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F R I D A Y NOVEMBER 7, 2003

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Volume CXXXVIII, No. 109

An independent newspaper serving the Brown community since 1891

www.browndailyherald.com

U. one of 19 honored for excellence in women’s health

ARTS & CULTURE REVIEW

“Glory” is convincing, captivating

BY MILES HOVIS

her expose. Frustrated for months by Wigand’s paranoia, Brenner only got the access she needed once Brenner’s wife kicked him out of his house. Without anyone else to turn to, he called Brenner, she said. Together, they hid out at a New York City Marriott, where Wigand put his life back together and Brenner collected

Brown University and Women and Infants’ Hospital of Rhode Island are joining Harvard Medical School and Boston University Medical Center as a National Center of Excellence in Women’s Health. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced the honor on Oct. 27, and the designation could lead to increased grant money for the hospital and the University. To be eligible for the award, administrators had to go through an intensive application process that began in April and continued through last week. “It’s a highly competitive process,” said Dr. Maureen Phipps, assistant professor at Brown, associate director of research at Women and Infants and director of the collaboration. “We’re very honored to be counted among this year’s recipients.” There are only 19 centers in the nation, each selected by the Department of Health and Human Services. Phipps cited the unique qualities of Brown and the state of Rhode Island as factors in the center’s current and future success. She said Rhode Island’s small size makes it easy for health care organizations to cooperate. Phipps said she was extremely pleased by the number of community partnerships the center has formed. “There’s so much willingness at the community and state level to be part of this,” she said. She noted several aspects of the University that promoted unique

see BRENNER, page 4

see HEALTH, page 4

BY JEN SOPCHOCKCHAI

“The Glory of Living” is not a play for the faint of heart. In fact, it may be one of the most disturbing, riveting productions to ever hit the Brown stage. The play, written by Rebecca Gilman and directed by Professor of Theatre, Speech and Dance Lowry Marshall, relates the story of Lisa and Clint, a trailer park-hopping couple that becomes mixed up in a string of murders. Both plot to abduct unsuspecting young girls on the side of the road. Meanwhile, Clint abuses Lisa without flinching, and she meekly endures his blows. The strong suit of Marshall’s production of Gilman’s work is realism — the set, the southern accents and even the bruises could not be more convincing. The show’s set is just as if Marshall had taken a chainsaw to a house and dragged a whole cross section of it intact into Leeds Theatre. The changes made to said set are microscopic — a lot of time is spent moving a pile of dirty clothes from one side of the room to the other, seemingly for naught, but in the end the attention to detail really makes all the difference. The often-tedious process is like prepping a car for the Indy500 with four or five crewmembers rushing the stage for fine-tuning. “Glory’s” cast is full of talented and courageous actors. Katie Hunt ’07 plays Lisa and masters the art of body language. She is particularly skilled at making herself appear small and insecure and, surprisingly, her constant screaming and weeping never grows tiresome. Nicholas Hoge ’05 plays it smart and charming as Clint. Expect to feel very guilty about liking his character. Hoge alternates parts with James Lowe ’05, who, when not playing the male lead, steals the show as Lisa’s lawyer, Carl. see REVIEW, page 5

Photo courtesy Brown University Theatre

“The Glory of Living” plays Nov. 6-9 and 1316 at Leeds Theater.

Kerry Miller / Herald

Marie Brenner P’04 is a writer-at-large for Vanity Fair and a former staff writer for The New Yorker, but she got her start in journalism as a ice cream peddler.

Vanity Fair writer Brenner P’04 shares “war stories” BY MONIQUE MENESES

Marie Brenner’s first break as a journalist was a job pushing an ice cream cart, she told a crowd in Carmichael Thursday in the third of a series of Herald lectures. Today, Brenner P’04 is a writer-atlarge for Vanity Fair, with the claim to fame of having written the story that inspired the film “The Insider.” But, in 1974, Brenner was a struggling college grad, pushing her way out of credit card debt with the help of an ice cream cart. Fascinated by the way Upper East Side mothers always chose lemon, while Harlem mothers went for cherry ice cream, Brenner started keeping a notebook. And, after enough 95 degree days, she went home and typed from her notes the trials of an ice cream vendor. “I knew it wasn’t Proust,” she said. Nevertheless, her first piece, “Confessions of a Push-cart Peddler,” appeared in New York magazine, launching, with a stipend of $300, Brenner’s 30year journalistic career. But it is big tobacco, not ice cream, that made Brenner famous. In 1994, former Brown and Williamson executive Jeffrey Wigand was anxious to blow the whistle on the company, which had refused to remove toxic additives from its cigarettes. But after Wigand agreed to advise the Food and Drug Administration in its case against the cigarette industry, he started receiving phone threats against his daughter. Later, after Wigand testified for the FDA and agreed to an interview with “60 Minutes,” B&W launched a smear campaign against him, and Wigand received a bullet in his mailbox. Pursued by his enemies, and abandoned by friends, Wigand was “scared for his life,” Brenner said. It was under these circumstances, she said, that she began

Brown’s tuition seventh highest in nation Brown’s undergraduate tuition this year is the seventh highest in the nation and the steepest in the Ivy League, according to a survey published by the Chronicle of Higher Education last week. With a sticker price of $30,078, up 5.6 percent from last year, a Brown undergraduate education is the most expensive offered by any university. Its tuition was topped only by small colleges such as Kenyon College, Trinity College and Hamilton College, all of which charge about $100 more. But few Ivy League colleges charge much less. An undergraduate education at Harvard University costs $29,060, up 5.9 percent from last year, while Institution Landmark College Sarah Lawrence College Kenyon College Trinity College Hamilton College Bowdoin College Brown University Wesleyan University Colgate University Brandeis University

Location Putney, Vermont Bronxville, N.Y. Gambier, Ohio Hartford, Conn. Clinton, N.Y. Brunswick, Maine Providence, R.I. Middletown, Conn. Hamilton, N.Y. Waltham, Mass.

I N S I D E F R I D AY, N O V E M B E R 7 , 2 0 0 3 Farm animals have feelings too, author claims in reading at Brown Bookstore campus news, page 3

18 weeks of training pay off as Brown sophomore runs marathon with dad campus news, page 3

To Professor Keach, intellectual debate is more like war, says YoungSmith ’06 column, page 7

Dartmouth College costs $29,256, according to the Oct. 31 Chronicle article. Further complicating Brown’s ranking, the flat tuition rate at a college may not be the best way to calculate its cost, according to Brown News Service Director Mark Nickel. Financial aid packages, which reached a new national high this year, also influence how much the average student pays. “Brown tries to hold tuition rates as low as it possibly can,” Nickel said. And, when it comes to statistical evaluations such as the Chronicle’s “most expensive” list, he said, “the story is never as simple as it seems.” —Carla Blumenkranz Tuition $35,300 $30,824 $30,330 $30,230 $30,200 $30,120 $30,078 $29,998 $29,940 $29,875

Increase 2.9% 5.0% 5.6% 5.7% 5.0% 5.0% 5.6% 5.9% 5.6% 6.1%

TO D AY ’ S F O R E C A S T Sports columnist Josh Troy picks this week’s winners; went 5-8-1 last week sports, page 8

Swimming blasts through scrimmage, ready for the start of season sports, page 8

mostly sunny high 52 low 33

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

THIS MORNING FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2003 · PAGE 2 Coup de Grace Grace Farris

W E AT H E R FRIDAY

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

MONDAY

High 52 Low 33 mostly sunny

High 57 Low 55 partly cloudy

High 64 Low 56 mostly cloudy

High 67 Low 54 rain/wind

GRAPHICS BY TED WU

Three Words Eddie Ahn

MENU THE RATTY

V-DUB

LUNCH — Vegetarian Vegetable Soup, Lobster Bisque, Chicken Fingers, Braised Beef Tips, Noodle Kugel, String Beans LaBelle, Raspberry Squares, Death by Chocolate, Cherry Pie

LUNCH — Vegetarian Caribbean Black Bean Soup, Manhattan Clam Chowder, Popcorn Chicken, Vegan Vermicelli with Garlic Sauce, Sugar Snap Peas, Raspberry Squares

DINNER — Vegetarian Vegetable Soup, Lobster Bisque, Tex-Mex Lasagna, Filet of Sole with Spinach Stuffing, Shoepeg Corn Casserole, Garlic and Butter Infused Rice, Zucchini and Summer Squash, Lima Beans, Garlic Bread, Raspberry Squares, Death by Chocolate, Cherry Pie

DINNER — Vegetarian Caribbean Black Bean Soup, Manhattan Clam Chowder, Salmon Provencal, Corn Souffle, Mushroom Rissotto, Zucchini, Carrot & Garlic Medley, Whole Green Beans, Garlic Bread, Death by Chocolate

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

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 David, e.g. 5 Throb 9 Gelt 14 Banned orchard treatment 15 Tommie of ’60s’70s baseball 16 Big name in beauty products 17 Writing competition, briefly? 19 Holmes of “Dawson’s Creek” 20 Easy Reach refrigerator maker 21 Equal 23 Enzyme ending 24 Like some legs 27 Peckish 29 Moron 30 “Concord Sonata” composer 32 Big people 35 Hôtel room 36 Ended up on top 37 West Point inits. 40 “Uncle Vanya” role 42 Art deco pseudonym 43 Kathy of country 45 Father and daughter actors 47 Sore 48 Marquis de __ 49 Not quite a slug 52 Come after 54 Catherine I, for one 56 Org. with a highly regarded journal 58 First century emperor 60 Mouth-watering 61 Hopper of note 63 “Laugh-In” personality, briefly? 66 Words after bend or lend 67 Words of discovery 68 Take at the track 69 Move a tad 70 Quite a bit 71 Genesis grandchild

xwordeditor@aol.com

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Dirty Brown by Scott Yi & David Petruccelli

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Hopeless Edwin Chang

T E N D M A L L A R O O A T E E K N O B I K E S N E S S A T T I R E T H E T H A N H E S T R I S T E A T A L E D O D P R O C E E D I N G A T A T S I E G E T I N S T A S P E D N A S T R O U G H K I N G H Y P O I N A N E A L O U E C L A T T E N T S T A T S

My Best Effort Andy Hull and William Newman

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE: C A O H R A B

53 Flynn of film 55 Travel far and wide 56 Seventh king of Israel 57 Diner’s card? 59 First century emperor 62 Nobelist Hammarskjöld 64 Write 65 CIA forerunner

37 Actress Thurman 38 Diamond strategy, for short 39 Foolish, briefly? 41 Iceless 44 Trap 46 Under, to Yeats 49 Xterra maker 50 All together 51 Singer Freda et al.

DOWN 1 Fruit originally from Turkey 2 Los __ 3 Colorful birds 4 Flat 5 Back stroke? 6 Big time 7 1987 Costner role 8 Reach 9 Manages 10 Zoological openings 11 TV tyke, briefly? 12 Flowers for visitors 13 Marine heading 18 Conductor Boulanger 22 The 55th one took place in 2003, briefly? 25 Brown group, briefly? 26 1994 Jodie Foster film 28 Lilts 31 Plant origins 33 One of Egypt’s “Amarna kings” 34 Fr. holy woman 35 Joined temporarily

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ganwyn sez: i miss my girlfriend! i haven’t seen her in three hours!

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CAMPUS NEWS FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2003 · PAGE 3

Author examines emotions of “farmed animals” BY JESSICA WEISBERG

Sure, your puppy feels both joy and pain. But does your cow? Most people tend to believe that animals, especially their pets, are capable of having emotional experiences, although animal cognition cannot scientifically be verified. But author Jeffery Moussaieff Masson said farm animals are more commonly overlooked and degraded than other types of animals, like household pets. Masson discussed the emotional lives of farm animals, or as he called them, “farmed animals,” at the Brown Bookstore Tuesday. In his selection from his new book, “The Pig Who Sang to the Moon,” Masson emphasized the fact that farm animals did not select their fate for themselves. “Domestic animals share our lives with us, but we tend to lose our sense of wonder about farm animals shortly after childhood,” Masson said. Masson described how farm animals alter the volume and tone of their noises, depending on their audience. Roosters, for example, sound louder if a hen is present, he said. He also described certain behaviors of sheep and cows that evidence their wariness of human beings. “The more you treat an animal like your best friend, the more it will act like your best friend,” Masson said. Associate Professor of Psychology Ruth Colwill, who introduced the author, questioned Masson regarding the scientific veracity of his observations, asking how the emotional capacity of animals is scientifically measurable. Several of her students asked if domestic animals learned their emotional-seeming behaviors through human contact. Masson responded to questions by describing the emotional behaviors he has seen in his studies and that pet owners observe on almost a daily basis, such as the dog who whimpers at the door as his owner leaves or farm animals that respond only to specific individuals. Masson asserted that this type of qualitative evidence was tantamount to proof of the emotional capacity of farm animals. Although Masson asserted that he was not an animal rights activist, he did discuss his belief that all animals have the right to a happy life. “Happiness for these animals is living the way they were evolved to live,” Masson said. Masson’s discussion of “The Pig who Sang to the Moon” evolved into a lecture on the implied altruism of vegetarianism. “By consuming meat one decides that animals have no emotional capacity,” Masson said. He also discussed how veganism ought to be the preferred diet of choice for all anisee ANIMALS, page 5

Ben Goddard / Herald

Aside from the significance of running as a father-daughter team, the race had particular importance for Elizabeth and Elliot Davis — Elliott is battling stage IV kidney cancer. Elizabeth has called him an inspiration, and the pair’s closeness helped keep them going when outside pressures and sacrifices became difficult.

Davis ’06 and father complete New York marathon together BY HANNAH BASCOM

Elizabeth Davis ’06 finished the New York Marathon on Sunday with a time of 5:05:25, a sprained ankle and her father. The 26-mile race, which drew 35,000 runners, was the culmination of 18 weeks of intense training that Elizabeth completed with her father, Elliot Davis, who is suffering from Stage IV kidney cancer. The training began July 1, while Elizabeth was still home in the Virgin Islands, and continued after she returned to Brown in September. During the fall the pair continued to motivate each other by phone. Last Thursday, Elizabeth left Brown to reunite with her family in New York. She and Elliott registered, got T-shirts with “His Daughter” and “Her Father” printed on the backs and spent time relaxing and preparing for Sunday’s marathon. By 10 a.m. Sunday, the pair was at the starting line,

drinking Gatorade, eating bagels and salted nuts, and waiting for the race to begin. “We were just talking about how excited we were. The 18-week program would finally pay off. I was nervous I couldn’t run all 26 miles, but my dad assured me I could,” Elizabeth said. When the race started, it took them 10 minutes just to cross the starting line because Elizabeth and her father were in the middle of the pack. “For the first few miles, I did the wrong thing and counted down miles — my Dad told me to focus on the outside as opposed to the inside. I looked at street signs to keep me occupied,” Elizabeth said. The crowd of more than two million spectators also helped her along, Elizabeth said. “There were people playing music, bands playing, people handing out water see MARATHON, page 5

PAGE 4 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2003

Health continued from page 1 advancement, including “a small, close-knit medical school, somewhere where people know each other personally and can better share knowledge and experience.” Phipps also credited Brown’s strong faculty connection to Women and Infants. All leaders of the center have a professorship or other position at Brown, rooting the program in research and a sense of academic community, she said. Though the designation as a Center of Excellence does not include a federal grant, Phipps said he hopes “our new status can serve as leverage for federal funding of programs and initiatives for

women’s health” undertaken by the center. The center would use funding to achieve several longterm goals, among which are improving access to health care for “under-served” women, increasing health education and providing better professional opportunities for women in medicine. Phipps said the center will use a synergistic approach to improve women’s health by uniting community hospitals, medical schools and the Department of Health to provide furtherreaching and better quality service. The integration will include collaboration in research, clinical care, community outreach, professional education and leadership development. “We really hope to significantly improve women’s health throughout the state,” Phipps said.

Brenner

Swim

continued from page 1

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information for her story. The feature that ran in Vanity Fair in May 1996, titled “The Man Who Knew Too Much,” became the feature of the film “The Insider,” starring Al Pacino and Russell Crowe. “To be responsive to the world around you, prepare to be lucky,” she said. Also prepare to work long hours, she said. Each year, Brenner said she writes several long pieces for Vanity Fair. For each piece, she interviews about 60 people, using 25 to 50 cassette tapes she transcribes on her own, she said. “I’m so slow,” Brenner said, comparing the process of writing a story to doing embroidery. Jobs aren’t easy to come by either, she said. For years, Brenner said she worked “for anyone who would have me,” and often with little success. The two books she published in the 1970s received “less than mixed reviews,” she said — “Something to the effect of, ‘Once you put it down, you won’t be able to pick it up.’” In the end, journalism is all about “finding a great story to tell,” she said — with the exception of recent cases where the story turned out too good to be true. The Stephen Glass and Jayson Blair cases taught Brenner what “low regard we, as journalists, are held in,” she said. On the other hand, she said these public humiliations will ultimately improve the quality of the profession. “When someone who is a liar comes along, we will publicly throw him out,” she said. Students said they found Brenner’s anecdotes thought-provoking and entertaining. “She made me want to be a journalist,” said Cara Thomas ‘04. Brenner’s work has appeared in a number of magazines, including The New Yorker and Vogue. She is the author of five books, including The New York Times paperback bestseller “Great Dames: What I Learned from Older Women.” The lecture was co-sponsored by the Sarah Doyle Women’s Center.

able to swim fast as a team in every event and that made the meet a lot of fun for us.” The men swept the 200-yard medley relay, with the relay team of co-captain Jefferson Moors ’04, co-captain Brian Wood ’04, Max Allen ’04 and Wang coming in first, followed closely behind by two more Brown teams. A large part of the team’s success can be attributed to the five new additions to the team, four of which are swimmers. This brings the total number of swimmers on the team to 17, and though this figure is still small in comparison to some of the other colleges whose teams number close to 30, the firstyears will have a positive impact on the team’s performance this year. The women’s team will have its season-opener at Harvard on Nov. 21. The men’s team will begin its season swimming against Dartmouth and Navy on Nov. 22 at Dartmouth.

Herald senior staff writer Monique Meneses ’05 can be reached at mmeneses@browndailyherald.com.

Herald staff writer Jinhee Chung ’05 can be reached at jchung@browndailyherald.com.

Troy continued from page 8 Colts (-6) over the JAGUARS (LOCK OF THE WEEK) – After the team’s success this season, Peyton Manning has now gone around accusing every teammate of being a drunken idiot. For Jacksonville, Coach Del Rio has replaced the axe in the locker room with a loaded shotgun, a vial of arsenic and throwing stars. To keep some stability, the team will continue to lose. CHIEFS (-10) over the Browns – The Chiefs boast an undefeated record, two MVP candidates and a coach who cries more than a guest on “Up Close.” As for the Browns, William Green successfully completed his audition for the Trailblazers. He will spend his one-game suspension contemplating why not all of the Transformers could fly.

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2003 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD PAGE 5

Gomez continued from page 8 deciding where to distribute the ball than I have done in years past.” “Chris is a silent leader who is well respected by everyone on the team, especially the freshmen,” said teammate Adom Crew ’04. “Oftentimes, he gives a different perspective about the game — everyone on the team responds well to him and looks up to him.” Assistant Coach Scott Wiercinski duly acknowledges the importance of having Gomez on the team as they battle for the Ivy League crown. “Chris is very close to becoming a complete player. He is very pensive, athletic and shows up huge for us in tense moments,” Wiercinski said. Although there is a lot of pressure for the game against Yale, the team is treating it as just another game. Gomez believes the team is pumped because they “live for the opportunity to succeed in a challenging environment.” The soccer team did not have a midweek game, giving it additional time to focus solely on Yale. Wiercinski feels confident in Gomez’s capabilities and in that he will help lead Brown to a win. “The other guys on the team realize that if they make a mistake, Chris will be there to save

Fencing continued from page 8 champion, finished 24th out of 43 epeeists. Already done with one competition, these determined Bears looked optimistically ahead for the next one, planning to rigorously work on their strategies.

Marathon continued from page 3 and Tylenol.” At mile 16 Elizabeth and Elliott encountered friends who were also running the marathon. Elliott stopped to take pictures and had others photograph the two as they were running. Soon after, as they entered Manhattan, Elizabeth saw seven of her friends from Brown holding signs and taking pictures. “It kept me going to see all my friends there,” she said. Just minutes after she saw her friends, Elizabeth tripped on a ditch in the road and fell, twisting her ankle severely. Elliott and a police officer carried her off to the side of the road and called an ambulance. “After a minute of sitting at the side of the road, I looked at my dad and said, ‘Let’s go. I want to finish.’ I ran the last eight-and-ahalf miles with a sprained ankle,” Elizabeth said. Surprisingly, the last stretch of the race was easier than Elizabeth thought it would be, she said. She focused on the crowd and was inspired and entertained by the other runners, some of whom were in costume.

them,” Wiercinski said. “His hands are one of his strengths in that he has reduced the number of rebounds and has held onto the ball better. He also has great range on the crosses — he is defending the entire goal line, rather than just the box.” Gomez has earned many accolades in years past, leading the Ivy League with 5.83 saves per game in 2002 and posting a 1.21 GAA. Last year, however, the team sported a mediocre record of just 5-5-3. This year, his saves are resulting in wins. “A team goal is that we just focus on performance and play well,” Crew said. “We know that the results will end up taking care of themselves.” An Ivy League Championship would ensure an automatic birth to the NCAA Tournament, which begins Nov. 22. While clearly an exciting opportunity, it can be difficult for the team to live up to its reputation. “I am proud to represent a school like Brown, and it feels good to wear a jersey with ‘Brown’ across the chest,” Gomez said. “However, it is an obstacle to represent Brown and its great traditions. Each game is really important, and it’s essential that we do not become cocky.” A dominant attack led by Crew and a virtually unstoppable goalkeeper should be the right combination for Brown men’s soccer to bring home a championship this weekend.

“We are using different parts of the year to build up to our particular goals, which are the nationals, state, regional, and the New England Championship. So we are working into improving every aspect of the game, not only technical but also the tactical aspects,” Tass said. The Bears’ fencing team faces their first league meet of the season on Nov. 15 at Boston University.

She and Elliott crossed the finish line with arms around each other, and the rest of the family and Elizabeth’s godmother greeted them. Davis said she is happy she decided to continue running despite the sprained ankle. “They say no pain, no gain. It was definitely worth it to finish the race,” she said. Elizabeth’s achievement is impressive, her friends say. “Her dedication was unbelievable,” said Stanley Voigt ’06, one of Elizabeth’s friends who journeyed to New York to see her run. “I was surprised at her enthusiasm. She had a bright smile on her face, even though she was at the 17th mile.” Now that the marathon is over, Elizabeth plans to relax and take a few weeks off. She says she plans on running another one sometime in the future but does not want to think about it while she is still sore from this one. “I’ll definitely do it again. It will be a lot easier now that I know I can do it. It was the best experience of my life,” Elizabeth said. Herald staff writer Hannah Bascom ’05 can be reached at hbascom@browndailyherald.com.

Review continued from page 1 Lowe offers a captivating and heartfelt performance as his character tries to understand the whirlwind of degradation before him. One note of criticism for Gilman’s work would be her choice of symbolism. The use of a toy piano to tie the play’s

themes together insults the intelligence of theatergoers. The strength of the narrative does not merit such a cheap tactic. This minor flaw, however, does not overshadow the glory of “The Glory of Living.” Herald staff writer Jen Sopchockchai ’05 is an assistant arts and culture editor. She can be reached at jsopchockchai@browndailyherald.c om.

Animals continued from page 3 mal enthusiasts, but ashamedly mentioned that, though he “tries to be vegan,” he is not always successful. Herald staff writer Jessica Weisberg ’06 can be reached at jweisberg@browndailyherald.com.

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

EDITORIAL/LETTERS FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2003 · PAGE 6 S T A F F

E D I T O R I A L

Diamonds and coal A diamond to Marie Brenner P’04. We’ve got $25, will you be our “Johnny?” Coal to Exchange’s faulty e-mail log-out. Getting e-mails from yourself with “I OWN YOU” in the subject line is a little scary. Coal to the “Macs or PCs” girl. You represent us well. NOT! A diamond to the new RISD-Hope High collaboration. You both have a lot to learn from each other. Coal to the editors of the Brandeis Justice. (Bad joke in poor taste removed, after actually being read prior to publication.) A diamond to dixieflier.com for allowing besieged Confederate supporters to send hate mail to both President Ruth Simmons and Herald cartoonist Andrew Sheets ’04 with the click of a mouse. Y’all should open up a business. And a diamond to the venerable institutions of Krispy Kreme and Waffle House. Coal to whomever was supposed to run the Halloween showing of “The Ring” for BFS. If we wanted to be stood up, we would have asked someone out instead. ANDREW SHEETS

Coal to the disappointing “Matrix: Revolutions.” But a diamond to being plugged in. Coal to the flu shot — your Jedi mind tricks won’t work on us! But a diamond to scurvy vaccines — er, orange juice. Coal to crazy anti-milk activists. Sure, humans don’t need cow’s milk. But dunking Oreos in a glass of apple juice is kind of gross.

LETTERS Herald misinterprets BEAN’s stance on table slipping

Even at discounted price, new library chairs aren’t worth it

To the Editor:

The Herald article, “BEAN plans campaign against table-slips,” Nov. 6, dramatically distorted the Brown Environmental Action Network’s position on table-slipping. The author interviewed a single BEAN member, and her views were misrepresented. BEAN does not advocate for an end to tableslipping and does not currently have any ongoing campaigns with that goal. Table-slips add unique character and a community atmosphere to the Ratty and V-Dub. They are also a vital part of student group publicity and oncampus free speech. BEAN table-slips for its major events, just like IMPROVidence and other student groups. Yet, we believe it is critically important to consider the environmental effects of our everyday actions. Earlier this year, BEAN discussed how table-slipping might be reformed so as to reduce the use of virgin paper. While ending table-slipping is certainly one option, more attractive ideas include making scrap paper available for table slip copying. We hope to work with student groups, the Student Activities Office and Dining Services to implement an environmentally friendly table-slipping system that benefits everyone. We invite those interested to get involved.

In Wednesday’s Herald, Barbara Schulz defends the library’s recent purchases of Aeron chairs (“New library chairs are worth their (discounted) price,” Nov. 5), and says that the chairs, “with an educational discount, did not cost $1,000 each.” What is not surprising to me is that Ms. Schulz does not say how much they actually did cost, but just that they were less than $1000. Perhaps her reason for omitting the exact cost is that some students would still find it outrageous. I urge Ms. Schultz to state publicly the actual cost of these chairs, so that students can give informed feedback about whether we think their purchase was a good decision. Even if they were only $600 or $700 each, I personally think that is an awful lot to spend for study comfort, especially while the cost of tuition continues to spiral out of control, and the University continues its longstanding tradition of crying poverty whenever it gets the chance. Peter Ian Asen ’04 Nov. 6

Coal to the flesh baton. You have nothing to offer us. A diamond to asshats. We love ’em, we wear ’em, we can’t get enough of ’em. Thanks, BuDS!

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 Jonathan Skolnick, Opinions Editor Philissa Cramer, RISD News Editor Maggie Haskins, Sports Editor Jonathan Meachin, Sports Editor

BUSINESS Jamie Wolosky, General Manager Joe Laganas, Executive Manager Joshua Miller, Executive Manager Anastasia Ali, Project Manager Jack Carrere, Project Manager Lawrence L. Hester IV, Project Manager Bill Louis, Project Manager Zoe Ripple, Project Manager Peter Schermerhorn, Project Manager Elias Roman, Human Resources Manager Laurie-Ann Paliotti, Sr. Advertising Rep. Elyse Major, Advertising Rep. Kate Sparaco, Office Manager

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

POST- MAGAZINE Alex Carnevale, Editor-in-Chief Dan Poulson, Executive Editor Morgan Clendaniel, Senior Editor Theo Schell-Lambert, Senior Editor Micah Salkind, Features Editor Ellen Wernecke, Features Editor Abigail Newman, Theater Editor Doug Fretty, Film Editor Jason Ng, Music Editor Colin Hartnett, Design Editor

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Noah Fulmer ’05 Brown Environmental Action Network Nov. 6

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

OPINIONS FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2003 · PAGE 7

The tragicomic intellectual Diversity debate: Brown’s very own epic battle HENRY KISSINGER ONCE SAID, “University politics are vicious precisely because the stakes are so small.” Professor Keach and Shaun Joseph’s rallying cry against David Horowitz (“Liberals too accepting of conservative lies,” Nov. 3) is remarkable not only for its scope and grandeur but for its poetic, quixotic qualities as well. Perhaps because he is a literary professor, he portrays the University as the last battleground of a collapsing order — the heroic National Socialist stand at the Battle of the Bulge or the ISO’s final foothold on this earth, along with North Korea and Havana. It’s beautiful to think of our small tract of Earth as a minor player in a greater human drama. As Keach and Joseph say, campus conservatives can easily summon “the hard might of government, barron military and ngsmith you corporate leadn von baro ership” when newspaper they enter a debate with liberal students. When Laura Martin or Stephen

Beale find themselves in a discussion with their friends on the Left, they will not only argue back, publish opinions columns or attempt to invite a conservative speaker to campus — they will call in airstrikes, nuke their opponents and then use the Supreme Court to invalidate their arguments. Faced with total deconstruction by Derrida-toting MCM students, they almost have no choice but to resort to deadly force in order to save their binary oppositions from the godless communists. Every time conservatives begin to advance their absurd arguments, it is Vietnam all over again. In this elemental battle of good versus evil, neo-conservative demons versus shy but earnest liberal hobbits, life is turned upside down. There are wild turns of events: role reversals and plot twists. Whoever would have thought to admonish liberals for being too accepting? Professor Keach and Shaun Joseph, of course! I admire them because they exhort people to fight intolerance with intolerance, to fight a stifling of discourse by stifling discourse, to counter the Patriot Act with another Patriot Act. They remove all pretense from the struggle in which

we are engaged: Intellectual diversity is a sham. Nobody wants to hear other people’s views — rather, opinions should be treated like artillery blasts fired between enemy lines. Duck! Soldiers, retreat into your trenches for safety and then muster for another push against the enemy! Keach and Joseph understand the true pulse of life, the struggle, the adrenaline of death or life where two enemies cannot coexist. “Do the College Republicans campaign to hire radical feminists and introduce Lenin into the curriculum? Obviously not: They campaign for Bush or some such disastrous thing,” they point out. “Now if conservatives want to fight for their political ideas, that is their political right.” This is a war between ideologies where only the most ruthless can survive: Lenin versus Bush, madman versus madman strutting himself upon the stage. We must allow conservative ideas no hiding places: no footholds. We must smoke them out of their holes. They are already in control of Mexico and Italy. Otherwise, the liberal world will fall like dominoes, one by one before our feet. It will be like Vietnam all over again. Keach and Joseph know that university academics are hampered by the pretense of their profession: ‘Objectivity’ binds

Barron YoungSmith ’06 can’t believe he just wrote this.

their hands. They do not remember that, “If voices of radical dissent, of oppressed peoples, and of colonized nations have made it into the university, it is not because they were kindly invited. We fought our way in.” Keach was there, on a boat from Honduras, machine gun in hand. He knows it is a binary battle of Derrida or Fanon versus the KKK. Academia has deluded itself (because of the Enlightenment) by commiting to unlimited ‘diversity’ extended to all fields of understanding: a concept which is clearly meant to be racial and not ideological, and certainly not political. Because of its lack of vigilance, the Right has co-opted the idea of diversity and applied it to its own conspiratorial machinations. Do you see what our enemy is like? I don’t know what they have in mind next, but the authors have clearly described their most likely goal: “Racism.” I agree with the authors: Academics should have the beauty and simplicity of a duel — muddy and grim with an array of weapons available to all, under a dark sky. We must overcome our “politeness” and our “whining” to become Men of Action. If the conservatives murder, we must be willing to murder. No, wait: We must murder FIRST so that we do not lose the advantage. God and the proven infallibility of Universal Health Care.

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

SPORTS FRIDAY NOVEMBER 7, 2003 · PAGE 8

Fencers return from Smith with five medals

Pathetic Jets, William Green lead Week 10

BY ZANETA BALANTAC

THESE PICKS HAVE BEEN MADE AGAINST the Skybook odds and, as always, are for recreational purposes only. This week’s picks were not parodied in “Scary Movie 3” but do feature twins. (Home team in CAPS) Last Week – 5-8-1 Season – 70-55-5 Lock of the Week – 7-2 NY GIANTS (10.5) over the Falcons – Jim Fassel and the Last Crusade play a second straight game at the Meadowlands and look to pass Miami JOSHUA TROY and Dallas for the SPREADING THE LOVE most wins at the stadium. With Mike Vick’s best action this season being in Madden 2004 and Bonecrusher’s profanity-laden halftime show failing to inspire Atlanta, Dan Reeves should book his time in Florida now. REDSKINS (+3) over the Seahawks – Steve Spurrier might also want to make reservations for the Del Boca Vista Retirement Home. This game is one last chance for him to prove that the Fun ‘N’ Gun works and is not just a lame offensive scheme like the Run ‘N’ Shoot or Suck ‘N’ Blow. It is just nice to see that Patrick Ramsey can recite the alphabet again. STEELERS (-7.5) over the Cardinals – The good news for Plaxico Burress is that he won money at his weekly poker game with Alvin Harper, J.J. Stokes and Az-Zahir Hakim. However, if he keeps failing to catch touchdowns, he will need that poker money to pay off the mortgage on his new house. Emmitt Smith is clicking his heels together three times on the off chance that it will make his signing with Arizona disappear. LIONS (-2) over the Bears – Whichever team wins this game will have a good chance of not finishing in last place in the NFC Central. On the other hand, the loser will have a better shot at a high draft pick. I smell a fix, so look to see which team Pete Rose picks. At this point, Urlacher is just happy he did not star in a porno with a Hilton sister. Or is he? Texans (+5) over the BENGALS – It’s Tony Banks versus John Kitna, and who said that the quarterback position had become watered down? If Domanick “The Italian Christmas Donkey” Davis can remain healthy for the rest of the year, he will have the inside track at Rookie of the Year. Also, Corey Dillon’s value is now depreciating by $10,000 a week. Buccaneers (-3) over the PANTHERS – It is an even-numbered week, so Tampa Bay is guaranteed to win. Plus, the added pressure of Chucky’s temper tantrum, K.J.’s ego and Warren Sapp’s threat of an end zone dance will be pushing the team. I wonder if they can trade their Super Bowl rings for two wins in a row this season. Dolphins (+5) over the TITANS – If the Dolphins learned anything from the Marlins, they would know that they should fire Dave Wannstedt and replace him with Joe Gibbs. As for “The Predator,” real MVPs step up in big games and this is his chance to prove that he can come through in the clutch. Otherwise, Miami may want to think about trading him back to New Orleans for a first round pick and a “Girls Gone Wild” tape. see TROY, page 4

dspics

Chris Gomez ’05 has been virtually impenetrable with six shutouts this season.

Gomez ’05, a wall for M. soccer as Ivy finale nears BY ROBBY KLABER

With an Ivy League championship on the line, there is no one the Brown men’s soccer team would rather have in goal than Chris Gomez ’05. Gomez earned Ivy League Player of the Week after leading Brown to a 1-0 shutout over Penn on Nov. 1, recording eight saves in achieving his sixth shutout of the season and 12th over his three-year career. Brown can claim the Ivy League title this weekend when it plays at second place Yale, who sports a 4-1 league record. “It is nice to be first in the Ivy League thus far, but it all comes down to this weekend,” Gomez said. “We want to win the title outright, so we must play well against a very good Yale team.” The Bears have a 3-0 away record this year. During Brown’s five Ivy League games this season, Gomez allowed just one

goal and has blanked the last three opponents. The Bears have a 9-3-1 overall record (5-0 Ivy League). Gomez recorded 65 saves over this season, has a 0.70 goals against average (GAA) and a 0.855 save percentage. Gomez says that he attributes his 0.70 GAA “to everyone else on the team, especially the defenders. The defenders have been in position all season and have made my job much easier”. Over the past three years, Gomez has improved his communication both on and off the field and is most proud of how he has developed small, technical aspects of his game into his biggest strengths. “My ability to ‘read’ the game has improved throughout my career at Brown.” Gomez said. “I do a better job in see GOMEZ, page 5

Brown swimmers own pool in first scrimmages of season BY JINHEE CHUNG

In an exciting preview to the coming season, the Brown men’s and women’s swim teams dominated in a scrimmage against the University of Rhode Island and the University of Massachusetts at the Smith Swim Center Saturday. Both teams came out on top in nearly every event, each of which was a different relay. “The relay format helped us get to know who we are as a team, because we weren’t competing as individuals, but as teams,” said Co-Captain Emily McCoy ’04. “It helped us establish who we are as a team, and we got to know each other better as swimmers.” The women’s team swept the scrimmage, placing first in every event and in many cases capturing both first and second place. In the 300-yard backstroke relay, Emily Brush ’07, Jessica Brown ’05

and co-captain Liz Daniels ’04 swam into first, followed by three consecutive Brown relay teams to secure the top four spots in the event. “Everyone raced and competed well, which I think is a good indication of what will be the rest of the year,” McCoy said. Last year’s team is joined by 13 firstyears who, according to McCoy, will be an important component of the program. “We’re really excited about the freshmen this year,” McCoy said. “The way they competed this past weekend shows that there are really good things ahead.” On the men’s side, the Bears won 15 out of 16 events, dropping their only event to UMass in the 300-yard backstroke relay. “It was a good meet to start the season, since all the events were done as a team,” said tri-captain Tim Wang ’05. “We were

The Brown fencing team, led by Head Coach Atilio Tass, returned home with high spirits after delivering a great performance during this past weekend’s season opener, the annual “Big One” competition. Despite competing without several injured and missing players, Bruno bared its teeth by capturing two silvers and three bronze medals during this traditional New England “warm-up” tournament, hosted this year by Smith College. “We went in without any expectations,” Tass said. “We were using this event as a training field to prepare us for the rest of the season.” Both veteran and rookie players gladly stepped up to the challenge, despite knowing they would face such fierce contenders like Brandeis, MIT and Boston College. Despite the lack of expectations, the Bears played an exciting tournament. At first stance, the women’s epee attacked with force as it helped defend its reputation of being the best epee team in New England by seizing two of the top four spots in its event. Co-Captain Alessandra Assante ’04 fenced her way to silver for women’s epee while parrying a case of pneumonia. All-American Ruth Schneider ’06 also executed a wonderful performance and took the bronze. In addition, veteran Lucy Walker ’06 was ranked 15th among her 43 competitors while walk-on Heather Johnston ’06 showed great potential by taking the 34th spot after only two months of fencing training. In women’s foil, Hausmann surprised the field by bringing home the bronze medal. Her fellow foil squad members, who were walk-ons last year, Nanette Milner ’06, Vera Mayercik ’06 and Juliane Kellner ’06, nabbed the 22nd, 34th and 40th spots, respectively, among 58 competitors. “I feel the team really came together and was very supportive of each player,” Hausmann said. “During bouts, we would gather around to watch and cheer trying to have a nice contingent going.” In men’s saber, Daniel Dorsky ’05, an alternate to NCAA Nationals last season, captured the bronze medal from among 43 fencers, while his teammates Jeremy Adler ’06, Dan Mahoney ’07 and Ven Taipatri ’04, took the 12th, 24th, and 36th spots, respectively. With such strong potential, the Bears’ men’s saber will continue to defend its standing this season as one of the best in the league. Not far from his veteran counterparts, nationally ranked Jeremy Zeitlen ’07 took the silver medal for men’s foil during his first outing for Bruno. His fellow squad members, Jeremy Moore ’06, tri-captain John Wurzel ’05, Dylan Williams ’07 and Adrian Muniz ’07 placed 11th, 32nd, 38th and 45th respectively. “We had some of our teammates out with stress fractures and unfortunately they could not compete,” Hausmann said. Women’s saber and men’s epee showed great potential for this new season despite these injuries. In women’s saber, fencers Cristina Rodriguez-Hart ’04, Maya Holzman ’06, Olivia Partyka ’06, Xian Leong ’06 and Peiling Li ’06 placed 10th, 18th, 19th, 36th and 40th, respectively. For men’s epee, although short of fencers, tri-captain Brian Williams ’04 secured 14th place while Pat Culhane ’06, last year’s New England junior varsity see FENCING, page 5