T U E S D A Y APRIL 22, 2003
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Volume CXXXVIII, No. 56
An independent newspaper serving the Brown community since 1891
www.browndailyherald.com
“Dump and Run” program designed to reduce yearend waste BY ZACH BARTER
Dana Goldstein (left), Kavita Mishra (right) / Herald
An audience of about 75 people in Wilson watched UCS presidential candidates Justin Sanders ’04 and Rahim Kurji ’05 duke it out.
UCS candidates debate the issues at Monday forum BY JONATHAN ELLIS
Candidates for top offices in the Undergraduate Council of Students and the Undergraduate Finance Board had one last chance to argue their merits before a crowd of about 75 at a debate Monday night sponsored by the Brown Debating Union. UCS and UFB elections are now open and run through the end of Wednesday. Students can log onto www.brownucs.org to cast their votes. UCS President: Two candidates try to differentiate themselves UCS members and candidates for president Rahim Kurji ’05 and Justin Sanders ’04 squared off first, presenting prepared statements and fielding questions from the audience. The third presidential candidate, Ahmad Rehmani ’04, was not present. “There are three talent sets that the president needs to take the Council forward,” said Sanders, who spoke first. “First and foremost, the president has to be able to advocate student needs and student interests to the administration. That really is the job of the president.” Sanders, who was endorsed by the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered Alliance, said he successfully lobbied the administration for $60,000 in special events funding and the reopening of the Underground. The president must be able to listen to student concerns while controlling an orderly debate, Sanders said. “Lastly, the president needs to have vision and an idea of where they want to take council,” Sanders said. “My vision has to do with the overall operation of the University and it may be bigger-picture than people have pushed for in the past.” The University’s impending budget cuts could have a seriously detrimental impact see DEBATE, page 8
“Simpsons” producer says he just can’t help himself BY ZACH BARTER
Few speakers can generate a warm response by referring to Tourette Syndrome as a “funny, funny disease” and answering audience questions with certain four-letter words. But Mike Reiss, Emmy-award winning producer of “The Simpsons” and co-creator of “The Critic,” is one of those speakers. Reiss spoke on his background in comedy and shared “Simpsons” anecdotes with a packed Upper Salomon audience Monday night. Reiss also showed clips from his shows, including a clip from “Queer Duck,” an animated sitcom starring a gay mallard. “The reason I write comedy is because I just can’t help myself,” Reiss said. Reiss said he first realized he had a future in comedy at age five, when a radio report about a girl being clawed to death by a bobcat in a Brooklyn apartment struck him as highly amusing. Before getting his start writing for programs like “The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson,” “It’s Garry Shandling’s Show” and “Alf,” Reiss attended Harvard University, where he edited the Harvard Lampoon. “If you’re curious what a Harvard education is like,” Reiss said, “here’s what you can do: Go in your backyard and burn $150,000.” Reiss took shots at Michael Jackson, Calista Flockhart, the University of Arkansas and the Australian parliament during his speech, but he said the favorite target of Simpsons writers is Fox, the show’s home network. “There is no real opinion we all share at ‘The Simpsons’ except that Fox sucks,” Reiss said. A commonly asked question for “Simpsons” writers, Reiss said, is how
the show’s often raunchy material makes it onto the air. Reiss said the question has a simple answer: “Trying to censor Fox is like trying to clean a sewer with a wetnap.” Reiss, whose lecture was sponsored by Brown Hillel, also addressed the question of why so many Jews go into comedy. “There are just certain professions Jews gravitate towards,” Reiss said. “Jews go into comedy for the same reason Jews open stores: It’s just something their culture embraces.” Reiss compared Jews to homosexuals, saying both are persecuted by overbearing mothers and both are regarded as see SIMPSONS, page 9
Cassie Ramirez / Herald
Mike Reiss, producer of “The Simpsons,” spoke in Salomon Monday night.
I N S I D E T U E S D AY, A P R I L 2 2 , 2 0 0 3 Botanical gardens in Roger Williams Park on track for 2005 completion metro, page 3
More funding would accompany change in category status of DUGs page 5
When Ana Lyman ’03.5 returned for commencement last year after a semester in Brazil, she was appalled by what she saw — furniture, appliances and clothing discarded around campus, dumpsters overflowing as students prepared to move out. “This was just a severe culture shock coming from a place where you never see that type of waste,” Lyman said. This year, however, Lyman hopes to put that waste to good use under the organization “Dump and Run,” which will collect discarded items in May and resell them in September. The group will donate profits to local volunteer groups. Dump and Run will not only benefit the environment and save money on waste removal, but it will also be a convenience for students when they return in the fall, Lyman said. “(The stuff ) is pretty darn cheap,” she said. “It’s definitely cheaper than driving to Seekonk to go to WalMart.” Lyman is coordinating the program with the help of Swearer Center staff member Lisa Heller, who started Dump and Run in 2000 at the University of Richmond. Since then, Heller has seen the organization spread to 25 campuses across the region and generate thousands of dollars for non-profits. The program at Bates College resulted in a 50-percent reduction in trash output — at least five tons of waste — in one year. “It’s all about timing,” Heller said. “You focus so much on classes and saying goodbye to your friends, especially if you’re a senior, that moving all of your stuff is one of the last things you think about.” Dump and Run is working with several volunteer groups — including Communities in Classrooms, the women’s rugby team, and a high school club volleyball team — that will split the profits based on the hours they put in. Lyman said she hopes the group can also tap into the Summer Studies program for high school students to help with the sorting effort. In mid-May, the group will place over a dozen green bins around campus and put boxes in dorm lounges and common spaces to collect items. On the last move-out days, the group will use snow-fencing to designate areas for larger items. see WASTE, page 4
TO D AY ’ S F O R E C A S T U.S. should be more like Spiderman, less like Green Goblin, says Brougher ’06 opinions, page 11
Baseball stands two games behind Harvard in division despite loss sports, page 12
Softball team splits doubleheaders with both Dartmouth and Harvard sports, page 12
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