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vol. cxlvi, no. 51
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Since 1891
Case raises Prodi: African Union key player in Libya questions A Herald exclusive of research interview ownership By David Chung Senior Staff Writer
By Sahil Luthra Senior Staff Writer
As the Supreme Court examines an invention-ownership dispute between Stanford University and Roche Molecular Systems, Brown is tightening its own regulations. Under federal law, universities currently own faculty inventions. But while some faculty members stand with administrators in support of University ownership, others are skeptical of the system. Last April, the University cosigned a brief siding with Stanford in support of university ownership of faculty inventions. Case basics
The case, Stanford v. Roche, challenges the current federal standards regarding invention ownership, which is granted in full to universities under the 1980 Bayh-Dole Act. The case involves Stanford Professor of Medicine Mark Holodniy, who signed an agreement giving Stanford ownership of his research. Holodniy later signed a competing agreement with a local continued on page 3
Pounding his firmly clenched fists on the table, Romano Prodi, former prime minister of Italy and former president of the European Commission, called on global leaders to take “strong action” to aid the Middle East and North African countries in their current crises. As president of the commission — the executive arm of the European Union — he held the highest office on the continent from 1999 to 2004. In an exclusive interview with The Herald last week, Prodi, a professor-at-large at the Watson
Institute for International Studies, stressed that more attention should be placed on Egypt and that mediation efforts on the part of the African Union may be the key to ousting Colonel Moammar Gadhafi from power in Libya. Though opposition forces in Egypt succeeded in overthrowing President Hosni Mubarak Feb. 11, the country’s worsening economy could threaten the success of its “freedom revolution,” Prodi said. Criticizing the gradual retreat of world powers from Egypt after supporting its democratic uprising, he said the rebellion may face severe problems unless European and U.S. governments step in to upstart the economy. He invoked the Marshall Plan, an economic
Lydia Yamaguchi / Herald
continued on page 2
Western economic support is vital to Egypt’s democratic survival, former Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi said.
R.I. still plugged in to renewable energy By Casey Bleho Staff Writer
Despite a $331 million state deficit that has forced political leaders to consider state programs for cuts, Rhode Island’s renewable energy efforts are moving forward. The state is focused on shifting from conventional energy sources, and state agencies have increased efforts to identify new sites for these projects, according to Keith Stokes, executive director of the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation. The
corporation, a quasi-public agency, manages a renewable energy fund that is used to provide financing for green investments.
city & state The Economic Development Corporation and the Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources are currently finalizing the details of a study to identify land-based renewable energy projects in the state. The study will be conducted with the assistance of the University of Rhode Island’s
Coastal Resources Center and other state agencies. The study, the Land Special Area Management Plan, is modeled on the Ocean Special Area Management Plan, a nationally recognized collaboration between the URI Coastal Resources Center and other agencies that is now underway. The ocean management plan “is currently one of the country’s leading models for offshore wind energy siting recommendations,” said Su-
separate question on the Herald poll, a vast majority of students — 84 percent — said they had not thought seriously about transferring from Brown at all. Twelve percent indicated they had thought somewhat seriously about transferring, and 4 percent replied they had thought very seriously about the prospect. Kyle Werner, a former member of Brown’s class of 2013, transferred to Bowdoin College last year. He called Brown “extremely cliquey.” “I had kind of two groups of friends, and I was really tight with them,” he said. “But outside of that, I felt like a lot of the time, you’d talk to the people and they didn’t seem as interested in being friendly or open with you if they didn’t already know you.” Despite the social situation, Werner said he enjoyed being continued on page 3
— David Chung
continued on page 5
The Princeton Review has ranked Brown students the happiest in America for the past two years, and there are no signs this reputation
the herald poll
inside
Anna Migliaccio / Herald
news....................2-3 CITY & State........4-5 editorial...............6 Opinions................7 SPORTS....................8
Going local
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for bliss is amiss. According to last month’s Herald poll, 72 percent of students are very happy with their Brown experience. Twenty-four percent said they were somewhat happy, and the remaining 4 percent were roughly split between very or somewhat unhappy and neither happy nor unhappy. “I really love it,” said Alessandra Frank ’13, adding that she is “beyond satisfied — thrilled” with her undergraduate experience. Brown “has made me the person I didn’t even know I wanted to be,” said Eric Hubble ’11. According to results from a
Hook-up
New college dating website failing to gain traction City & State, 4
College?
Higher ed is worth every penny after all opinions, 7
weather
By Kristina Klara Staff Writer
Despite weekend of vice, only one theft An unidentified male trespassed into an unlocked dormitory room Saturday morning, grabbing a wallet before dashing out, according to Mark Porter, chief of police and director of public safety. The incident, which occurred on Wriston Quadrangle, was the only reported break-in over Spring Weekend this year, Porter wrote in an email to The Herald. The male was reported to have entered a room in Goddard House at approximately 6:30 a.m. Saturday and snatched a wallet from a desk in the room, Porter wrote in an email to The Herald. The occupants of the room as well as Richard Bova, senior associate dean of residential and dining services, declined to comment. The Office of Residential Life, the Student Activities Office and Greek Council announced in an April 12 email to Wriston residents that additional measures would be implemented to increase security on the quad during Spring Weekend. From 8 p.m. Saturday to 2 a.m. Sunday and from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, entrances to Wriston, other than Wayland Arch and the gate on George Street, were closed due to events scheduled to take place during those times. Access to the Wriston Rager party Saturday night and Dave Binder’s concert Sunday afternoon was limited to students with identification cards and their guests to prevent thefts on the quad.
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continued from page 1 plan the United States undertook following World War II to strengthen and stabilize Europe’s economy. Though the war in Libya has recently shifted much of the regional focus away from Egypt, Prodi said “the real country’s Egypt” because of Egypt’s leading role in the Arab world. A country of 80 million people, Egypt has served as a “center of the deepest Islamic thought,” enjoying influence throughout the Middle East and Africa, Prodi said. Its universities are renowned around the world, and the nation has always “exercised a moderating action” in the region, he said. But with tourism — one of the largest sectors of the nation’s economy — lagging, and capital flight outweighing incoming aid money, Egypt’s economy is struggling. “The situation, instead of improving, is worsening,” he said. The educated and unemployed youth who live in Cairo and Alexandria were major contributors to the revolution and saw it as “the startup of a solution” for the nation. But with the deterioration of the economy, “I am obliged … to put a question mark on the future,” Prodi said. Recalling his experiences with Mubarak, Prodi said the Egyptian leader is highly intelligent and knowledgeable in the political arena and had gained the support of Western countries through his ability to serve as a moderator in the region. Mubarak had expressed concern about an emerging student revolution about a decade ago, but since then, “his behavior … was of a man who was absolutely certain (there was) no risk in his power,” Prodi said. Prodi said Mubarak is an outspoken man with whom he has had several enjoyable experiences. Prodi called these episodes “absolutely funny” but declined to
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comment further. “I shall make an interview, say, in 2020 to you” to talk about his experiences, he said, but declined to elaborate on specific episodes during this interview. While the uprising in Libya also aims to dethrone a dictator, the struggle is fundamentally different from that in Egypt, Prodi said. The Egyptian movements were primarily class-based, whereas the conflict in Libya is rooted in the ethnic differences of people who inhabit Tripolitania and Cyrenaica, two major historical regions of the country, Prodi said. Tripoli, the capital of Libya and the center of Gadhafi’s power, is located in Tripolitania, and Benghazi, the rebel government’s base, is located in the eastern region of Cyrenaica. The Tripolitanians have dominated the Cyrenaic people since Gadhafi ousted King Idris, who was of Cyrenaic origin, in 1969, Prodi said, and the modern union of these two entities, represented by the nation of Libya, has always been “artificial.” The ethnic and geographical differences have created a “cumulated tension” exasperated by Gadhafi’s dictatorial policies. Prodi was hesitant to call the revolution inevitable, but he said the uprisings in the Middle East sparked the tinder of Libyan society’s innate tensions. The African Union sent a delegation led by South African President Jacob Zuma to Libya last week in hopes of fostering negotiation between Gadhafi and the rebel government and achieving peace. While Gadhafi reportedly accepted a peace agreement, the rebels rejected the proposal, which would have left Gadhafi in power. Prodi said he has always supported the African Union’s mediation efforts, but it would have been “wiser” if the union had stepped into the conflict earlier. Though he is unsure if the union’s efforts
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will succeed, he said, based on his experience with Gadhafi, the African Union is the only body that has the potential to successfully negotiate with Gadhafi regarding his own withdrawal. According to Prodi, Gadhafi frequently talked about Africa and donned clothing imprinted with maps of the continent. He contributed a significant amount of money to the African Union, and he wanted to eventually become “the recognized leader of Africa.” Prodi, who first met Gadhafi during his term as prime minister between 1996 and 1998, said the Libyan dictator stressed his desert origins, and most of their meetings were held in tents or in the desert. While Prodi said he hopes NATO air strikes will help end the struggle, he added there is no consensus on how Western powers will ultimately end the strikes. Calling the African Union the “winner in this situation,” he said NATO and global powers should not engage in a project if they are unsure how to end it. Prodi said he pushed for a number of initiatives during his time as president of the European Commission to help the countries of North Africa. For example, the European Neighbourhood Policy, approved in 2004, aimed to incorporate countries adjacent the Mediterranean — including Egypt and Libya — into various aspects of European policy without including them in the European Union. The policy’s goal was to effectively make use of the Mediterranean’s economic potential. The Union for the Mediterranean was also established in 2008 to promote and maintain stability in the region. But European efforts in the Middle East and North Africa have been limited by immigration concerns, the economic crisis and tensions in European political relations, he said. “If we are wise and if we love, really, democracy, we must, in spite of the economic crisis, in spite of our problems … build a plan in order to help the recovery of the countries,” he said. Prodi declined to comment about the underage sex scandals surrounding Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who succeeded him in 2008, saying such talk would be in “bad taste.” But he did add, “I’m very sorry for my country.”
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The Brown Daily Herald Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Stanford court case highlights patent ownership policy continued from page 1 company, Cetus, granting them the rights to his invention. When Cetus was acquired by Roche Molecular Systems, Roche said the stronger wording of the Cetus contract gave the company the right to the invention, according to a Feb. 22 article in the Chronicle of Higher Education. After Stanford unsuccessfully tried to negotiate ownership with Roche, the university sued in 2005, arguing that Holodniy lacked the authority to turn over the rights under federal law. The Supreme Court began hearing arguments for the case in February and is expected to rule by July, according to a Feb. 28 Chronicle article. In addition to the brief filed by the Association of American Universities, which Brown signed, the Obama Administration has also filed a friend of court brief in favor of Stanford. The American Association of University Professors, as well as various industry groups, have filed briefs in favor of Roche, according to a February article on the Patent Law Practice Center website. University response
In response to the court case, Brown and other universities have “tightened up” the language in their invention disclosure documents to avoid similar disputes, said Katherine Gordon, managing director of the Technology Ventures Office. The office now ensures that researchers assign rights to the University when they first disclose their inventions. Any discovery that might be patentable must be promptly disclosed to the University, according to the current patent policy. Clyde Briant, vice president for research, said there is “no
question” the court decision is important because of the challenge it poses to Bayh-Dole. “We feel that the Bayh-Dole Act is very important for universities because it does allow us to own our intellectual property,” Briant said. Though a federal appeals court ruled in favor of Roche in 2009, Gordon said she did not believe the court would make a decision to alter the current interpretation of the Bayh-Dole Act. “The prevailing winds are that things are working pretty well,” Gordon said. “I don’t think there’s too much of a danger of shifting.” A December 2002 article in the Economist heavily praised the act, calling it “possibly the most inspired piece of legislation” since the 1950s. Prior to the Bayh-Dole Act, ownership of federally funded research was held neither by researchers nor by universities but by the federal government. “More than anything, this single policy measure helped to reverse America’s precipitous slide into industrial irrelevance,” according to the article. But during oral arguments for Stanford v. Roche, Chief Justice John Roberts suggested Stanford’s use of the Bayh-Dole Act as rationale for securing full ownership of inventions was simply a way of “cloaking” its own interests in the economic interests of the United States. Roberts suggested universities would sacrifice some ownership of inventions to keep prominent researchers, advancing their interests over those of the United States. Assigning ownership
Gordon said the granting of patent rights to universities is advantageous to faculty researchers. The Technology Ventures Office can help streamline the process of analyzing whether an inven-
Majority of students happy on College Hill continued from page 1 around so many intelligent people at Brown. “You could have great conversations all the time,” he said. But Michael Pico ’13 said he has never considered transferring and has always considered Brown the best fit for him. “I really like the freedom here,” Pico said. “You’re free to choose what you want to study, and there are a lot of opportunities out of the classroom,” he added. Pico said he enjoys the people here because they are laid back, friendly, fun and interesting.
“There are many diverse perspectives,” he said. India Eaford ’13 also cited Brown’s diversity as part of her happiness on campus and said she enjoyed “meeting new people who have different experiences.” Allen Ward, senior associate dean of student life, said he was pleased to hear the vast majority of students at Brown are happy with their undergraduate experience. “Our goal is to help students whenever they need it in whatever way we can,” Ward said. — With additional reporting by Mark Raymond
tion is patentable, filing the patent application, finding good lawyers and any other parts of the commercialization process. “We have in place a lot of the mechanisms where we can smoothly handle this for the faculty, and the office has a lot more contacts probably than any individual,” Briant said. Jeffrey Morgan, associate professor of medical science and engineering, said he sees the current system as a mutually advantageous setup. The Technology Ventures Office recently filed U.S. and international patent applications for a three-dimensional Petri dish invented by Morgan’s team. “Valuable inventions are getting protected, and if the University opts not to protect a particular invention, the inventors have that right to go on their own,” Morgan said. Morgan said he views the University as a “partner in the research process,” since it provides lab space, capital, support and a network of industry contacts. The faculty researcher and University each get a third of all royalties after operating and patent costs have been paid. A system that assigned ownership to faculty members could be problematic, Gordon said. “It would basically go back to the Wild West of the way things used to be — there’d be very little
things that get commercialized,” Gordon said. She said granting ownership to faculty would not be fair to those with less money, and as a result, “the University’s technologies as a whole would not be very well-served.” But Justin Fallon, professor of medical science, said his ideal system would be one in which faculty members were given the choice about assigning rights to the University or retaining ownership. Fallon’s team has been developing a treatment for Duchenne muscular dystrophy and had been assigning ownership of related patents to the University for several years. Last September, the University licensed the patent portfolio to Tivorsan Pharmaceuticals, a start-up formed by Fallon, to take the treatment through clinical trials, according to a University press release. Fallon said he personally would not have been able to take ownership of the patent process earlier, adding that patents can be expensive to maintain. But for faculty members who are willing and able to assume the risks and benefits of commercialization, assigning rights to the University should not be mandatory, he said. A question of priorities
This is a crucial time to examine the question of invention
ownership, Fallon said. The drug industry is particularly vulnerable and stands to lose a $50 million revenue source as several major drug patents will expire this year, according to a Mar. 6 New York Times article. Major companies are realizing that it is not cost-effective to operate research facilities, Fallon said, and an increasingly large amount of drug discoveries are coming out of non-profits, including academia. The research relationship between universities and industry is therefore becoming more important, making questions about invention ownership and licensing technologies to industries particularly important, Fallon said. Fallon added there is a tension between the prospect of turning a university into a “mini drug company” and a university’s academic mission to promote the free exchange of ideas to benefit future scientists. “Those are both hugely important and valid goals,” Fallon said. “There’s not a right or wrong here, and the question becomes, ‘How do you do that? How do you serve both those goals and not compromise either one?’” This question will only become more prominent for Brown in coming years, Fallon added, and the University will have think more critically about its mission.
4 City & State
The Brown Daily Herald Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Foodies look to new West Side market Campus matchmaking site By Elizabeth carr Staff Writer
A new market on Providence’s West Side will bring local foods to an area that currently lacks organic grocery options. Fertile Underground, a cooperative organization dedicated to supporting sustainable agriculture, is opening “a vanguard corner store” at 1577 Westminster St. at the end of June, said Michael Giroux, a member of the group. “Everyone knows that vegetables are an important part of the balanced diet, and it’s important for the food to be fresh,” Giroux said. “That’s where local comes in.” The group would like to expand beyond produce and offer prepared foods, household goods and bulk goods such as cereals and pastas. To cut down on refrigeration costs, the store does not plan to offer a wide variety of meat but will supply price lists for free-range meat from local farmers that can be ordered in-store. “We know a number of gardeners in Providence who would be excited about providing for the store,” Giroux said. The group is aiming to procure most of the produce from within a 30-mile radius, he added. The prices at the store should be comparable to those at a farmer’s market, Giroux said. Fertile Underground will help farmers
distribute their products so they can focus more on farming. One farmer plans to offer his produce to the store at a lower price than he usually charges because he will not have to spend time selling it himself, Giroux said. The group plans to teach people how they can eat cheaply and still buy basic grains and fresh vegetables. “You can cook up big meals for a bunch of people for less than 10 bucks,” Giroux said. Members of Fertile Underground are not strangers to eating on a budget, he added. “All of us have been in positions where we’ve been trying to eat affordably and have been forced to shop at Whole Foods Market anyway because we liked the quality,” he said. The natural and organic supermarket Whole Foods Market currently operates two stores on the East Side, both about three miles from the new Westminster Street market. “Everybody (in the neighborhood) has been waiting for an alternative to the Whole Foods model,” said Kari Lang, executive director of the West Broadway Neighborhood Association, in an April 11 Providence Journal article. The association — which owns the building and began construction in response to community calls for a neighborhood grocery store — was “looking for a group
of people to carry on the vision that they felt was in the spirit of the West Side,” Giroux said. The association asked Fertile Underground to take on the project of opening and operating the store. Since its inception in January 2009, Fertile Underground has built gardens around Providence in reclaimed neglected properties, rented land, sidewalk medians and public spaces. Last year, the group gave excess food to Amos House, a local soup kitchen. This year, such surpluses will go to the store. The group is composed of around 30 artists focused on achieving “access to not only fresh food for health but also healthy ways of life within a somewhat insane society,” Giroux said. The group also plans to circulate a food truck that will offer prepared local foods starting in May. Currently, Fertile Underground is seeking small loans from community members that would operate as three-year bonds with a 5 percent interest rate. The group will need $50,000 to “get off on the right foot,” Giroux said. Outside of providing fresh, local food to the West Side community, the group wants to “give the place a feeling of vibrant togetherness,” he said. “People can actually meet there and sit down and hang out.”
experiences lackluster start By Sophia seawell Contributing Writer
The new website eduHookups is the latest addition to a series of sites — including Prospect and Meeting, Spotted at Brown, Browsing Brown and College ACB — aiming to connect students on campus. The site expanded to Brown and the Rhode Island School of Design April 3, but only a handful of postings have appeared on its Brown page so far. The website allows students to post anonymously — for example, as male seeking male — in the category of either “casuals,” “serious” or “platonic.” Anyone who is interested can respond privately to the post. From there, the students can decide if, when and where they want to meet. EduHookups “got started based on a coding project,” said Kyle, one of the University of Chicago students who created the site. “It was an experiment for (us) to explore website design.” Kyle did not provide his last name to avoid becoming involved in controversy about the nature of the site. Originally, the website only allowed students from the University of Chicago, where “it was embraced with a lot of enthusiasm,” to register, Kyle said. The University of Chicago’s section of the website has 14 pages of posts — more than all
the other schools’ sections combined. Soon after its launch, other schools began to contact the site’s creators requesting to join, Kyle said. It now includes 24 different universities and colleges from coast to coast, putting the membership at approximately 2,000 students. But it has yet to catch on at Brown. “I don’t think it’ll be super popular,” said Liz DiMascio ’13. “We have Prospect and Meeting, and that was a hit for like two weeks before it died out.” “It’s slightly desperate,” said Varun Kuchibhatla ’14. Tamar Yael, a freshman at RISD, wrote in an email to The Herald that she found the website “a bit under-developed,” and she felt “a bit iffy” about using it. “It doesn’t really help you get a better sense of what type of person you would agree to potentially meet up with,” she wrote. “It only lets you know that they are in college.” “I would not expect it to be popular, but you never know,” said Jonah David ’13. “New technology and avenues of expressing oneself change how people act.” He said that he does not see himself using such a website. But, he added, “It seems that some peocontinued on page 5
City & State 5
The Brown Daily Herald Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Shipping containers Bills focus on renewable energy granted fresh life continued from page 1
By Amy Chen Staff Writer
Brown and the Rhode Island School of Design are exploring the use of shipping containers in energy-efficient design for sustainable housing. The schools received $150,000 last month for the project through the Economic Development Administration, a U.S. Department of Commerce agency.
campus news The project, called “Off the Grid,” is inspired by the Box Office, the 2010 site of a Better World by Design conference event. Architects Peter Gill Case ’83 and RISD alum Joe Haskett — who jointly submitted the proposal — designed and built the Box Office entirely out of shipping containers. It is the largest commercial building of its kind in the United States. “It performs much better than a regular building,” Case said.“It uses half the energy … and the air quality is very good.” After finishing the building, Case and Haskett received numerous requests for more projects. Many suggested ideas for designing a residential space rather than an office building, or designing temporary housing that could be moved from place to place, Case said. “The market asked us what’s next,” he added. The proposal incorporates their ideas for moveable, sustainable residential buildings. The University will work with the business side of the project. The Rhode Island Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Brown, which offers services for new companies and supports business initiatives, will assist RISD and the architects of the project in making connections with business communities and attracting investors. RISD is using its half of the federal funds for a class being taught this semester, called “Re-Box,” that focuses on the main themes of sustainability, design and business using shipping containers. Students have a wider point of view than professionals, said Markus Berger, a RISD assistant
professor of interior architecture, who is co-teaching the course. With their diverse perspectives, students help add to and enhance established ideas or collaborate with others to develop more creative ideas. The goal of the class is to “reanalyze, re-apply, re-vision” the use of shipping containers, said Peter Dean, senior critic of furniture design at RISD, who also co-teaches the class. Due to a trade imbalance — the U.S. imports more goods than it exports — there is a surplus of shipping containers in the U.S., and they are very cheap to obtain and use, he explained. The class offers RISD students the rare opportunity to study business, design and sustainability together, Dean said. “If someone is making a design decision, they are also making a business decision and a sustainability decision,” said Dean. The class also looks at other aspects and conditions of living such as community, health, family and housing, Berger said. Students from the class present their work and receive support, feedback and critiques from specialists and architects. “Our role is to bring these ideas to market,” said Brendan McNally, director of the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Case and Haskett hope to obtain ideas from RISD students’ design exploration to enhance their projects. The project has the potential to generate economic development and job growth in Rhode Island, Dean said. The state lacks a lot of resources, especially “green” or energy-independent resources, McNally said. Reed and RISD President John Maeda initiated the idea of securing a federal grant for industrial development in Rhode Island and invited companies to submit proposals, and “Off the Grid” was chosen, Berger said. For their future plans, they hope to develop a “prototype for residential or temporary building this fall or winter of 2011 or 2012,” Case said.
san Kennedy, a coastal management extension specialist at URI. The ocean management plan was created to identify offshore zones for renewable energy projects through a process that combines scientific research with public input, according to the project’s website. URI joined the project to add research expertise on analyzing coastal and marine issues from economic, environmental and social standpoints. “What we do is help communities identify issues and problems that are occurring and bring them the information they need to solve these problems,” Kennedy said. The decreasing cost of photovoltaics, a form of solar-generated electrical power, and an increased state focus on hydroelectric and wind power mean “there is a very clear pattern of opportunity for renewable energy projects in Rhode Island,” said Ken Payne, an administrator in the Office of Energy Resources. But due to Rhode Island’s small size, land availability is limited, meaning the long-term effects of wind turbines and other onland renewable energy projects must be given careful consideration. With
comics Cloud Buddies! | David Emanuel
Dr. Bear | Mat Becker
Dot Comic | Eshan Mitra and Brendan Hainline
Few students post on new ‘hook-up’ site continued from page 4 ple have met through blind dates or other Internet sites and have, in the end, been happy.” “I wouldn’t use it,” wrote Elizabeth Adler ’11 in an email to The Herald. “It would make me feel like my sexuality was a commodity or something. I like to shop for boots and books online, not sexual partners.” “I’m all for people having safe, consensual, communicative, satisfying sex, duh,” wrote Nupur Shridar ’11 in an email to The Herald.
“It makes the world a happier, sexier place. But … with all hookup websites, including Spotted at Brown, I would hope that people were careful about who they shared their bodies with.” The creators plan to expand further in coming months. They want to add “as many schools as possible while making sure the site can handle the infrastructure,” Kyle said. But as far as specific plans, “our end goal right now is responding to demands,” he said. “It’s hard for us to decide what direction it’ll go in.”
this in mind, the Economic Development Corporation gave a grant last September to the East Bay Energy Consortium, nine Rhode Island communities that will work together to increase renewable energy use. The grant allowed consultants to advise on sites for utility-scale wind farms. Last month, Gov. Lincoln Chafee ’75 P’14 announced a $200,000 Economic Development Corporation grant to develop a solar farm on the site of a former landfill in East Providence. “What is exciting is that these projects give us the sites that are liabilities and turns them into something that is green and helps generate renewable energy,” Stokes said. Recent increases in gas prices have brought renewable energy options to the forefront. The average price per gallon has risen 11 cents in the past week, making it exactly a dollar higher than it was at this time last year. In the State House, a flurry of energy bills in the past few months reflects a sharper focus on renewable sources of power. A bill sponsored by Rep. Deborah Ruggiero, D-Jamestown and Middletown, and Sen. Joshua Miller, D-Cranston and
Gelotology | Guillaume Riesen
Warwick, aims to make it easier for the state’s businesses and government to invest in renewable energy. Senate President Teresa Paiva Weed, D-Jamestown and Newport, has proposed legislation to create a Rhode Island Renewable Energy Coordinating Board to develop a blueprint for the state’s renewable energy efforts. “Renewable energy laws on the books currently really developed from 2004 to present,” Payne said. “Every year there were modifications to these regulations. It appears that the General Assembly is looking to apply overall coherence to this structure and fill in the missing pieces,” he concluded. The question of how to supply electricity to the grid without raising costs for consumers remains. Both the state and the University should prioritize installing cost-effective systems as soon as possible, said Kurt Teichert, environmental stewardship initiatives manager at the Center for Environmental Studies. “The challenge is that these technologies are still really on the margins,” he said. “We need to see another leap in efficiency before we can see a widespread application of these projects.”
6 Editorial & Letter Editorial
The Brown Daily Herald Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Editorial comic
by julia streuli
A new day at the TWC On Monday, the fourth and final candidate for director of the Third World Center gave a presentation at the Sharpe Refectory. As evidenced by the fact that each candidate gave a presentation, the search process for the new director is placing a high priority on student input. The search committee includes three undergraduates, a graduate student, an alum, faculty members and several administrators and is aided by a student advisory board composed solely of undergraduates. So far, the committee has hosted welcome receptions for all four of the top candidates for the position, and each candidate has given a presentation. The receptions and presentations — opportunities to meet the candidates in person — are over, but students can still voice their opinions on each of the candidates. The search committee has made the candidates’ application materials available in the TWC. Any student can go to the center to look them over or contact Ricky Gresh, senior director for student engagement and the search committee’s chair, for electronic versions. We find this approach especially appropriate for a center whose creation was the result of students acting to change the world they lived in. We also believe that student input is a fundamental consideration in making other University decisions as well, whether it is the return of the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps or the design for an expensive new building. All of those decisions, the choice of the center’s new director included, have a tremendous impact on student life. The center’s new head will be responsible for the Minority Peer Counselors who are in every first-year unit, for the Third World Transition Program, which hundreds of incoming first-years attend, and for weeks of programming throughout the academic year. The director will interact daily with undergraduate students. Beyond that, he or she will head a center that is part of a larger University community — and provokes heated debate in the general Brown community. The center’s programs and activities are a polarizing topic on campus, and even its name, which is intended to evoke principles of self-determination and solidarity among marginalized groups, often causes new students or visiting prospective students to scratch their heads in confusion. The center grew out of frustration on the part of students of color who felt they were not part of the University and who lacked a space to discuss and organize around issues of race and ethnicity that were fundamental to their day-to-day lives. We believe the continued existence of a safe space for students of color is vital to the center’s identity, history and mission. But we also believe that institutions are not static and that creating a safe space for students of color should not limit conversations about racial, socioeconomic or gender inequalities to that space only. We hope the center’s next director recognizes the importance of balancing these two concerns. We believe that other students should respect the exclusivity of a safe space for students of color and that the Third World Center should not hold itself apart from the rest of campus — and we hope the new director recognizes that the former goes hand-in-hand with the latter. Editorials are written by The Herald’s editorial page board. Send comments to editorials@browndailyherald.com.
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letter to the editor Pot on campus not from Mexico To the Editor: I celebrate Sofia Ortiz-Hinojosa’s ’11 thoughtful column on the War on Drugs and agree with her on many points. Like her, I think that marijuana should be legalized and know that it is less harmful than alcohol or tobacco. I also share the view that Brown students— and Americans in general— should be more mindful of their role as consumers in a trade that is responsible for tens of thousands of deaths a year, concentrated in countries like Mexico and my native Colombia. Why do we make such a fuss about, say, blood diamonds, when illegal drugs are much more common on campus than precious stones from Liberia or the Congo? The problem with Ortiz-Hinojosa’s argument lies in her assumption that the marijuana consumed on campus actually comes from Mexico or Colombia. In fact, my vague understanding is that most of the weed smoked on campus is grown somewhere in New England, New York or possibly as far away as California or Colorado. I have heard that most people involved in bringing the herb to College Hill consumers are neo-hippie entrepreneurs and direct friends of Brown students, so I can confidently say that, this 4/20, very little of the marijuana lit up on campus will have touched the hands of a murderous smuggler. Her argument is much more readily applicable to
cocaine, which is almost exclusively grown in the Andes and nearly all of which reaches the U.S. via Mexico or Central America. When you buy cocaine, you are certainly putting money in the pockets of Mexican and Colombian drug cartels and their immediate associates. Many Brown students are either unaware or willfully ignorant of the fact that casual cocaine consumption has a much more negative impact on human welfare and the environment than, say, buying coffee that is not fair trade or choosing not to recycle every now and then. As someone who has lost friends to drug-related violence, I agree with Ortiz-Hinojosa that this borders on hypocritical and should be part of a more open conversation on the moral consequences of Brunonians’ drug habits. But we should be wary of the mistake of lumping all drugs together. Indeed, this is one of the biggest flaws in the current War on Drugs. When people talk about “drug wars” in Mexico, Colombia or American inner cities, they are referring to battles mostly for the lucrative trade in highly addictive substances like cocaine and heroin, not to the small-time hydroponic marijuana rackets that feed Brown students’ weed habits. This 4/20, those on campus who choose to smoke marijuana can do so guilt-free. Pablo Rojas ’11
quote of the day
“I am obliged … to put a question mark
on the future.
”
— Romano Prodi, former president of the European Commission See Prodi on page 1. C O R R E C T I O N S P olicy The Brown Daily Herald is committed to providing the Brown University community with the most accurate information possible. Corrections may be submitted up to seven calendar days after publication. C ommentary P O L I C Y The editorial is the majority opinion of the editorial page board of The Brown Daily Herald. The editorial viewpoint does not necessarily reflect the views of The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. Columns, letters and comics reflect the opinions of their authors only. L etters to the E ditor P olicy Send letters to letters@browndailyherald.com. Include a telephone number with all letters. The Herald reserves the right to edit all letters for length and clarity and cannot assure the publication of any letter. Please limit letters to 250 words. Under special circumstances writers may request anonymity, but no letter will be printed if the author’s identity is unknown to the editors. Announcements of events will not be printed. advertising P olicy The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. reserves the right to accept or decline any advertisement at its discretion.
Opinions 7
The Brown Daily Herald Tuesday, April 19, 2011
An apology for higher education By lorraine nicholson Opinions Columnist Peter Thiel, the billionaire co-founder of PayPal and famed foreseer of the first tech bubble, has made another prediction. No, he has not anticipated another Internet bubble implosion or an overevaluation of emerging markets. According to Thiel, the newest bubble ready to burst is the “higher education bubble.” As reported by the website TechCrunch, Thiel claims, “A true bubble is when something is overvalued and intensely believed. Education may be the only thing people still believe in in the United States. To question education is really dangerous. It is the absolute taboo.” For those of us actually working towards the aforementioned “overvalued” Ivy League degree, such statements need clarification and classification. Thiel, while clumsily muddling the cost of attending an Ivy League university and the cost of a higher education, tries to suggest that those people smart enough to be admitted to such universities do not benefit from attending a fancy college. From his point of view, the average 18-year-old undergraduate leaves college just as smart as he was when he entered. In other words, he has spent tens
of thousands of dollars on time that could be better spent starting his own company. The average brilliant teenager is losing not only the money he spends on his education but also that which he could be making on his booming start-up. On the other hand, for those Americans who are not sufficiently intelligent or well-connected to be accepted into a top-notch university, college is equally frivolous. While two-year universities may be much cheaper, these students are
teenagers and gives them $100,000 dollars to drop out of school and start their own businesses. Not surprisingly, most of the finalists are from the very Ivy League institutions Thiel disdains, drawing criticism from many. But Thiel reaffirms he wants the best, which can only be found at universities like Harvard. He proclaims, “Everyone thinks kids in inner-city Detroit should do something else. We’re saying maybe people at Harvard need to be doing
If my college does not funnel me directly into a tech start up, should I consider it a waste of time and money?
spending money on an education they do not need. At best, these people will eventually be funneled into careers that require nothing more than a high school diploma. TechCrunch was right, then, to begin their article with the line, “Fair warning: This article will piss off a lot of you.” In a predictable maneuver, Thiel takes it a step further by reaffirming his “20 Under 20” initiative, in which he picks 20 gifted
something else. We have to reset what the bar is at the top.” Thiel urges those with the potential to get rich quick to skip the college experience and subsequently save money. Thiel simplifies the question of the college experience into dollars and cents. The billionaire thinks in terms of economics, not personal growth. Everyone enters college in the name of a better life. At Brown, we have no professional pro-
grams, allowing students to embrace a heterogeneous mindset offered nowhere else. If my college does not funnel me directly into a tech start up, should I consider it a waste of time and money? Sure, Mark Zuckerberg dropped out of Harvard and created Facebook. On the other hand, he also missed out on a crucial stage of socialization in his life, resulting in an infamous biopic and a terrible reputation. Stanford Law School graduate Peter Thiel turns his back on his college experience, where he met PayPal co-founders Keith Rabois and Reid Hoffman. Would his success be possible without the relationships founded at this institution? According to the billionaire, he was smart enough to have done without it. You should be too. For me, college is not a question of professional training. Being at Brown gives me an unquantifiable way of thinking about the world and culture. In theory, this experience will spill into my future way of thinking, giving me an edge and a more creative point of view. On the other hand, the people I have met here have inspired me to be the best version of myself, to take that extra step I would have never imagined before. In short, our college experience will lead to a better life, no matter what the cost. Lorraine Nicholson ’12.5 is a literary arts concentrator from Los Angeles.
Secure Communities will protect all communities By peter kilmartin Guest Columnist As your attorney general, protecting Rhode Island communities from harm is my highest priority. We have taken a strong step toward enhancing the safety of our communities by signing on to the federal Secure Communities program. Since the announcement that Rhode Island had signed on to the Secure Communities program, I believe there has been misinformation and confusion on what the program will mean to our immigrant communities. It is my hope to clear up any confusion or concern on the impact Secure Communities will have on all our communities. As attorney general, I am duty-bound to protect our communities, including our immigrant communities. It is our mission to prosecute those who break state law and protect all victims from harm. It is not and has never been our mission to crack down on illegal immigration. That role is limited to federal officials, not the Office of the Attorney General. If you are a victim of a crime or witness a crime, no matter your immigration status, you have nothing to fear in coming forward. In order for you to become part of the Secure Communities database, your fingerprints have to be submitted through a lawful arrest. If you report a crime, law enforcement officials and
prosecutors do not obtain your fingerprints. By not coming forward and working with law enforcement, you are putting yourself and your community at greater risk by allowing a criminal to remain on the streets to commit more crimes in your community against you, your family and your neighbors. If you receive a traffic violation, such as a speeding ticket or a parking ticket, you will not be impacted and your fingerprints will not be entered into or run against the Secure Communities data-
vestigation, they are fingerprinted. Those fingerprints are sent through state and federal databases to determine if they have a previous criminal record, if they are wanted on an outstanding warrant or if they are wanted in connection to another crime. With the implementation of Secure Communities, federal authorities will also run the fingerprints through the Department of Homeland Security database. If a person is determined to have been previously convicted of a crime and is in the country illegally, Immigration
Anytime law enforcement has greater access to information that will help identify individuals in custody, it helps them do their job of keeping our communities safe.
base. Individuals come into contact with Secure Communities only if they have been arrested for a crime. Only those who have previously been convicted of a crime or have previously had contact with the Department of Homeland Security will be in the database. The implementation of Secure Communities adds another level of security screening when offenders are arrested for committing crimes. Currently, when someone is arrested through a lawful in-
and Customs Enforcement may decide whether deportation is in order given the severity of the crime and the suspect’s criminal history. The more dangerous the person is deemed to be, the more likely that person will be a priority for immigration enforcement action. This will protect all of us and will make our streets and neighborhoods safer and more secure. Just as having access to the FBI database revolutionized information sharing among local, state and federal law en-
forcement agencies, Secure Communities will continue to improve communication and cooperation with our federal law enforcement partners. Secure Communities just adds another level of security screening when offenders are arrested for committing crimes. Local law enforcement does not take a federal immigration enforcement role with Secure Communities. In fact, Secure Communities does not authorize or permit state and local law enforcement officers to enforce immigration law — Immigration and Customs Enforcement retains that sole authority. Secure Communities simply gives our law enforcement agencies another tool — in essence, an improved database. Anytime law enforcement has greater access to information that will help identify individuals in custody, it helps them do their job of keeping our communities safe. With this issue and others, there are naysayers — those who disagree with the program without a clear understanding of its purpose and how it functions. But this initiative is aimed at keeping criminals off the street and cracking down on those who break the law. I am confident that Secure Communities will help protect all those who reside in Rhode Island — regardless of immigration status — helping to move our state toward a safer and more secure future.
Peter Kilmartin is the attorney general of Rhode Island.
Daily Herald Sports Tuesday the Brown
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
crew
Women’s crew team makes a splash in California By Sam rubinroit Sports Staff Writer
Brown athletics are rarely mentioned in the same sentence with powerhouses like Ohio State University or the University of Texas. But with the sixth-ranked women’s crew team in the country — four spots ahead of the Buckeyes and 12 spots ahead of the Longhorns — the Bears are proving that, while other programs may dominate on land, Bruno reigns supreme on the water. The squad traveled to Sacramento, Calif. over the weekend for the Lake Natoma Invitational, where they finished third overall, behind No. 5 Stanford University and host school, No. 4 University of California at Berkeley. The Bears raced early in the morning and dominated on the first day of the two-day competition. The Bears’ opening events guaranteed them a finish of third place or higher by solidifying their position in the A Group final for all three major races — the varsity four, second varsity eight and varsity eight. In the first race of the second day, the varsity four earned third place, finishing in 7 minutes, 28.31 seconds. In a closely contested match, Bruno’s second
Courtesy of David Silverman
The women’s crew team, ranked sixth in the country, raced against University of California at Berkeley this weekend.
varsity eight finished with a time of 6:37.34, less than three seconds behind the Golden Bears. In the varsity eight finale, the three top10 schools were pitted against each other. They each put forth an impressive performance to finish in under 6:30, with Stanford clinching the victory at 6:21.40 and Brown trailing second-place Cal by three seconds. The Bears finished third with a time of 6:29.14.
Despite the squad’s placement, the Bears had their sights set on an even higher finish. “It was pretty obvious to everybody that we didn’t do as well as we had hoped to do against our competitors,” said Hope Richardson ’11. “But these are some of the best crews in the country, especially Cal and Stanford, who historically have been some of our biggest rivals at the NCAA Cham-
pionships, so it’s nice to know how we match up against them at this point in the season.” Richardson also said the cross-country journey — which occurred over Spring Weekend — was beneficial for the team, as it provided a different racing format than they are accustomed to. “It was a pretty good format for us on the West Coast, where they do a lot of different races on
Saturday and then finals on Sunday,” Richardson said. “On the East Coast and particularly in the Ivy League, we do a lot of dual racing, where we have one other team that we are racing, each boat races once, and that will be the end of the day. This bigger-scale racing is what our finals are like, so that was a big thing for us to get experience racing more than once in a day and more than one day in a row.” After their trip across the country, the Bears will host four races this weekend on their home course. Bruno will face Boston University and the University of Rhode Island Friday before taking on Ivy League rivals Columbia and No. 13 Cornell the following day. The men’s crew team was also in action last weekend, hosting Northeastern University in the squad’s final home meet of the season. With a three-length victory, the varsity eight earned their sixth-straight Dreissigacker Cup. The junior varsity squad also earned a win after pulling away from the Huskies in the final 600 meters, but the freshman crew fell behind and lost by five seconds. The men return to action Saturday as they travel to Dartmouth for an Ivy League showdown of their own.
track and field
Squads find success at first home meet of the season By James Blum Sports Staff Writer
Despite Saturday’s cold and windy weather, the men’s and women’s track and field teams had strong showings at the Brown Invitational, the first home meet of the outdoor season. Though the Bears have hosted a meet in mid-April for the past 20 years, Bruno had anything but an average performance. “Most (athletes) are exceeding where I hoped they’d be at the start of the season,” said Michelle Eisenreich, director of men’s and women’s track and field. “I’m absolutely thrilled.” Craig Kinsley ’11 led the throwing squad, hurling the javelin 250 feet, 5 inches in his first competition of the outdoor season to place first overall. His throw is currently the third best in the nation. “Well, my legs weren’t keeping up with my body, so I was pretty surprised I hit any good positions,” Kinsley said. “We had a tailwind, so it was good conditions.” Kinsley is the defending NCAA javelin champion but said this year’s field is stronger than last year’s. “We got a lot of international guys that are already established,” Kinsley said. In other field events, Victoria
Buhr ’13 came in first in the discus throw and Brynn Smith ’11 finished first in the shot put with tosses of 162-11 and 47-11.75, respectively. Kenneth Thompson ’13 leapt 46-0.75 in the triple jump to earn a first-place finish, as well. On the track, Christian Escareno ’11 took the lead in the 3000-meter race with only a lap left, running to the finish line in 8 minutes, 19.81 seconds. “I think I ran pretty well, considering the conditions,” Escareno said. “Coach told me to focus on feeling good at the end.” The men’s and women’s mile was the highlighted distance event of the meet and honored Norm Taber, a member of the class of 1913, who set the world record in the mile in 1915, running 4:12.6 at Harvard Stadium. Though Taber’s time was once a world record, it would have only earned him second place on Saturday as Dan Lowry ’12 covered the full mile in 4:10.25 to finish first. “I was hoping for a little bit faster, closer to 4:05,” Lowry said. “But the wind and cold made it pretty tough.” Samantha Adelberg ’11 won the women’s mile in 4:48.41 and was followed in quick succession by four of her teammates, who all finished in under five minutes. “Sam ran well, we stuck to a
simple race plan and she looked really confident,” said Jill Miller, women’s distance coach. “To put five people under five minutes in the mile when they’re training so hard is something I’m really happy with.” Bruno swept the 800-meter run as Matt Bevil ’14 won the men’s race in 1:53.50 and Bree Shugarts ’13 came in first for the women in 2:14.44. “I competed well. It was really cold and windy, but overall I’m happy,” Bevil said. “Training’s been good. You put yourself in the mode of competing.” Brown also had two relay teams finish first. The women’s 4x400-meter squad — composed of Lucy Higgins ’11, Olivia Thomas ’13, Emily Mepham ’12 and Shannon Stacey ’11 — recorded a time of 3:56.68, and the men’s 4x100-meter team — featuring Marc Howland ’11, John Spooney ’14, Mike Mazerik ’11 and Evan Weinstock ’14 — posted a mark of 41.74. In the shorter distances, Spooney won the 100-meter dash in 10.84, while Howland finished a close second in 10.87. Bruno will next compete this weekend at the Larry Ellis Invitational hosted by Princeton. As for the future of the Brown Invitational, Miller said she hoped the meet will grow in popularity — this year, only eight schools competed against Brown’s varsity
Sam Rubinroit / Herald
Niina Al-Hassan ‘14 throws during this weekend’s Brown Invitational. Men’s javelin thrower Craig Kinsley ’11 began his national title defense with the third best throw so far in the country.
squads. “Our goal with this meet is to make it into a very competitive
meet for the area, for teams that don’t want to travel far this weekend,” Miller said.