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the Brown
vol. cxlvi, no. 5
Herald
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Since 1891
Students safe after evacuation
R.I. officials confront homelessness By michael Danielewicz Contributing Writer
By Nicole Boucher News Editor
The two Brown students studying abroad in Alexandria, Egypt through a Middlebury College program are safe after being evacuated from Alexandria’s Borg el Arab airport to Prague late Monday night. Program administrators decided to pull participating students, including Michael Dawkins ’12 and Amanda Labora ’12, out of Egypt due to ongoing civilian protests against President Hosni Mubarak. All the students on the program — a Brown-approved alternate study-abroad program — are safe and accounted for, though likely a bit “tired and anxious,” said Michael Geisler, vice president for language schools, schools abroad and graduate programs at Middlebury. Labora’s mother, Deborah WhiteLabora, told local NBC news program WHDH-TV Jan. 31 that she spoke to her daughter last weekend. “She said, ‘We’re not safe here. We’re not safe,’” White-Labora said in the television report. “It was pretty scary to hear that and to hear for the first time the fear in her voice.” Though Middlebury initially planned to use a transport provider that would fly the students through Athens, the program also had a back-up plan in place to connect through Prague if the option would continued on page 3
status as a defendant in the case will also be formally discussed. Going to court over swords is not a matter in which the University is lacking experience. In 1993, Brown sued the estate of John Donelan Jr. for the return of another of Hawkins’ presentation swords — also believed to have been stolen in the mid-1970s — and won on the premise that Donelan was not a “good value purchaser” of the relic. Peter Harrington, the presentday curator of the Brown military collection at the John Hay Library, said he has never been directly responsible for the Hawkins collections nor has he seen either of the swords. An Annmary Brown Memorial curator watched over the relics until the University de-
As temperatures plummeted during the month of January, Rhode Island policymakers turned their attention to the state’s homeless population. According to a report released by the National Alliance to End Homelessness, the homeless population in Rhode Island increased 34 percent between 2008 and 2009. The number of people living with friends and family as a result of economic problems increased 89 percent, the report found. Legislators at the State House held a series of hearings last month on homelessness in the state. Sen. John Tassoni, D-Smithfield, North Smithfield, chairman of the Committee on Housing and Municipal Government, visited the Harrington Hall shelter in Cranston prior to the hearings, where he said he did not “particularly care for” some things he saw there. Tassoni said some aspects of life at Harrington Hall were “inhumane.” The 88 men who sleep there at night stay in one large, open room and do not have access to meals or adequate bathroom facilities in the shelter, he said. Tassoni said he intends to have some Harrington Hall residents speak at the next hearing, to be held today. Tassoni proposed closing Harrington Hall and housing the men who stay there in a building formerly used as the state’s correctional facility for juveniles. “Those guys have to line up at three in the afternoon” to get a place in the shelter, Tassoni said. “That’s not America,” he said, adding that he believed past policymakers prioritized “pet projects” over the well-being of the state’s homeless population. Homelessness is also a key issue for Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I. Reed announced Jan. 19 that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development would provide $4.7 million to 40 homeless assistance programs in Rhode Island. Since 2000, federal grants have brought more than $51 million to state homelessness programs. With sub-zero temperatures in mid-January, shelters such as Crossroads in Providence “saw more people coming in for emergency shelter than we have in months,” said Karen Santilli, vice president of marketing and development for Crossroads. Other emergency shelters in the city are
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Hilary Rosenthal / Herald
Professor Melani Cammett discussed the political unrest in Egypt and Tunisia during Monday’s forum at the Watson Institute.
Watson panel addresses Middle East protests By Caroline Flanagan Contributing Writer
Panelists attributed the ongoing protests in Egypt and Tunisia to oppressive living conditions and changing demographics at a forum held Monday by the Watson Institute for International Studies. “The usual suspects are not the ones who have been organizing the protests,” said panelist Melani Cammett, associate professor of political science and director of the Middle East studies program. “It’s these youth-based groups.” The four speakers at the forum — Cammett, Interim Joukowsky Family Librarian for Middle Eastern Studies Ian Straughn, Postdoctoral Fellow at the Cogut Center for the Humanities Shiva Balaghi and Assistant Professor of Archaeology Laurel Bestock — sought to pinpoint the central reasons behind the
protests. Michael Kennedy, director of the Watson Institute, served as the moderator for the discussion. Both Cammett and Straughn identified poverty as one of the main catalysts of the protests. “Poverty is a huge issue,” Cammett said. “Half of Egypt is living at or below the poverty threshold.” Straughn emphasized the severity of inflation in Egypt, mentioning that many Egyptians can barely afford bread. Poverty is even worse in Tunisia, Cammett added. But Cammett stressed that “economic reasons alone do not explain why protests erupt.” She and Straughn said corruption and unemployment also incited the protests. “In both Tunisia and Egypt, there were opposition groups that were incredibly repressed, especially in Tunisia,” Cammett said. Because Tunisia is less well-known
in America, many people were not aware of the repression, she added. Many Tunisians did not even know about the extent of the repression, Balaghi said, but “Wikileaks made people aware of specific incidents and was one of the triggers of the protests.” Unemployment is another major issue in both countries. Straughn said many protests in Tunisia were instigated by young people. “Even skilled university graduates with many degrees have no opportunities — only those with connections get jobs,” he said, adding that the dearth of opportunities has contributed to a “brain drain.” “Many professionals who had the potential to play a big part in developing the country left to seek opportunities elsewhere,” he said. The speakers also emphasized continued on page 2
By Amy Rasmussen Senior Staff Writer
inside
In pursuit of a priceless relic that has been missing for more than 30 years, the University is suing the city of Newport News, Va. and noted Civil War collectors Donald and Toni Tharpe for the return of a Tiffany and Company silver presentation sword and ornamental scabbard. The ceremonial sword, presented to Col. Rush Hawkins at the end of the Civil War, is referred to in the suit as a “unique and very valuable artifact” that is part of the Annmary Brown Memorial collection. The sword has been missing from the University since it was stolen in the mid-1970s. The suit, which was filed Jan. 6 in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of
news....................2-3 CITY & State.........5 editorial..............6 Opinions...............7 SPORTS....................8
Courtesy of University archives Col. Rush Hawkins had two of his swords stolen from Brown in the 1970s.
Virginia, asks for the University to be immediately recognized as the true owner of the sword and its accompanying scabbard. According to the suit, Brown is still in possession of the sword’s matching Tiffany presentation box. Earlier in 2010, the University was notified by an unnamed source that the sword had been loaned by its current owners to the
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City & state, 5
Lee Hall Mansion — a museum run by the city of Newport News. According to the suit, the blade was returned to the Tharpes Dec. 7. The defendants have since transferred the sword to Day and Meyer, a New York-based warehouse for art. Because the defendants moved the sword so quickly, U.S. District Judge Robert Doumar ordered a 60-day extension to the restraining order that prevents the Tharpes from selling or transferring the artifact. A status conference — a pretrial meeting between the judge and lawyers from both sides — has been set for Feb. 10, according to Beverly Ledbetter, vice president and general counsel. Details of the University’s past attempts to locate the sword will not be disclosed until the next court date, Ledbetter said. At that point, Newport News’
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The Brown Daily Herald Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Eateries ‘take a bite’ out of winter By SOPHIA SEAWELL Contributing Writer
Last week, over 70 restaurants in Providence participated in Restaurant Week, an annual event organized by the Providence Warwick Convention and Visitors Bureau. Participating restaurants offered a specific menu at reduced prices. Most presented either a three-course lunch for $12.95 or a three-course dinner for $29.95, while others offered two-for-one lunches and dinners. Restaurant Week has previously taken place in the summer, but this year’s organizers chose to move it to the winter “at the request of the restaurants,” said Christine Walsh, director of partnership development for the bureau.
Sophia Rabb / Herald
The Duck and Bunny offered special deals on treats for Restaurant Week.
help of the promotional week. Emily Saltz ’14 said she heard about Restaurant Week through friends. Saltz sampled the lunch menu at the Duck and Bunny on Wickenden Street and went to Pizzico Ristorante on Hope Street for dinner. She called the event a “super good deal.”
Poverty, corruption led to protests continued from page 1
Cr ossword
“Winter can be a slow time (for restaurants) due to the weather,” she added. The new timing of this year’s program— called “Take a Bite Out of Winter” — augments the overall purpose of Restaurant Week, which is to increase business and bring in more visitors to the city, Walsh said. Sanjiv Dhar, chef and owner of Kabob and Curry, said his restaurant had participated in the past and “did not get much business.” “Running a three-course meal special at a lower price is not going to do much good,” he added. Ray Hugh, owner of Shanghai, said he had not previously heard of Restaurant Week. He noted Shanghai’s many specials on its regular menu and said the restaurant did not need the additional
that the majority of protestors are not affiliated with a particular political or religious organization. Both Tunisia and Egypt have enormous youth demographics that have taken charge of the protests, Cammett said, adding that social media such as Facebook were important in organizing the protests. The attitudes toward democracy in the Middle East are changing with the growing youth demographic, Balaghi said. She stated that apathy is disappearing and the
people are beginning to feel pride for their countries. Bestock said there have been numerous instances in which Egyptian citizens have worked to protect museums, tombs and historical sites from looters. She said the Egyptians’ pride for their country, culture and history is overwhelming. The Watson Institute was packed with students and professors, some of whom sat in the aisles and on the floor to hear the panel. “It’s one of the most significant political events in our political
lives,” said Harry Reis ’11.5. “I was really interested to hear the perspectives of Brown professors.” “I’ve been glued to the news because I’ve been so worried about my friends,” said Sydney Silverstein ’12, who studied abroad in Cairo last semester. This revolution “could be a turning point in our relations with the Middle East,” Balaghi said at the end of the panel discussion, adding that “the U.S. could come out with more stable and secure relationships with the Arab world.”
Lawmakers address shelter shortages continued from page 1 experiencing the same increase in numbers, she said. The homelessness situation in Rhode Island has been exacerbated by the lack of job availability and affordable housing, Santilli said. Beth Caldwell ’12, student coordinator of Housing Opportunities for People Everywhere, said the student-run organization is supporting local groups combatting homelessness like the Rhode Island Homeless Advocacy Project and the Rhode Island Coalition for the Homeless in their efforts to provide adequate winter shelter. “HOPE will work with these organizations to push the state assembly to create a permanent
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source of funding for the creation of low-income and affordable housing,” she said. While HOPE “is very concerned about the immediate shelter crisis and will work to ensure that no one is left outside this winter, the group also sees shelters as a temporary necessity rather than the long-term solution to homelessness,” Caldwell added. During a state Senate committee hearing Jan. 20, Anthony Maione, president and CEO of United Way of Rhode Island, said the homelessness situation in the state is “worse than we have ever seen.” He stressed the need for long-term housing for the state’s homeless population, citing the success of programs such as Housing First
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and the Neighborhood Opportunity Program. As it stands, openings in shelters are scarce, he said, adding that the United Way received 61,000 calls for assistance relating to housing, foreclosure and emergency shelter. Tassoni urged those present at the hearing to consider what he called the “Worcester Model” to house Rhode Island’s homeless. In late 2009, Worcester, Mass. implemented a new screening process for homeless people attempting to stay at the local People in Peril Shelter. Workers at a triage center attempted to divert them from the shelter by helping them move in with family or friends or to a familiar community. The program also involves a substantial increase in resources and support for the city’s homeless and emphasizes placing the homeless in long-term housing. In Worcester, the plan to end chronic homelessness has proven so successful that the city is planning to close the People in Peril Shelter. Tassoni said he is looking to implement a version of the “Worcester Model” as a long-term remedy for homelessness in Rhode Island. He noted that Worcester is around the same size as Rhode Island and, with modifications, Tassoni said he believes the plan will be effective. “We’re headed in the right direction,” he said.
Campus News 3
The Brown Daily Herald Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Some students study Sword resurfaces decades later ‘away,’ not abroad continued from page 1
By Katherine Sola Senior Staff Writer
While many students choose to spend a semester eating baguettes in Paris or churros in Barcelona, others explore cities closer to home through Brown’s Study Away in the USA option. In recent years, Philadelphia, New York and Boulder, Colo., have all played host to students looking for a different experience outside of Providence. Ten to 15 people choose to study away each year, according to Associate Dean of the College Kathleen McSharry. While she said that most students study away for personal or logistical reasons, the students themselves attribute their decision to a wide range of factors. Jason Gorelick ’12, a computer science and electronic music and multimedia concentrator, spent the fall semester at Columbia to play music with his band. In previous semesters, he said he spent his weekends traveling between Providence and New York, where the other two members of his band live. Taking a semester to study at Columbia allowed him to fulfill computer science requirements while also devoting time to his music. He said that although he enjoyed his time at Columbia, it helped him realize that he did not want to pursue a full-time career in music just yet. New York was “a really good life for me, and now I’m back,” he said. Other students said they chose to study away for academic reasons. Kelly Schryver ’11, an American civilization concentrator, spent the 2010 spring semester at Penn. She took courses on adolescents and the media at the Annenberg School of Communication and the Graduate School of Education. The Penn courses were “perfect for my concentration,” she said. She wrote a final paper about the effect of Facebook on teenage girls that inspired her senior thesis at Brown, she added. Schryver also took a course called “The Big Picture: Mural Arts,” which gave her hands-on experience with the Philadelphia community. As part of the course, students visited a maximum security prison where prisoners make murals for the out-
side community. The experience was “probably the highlight of my time at Penn,” she said. Alexandra Feldman ’11 decided to take advantage of the University of Colorado at Boulder’s strong engineering program in the spring of 2009. As a Colorado native, she said she had “always grown up in the shadow” of the school. She had arrived at Brown as an engineering major, but said she “didn’t really take to it.” Boulder’s College of Engineering has “cool disciplines, like aerospace engineering,” she explained, and she said she was curious to see what it was like. But she said she did not see this as a move towards transferring. Feldman said she appreciated her time away from Brown, and said that she was “so ready” after her semester away to come back and take full advantage of the opportunities Brown offers. She also said she came to the realization at Boulder that she preferred computer science to engineering. McSharry attributed the relatively low number of students that study away to the fact that, once they arrive at Brown “they’re really happy, or at least that’s what they tell the Princeton Review.” McSharry explained that transferring credits to Brown is a complex process, involving two or three levels of approval. A student’s institution and course choice must be approved by McSharry’s office and possibly by the student’s concentration adviser. The relationship between Brown’s course credits and other institutions’ credit hours can also “bollock students up.” She said that although the “vast majority” of students manage to get credit, the process can be frustrating, and urged students considering study away to “monitor their assumptions” that credits would transfer. Gorelick and Schryver both said they had difficulties transferring credits. Only three of Schryver’s four courses counted at Brown, which she described as “kind of a surprise.” Gorelick said that he was “not sure what will happen” with his credits, because he had not yet submitted his transcript from Columbia. “Frankly, I’m not sure if all of them are going to count,” he said.
Evacuated students safely reach Prague continued from page 1 result in a more rapid evacuation, Geisler said. As the faster option, students were evacuated to Prague using the Boston-based Global Rescue transport service, which provides medical and security evacuations for its members. The students will likely remain in Prague for one or two nights before Middlebury makes arrangements to bring the group back to the United States. The students will also have the option of making travel plans with their families but will have to
keep Middlebury personnel aware of their plans to ensure all students get home safely, Geisler said. Once back in the U.S., students will have several academic options because the program in Egypt has been cancelled for the semester. Geisler said these options include a refund for the program, taking part in a “rich, cultural” summer language program or enrolling at Middlebury this semester since the school year is already underway at many of the students’ home institutions. Middlebury resumes its spring term classes Feb. 7.
cided to discontinue the position in recent years. The much-disputed blade of the ongoing lawsuit is currently valued at more than $750,000 and was wrought from “fine steel,” according to an archival document in the Hay. It was presented to Hawkins by New York citizens in May 1863 “for his gallantry and devotion to his country.” The sword itself features fine ornamental details, including a serpent entwined with a laurel wreath and a fierce eagle at the termination of the grip. Hawkins’ initials are inscribed on the blade in raised letters. According to a note in the memorial, swords of such design were generally not presented to colonels, but the citizens felt Hawkins had “performed the duties of a brigadier general.” A mysterious disappearance
According to archival documents in the Hay referencing the presentation sword, the Annmary Brown Memorial was closed for renovations and “budgetary matters” in the mid-1970s and was entirely inaccessible to the public from 1975 to 1977. It was during this period that the alleged theft of the swords is believed to have taken place. As stated in a 1993 affidavit, John Stanley — the administrative assistant to the Hay librarian in the 1970s — made the discovery of several missing items as he was familiarizing himself with the collection. While preparing items for viewing, he noted that a number of artifacts — including the two ceremonial Tiffany swords — were no longer present. Samuel Hough, the curator of the memorial at the time of the discovery, reported an inventory of the missing items in an April 20, 1977 letter to then-Provost Merton Stoltz MA’36. The strongly-worded correspondence also voiced displeasure with the University’s handling of the memorial. “Security measures and respect for the objects of the memorial have been inadequate,” Hough wrote. At the time of the 1993 lawsuit, the University was wary about discussing security measures. When questioned in an interrogatory about the room in which the stolen items were kept, the University objected to the question as “impermissibly vague.” The answers provided to the interrogatory reveal that at the time of the theft, the swords and other missing items were located in a basement room that required “passage through three sets of locked doors.” The only ones with access to the room holding the swords were the curator, the senior librarian and security and maintenance personnel. The blades were not included in any public display between 1972, when they were last observed, and the time they were discovered to be missing in 1977, according to interrogatory answers from the 1993 lawsuit.
As of 2011, “the University has enhanced its security procedures but prefers not to disclose specifics at this time,” Director of News and Communications Sarah Kidwell wrote in an e-mail to The Herald. If the sword should be returned to Brown’s care, she wrote, the University plans to store the blade with the rest of the Hawkins collection. Exactly what this will mean for the future of the sword was not clarified. While some pieces of the collection are on display in glass boxes scattered throughout the memorial, others are unavailable to the viewing public. Currently, Harrington said, the matching presentation box and the other ceremonial sword that was regained in 1993 are stored in the vault located in the Hay. An enduring expression
Built from 1903 to 1907 by Rhode Island architect Norman Isham 1886 MA’1890, the memorial that once held the swords is Hawkins’ personal remembrance of his wife Annmary, who died of pneumonia in 1903. The words that adorn the entrance to the rooms describe it as “an enduring expression of his love and appreciation of her noble and beautiful character.” In 1948, the memorial and all of its possessions were transferred to the University with the understanding that nothing was to be removed from or added to its contents. Failure to comply with those terms “shall cause said deed to become null and voice and the estate forfeited,” according to a 1975 guide to the Annmary Brown Memorial. Although only a note marks where the two ceremonial presentation swords once rested for public viewing in the memorial, other items from the Hawkins
collection remain on full display. A shredded fragment of a flag, a weathered-looking drum and a tin box of letters from Hawkins’ wife serve as reminders of the colonel’s active role in the Civil War. Military life aside, Hawkins’ passionate patronage of the arts is evident in the great number of paintings, older swords and china figurines composing the collection. His vast collection of over 500 incubulum, books printed in Europe before 1501, was moved to the Hay in 1990. In a July 1907 letter to the community printed in the Providence Journal, Hawkins announced the memorial’s official opening. In return for sharing his treasures in the hopes that “they may be of use to those who love the beautiful,” he voiced a plea that the citizens of Providence “care for it and safely guard it.” In the final room of the memorial, Hawkins — killed by an automobile on Fifth Avenue in 1920 — and his wife are entombed side-by-side in a room of marble. Calvin Watts, recently retired from a 37-year career with the Department of Public Safety, is the lone Friday afternoon guard responsible for the immense oil paintings and tattered Civil War relics that line the jewel-toned walls of the memorial. Though the gray building is centrally located next to Health Services and across from Keeney Quadrangle, Watts admitted it is rare for students or faculty to frequent the building. “The other day I had two alumni come in here,” he said. “Not once, in four years, had they been inside this building. The doors are closed so the students just walk by.” When asked about his favorite items among the treasures, Watts gestured grandly to the full-wall display of — what else? — swords.
City & State 5
The Brown Daily Herald Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Train service to extend past airport By GREG JORDAN-DETAMORE Senior Staff Writer
A southward extension of commuter train service from Boston — which currently runs through Providence to T. F. Green Airport — will give Rhode Islanders a new transportation option. A new station — to be called Wickford Junction — is currently under construction in North Kingstown, about 12 miles south of the existing station at T. F. Green in Warwick that opened for service in December. Wickford Junction is slated to open in approximately a year. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority plans to expand its rail service — which stops in Providence and runs to Boston’s South Station — as far south as Westerly, and potentially into Connecticut. The MBTA’s line is being extended to Wickford Junction “primarily to help alleviate traffic on a congested stretch of highway down into the South County area of the state along Route 4 and I-95,” said Stephen Devine, the Rhode Island Department of Transportation’s chief of Intermodal Planning. “Instead of costly investments in highway infrastructure and expansion,” train service on the existing tracks can be “a way of getting people out of their cars,” he said. Extending service
Approximately 10 trains per weekday in each direction are planned for the extended line, according to Devine. Currently, direct service between T. F. Green and Boston is provided by only three northbound trains in the morning and three southbound trains in the evening, according to the MBTA website. From Wickford Junction, 80 percent of riders are expected to head towards Providence, while about 20 percent are expected to travel on to Boston, Devine said. From the airport, most passengers continue past Providence to Boston, he added. Wickford Junction will provide about three-fifths of the new ridership from the extended line, according to RIDOT’s website. The MBTA is expected to recover the additional operating costs from ticket revenue, Devine said. RIDOT will pay for capital costs for the extension. The construction of Wickford Junction will cost about $25 million, with additional track work costing $3 million more, he said. Building up ‘transportation hubs’
Wickford Junction will have an impact on the surrounding area. Planners anticipate retail and high-
density development near the new station, Devine said. At the T. F. Green station, 90 acres of nearby land will be developed for commercial and retail purposes, said Michael Trainor, communications director for Gov. Lincoln Chafee ’75 P’14. “The governor has always said that throughout history, economic development occurs around transportation hubs,” he said. The T. F. Green station and Wickford Junction are located on separate tracks, so trains can stop at a platform while allowing Amtrak’s faster trains — which run on the same tracks — to bypass the station uninterrupted, Devine said. Although the main train line is electrified, the two stations’ separate tracks are not, because unlike Amtrak, the MBTA does not run electric trains. This means Amtrak’s intercity trains will not stop at either station. “The state has undertaken design and construction of only those facilities needed to support commuter service,” wrote Clifford Cole, manager of media relations for Amtrak’s New York office, in an e-mail to The Herald. But with several infrastructure upgrades, including additional electric wiring and another track siding, Amtrak could stop at the airport station. “If the requirements are met, we would be interested,” Cole wrote.
existing MBTA line is also under consideration. Two million dollars in federal money has been allotted to study the proposed station, including preliminary design work and an analysis of possible sites, Devine said. Woonsocket has studied options for rail connections with Boston, Providence and Worcester, Mass., recommending a new commuter line between Woonsocket and Providence via Pawtucket. Amtrak recently proposed a Japanese-style high-speed rail service route running from New York to Boston, passing through central Connecticut and Woonsocket and bypassing the shore and Providence, which are on Amtrak’s existing Northeast Corridor. “We’re supportive of high-speed rail through Rhode Island,” Devine said, noting that the trade-offs of a plan that skips Providence would need to be examined in detail. Rhode Island is currently working on a new statewide rail plan, which will examine infrastructure and operational needs. “We need to take a look at the entire state and how we move forward with rail,” he said.
Rhode Island Department of Transportation
A train station in North Kingstown is the latest development along the commuter rail linking Providence, Boston and T.F. Green Airport.
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A small state’s big vision
Further extension of rail service southwest to Kingston and Westerly, and potentially to Connecticut, is currently under study, Devine said. The University of Rhode Island, located in Kingston, has expressed interest in such an extension. Having stations in Kingston and other locations in the state would offer “a lot of possibilities and a lot of flexibility for students, faculty and visitors to come to our campus,” said Robert Weygand, vice president for administration and finance. Given that service between Wickford Junction and Boston will extend almost 60 miles, it may not be practical for MBTA to continue its commuter train service much further, Devine said. The issue of what agency would operate new or extended rail service is currently being addressed in the study, he said. There have been preliminary discussions about extending Connecticut’s Shore Line East service, which currently runs between New Haven, Conn., and New London, Conn., to Westerly and possibly further into Rhode Island, Devine said. Other proposals
A station in Pawtucket along the
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6 Editorial & Letters Editorial
The Brown Daily Herald Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Editorial comic
b y a l e x y u ly
The prohibitive cost of applying to med school As classes started up last week, some students were already studying. To those students, our nation’s aspiring doctors: Congratulations. Completing the Medical College Admission Test is no easy feat. Taking the MCAT comes at no small price — and we don’t just mean to your social life. It costs $235 just to take the MCAT itself. And you might spend nearly $2,000 on test-preparation classes. But these are only the first expenses in the lengthy process of applying to medical school. It costs $160 to submit an application for your first medical school, and $31 for each additional institution. Most schools also require secondary applications, which come with fees of $30 to $120, according to George Vassilev, assistant dean of the College. Brown students typically apply to 10 to 15 schools, Vassilev wrote in an e-mail to The Herald. Students who land interviews at the schools where they applied have the privilege of covering their own travel expenses: round-trip airfare or a bus or train ticket to the school’s campus, accommodations and food. The University of California at Berkeley estimates that an applicant’s travel expenses for interviews will total $2,500. Assistance exists for some of the costs associated with applying. The Association of American Medical Colleges reduces the MCAT registration fee and waives the central application fee for eligible students. But no financial aid exists to help with travel expenses, a hefty chunk of the total cost of applying, or to help even the playing field for applicants who can’t afford a months-long test-prep course. Medical school may come with a price tag of more than $40,000 in tuition and fees each year, but a successful graduate expects his or her new degree to help pay off student loans. Someone applying to medical school, on the other hand, is not guaranteed admission anywhere. In fact, in 2009, 54 percent of applicants nationwide and nearly 20 percent of Brown graduates were not admitted into a medical school. There is no guaranteed return on an investment that can easily reach more than $7,000. The socioeconomic barriers to attending medical school are more complex than just the expenses associated with applying, but the financial cost of the application process is a significant obstacle to lowincome students who are considering a career in medicine. Given the already considerable concerns about the growing elitism and affordability of undergraduate education, it is imperative that the doors of a prestigious and well-paid profession should be open to all students, regardless of their socioeconomic background. We commend professional associations such as the Association of American Medical Colleges for the aid that they make available to financially needy students. But we ask them, and medical schools themselves, to recognize that such assistance is insufficient. The medical establishment has the responsibility of investing in the people that are its profession’s future. We also hope the University’s health career advisers will be up front with students about the expenses of applying and to advise students and their families to prepare financially for applying to, as well as attending, medical school. Editorials are written by The Herald’s editorial page board. Send comments to editorials@browndailyherald.com.
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letters to the editor All hail community discussion To the Editor: In his recent column (“The ROTC Question”, Jan. 29), Chris Norris-LeBlanc ’13 argues that a newly formed university committee to reevaluate Brown’s Reserve Officers’ Training Corps ban is unnecessary. The essence of Norris-LeBlanc’s argument is that the basis of the University’s ROTC ban in 1972 remains relevant given the current “socio-political climate” and military activities in Afghanistan and Iraq. I am opposed to ROTC — at Brown or elsewhere — but I don’t agree that these are good reasons to carry forward a 40-year-old ban without reconsideration. I ask: when is it worthwhile to reevaluate the decisions of our academic forebears? I am opposed to ROTC at Brown because I question its academic value. Brown’s mission is to give students tools to think critically about the world and to engage with the world effectively. In some ways, exposure to the military may be counter-productive for a university culture that prides itself on free thinking. I don’t think all of military culture values execution over ideation,
but a strong hierarchical structure is bound to nudge individuals more toward “rank and file” than “pioneer.” We want pioneers at Brown. At the same time, it’s too simple to compare Iraq to Vietnam and conclude that there is “no reason why ROTC would be any more welcome” today. The repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” shows that our government, including much of the military, is open to reevaluating policy and practice in the armed forces. I think the military would be better off with more Brunonians as it evolves into a more inclusive and receptive organization. Is Brown better off? I don’t know, but it seems worth considering. Norris-LeBlanc ends with a rally charge, “all hail community referenda.” But we need discussion to separate a past generation’s referendum from gag rule on future change. If students are unwilling to reevaluate old University policies like the ROTC ban, then we’re acting with the same dogma from which we hoped to steer away. Steven Gomez GS
Disputing DPS role in December donut run To the Editor: Your article about the naked donut run contained a glaring factual inaccuracy. While we, the runners, were initially disrupted by a security guard, (Department of Public Safety) Officer Louise McLaughlin took our names and addresses. Further, she threatened us with calling the Providence Police.
Tim Peacock ’12 A participant in the affected run Mark Porter, chief of public safety, told The Herald DPS responded to a call about the run but did not have a report on the incident -ed.
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Opinions 7
The Brown Daily Herald Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Natural questions will save your life By Hector Najera Opinions Columnist “Idle reader...” With these words Cervantes opens his masterpiece “Don Quixote” — but does idleness imply passivity? Isn’t it true that when we read, we launch ourselves into voyages, sometimes turbulent and earthshattering ones? This is one of the questions the book explores. What I want to explore is not Cervantes, but questions. I believe you, dear reader, have natural questions. And I believe that these natural questions are guiding your time at Brown. A natural question is an organic question — a distinctly personal curiosity that demands exploration. Examples: How can I express trauma in dance? What role does music play in the classroom? Why did 30,000 children die today because of hunger? Varied in scope, natural questions are expressions of our intrinsic desire to understand. For instance, you are shopping courses that speak to you in one way or another, looking for answers and acting on your natural questions. A year ago, I took off to Central California and worked for a few months picking bell peppers. To be sure, there is nothing at-
tractive about the work. I woke up at five in the morning to hop into a van and drive to vast fields where we would wait for the sun to rise. As soon as we could see the red of the bell peppers, we entered the rows with buckets in hand. Right behind, a conveyor belt followed us — pushed us — into production. At the end of my first day, I was plotting face-saving ways to quit. By the second day, I was convinced I was a communist. By the third, the intense heat made
A more compelling question is linked to my pedagogical training. I had graduated from Bennington College ecstatic about the power of a liberal arts education. But what meaning, if any, does education have in rural, farm working communities? I needed to know. These questions were nagging at me — these gaps in my education that just needed to be filled. So I armed myself with courage and took off to find answers. Dear reader, your questions may not be
I think of how greater minds than mine have attempted to answer the questions that I pose. But that is what we are here for — to struggle at the boundaries of our own understanding. me forget the resolutions from the first two days. My focus became survival — making it one bucket of peppers at a time. Why put myself through this? There are a few reasons, but I do believe that the impetus was questions. A long time ago, I picked jalapeño peppers alongside my mother, but I was too young to understand what it meant to be a field worker. As I grew up, I increasingly needed to understand my mother and her decisions.
as dramatic as the ones I shared, but I am certain you have them. If I have convinced you, here is my challenge to you: Pick a class and articulate a question — a real, meaningful question — and write it down. Throughout the semester, come back to it and reflect on how the answer is coming along, but don’t answer it yet. When the semester is about to end, write the best answer you arrive at. When I get to that point, I question
whether I am ready to offer any kind of answer. I am reminded of Michele de Montaigne who, upon learning of the New World, lamented that greater minds were not alive to help those living understand. Similarly, I think of how greater minds than mine have attempted to answer the questions that I pose. But that is what we are here for — to struggle at the boundaries of our own understanding. So I suck it up and write an answer down. I always feel better afterwards. If you accept my challenge, I want to leave you with a wonderful concept from Sandra Cisneros. In a short story, she suggests that people are like Russian dolls. Inside the 20-year-old you, there is the 19-year-old you and the 18-year-old you, and so on. So if you get overwhelmed and want to cry, that is the three-year-old you. If you get angry and want to scream, that may be the 13-year-old you. So don’t sweat it. The other day, I was in class in the third floor of Sayles Hall. I glanced at the Main Green and saw over a dozen boys playing football in the snow. I am from California, so this seemed plain crazy. But, I bet you, they were answering a natural question as well. Don’t you think? Hector Najera is a grad student studying education.
WikiLeaks: More good than bad, and the best may be still to come By Ian Trupin Opinions Columnist About the middle of last December, I was pleasantly surprised to read that libertarian Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, had taken up the defense of WikiLeaks founder and editorin-chief Julian Assange on the floor of the House. “Is there not a huge difference between releasing secret information to help the enemy in a time of declared war, which is treason, and the releasing of information to expose our government’s lies that promote secret wars, death and corruption?” Paul asked the assembled legislators. My hope is that Paul’s courage and eloquence in attempting to redirect attention and controversy from the messenger to the troubling message have not fallen on deaf ears. Amidst the controversy ignited by the November release of tens of thousands of U.S. State Department diplomatic cables and the earlier releases regarding the Iraq and Afghan wars, Paul’s speech was politically costly. Indeed, the conservative blog RedState went so far as to call him “al-Qaeda’s favorite member of Congress.” It has nevertheless placed Paul among a very few public figures who have been willing to challenge the anti-WikiLeaks vitriol of the decision-makers who bear the most responsibility for the secret wars and other questionable meddlings revealed by the organization. These individuals include such warhawks as Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., Defense Secretary Robert Gates and even Sarah Palin, whose voice has been among the most strident in calling Assange a terrorist who should be “pursued with the
same urgency [as] al-Qaeda and Taliban leaders.” These opponents of WikiLeaks have made much of the idea that the organization is responsible for endangering U.S. citizens and allies. Setting aside the glaring hypocrisy of such war-mongers accusing WikiLeaks of putting people in harm’s way, it is evident that these claims are mostly baseless. To begin with, the idea that the leaks incite new anti-American sentiment is flawed. Afghans and Iraqis do not have to find their way to the widely censored “Collateral Murder” videos to see that the reali-
those documents was purely to avoid government embarrassment. The report that some of the leaked documents may have revealed identifiable details of Afghan informants in its Afghan War Diaries is of much greater concern. WikiLeaks claims to have made efforts to protect informants’ identities prior to the initial release, and for subsequent releases, it has used more thorough methods. If it turns out in the coming months that negligence on the part of WikiLeaks’ editors has put informants or their families in harm’s way, then this will be the single unambiguous instance of wrongdoing by the organi-
If we accept speculations about the dangers of these leaks, we must also weigh them against equally speculative views of the wide-ranging benefits of increased government accountability.
ties of the wars in which they live are brutal. Likewise, the people of Pakistan and Yemen who are impacted by the instability in their respective countries do not need diplomatic cables to tell them that they are being affected by a U.S. military presence. Rather, it is the under-informed U.S. public that stands to benefit. The Pentagon continues to claim that the leaks may have revealed information of strategic importance. It should, however, be remembered that it was not until 18 years after he prosecuted the New York Times for publishing the Pentagon Papers that former solicitor general Erwin Griswold admitted that the classification of
zation, and it will be the result of carelessness, not of ill-intent. It is only reasonable that if we accept speculations about the dangers of these leaks, we must also weigh them against equally speculative views of the wide-ranging benefits of increased government accountability. Much has been said about the damage done to diplomacy by the latest leaks. Yet if such diplomacy consists of our government supporting repressive regimes or launching combat operations of which the U.S. public has no knowledge but for which it pays dearly, then what has been lost? In the case of repressive regimes, the recent
episodes of popular unrest in Egypt and Tunisia demonstrate that the perpetuation and support of such regimes does little for the long-term stability of such regions, let alone the people’s right to democratic selfdetermination. As for the politicians who are upset about having been caught making diplomatic compromises, perhaps now is the time for them to recognize that it is their own incendiary language and hardline public stances that have made their jobs difficult. Such quips as President George W. Bush’s refusal to “negotiate with terrorists and radicals” are clearly a non-starter in a world of greater diplomatic accountability. Furthermore, WikiLeaks presents an opportunity for the U.S. to demonstrate its commitment to democracy by not attacking whistleblowers. Is it not hypocritical for leaders who call for regime change and democratization to shroud their efforts in such undemocratic secrecy? For U.S. leaders to credibly criticize the censorship of governments such as that of China, mustn’t they lead the way by accepting the era of WikiLeaks with grace? Those of us who believe that powersthat-be must be held accountable should stand with WikiLeaks as it prepares to release new documents relating to tax evasion by some of the world’s richest people and material from a hard drive believed to have belonged to a Bank of America executive. In the current spirit of economic malaise, anger at the increasingly consolidated and powerful banks and disgust at the growing inequalities between rich and poor, such insights may be welcomed as no leaks have been before. We live in interesting times. Ian Trupin ‘13 is a COE concentrator.
8 Sports Tuesday Indoor TRACK
The Brown Daily Herald Tuesday, February 1, 2011
FENCING
Squads Fencing squads prevail at weekend tourney come away with silver By alex mittman contributing writer
By james blum Sports Staff Writer
The men and women of indoor track both claimed second place last Friday at the Reebok Boston Indoor Games, their first meet since the end of winter break. The men finished with 70 points in the 17-team field, behind firstplace host Northeastern University, with 118.5 points. The only title won by the men was the 4x400-meter relay. The team of John Spooney ’14, Samuel Howard ’14, Nathan Elder ’13 and Matt Bevil ’14 won in a time of 3:18.36 seconds. “I was extremely happy with the men’s 4x400-meter relay. Not only did they win, but they also posted an IC4A qualifying mark,” wrote Marc Mangiacotti, assistant coach of sprinters and hurdlers, in an email to The Herald. “It was good to get back on the track and on the relay team,” Bevil said. The men also performed well in the one-mile run, with Dan Lowry ’12 capturing second place in a time of 4:12.77. He was backed up by Anthony Schurz ’12, who finished fifth, and newcomer Colin Savage ’14, who finished ninth. Spooney also turned in a notable performance, capturing second place in the 55-meter dash. Bevil came in fifth place in the 500-meter. “I think I am where I should be. I have a lot of work to do, but I still have time,” Bevil said. In a field of 17 teams, the women finished second with 93 points, just four points shy of firstplace Northeastern’s 97. Gabriella Baiter ’11 brought home the gold for Brown in the triple jump with a combined leap of 40 feet, 2.25 inches. The sprinters and hurdlers were an important part of Brown’s second-place finish, as well. Colby Lubman ’14 came in second in the 55 with a time of 7.32 seconds, as well as fourth in the 200-meter, posting a time of 26.09. Susan Scavone ’12 made her contribution as she crossed the line of the 55-meter hurdles in 8.31 seconds, in third place. “The sprinters and hurdlers did a fantastic job competing at the Reebok Collegiate Invite,” Mangiacotti wrote. “The sprinters and hurdlers still have some work to do, but I am happy with their progress.” Once again, co-captain Brynn Smith ’11 placed second in the weight throw, finishing in second place, with a hurl of 53-11. Victoria Buhr ’13 competed in the shot put, throwing 44-00 to finish in second place. The next challenge facing Bruno is this Friday, at the Giegengack Invitational hosted by Yale in New Haven, Conn.
The Bears posted another set of impressive scores in the second half of the Northeast Fencing Conference tournament last Saturday. The men’s team was victorious, and the women’s team posted a pair of one-bout losses to Vassar College and Brandeis University. The men’s squads, in their combined scores, won 21-6 against Dartmouth, 19-8 against MIT, 18-9 against Tufts and 1611 against Vassar. The Bears also defeated one of their rivals, Brandeis, 15-12, which Joshua Grill ’14 called “a big deal.” The women’s squads were also victorious, beating Dartmouth 22-5, Smith College and Tufts 18-9, and MIT 16-11.
Head Coach Atilio Tass said his fencers “came back very enthusiastic” from winter break and that he was “very, very happy with this weekend’s results.” The fencers put up impressive individual scores in all of the weapons. In men’s sabre, Teddy Weller ’13 went 14-1 and Peter Tyson ’13 went 11-3. In men’s epee, Ben McDonald ’14 went 10-4, and for the women’s squad, Cory Abbe ’13 took 12-4 while Laney Caldwell ’14 went 11-6. In women’s foil, Kathryn Hawrot ’14 won 17 out of 18 bouts fenced, Avery Nackman ’13 won 16 out of 18 and Yukiko Kunitomo ’12 won seven out of her 10. Francesca Bartholomew ’11 won a perfect eight of eight bouts. The men’s fencing squad fought
another solid tournament, with Joshua Grill ’14 posting eight victories in 10 bouts, and Jonathan Yu ’11, James Golin ’13 and Scott Philips ’11 all posting seven victories out of nine bouts. “All five members of the team are really good,” Grill said. He said that his top score was a matter of placement. On the women’s side, the epee squad posted a score of only two victories to seven against the team. “Our epee squad wasn’t having the best day,” Abbe said, despite winning 32-22 against the six schools it faced that day. She said she had won the only two victories for women’s epee against Brandeis. Women’s foil won seven bouts of their nine, and sabre scored four victories to its five losses. According to Abbe, Christina
Johantgen ’14, who went 3-15, won in the last saber bout against Brandeis, giving the women’s team a fighting chance. But the foil squad fell short by the one bout that would have bumped the three weapons’ total up to a 14-13 winning score. “Hopefully, they’re scared of us next year,” Abbe said. The Bears will not know their overall standing until the teams they have faced in the past two NFC matches face each other. The men’s squad lost to two schools in the first half of the Bear’s NFC season at MIT, bringing Brown’s record to 22-4 in the tournament. Both the men’s and women’s squads will next be in action when they head to MIT for the Eric Sollee Invitational this Sunday.
FOOTBALL
Offense gets boost from returning seniors in 2011 By ethan mccoy assistant sports editor
The football team will welcome back a number of familiar faces to the gridiron on the offensive side of the ball in 2011. For three of those players, their classmates will have already shaken President Ruth Simmons’ hand, received their degrees and entered the postBrunonian world. Because of injuries and the Ivy League’s medical redshirt rules, 2009 All-Ivy quarterback Kyle Newhall-Caballero, 2010 All-Ivy wide receiver Alex Tounkara and wide receiver Matt Sudfeld — all seniors — will take a leave of absence in the spring 2011 semester and return for the fall semester and season. All three players have eligibility to play another year due to substantial injuries sustained in past seasons. To qualify for the medical hardship waiver, a player must have proof of his injury, not play in more than 20 percent of his team’s games and not play after the midway point of the season, wrote Newhall-Caballero in an e-mail to The Herald. Newhall-Caballero played in only the second and third games this fall due to a wrist injury, while Sudfeld missed the entire season with a nagging hamstring injury.
Tounkara, who led the Bears with 61 catches for 842 yards and 4 touchdowns in 2010, was forced to sit out all of his junior season in 2009 due to injury. The three credited their decision to return to the unique opportunity of playing the game they love at Brown and the camaraderie they share with their teammates — something that they are “not ready to part ways with quite yet,” according to Newhall-Caballero. In addition, each said he has his own personal reasons for returning. For Sudfeld — the player pegged to fill the shoes of Bobby Sewall ’10 and current New England Patriot Buddy Farnham ’10 — coming back is about ending his career on the right note, he said. “It’s difficult when you work year-round and have high expectations going into a season, only to end up watching from the sideline,” wrote Sudfeld in an e-mail to The Herald. “Playing football at Brown has been a fantastic experience, and I didn’t want it all to end while sitting on the sidelines, watching my team play without me.” For Tounkara, whose 2010 season was a breakout effort in his first starting role, the chance for another opportunity to prove himself — maybe even to NFL scouts — spurred his decision.
“Although an extreme long shot, there is still a chance of playing at the professional level,” Tounkara wrote in an e-mail to The Herald. “I owe it to myself to try. It is every football player’s childhood dream to make it to the pros, so when you have even the smallest chance, you have to give it all you’ve got.” Like Sudfeld, Newhall-Caballero said he did not want to end his career at Brown on the sidelines, adding that returning would also allow him the chance to work on his future outside of football. “I was offered a great opportunity to work and develop my career skills this spring,” wrote NewhallCaballero, who will be working at a private equity firm in New York City during the spring semester. “I know that my time this spring will give me great exposure to a field of work in which I am very interested in pursuing, and that I will have a better idea of the work I will choose to pursue upon graduation as a result of it.” Tounkara, an economics and international relations concentrator, said he will also be working in New York, while Sudfeld said he plans to spend a month in Uganda and Kenya with Assist International, a humanitarian organization. He said he also plans to work for the New England Technical Insti-
tute and prepare for law school. While the three are excited about their academic plans and the 2011 season, the decision does not come without sacrifice — especially regarding graduation and spending the final semester with their classmates. “I’ll do everything I can to attend commencement and senior week, but it’s a long shot,” Tounkara wrote. “It would be difficult to have my family fly out here and not return home with a degree in hand.” Though it is a ways away, excitement for the upcoming season is running high, as Newhall-Caballero will have an impressive arsenal of weapons in what has the potential to be the Ivy League’s most explosive offense. Mark Kachmer ’13, Bruno’s leading rusher, will be back taking handoffs, while Tounkara and Sudfeld will be part of a deep receiving corps along with Jimmy Saros ’12, Jonah Fay ’12 and Tellef Lundevall ’13. Linebacker Robert Gillett ’11, who also has red-shirt eligibility after missing the majority of last season, will also be returning on defense. “Any one of the seniors would give anything to have the opportunity to come back and play another year,” Tounkara wrote. “I was just lucky enough to have it.”