30 a.m. in Lot 2. When she returned at 5 p.m., she discovered that the vehicle had been vandalized and a GPS had been stolen. There are no witnesses or suspects.

By Alicia Dang Contributing Writer

According to an online sur vey conducted in September, 9 out of 10 Brown students prefer Barack Obama to John McCain for president, with support for Obama greatest among older students. The study was part of a series called “GenX2Z” that surveyed college students and was conducted by Anderson Analytics, a market research company. The study found little political difference between genders at Brown, with 92 percent of female and 90 percent of male students saying they preferred Obama over McCain. The survey also found a high level of support for Obama among college students across the country: 60 percent are in favor of Obama and 25 percent prefer McCain. The study also showed a gender difference between college students nationwide: 63 percent of female students and 55 percent of male students said they supported Obama. The study analyzed responses from 1,000 students from more than 400 colleges and universities. Survey participants were recruited through Facebook and took the survey online, and had to provide .edu e-mail addresses to show they were students.

Anderson originally only included about 30 students from Ivy League schools, excluding Dartmouth. But after he noticed an overwhelming preference for Obama within the Ivy League, he took two more random samplings of 100 students each at Brown and Harvard. Harvard students showed a more pronounced gender gap, with 93 percent of women and 72 percent of men saying they favored Obama. Jennifer Lawless, assistant professor of p olitical science and public policy, said she was not surprised by the survey results, saying Obama has a “sizable lead” among “young people of higher education” between the ages of 18 and 29. Lawless said the student body’s over whelming preference for Obama fits with Brown’s tradition of being “democratic,” “liberal” and “progressive.” Obama enjoys equal support among male and female Brown students because, “when there are only people of one party, there is no room for the gender gap,” Lawless said. Also, older students seem to have a stronger preference for Obama because it takes more time to develop political views, while younger students tend to stick to the political views of their parents,

Lawless added. Although students were not shocked to find that the campus shows a general preference for Obama, some were surprised the level of support was so high. Caitlin Trujillo ’12 said she was aware of Brown’s image as a “progressive and liberal school.” “It doesn’t surprise me that students prefer Obama, but 90 percent is really high,” Trujillo said. “I’m not up to date in politics as much as I should be. I do prefer Obama though,” she added. Brian Becker ’09, president of the Undergraduate Council of Students, said that it did not surprise him that seniors were more supportive of Obama. “I know people who have changed their political views since they got here,” he said. “In my experience, we learn much more about the intricacies of American institutions and the factors of globalization in college,” so seniors are probably more “fervent for change,” he said. Galen Cho ’11, a McCain supporter and Herald business staffer, said the student body’s strong preference for Obama did not surprise him, either. Although he is in the political minority, Cho said he feels free to have his own opinion because “Brown is very liberal.”

Page 6

Thursday, October 9, 2008

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

UCS looks to get young alums on Corporation continued from page 1 Community Council last month that the Corporation is taking the council’s proposal into account as the University completes its onceper-decade self-study this year. However, no one should expect anything to come out of next weekend’s meetings, he added later in an inter view. At the BUCC meeting, Carey said that in addition to considering the council’s proposal, the Corporation has been making an effort to inform itself about current students’ biggest issues and needs. The presidents of the student bodies of the Alpert Medical School, the Graduate School and the undergraduate College ser ve as ex officio members of the Corporation’s committee on campus life. Carey also said there was not currently anything preventing a young alum from being elected to the Board of Trustees, in the same way that all other trustees are elected or appointed. He added, though, that young alums have definitely not been the norm and that most current trustees graduated at least 10 years ago. Because Corporation members have usually made substantial contributions to society, to the University or to their fields of study, it is difficult for a recent graduate to compete in elections alongside older and more distinguished alums. The youngest member on the Corporation is Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal ’91.5. “How young alums would be chosen is very much up in the air,” Atkins said. “We are very flexible in

the manner in which this is done. We just want it to happen. There are a lot of different ways to do it.” Townsend warned against a method of selection that would require elections. “I think the Corporation is slightly afraid about who would be elected if there were elections to appoint some ver y recent graduate,” he said. “Fundamentally, it should not be a popularity contest.” “I’m not saying there shouldn’t be an election,” he added, “but I’m saying that the Corporation might be war y of what an election will produce.” Becker, however, has not introduced or advocated any form of selection or nomination of a young alum. The idea of having a young alum on the Corporation was first suggested by Townsend, although Atkins and former UCS President Michael Glassman ’09 continued the work of the project. Townsend said he exchanged e-mails last year with Princeton’s vice president and secretar y as well as leaders from Johns Hopkins University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology about how those schools were able to create young alumni positions in the late 1960s and early 1970s. All bestowed high praise on the young alums elected to positions on the governing bodies of their universities. “The young tr ustees have been ver y effective members of the board,” wrote Robert Durkee, the Princeton administrator. “One measure of this is the fact that four of them were later returned to the Board as 10-year trustees.”

w orld & n ation Thursday, October 9, 2008

U.S. defends raid that killed Afghan civilians By Karen DeYoung Washington Post

WASHINGTON — A militar y investigation has concluded that U.S. forces acted in legitimate selfdefense in launching an August air assault against Taliban militants in Afghanistan that it said left 33 civilians dead, including at least 12 children. A summar y of the classified report, released Wednesday by the U.S. Central Command, said the militar y’s initial conclusion that only five to seven civilians died in the Aug. 21-22 raid was erroneous. The Afghan government and human rights organizations, as well as the United Nations, have said at least 90 civilians were killed by U.S. and Afghan ground forces and a U.S. AC-130H gunship in the village of Azizabad in western Afghanistan. The discrepancy led to sharp tensions between the U.S. and Afghan governments and resulted in a decision by Central Command to send a senior officer from outside Afghanistan to reinvestigate the initial militar y findings. But while the new inquir y, headed by Air Force Brig. Gen. Michael Callan, found a higher civilian death toll, it also concluded that “the use of force was in selfdefense, necessar y and proportional based on the information the On-Scene-Commander had at the time.” The report said that, “unfortunately and unknown to the U.S. and Afghan forces,” the militants who were the target of the raid “chose fighting positions in close proximity to civilians.” Callan’s report, which said 22 “anti-coalition militants” were also killed in the attack, recommended that the militar y conduct more comprehensive, transparent investigations in the future, and called for improved coordination with the Afghan government when disputes arise. Unlike the initial investigation, which relied solely on U.S. militar y reports, Callan’s team took testimony from village elders, U.S. and Afghan soldiers and Afghan government, human rights and U.N. officials. The civilian deaths in Azizabad came in a year in which enemy attacks and U.S. militar y casualties have reached the highest levels of the seven-year Afghan war. Gen. David McKiernan, who commands both NATO and U.S. troops in Afghanistan, has called for four additional combat brigades to bolster the more than 60,000 combined U.S.-NATO troops there. Government and independent repor ts have said that Taliban fighters and other extremists are responsible for the vast majority of civilian deaths — estimated by Human Rights Watch at more than 1,600 in 2007 — and the U.S. militar y has maintained that the Taliban exaggerates U.S. killings as a propaganda tool. But repeated incidents of civilians killed in U.S. airstrikes have brought widespread criticism from the Afghan population and the government of President Hamid Karzai. Afghan and U.N. of ficials briefed on the new report could not be reached Wednesday night for comment. The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission plans to release its

Page 7

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

final report on the incident next week. Marc Garlasco, senior military analyst for Human Rights Watch and the author of a highly critical report last month on the use of air power in Afghanistan, said he was “not surprised that (the Centcom) investigation has shown that their past investigations have been wholly inadequate.” Military investigations of civilian deaths in Afghanistan “have been unilateral and opaque,” Garlasco said. “And you never know how they come up with the tally; they only rely on their own information without taking information from hospitals and local sources.” On July 6, an airstrike against what the U.S. militar y called a militant “target of opportunity” in the eastern province of Nangahar killed 47 civilians at a wedding par ty, according to an Afghan government investigation. While Karzai traveled to the site to meet relatives of the victims, the military blamed reports of civilian casualties on enemy propaganda. A U.S. militar y spokesman, quoted at the time by the Associated Press, said, “Whenever we do an airstrike, the first thing they’re going to cr y is ‘Airstrike killed civilians,’ when the missile actually struck militant extremists we were targeting in the first place.” The spokesman said that “we don’t believe we’ve harmed anyone except for the combatants.” “One thing I find sad about this,” Garlasco said of the Azizabad controversy, “is that everyone has been so wrapped up in the exact number. The bottom line is that whatever it was, it was too high. What’s important is finding out the reasons why it’s happening so we can stop it.” In a visit to Afghanistan last month, Defense Secretar y Robert Gates acknowledged both the human and public relations damage caused by such incidents. He promised additional measures to minimize them and to conduct more transparent investigations. Gates said that in the future, the United States will compensate the families of alleged victims even before completing its investigations. The Central Command report said that “no condolence payments have been made by U.S. Forces” to Azizabad victims, al-

though the Afghan government has paid $2,000 to “each family of the alleged 90 civilians killed, $1,000 for each person wounded, plus government sponsored trip to the Haj.” Pentagon press secretar y Geof f Morrell, traveling with Gates in Hungar y, said in a statement Wednesday night that “the report shows that although no militar y in histor y has gone to greater lengths to avoid civilian casualties, we clearly still need to operate with more care.” The issue remains a sensitive one with Afghanistan and NATO allies. Militar y of ficials from NATO nations with troops in Afghanistan, who until last week operated under a separate command from most U.S. forces, have criticized U.S. special operations forces as indiscriminate in their use of air power to back up ground troops. But what Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has called an “economy of force” operation in Afghanistan has resulted in a high reliance on air support. In calling for the new investigation, McKiernan cited “emerging evidence” about the raid, including cellphone videos of bodies at the scene. Until that point, the U.S. militar y maintained that its initial death count in Azizabad of five to seven civilians and 30 to 35 militants was correct. The summar y of Callan’s report provided no information as to why the initial militar y inquir y found civilian casualties totaling “approximately two (2) females, four (4) children.” The new report said the raid took place when, “based on credible information, U.S. and Afghan Forces executed an operation to capture/kill a High Value Individual. After receiving fire on infiltration,” it said, they engaged militants on the ground and with an AC-130 flying in the vicinity. After examining grave sites, photographs and videos and speaking to local officials, military investigators determined that civilian casualty lists compiled by Afghan and U.N. investigations were “invalid due to investigative shortfalls, and Afghan cultural realities such as no recent census, birth/death certificates and inconsistent burial evidence,” the report said.

Britain unveils massive financial rescue plan By Henry Chu Los Angeles Times

LONDON — Britain’s announcement of an $87 billion bailout of its flailing banking system boosted confidence in the nation’s financial sector Wednesday but did not immediately alleviate the panic gripping investors. The unveiling of the rescue package sent shares soaring for beleaguered financial institutions such as the Royal Bank of Scotland and HBOS, whose stocks had taken major hits in the preceding days. But the surge among bank stocks, along with a sooner-than-expected interest-rate cut by the Bank of England, was not enough to prevent the London stock exchange from dropping 5 percent. Since Monday, the FTSE 100 index has shed 12 percent in value, hitting a low not seen in four years. Although officials worked feverishly through the night to finalize the package in time to unveil it before the start of trading Wednesday, the British government insisted that the strength of the bailout plan would not be measured by the stock market’s performance. Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Britain’s former treasury chief, characterized the package as a groundbreaking effort to help banks stabilize their balance sheets. Several times during a news conference, Brown and his top economic minister, Alistair Darling, took pains to point out that the plan differed significantly from the $700 billion U.S. bailout approved by Washington last week. Whereas the U.S. government is buying securities tied to troubled home loans, the British government will give banks a transfusion of up to $87 billion in exchange for special shares that, if the banks recover, would give taxpayers first dibs on profits. (U.S. officials say U.S. taxpayers, too,

could earn a return if the government can later sell the securities it buys.) British officials also established a separate liquidity fund of at least $348 billion that would offer short-term loans to financial institutions to help them cover day-to-day operations. “This is not a time for conventional thinking or outdated dogma but for the fresh and innovative intervention that gets to the heart of the problem,” Brown told reporters. “This is not the American plan. We are buying shares in the banks themselves. ... That is capital that we are putting in, but we expect a return on that.” Later, the Bank of England cut its benchmark interest rate by half a percentage point to 4.5 percent, a day earlier than expected. The reduction was part of a concerted lowering of rates by central banks worldwide, including the U.S. Federal Reserve. Despite the move, stocks fell throughout Europe. Both the Paris and Frankfurt, Germany, bourses plummeted about 6 percent. Russia suspended trading on its Micex index for two days after shares dropped precipitously Wednesday morning. The pressure on European governments to act to save their banks intensified this week after Monday’s rout of global stocks. Tuesday, Spain said it would spend up to $68 billion to buy bank assets. France said Wednesday that it, too, would take stakes in banks if necessary to rescue them from bankruptcy, and Italy hinted it might follow in Britain’s footsteps with a similar bailout package. British banks have spent years issuing easy credit and are now finding it difficult to recover their money. Analysts and banking executives generally lauded the British plan, which will, in effect, mean that some of the country’s biggest banks, including Barclays and Lloyds TSB, will be partially nationalized.

Thursday, October 9, 2008

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Games to watch tonight in the NHL and the MLB continued from page 12 now underway. With a new scheduling format, both casual and diehard fans alike have reasons to be excited. The old scheduling format had each of the league’s 30 teams play eight games against their divisional rivals. The old schedule was meant to heat up intradivisional rivalries, but unfortunately most fans tired of seeing their teams play the same opponents over and over. This year, the NHL has unveiled a new scheduling format, which will give fans across the country to see rising stars such as Alex Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby and Henrik Zetterberg, as each team will play every team from the opposing conference at least once, and some teams will even meet up twice. Tonight’s lineup of games will offer fans their first taste of the new scheduling format with exciting out-of-conference matchups. Toronto at Detroit — 7 p.m. Watch the defending Stanley Cup Champion Red Wings and rising star Henrik Zetterberg kick off their campaign for back-to-back cham-

pionships in this out-of-conference battle. Boston at Colorado — 10 p.m. The Bruins ended their surprising 2007-08 season with a thrilling seventh-game loss to Montreal in the opening round of the playoffs, while the Avalanche advanced into the second round after defeating the Wild in six games, only to be swept into elimination by their bitter rivals and eventual Stanley Cup Champions, the Red Wings. Watch as these two teams look to build on their playoff experience from last year when kick off their 200809 seasons at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colo. MLB Los Angeles vs. Philadelphia — 8:22 p.m. If you’re more of a baseball fan than a puckhead, make sure to watch the opening game of the National League Championship Series, as Manny Ramirez and the red-hot Dodgers take on the hard-hitting Phillies in what is sure to be a very competitive series.

Men’s rugby beats BU, 43-14 continued from page 12 One of the biggest highlights of the second half was a 50-yard tryscoring run by Li to put the Terriers further in the hole. Just four minutes later, flanker Gabe Heidrich ’10 ran up the middle to give Bruno a 38-7 lead. Scrum-half Dave Riley ’10 scored Brown’s last try, which started from a five-meter scrum. “We really focused on keeping our pattern this game,” Ling said. “We wanted to keep control of the possessions and have less penalties.” Brown easily accomplished these goals: With rugby’s make-it-take-it rule, the Bears were able to use up the clock with multiple tries on lengthy drives. After beating former national

champion Coast Guard a few weeks ago, Brown is confident of playing well enough in the upcoming fall playoffs to qualify for the championships in the spring season. Last year, the team took third in Ivies. “Since last season, we’ve really buckled down and focused and decided we wanted to win,” Warner said. The Bears take on URI this Saturday at 1 p.m. at Marvel Field in what could possibly be their last home game for the season. According to Coach Jay Fluck ‘65, if they win this weekend, they will secure a spot in the Collegiate Division II Championships next spring. “They’re a big team, but if we stick to it and bring our intensity and aggressiveness, we’ll win,” Warner said.

Field hockey to play UVM continued from page 12 of eight saves for the game. Katie Hyland ’11 led the offense with four shots, while Tacy Zysk ’11 chipped in three. Sacred Heart finished the game with a 25-15 advantage in shots, but Taft said Bruno came away with the win for several reasons. “I think we just utilized our attacking opportunities, and our defense ... played really well. They had some insane defensive saves,” she said. “We

just kept up our intensity and didn’t let down on our defensive end.” The Bears will hit the road again this Sunday, when they travel to Vermont to face the Catamounts (5-6). Taft said the Bears know what they have to do to start their first winning streak of the season. “We just have to keep practicing hard, keep up our confidence and keep up our attacking intensity throughout the entire game like we have in the beginning,” she said.

We know what you’re thinking. But send your thoughts to us, anyway. letters@browndailyherald.com

Page 9

E ditorial & L etters Page 10

Thursday, October 9, 2008

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

S t a f f E d i to r i a l

In good hands Brown administrators are getting real. They’ve woken up and smelled the coffee; they’re facing the music; and (if you’ll tolerate one more cliche) they may be dodging a bullet. On Tuesday in this space, we expressed our worry that — no matter how endowment-insulated we feel, safe inside our University atop the Hill — the rising economic storm surge can only be ignored for so long. How, we wondered, would a long-term economic downturn affect Brown’s ability to maintain its bold building plans, sky-high financial aid expenditures and aspirations for better international regard? But we didn’t have to wait long. As we reported Wednesday, President Ruth Simmons spoke at Tuesday’s faculty meeting at great length and with great candor of the University’s plans for dealing with a sustained economic downturn. And we awoke Wednesday morning to find a copy of Simmons’ remarks in our inboxes, available in abstract and full-text formats. Simmons wasn’t too shy with details — including, among a few other data, a 5 percent drop in long-term investments in July and August — and her tone was if anything more frank than we would have expected. We’re lucky to go to a school where the administration is generally open about such pressing concerns — since it certainly would have been easier for the University to try to assuage our fears without explaining any real decisions. Her remarks certainly merit reading, and as with all such communications, should be taken with a grain of salt. It’s certainly reassuring to see that the University’s priorities seem completely in line. Simmons’ discussion of the “day to day” investment managing strategy is realistic and just a bit hopeful. But we cannot ignore that if Brown’s investments were down 5 percent during the first two months of the fiscal year, they’ve surely suffered much more since then. Simmons’ comments on construction were perhaps the least direct, noting that some projects may be “deferred or slowed.” This may be due to the fact that new buildings could represent one of the last aspects of Simmons’ legacy at Brown — operating under the assumption that her legacy and that of the Plan for Academic Enrichment will be the same. While we look forward as much as anyone to the completion of the Creative Arts Center and the Mind Brain Behavior Building, Simmons is right that postponing or even canceling some construction plans is far preferable to modifying financial aid policies or refusing to keep professors’ salaries competitive. It’s looking more and more like the current economic turmoil will have lasting and broad ramifications, going far beyond putting investment bankers out of work and leaving overstretched homeowners foreclosed and out of luck. Fortunately, it feels like Brown is in good hands. We urge the administration to keep students informed of its outlook.

T he B rown D aily H erald Editors-in-Chief Simmi Aujla Ross Frazier

Executive Editors Taylor Barnes Chris Gang

Senior Editors Irene Chen Lindsey Meyers

editorial Ben Hyman Hannah Levintova Matthew Varley Alex Roehrkasse Chaz Firestone Nandini Jayakrishna Scott Lowenstein Michael Bechek Isabel Gottlieb Franklin Kanin Michael Skocpol Ben Bernstein James Shapiro Benjy Asher Amy Ehrhart Megan McCahill Andrew Braca Han Cui Katie Wood

Business

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

production Production & Design Editor Steve DeLucia Asst. Design Editor Chaz Kelsh Copy Desk Chief Kathryn Delaney Copy Desk Chief Seth Motel Graphics Editor Adam Robbins

Darren Ball General Manager Mandeep Gill General Manager Shawn Reilly Office Manager Alex Hughes Sales Director Emilie Aries Communications Director Jon Spector Finance Director Claire Kiely Local & National Sales Manager Ellen DaSilva University Sales Manager Philip Maynard Local & Recruiter Sales Manager Katelyn Koh Asst. Finance Director

ALEX YULY

L e tt e r s Yes, let’s be realistic To the Editor: Despite a title that includes the word “realistic,” your editorial (“Realistic in our cocoon,” Oct. 7) states that “Nothing less than the immediate and long-term future of the University may be at stake with this economic downturn.” That is patently ridiculous. Brown’s endowment enjoys being one of the top 30 largest endowments in the nation, at what you term a modest three billion. Instead of saying how modest this is, we should collectively realize how unbelievably fortunate that makes us. That much money provides a much larger buffer than all but 30 other universities to this economic downturn. Yes, let’s be “realistic.” We are fortunate we are not worried how we will pay our faculty, only if we will be able to hire more faculty at the pace we want, even though we currently enjoy a 9:1 student faculty ratio. Your editorial alludes to a fear we will not be able to hire enough teachers to fulfill the wide curricular needs of an open curriculum, yet I know of no students who complain during shopping period of a lack of options.

Further, your editorial states that this economic downturn may result in less financial aid, deterring the best and brightest and sending them to our competitor schools. Brown already has made a commitment to financial aid, and that commitment is already less than some competitors and more than others. So this iron has already been cast; the hypothetical here is not based in reality. Many colleges cannot receive the credit lines they need to function and pay professors. They are losing vital tuition revenue as their student bodies lose the ability to afford college and they are seeing endowments vanish with the stock market losses. The future of those colleges is, indeed, at stake. Yes, Brown will have to make some changes with the economic downturn, as will the economy, as will everyone who lives in this country. But let’s be realistic. For Brown, fortunately, this isn’t life and death, the future of the school is not at stake. Evan Pulvers ’10.5 Oct. 7

photo Meara Sharma Min Wu

Photo Editor Photo Editor

post- magazine Matt Hill Rajiv Jayadevan Arthur Matuszewski Colleen Brogan Kelly McKowan Monica Huang Kristen Olds Ellen Cushing Reshma Ramachandran

Managing Editor Managing Editor Features Editor Features Editor Off the Hill Editor Layout Editor Layout Editor Associate Editor Associate Editor

Max Roser, Julien Ouellet, Designers Jason Yum, Janine Lopez, Simon Leibling, Copy Editors Michael Bechek, Sara Sunshine, Mitra Anoushiravani, Night Editors Senior Staff Writers Mitra Anoushiravani, Colin Chazen, Chaz Kelsh, Emmy Liss, Brian Mastroianni, George Miller, Melissa Shube, Anne Simons, Sara Sunshine, Gaurie Tilak, Caroline Sedano, Jenna Stark, Joanna Wohlmuth, Simon van Zuylen-Wood Staff Writers Zunaira Choudhary, Leslie Primack, Connie Zheng, Christian Martell, Alexandra Ulmer, Lauren Pischel, Samuel Byker, Anne Deggelman, Nicole Dungca, Olivia Hoffman, Cameron Lee, Debbie Lehmann, Sophia Li, Seth Motel, Marielle Segarra, Kyla Wilkes, Juliana Friend Sports Staff Writers Peter Cipparone, Nicole Stock Business Staff Maximilian Barrows, Thanases Plestis, Agathe Roncey, Allen McGonagill, Ben Xiong, Bonnie Kim, Cathy Li, Christiana Stephenson, Corey Schwartz, Evan Sumortin, Galen Cho, Han Lee, Haydar Taygun, Jackie Goldman, Jilyn Chao, Kathy Bui, Kelly Wess, Kenneth So, Lee Chau, Lyndse Yess, Margaret Watson, Matthew Burrows, Maura Lynch, Misha Desai, Stassia Chyzhykova, Webber Xu, William Schweitzer Design Staff Jessica Calihan, Amy Kendall, Joanna Lee, Rachel Isaacs, Angela Santin Ceballos, Marlee Bruning, Rachel Wexler, Maxwell Rosero, Katie Silverstein, Shara Azad, Jessica Kirschner, Jee Hyun Choi, Heeyoung Min, Andrea McWilliams, Anna Samel Photo Staff Alex DePaoli, Eunice Hong, Kim Perley, Quinn Savit, Justin Coleman Copy Editors Rafael Chaiken, Ellen Cushing, Younhun Kim, Frederic Lu, Lauren Fedor, Madeleine Rosenberg, Kelly Mallahan, Jennifer Kim, Tarah Knaresboro, Jordan Mainzer, Janine Lopez, Luis Solis, Ayelet Brinn, Rachel Starr, Riva Shah, Jason Yum, Simon Leibling, Rachel Isaacs

Corrections Due to an editing error, an article in yesterday’s Herald (“Web site gives high schoolers a new look at college life,” Oct. 8) incorrectly identified the gender of Wesley Royce ’08 in her final quote. Royce is female. An article in last week’s Herald (“Trays soon to be a memory at V-Dub,” Oct. 1) incorrectly referred to David Mittelman ‘09 as David Mittelton on second reference.

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 Thursday, October 9, 2008

Page 11

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

In expansion we hope SEAN QUIGLEY Opinions Columnist In a manner eerily similar to the legendary “perpetual war for perpetual peace” captured so well in 1984, Brown’s current leadership engages in perpetual construction for perpetual improvement. This is a troubling development generally, but the negative consequences of this administrative disposition can be felt in ver y specific scenarios. This novel philosophy values constant expansion, irrespective of the cultural artifacts destroyed in the process. I experienced this most recently with bike storage. Simply put, there is no convenient place for me, and other residents of the Vartan Gregorian Quadrangle, to store a bicycle when the weather brings us rain. Just three weeks ago, there was a storage room on the first floor of my dormitor y, where I put my bicycle on several occasions in order to prevent it from becoming soaked and rusting. That space no longer exists. In speaking to an employee of the Saunders Inn, I was forewarned of the fact that it would eventually be transformed into more office space, but that still did not prepare me for the heartbreak to come. I was infuriated, and rightfully so. I would venture, considering the large and growing number of bicyclists on campus, that others harbor such sentiments, too. Why do administrators seem hell-bent on expanding the campus without consideration for the organic nature of the process that produced it? Why does a propaganda cam-

paign labeling these initiatives as “Boldly Brown” muzzle so many students who would otherwise not acquiesce to the rank idea that expansion equals improvement? Proudly, I would admit that some of my arguments against perpetual construction for perpetual improvement rely on a romantic view of a university campus. For some strange reason, I came to Brown with the idea that minimalism and quiet reflection were not only possible, but actively promoted as an integral part of the

on Brown Street. What was the administration thinking? Did the experts in the University’s bureaucracy actually believe that an improvement was necessar y, or that the Soviet-esque replacement was indeed an improvement? How I yearn for a return of the old mailroom! The days of walking down the steps near the Bear, after which I would sit quietly, always on a whim, next to the water fountain (occasionally walking on its stones). The mailroom experience was not just

Why do administrators seem hell-bent on expanding the campus without consideration for the organic nature of the process that produced it? liberal-arts conception of education. Yet a simple walk around campus reveals a plethora of construction workers, sites, vans, barricades, and the awful accompanying noise. Cops to direct traffic and “establish order” — or, to contribute to the austerity already rampant on this campus — inevitably are also part of the equation. Another area of campus life negatively affected by the progressive notion of constant improvement and change concerns the ridiculous new mailroom recently erected

about getting one’s mail. For me it was about more than that. It was about taking a minute to watch the people walking on Waterman Street from the windowsill. Walking by and listening to the cause promoted by a certain campus group. Seeing the banners promoting a campus party. Running into a friend at a mailbox nearby, and asking if he, too, was going to attend the lecture whose advertisement we had both received. Internalizing the splendid, 100-year history of the building in which I was honored to have a mailbox.

All of those near-daily experiences have been robbed from me, and ever y single student on this campus. Due to the bottleneck design, basement-like feel, wretched new mailboxes, and relative isolation, it is rare that I go more than once a week. At least I was lucky enough to experience the old mailroom for two years of my undergraduate experience. The current freshmen, however, were denied those memories that I now cherish dearly, seeing as they can now only be memories — reminders that Brown was not always a calculating institution more enamored with naked utilitarianism than the preser vation of a longstanding culture. There really is no easy solution to this mess. The Brown administration, once notoriously submissive to the demands of radicalized students, now refuses to consult students when making these root-and-branch, revolutionary transformations. Sending out an e-mail telling us about the changes is not the same as consulting us. I resolved long ago that I would simply ignore the unending overhauls, with an occasional grimace, while spending a fair amount of time away from the noisier parts of campus. But the tone of this perpetual construction for perpetual improvement has become increasingly in-your-face. Fellow Brunonians, fight for the soul of your campus. Do not yield to a philosophy and a bureaucracy that place more value on the physical nature of a campus than the social relationships engendered thereby. We need a cultural change on this campus. Be really bold, and reject the administration’s ambitious and pointless expansion.

Sean Quigley ’10 plans to live on Saint Helena one day.

RIPTA crisis demands our attention DAN DAVIDSON Opinions Columnist Much has been made of the Students for a Democratic Society’s recent actions at both the career fair and a Rhode Island Public Transit Authority board meeting. I am concerned that the debate over the legitimacy and effectiveness of the group’s tactics is overshadowing the tremendous problems facing RIPTA. Poor public transportation doesn’t just inconvenience local students, it could have severe repercussions for many of Rhode Island’s neediest residents. While I don’t oppose a campus-wide dialogue about the merits of various forms of demonstration, I believe we should also focus more on the actual problems at hand. Today RIPTA faces a budget shortfall approaching $11 million. The system’s future is in jeopardy. A recent article in the Providence Journal showed that public transit interests are woefully underrepresented in Rhode Island’s transpor tation power structure. Gov. Donald Carcieri ’65 formed a commission to deal with transportation budget issues in March (Rhode Island’s Department of Transportation also faces budget shortfalls) but the group does not include

any official representatives from the public transit sector. Naturally, in a recent presentation by the group, “RIPTA (was) barely visible.” And RIPTA’s problems extend beyond the budget board. The process the RIPTA board uses when proposing cutbacks also needs to be reevaluated. (The standards that RIPTA consults when deciding where to cut ser vice are over a decade old.) Instead of

For the unemployed, finding work in the midst of a recession is already difficult. RIPTA cutbacks would devastate this portion of the population. Even the employed risk losing their jobs if they can no longer use RIPTA to get to work. Although RIPTA’s issues will have a disproportionate effect on neighborhoods down the hill, Brown students will also be affected. As was pointed out in a recent letter to the

Poor public transportation doesn’t just inconvenience local students, it could have severe repercussions for many of Rhode Island’s neediest residents. employing some badly needed flexibility and originality, RIPTA has decided to adhere to outdated guidelines. The elimination of routes and buses poses a grave threat to many low-income Providence residents who depend on RIPTA for transportation. Others who rely on RIPTA are often handicapped or elderly.

editor (“Herald should continue covering RIPTA,” Sept. 25), many Brown employees use RIPTA to get to campus. Even those who can manage without RIPTA will still see their hard-earned paychecks eaten into by gas prices if they have to start driving to work. High gas prices bear another connection

to RIPTA’s funding crisis. RIPTA relies heavily on the state gas tax for funding, but with skyrocketing oil prices, revenue from this source has been slipping. Unfortunately, surging oil prices are also motivating more and more people to make use of RIPTA’s ser vices. RIPTA’s impending collapse should remind us of the disadvantages of tying public transit funding to private gas consumption. As of now, revenue and ridership stand in a perilous, inverse relationship that leaves both drivers and commuters worse off. Given the severity of the crisis, some cutbacks are inevitable. We should all hope that these cutbacks occur in suburban areas, particularly mid- to high-income ones. It is important for Providence to draw suburbanites into the city, but it is far more important to ensure effective transport for those who have no other means of getting around. I hope that Brown students continue to take an interest in RIPTA’s financial situation and that substantive concerns take priority. It is critical that something be done right now, but I suspect that crises of this nature will only become more frequent in the future. The current crisis presents an opportunity to push for significant changes in the way RIPTA operates. Hopefully, these changes will prevent another budget shortfall from occurring.

Dan Davidson ’11 urges everyone to loudly disrupt a RIPTA meeting.

S ports t hursday Page 12

Thursday, October 9, 2008

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Taft ’12 still stars on turf

Men’s rugby trounces BU on Saturday

Field Hockey star is top Ivy rookie of the week

by amy ehrhart Sports Editor

By Megan McCahill Sports Editor

After scoring both of Brown’s goals in the team’s 2-1 win over Fairfield last week, Abigail Taft ’12 has been named the Ivy League Rookie of the Week. Taft is developing a knack for scoring several goals in a single game: She also scored two goals in her first collegiate game in a 5-2 loss to New Hampshire, and on Tuesday, she scored two goals in the first 12 minutes of play in Brown’s 3-2 victory over Sacred Heart. Taft’s collegiate debut has made an instant impact for the Bears this season, as she is leading the team in scoring with seven goals and 14 points overall. With seven games left in the season, Taft has already tallied five more points than Brown’s leading scorer totaled all of last season. More important than her individual statistics, however, has been her impact on the Bears’ win total. Taft has scored at least one goal in each of the Bears’ three wins this season, and at 3-7, Bruno has already tripled its win total from last season. Taft and the rest of her Brown teammates will have the chance to start their first winning streak of the season this Sunday when they play University of Vermont. Games to watch tonight NHL Some of you might not have noticed, but the 2008-09 NHL season is continued on page 9

Justin Coleman / Herald

Men’s rugby easily beat Boston University this weekend, 43-14, as it continues dominating its fall schedule.

With one game to go in its regular season, the men’s rugby team (4-1-1) has powered through its fall schedule much like it powered through the Brown 43 defensive line of 14 BU Boston University last Saturday for its third consecutive win. The Bears came away with a 43-14 win, dominating the possession count and scoring three consecutive tries in the second half. “We felt we were prepared enough,” said co-captain Brendan Warner ’09. “We had a lot more control of the ball.” BU scored once at 12 minutes in the first half, but could not hold onto a possession long enough to score after that, thanks to a mauling Bruno defense, until the 35-minute mark of the second half. “They haven’t won a game, so we came out pretty hard,” said prop Han Hui Ling ’09. Sam Rabb ’10 converted three penalty kicks for Bruno, scoring with only five minutes into the game. The first try was scored soon after by Chaney Harrison ’11, who then had several runs to up the second try, which was scored by Hao Li ’10 at 15 minutes of the first half. Rabb scored the last try of the half as well as another on a penalty kick to put the Bears up 26-7. “All our forwards absolutely controlled them in scrums and lineouts,” Warner said. continued on page 9

Field hockey beats Sacred Heart, 3-2 by Andrew Braca Assistant Sports Editor

After securing its first two wins with an overtime shoot-out and a goal in the final six minutes, the field hockey team found a Brown 3 new way to win against Sacred Heart 2 Sacred Heart on Tuesday. Racing out to a 3-0 lead in the first 18 minutes, the Bears (3-7) hung on to beat the Pioneers (3-9), 3-2, in Fairfield, Conn. “We definitely came out with a lot of intensity. ... We really dominated in the beginning,” Abigail Taft ’12 said. “We kind of let down after our first three goals, and we played a lot of defense towards the end of the game because of that.” The big lead was a new position for the Bears, who had never led by more than one goal this season. Natalie Harrington ’09 said she believes the Bears’ fast start could come back to help the team down the road. “We haven’t really had anything like that happen yet this season, so it was just amazing to see that our offense could do something like that,” she said. “And that way in games when we’re down in the future, we’ll be able just to remember that time and know that we can score three goals in a short amount of time.” The Bears began their charge just 9:18 into the game, when Taft tipped in a shot that Sara Eaton ’09 took from

the top of the circle. “It was kind of a bouncing ball and I was able to just get my stick on it and deflect it into the goal,” Taft said. Taft struck again for her teamleading seventh goal of the season just 2:49 later, when she redirected Harrington’s pass to the post past Pioneers goalkeeper Kim Stow, who was making her first career start. Taft said that her goals were a product of crisp passing that created a flow between the defenders, the midfielders and the forwards. Laura Iacovetti ’12 extended Brown’s lead just 5:22 later with her first career goal. She converted on a penalty stroke that was awarded when an opposing defender stopped a shot with her foot. Just 17:29 into the game, Bruno had a three-goal lead, which the Bears were determined not to give up, according to Iacovetti. “We came out really strong, and then I think we were definitely confident in ourselves, and that’s how we were able to hold it,” she said. Still, the Bears were facing a barrage of shots, as the Pioneers held a 15-8 shot advantage in the first period. The Bears’ defense finally broke down with 4:30 left in the first half, when Carisa Eye’s shot from the top of the circle beat Brown goalkeeper Lauren Kessler ’11, continuing the team’s history of surrendering goals late in the first half. “That’s something that’s a common theme, I guess, this season,”

Taft said. “It’s frustrating, but I guess we backed off a little ... and they were able to just put one in past Kessler.” Despite the Pioneers’ goal, Iacovetti said the Bears were undaunted heading into halftime up 3-1, thanks to Kessler’s steady play and the defense’s ability to clear the ball. Kessler made three saves in the first half, while Victoria Sacco ’09 and Michaela Seigo ’10 each contributed a defensive save. Sacred Heart turned up its intensity in the second half, taking 11 penalty corners to Brown’s two. But the Bears’ defense locked down to allow only 10 shots, giving up just one goal when Eye scored for the second time off of a corner with 4:36 left. “I think we played incredibly (well) in the second half,” Taft said. “They’re a really scrappy team. ... We had a few questionable calls, I guess, against us, but our defense pulled it out.” Iacovetti agreed that issues with the refereeing were tough, but she said the Bears weren’t worried. “Our defensive penalty unit is really good, so we were pretty confident in them,” she said. Brown took seven shots in the second half, but could not find the back of the cage, as new Sacred Heart goalie Whitney Mills made six saves. Kessler stopped five more shots in the second half to give her a total continued on page 9

Justin Coleman / Herald

Field hockey scored early in its game against Sacred Heart.