Friday, September 12, 2003 by The Brown Daily Herald

F R I D A Y SEPTEMBER 12, 2003

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Volume CXXXVIII, No. 70

An independent newspaper serving the Brown community since 1891

www.browndailyherald.com

CAMPUS WATCH

Yale’s “delicious revolution” has students happy BY MONIQUE MENESES

While Brunonians are piling up on charred hot dogs and greasy grilled cheese, Yalies are devouring the finest in organicallygrown produce. During the past few months, students, staff and project administrators at Yale University have worked to stage the pilot program of the university’s “delicious revolution” in Berkeley College’s dining hall. The pilot program, called the Yale Sustainable Food Project, is an attempt to renovate the College’s dining experience by using freshly-grown products to prepare meals. To promote a healthier diet for students, the university’s food services purchased and converted an acre of land into an organic garden — with the sole aim of providing fresh ingredients for the 450 students who eat at Berkeley College dining hall. Melina Shannon-Dipietro, project administrator for SFP, said the aim of the project was twofold. “(The goals) include the process of turning home-grown food into consumable organic matter, and the other is the ongoing educational work with students,” she said. “We are trying to educate them about the process of growing, cooking and eating their own food,” she said. Shannon-Dipietro said students at Berkeley College will soon be able to take cooking lessons and create their own meals in the College’s dining hall kitchen. Another ongoing proposal in conjunction with SFP is putting together regular hours for students willing to learn how to farm, she said. The idea behind renovating Yale’s dining experience arose in the fall of 2001. Students had been asking the dining contractor for more organic and local ingredients since 1998 and weren’t satisfied with the response they were getting, ShannonDipietro said. Yale’s dining halls finally got a makeover when Alice Waters, chef of Chez Panisse, an the award-winning restaurant in Berkeley, Calif., got involved. When her daughter, Fanny, entered Yale as a freshman two years ago, Waters found herself face to face with a project in much need of improvement, Shannon-Dipietro said. Waters suggested Yale develop a plan to make food more central to student life. Food has always been an integral part of Waters’ life. She opened her restaurant in 1971 and since then has tried to promote a healthy, simple way of eating. ShannonDepietro said Waters approached the university and began spearheading the project that has developed into the organic garden and student-focused organization it is today. SFP is planning to approach changes in Berkeley College’s dining experience a step at a time, Shannon-Dipietro said. “The first stage of the plan is to have the pilot program in Berkeley (College) with the side project of the Yale garden,” she see YALE, page 4

Marissa Hauptman / Herald

Nearly 100 students and administrators gathered on the steps of Faunce to remember the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001.

Brown’s meal plan cheap compared with others BY ZACH BARTER

Students may wonder what’s so magical about magic bars or so Brazilian about Brazilian chocolate cake, but one thing about the food at Brown is certain: It’s cheap, at least when compared with food at Brown’s peer institutions. Brown charges $3,066 per year for its standard, 20 meals-a-week board contract, the second lowest among the Ivies. At Harvard University a full meal plan runs $4,162 per year, while a similar year-long contract costs $4,000 at Princeton and $3,900 at Yale. Dartmouth, the cheapest among the Ivies, offers its standard meal plan for $2,550 per year. The process of setting meal plan rates is highly complex and varies from institution to institution, said Susan Howitt, associate vice president for budget and planning at Brown. “Schools have complex allocation schemes in terms of who pays for what,” Howitt said. “People can allocate costs in many different ways, and I’m sure our peers just have different methodologies.” Howitt noted that while the costs of meal plans vary widely among the Ivies, the total annual costs of attendance fall within a much smaller range. The variance in board rates, she said, might simply be an issue of which costs — space, administration and maintenance, for example — universities require their food services offices to cover. Student fees at Brown, including tuition, room and board, are set by the Corporation, based on the recommendations of the University Resources Committee. The URC in turn bases its

recommendations on the needs and requests of individual department heads. Once meal plan prices have been agreed upon, it becomes the job of Brown University Dining Services to look at its budget and decide how much to spend on food, labor and other expenses. Gretchen Willis, director of dining services, said BUDS prides itself on the flexibility and variety of options it is able to provide students within the budget it is given. “I think we offer a great product,” Willis said. “There’s a lot of meat in our program, no pun intended, in terms of what we offer students for their money.” Unlike some other Ivies, Brown allows students to redeem missed meals as credit or opt out of the meal plan entirely. Harvard requires all students to remain on the full meal plan for four years, while Yale requires all students living in dormitories to purchase a standard plan. Dartmouth requires students in dorms to purchase at least a $2,025 meal plan and students living off-campus to purchase at least a $1,425 contract. David Davidson, director of dining services at Yale, said his office has received little feedback from students complaining about the cost of meal plan. “What they’re looking for is more flexibility in terms of hours and service,” Davidson said. Davidson said his office has been

The JCB displays connections with Slavic Exploration in a new exhibit arts and culture, page 3

Bush cabinet officials are misleading the public, says Schuyler von Oeyen ’05 opinions column,page 3

Department of Public Safety officers are interviewing eyewitnesses and reconstructing the events of Saturday morning’s assault against a Brown junior, but so far no one has approached police with the identity of the assailant, according to Vice President for Campus Life and Student Services David Greene. “One of the things I’m pretty confident of is someone in this community knows who did this,” Greene said. “It’s time for somebody to come forward.” The victim was followed home by a college-aged male from a party where she had been in a 20-minute altercation involving homophobic slurs directed at her. As she walked down Charlesfield Street near Brook Street, the suspect yelled a homophobic comment and hit her on the right side of the head, knocking her unconscious. Some time later the victim woke up in the middle of the street and returned to her room, where she called DPS. She was taken to an area hospital and treated for eye and head injuries. Greene said the University’s first responsibility was to the victim, and that she received support from Health Services this week. The University began examining the facts of the assault Sunday evening, he said. DPS is taking the lead role in the investigation, with Captain Emil Fioravanti as supervising officer. Campus police sent out a campus crime alert Monday evening when enough facts were known, Greene said.

see MEAL PLAN, page 5

I N S I D E F R I D AY, S E P T E M B E R 1 2 , 2 0 0 3 Acclaimed Iranian novelist comes to Brown, thanks to Professor Coover arts and culture, page 3

DPS trying to reconstruct Saturday assault

see ASSAULT, page 5

TO D AY ’ S F O R E C A S T Sports fan Yoni Goldberg ’04 hates the NFL, and he’s bitter about it, too sports column, page 12

Men’s soccer gears up to play one the country’s best teams this weekend sports, page 12

sunny high 73 low 53

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

THIS MORNING FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2003 · PAGE 2 Coup de Grace Grace Farris

W E AT H E R FRIDAY

SATURDAY

High 73 Low 53 sunny

SUNDAY

High 72 Low 60 showers

MONDAY

High 74 Low 60 showers

High 79 Low 66 showers GRAPHICS BY TED WU

Three Words Eddie Ahn

MENU THE RATTY LUNCH — Chicken Stir Fry, Vegetarian Caribbean Black Bean Soup, New England Clam Chowder, Tangy BBQ Pork Spareribs, Spinach Pie, Broccoli au Gratin, Chocolate Lemon Squares, Cheese Cake, Raspberry Yogurt Pie

V-DUB LUNCH — Vegetarian Mushroom Vegetable Soup, Rhode Island Quahog Chowder, Chicken Fingers, Pastito, Corn Cobbets, Chocolate Lemon Squares

Greg and Todd’s Awesome Comic Greg Shilling and Todd Goldstein

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Term paper abbr. 5 Moon attachment? 10 Former spy gp. 13 Make over 14 Draw (off) 15 FDR prog. 16 Traveled the British Isles extensively? 18 Venezuelan export 19 Double 20 Rook 22 Selling liquor 23 Letter writers’ aids 25 “Wait Until Dark” actor 28 Ground breaker 29 Bathtub product? 30 __ Fein 31 Run 33 Can 36 Some terrace doors 38 Help 40 Bottom line 41 Didn’t make contact with 43 Iowa college town 44 Darts venue 46 El Al destination 47 Urge 48 Dubai and others 51 Architect of Dallas’s Meyerson Symphony Center 52 Wisconsin city 53 Siesta garments 57 Sanctuary 58 New York pro after dark? 61 Lace 62 Prof’s semesterend workload 63 Red __ 64 Anthem contraction 65 “Philadelphia” director 66 Big times

DOWN 1 Disturbs 2 Proclivity 3 Invention inspiration 4 Faster way to fly 5 Communicate manually 6 PFC’s superior 7 “Eureka!” 8 Puerto Rican port 9 Place at risk 10 Obstacle for a sci-fi traveler? 11 Barbecue 12 A lot of hay 14 Huffy state 17 First place 21 Biol., e.g. 23 Lamont Sanford, to Fred 24 Pestered 25 Part of NBA: Abbr. 26 Really upset 27 One shopping for sweaters? 28 Bother 31 Med. scan 1

32 H.S. dropout’s vindication, maybe 34 Sorbet relatives 35 Famous fed 37 Like flood protection 39 Special building permit 42 Distress call 45 Mentalist Geller 47 Fresh-mouthed

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE: R E A C E A G L D R E A S H O U S E L M L E A S G O S H A S S O W A D A P M A X I M I L E A L E C N Y S E

T E M P E S T

W A F T

P B O A N A N T I N O P T S C R S G R A P A T A M E

A D S E K S S G O U A N A R E M T S S S E E T B A E A T V Y T E L N E

41 44

L O R E R N E R A A N N D

A D I E U

R E A L M

My Best Effort Andy Hull and William Newman

I N C E E D

Hopeless Edwin Chang

29 32 38

A N G E R

M O O S E

I N L E T

L I F E S T O R Y

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C O R N Y

S L O W L Y

xwordeditor@aol.com

48 Poetry muse 49 Oscar winner Dressler 50 Uptight 51 Soup vegetables 53 Terrier type 54 Slip site 55 Sicilian smoker 56 They may be matched 59 Belief system 60 Engine part

Jero Matt Vascellaro

09/12/03

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ARTS & CULTURE FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2003 · PAGE 3

Iranian novelist coming to Brown BY WALTER DRIVER

Acclaimed Iranian novelist Shahrnush Parsipur will be at Brown for the 2003-04 academic year as the first recipient of the International Writers Project Fellowship. Parsipur, 57, is the author of eight celebrated works of fiction, most notably the novels, “Touba and the Meaning of Night” and “Women Without Men.” She has also published her “Prison Memoirs,” an account of her experiences as a political prisoner in Iran. “She’s a tremendous writer. It’s very, very exciting,” said Adjunct Professor of English Robert Coover, who sought out Parsipur under the auspices of the International Writers Project. Parsipur’s lifelong struggle for freedom of expression in her native country resulted in her arrest and incarceration on four occasions. From 1981 to 1986, she spent four years and seven months in prison without being officially charged with a crime. For nearly two decades, all of her works were banned in Iran. According to Forrest Gander, director of the Graduate Program in Creative Writing and professor of English, the IWP aims to provide a sanctuary for “writers whose work or life is endangered in their own country.” Gander credits Coover with the vision and energy that made the IWP a reality. Both men are incapable of concealing their excitement when discussing Parsipur and the newly established IWP, which Coover said is about “maintaining routes to free expression.” “I think Brown is going to be a central player in this issue,” he added.

The eagerly anticipated first major IWP event is scheduled for Nov. 7 and 8. Parsipur will be joined by Caribbean poet Kamau Brathwaite and Nobel Prize-winning Nigerian playwright Wole Soyinka for a weekend featuring readings from Brathwaite and Soyinka, as well as panel discussions. Funding for the IWP was secured last spring from the William H. Donner Foundation. With only weeks to conduct the search for the ideal candidate, Coover admitted he was worried that there was not enough time. When several sources immediately recommended Parsipur, Coover decided to investigate further. By the time he finished reading “Women Without Men,” he was certain Parsipur was the perfect choice. “Women Without Men,” whose title alludes to Ernest Hemingway’s “Men Without Women,” was originally published in Iran in 1990. It was translated from Persian and published for the first time in English in 1998 by the Syracuse University Press. Currently, it is Parsipur’s only title available in English, but one that Coover hails as a great introduction to her work. In 2004, “Women Without Men” will be reprinted along with the first English translation of “Touba and the Meaning of Night” by the Feminist Press. Despite having spent nearly five years of her life in prison, Parsipur risked her freedom again because she felt “Women Without Men” would help Iranian women come to terms with the effects of living in a see PARSIPUR, page 4

JCB exhibition explores “Slavs and the West” BY SHOSHANA LAVINGHOUSE

Photo courtesy JCB

This image, from a 1719 Russian translation of Johann Huebner’s, "Brief Questions Concerning Modern and Ancient Geography" is currently on display at the John Carter Brown Library.

With its newest exhibition,“Slavs and the West, 1500-1815,” the John Carter Brown Library takes a new direction by focusing on its Eastern, rather than Western, European collection. Curator of European Books and exhibit coordinator Denis C. Landis said he intends for the exhibit to showcase the relationship between the Americas and Europe. The exhibit chronicles aspects of Russian exploration of the lands encircling the Bering Strait, with an assortment of illustrations, maps and novellas “chosen for their visual impact,” Landis said. To twist perspectives, Landis also incorporated materials that reveal the awed, exotic tones in European studies of Russian and American natives. He noted that “the early explorers were fascinated by comparison of the peoples of the two continents.” Other sections explore Czech- and Slovak-American relations, 16th-century Polish geography and European perceptions of Russian. The exhibit opened in late May to coincide with the 300th anniversary of the founding of “window to the West” St. Petersburg, documents from which are also on display, and closes Sept. 26.

PAGE 4 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2003

Troy continued from page 8 start the season, and the re-signing of Antonio Freeman is the second-best reunion since Simon and Garfunkel announced they were going on tour. Redskins (+3) over the FALCONS — The best label to come out of Week One was the formation of the “Jetskins.” Led by Coles, who Patrick Ramsey believes can only catch passes in the first half, Washington appears to be primed for a playoff run. If they can take advantage of the absence of Michael “The Best Video Game Character

Ever” Vick, the Redskins will actually be in first place after the first two weeks of the season. Bills (-3) over the JAGUARS — After beating the Pats worse then Ed Norton beat Meatloaf in “Fight Club”, the Bills are my new bandwagon team and will be ridden until they lose. If Josh Reed can learn not to drop open passes and Lawyer Milloy can convince himself he was cut by every other team in the league, this team may not lose until November. As a side note, despite what his own team thinks, Mark Brunell could start for 20 other NFL teams. SAINTS (-8) over the Texans — This is a pick based solely on my strong belief that the Texans are not actually a good team.

Winning last week was like the equivalent of David Blaine freezing himself in a block of ice or David Copperfield dating Claudia Schiffer. Let’s hope the Saints can shrug off the cobwebs and drop the Deuce on Houston. RAMS (-3) over the 49ers — When Kurt Warner finally recovers from his concussion, his coaches should seriously considering telling him he was in a coma, the last four years were a dream and he is still a bag boy in Iowa with G. I. Jane for a wife. That said, the Rams win when Marc Bulger starts and Marshall Faulk gets more than nine carries and because that will happen this weekend, go St. Louis. On the other side of the ball, this marks the first time in 59 weeks that someone has not mentioned Terrell Owens’s cockiness and taunting. Steelers (+3) over the CHIEFS — Rather than make a cheap joke about Joey Porter being shot in the butt, I will instead suggest people simply rent “Forrest Gump.” Even without Porter, Pittsburgh’s defense just needs to be competent with its offense demonstrating the ability to score TD’s on almost every possession.

Yale continued from page 1 said. Although doors to the Berkeley College dining hall have not been opened due to strikes unrelated to the changes, ShannonDipietro said students should look forward to a new menu, which is designed around what is in season. “The new menu has been designed in such a way that students who come will be eating the freshest ingredients from our garden,” Shannon-Dipietro said. “Right now, tomatoes are in season.” The fresh produce comes from an acre of land 10 minutes from Yale’s main campus. This summer, nine interns worked with organic garden coordinator Josh Viertel to convert the acre of grass into a productive garden. All summer, interns and dining staff ate tomatoes, eggplants and snap peas that were freshly produced from the garden,

Parsipur continued from page 3 gender-segregated society. Parsipur was imprisoned twice for a total of four months in 1992 for making three references to virginity in “Women Without Men.” When asked if she expected the novel to provoke such a response from the fundamentalist leaders of the Islamic Republic, Parsipur smirked and said, “Yes.” Parsipur’s literary career has been defined by her perseverance and resilience in spite of almost continuous adversity. It began a year after her graduation from University of Tehran with the publication of her first novel, “The Dog and the Long Winter,” in 1974. Later that year, she resigned from her position as a producer for the Iranian National Television and Radio in protest of the Shah’s regime’s execution of two poets for reasons which were never disclosed. Soon afterward, Parsipur was arrested by the Shah’s secret police, the SAVAK, and imprisoned for 54 days without being charged with a crime. Following her release, Parsipur relocated to Paris, where she spent two years studying French and Chinese at the Sorbonne. It was there, in 1977, that she published her erotic second novel, “The Simple and Small Adventures of the Spirit of the Tree.” In 1979, Parsipur returned to Iran after the overthrow of the Shah’s regime, despite almost certain conflict with the censorship

Shannon-Dipietro said. Viertel said the garden has been an “amazing success” with students and staff. Yale sophomore Laura Hess worked on the farm for three weeks this summer and is organizing a student group to promote student participation on the farm this semester. The garden “is a really great place where students come to have an educational experience,” she said. “Having a farm allows students to see the connection between what they eat and where the food comes from — eating is more that just about eating.” Viertel advocated the project as a model for dining halls of other universities. “The food tastes better,it’s more fun to make and it involves interaction with farmers,” he said. “It’s seductive because it’s a revolution. A delicious revolution.” Senior staff writer Monique Meneses ’05 can be reached at m m e n e s e s @ b r ow n d a i l y h e r ald.com.

laws of the new fundamentalist regime. “I thought my place as a writer was with my people,” she explained. “I was never a political activist. I was a writer.” Unfortunately, when the Islamic Republic began to crack down on suspected dissidents in response to increased guerilla activities in 1981, Parsipur was arrested along with her mother and her two brothers. She describes the 55 months she spent in prison without any perceptible emotion, stating coolly, “The situation was horrible. In a prison built for 36, there were over 300 people.” She wrote the bulk of “Touba and the Meaning of Night” during her imprisonment, but the manuscript was confiscated by prison officials. It was ultimately returned to Parsipur, who decided to burn the manuscript rather than allowing the officials the opportunity to censor her work. She then rewrote the novel after her release. It became a national bestseller upon its release in 1989. Although Parsipur must still endure the strain of her status as a political refugee and the separation from her two brothers and 35year-old son, whom she has not seen in nine years, she shows no signs of slowing down. She plans to spend the year working on Persian translations of Coover’s “Spanking the Maid,” and Kay Redfield Jamison’s “An Unquiet Mind,” which she hopes will alter common perceptions of psychological disturbances in Iran.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2003 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD PAGE 5

Assault continued from page 1 The students who held the party where the initial dispute took place could also face disciplinary action, he said. “Organizations are responsible for the events they organize,” Greene said. “They could be (responsible). It depends on what the investigation reveals.” Many students were dissatisfied with the crime alert, which they say failed to denote the seriousness of the assault. “The University does not provide us with any kind of meaningful news source to distinguish hate crimes from other much smaller crimes that occur,” Lindsay Mann ’03.5 told The Herald Wednesday. She and at least 20 other students wearing Tshirts that read “hate crimes have happened here” passed out copies of the crime alert around campus Wednesday and Thursday. Greene said he agreed that Saturday’s assault deserved extra scrutiny because it highlights a campus-wide failure to address the wide range of homophobia experienced by many LGBT members of the Brown community. “This puts mundane scribbling (of homophobic graffiti) on whiteboards in a different light,” Greene said. Brenda Allen, director of institutional diversity, said past acceptance of minor acts of hate may have contributed to Saturday’s attack and the ensuing

Meal plan continued from page 1 forced to find ways to operate more efficiently as Yale faces difficult economic times. Yale raised the price of its standard meal plan from $3,790 last year to $3,900 this year. Yale sophomore Emily Kopley, however, said students were generally unaware of the cost of meal plan because it is figured into the total costs of attendance. Rather than wishing they had the option to opt out of meal plan entirely, Kopley said, Yale students wish they had more flexibility with the plan they have, especially in terms of after-hours options and redeeming unused meals. “If you miss a meal, you miss a meal,” Kopley said. “But on the whole I’d say students are very happy with the food and with the meal plan. We eat very well.” David Newlove, associate director of dining services at Dartmouth, said his office manages to keep costs so low by viewing itself as competing with local restaurants for students’ dining dollars. Dartmouth, alone among the Ivies, operates exclusively on a points system rather than on a bymeal basis, giving its students more flexibility in terms of where and how often to eat. “For us, it doesn’t matter if we charge more, because we still have to get the customer to buy it,” Newlove said. “I could raise the costs all I want, but that doesn’t mean students will buy that.” Switching to a by-meal, all-youcan-eat model like Brown’s, Newlove said, would require rais-

silence about the identity of the perpetrator. “(Acceptance of smaller acts) gives some kind of open invitation to move along the continuum of violence,” she said. The offices of Campus Life and Institutional Diversity plan to educate the campus on where to report acts motivated by hate, Allen said. Both administrators were present at a candlelight vigil held Thursday night in remembrance of Sept. 11, 2001, that was expanded to include a Queer Alliance-sponsored vigil against hate. “Campus Life will support the Queer Alliance,” Greene told The Herald. Also present was University Chaplain Janet Cooper Nelson, who said she would title her Sunday sermon “Hate Happens Here.” “There’s a sense of fear and a disheartened sense of Brown,” Cooper Nelson said. “Any bigotry that produced violence must be repudiated in the most strong way by an intellectual community.” Like Greene, she called on anyone with information about the identity of the suspect to come forward. “Communities of secrecy that are hiding violence are not humane communities either,” she said. But she cautioned students mobilizing in support of the victim not to divide the campus into “good” and “bad” people. “There’s a danger for a selfrighteous tone to emerge from activism,” she said. —Staff reports

ing prices and would result in small eaters subsidizing large eaters. Doraelia Ruiz ’06, who went off meal plan entirely this year, said she would have considered signing up for a system like Dartmouth’s. Last year, Ruiz said, she felt she wasn’t getting her money’s worth because she often used only one meal a day and received only $3.80 in credit for the meals she missed. “I figured it would just be cheaper to drop off meal plan and make my own food, which I like more than the Ratty’s anyway,” Ruiz said. “It’s just more convenient for me.” Over 80 percent of Brown students living on campus purchased meal plans last year, according to Willis. She said that figure was high for a university that does not require students to purchase a plan. Despite the University’s budget crunch, Willis said, BUDS has been able to avoid scaling back its operations and reducing options for students. If times become too tough, however, the University might have to consider instituting a mandatory meal plan, she said. Nevertheless, Willis said a bigger BUDS budget might not necessarily translate into better quality food, at least not without accompanying improvements in facilities. “I think the thing that holds us back most is our facilities,” Willis said. “I don’t know that it’s directly related to money.” Senior staff writer Zach Barter ’06 can be reached at zbarter@browndailyherald.com.

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

EDITORIAL/LETTERS FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2003 · PAGE 6 S T A F F

E D I T O R I A L

Diamonds and coal Coal to stupid acronyms, like BUDS, and the PATRIOT act. But a diamond to turning the campus into a web of impenetrable nicknames: LiSci, FauHo, JHay… A diamond to the Ratty’s new noodle bar. Mmm, duck sauce. A cubic zirconium to Brown’s cheap meal plan. You get what you pay for. A diamond to the Hope Street Farmers’ Market — your source for fresh, organic produce, and fresh, organic indierocker types. Coal to the freshman 15, to sophomore slump, and to junior year crippling depression. But a diamond to senior scramble. A diamond to RISD’s activities fair cum block party. Your rock wall alone makes our annual OMAC-fest look lame. ANDREW SHEETS

A diamond to bikini-clad coeds lounging on the various greens. You make our campus look like a brochure for a state university.

LETTERS

Coal to use of the term “Bennifer”: taking “Ben and Jen” to even more excruciating levels of cuteness. Gobble, gobble, indeed. A diamond to the popcorn-chickened spectre. Coal to people who refuse to acknowledge the sexual nature of flowers, especially within the context of a Georgia O’Keefe painting. A diamond to the meter-high club. A diamond to 21st birthdays.

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD EDITORIAL Elena Lesley, Editor-in-Chief Brian Baskin, Executive Editor Zachary Frechette, Executive Editor Kerry Miller, Executive Editor Kavita Mishra, Senior Editor Rachel Aviv, Arts & Culture Editor Jen Sopchockchai, Asst. Arts & Culture Editor Carla Blumenkranz, Campus Watch Editor Juliette Wallack, Metro Editor Philissa Cramer, RISD News Editor Jonathan Skolnick, Opinions Editor Jonathan Meachin, Sports Editor Maggie Haskins, Sports Editor PRODUCTION Zachary Frechette, Chief Technology Officer Marc Debush, Copy Desk Chief Yafang Deng, Copy Desk Chief Grace Farris, Graphics Editor Andrew Sheets, Graphics Editor Sara Perkins, Photo Editor

BUSINESS Jamie Wolosky, General Manager Joe Laganas, Executive Manager Joshua Miller, Executive Manager Lawrence Hester, Senior Accounts Manager Bill Louis, Senior Accounts Manager Midori Asaka, National Accounts Manager David Zehngut, National Accounts Manager Anastasia Ali, Local Accounts Manager Elias Roman, Local Accounts Manager Peter Schermerhorn, Local Accounts Manager Jack Carrere, Noncomm Accounts Manager Laurie-Ann Paliotti, Sr. Advertising Rep. Elyse Major, Advertising Rep. Kate Sparaco, Office Manager P O S T- M A G A Z I N E Alex Carnevale, Editor-in-Chief Dan Poulson, Executive Editor Morgan Clendaniel, Senior Editor Theo Schell-Lambert, Senior Editor Doug Fretty, Film Editor Jason Ng, Music Editor Colin Hartnett, Design Editor

O pinions

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Moshe Safdie, Night Editor Marc Debush, Copy Editor Senior Staff Writers Zach Barter, Danielle Cerny, Dana Goldstein, Lisa Mandle, Monique Meneses, Joanne Park, Meryl Rothstein, Ellen Wernecke Staff Writers Kathy Babcock, Hannah Bascom, Carla Blumenkranz, Dylan Brown, Philissa Cramer, Ian Cropp, Bamboo Dong, Jonathan Ellis, Linda Evarts, Nicholas Foley, Joanna Grossman, Stephanie Harris, Shara Hegde, Akshay Krishnan, Hanyen Lee, Julian Leichty, Jamay Liu, Allison Lombardo, Jonathan Meachin, Crystal Z.Y. Ng, Sara Perkins, Melissa Perlman, Eric Perlmutter, Cassie Ramirez, Lily Rayman-Read, Zoe Ripple, Ethan Ris, Amy Ruddle, Emir Senturk, Jen Sopchockchai, Adam Stella, Adam Stern, Stefan Talman, Joshua Troy, Schuyler von Oeyen, Juliette Wallack, Jessica Weisberg, Ben Wiseman, Xiyun Yang, Brett Zarda, Julia Zuckerman Pagination Staff Joshua Gootzeit, Lisa Mandle, Alex Palmer, Amy Ruddle Photo Staff Marissa Hauptman, Nick Mark, Alex Palmer, Cassie Ramirez Copy Editors Emily Brill, George Haws, Katie Lamm

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

OPINIONS FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2003 · PAGE 7

Who’s afraid of the Big, Bad Wolfowitz Top Bush cabinet officials mislead pubic on cost, justification of war THIS SUMMER I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY Washington Post the next day, and rightly to intern in the U. S. Senate. I was very so. It was the first publicly released figure encouraged by the openness of members on the costs of reconstruction. Wolfowitz’s July 29, 2003, testimony to of both parties, and by the dedication and energy their aides brought to their work. I the Senate Foreign Relations Committee began to view government as an open, regarding the Iraq reconstruction effort was even more evasive. The deliberative body that evalumeeting was prefaced by ates issues on their merits — remarks from Sen. Dick Lugar, until I sat in on hearings R-Ind., and Sen. Joseph where Deputy Defense Biden, D-Del., the ranking Secretary Paul Wolfowitz and members of the committee. Defense Secretary Donald Both made it clear to Rumsfeld testified. Suddenly, Wolfowitz and White House the discourse smelled of hosBudget Director Joshua tility and deceit. Bolten, who accompanied Speaking before the Senate him, that the Fiscal Year 2004 Armed Services Committee Budget required estimates of early last July, Donald SCHUYLER VON OEYEN monthly Iraqi reconstruction Rumsfeld and Gen. Tommy ALL THINGS expenditure. The Budget Franks tried to evade giving CONSIDERED would have to be finalized by answers to basic questions. mid-September, and the Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W. Va., became so fed up with their evasive Senate would be on recess for the entire answers he returned to the basics. The month of August. They did not require following quotes are paraphrased from perfection, but reasonable estimates. my memory only: “I want to know how However, Bolten and Wolfowitz failed to much money we are spending right now provide anything. They contended a “supon the Iraq postwar effort,” said an agitat- plemental request form” would be forwarded in early 2004, and that Rumsfeld’s ed Byrd. “I don’t have that figure right now,” $3.9 billion estimate would probably be similar to future needs. “C’mon, when you Rumsfeld contended. “I’ll have to get you that for the record.” are guys going to start being honest with “You are the chief of the Department of us?” snapped an angry Biden. “There is a Defense,” quipped Byrd. “I know that you certain level ….of candor missing from can get those numbers.” Byrd would not this [testimony]. Raise your hand if you accept “soon” as an answer, and indicated think the level of troops will decrease he wanted the information immediately below 100,000 anytime soon.” Silence. after the conclusion of the next 15 minute “See, you guys know something, yet you recess. Rumsfeld made a few calls, and won’t tell it to us.” Wolfowitz proceeded to note the presprovided a $3.9 billion per month estimate before the committee. That figure ence of 2,400 Poles and 400 Italians appeared on the front page of the marked a shared sense of international cooperation. But those numbers were a mere fraction of the 148,000 United States troops in the region, and the U.S. was Schuyler von Oeyen ’05 believes that a subsidizing the Poles. Wolfowitz contendrepresentative democracy requires ed the U.S. troops were the only ones accountability among its elected officials.

capable of performing certain functions and that “peacekeepers” could not fulfill that commitment. This sparked Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn, to say, “It doesn’t sound as if you are enthusiastic about a U.N. resolution at all, are you?” “That is incorrect, Senator,” pleaded Wolfowitz. “I would be interested in the right resolution at the right time.” Of course he would be interested in a resolution that maintained U.S. authority but spread the cost over other countries. He wants to remake the Middle East so the United States gains more control over the region. Paul Wolfowitz stated in his speech that “Iraq is the central battlefield in the war on terror.” Likewise, President Bush stated on Sunday that Iraq is the “central front” in the war on terror. But to pretend Iraq was the exclusive central hub of international terrorism is to be extremely naive. As Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., pointed out, the Administration’s postSept. 11 report did not even list Iraq as one of the 30 or so nations worldwide with known connections to al-Qaida — a list which included the United States and Canada. Earlier that week, on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” Wolfowitz himself conceded that some intelligence had been “murky.” It is appropriate for a presidential administration to make an educated judgment without indisputable evidence, but honesty requires admitting the degree of estimated fallibility in the evidence used for decision-making. The rationale to go to war presented to the American public was filled with the same kinds of exaggerations and misleading comments Wolfowitz made in his testimony. There was a gross exaggeration of the national security threat posed by Iraq to the United States, an obfuscation of the amount of resources (both financial and military) required and unsupported or exaggerated claims of weapons programs

and links to al-Qaida. When discussion turned from the cost of war to its justification, Wolfowitz insisted to inquiring senators that “If you want to have a conversation about motives, then we can arrange an entirely different kind of hearing.” However, as Sen. Lincoln Chafee, R-R.I., asserted, “I only bring these issues up because it appears that you are operating under entirely different assumptions then we are.” While Wolfowitz suggested the changing security concerns of a postSept. 11 world strongly influenced the need to remove the Iraq regime, Chafee pointed to a 1997 letter in which Wolfowitz called for an invasion of Iraq. “You have been advocating for this [regime change] all along,” he said. Only on Sunday night did the Bush administration finally reveal how much the Iraqi rehabilitation effort is expected to cost American taxpayers: $87 billion. Indeed, the administration has continued its trend of gradualism, garnering support for its programs by only partially revealing the eventual costs up front. Unless it wants to face a situation like Vietnam where the United States stalled its military and economic commitments until the government of the country it was trying to assist collapsed, the U.S. Congress must fully support the president’s requests or risk wasting every penny it has spent on the war effort in Iraq this far. This is an unfair position that demonstrates how this Administration has managed to avoid telling the whole truth up front in order to gain support for its policies, obscuring its motives and the costs involved. Hopefully the American electorate will demand more accountability in the future so they can engage in a fair and open debate over foreign policy and other areas, rather than allowing itself to be duped by Wolfowitz, Karl Rove, George W. Bush and their dubious policies.

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

SPORTS FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 12, 2003 · PAGE 8

Teams look to prove week one losses a fluke

Why football is overrated as a fall sport

WHAT WAS THE BIGGEST SURPRISE from Week One? Vinny Testaverde not throwing an interception? Laveranues Coles announcing his high school during pre-game introductions? The first half of the Titans-Raiders game taking two-anda-half hours? While all of these events are difficult to believe, the biggest surprise from the opening weekend of the NFL season was the Houston Texans upsetting the Miami Dolphins in Miami. More impresJOSH TROY sive, however, was OLD SPORTS GUY the means by which the Texans “shocked the world.” After setting a record by giving up the most sacks in NFL history last season, the offensive line surrendered none to a defense featuring at least 32 Pro Bowlers. The loss, which drove suicide pool players to consider watching “Gigli,” also involved Houston driving down the field in the final minutes for the game-winning field goal, against the same ballyhooed Dolphin “D.” If Dave Wannstedt is the good coach Jimmy Johnson says he is, Wannstedt will use this loss to motivate his team to finally overachieve. However, if the Dolphins continue their underachieving ways, the good news is Wannstedt won’t be around to see the traditional December collapse. These picks have been made against the Skybook odds and, as always, are for recreational purposes only. For completely accurate predictions, I recommend using a Magic Eight Ball. Last Week – 10-5-1 Lock of the Week – 1-0 Dolphins (-3) over the JETS – In Testaverde’s time on the bench, he apparently mastered the art of throwing the third down completion that automatically comes up short of the first down. While he may only be 39, Vinny demonstrated last Thursday that he plays the game with the agility of a 59-year-old. With Miami out for blood following the aforementioned upset, New York has a better chance at finding Hoffa’s body than of picking up a win. Browns (+2) over the RAVENS – Since the offensive shoot-out between Cleveland and Indianapolis turned into a field goal kicking contest, this game should be a high-scoring affair. Unfortunately, the Browns have all of the offensive talent and the Ravens once heard about a team that reached the end zone more then twice in a game. COLTS (-2) over the Titans – When Tennessee signed kicker Gary Anderson, they proved the adage that as a kicker in the NFL, you are not retired until you are in a wheel chair or a pine box. A similar phenomenon is seen with professional wrestlers. But while the Titans had brought in the NFL equivalent of Strom Thurmond, the Colts still feature the best QB/RB/WR combo in the AFC and Tony Dungy only fails to lead his team to victory in the playoffs. PACKERS (-6.5) over the Lions – Last weekend, we saw the birth of the Harrington-Rogers connection and the beginning of the end for Brett Favre. Still, Green Bay will not lose two at home to

Crew, who was last year’s leading scorer despite missing the last nine games, will lead the Brown lineup that has many returning players, four of whom earned All-Ivy honors last year. Of the seniors who graduated, the presence of two-time First All-Ivy selection Dustin Branon ’03 will be missed in the backfield. Jeff Larentowicz ’05, Edward Thurston ’04 and Derrick Woodward ’04 will be key in maintaining a strong backfield against the prolific Stanford offense. The games this weekend, along with Brown’s next five, are not league games, but will count towards their overall record. Though no first-years are likely to start in the Stanford game, look for Matt Britner ’07 and Andrew Daniels ’07 to earn some playing time this weekend. Wisconsin, much like Brown, finished last season with a losing record. They will face off against Brown’s IvyLeague opponent, Yale, on Friday. “(Our) second game may be as tough as the first,” Crew said. “We are obviously going to be more tired, and Wisconsin is not a team you can take lightly.” One thing Brown definitely has in its favor this weekend is the home field advantage. “All the players look forward to the fans, and it’s nice to play on a field where you know the ins and outs,” Gomez said. After this weekend Brown will have the week off to prepare for the Yale Classic, where they will again miss Yale and square off against Fairleigh Dickinson and Creighton.

ONE WEEK INTO THE EIGHTY-FIFTH season, I am already sick of the NFL. As a passionate sports fan, there is nothing I dread more, with the possible exception of WNBA preseason highlights, than the start of the NFL season. As the NFL’s calendar commences, Major League Baseball’s pennant YONI GOLDBERG races heat up, colGUEST COLUMN lege football kicks off, the U.S. Open celebrates its championship weekend and the PGA enters its homestretch. Sadly, however, the ubiquity of the NFL in sports media goes a long way to obscure one of most appealing times of the year in athletics. ESPN spends Sunday through Tuesday recapping the recently completed games and further inundates its viewers with pregame coverage for upcoming games beginning on Wednesday. Meanwhile, other networks begin curbing their sports coverage and it feels as if there is little escape from the NFL’s ascendancy. True story: While in East Side Mini Mart on Monday, a middle-aged man approached me as I waited in line at the register. Unsolicited, he told me, “The most important thing in the world happened yesterday.” I turned and smiled, disinterested in what I expected to be his take on President Bush’s war budget request. He continued, “The NFL season began.” Twenty-one Sundays before the Super Bowl, this guy, like sports fans across the nation, is as giddy as an 18-year-old at a strip club. Further evidence of the NFL’s dominance: Sunday evening’s edition of SportsCenter devoted three full minutes to the Cleveland Browns-Indianapolis Colts game and a mere two minutes and 40 seconds to Andy Roddick’s U.S. Open victory. Roddick’s win legitimized the future of American tennis while the bromidic Browns-Colts affair was the week’s lowest scoring game. Though I understand I speak for a minority, how about focusing some more attention on this week’s Twins-White Sox series that will go a long way to decide the AL Central? Why not concentrate on the compelling NL Wild Card race? At this point, I’d even embrace more coverage of Kobe Bryant’s personal life. Unfortunately, this is all wishful thinking. Propagated by the machine that is network television, football is the perfect game for a nation with unparalleled rates of ADD. With its 16-game regular season, few seem to feel the NFL season ever drags on. By Thanksgiving, no non-NFL sports event will register as anything more than a blip on the national sports scene. Though pro football has, for myriad good reasons, emerged as the contemporary national pastime, its season must be placed in some reasonable perspective. Newsworthy indeed, the nascent stages of the pro football’s calendar should not, however, displace more stimulating and remarkable events from the front of sports pages around the country. To allow the first week or weeks of the NFL season to overshadow all other events is to look past the excellence of sport and competition NFL fans should seek to embrace.

Herald staff writer Ian Cropp ’05 is an assistant sports editor.

Yoni Goldberg ’04 hails from Newton, Mass. His apartment is too big.

see TROY, page 4

dspics

Captain Adom Crew ’04 will lead the team against No.7 Stanford Friday night.

Men’s soccer thinking big as it faces some of nation’s best IAN CROPP

If there were a litmus test in soccer, it would be playing a first game against one of the best teams in the nation. The Brown men’s soccer team will do just that this Friday when they face last year’s national championship finalist, Stanford, in the opening game of the adidas-Brown Classic. On Sunday the Bears will take on the 1998 national champions, the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Brown comes into the weekend having scrimmaged Bowdoin and Middlebury, as well as having played an intra-squad scrimmage. “We feel confident with where we are at, but you can never really tell until you play against one of the top Division I programs,” said Head Coach Mike Noonan. “This is why we invite teams like Stanford.” Stanford has played two league games and is currently ranked 7th in the nation. The team has been playing together for a substantial amount of time, as it took a trip to Costa Rica this summer to play several exhibition games. “Over the summer they gelled together as a team,” said Chris Gomez ’05. “Also, they don’t start school until the end of September, so they are just coasting on soccer.” It seems only fitting, then, that Stanford should be invited to a tournament whose name is an acronym for the phrase “all day I dream about soccer.” Even though Brown has only competed in scrimmages, the team has been playing together for over three weeks. “We’ve really been able to get comfortable with each other, especially over the past week,” said captain Adom Crew ’04.