Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Daily Herald the Brown

vol. cxliv, no. 16 | Wednesday, February 11, 2009 | Serving the community daily since 1891

Next budget to be $4.5m smaller

By Brigitta Greene Senior Staff Writer

Chris Bennett / Herald File Photo

Richard Holbrooke ’62 will stay on the faculty of the Watson Institute despite receiving a top diplomatic post in the Obama administration.

Holbrooke ’62 expected to keep Watson appointment

By Anne Speyer Staff Writer

Richard Holbrooke ’62 is expected to remain a professor-at-large at the Watson Institute for International Studies despite his recent appointment by President Obama to the positio n of special envoy to

Afghanistan and Pakistan, according to Watson Deputy Director Geoffrey Kirkman ’91.

Kirkman said he did not believe Holbrooke, a former Herald editor-in-chief, would leave his post at Watson in light of the continued on page 2

The University’s proposed 2009-10 budget cuts $4.5 million from current spending levels, Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration Beppie Huidekoper said at a meeting of the Brown University Community Council yesterday afternoon.

If approved by the Corporation later this month as it now stands, the budget will represent a total reduction of $21 million from spending plans made last May, she said.

Expenses for the 2010 fiscal year, which begins July 1, are currently projected to be $551 million — down from what was once projected to be $572 million, Huidekoper said.

Dealing with the prospect of about $800 million in losses to its endowment, the University has said it needs to eliminate $60 million from previously anticipated spending plans by 2014. That estimate, Huidekoper said Tuesday, stems from an assumption that total income will increase by an average of just three percent per year over the next five years, instead of the previous figure of five percent.

But Huidekoper said money saved by the current hiring freeze and other efforts to constrain spend-

ing should amount to about $30 million by 2014. Though those savings are impressive, that “still leaves $30 million to go” in order to reach the $60 million benchmark by the deadline, she said.

The estimates and projections of future spending, as well as the amount of cutbacks, do not include the Division of Biology and Medicine, which has a separate budget.

Huidekoper said major reductions will come from the deferral or revision of plans for large-scale capital projects, such as the Nelson Fitness Center and a new swimming pool.

“We’re not abandoning priorities, but asking how we can be smarter about how we can undertake a project,” President Ruth Simmons said at the meeting.

She said, however, that the University is “hopeful” that it will be able to go forward soon with the planned renovation of Faunce House. She said she will be attending a “decisive” meeting on that project today.

In an attempt to “smooth out” the pain of decreased contributions to the operating budget from the endowment, the University will draw on the endowment at a higher-thancontinued on page 2

Money Troubles

$800 million Projected endowment losses by June 30, from 2008 high of $2.8 billion

$60 million

Amount by which the University needs to scale back spending plans for the next five years

$30 million

Estimated portion of that $60 million that will be saved through current cost-cutting measures like the hiring freeze

$572 million May 2008 projection for 2009-10 budget

$551 million Actual proposed budget for 2009-10, $21 million less than planned

Grad School applications down 2 percent overall According to the latest numbers, the Graduate School is facing a 2 percent collective decrease in applicants, though many of its programs reported increases. The Alpert Medical School, on the other hand, has reported a 12 percent increase in applicants from this time last year.

With 6,922 applications as of Feb. 9, “we are nearly on par” with the number reported last year, Beverly Larson, Graduate School director of communications told The Herald via e-mail. The decrease followed last year’s record number of applications.

Within the 66 Grad School programs, life and medical sciences, social sciences and humanities all reported application increases of 16 percent, 5 percent and 1 percent respectively. Physical science programs, however, suffered a 17 percent drop in applicants.

Despite the decrease, certain programs within the physical sciences have had an increased number of applicants since last year, Larson wrote, reporting increases of 12 percent in

the geological sciences, 10 percent in chemistry, 6 percent in computer science and 3 percent in mathematics.

Six graduate programs, with closing dates ranging from March to May, are still accepting students, Larson wrote. The medical school has seen a 12 percent increase in applications, said Director of Admissions Barbara Fuller.

Currently, the admissions office is reviewing 2,517 secondary applications, Fuller said, adding that far 80 students have been accepted.

The Med School is aiming to have 96 students in the class of 2013, of which half will likely be students currently in the Program in Liberal Medical Education, Fuller said.

The Med School offers several routes to apply for admission, which include standard medical doctor, PLME, MD/PhD, postbaccalaureate and the Early Identification Program which targets “underrepresented minority students and Rhode Island residents.”

Fuller said she couldn’t give an overall medical school acceptance rate since “all these routes of admission (don’t) make for a clear statistical number.”

Higher Ed, 5

Sports, 7

Opinions, 11

Online Degrees University of the People aims to deliver a highquality online education

Run like the win Men’s and women’s track and field won numerous individual awards

Fire Hazard?

Michael Fitzpatrick ’12 thinks room inspections are too lenient

By Hannah Moser Senior Staff Writer

Kim Perley / Herald

Deborah Schimberg ’80 P’12 runs her eco-friendly all-natural gum company out of her home on Dudley Street.

From alum, a different way to chew

By Matthew Klebanoff Staff Writer

inside

Deep in the rainforests of northern Guatemala, nearly two decades ago, Deborah Schimberg ’80 P’12 found something to chew on — chicle, the original ingredient for chewing gum.

Today she is the president of Verve, Inc., a Providence-based business that manufactures Glee Gum, an all-

N ew s. . . . . 1 - 4 Higher Ed...5-6 S p o r t s. . . 7 - 8 Editorial..10 Opinion...11 Today........12

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natural chewing gum.

While researching sustainable development in Guatemala in 1992, Schimberg discovered that chicleros, the people who harvest chicle from Sapodilla trees in the rainforest, depend on it for their livelihoods. After her trip, which was funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Schimberg used a few blocks of chicle from Guatemala to make experimental batches

of gum in her kitchen. She and her three children loved the hands-on project so much that she decided to manufacture and sell a “Make Your Own Chewing Gum Kit.” Eventually, Schimberg’s company began to offer kits allowing people to make their own chocolate or gummies. continued on page 2

195 Angell Street, Providence, Rhode Island

herald@browndailyherald.com

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Alum gum keeps it all natural in Providence continued from page 1 “(The kits) connect people from different worlds,” Schimberg said.

Each kit features a raw material, explaining the product’s origins and providing information about the community that has built its economy around it, she said.

Eventually, Schimberg decided to manufacture a unique chicle-based gum made of only natural ingredients, based on the belief that gum should not be harmful to people’s health.

“It has no artificial coloring, no artificial flavors, no artificial sweeteners and no preservatives,” Schimberg said. “If you look at most chewing gum today, almost all gum has aspartame in it.”

Schimberg said chewing gum became enormously popular after World War II, when it was included in American soldiers’ rations. As a result, after the war the demand and price of chicle increased dramatically. Companies developed a synthetic gum base to replace chicle, allowing them to have a “totally controlled product,” Schimberg said.

Although chicle is more expensive than synthetic gum bases, using it has allowed Schimberg’s company to create a product with a unique appeal while also helping sustain chicle harvesters.

“Our commitment to natural ingredients ... made it easier for us to get a toehold in the market, and we did that through Whole Foods and other health food stores, which don’t carry conventional chewing gum,” Schimberg said.

Schimberg’s commitment to socially conscious causes began long

before she cooked up plans to manufacture and sell all-natural chewing gum. The year after she graduated from Brown, Schimberg founded the Southside Community Land Trust, an organization promoting environmental sustainability in Providence.

She has also worked as the principal of the Cloud Forest School, a bilingual school in Costa Rica that seeks to incorporate environmental awareness into its curriculum.

Glee Gum’s environmentally friendly practices have attracted its fair share of Providence retailers — including Blue State Coffee, the Brown Bookstore, the Coffee Exchange and Eastside Marketplace.

Alex Payson ’03.5, co-owner and manager of Blue State, said the shop chose to carry Glee Gum because Schimberg’s company is based in Providence and because it offers an environmentally sustainable product.

“I think our first priority is to source locally when we can,” Payson said. “We also like to be as organic as possible.”

Schimberg strives to make her company socially aware. Verve, Inc. is a member of One Percent For the Planet, an alliance of businesses that donate at least 1 percent of their revenues to environmental organizations across the globe. The company also helps finance higher education for six children of chicleros each year through the Forest Foundation.

“We feel it both provides an incentive to chicleros and supports the next generation of professionals who have grown up with an understanding of what these issues are — the challenges that these communities face,” Schimberg said.

sudoku

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

“It’s when we start borrowing for gift-funded projects that we start to think ‘whoops, we’ve gone too far.’”— Beppie Huidekoper, executive V.P. for finance and administration

U. tightens belt in face of endowment losses ‘whoops, we’ve gone too far.’”

Though the University’s assets normal rate during the next several — which stand at approximately years, Simmons said. $3 billion, according to HuidekoFor the current fiscal year, the per — far exceed its approximately payout to the operating budget was $450 million in debt, “we do have set at approximately five percent, to pay it off,” she said, and the UniHuidekoper said. But holding that versity does not want to take on rate steady this year would result anymore. in a payout of about $40 million less Service on existing debt, along given the new, smaller size of the en- with utilities costs, need-blind fidowment. Such an upfront revenue nancial aid and “sponsored” expenloss would be “almost draconian,” ditures (those that are earmarked she said. by donors), will be Huidekoper largely unaffected “We’re not also provided by budget cuts, Huabandoning details on the idekoper said. The priorities, we’re “sacrifices” that proposed budget will have to be includes an 11-perasking how we can made to balance cent increase in be smarter.” financial aid, she the budget.

Some of the said.

Ruth Simmons biggest savInstead, the UniPresident ings, she said, versity will look to will come from staff and compensaslower growth in faculty and admin- tion levels, fee increases and “nonistrative salaries and renegotiated essential” expenditures like travel maintenance contracts. costs for cost reductions.

She further emphasized the in“We have to recognize that some creasing burden of debt holdings on levels of service will have to be decreased,” Huidekoper said.

University balance sheets.

In the past, a “very significant “In terms of academic programs, portion” of infrastructural needs the challenge is to take advantage have been financed by debt, Sim- of opportunities that present themmons said. Over the past 20 years, selves,” Provost David Kertzer ’69 the University has accumulated P’95 P’98 said at the meeting. He about $450 million in outstanding said the University is committed to debt. Loans have commonly been finding money to continue improvtaken out, for example, to finance ing academic programs. utility projects, such as the recent installation of new steam pipes. It Other business can be hard to solicit donations for At the end of the meeting, Misuch projects, which also do not chael Glassman ’09, Libby Kimzey warrant an increase in tuition, Hu- ’09 and Manager of Environmental Stewardship Initiatives Kurt Teichidekoper said.

Though as a non-profit orga- ert presented an update on the Clinization the University can take mate Action Plan and Community advantage of tax-exempt and low- Carbon Use Reduction (CCURB) interest loans, payments on debt project. must come out of the budget each The University has reduced its year, Huidekoper said. carbon dioxide emissions by 7.7 perA certain level of debt is to be cent since 2007, Teichert said. expected, Huidekoper said, but “it’s The BUCC also unanimously apwhen we start borrowing for gift- proved a proposal to add a Corporafunded projects that we start to think tion member to their ranks. continued from page 1

Holbrooke expected to keep post at Watson Institute continued from page 1

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appointment.

“I would expect that he would remain a professor-at-large, unless, from the Department of State side of things, it would represent some conflict of interest,” he said. “But I can’t see how it would.”

Holbrooke, who is currently out of the country according to his State Department office, could not be reached for comment.

Watson Interim Director David Kennedy ’76 said the Institute was happy to learn of Holbrooke’s appointment.

“We’re very excited that he’s taken this new position,” Kennedy said, adding that Holbrooke is a “great friend of the Institute.”

“Holbrooke has been a very effective participant in teaching and

research at the Watson Institute for some time,” Kennedy said. “He has led student working groups, participated in classes, spoken at the Institute and — in general — supported our teaching in international affairs.”

Kirkman called the position of professor-at-large a “very flexible category of faculty,” adding that, because most professors-at-large are not based on campus, they often “do other things with their time.”

Kirkman said Holbrooke came to campus “a few times a semester” in his first year. Foreign-based professors-at-large often choose to visit the Watson Institute less frequently, but for longer periods of time, Kirkman said.

“I would imagine (Holbrooke) is busier than he was before,” said Kirkman, “and his travel schedule will be even crazier.”

news in brief

Former Italian PM to join Watson Institute Romano Prodi, former prime minister of Italy, has been appointed professor-at-large at the Watson Institute for International Studies, the Corporation confirmed in a press release last Friday.

His five-year term will begin this spring.

As professor-at-large, Prodi, who is currently president of the Foundation for Worldwide Cooperation and chairman of the United Nations-African Union Panel for Peacekeeping in Africa, will spend several weeks each year delivering lectures, working with students and partaking in events and research discussions at the institute, according to the press release.

During his time in politics, Prodi founded the Ulivo, the Italian centerleft coalition, in 1995. He also served two terms as prime minister of Italy — once from 1996 to 1998, and again from 2006 to 2008 — and was president of the European Commission from 1999 to 2005.

While president, he oversaw the introduction of the euro and the addition of 10 countries to the European Union.

In addition to holding numerous research and teaching positions at prestigious universities worldwide, he has also been awarded many honorary degrees, including a Doctor of Laws degree from Brown in 1999.

Other international luminaries currently serving appointments at Watson include Professor-at-Large Richard Holbrooke ’62 — a recently appointed special envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan who previously served as U.S. ambassador to the U.N. and to Germany under President Clinton — former President of the Republic of Chile Ricardo Lagos Escobar. also a professor-at-large, and former Chancellor of Austria Alfred Gusenbauer was appointed to a visiting professorship last month.

— Sydney Ember

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Wednesday, February 11, 2009

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“Our story is about the importance of preserving and protecting history.”

— Col. Matthew Bogdanos, on ancient artifacts

Vote on renaming Columbus Day put off

By Sydney Ember Senior Staff Writer

The Faculty Executive Committee delayed a vote Tuesday on whether to change the name of Columbus Day on the University calendar — a move that came as a disappointment to members of the group Native Americans at Brown, who have advocated such a move.

The committee agreed to take up the motion again on Feb. 20.

During the meeting, part of which was opened to about a dozen interested students, the committee’s chair, Professor of Philosophy Jamie Dreier, said that while faculty members generally favor changing the holiday’s name on the calendar, they lack the authority to endorse political statements like those found in the student proposal.

The current draft of the proposal contains a rationale for renaming Columbus Day that makes the issue “much more controversial than it needs to be,” Dreier said.

“I think that you are inviting the law of controversy and dissent,” he said.

Until they revise the proposal and remove a provision calling for the University to issue a formal statement regarding its position on the holiday, the proposal is not under faculty control, Dreier said. The committee has the power to change the calendar but not to endorse statements like some found in the student proposal, he said.

The committee issued recommendations to two of the students behind the proposal, Reiko Koyama ’11 and Jerry Wolf Duff Sellers ’09, on how to modify it. Koyama and Sellers, both members of Native Americans at Brown, led a “SpeakOut” campaign in October against

the University’s observance of Columbus Day. The Brown University Community Council passed a resolution later that month encouraging faculty and administrators to address the students’ proposal.

The committee’s suggestions included ways to make the motion stronger and less controversial by streamlining its stated rationale. The faculty members also said that while they believed a name-change was appropriate, the new name should honor Native American heritage rather than adopt a neutral name such as “fall weekend,” the name suggested in the current draft.

Sellers told The Herald afterward that he was “entirely” optimistic about the upcoming vote once the name-change and rationale are further addressed.

“I think that the opportunity to change the name can be much more powerful,” he said, adding that it could be a chance to celebrate not Columbus’ misdeeds but his contributions. “Because Columbus created this relationship between two different hemispheres, I was able to have an Irish-Italian mom and a Native dad,” he said.

A resolution to support modifying the name of Columbus Day will be introduced to the Undergraduate Council of Students at their general body meeting tonight, UCS Vice President Mike MacCombie ’11 told The Herald. The council voted down a similar resolution last semester that would advocate changing both the name and date of the holiday, but this resolution will only support changing the name, MacCombie said.

MacCombie said he was confident the resolution would pass.

— With additional reporting by Ben Schreckinger

Frederic Lu / Herald

Col. Matthew Bogdanos signed copies of his book, “Thieves of Baghdad,” in Smith-Buonanno Tuesday evening.

Col. discusses looted Iraq artifacts

By Brian Mastroianni Senior Staf f Writer

When Col. Matthew Bogdanos first discovered that the National Museum of Iraq in Baghdad had been looted following the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime, he expected to have to spend only two weeks inspecting the complex.

Instead, Bogdanos and his team had to stay in the region much longer after encountering over 11 acres of museum space still surrounded by combat. While the war zone around

the museum provided obstacles to the team, inside the complex, Bogdanos discovered that some of the world’s most valued and ancient artifacts had either been damaged or looted.

“Our stor y is about the importance of preserving and protecting histor y, not just about pieces of alabaster,” Bogdanos told a packed Smith-Buonanno 106 Tuesday evening.

Bogdanos, now a homicide prosecutor for the New York County district attorney’s of fice, spoke

about his experiences dealing with the illegal trade of artifacts looted from the museum and discussed his book, “Thieves of Baghdad.”

Throughout the lecture, Bogdanos quoted Shakespeare and paced around the room while recounting his experiences in the Middle East.

“I could a tale unfold whose lightest word would harrow up the soul,” Bogdanos said, quoting “Hamlet” at the beginning of the lecture.

Bogdanos said the saddest part continued on page 4

Laptops, GPS, alcohol among items stolen from offices, closet recently

By Colin Chazen Senior Staf f Writer

The following summary includes all major incidents reported to the Department of Public Safety between Jan. 15 and Feb. 4. It does not include general service and alarm calls. The Providence Police Department also responds to incidents occurring off cam-

CRIME LOG pus. DPS does not divulge information on open cases that are currently under investigation by the department, the PPD or the Office of Student Life. DPS maintains a daily log of all shift activity and general service calls which can be viewed during business hours at its headquarters, located at 75 Charlesfield Street.

Thursday, Jan. 15 4:35 p.m. A Brown employee stated that he stepped out of his office in Hunter Lab for five minutes. The door to the office was left open, and when he returned he noticed his

Brown-owned laptop was gone.

Wednesday, Jan. 21 2:09 p.m. Complainant stated that between 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. on Jan. 7 her cell phone and $60 were stolen from Mencoff Hall. At the time of the larceny, the items were left unattended and unsecured in a basement classroom. There are no suspects at this time.

Friday, Jan. 23 10:13 a.m. DPS received a report that a large bulletin board had been forced off the wall outside the women’s restroom in the basement of Faunce House.

Tuesday, Jan. 27 7:02 p.m. An employee reported that around 1:30 p.m. she left her office in Alumnae Hall unlocked for ten minutes. When she returned nothing seemed unusual. However, at 5 p.m. when she opened her pocketbook, she noticed that her wallet was missing.

Thursday, Jan. 29 1:38 p.m. An employee stated that she left her office for lunch from 12 p.m. until 12:30 p.m. When she returned, her University-owned laptop was missing. She said that she did not lock the door to her office when she went to lunch. There are no suspects at this time.

Friday, Jan. 30 10:29 p.m. A student reported that between the hours of 4 p.m. and 7:55 p.m., eight bottles of alcohol were taken from a closet in King House.

10:29 p.m. A student reported that the fraternity-owned projector had been stolen from a storage room in the basement of King House. She stated that the fraternity had hosted a class F party on the night of Saturday, Jan. 24, and the projector had been in the storage room at the start of the party.

The projector was noticed missing at 5 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 25.

On Feb. 2, DPS was informed that the projector had been found in a janitorial closet.

Saturday, Jan. 31 9:13 p.m. A student reported that his iPhone was taken while he was working out at the Olney-Margolies Athletic Center. He stated that at 5:30 p.m. he placed his phone in a red bin by the center basketball courts. When he returned he noticed the phone was missing.

Sunday, Feb. 1 12:10 p.m. A student reported that sometime between Dec.19 and Feb. 2, the bike pump attached to her bike was taken from the bike room in Barbour Hall.

Monday, Feb. 2 4:06 p.m. Complainant stated that at approximately 3 p.m. she left her jacket at a desk area in the Rockefeller Library and went to the computer area. When she returned to the desk area at approximately 4 p.m. her jacket was gone.

Wednesday, Feb. 4 1:08 p.m. A laptop was stolen from an unlocked office on the third floor of the Pizzitola Sports Center.

A possible suspect had asked an employee for some information. The male suspect declined to go with the employee into his office to retrieve the information and waited in the hall. When the employee returned with the information the person was gone. It was only minutes later that another employee noticed the laptop missing from his desk. The case is under investigation by Brown University detectives.

10:02 p.m. Officer met with the employee complainant who stated that his car was broken into. He parked his vehicle in the vicinity of 132 Bowen St. at approximately 11:30 a.m. with his GPS in the glove box.

When he returned to his vehicle at approximately 10 p.m. he found the passenger side window broken and his GPS missing. Providence Police responded to take the report. There are no suspects at this time.

World & Nation The Brown Daily Herald

Wednesday, February 11, 2009 | Page 4

Ahmadinejad prepared Obama hits road to stress stimulus to negotiate with U.S.

By Peter Nicholas Los Angeles T imes

By Borzou Daragahi and Ramin Mostaghim Los Angeles Times

TEHRAN, Iran — In some of his most conciliatory remarks to date, Iran’s president Tuesday said Tehran is prepared to talk with the United States but gave no indication that negotiations might yield changes demanded by Washington to Iran’s nuclear development policy and in its support for militant groups opposed to Israel.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, describing his nation as “a superpower,” spoke at what observers described as an unprecedentedly large rally at Tehran’s Freedom Square commemorating the 30th anniversary of Iran’s Islamic revolution.

He spoke just hours after President Obama told reporters at his first news conference since taking office that his administration “will be looking for openings” with Iran that “will allow us to move our policy” in a new direction.

“It’s clear that the Iranian nation will welcome genuine changes” to U.S. policy, Ahmadinejad said in a speech broadcast on national television. “The Iranian nation is prepared to talk. However, these talks should be held in a fair atmosphere in which there is mutual respect.”

In a Jan. 28 speech, Ahmadinejad said the U.S. would have to end its support for Israel and apologize for past alleged crimes before the Islamic Republic would improve ties with Washington. He made no mention of such preconditions Tuesday.

He criticized Israel and Iranian opposition groups based abroad as “terrorists,” but also said he was willing to cooperate with the U.S. on areas of mutual interest, including fighting drug trafficking and terrorism.

“If you truly want to fight terrorism, come and cooperate with the Iranian nation, which is the main victim of terrorism, so that terrorism is uprooted,” he said.

In a gesture hailed by Tehran, the Obama administration recently blacklisted as a terrorist organization the Iraq-based Kurdish militant group Pejak, which had been fighting Iranian military forces for about five years. Iranian and Iraqi officials have said they suspected the group was receiving covert U.S. aid under the Bush administration.

At his news conference Monday night, Obama urged Iran to stop its financial support for Hezbollah and Hamas and “to send some signals that it wants to act differently.”

Observers here said a persistent public media campaign as well as furor over the recent Israeli offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip helped whip up public sentiment and attract the rally’s huge crowds. Posters commemorating the Gaza conflict as well as paintings by schoolchildren and colorful banners lined nearly 10 miles of roadways converging on Freedom Square.

Large companies and government agencies set up parade stands, where they broadcast patriotic and religious music as well as hip-hopinflected pop tunes and handed out free juice and snacks to passersby.

The crowd included men in traditional gray suits and women enveloped in black chadors, as well as young women in go-go boots and form-fitting overcoats and teenagers wearing blue jeans and brand-name running shoes.

A man on a stage performing something akin to a break dance drew a group of black-clad Baseeji militiamen.

“God is great!” the marchers chanted. Ayatollah Ali “Khamenei is our leader.”

FORT MYERS, Fla. — President Obama, pressing the case for an $800 billion-plus stimulus package, acknowledged Tuesday that failing to revive the economy could cost him a second term as president.

Continuing his campaign-style tour of struggling cities, Obama spoke to about 1,500 people here Tuesday, warning that the stimulus bill should not become a casualty of Washington infighting.

“We can’t afford to posture and bicker and resort to the same failed ideas that got us into this mess in the first place,” said Obama, who was introduced by Florida’s Republican governor, Charlie Crist.

“That’s what the election was about.

You rejected many of those ideas, because you know they didn’t work.

You didn’t send us to Washington because you were hoping for more of the same.”

In a rare bit of theater, Obama shared with the crowd a piece of fresh information, handed to him by personal aide Reggie Love midway through the event.

“By the way,” the president said, “I just want to announce that the Senate just passed our recover y and reinvestment plan. That’s good.

That’s good news!”

The audience clapped, but the stock market wasn’t as kind to the Obama administration’s economic policies. Stocks fell sharply on the day, with losses mounting after Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner rolled out a separate rescue plan tailored for the financial sector.

The Senate and House still must resolve differences over the stimulus before the president can sign the bill into law.

Thrown on the defensive by Republican charges that the bill is laden with pork, Obama has tried to shift the spotlight to people who urgently need government assistance. Monday, he visited Elkhart, Ind., a city whose unemployment rate has tripled in the past year to 15 percent. The Fort Myers region has been ravaged by home foreclosures, while unemployment has hit 10 percent. On Thursday, the president is scheduled to take his message to Peoria, Ill. As was the case in Indiana, Obama received a raucous welcome. In inter views, some voiced unhappiness that a few of Obama’s Cabinet choices had failed to pay all their taxes. But they voiced support for the stimulus and said they wanted Obama to succeed.

“I was a little disappointed by some of the picks for his administration, but people make mistakes,” said Ann Tetreault, 62, a retired nurse. “People need to give him a little bit more support right now. He can’t do it all in a couple of days.”

While Obama enjoys a high approval rating, he said those numbers would collapse if the complicated and costly economic plans he has put forward failed to work.

Obama asked people to be patient. He said a recover y could take years. At that, someone in the crowd shouted: “You have eight.”

Obama laughed. “For our TV audience, someone said I had eight,”

he said.

But Obama said he was under no illusions that his popularity could withstand a prolonged downturn.

“If stuf f hasn’t worked and people don’t feel like I’ve led the country in the right direction, then you’ll have a new president,” he said.

Obama previewed a plan for staving off home foreclosures.

In the next few weeks, he said he would lay out a proposal in which banks and homeowners agree to certain concessions meant to avoid foreclosure.

Banks would commit not to evict certain homeowners but in turn would receive a share of equity in the house once the market recovered and prices rose.

Under such an arrangement, “both sides are giving a little bit, but you aver t foreclosure,” the president said.

Though he is of fering the grimmest picture of the economy at these forums, Obama is doing it in free-wheeling fashion. When a woman became emotional telling him she had no home, Obama walked toward her, shook her hand and leaned in to hug her. He promised to have his staff talk to her afterward.

The president also tried to encourage a student who said he was working at McDonald’s and needed better benefits. Obama asked what he was studying, and in a boisterous tone, the man said he wanted to be either a DJ or a broadcaster.

“Well, you sound like you’ve got a good communications skill,” the president said.

Bogdanos speaks about Baghdad’s stolen artifacts continued from page 3 of his stor y was that histor y was somehow being erased by war.

“Prior to the Iraq war, the museum had been closed for 20 of the past 24 years –– the average Iraqi did not agree that this museum was theirs. They called it ‘Saddam’s gift shop,’” Bogdanos said.

What made the looting particularly difficult for the archeological community to accept was that many of the items in the “gift shop” were some of the oldest historical artifacts known to humanity, he said. During the lecture, Bogdanos showed images of some of the missing treasures, like the Mask of Warka — the first known depiction of the human face in stone, dating back to 3100 B.C. — and the treasures of Nimrud and Ur, which he said “made the treasure of King Tut look like it was from Wal-Mart.”

For Bogdanos, the looting he encountered in the museum was only a part of the greater problem of what he termed “global looting.”

The looting in the museum was only part of the larger chain of the illegal international trade that he said ends in major auction houses and private collections of individuals who “have wings of museums

named after them,” he said.

For Bogdanos, the greatest challenge to locating these stolen items is being able to verify which items that appear in auction houses are in fact stolen.

“This is just a global criminal enterprise that is oftentimes hard to track and verify,” Bogdanos said.

Bogdanos and his team encountered three examples of looting of historical artifacts in Baghdad.

CAMPUS NEWS The first occurred in the museum’s main galleries, where sophisticated looters bypassed the imitations and directly sought out the most valuable pieces.

The second instance was random theft by looters who were not “professionals.” In these instances, over 95 percent of the stolen pieces were recovered.

The third instance was “inside jobs” perpetrated by the museum’s senior staff, Bogdanos said.

Returning the artifacts to their rightful place became more important to him than punishing the looters, Bogdanos said. To this end, he began an amnesty program under which those who returned looted items would not be prosecuted.

“We just want to bring the missing items back, no questions asked,” Bogdanos said. “We started out going to ever y mosque, and we found support at ever y turn –– every sheik and imam helped. It really was a testament to the unifying power of the antiquities.”

In order to gain the trust of some of his sources, Bogdanos said, he had to “learn the rhythm of the neighborhood” by traveling to Baghdad teahouses and playing many games of backgammon.

Through his amnesty program, almost 2,000 pieces have been returned, he said.

For Bogdanos, the search for the remaining stolen artifacts in Iraq is an ongoing challenge. For instance, the scale of looting at archeological sites in the Middle East dwarfs that at museums, he said.

Bogdanos said it is important for the public to be aware of global looting, and, specifically, the looting of some of the priceless ancient artifacts from the National Museum of Iraq.

Bogdanos signed copies of his book after the lecture, which was sponsored by the Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World. Proceeds from sales of the book benefit the National Museum.

Higher Ed The Brown Daily Herald

“We didn’t see how we could justify these bonuses when tuition was going up.” — David Kaiser, Harvard alumnus

Alums ask Harvard to retract bonuses

By Nicole Dungca Staf f Writer

A group of 10 Har vard University alums recently asked their alma mater to take back over $20 million in bonuses awarded to the money managers of its endowment, calling their compensation “exorbitant” and “unnecessar y” in a letter to Har vard President Drew Faust.

Reacting to a December 2008 announcement about the endowment’s 30 percent projected loss this fiscal year, the alums from the class of 1969 also insisted that Harvard reconsider its compensation policy for Har vard Management Company employees.

In the Jan. 10 letter, the alums urged Har vard to “put its financial house in order” and offered several

recommendations, including a policy that would ensure that bonuses awarded are based on increased annual income for the university rather than the total value of the school’s endowment.

The letter from the alums also requested a endowment manager pay cap equitable to the president’s salar y, as well as a discussion to “redefine the values and objectives that should guide the endowment’s investment policies.”

At Harvard, bonuses are awarded through a performance-based system that relies on market index benchmarks, University spokesman John Longbrake wrote in an e-mail to The Herald. The bonuses are paid out over time and are subject to “clawback provisions” if future performances do not meet

benchmarks, he wrote.

“The compensation system is reviewed periodically by the Board, which remains confident that it is appropriate and has saved significant money for the university, relative to the costs of external investment management,” Longbrake wrote.

In December, the Harvard Management Company released figures that showed its five highest-paid employees collectively earned nearly $27 million in salar y and bonuses during the fiscal year that ended last June. During that same fiscal year, Harvard enjoyed a growth of about 8.6 percent overall, while the S&P 500 dropped 13.1 percent. continued on page 6

People U. brings college to the masses

By Ellen Cushing Senior Staf f Writer

Imagine getting a bachelor’s degree for less money than a semesters’ worth of books at Brown.

The University of the People, an online degree-granting nonprofit opening its virtual doors this spring, will do just that.

The organization is the brainchild of California-based Israeli entrepreneur Shai Reshef, who is currently chairman of a Web site offering online homework help to high school students.

Reshef said the idea grew from his years working in the online education sector.

“I found out how strong online communities can be,” he said. “I thought, ‘Let’s take this great tool

of the online study communities and bring them into academia.’”

According to its Web site, the organization will cap enrollment at 300 students in its first semester and will initially of fer only two degrees, a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science. Students will pay application fees between $15 and $50 and assessment fees between $10 and $100, depending on their home countries.

“The idea is, if you’re coming from a poor country in Africa, you’ll only be paying $15 for admission and $10 for exams,” Reshef said.

Reshef and other donors will provide the startup funding of $5 million. The organization will be self-sustaining when it reaches its

enrollment goal of 10,000 students, Reshef said.

“On a personal level, I felt that after the last 20 years in the field of for-profit education, it’s my turn to give rather than take,” Reshef said.“We want to reach every single place on earth.”

Reshef said the courses will have virtual classrooms, which will bring together 20 students from around the world ever y week to read and discuss course materials. Graduate students and retired continued on page 6

Wednesday, February 11, 2009 | Page 5

higher ed in brief

Dartmouth to cut 60 staff jobs Dartmouth announced a budget reconciliation plan to cut $72 million from its $700 million operating budget by 2011, according to a Monday press release. The reductions include $47 million from the budget for undergraduate education.

As part of the plan — which reduces the operating budget by about 10 percent — Dartmouth will lay off 60 staff members. Last month, an additional 70 staff members accepted retirement offers, according to the press release.

Another 28 staff employees will have reduced hours.

The layoff package will include two weeks’ pay for each consecutive year worked at Dartmouth, as well as a stipend that goes to health benefits for three months, career counseling and consideration as internal candidates for any open position.

Tenured and tenure-track positions will not be eliminated, but the school will freeze most salaries for the 2010 fiscal year. Exceptions will be made for faculty who receive promotions or tenure.

“Approving these reductions, especially those affecting staff employees, has been one of the most difficult decisions of my presidency, but they are necessary to maintain Dartmouth’s strength,” wrote Dartmouth President James Wright in a letter to the school community on Monday.

Despite the staff cuts, Dartmouth will increase its financial aid budget by 13 percent, though it will also raise tuition by 4.8 percent.

The school will not change its newly expanded financial aid policy, which offers free tuition to students of families earning $75,000 per year or less.

Dartmouth has already instituted an external hiring freeze and delayed construction and reorganizing projects.

We all regret the impact these reductions will have on our colleagues,” Wright wrote. “I am confident (however) that with these changes Dartmouth is positioned well for the future.”

— Gaurie Tilak

Page 6

H igher E d

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

“There really is no comparison and no competition.”

— Shai Reshef, founder, University of the People

Online university boasts its accessibility continued from page 5 and working professors worldwide will prepare the lectures and hold virtual office hours. Some staf f will be paid, while others will volunteer.

“Quite a few (U. People professors) are going to come from well-known universities,” Reshef said.

The response to the initiative has been positive so far.

“We didn’t expect so many people offering help in such a short period of time,” Reshef said, adding that he has received numerous e-mails from academics.

The organization joins a thriving world of online education.

In addition to the University of Phoenix and Kaplan University, which have Web-based degree

programs, many traditional colleges and universities have made course materials available on the Internet. Numerous colleges offer lectures on iTunes U., and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has an Open CourseWare initiative that puts most of the school’s course material online free of charge.

Michael Pickett, Brown’s chief information officer, said the organization is consistent with the broader goals of higher education.

“Part of the mission of all universities is to share information and to share discoveries with the world,” Pickett said.

But he expressed some concerns about the efficacy of online learning.

“You can obviously get a de-

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

gree online — hundreds of thousands of people do it,” Pickett said. “I personally am skeptical at this point that people would come away with the same knowledge, the same relationships and the same ability to dig for solutions,” provided by a traditional college education.

But Pickett also said that distance-learning ventures such as the University of the People serve a different purpose than traditional institutions like Brown.

“It’s a dif ferent kind of student,” he said, noting that high tuition costs force many people to use cheaper online alternatives.

Reshef agreed his organization aims to ser ve the underprivileged.

“There really is no comparison and no competition” between it and other schools, he said, adding that his target students “have no alternative.”

Harvard alums protest bonuses of school’s endowment managers continued from page 5 Since ending the 2007-2008 fiscal year with $36.9 billion, Harvard’s endowment has dropped approximately 22 percent from July 1 to October 31, according to a December letter written by Faust.

David Kaiser, one of the signatories of the letter, was a part of a smaller group that sent a similar complaint in 2003, criticizing the compensation of over $100 million for the six highest-paid employees at the Har vard Management Company.

The 2003 protest came partly in reaction to the news of increasing tuitions, Kaiser said.

“We were concer ned with simple equity and whether funds of non-profits should be used to enrich private individuals to this extent,” Kaiser said.

“We didn’t see how we could

justify these bonuses when tuition was going up.”

The uproar led to a pay cap that significantly lowered the amount of money awarded to the top money managers within the company.

Kaiser said he would not speculate as to whether Har vard would make any immediate changes in response to the current complaint, particularly whether it would retract investment managers’ bonuses.

The spiraling economy has added a new dimension to the protest this time, Kaiser said, coinciding with a similar request from the current administration for pay caps for firms receiving bailout money.

“Major financial institutions have been extravagantly rewarding people for behavior that has been causing a great deal of harm, and we want to see that stop,” said Kaiser.

SportsWednesday The Brown Daily Herald

W. hoopsters drop two at home

By Nicole Stock Spor ts Staf f Writer

The women’s basketball team ended its five-game home stand by dropping two games this weekend to Ivy League rivals.

Dartmouth 58 T h e Brown 27 Bears were held to their Harvard 71 lowest point Brown 46 total of the season in a loss to Dartmouth, 58-27, then dropped a 71-46 game to Harvard.

On Friday night, the Big Green of Dartmouth had the Bears (3-17, 1-5) on their heels right from the tip-off. An early 8-0 run by the Big Green put the Bears in a hole early in the game from which they would never recover.

Dartmouth continued to get to the hoop and make easy layups, capitalizing on Brown’s mistakes to force turnovers and create easy transition points.

The Big Green built on their lead to take a 25-10 advantage into halftime. Going into the second half, the Bears wanted to turn the game around.

“Obviously we wanted to improve our shooting percentage,

but we also wanted to continue our defensive intensity, because we held Dartmouth to only 25 points in the first half,” Natalie Bonds ’10 said.

Against Dartmouth, Brown was missing the inside game of former Herald Sports Editor Amy Erhart ’09 against Dartmouth, who was out of town.

The second half proved to be more of the same, as Dartmouth jumped out to a 34-16 lead just five minutes into the half. Brown continued to struggle on the offensive end of the court, and Dartmouth extended its lead with a 12-0 run.

Down 46-18 with just under nine minutes left in the game, Brown was unable to get back in it.

The Bears cut the lead to 25, but that was as close as it would get. Bonds ended the game with a career-high seven blocks, and also contributed seven points and four rebounds.

“Her play was tremendous and inspirational,” Head Coach Jean Burr said. ‘‘She played hard the whole game.”

The Big Green’s Meghan McFee had 14 points and 10 rebounds, while teammate Darcy Rose chipped in with 11 points.

“We really struggled scoring.

We moved the ball well and broke

Wednesday, February 11, 2009 | Page 7

the press well, but struggled finishing,” Burr said. “We needed to be aggressive on the attack when the defense broke down. When they (made) a mistake, we needed to pounce on them.”

“We played their tempo and lacked aggressiveness,” she said.

The following evening, Brown faced the same challenge against Har vard. The Crimson came out strong, but the Bears matched them for the first eight minutes of play. Brown shot 40 percent from the field, giving the Bears the lead in the game’s opening seven minutes.

Har vard pulled away in the last 12 minutes of the first half, going on a 15-0 run to take a 27-12 lead with just under five minutes left in the frame. Harvard held the Bears to just five points in the final 12 minutes of the period while continuing to shoot well from the field and force turnovers, which helped them build on their lead going into the locker room.

“We must move for ward from droughts and cannot afford to have those letdowns defensively,” Burr said. “We must continue to be aggressive ever y single possession.

Against Har vard, our weak side continued on page 8

Justin Coleman / Herald File Photo

Shae Fitzpatrick battles Harvard in a 71-46 loss to the Crimson.

Wrestling wins one, loses two on road Bears have mixed results over weekend

By Katie Wood Assistant Spor ts Editor

By Andrew Braca Spor ts Editor

A full slate of competition for the Brown sports teams last week and this weekend ended with mixed results.

Women’s tennis The Bears lost to Boston College, 5-2, on Thursday in Weymouth, Mass., to drop their record to 3-1.

Bianca Aboubakare ’11 teamed with sister Carissa Aboubakare ’12 to win at No. 1 doubles, securing Brown’s lone doubles victor y, before steamrolling the 69th-ranked player in the country, Lana Krasnopolsky, 6-3, 6-1, at No. 1 singles. Catherine Stewart ’12 picked up the other point for Bruno with a win at No. 6 singles.

The Bears will compete at the ECAC Team Tournament from Friday through Sunday in Hanover, N.H. Women’s swimming and diving In their lone “home” meet of the season, held on Saturday at Wheaton College in Norton, Mass., the Bears trounced Cornell, 179.5-112.5, to even their Ivy League record to 3-3. Brown won the first 13 events, many of which featured multiple Bears in the top three spots.

Natascha Mangan ’11 led Brown with three total victories.

She teamed with Bridget Ballard ’10, Jamie Firth ’12 and Candice Sisouvanvieng-Kim ’11 to open the meet by triumphing in the 200 medley relay in a time of 1:50.64.

In addition, she won the 200 fly and 100 fly in times of 2:08.80 and 58.75, respectively.

Two other swimmers picked up individual wins. Bailey Langner ’10 dominated the breaststroke, posting a time of 1:10.03 to win the 100 and finishing in 2:28.29 to take the 200. Kristen Caldarella ’12 won two legs of the free, securing the 200 in 1:55.17 and the 100 in 53:24.

Three more Bears continued Brown’s control of the free.

Allyson Schumacher ’12 posted a time of 10:22.08 to lead the field in the 1000, Sisouvanvieng-Kim won the 50 in 24.64 and Ainsley McFadgen ’09 finished in 5:09.56 to take the 500.

Brown won two backstroke races, as Sage Erskine ’11 secured the 100 in 59.93 and Kelley Wisinger ’11 placed first in the 200 with a time of 2:06.78.

Katie Olko ’10 won Bruno’s only diving title in the one-meter with a score of 258.75.

The Bears will travel to New Haven on Sunday to take on Yale. continued on page 8

The wrestling team (3-9) battled through three matches on Saturday as it traveled to Penn (10-5) to face the host team and Drexel and then journeyed to Princeton.

The Bears lost the first two meets, posting only five individual wins.

The team overcame the two losses and finished off the day with a solid win at Princeton.

After two weeks of practice since its last meet, Brown opened with a 10-3 win from Greg Einfrank ’10 at 125 pounds to take an early 3-0 lead on Drexel. But from that point on, the Bears’ fortunes went south as the Dragons rattled off wins in the next five bouts. Eli Harris ’09 fell short in a tough 5-3 loss at 133 pounds, followed by an 8-4 loss in Grant Overcashier’s ’12 match at the 141 weight-pound class.

Dave Foxen ’11 (149), Br yan Tracy ’10 (157) and co-captain Chris Musser ’09 (165) each fell by three points or fewer before Bran Crudden ’10 ended Bruno’s losing streak with a 13-10 win at 174 pounds. Co-captain Matthew Gevelinger ’09 carried the momentum into his match at 184 pounds, holding off his opponent for a 2-1 win to bring the score to within six (15-9).

But it was too late, and the Bears could not win the final two matchups. Branden Stearns ’09 (197) and Zach Zdrada ’09 (heavyweight) fell 13-6 and 4-2, respec-

tively, as Drexel claimed the 21-9 opening-dual win over Brown.

The day had only just begun for the Bears, who still had to face Penn and Princeton.

“It’s not easy to wrestle three in a row, but it will certainly help us for the end of the season,” Crudden said. “We’ve been training the whole season to wrestle multiple times in a row — like at the (Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association) tournament.”

The Bears did not have to leave the gym to face their next opponent — the Penn Quakers.

Einfrank, Harris and Overcashier fell in order before Ricky Bailey ’11 held on to win a close 5-3 decision at 149 pounds. The Quakers then went on to win the next three bouts over Tracy, Lenny Marandino ’09 (165) and Crudden, out-scoring the Bears 13-0 to solidify their 24-3 lead.

Gevelinger posted his second win of the day for the Bears, taking his match into overtime before coming out on top with a 6-4 victor y. But Stearns fell at 4:27 and Zdrada could not finish out his match in the heavyweight class, as the referee called a medical decision with the score already at 17-4.

Brown managed only two wins over Penn, falling by a score of 34-6. With one more team left on their agenda, the Bears felt more focused and approached the dual meet with Princeton as a “takecare-of-business” match, according to Crudden.

“Coach (Dave) Amato let us know that we shouldn’t accept the loss at Penn but shouldn’t dwell on it either,” he said. “We couldn’t go into the Princeton match thinking about Penn if we expected to come together as a team.”

Amato spoke, and the team responded with a sound effort, losing only one bout the rest of the day.

Einfrank ended the day as he began it, earning a fall at 2:47. The Tigers had a hard time filling their lightweight spots, as T.J. Popolizio ’12 stepped on the mat for the first time of the day and came off as fast as he got there. Popolizio (133) and Overcashier (141) each recorded wins by forfeit.

Tom Fazio ’09, Musser and Cr udden provided three more wins before Princeton halted the momentum to score its first points.

Gevelinger could not pull out his third win of the day, as he fell in a tough 4-2 loss. Leo Saniuk ’09 and Stearns finished off the dual for the Bears in the heavier weights, nearly sweeping the Tigers, 41-3.

With the win, Brown picked up its first EIAW victor y of the year.

The Bears will travel to Boston this weekend, their last road trip of the season, to take on Boston University, Har vard and Wagner before facing Columbia and No. 3 Cornell at home the following weekend.

“Hopefully we’ll go into Boston and come away with three wins — heading in the right path going into the end of the season,” Crudden said.

Page 8

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

S ports W ednesday

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

“We must move forward from droughts.”

— Jean Burr, women’s basketball coach

Fencers struggle against Ivy foes continued from page 7 Men’s swimming and diving The men joined the women at Wheaton on Saturday but did not fare as well, falling to Cornell, 170-120, to drop their record to 1-6 overall and 1-5 in the Ivy League.

CJ Kambe ’10 and Ryan Kikuchi ’11 led the Bears with two wins apiece. Kambe won the one-meter dive with a score of 275.10 and scored 268.80 to take the three-meter dive. Kikuchi triumphed in the 200 back (1:53.64) and 200 IM (1:54.26).

Bruno picked up a relay win in the 400 free when Tucker Wetmore ’10, Daniel Ricketts ’09, Richard Alexander ’09 and John Gayton ’12 posted a time of 3:07.84.

The men will also face Yale on Sunday in New Haven.

Women’s track and field Ten Bears posted top-three finishes at the Gigengack Invitational on Saturday in New Haven.

The meet, hosted by Yale, was not scored for team performance.

Brown swept the top three

spots in the 1000-meter run. Samantha Adelberg ’11 won the race in 2:48.48, Kesley Ramsey ’11 took second in 2:50.45 and Roseanne Fleming ’12 followed 0.42 seconds behind.

Danielle Grunloh ’10 won the shot-put with a 14.06-meter toss, while Br ynn Smith ’11 followed in second with a throw of 13.89 meters. Nicole Burns ’09 secured Brown’s third win of the meet with a time of 24.95 in the 200meter dash.

Three other Bears took second. Susan Scavone ’12 finished the 60-meter hurdles in 8.97, Lucy Higgins ’11 posted a time of 1:16.18 in the 500-meter dash and Anja Hergrueter ’10 leapt 1.60 meters in the high jump.

The Bears will travel to the Armor y Track in New York on Saturday.

Men’s track and field The men followed the women’s success at the Gigengack by posting seven top-three finishes of their own.

Three Bears placed second.

Jordan Maddocks ’11 cleared 1.99 meters in the high jump, Matthew Jasmin ’09 finished the 60-meter

hurdles in 8.21 seconds and Marc Howland ’11 ran the 60-meter dash in 6.93.

Bruno secured four third-place finishes. Andrew Chapin ’10 tallied 45-09.00 feet in the triple jump, Br yan Powlen ’10 threw 51-09.25 in the shot-put, Anthony Schurz ’12 finished the 800-meter run in 1:55.28 and Duriel Hardy ’10 ran the 3000-meter race in 8:19.95.

The men will also compete in New York this weekend.

Women’s squash The No. 9 Bears were flattened

by No. 5 Yale in New Haven on Friday and No. 6 Cornell in Ithaca, N.Y., on Saturday by identical 9-0 scores.

Charlotte MacMillan ’09 lost in five games to Yale at No. 8 singles, while Sarah Roberts ’10 pushed her Cornell opponent to five games before falling at No. 9 singles. Bruno hosted Tufts yesterday at the Pizzitola Center.

Men’s squash The No. 15 men fared no better than the women over the weekend, also falling, 9-0, to No. 3 Yale and No. 4 Cornell. No Bear was able to stave of f a three-game sweep. The men also faced Tufts yesterday.

Fencing The Bears struggled on Sunday at the Ivy No. 1 competition held at Columbia. The men went 1-2, while the women failed to win any of their four matches.

The men began with a 14-13 win over Yale. Steven Ellis ’10 and Peter Tyson ’12 both went 3-0 with the saber to propel Brown to an early 7-2 lead. Adam Pantel ’10 posted a 3-0 record with the foil to lead Bruno to a 5-4 record in that categor y and a 12-6 overall lead, giving the Bears enough points to sur vive a 7-2 defeat in the epee. But Columbia posted a 19-8 win and Penn won, 21-6, to prevent the men from building on their early success.

The women were not able to match the men, despite an extra matchup against Cornell, which ended in a 17-10 loss. Charlotte Rose ’09 posted a 3-0 record with the saber to help Brown to an early 6-3 lead over Yale, but the Bulldogs pulled away by outscoring the Bears, 15-3, in the foil and epee. Columbia and Penn closed out the day for the women with identical 23-4 drubbings.

The Bears will take a weekend off from competition before hosting the Ivy No. 2 on Feb. 22.

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Justin Coleman / Herald The Bears lost to Harvard, 71-46, and Dartmouth, 58-27, this weekend.

W. hoops losing skid hits five after 0-2 weekend continued from page 7 didn’t rotate aggressively and they took advantage.”

Har vard shot 48 percent from the field and 36 percent from beyond the arc in the first half.

The Bears looked to pick it up in the second half with aggressive defense and better looks at the basket.

“It was important for us that we played intense defense right from the start of the second half,” Grace said. “Also, we focused in on running plays that would create stronger takes to the basket so that we could get to the foul line more. We were able to get a lot of looks to the basket but our shots just weren’t falling.”

Although Brown had a chance to regroup at the half, the Harvard attack continued in the second half — the Crimson built a 27-point lead just minutes in. Sadiea Williams ’11 and Grace each scored a team-high 10 points to tr y to keep the Bears in the game. Williams also had a team-high six rebounds.

“I was fortunate enough to get my points in various areas — threes, lay-ups and foul shots,” Grace said.

“It always feels good to get shots in different ways because you feel like more of an offensive threat for your team. I just tried to play really aggressive throughout the game and take what the defense was giving me.”

They both contributed to the Bears’ offense, cutting the Harvard lead to 18 points, but that would be as close as Bruno would get.

Har vard regained control in the second part of the half and strolled to a 71-46 win. The Crimson had four players in double digits, led by Brogan Berr y with 17 points.

The Bears will be on the road next weekend as they take on two more league opponents, Penn and Princeton, and look to break their current five-game skid.

“We match up well with both teams’ inside game and guards,” Burr said. “I think our first step is quicker, so we must continue to work on attacking the basket and finishing.”

Editorial & Letters The Brown Daily Herald

Page 10 | Wednesday, February 11, 2009

e d i to r i a l

Excoriated choice As of this fall, applicants who take the SAT more than once will be able to send only their top scores to schools under a College Board policy called Score Choice. Brown will honor the policy, Dean of Admission James Miller ’73 confirmed. We commend the decision.

Score Choice will make life easier for many applicants. The policy recognizes that test-takers may earn an atypically bad SAT score for a number of reasons. An aberrant low score does not accurately reflect an applicant’s true potential and should not make the difference between acceptance and rejection. Score Choice is consistent with existing admissions policies at Brown. Students taking the ACT have been able to send selected scores for years, and the University calculates an applicant’s overall SAT score by adding the best individual sections from multiple tests. For Brown and many other universities, Score Choice represents a minor departure from current practice.

Yet several other universities, including Cornell, Stanford, Yale and the University of Pennsylvania, have resisted the policy by asking applicants to submit all of their scores. Score Choice’s critics worry that it advantages wealthier students who know more about the admissions process and can afford to take the SAT multiple times. But by forbidding Score Choice, these universities deter promising prospects of all backgrounds from applying.

The most common objections to Score Choice don’t hold up. Regarding socioeconomic concerns about the policy, Miller noted that Office of Admission considers how an applicant’s scores are affected by “opportunity, access to test preparation and the family’s economic circumstances.” Fee waivers are also available for low-income applicants. Score Choice could actually benefit some middle-class applicants who haven’t spent thousands of dollars on SAT prep and are therefore more likely to obtain a low score.

Even the SAT’s most fervent critics have something to gain from Score Choice, as the policy makes the SAT less meaningful. When admissions officers can’t figure out how many times an applicant has taken the SAT, those 800s carry less weight. The editorial page board welcomes this change. While we do not think that the University should make the SAT optional, we regret the test’s importance given its potential biases and limited scope. A few fateful hours filling in bubbles reveals much less than a four-year academic record.

Editorials are written by The Herald’s editorial page board. Send comments to editorials@browndailyherald.com.

t h e b r o w n d a i ly h e r a l d Editor-in-Chief Steve DeLucia

Managing Editors Michael Bechek Chaz Firestone

editorial Arts & Culture Editor Ben Hyman Hannah Levintova Arts & Culture Editor Features Editor Sophia Li Features Editor Emmy Liss Higher Ed Editor Gaurie Tilak Higher Ed Editor Matthew Varley Metro Editor George Miller Metro Editor Joanna Wohlmuth News Editor Chaz Kelsh News Editor Jenna Stark Sports Editor Benjy Asher Sports Editor Andrew Braca Asst. Sports Editor Alex Mazerov Asst. Sports Editor Katie Wood Graphics & Photos Graphics Editor Chris Jesu Lee Graphics Editor Stephen Lichenstein Eunice Hong Photo Editor Kim Perley Photo Editor Justin Coleman Sports Photo Editor production Kathryn Delaney Copy Desk Chief Seth Motel Copy Desk Chief Marlee Bruning Design Editor Jessica Calihan Design Editor Anna Migliaccio Asst. Design Editor Julien Ouellet Asst. Design Editor Neal Poole Web Editor

Associate Editors Nandini Jayakrishna Franklin Kanin Michael Skocpol

Senior Editors Rachel Arndt Catherine Cullen Scott Lowenstein

Business General Managers Office Manager Shawn Reilly Alexander Hughes Jonathan Spector Directors Ellen DaSilva Sales Director Claire Kiely Sales Director Phil Maynard Sales Director Katie Koh Finance Director Jilyn Chao Asst. Finance Director Managers Local Sales Kelly Wess National Sales Kathy Bui University Sales Alex Carrere Recruiter Sales Christiana Stephenson Credit and Collections Matt Burrows Opinions Opinions Editor Sarah Rosenthal Editorial Page Board James Shapiro Editorial Page Editor Nick Bakshi Board member Zack Beauchamp Board member Sara Molinaro Board member Post- magazine Arthur Matuszewski Kelly McKowen

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Marlee Bruning, Anna Migliaccio Designers Sara Chimene-Weiss, George Kyi Copy Editors Ellen Cushing, Sydney Ember, Sarah Husk, Gaurie Tilak, Matthew Varley Night Editors Senior Staff Writers Mitra Anoushiravani, Colin Chazen, Ellen Cushing, Sydney Ember, Lauren Fedor, Nicole Friedman, Britta Greene, Sarah Husk, Brian Mastroianni, Hannah Moser, Ben Schreckinger, Caroline Sedano, Melissa Shube, Anne Simons, Sara Sunshine, Staff Writers Zunaira Choudhary, Leslie Primack, Christian Martell, Alexandra Ulmer, Lauren Pischel, Samuel Byker, Anne Deggelman, Nicole Dungca, Cameron Lee, Seth Motel, Kyla Wilkes, Juliana Friend, Kelly Mallahan, Jyotsna Mullur, Chris Duffy Sports Staff Writers Nicole Stock Senior Business Associates Max Barrows, Jackie Goldman, Margaret Watson, Ben Xiong Business Associates Stassia Chyzhykova, Misha Desai, Bonnie Kim, Maura Lynch, Cathy Li, Allen McGonagill, Thanases Plestis, Corey Schwartz, William Schweitzer, Kenneth So, Evan Sumortin, Haydar Taygun, Webber Xu, Lyndse Yess Design Staff Jessica Kirschner, Joanna Lee, Maxwell Rosero Photo Staff Alex DePaoli, Quinn Savit, Meara Sharma, Min Wu 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 Liebling, Geoffrey Kyi, Anna Jouravleva Web Developers Jihan Chao

carly hudelson

l e t t e r to t h e e d i to r s

Master’s students deserve first pick as TAs To the Editor: With regards to the editorial “Undergrads can solve TA crunch” (Feb. 5): The Herald weakens its argument for expanding the practice of employing undergraduates as TAs by failing to acknowledge that not all graduate students are even given the option to work as TAs. Until this is the case, these jobs should not be readily extended to undergraduates, no matter how qualified they are.

I am talking about master’s students. The Graduate School does not fund master’s programs centrally; individual programs determine funding. Essentially what this means is that most master’s students at Brown are not eligible to be TAs, so we must be willing to assume all costs not covered by scholarship via savings, loans or outside sponsorship. In my case, that means $40K per year in loans, which seems especially

absurd given that my department, American Civilization, is one of the hardest hit by the shortage. To see these positions offered to undergraduates rather than to my classmates and myself would be, quite honestly, nothing short of unreasonable.

I recognize that the number of master’s students and the fact that not each department has a terminal master’s program means that this might not completely solve the TA shortage. However, if the University is going to consider using undergraduates as TAs without tapping into the pool of talent that exists in the form of master’s students (thus simultaneously making these programs more affordable), things don’t bode well for the future of master’s programs and the Graduate School.

Caitlin Fisher ’05, MA Feb. 7

Give me your tirades, your ponderings, Your hurried manuscripts yearning to be published, The wretched refuse of your sloppy desk.

Send these, the unheard, email-tossed to me, We print your letters beside the opinions page! letters@browndailyherald.com

c l a r i f i c at i o n An article in Monday’s Herald (“Vogel still mum on future plans,” Feb. 9) reported that “the department has temporarily replaced (Professor of Literary Arts Paula Vogel) with Gregory Moss, Samuel Marks and Dan LeFranc, all visiting lecturers in literary arts.” Moss, Marks and LeFranc are teaching classes normally taught by graduate students while visiting faculty members Lisa D’Amour, Chay Yew, Nadia Mahdi and Tracey Scott Wilson have taught classes normally taught by regular faculty.

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Opinions The Brown Daily Herald

Wednesday, February 11, 2009 | Page 11

The myth of the ‘Brown student’ SEAN QUIGLEY Opinions Columnist In a manner rife with self-satisfaction, The Herald editorial page board has now fashioned itself as the arbiter of what constitutes the “true Brown.” Claiming the right to pass judgment on the ideological purity of many social activities, in a recent editorial the petulant editorial page board wrote, “This is Brown University, a member of the prestigious Ivy League and a veritable bastion of feminism, in the year 2009” (“To The 2011 Class Board,” Feb. 3).

Well, editorial page board, I am a Brown student, yet not a feminist. Many of my friends at Brown, and a good number of my acquaintances, are likewise not feminists. My brother, an ’05 alum of Brown, would bristle at being labeled a feminist.

Are we not welcome here? Does our failure to conform to the editorial page board’s expectations of The Brown Student make us traitors to Brunonia, rebels to our alma mater?

When not pretending to be left-wing defenders of Civilization, they probably do regard us as misfits, unwelcome in their alleged progressive enclave. That Brown was founded, and existed for most of its history, on the principles of industrious, dissenting Baptists seems unimportant to them. Brown apparently is what they say it is.

They arrogantly disregard the legacy of Brown’s hallowed dead, and thoughts of the very students now attending the College, so as to ram their leveling fanaticism down the

throats of every living soul. More illiberal and intolerant they could not be.

To disagree, and to act benignly in accordance with one’s own understanding of the proper, is deemed distasteful, per their narrow-minded view of the socially acceptable.

The editorial page board excoriates the 2011 Class Board, along with many other members of the Brown student body, simply because their understanding of appropriateness does not include a whiny, puritanical and ahistorical construction — a construction which is, to

en on Earth, often by means of social control and disharmonious attacks on longstanding behaviors, much as the editorial page board looks everywhere for a dragon to slay and a mind to refurbish.

I have taken to heart, since the moment I matriculated at Brown, the adage that “There is no typical Brown student.” We are all different, and any expectations of automatic agreement are as unfounded as they are repugnant to the nonconformity that truly is a Brown value. That the members of the editorial page

Be not surprised when the non-moralists compare the social enjoyment of supposedly tawdry activities with the editorial’s sweeping condemnations and decide that the former is more appealing. boot, littered with farcical notions of perpetual progress.

I say: Be not surprised when the non-moralists compare the social enjoyment of supposedly tawdry activities with the editorial’s sweeping condemnations and decide that the former is more appealing.

The divisive religious radicals of the earlyto mid-17th century, whom we often disparagingly reference as the Puritans, adhered to the same sort of abstract, unempirical and controlling ideology that the editorial page board so proudly professed in a recent editorial. They sought to erect a Kingdom of Heav-

board assume such automatic agreement ­­— and that they are indignant to find that the facts point elsewhere — causes one to wonder whether they truly care about the independent intellectual tradition of their alma mater at all.

Is the idea of the “true Brown” merely a political football, which they throw to advance the rigid ideological assumptions and outlook of militant feminism? It appears so. Why else would the editorial page board’s whole argument begin with “Look around you” — a statement meant to imply that empiricism would be its epistemological approach — and then

contain condemnations of what actually is around us.

They denounce certain Brown students for not conforming to the “true Brown,” while simultaneously supporting their whole argument with an empirical structure that, when tested, demonstrates the sheer non-existence of the “true Brown.” For Brown students actually do seem to accept some gender stereotypes (probably because those stereotypes are biologically, historically and experientially reasonable), but the editorial page board argues that, despite this fact, the “true Brown” must be imposed —­ and deviants from it reviled. Did not Anthony Flew already address the “No True Scotsman” fallacy more than three decades ago?

The editorial page board has proved itself, in this instance, to be a collection of Puritans intent on upending benign traditions, on looking for non-existent problems to solve, on inventing a “true Brown” that has no basis in fact and on attacking their fellow Brown men who, to the editorial page board’s disappointment, think themselves capable of directing their own social lives.

For me, some masculine camaraderie and a good lingerie show are not so bad.

They are, in fact, among the many things that make human existence tolerable. Perhaps if the editorial page board ceased their pursuit of cultural cleansing, they would recognize that.

Sean Quigley ’10 is a history and classics concentrator from East Greenwich, Rhode Island. He can be reached at sean_quigley@brown.edu.

We didn’t start the fire Michael Fitzpatrick Opinions Columnist Thank goodness for being warned.

I’m talking, of course, about room inspections. Who indeed would pass room inspections if not for the obligatory forewarning from the Office of Residential Life?

Everyone knows why there are rules against candles, alcohol, halogen lamps and unsafe power strips. The rules fall into two categories: Either they reinforce the already obvious prohibition of illegal substances or they prohibit items and practices that might cause University residential housing to go up in smoke.

I’d venture to guess that, excluding those of us who have been living under rocks (or the Rock, perhaps), everyone knows someone who has broken these rules. Sadly, this holds true just about everywhere, including the substance-free floor of Perkins.

In some respects, the University is showing us a great deal of leniency solely by giving us several days of warning before actually conducting inspections. It gives us, the residents, plenty of time to tidy up our living quarters. What could be more embarrassing for a host or hostess than having your home in less-than-respectable condition when guests are knocking at your door?

Oh, and there’s the chore of sweeping our dirty little secrets under the rug (which, I’m

told, the inspectors are not allowed to lift).

As courteous as this practice is, I simply don’t understand how the University can hope to achieve its desired goal — to “keep the residential environment at Brown a safe and healthy one for all residents” — if it insists on giving us a fair warning. The sole purpose of the notice, it seems, is to justify our scornful laughter when students actually do get caught and fined.

But if the residents of a particular room haven’t broken any rules, then the warning

need to be particularly clever or even careful when you have something better: time to prepare. I feel it would be more reasonable if the notifications were sent only one day in advance. Then, at least, the administration can take some pleasure in frazzling the students a bit.

What you do in your room is your business, even if you willingly break the rules.

I couldn’t care less about the restrictions on alcohol and other drugs. My personal concern is about the other prohibited items:

When students have an entire week’s notice to hide any prohibited items, the University itself is permitting activities that present hazards to the community.

is merely a polite action, like some imitation of good manners. Perhaps the only benefit the rule-abiders reap is the knowledge that an inspector is required to lock their door after visiting. Again, responsible students would already keep their doors locked when necessary and carry a key whenever they leave their rooms.

But the rule-breakers stand to gain so much more from a little e-mail. It seems that this ounce of foresight is just the edge they need to stay out of trouble. There’s no

candles, halogen torchiere lamps and other fire hazards. But individual worries aren’t that significant when it comes down to the principle of the matter; if the University insists that residents of campus housing follow certain rules, then I would expect them to properly enforce those rules.

I shudder to think what would happen if an unattended candle caused a smoke detector to go off. Suppose the emergency sprinklers activated? An entire floor’s worth of computers and other electronic appliances

could become damaged. Oh well. That’s better than having lost a human life.

But what if a legitimate fire started burning? Supposing that a student did sustain an injury from this fire. Who is at fault? It would seem that the student who owned the burning candle is most guilty. He or she willfully violated the rules, but that does not grant the University immunity for not having enforced the rules properly, especially when their current practices make it unreasonably easy to break them.

It represents a failure on the part of the administration to maintain a secure, safe and healthy environment for the students.

So when students have an entire week’s notice to hide any prohibited items, the University itself is permitting activities that present hazards to the community — and considering the expenses involved in repairing burnt buildings, I’d say that it is endangering its own budget, were it not for insurance.

(Keeney Quadrangle is insured, right?)

I know that I’m being a cynic. I certainly don’t give enough credit to those responsible rebels who keep their flames contained and replace frayed electrical cords as soon as possible. But responsible or otherwise, you all know the risks. If you play with fire, you run the risk of getting burned.

Michael Fitzpatrick ’12, a psychology concentrator from San Antonio, Texas, knows that only the U. can prevent housing fires. He can be reached Michael_fitzpatrick@brown.edu

Today

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A legitimate online university?

The Brown Daily Herald

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Women’s hoops can’t turn it around

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Page 12

the news in images

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3 c a l e n da r

February 11, 2009

FEBRUARY 12, 2009

4:00 PM — “The Politics of Feminist Security Studies,” Joukowsky Forum, Watson Institute

2:00 PM — “Emancipated Memories: Uncovering the Hidden Faces of Slavery,” Carriage House Gallery, John Nicholas Brown Center 7:00 PM — Congo Speakers Tour, MacMillan 117

7:00 - 9:00 PM — Concentration Fair, Sayles Hall

campus news

Watson Institute introduces new hire Former Italian prime minster Romano Prodi has been appointed professorat-large at the Watson Institute for International Studies.

menu Sharpe Refectory

Verney-Woolley Dining Hall

Lunch — Cornish Pasty, Barley Pilaf, Vegetarian Submarine Sandwich

Lunch — Beef Pot Pie, Spinach and Rice Bake, Mexican Corn, Frosted Cookie Squares

Dinner — Asiago Crusted Salmon, Red Rice, Savory Spinach, Cannelloni with Tomato Sauce

Prodi will begin his five-year term this spring, during which he plans to work with students, among other things.

Another Watson professor-at-large, former UN ambassador Richard Holbrooke ’62 was recently appointed special envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan for the Obama administration.

Dinner — Spicy Herb Baked Chicken, Stir Fry Vegetables with Tofu

See Campus News, page 2

crossword

Agencia Brasil

comics Enigma Twist | Dustin Foley

Cabernet Voltaire | Abe Pressman

The One About Zombies | Kevin Grubb