Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Daily Herald the Brown

vol. cxliv, no. 94 | Wednesday, October 28, 2009 | Serving the community daily since 1891

Values key to homeless issue, panelists say

By Mark Raymond Contributing Writer

“Many causes of homelessness can be fixed, but there isn’t the political will to do so,” Hilary Silver, associate professor of sociology, told a crowd of students and advocates in Salomon 001 Tuesday night in a town-hall discussion about homelessness in Providence.

Silver and two other panelists, Providence City Councilman John Lombardi and Rhode Island Coalition for the Homeless Executive Director Jim Ryczek, focused on the many causes of homelessness and possible ways to address the problem.

The three panelists explained that home foreclosures, a lack of affordable housing and the scarcity of jobs were making the already difficult situation of Rhode Island’s homeless even worse during the current economic downturn.

“A shortage of housing was a problem before the recession, so now we are facing even greater difficulties,” said Lombardi, who represents Ward 13, which includes Federal Hill and parts of

downtown.

Homelessness has increased significantly over the past year, he said, and foreclosures and evictions are causing many more to lose their homes.

Political will from both ordinary citizens and the leaders who represent them is a necessary ingredient for change, Lombardi said.

“People close their eyes and think it’s going to go away,” he said. “Everyone has to be involved in order to solve this problem, not just elected officials.”

Ryczek, the coalition’s director, said he too sees politics as a route to reducing homelessness, but pointed out that there is also need for a change in mindset.

“Until we really wrestle with the value system we have in place, we’re not going to be able to deal with this problem,” he said.

John Joyce, an audience member who said he was formerly homeless and now ser ves as an advocate, described his experience setting up a tent city within Providence to shelter homeless individuals.

“We’re in an economic disaster.

What’s so wrong with putting people in a safe place?” Joyce asked.

He said he feels that the step of setting up a temporary shelter can only ser ve as a stopgap solution, and that what is really needed is a strong shift in societal values.

“Homelessness is a solvable problem,” he said. “If anyone wants social change, social awareness has to come first.”

In terms of practical solutions to the problem, the three panelists all spoke about the need for affordable housing. Silver suggested that the federal government should play a larger role in providing affordable housing to those in need, similar to the way the Roosevelt administration intervened with the National Housing Act during the Great Depression.

She said too much emphasis has been placed on personal problems facing the homeless, such as drug or alcohol abuse, and not on the overarching actions that could be taken by government to address the larger issue of homelessness.

“We need to work on the struccontinued on page 4

BU M E BU M E P O W

Kim Perley / Herald Alina Kung ’12 and Josh Kopin ’11 perform an improvised dance at the SciLi as other members of Brown University Movement Experiments look on.

Volunteers teach local students to be active citizens

By Brian Mastroianni Senior Staff Writer

A student sits lethargically at a table in the back of Tim Ahern’s history classroom at Dr. Jorge Alvarez High School in Providence. His iPod is turned on, and his head is in his hands. His pen rests idly beside a worksheet that he has not touched since it was distributed to him a few minutes ago.

While his companions show some interest in their assignment, the boy decides instead to increase the volume of his iPod. Sonia Kim

’11, who takes over Ahern’s class This is Kim’s second semester twice a week to teach U.S. politics helping students in Providence and government, walks over to the high schools understand civics and boy. She leans over him and rests American government. As a mentor one hand lightly on his shoulder. for the Generation Citizen program “How’s it going?” in Providence, Kim is she asks. Her voice is one of 20 students who FEATURE soothingly quiet, yet work in 11 classrooms assertive. “What do you know on across the city, teaching lessons this sheet?” on civics, government and politics The boy stares down at the pa- that culminate in a semester projper and shakes his head. “I don’t ect on an issue the students pick get it,” he says. themselves.

She looks him straight in the Kim heard about the fledgling eyes. “I guarantee you’ll know program when she noticed an advertisement for it in her dorm last something on here.”

winter. She said the notice — with its stress on the importance of giving high school students the tools necessary to advocate for causes they care about — spoke to her directly.

“Everyone takes history class, but there’s oftentimes that lack of application for the ‘real world.’

For a lot of kids, the history of our government seems like a jumble of acts and laws, and they don’t know how those things apply to them,” she said.

Nick Sinnott-Armstrong / Herald

inside

The BUCC meeting was held at Brown/RISD Hillel Tuesday afternoon.

News.....1-4 Spor ts.....5 Editorial...6 Opinion....7 Today........8

www.browndailyherald.com

The University’s carbon emissions are down 18 percent after two years of a program designed to improve Brown’s energy and environmental impact, according to a sustainability progress report presented to the Brown University Community Council Tuesday.

Christopher Powell, director of sustainable energy and environmental initiatives, said the program has seen a reduction that surpasses the goals originally set two years ago by the Energy and Environmental

By Sydney Ember Senior Staff Writer

Rhode Island Superior Court Justice Ojetta Rogeriee Thompson ’73 did not receive full support from the American Bar Association’s Standing

METRO

continued on page 2

Carbon reduction program making good pace, BUCC hears

By Caitlin Trujillo Staff Writer

ABA gives nominee Thompson ’73 so-so marks

Advisory Committee, which called for a 4 percent annual reduction in carbon emissions.

Powell attributed the reduction in greenhouse gases to improved energy efficiency, fuel switching and a switch to a low-carbon electricity supplier. He said the University received approval for a loan that would enable it to work toward future goals, which include reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 42 percent below 2007 levels by 2020. Powell said the plan for tackling these goals includes incorporating solar-thermal continued on page 2

Committee on the Federal Judiciary for her nomination to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, casting a shadow on her impending Senate confirmation.

The ABA committee rates all federal nominees based on “professional qualifications” including integrity, judicial temperament and competence.

Eight to nine members of the 15-person committee rated Thompson as “qualified” or “satisfactory,” while at least five committee members said she did not meet the committee’s standards, according to the Journal.

President Obama nominated Thompson on Oct. 6.

Despite opposition, Rhode Island Sens. Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse, both Democrats, continue continued on page 2

News, 3

Sports, 5

Opinions, 7

it’s a plan In case of snow: Weather policies are clarified in University policy

fashionably late The women’s soccer team pulled out a 1-0 victory over Cornell with a late goal

quick and painless A well-structured program improves students’ lives, writes Mary Bates GS

195 Angell Street, Providence, Rhode Island

herald@browndailyherald.com

Page 2

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

C ampus N EWS

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

“Politics is in everything.”

— Generation Citizen coordinator Julia Dahlin ’12

Officials detail carbon cuts, education outreach at BUCC continued from page 1 and geothermal technology.

To date, $10 million of that loan amount has been approved, and Powell said the investment will yield over $2 million in savings annually, paying itself off by 2015. The projects funded by the loan are scheduled to be complete in fall 2011, Powell said.

Projects completed or currently underway include upgrading lighting, replacing steam traps and retrocommissioning older buildings with more efficient technology.

Powell also described other improvements, such as moving Computing and Information Services forms online and fostering collaboration between Dining Services and local farms and processors. He also pointed to an observed increase in Brown’s recycling rate to 38 percent in the 12 months ending this past June, up from 33 percent from the year before.

Kai Morrell ’11, a co-coordinator of Brown’s EcoReps program, said in a presentation that the EcoReps saw potential in the area of recycling rates. EcoReps are also looking at replacing incandescent lightbulbs with CFLs and raising awareness

about the harm plastic water bottles pose to the environment.

“Students are only one part of the community, and hopefully EcoReps will expand to the whole community,” Morrell said.

The accelerated rate of carbon emission reduction led one council member to ask if the EEAC had “cherry-picked” easy reductions to make first and if future reductions would come as easily.

Powell said the plan was to deal with the easier plans first because making efficiency widespread would take time.

“The things we can pull the trigger on, like fuel efficiency — it’s not cheap, but we can do it immediately,” Powell said.

Professor of History Evelyn HuDehart asked whether it was true — as she said she had been told by some caterers — that leftover food from events is simply thrown away.

“It’s not good for the environment — it’s not good for the soul — to waste so much food,” Hu-Dehart said.

Gretchen Willis, director of Dining Services, addressed the question from the audience, saying that the perception that Dining Services wastes food “disturbed” her but that

R.I. judge, alum, gets low ABA marks continued from page 1

Kayleigh Butera / Herald Swearer Center Director Roger Nozaki discussed the progress of outreach efforts.

she would look into the issue.

BDS is seeking ways to reduce the presence of bottled water on campus, Willis also told the council.

The council also addressed the Brown community’s off-campus engagement with Providence. Swearer Center Director and Associate Dean of the College for Community and Global Engagement Roger Nozaki and Assistant to the President Hanna Rodriguez-Farrar ’87 MA’90 PhD’09 spoke about the importance of community programs that allow Brown students to reach out to the local community.

They primarily discussed educa-

tion-based programs like the Fund for the Education of the Children of Providence, which is committed to raising a $10 million endowment to make grants to local schools, $1.5 million of which has been raised so far.

Rodriguez-Farrar, a member of the Corporation’s Board of Trustees, described how the fund gave out its first grants in May, providing $118,000 for graphing calculators.

The fund also gave out three grants for $10,000 to three schools in the district.

The BUCC will meet next on Nov. 17.

to back Obama’s latest nominee.

“Judge Thompson has a long and distinguished record as a lawyer and a judge in Rhode Island for over 20 years and is a highly qualified nominee with an exemplary record,” they said in a statement to the Journal. “The ABA plays a limited advisory role, and has nowhere near the familiarity with judicial candidates that we do in Rhode Island. It is up to the Senate to decide who is qualified to serve on the federal bench — and we are confident that our colleagues in the Senate will support Judge Thompson.”

Whitehouse also ser ves on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which will make recommendations to the Senate during Thompson’s confirmation hearing.

If the Senate confirms Thompson, she will be the first black judge and the second woman to serve on the First Circuit appeals court.

According to the Journal, 16 of the 23 nominations Obama has made have received the highest standard.

One pupil at a time, Generation Citizen seeks to close ‘engagement gap’ continued from page 1 ‘A civic engagement gap’ Scott Warren ’09, co-founder of Generation Citizen and now its executive director, always believed it was important for students — especially those from underprivileged backgrounds — to be engaged in their government.

While at Brown, Warren was the executive director of STAND, a national student-led coalition to end genocide in Darfur and elsewhere, and also lobbied for Brown, Providence and the state of Rhode Island to divest from companies associated with the Sudanese government.

When he was working to achieve change through these organizations, Warren — along with fellow student

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activist Anna Ninan ’09 — decided to establish a group on campus that would help students in Providence’s public school system enact social change in their own communities.

“Research has revealed a problem: There is a civic engagement gap between those in the lower income bracket of our country and those in government. Our country is in this situation where the people who need reform are not the ones asking for it,” Warren said.

In a period of economic uncer-

tainty and heated debate over health care reform, Warren said he finds it frustrating that government officials leading the nation through these crises ignore the “bottom economic third” of their voting constituency.

In order to close this gap, Warren and Ninan developed Generation Citizen as an educational program that places college students as civics teachers in history and social studies classrooms across Providence.

Though the organization has since expanded to other campuses, Warren said Brown was the perfect environment for its conception.

“The University fosters a community of like-minded social entrepreneurs to make actual change,” Warren said. “Brown is a place that is not like too many universities.”

Warren said that now is the perfect time for a program like Generation Citizen because of Rhode Island’s high jobless rate, the state’s new emphasis on enforcing civics education within the public school system and increasing occurrences of gang violence and economic hardship in many of Providence’s poorer communities.

After a large sum of money was donated to the program by an anonymous donor during Commencement week last spring, Generation Citizen has expanded to nine schools in Boston. Now, students from Tufts University and Harvard serve as mentors to high school students in the program’s new location, and within Providence the program has also grown to include mentors from Rhode Island College and Providence College.

An ‘everyday’ impact Generation Citizen’s student volunteers said the most inspiring part of their work is the impact they have on the students they work with, even

beyond learning about politics and government.

“One girl approached me and said, ‘I’ve never talked in an English class, and now I do,’” said Reuben Henriques ’12, one of the Providence branch’s coordinators. “It’s just exciting to hear that these students have been inspired in some way by the program to be involved more, not just in their communities and government, but also in their education.”

Julia Dahlin ’12, Henriques’ cocoordinator, said her students wrote an op-ed last year for the Providence Journal. Though it was not published in the actual paper, she said, the exercise was a way for the students to see the important “everyday” application of politics in their lives.

“Politics is in everything,” Dahlin said. “You can make a change by speaking up, and not many of these students realized that before this program.”

After leaving Ahern’s histor y class, Kim and her fellow mentor, Folashade Modupe ’10, sit on a RIPTA trolley, returning to their lives on College Hill. The two are looking over note cards filled with students’ comments on what they liked and disliked about the class.

Modupe smiles when she comes across a card that says, “I learned new things about politics. I liked the class.”

But Modupe recognizes that her students are not the only ones who are constantly learning.

“When I’m working on lesson planning for the class, I find myself thinking about these kids’ lives.

What do they do after school? How can the teen mother make the commitment to come to class, despite all of the stress of motherhood? I always think about all of that now,” she says.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

C ampus N EWS it ’ s schiller time

Page 3

“(The) policies weren’t as clear as they should be.”

— Provost David Kertzer ’69 P’95 P’98, on a decision to clarify weather guidelines

U. clarifies weather response plans

By Amy Chen Contributing Writer

Max Monn / Herald

Prof. Wendy Schiller discussed women and politics Tuesday.

State legislative leader changes plea in DUI case

By Sydney Ember Senior Staf f Writer

Deputy House Majority Leader Raymond Sullivan, D-Dist. 29, pled no contest last Thursday following an April 22 arrest for drunk driving.

The plea agreement stipulates a three-month license suspension, $500 in fines, 20 hours of community service and attendance at an anti-drunk-driving school, according to an Oct. 23 Providence Journal article.

Sullivan had originally entered a plea of not guilty in May, according to the Journal, but changed the plea to no contest last week after Judge Anthony Capraro ruled that evidence affirming the certification of the breathalyzer used by police during the traffic stop was admissable.

The breath test placed Sullivan’s blood alcohol content at 0.178, more than double the legal

The University has clarified when it will close or delay classes and administrative offices because of inclement weather, publishing policy guidelines for the first time this fall.

Senior Vice President for Corporation Affairs and University Governance Russell Carey ’91 MA’06, who drafted the statement, said the rules for reacting to inclement weather were finalized over the summer.

Faculty, administrative staff, students, Facilities Management staff and campus public safety officers were all asked to give input on the regulations, he said.

The written statement, which formalizes policies that were already informally in place, will bring consistency to the University’s responses and will help to eliminate problems with communication, said Provost David Kertzer ’69 P’95 P’98.

Carey said a major storm last March brought to his attention the need for better communication and greater transparency in dealing with weather-related delays and closings.

When the snowstorm hit overnight, “people didn’t anticipate it,” Carey said, adding that as a result

Michael Bechek / Herald File Photo

A surprise storm last winter buried Thayer Street in a blanket of fresh snowfall. The University has clarified inclement weather guidelines.

there was a “delay of administrative offices openings and confusion about what it meant for classes,” he said.

The idea is to be as clear as possible, he said.

Kertzer agreed that the “policies weren’t as clear as they should be, as publicized as they should be.”

According to the policy, while cancellation of classes will be avoided if at all possible, “members of the faculty who deem it unsafe to get

to or from the campus may, at their sole discretion, choose to cancel their own class(es). Faculty doing so are responsible for notifying their students directly.”

A University-wide cancellation of classes due to weather has not occurred in at least 10 years, according to Kertzer.

So when exactly might the University cancel classes?

“Obviously it depends on weather,” Carey said.

limit of 0.08, the Journal reported, and the police said Sullivan struggled to recite the alphabet after reaching the letter “p” on the night of his arrest.

During testimony entered before Sullivan changed his plea, Sullivan’s girlfriend, Emilie Aries ’09, told the court Sullivan had picked her up from T.F. Green Airport before they headed to a TGI Friday’s in Warwick, where Aries said Sullivan ordered a “clear drink in a pint glass,” adding that his speech and behavior “seemed normal,” according to the Journal.

In her statement to police at the time of the arrest, Aries, a former Herald communications director, said she had drunk “not as much, nearly” as Sullivan, according to the Journal, but she said in court she had been flustered when she saw her boyfriend being arrested and had meant to say “apparently.”

blogdailyherald.com

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

“Housing is the answer” — Rhode Island Coalition for the Homeless Executive Director Jim Ryczek

On misty night on the roof, field hockey pulls one out

By Andrew Braca Spor ts Editor

Facing a 2-1 deficit 21 minutes into its game against Holy Cross Tuesday night, the field hockey team rallied for a 4-2 victory to snap a four gamelosing streak.

Leslie Springmeyer ’12 tallied four points under overcast skies on Warner Roof, as the Bears advanced to 5-10 on the season and gained momentum heading into an Ivy League showdown with Penn on Saturday.

“It was a great win,” said Head Coach Tara Harrington ’94. “We came out and we were attacking hard. We were moving the ball well in the beginning of the game, and I think that we really started to set the tone for ourselves.”

Brown lost two road games in the seven days prior to beating the Crusaders. On Oct. 20, the Bears traveled across the city to take on rival Providence College, taking the Friars to the wire in a 3-2 loss.

Tri-captain Michaela Seigo ’10 and Katie Hyland ’11 each notched a goal and an assist on penalty corners, with Springmeyer adding an assist. Caroline Washburn ’12 made 10 saves for the Bears.

On Saturday, Brown fell to Cornell, 7-3, in Ithaca, N.Y., to remain winless in five Ivy games. Springmeyer scored two goals and added

an assist, Hyland notched the other goal for Bruno and Seigo, Tacy Zysk ’11 and Kit Masini ’12 each tallied one assist. Washburn made 12 saves under a barrage of Big Red shots.

Brown 4, Holy Cross 2 Brown fared better against the Crusaders of Holy Cross than against PC. Neither team took a shot for the first 11 minutes, but the Crusaders broke through at 12:05 when Courtney Callahan scored on her team’s first shot of the game.

The Bears took just 3:49 to respond, as Laura Iacovetti ’12 intercepted a Holy Cross clear and passed up to Masini, who smoked a shot that beat Crusaders goalie Kelly Casey to her right.

“We always like to score first, but it definitely felt good to stay with them,” Springmeyer said.

Holy Cross retook the lead at 20:38 on a penalty corner. After Washburn saved the initial shot, Katie Aylward got the ball and found the back of the cage.

The Bears answered once again.

After Masini and Springmeyer fired hard shots just wide in the 27th minute, Brown notched the equalizer on a corner with 5:55 left in the first half. Springmeyer sent the ball in and Seigo passed over to Whitney Knowlton ’10, who scored her second goal of the season.

Professor: ‘Political will’ needed in crisis continued from page 1

Jesse Morgan / Herald

Tacy Zysk ’11 had one assist in Saturday’s 7-3 loss to Cornell.

“It is great that we continue to fight back and have the will and find the way to put the ball in the opponent’s net when we’re down,” Harrington said.

The Bears entered halftime tied

2-2 despite a 13-3 first-half advantage in shots, largely because they had put only four of those shots on goal.

Harrington said the team stressed offense in the halftime huddle.

“It was a tight game, and we needed to work harder and really gain that attacking mentality to seal the deal in the second half,” she said.

Bruno did just that, taking its first lead of the game just 3:36 into the second half on a sharp give-andgo. Zysk brought the ball up the continued on page 5

tural problems and the personal problems at once in order to get anything done,” she said.

Ryczek agreed that housing was key to solving the crisis and also mentioned the economic benefits that would come with more affordable places to live.

“Housing is the answer,” he said. “We spend far less on individuals when they are housed than when they are taken in by shelters.”

Some questions from the audience focused on specific programs offered and the longterm ef fectiveness of providing housing. The panelists, as well as Joyce, responded by emphasizing the need for groups like Ryczek’s coalition and expressed hope that one day such an organization will not be needed.

“Our organization will have succeeded in our mission when we lock our doors and leave,” Ryczek said.

The event, organized by the Janus Fellows, aimed to give students and community members alike insight into the problem of homelessness throughout the state.

“We had this event to not only start a conversation about the issue of homelessness, but also to think about possible solutions to the problem that could be implemented here in Providence,” said Gene Goldstein-Plesser ’11, Janus Fellows director.

SportsWednesday The Brown Daily Herald

Wednesday, October 28, 2009 | Page 5

s p o rt s i n b r i e f

Late goal pays off for w. soccer The women’s soccer team pulled out another dramatic victory Sunday, securing a 1-0 shutout victory over Cornell with a late goal at Berman Field.

Sylvia Stone ’11 was the hero for the Bears (5-7-1, 2-3-0 Ivy League), scoring the lone goal of the match with less than six minutes remaining.

Teammate Gina Walker ’11 had the initial opportunity, but her shot rocketed off a Big Red defender. Stone took advantage of the fortuitous bounce and struck a low shot past the diving effort of Big Red goalie Megan Bartlett.

Stone’s strike turned out to be the final shot of the game, ensuring a hard-fought victory for Bruno. The Bears outshot Cornell (1-11-1, 0-5-0 Ivy League) 9-2 in the second half but had only troubled Bartlett into making one save before the decisive blast in the 85th minute.

With the win, the Bears sent the Big Red to their fifth straight Ivy League defeat and crept closer to a .500 conference mark on the year.

The Bears have two Ivy League matchups — including one at conference-leading Yale — remaining on their schedule, and Head Coach Phil Pincince said he is focused on ending the season on a strong note.

“We just have to continue to play good soccer at the end of the year,” he said. “A lot of teams burn out at the end of the season, but I think we still have our best soccer yet to be played.”

— Tony Bakshi

Football DB Cruz ’13 gets rookie honor Football’s A.J. Cruz ’13 celebrated a win over Ivy foe Cornell with his teammates last weekend — and now the Ivy League is celebrating him.

Cruz’s performance in the Bears’ 34-14 victory Saturday has earned him the title of Ivy League Rookie of the Week.

Cruz recorded seven tackles — a team high — and also picked off a pass for the Bears’ defense, which did not allow a single point to the Big Red’s offensive unit.

It was the third time the freshman defensive back from Lake Forest, Calif., led the team in tackles this season.

Cruz, who has now started four games for the Bears (4-2, 2-1 Ivy), figures to play a prominent role again on Saturday when the third-place Bears travel to Philadelphia to take on Ivy League-leading Penn (4-2, 3-0 Ivy).

— Sports Staff Reports

Holy smokes! Field hockey drops Crusaders on roof continued from page 4 right side of the field and centered the ball to Springmeyer, who fed Zysk near the mouth of the cage.

Yet the Bears tallied just three second-half shots, requiring the defense to fend off increased pressure from the Crusaders.

“I think in the first half we had a little bit more of a fire and a spark, but our defense stayed really stable and didn’t crash under pressure,” Springmeyer said. “They played really well this game.”

Brown tacked on an insurance goal with 9:26 left on a slick play.

From the deep right side, Elara Mosquera ’13 found Abigail Taft ’12, who drew the goalie Casey before slipping the ball to the right post, where Springmeyer tipped it home for the 4-2 lead.

“It felt great,” Springmeyer said.

“I don’t think we’ve had that much of a lead all season.”

The Crusaders generated a lot of offense in the second half, but were only able to take eight shots.

Caroline Washburn made four of her five saves in the period to stonewall Holy Cross.

“Our backfield was doing a decent job of getting turned and being aware and communicating to our midfield to drop in,” Harrington said. “They’re a good team and they were coming at us and coming at us.

To hold them out, it’s a good day.”

With the win, Brown advances to 5-3 on their home turf of Warner Roof, but they are 0-7 on the road.

“I guess we’ve got some homefield advantages going on here,” Harrington said.

The Bears will need them this weekend, when they face Penn (410, 1-3 Ivy) on Saturday at noon in their final home game of the season.

“I think we’ve been on an upward trend,” Springmeyer said.

“Definitely, against Princeton and PC we played really well, so we’re just fired up for another Ivy League match. It’s always something to get pumped about, so hopefully we’ll keep going up.”

Sweeping and swept: Volleyball splits

By Elisabeth Avallone Sports Staff Writer

The volleyball team split this weekend, sweeping Dartmouth 3-0 for its first Ivy League win of the season and falling to Harvard, also by a 3-0 score.

Brown moved to 5-13 on the season and 1-6 in the Ivy League.

Harvard 3, Brown 0 The Brown-Harvard matchup was close in the early going, as the teams fought back and forth in the first set.

Tied at 21, the Crimson (8-11, 4-4 Ivy) narrowly clipped the Bears after capturing two tightly contested points for a 25-23 victory and a 1-0 lead.

Harvard’s steam carried through the second set, which they took with a 25-17 win. The Crimson took an early 10-4 lead in the third, but Brown came storming back, at one point down only one at 20-19. But Harvard pulled away for a 25-21 victory.

Katrina Post ’13 notched a careerhigh 16 kills to lead the Bears offense, and Christina Berry ’13 added an additional 11 kills.

Carly Cotton ’13 and Bailey Wendzel ’13 held down the defense with 23 and 11 digs, respectively.

Brown 3, Dartmouth 0 Back in action the following day, the Bears earned their first Ivy win of the season against another IvyLeague rival, Dartmouth (7-11, 3-5 Ivy).

Behind the service of Cotton, the Bears overcame a 10-8 deficit with

Jesse Morgan / Herald

The volleyball team split its Ivy matchups over the weekend.

seven straight points to take a 15-10 lead in the first set, which they went on to win 25-22.

The Bears’ momentum carried into the second set as they won the first four points. Through strong defense and excellent hitting, the Bears took a 21-13 lead, a gap the Big Green could not overcome. Brown went on to win the set 25-18.

The Bears offense stepped up in the third set, hitting .357 compared to Dartmouth’s .061. Although Dartmouth held on in the beginning, down by only one at 13-12, the Bears pulled away from there for a 25-14 win.

“We have been working really hard and we are really proud to have our first Ivy win,” Post said. “We are looking forward to starting the second round of Ivies.”

Megan Toman ’11 scored a teamhigh 10 kills, and Brianna Williamson

’11 followed up with nine kills as well as eight digs.

Co-captain Danielle Vaughan ’11 had a strong performance, scoring the final point of the match and recording three blocks to bolster Brown’s defense. Cotton added a team-high 16 digs.

“I was disappointed with the loss on Friday, but it was good to see the team come back on Saturday for our first Ivy victory,” said Head Coach Diane Short. “I thought we played with a lot more heart. It was a full team effort, our defense and offense really came together and we had our highest hitting percentage of the year as well.”

The Bears are on the road this weekend as they take on Princeton (6-12, 4-3 Ivy) Friday night and league-leading Penn (16-4, 7-0 Ivy) the following afternoon.

Editorial & Letters The Brown Daily Herald

Page 6 | Wednesday, October 28, 2009

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

W Week activities are aimed at all students To the Editor: As a WPC, I was delighted by the publicity W Week received from last Friday’s article (“Pledge to respect one’s body kicks off annual women’s week,” Oct. 23). However, that article made the inaccurate assumption that W Week means Women’s Week, a week for women.

W Week is not a week for women to learn about women’s issues: It’s a week of events organized by the WPCs to promote awareness of issues that affect everyone, regardless of gender. (W Week included a women-only self-defense workshop, but this requirement doesn’t represents the ethos of W Week; it was a requirement of the instructor.)

I don’t know why the article replaced “W” with “Women’s.” I think this shows that the role of the WPCs is unclear to many at Brown. The job of the Women Peer Counselors is to advise first-year students of all genders about topics that are often written off as “women’s issues.” We have a tremendously difficult battle to fight when our community (or our student newspaper) categorizes body image, sexism, contraception, safer sex, healthy relationships and sexual harassment and assault as women’s issues. The “women’s issue” label is destructive. Defining these topics as pertaining exclu-

sively to women not only puts the burden of the issues on women alone, but it undermines men who care about them. If we ignore half the people who live with, contribute to and fight to improve these socalled “women’s issues,” we impair any movement toward progress at Brown.

Last night in my dorm I heard a male resident say to a female resident, “You should go to W Week because you’re a woman.” I was disheartened to hear that anyone would think gender has anything to do with who is welcome at W Week, or with who can or should attend WPC-led events. Just as the WPCs are emphatically not counselors designated for women (we’re for everyone), neither are our programs. I anxiously await the day when the best descriptor for the subjects about which I counsel isn’t “women’s issues.” I do everything in my power to bring forward the moment when non-female Brown students feel as much drive to attend W Week — which is Ever yone’s Week — as they think their female counterparts should. I encourage every individual at Brown to work toward the same.

Zoe Stephenson ’12 Oct. 26

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A L e x yuly

e d i to r i a l

Next year in Providence There will be no quick and easy resolution of the struggle between municipal officials, University administrators and state legislators over proposed development in the Jewelry District of downtown Providence. Along with Johnson and Wales University, Brown is considering whether to acquire properties that will be vacated by 2012 under a project to relocate the junction of I-95 and I-195.

Legislation introduced in the Rhode Island General Assembly would arrange a direct sale of several lots to the two universities at market value.

Many state and city officials, Mayor David Cicilline ’83 foremost among them, want more out of the universities. Some of their demands are reasonable, some less so. Quite sensibly, they want to hold the universities to an expeditious timeframe for the development, to ensure that the new property helps stimulate the city’s faltering economy. But they also back a proposal to grant cities the ability to impose a fee of up to 25 percent of property taxes on nonprofits with over $20 million in property. The fee may render Brown’s expansion in the new lots uneconomical, leaving the areas’ development to for-profit firms that could prove unwilling to make major investments in the state’s stagnant and taxheavy business environment.

The General Assembly will meet in a special session today and tomorrow, but with both sides holding firm and many pressing issues demanding lawmakers’ attention, the dueling development bills are almost certain to be shelved until January, when the Assembly reconvenes. If the city and the universities don’t find a middle ground, a promising opportunity could be lost, or at best delayed.

Cicilline has campaigned for the property fee in tandem with a proposed “student impact fee” that would charge private Rhode Island universities $150 each semester per out-of-state student, a dismally misguided idea that would impede these

institutions from bringing in more consumers and future residents. The mayor claims that both measures are essential to ensuring that the universities are paying their “fair share,” as if they were parasites draining their host’s resources without giving anything back. In fact, Brown alone is the state’s seventh-largest employer, and its students’ spending pumps $54 million into the local economy every year, the University says. In 2003 the city’s private institutions of higher education committed to an accord with Cicilline’s administration to donate $48 million to the city over 20 years. In short, they pull their weight, and the mayor’s aggressive insistence otherwise jeopardizes their future contributions to Providence.

In the battle over the Jewelry District, the universities have the assistance of many legislators who recognize their value to the city and the state.

They must justify this trust by demonstrating that they intend to develop the land parcels as soon as they acquire them, rather than sitting on them until expansion seems convenient. Pushing for unduly preferential treatment now only ensures a worse backlash down the line. Johnson and Wales already has specific plans for two dormitories and a hospitality college on the small lot it has requested.

But Brown seems interested in its larger parcels mainly to secure space for speculative expansions of the Alpert Medical School. To maintain good faith with the city and the state, the University should use the months before the next Assembly session to prepare a detailed schedule for the area it hopes to acquire. This will solidify Brown’s reputation as a mainstay of the city and undercut Cicilline’s misconceived stealth taxes.

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

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Opinions The Brown Daily Herald

Wednesday, October 28, 2009 | Page 7

Doing time in graduate school MARY BATES Opinions Columnist Sometimes, graduate school can feel like a prison sentence — the drudgery of running experiments, being cooped up in a lab or library all day and the endless questions about when you get out. No matter where one is in his or her graduate career, the question, “When do you plan on finishing your degree?” is sure to inspire anxiety.

For many grad students, this is because the timeline for degree completion is far from certain. In the humanities, especially, it is not uncommon for students to take more than eight years to finish their Ph.D. Nationally, the median time to degree for humanities students is two-and-a-half to three times longer than that for students in the life or physical sciences. At Brown, the difference in time to completion is less pronounced, but students in the humanities still take approximately one year longer than their peers in the sciences to earn their degrees.

The problem of high attrition rates and prolonged completion times in humanities doctoral programs led a group of scholars, funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, to begin the Graduate Education Initiative in 1991. The results of this ten-year study are being published this month. The group’s recommendations, though based on data from humanities

students, should be considered by all graduate departments.

The study found that attrition rates and times to degree were improved most by increased financial support for students, clear departmental expectations and encouragement and counseling from advisers. Interestingly, the study’s authors did not come to a single conclusion on how long it “should” take to earn a Ph.D. Students who finished in five or six years found more success on the job market than those who finished in eight or more years, but they were also better off than those who

But the percentage of entering students that complete their degrees ranges from nearly two-thirds in the physical sciences to barely more than half in the humanities.

The Ph.D Completion Project seeks to remedy high attrition rates and lengthy times to degree by collecting data from the participating schools and assessing the impact of interventions in such areas as selection of graduate students, mentoring and financial support.

Brown has begun implementing some of the program’s strategies in the past two years.

The first efforts focused on supporting grad students at “critical transitions” in their early

No matter where one is in his or her graduate career, the question, “When do you plan on finishing your degree?” is sure to inspire anxiety.

finished earlier than average (three to five years). And about 25 percent of the students successfully completed their degrees even after more than ten years as graduate students.

Brown University is participating in another national initiative to reduce attrition rates and encourage timely completion of graduate degrees. It is one of 29 universities to receive funding under the Ph.D Completion Project.

Median time to earn a Ph.D at Brown across disciplines is between six and seven years.

years of academic study. This included more emphasis on careful selection of advisers and reaching academic milestones within one’s academic program, as well as additional resources for students seeking funding and writing grants.

These were augmented in the second year by the establishment of services for advanced students preparing to write their dissertations.

Students seeking help in translating their research into writing can now consult with a

dissertation writing coach or attend workshops designed especially for those making the transition from researcher to writer.

While Brown is implementing these interventions on a university-wide level, individual grad students can still take an active approach in making sure their time here doesn’t drag on longer than necessary. Be aware of how long students in your field typically take to complete a Ph.D. Become familiar with your departmental milestones and make the effort to complete them in a timely manner. Have an open line of communication with your adviser; know what he or she expects a dissertation project to consist of and how long he or she thinks it should take to complete.

Another positive factor in degree completion is the presence of a mentor, whether it is your adviser, a post-doc in your lab or another professor in your department. Mentors can provide encouragement and guidance on your research and career plans, and they can offer support during especially trying times.

Graduate school, like prison, can make you feel powerless. Having an open-ended release date doesn’t help, especially when the time necessary to complete a Ph.D is not completely within your control. But I would advise grad students out there to have hope — you can usually get your sentence reduced with good behavior.

Mary Bates GS is a Ph.D student in psychology. She can be reached at mary_bates@brown.edu.

Life in the SciLi FATIMA AQEEL Opinions Columnist Plenty of people start their academic career at Brown hating the SciLi, not understanding the bold artistic ideas behind those unpainted walls and that depressing grey facade. But by the end of freshman year, it becomes a second home for most of us.

How does this transition take place? The truth is, the distinct feel and culture of the SciLi grows on you, and you start enjoying tiny things about this culture. For example, you love the whiff of warm coffee from the Friedman Study Center that greets you when you enter the lobby from the cold outside. Or you start to notice the small and unexpected prints on the walls of the basement — visible only from certain vantage points — and smile.

That said, there are also a few basic improvements that could be made at the Sci Li in that would facilitate good studying.

This week, as I sat on one of those quintessentially SciLi green couches, I started making a list of these few basic things: 1. Comfort. It’s essential for good studying that the study space be comfortable. On that note, the SciLi could be a lot warmer. I’m sure the student body would unanimously agree on this point, because I hear fellow students complain about it all the time.

As the days get colder, students leave their

dorm rooms to study in the library because its atmosphere is more conducive to studying. But the purpose of going all the way to the library is defeated when one hour into students’ work, after all their books and papers are spread out, they realize they’re shivering and can’t study there anymore.

The cold temperature inside the SciLi could be a consequence of the way it has been constructed, with those large windows and

couple more stalls in each bathroom that currently exists in the basement.

Unlike the more remote floors in the SciLi or the Rock, where one bathroom and one stall is sufficient, the SciLi basement is crowded enough for there to be more than one person who needs to use the bathroom at the same time. Frequently, there is a line of people waiting to use the bathroom. Sometimes people abandon the line and take the elevator

A few basic improvements could be made to the library in order to facilitate good studying.

concrete walls that can’t retain heat. It is understandable if warmth is difficult to maintain on the some of the higher floors, where it is naturally colder. But perhaps a few more heaters in the basement and the first few floors could easily tackle the chill.

The top floors may remain colder, but the straight-backed, erect chairs don’t help.

Perhaps these could be replaced by padded chairs that stay warmer, because these will not destroy the environment and will also not cause pain to posterior regions of a student’s anatomy.

2. The bathrooms. There should be at least one more bathroom for each sex in the basement. At the very least there should be a

to use bathrooms on other floors, which, admittedly, is pretty funny, unless you’re the one doing the running around.

The bathrooms could also be in a better condition. Anyone who has attempted using the women’s bathroom in the basement knows what I mean when I say that. You go in to wash your hands and come out looking like you’ve taken a shower with your clothes on. This is because, more often than not, the sink leaks and wets everything near it, and just to reach that sink, you’ve had to step on a small puddle of water anyway. Apart from being awkward, this makes the bathroom look plain messy. The bathroom in the Mezz is of a similarly poor condition, although the ones

on the upper floors are all right, probably because they are used less often.

3. Convenience. That nobody wakes up early in the morning or stays up late on weekends to study is a gross generalization. Plenty of people get an early start to their studying on weekends or decide to do homework on a Saturday night instead of going out, because these may be times when they are most productive.

Therefore, the SciLi, or at least its basement, should be open for longer on weekends. For example, on Saturdays the library is open only from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. In fact, all libraries across campus are closed before 10 a.m. and after 10 p.m. This only gives the SciLi, which is the most centrally located library, further reason to be open.

Moreover, the shifts of people who work at the Help Desk in the basement should be organized such that there is an attendant there whenever the basement is open. People should not have to wait an hour before they get technical assistance for a small task like printing or scanning.

Most of these improvements don’t require a large expenditure at all. True, the SciLi will probably remain an important part of a student’s life with or without these changes, but, if made, they can significantly contribute to students’ productivity in this library.

Fatima Aqeel ’12 is an economics concentrator from Karachi, Pakistan. She can be reached at fatima_aqeel@brown.edu.

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Today The Brown Daily Herald

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Late goal saves women’s soccer

Doing time in graduate school

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comics Dot Comic | Eshan Mitra and Brendan Hainline

Hippomaniac | Mat Becker

c a l e n da r Today, october 28

thursday, october 29

6 pm — Persian Poetry Reading with Music, Rochambeau House

12 PM — “Norms, Nations, Power and EU Foreign Policy,” Panel Discussion Featuring Romano Prodi, Joukowsky Forum

7 pm — Sophomore Concentration Fair, Sayles Hall

5:30 pm — “Sleep and Meditation,” 202 BioMed Building

Cabernet Voltaire | Abe Pressman

menu Sharpe Refectory

Verney-Woolley Dining Hall

Lunch — Polynesian Chicken Wings, Vegan Stir Fry Vegetables with Tofu, Stir Fried Rice

Lunch — Italian Sausage and Peppers Sandwich, Vegetable Strudel, Peas

Dinner — Filet of Sole with Spinach Stuffing, Cheese Quesadillas with Sour Cream and Salsa, Saffron Rice Pilaf

Dinner — BBQ Chicken, Macaroni Salad, Corn Cobbetts

crossword

to m o r r o w

54 / 41

57 / 40

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

u n e x p e c t e d m ov e m e n t

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to day

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