Thursday, February 3, 2005 by The Brown Daily Herald

T H U R S D A Y FEBRUARY 3, 2005

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Volume CXL, No. 7

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POST- RETURNS post- explores its virgin/whore complex and gets a date with Debra Messing INSIDE

UNION RAGES, UNION FROWNS Seth Magaziner ’06 and Michal Zapendowski ’07 react to the State of the Union address OPINIONS EXTRA

TODAY

TOMORROW

wintry mix 39 / 27

partly cloudy 41 / 25

State of the Union not a priority for students

Elections, campus region plan on UCS agenda

BY STU WOO AND BEN LEUBSDORF SENIOR STAFF WRITERS

BY LAURA SUPKOFF CONTRIBUTING WRITER

President Bush delivered his fourth State of the Union address Wednesday night, but Brown University wasn’t watching. At the Gate and Jo’s, the televisions were turned to ESPN’s coverage of the Wake Forest-Duke men’s basketball game. In a Mead House lounge in Keeney Quad, only one first-year sat watching the speech as Meiklejohns met in the space around him. Many students said they weren’t aware of the speech, and others didn’t care. “I didn’t know about the speech,” said José Ramirez ’06 as he watched the basketball game at the Gate. “I’m not interested, honestly.” “I get frustrated when I watch Bush speak, and there’s not a lot that I can do about it right now, so why get angry?” said Lena Groeger ’08, who was also at the Gate. Several students said they tuned into ABC to watch “Alias” at 9 p.m., but turned off their televisions when they saw the President’s annual address to Congress was being carried instead. A few people in Andrews Hall, however, did watch the speech. Four first-years gathered in a room to watch the address, treating it as a source of entertainment. They bet on the number of times Congress would applaud him — 66 times, according to their count — and mocked Bush throughout the speech. “Bush makes me giggle,” Aaron Mandle ’08 said. At least one student in the room, however, listened to Bush’s words. “I thought Bush was trying to restore trust in the American people that he didn’t

could be used when grading students. “The deepest flaw is the attempt to try and put into a single letter or a single number what somebody has learned,” Wakeford said. It is not only the ambiguity of what a particular grade means that troubles faculty and students, but also the large variance between how students are graded, both across the curriculum and even within departments themselves. “It varies way too much, I think,” Gooden said. “I find that in English courses or in modern culture and media courses, it’s a point system that will somehow translate into a grade which you won’t even know until you get your transcript,” she said. But deans and professors agree that a school-wide grading standard is not the solution to avoiding discrepancies between the grades students expect and those instructors dole out. “We want to make sure faculty have a lot of autonomy. They have to be as invested in the course as the students are,” said David Targan, associate dean

The Undergraduate Council of Students held internal elections for 10 positions last night at the first general body meeting of the spring semester, after which President Joel Payne ’05 outlined the campus region plan he first revealed during his campaign last spring. Six members of UCS had resigned, opening up voting positions to be filled by associate members or non-UCS students. Mike Thomson ’06, Jess Maddox ’08, Matt Newcomb ’08, Deanna Chaikhos ’08, Halley Wuertz ’08 and Hannah Melton ’06, who had all been associate members and active participants on committees, were elected full voting members of the council. The newly elected representatives were then able to vote in internal executive board elections. Brian Bidadi ’06 was elected chair of the Admission and Student Services Committee, leaving his post as secretary to Cash McCracken ’08. Bidadi, a member for two-and-a-half years, talked about hosting a WebCT survey to find out student opinion. “All the committees are making decisions that affect the students,” he said. McCracken, a member of the both the Undergraduate Finance Board and UCS, dismissed concerns that he would be overstretched, saying, “I love the University, I love the student body — this is what I’m passionate about.” McCracken said as a member of the Executive Board he “could serve as another connection and make them (UCS and UFB) closer together.” Dave Bronfman ’07 was elected the new liaison between UCS and the Corporation. “I think that Corporation liaison arguably can have the most influence,” he said. “By really utilizing that position it can augment what we (UCS) are trying to do.” Herald Copy Editor Zachary Townsend ’08 was elected new coordinator of communications. “I went to a high school called the Communications High School,” said Townsend, who stressed the need for a public relations representative along with more exposure in the form of media releases. Payne also addressed the Council about his goals for the semester, saying that the “No. 1 thing that we can do this semester is the implementation of the campus region plan.” The plan would involve the addition of six new council positions, five of which would be chosen based on campus region by a general election. The remaining position of campus region coordinator, who would have a place on the executive board, would be chosen in spring during the general election. Tentative plans call for Region 1 to consist of Pembroke, Machado, and Minden; Region 2 to include Hope, Littlefield, Slater, Hegeman, and Keeney; Region 3 to represent the students who live off campus; Region 4 to include Wriston Quadrangle and New Dorm; and Region 5 to consist of Perkins, Barbour, Young Orchard and Grad

see GRADES, page 6

see UCS, page 7

Chris Bennett / Herald

Students gather around a television in Keeney to watch President Bush’s State of the Union speech.

Small departments reach out for concentrators BY SHAWN BAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Some popular concentrations at Brown typically attract more than 200 students in a year, while other lesser-known studies may have as few as 15 concentrators. As a result, many of the leaner departments are taking steps to raise student awareness and attract more potential concentrators. The Center for Environmental Studies, which supports the A.B. in Environmental Studies and the Sc.B. in Environmental Science, actively recruits concentrators. Typically, about 15 people concentrate in each degree

see UNION, page 6

every year, said Louella Hill ’04, food system coordinator at the CES. A staff member at the CES works as a concentration coordinator each year. Hill held the position last year. “As a recruiter for the center, I met with people individually, spoke to them and encouraged them to consider applying for the concentrations,” she said. Each year, organizers compile a list of students who identified themselves as interested in either environmental studies or environmental science prior to coming to Brown. Students who see RECRUITMENT, page 4

CCC, Sheridan Center working to improve grading methods BY JANE PORTER SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Because Brown has no school-wide grading criteria, faculty and administrators are continually looking for ways to increase awareness of the process of assigning grades, a process that many students find to be ambiguous and inconsistent. Serika Gooden ’05, a modern culture and media and American civilization concentrator, said she often goes into a course not knowing how her grades will be calculated and leaves at the end of the semester with a similar lack of understanding as to how she received a particular grade. To combat this sentiment, the College Curriculum Council has recommended that Course Performance Reports be available to students in any course with the faculty member’s consent, said Jonathan Waage, who is executive associate dean of the College, a member of the CCC and a professor of biology. Under current provisions, CPRs are available to students taking an S/NC course — with the agreement of the professor — but are not offered in courses being taken for a grade.

The CPR provides space for both the student and instructor to comment on the student’s performance in a course. “The Course Performance Report is the most valuable and underutilized means of assessment of this University,” Waage said. The CCC, which decided in Spring 2003 to once again reject the use of pluses and minuses in grading, has recently recommended that a Webbased set of resources on grading be available for faculty members to help increase discussion on the topic of grading. The Harriet W. Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning is also working toward increasing communication on the issue of grading. Nearly 70 graduate students and professors from across the curriculum gathered to learn more about grading and assessment at a Monday evening workshop sponsored by the Sheridan Center. The workshop, run by Lawrence Wakeford, senior lecturer and clinical professor of biology and science education, and Luther Spoehr, lecturer in education, provided instructors with various methods of assessment that

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THIS MORNING THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2005 · PAGE 2 Coreacracy Eddie Ahn

WORLD IN BRIEF President details plan for Social Security WASHINGTON — President Bush Wednesday night called for a historic restructuring of Social Security that would allow younger workers for the first time to invest some of their payroll taxes in the stock market, declaring in his annual State of the Union address that without change the venerable program is headed toward bankruptcy. Speaking to a joint session of Congress and a national television audience, Bush sketched out in more detail than before the top domestic goal of his second term but stopped short of providing a complete blueprint to leave himself negotiating room with skeptical

lawmakers. Under his plan, workers younger than 55 could divert up to 4 percent of income subject to Social Security taxation into private investment accounts beginning in 2009. With Social Security as its centerpiece, the address laid out an exceptionally ambitious agenda as Bush gears up for another four years, one that will challenge powerful constituencies and test the capacity of a president reelected with a bare majority to simultaneously wage war abroad and transform government at home.

Jero Matt Vascellaro

read more, page 5

TO D AY ’ S E V E N TS GLOBAL MEDIA & THE POWER OF IMAGES, OR WHAT ‘THEY’ THINK OF US AND WHY IT MATTERS 4:00 p.m. (Joukowsky Forum, Watson Institute, 111 Thayer Street) — Presented by Ralph J. Begleiter, Rosenberg Professor of Communication and Distinguished Journalist in Residence at the University of Delaware.

Penguiner Haan Lee

MENU SHARPE REFECTORY LUNCH — Vegan Tofu Raviolis with Sauce, Turkey and Wild Rice Soup, Vegetarian Cream of Pea Soup, Artichoke Pepper Calzone, Grilled Ham and Swiss Sandwich, Savory Spinach, Pineapple Upside Down Cake. DINNER — Roast Turkey with Sauce, Mashed Sweet and White Potatoes, Stuffing, Sauteed Broccoli with Garlic, Carrots Vichy, Baked Potatoes, Bean Lentil Loaf, Cavatelli Primavera, Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Frosting.

VERNEY-WOOLLEY DINING HALL LUNCH — Vegetarian Fagoli Soup, Italian Sausage and Tortellini Soup, Hot Roast Beef on French Bread, Vegan Tofu Raviolis with Sauce, Summer Squash, Cheesecake Brownies. DINNER — Italian Meatloaf, Vegan Ratatouille, Vegan Rice Pilaf, Zucchini, Carrot and Garlic Medley, Mandarin Blend Vegetables, Italian Bread, Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Frosting Caribbean Rum Cake.

Chocolate Covered Cotton Mark Brinker

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Most protected 7 Sonoma Valley neighbor 11 Salon job 14 Venezia’s locale 15 “__ it!” 16 Unified 17 Super Bowl XXI anthem singer 19 Mormon gp. 20 Des Moines hrs. 21 Fly catcher 22 Get all hoppedup 24 Obsolete suffix 25 Super Bowl XXXVI anthem singer 27 Phone, slangily 29 Places to make scenes? 30 More than sprinkles 32 Make do 34 Mind 38 First name in scat 39 Super Bowl XXXII anthem singer 40 It’s fit for a queen 41 Like old tires 42 Utopia 43 Alibi problems 44 “__ baby!” 46 Window ledge 47 Super Bowl XXVII anthem singer 52 Sumac of Peru 55 Get better again 56 Compete 57 Fix 58 Iron source 59 Super Bowl XXVIII anthem singer 63 Comic 64 Sierra Club concern: Abbr. 65 Innies and outies 66 Court call 67 “The __ the limit!” 68 Fence pieces DOWN 1 From that day forward

2 Big blast 3 Super Bowl XXXIV anthem singer 4 Room extension 5 Imogene’s partner 6 Its official language is Mandarin Chinese 7 Auras 8 Big bother 9 Revolving firework 10 Nut 11 Sportscast tidbits, collectively 12 Inappropriate 13 Peevish 18 Fizzy prefix 23 Hybrid fuel 25 Doubtfire’s title 26 Vail alternative 28 Courting, perhaps 30 Soldier in gray 31 Like 32 Chest-maker’s wood 33 Have obligations 1

35 Super Bowl XXIII anthem singer 36 “Not a creature was stirring” time 37 Toady’s word 39 Very dark 43 __ nibs: authority figure 45 Macbeth et al. 46 Yarn units 47 Boxer’s warning 48 Hill dwelling

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42 44

19 22

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34 40 43

Raw Prawn Kea Johnston

02/03/05

xwordeditor@aol.com 6

Homebodies Mirele Davis

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

49 He made Scarlett blush 50 Racetracks 51 Monet medium 53 “Atlantic City” director Louis 54 Make __ of: bungle 60 Christmas purchase 61 Have something 62 LIII doubled

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02/03/05

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CAMPUS WATCH THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2005 · PAGE 3

Roger Williams establishes u. in Vietnam Google partners with four university libraries, NYPL BY GABRIELLA DOOB STAFF WRITER

Brown digitizing its collection independently so far BY STU WOO SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Search engine giant Google made headlines in December when it announced it would form a partnership with four universities, including Harvard University, and the New York City Public Library to digitize substantial portions of their book collections. The announcement was a signal that a growing number of libraries, including Brown’s, are looking past the bookshelves and reference desk and into cyberspace. “There’s a lot of digital technology changing how libraries work,” said Paul Jones, clinical associate professor at the School of Information and Library Sciences at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. One of the biggest changes is how people search for books and references, he added. Google’s beta digitization project will begin with Harvard, Stanford University, the University of Michigan, Oxford University and the NYPL. The company plans to digitize the libraries of the five institutions and make them searchable through its own database. Only Stanford and Michigan are contributing their entire libraries. Jean Rainwater, leader of the Web services see GOOGLE, page 6

The American Pacific University in Ho Chi Minh City, established by Roger Williams University in partnership with a Vietnamese-American entrepreneur, became the first private university in Vietnam when it opened Jan. 15. The majority of Vietnam’s population of 80 million is under the age of 25, and the educational system that can no longer keep up with demand. As a result, the communist government has begun to encourage the establishment of private educational institutions in order to “open up alternative paths to education,” said Roy Nirschel, president of Roger Williams. APU was established with the goal of helping “acquaint people (in Vietnam) with American values and the American educational system” in hopes of providing an “antidote” to some negative perceptions about Americans abroad, Nirschel said. “The best export we have is education,” he said. Nirschel described the opening as an effort to make the university “more global, international and diverse.” APU, which welcomed an inaugural class of 500 students, will contribute to meeting Vietnam’s educational needs while allowing students to receive an “Americanstyle and quality education in their own country,” he said. By providing scholarships to “those who are needy as well as deserving,” Nirschel anticipates that the university will also help narrow the divide between those who have access to educational opportunities and those who do not. Some students who attend the university in Vietnam will later be given the chance to continue their education at the Roger Williams campus in Bristol. Students will be encouraged to come to the United States to complete their bachelor’s or master’s degrees and then to return to their own countries to help meet the large demand for educated, trained professionals and the need for a skilled

workforce there, Nirschel said. “My hope is that with our Vietnam initiative we contribute to economic prosperity and even liberty rather than to a brain drain,” he added. Twenty-four Vietnamese students have already applied to Roger Williams’ master’s program in public administration. Four have been accepted and are arriving in the United States as early as this summer, Nirschel said. Other graduate students will pursue programs in health administration and business management while some undergraduates will be part of an “articulation program” through which they will spend their first two years at APU and their last two at Roger Williams. “We are bringing students here and bringing education there,” Nirschel said. APU will maintain the liberal arts core of Roger Williams University, but it will also provide the opportunity for students to study business, technology and marketing. “Our goal is to make our students technically competent and intellectually capable,” Nirschel said. Marc Spiegel, a member of the President’s Advisory Council at Roger Williams, first brought up the plan for establishing a university in Vietnam in 2003. He told Nirschel about a friend of his who had been involved in helping Binh Thy Nguyen Tran, a successful entrepreneur and property developer, to create a U.S.-style university and provide scholarships for Vietnamese students for the last 10 years, Nirschel said. Nirschel was immediately interested. The project coincided with his interest in expanding the global presence of Roger Williams and was similar to other projects undertaken during Nirschel’s three years at the university. In 2002, Roger Williams became the first university to bring women from Afghanistan to the United States through its Initiative to Educate Afghan Women, a prosee VIETNAM, page 7

PAGE 4 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2005

Recruitment continued from page 1 signed up at the CES’s booth at the activities fair at the beginning of the school year are also included, Hill said. In addition to individually encouraging students to consider concentrating, Hill also performed more traditional duties as concentration coordinator. She spoke with prospective students at A Day on College Hill, placed advertisements, hung posters and hosted open houses, she said. Hill noted that the CES is taking steps to raise awareness of its undergraduate programs because it has the potential to accept many more concentrators. “I’m always surprised that there aren’t any more students

concentrating here. All concentrators are required to write a thesis and do a service-based learning project. They have to apply their theoretical knowledge to actual situations. It’s an invaluable educational experience,” she said. The Department of Classics is also actively trying to attract more students for its undergraduate concentration. Joseph Pucci, associate professor of classics, serves as the department’s concentration advisor. The department takes several measures to recruit students for its concentration, beginning before students are even admitted. It typically hosts about 50 visits a year from prospective applicants. With the help of the Admission Office, the department identifies students who have indicated they are interest-

ed in the classics concentration on their application forms. Pucci sends letters to these students “urging them to come to Brown” and concentrate in classics. “The department is in touch with admitted students before they matriculate,” Pucci said. The department then follows up this recruitment effort by contacting potential concentrators early in their fourth semester, Pucci said. Deborah Boedeker, department chair and professor of classics, said more intense measures are necessary to attract interested students to classics because the department requires concentrators to learn an ancient language. “What Professor Pucci does is very important in encouraging students to come here and then continuing to cultivate that interest,” said Boedeker. Pucci said the measures taken have been fairly successful — more students have concentrated in classics since the efforts were adopted in 1997. While the measures to attract more concentrators are largely a result of the efforts of the classics department itself, Pucci noted the Admission Office plays a significant role in allowing access to the database of potential concentrators. “It’s thanks to them that we are able to get in touch with potential concentrators and do this. They don’t have to allow it, but everyone there has been very supportive,” said Pucci. Some students remember receiving a letter from the classics department before matriculation. “The letter was encouraging, but getting to know Professor Pucci and taking his ‘Idea of Self’ course really solidified my choice to concentrate in the classics,” said Peter Catsimpiris ’08. Other concentrations, such as Sexuality and Society, encounter difficulty in attracting students because they are poorly understood or complex. “We have one graduating senior this year, and the number usually varies from about one to four every year,” said Gretchen Schultz, associate professor of French studies, who serves as the Sexuality and Society concentration advisor. Schultz pointed to the concentration’s interdisciplinary nature and the lack of a department to oversee it as some of the obstacles faced in attracting more students. “We don’t have the resources that a center or a department has. What would be really wonderful is if there were funding for a professor or a visiting professor to teach classes in Sexuality and Society. But we haven’t been able to get that kind of institutional support, so there are limits to what we can do,” Schultz said. Despite this, Schultz said there has been student interest in the area of study and that resources have been made available to potential concentrators. “Quite a few students are interested in taking courses, even if they don’t want to concentrate. I keep in touch with students who have expressed interest in the past, but the best resource for us is the LGBTQ Center in Faunce (House), because it’s a place that attracts students who have interest in this area and where they can get more information on the concentration,” she said.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2005 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD PAGE 5

Sunni clerics call Iraqi elections invalid BY DOUG STRUCK THE WASHINGTON POST

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Leading Sunni Muslim clerics who had boycotted the Iraqi election said Wednesday they would “respect the choice of those who voted” and work with a new government, even though they considered the election invalid. The statement, while accompanied by renewed criticisms of the election, signaled that the major Sunni group wants to be included in the formation of a new government. Sunni turnout in Sunday’s election was expected to be light, possibly leaving them with relatively few seats in the new parliament. Ballots still are being counted, but interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi gathered the heads of 16 parties in his office Wednesday to begin work on compromises to guarantee a delicate balance of Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds in the next government. The major political groups have said they would put aside their competition and work to achieve a balance for the sake of national stability. “All parts and all sectors of Iraqi society should be involved,” said a statement from Allawi’s office after the meeting. “All agreed that every effort would be made to broaden the national dialogue and build national unity.” Allawi himself may no longer

be prime minister. As expected, the head of the major Shiitebacked list, Abdul Aziz Hakim, told the Associated Press that the next prime minister should come from the parties on his list. The Shiite grouping of parties is widely expected to have the largest bloc in the next parliament. Allawi is a Shiite but ran with a secular list that is likely to be the second or third largest party in the next parliament. Shiites, long oppressed under former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, comprise an estimated 60 percent of the population. The minority Sunni Muslims, an estimated 20 percent of the population, held much of the power under Hussein, and their clerical leaders urged them to boycott the election. But in its first statement since the balloting, the Sunni Association of Muslim Scholars said it would “consider the new government … as a transitional government with limited powers.” The parliament that is to be formed has already been designated as transitional, charged with writing a constitution and holding another election in December. The clerics’ withdrawal from the election last fall had threatened to undermine the poll’s legitimacy. Their decision, and threats aimed at Sunnis from insurgents

opposed to the election, sharply dampened turnout in some Sunni Muslim areas. A Western diplomat who closely monitored the election estimated “anecdotally” that turnout was less than 50 percent overall in Sunni areas. Shiites and Kurds, by comparison, voted enthusiastically and in large numbers. The Iraqi election commission, tabulating the ballots from 29,000 election stations, has said it will take a week or longer before complete results and the turnout figures are announced. The clerics said the expected low Sunni turnout confirms their position that the vote, taken while American and other foreign troops are in Iraq, is illegitimate. “We make it clear to the United Nations and the international community that they should not get involved in granting this election legitimacy because such a move will open the gates of evil,” the statement said. But the Western diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Sunni politicians apparently realize they should not stay out of the next government. “I think there is a recognition up and down the Sunni community … that there is a political process going forward including the drafting of the constitution,” he said.

President details plan for Social Security BY MICHAEL A. FLETCHER AND PETER BAKER THE WASHINGTON POST

WASHINGTON — President Bush Wednesday night called for a historic restructuring of Social Security that would allow younger workers for the first time to invest some of their payroll taxes in the stock market, declaring in his annual State of the Union address that without change the venerable program is headed toward bankruptcy. Speaking to a joint session of Congress and a national television audience, Bush sketched out in more detail than before the top domestic goal of his second term but stopped short of providing a complete blueprint to leave himself negotiating room with skeptical lawmakers. Under his plan, workers younger than 55 could divert up to 4 percent of income subject to Social Security taxation into private investment accounts beginning in 2009. With Social Security as its centerpiece, the address laid out an exceptionally ambitious agenda as Bush gears up for another four years, one that will challenge powerful constituencies and test the capacity of a president reelected with a bare majority to simultaneously wage war abroad and transform government at home. Celebrating the success of elections in Iraq and vowing a new effort to make peace between Israelis and Palestinians, Bush also promised to rewrite the U.S. tax code, liberalize the nation’s immigration laws and rein in a litigious legal system. Bush used his speech to reinforce his inauguration theme of spreading democracy abroad, literally repeating much of the same language about “ending tyranny in our world.” He offered no new programs or initiatives intended to achieve such a goal, but after criticism that his administration had

been selective in promoting freedom, he directly if politely challenged two close allies with autocratic governments, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, to reform their systems. He had sterner words for two other nations in the Middle East, demanding that Syria stop harboring terrorists and that Iran give up its nuclear development programs, all but encouraging Iranians to rise up against the religious government in Tehran. Yet he said little about North Korea, which has been building its own nuclear weapons program and was part of Bush’s original “axis of evil” that he mentioned in his State of the Union address three years ago. Bush reiterated his support for a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, an issue that he had wavered on, citing Senate opposition since his reelection. “For the good of families, children and society, I support a constitutional amendment to protect the institution of marriage,” he said.

In their response, Democratic leaders drew a careful line, promising not to let partisanship get in the way of progress while vowing to stand up to Bush on matters of principle. “We will be first in line to work with him,” said Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, DNev. “But when he gets off track, we will be there to hold him accountable.” Reid signaled that Social Security was one area where the Democrats would fight. “Democrats are all for giving Americans more of a say and more choices when it comes to their retirement savings. But that doesn’t mean taking Social Security’s guarantee and gambling with it. And that’s coming from a senator who represents Las Vegas,” he said. Bush’s plan to restructure Social Security faces near unanimous opposition from congressional Democrats, who see the program as one of their party’s most enduring legislative legacies. Republican lawmakers, meanwhile, have approached the issue cautiously.

PAGE 6 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2005

Google continued from page 3 department at Brown University Library, attended a librarians’ conference in which Google presented its plan. She said it’s unclear precisely what role Google will play. “The libraries are still digitizing according to the standards they set,” Rainwater said. “Google was helping it go faster.” She speculated Google would help the digitization process financially. Several newspapers reported Google will contribute book scanning technology. Jones said the Google part-

Grades continued from page 1 of the college and dean for science programs. A schoolwide grading policy outlining what an A, a B or a C grade means would be antithetical to Brown’s New Curriculum, he said. On the other hand, Wakeford said such rubrics can be very useful when created individually by instructors for their courses. Identifying the criteria that makes up an A, B or C assignment, paper or exam within a particular course provides students with a better understanding of what is expected of them, he said. Gooden, now in her last semester at Brown, said she has never received such a rubric in any of her classes. “It’s more than just simply saying the midterm is worth 20 percent … it’s what will be an A on a project and what will be a B,” Wakeford said. Often the issue in math and science courses is not only inconsistency in grading, but also the lack of individual assessment. “Unfortunately, if a math

nership would transform the way people search for references. “Having references instantly at your fingertips for everyone is the big thing,” Jones said. “No matter how niche-y and obscure your search is, the materials will be there.” Rainwater said that while Brown’s library is not included in the Google project, it could be in the future. If the beta project succeeds and other libraries were invited to join, Brown “would certainly be interested,” she said. The term “digital library” is still being defined, Jones said. Rainwater said that in the case of Brown’s digital libraries, books and manuscripts are problem is simply graded by a number at the bottom, that is almost useless feedback to a student,” Wakeford said. Instead, Wakeford suggests instructors provide more detailed feedback on work so students are motivated to obtain not simply the right answer, but a deeper understanding of the material. He suggests this can be achieved across the curriculum by reserving grades for larger projects, papers and final exams and providing students with more comments on their smaller assignments. “Good assessment is the same when it is done well in all fields,” Wakeford said. Wakeford also suggests instructors provide students with opportunities for selfassessment, a way to integrate the aspect of assessment into larger courses where it is more difficult to devote personal attention to each student. “This is a complicated issue,” Wakeford said. “There aren’t easy answers, but we need to talk more about it so that we can change the way we do assessment, so that we can make it more valuable for teachers and students.”

Union continued from page 1 have in his first term,” Eytan Kurshan ’08 said. “I was thinking, if he wants to cut his budget and have all his great programs, how is he going to do that? He was a little bit too idealistic for my likes.” In a change from earlier years,

scanned and the exact images of each page are put into the database. The texts are also run through an optical character recognition program so that users can run searches through the texts. Formed in 2001, Brown University Library’s Center for Digital Initiatives is in charge of digitizing Brown’s library. Its digital library consists of rare collections, including AfricanAmerican sheet music from 1820 to 1920, Napoleonic satires and “Perry Visits Japan: A Visual History,” among other collections. “What we’re focusing now on is our more unique materials,” Rainwater said. “There’s no point in digitizing a trade book that is held in 300 different libraries.” But optimists who envision huge digital libraries with copies of every single published work will have to wait. There are restrictions to what can be put into a digital library, Rainwater said. Copyrighted books cannot be digitized without permission, although clips from them often appear in digital libraries. Books published before 1923 are considered to be in the public domain and can be therefore digitized, but beyond that, Rainwater said, “there are a limited amount of things you can do.” On a broader scale, digital libraries may revolutionize conventional libraries. “They would replace some functions that librarians do,” Jones said. For example, “the reference desk may not be the same as before,” he said. Both Jones and Rainwater said conventional libraries will still serve their purposes, especially as quiet, comfortable places to study. “Less and less may come to the library to find information, but people will still come for unique materials and other purposes, such as studying,” Rainwater said.

the Brown Republicans and Democrats did not hold public viewings of the president’s speech. Seth Magaziner ’06, president of the Brown Democrats, said there was little interest because the speech came so soon after Bush’s second Inaugural Address and the beginning of the semester. But, he said, the Dems made sure their general body meeting ended early so anyone who wanted to watch the speech could.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2005 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD PAGE 7

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gram led by Nirschel’s wife, Paula. Through this program, 15 young women arrived to study on scholarship at Roger Williams and other universities in the United States. Roger Williams has also created partnerships with two universities in Hong Kong and has conducted faculty and student exchanges with them, Nirschel said. Recently, Roger Williams has begun collaboration with Basra University in Iraq. It provides the university with books and computer equipment and supports a Fulbright scholarship there. Establishing a university in Vietnam posed some unique problems. One of the most formidable was that in Vietnam’s communist society, expression isn’t encouraged, Nirschel said. The Vietnamese educational system emphasizes a “reverence for educators” that often limits dialogue, he said. Students are taught to listen to a professor’s lectures, to take notes and to respond. Rarely are they prompted to question their instructors or to initiate a discussion. “The greatest cultural adaptation we have had to make is to encourage expression,” Nirschel said. Students seem enthusiastic about learning about U.S. culture, he said. “There is a tremendous curiosity in things American in Vietnam,” said Nirschel. “Even just sitting in a park reading a newspaper, little kids would sit next to me and tell me they wanted to practice their English.”

Center. “We still have some internal debate about this plan,” Payne said. He went on to explain that the next step will be the creation of a steering committee for the project that will serve as a focus group and whose eight to 10 members Payne will appoint from UCS members and other students. Payne said he believes the plan won’t be put into effect this semester, but when all the specifics of the plan are worked out, the council will take a vote. The plan does not require a change in code, and therefore will

Meech

minded than last year, but pretty much the same,” Meech said. “(Last year) everyone said Brown was just a goalie, just a team carried by the Hobey Baker candidate (Yann Danis ’04), and now we’ve been doing nearly as well defensively,” he said, crediting the strong play of freshman goalie Adam D’Alba ’08 and the solid defense in front of him. The Bears will need their defense this weekend when they host Vermont on Friday and

continued from page 12 noting that four players from last year’s team made the jump. “There are a lot of different leagues, but hopefully the NHL will be back up next year,” he said. Meech talked about how this year’s Brown team is different from last season’s squad. “We’re a little more offense-

Fencing continued from page 12 Big Green, 5-4 and 6-3, respectively. The women faced a greater challenge in the second and third rounds against MIT and Boston College. Without Olivia Partyka ’06, who is studying abroad this semester, the Bears fell short in two close 13-14 matches. Despite the two losses, the women remained optimistic about the results. “When you are fencing someone that you know is better than you, then the challenge is to try and outsmart them,” Edson said. “That’s always the challenge, to get them to do what you want and then go around their blade and hit them. But making the plan is the biggest part, and when you make a plan that works and you get one or two good touches, it feels so good no matter whether you win or not.” On the other side of the strip,

not need to be approved by the student body through a referendum process. Instead, the plan can be enacted with a two-thirds vote of the council. Payne highlighted other goals in his speech. These included the creation of a UCS Community Responsibility Initiative that will form a committee to “look into the status of student behavior and campus climate as a whole,” Payne said. Payne also said he wanted to look at “how our communities of faith ... are involved in the campus,” push for RIPTA passes to be made 100 percent free for students and support interaction with Hope High School. “We need to see results,” Payne said.

the men’s squads remained unfazed and improved upon last season’s record against these two powerhouses, defeating both MIT and BC in overtime, 14-13. Both matches were tied going into the last bout, but foilist Ivan Goodman ’08 prevailed in both matches, sending the Bears into their final match against Brandeis University with a chance to finish the day undefeated. Both teams finished with allaround victories. The women rebounded from their two losses to defeat Smith College and Brandeis by scores of 15-12 and 14-13, respectively. The men finished the tournament undefeated with a 16-11 victory against Brandeis. With four meets down, the team now gears up for the last tournament of the regular season Sunday at MIT. “The focus will be to try to elevate their level on the technical and tactical aspects of the sport, which is what we’re emphasizing this week to prepare for this coming tournament,” Tass said.

Dartmouth on Saturday at Meehan Auditorium. The Catamounts and the Big Green are the two teams directly in front of the Bears in the ECACHL standings. The puck drops at 7 p.m. for both games.

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

OPINIONS EXTRA THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2005 · PAGE 9

What Bush believes SETH MAGAZINER GUEST COLUMN

Rhode Island Congressman James Langevin has begun to gain some clout in Congress as of late, and was allowed to bring a guest to the President’s State of the Union Address. He chose to bring Dana Reeve, the wife of actor Christopher Reeve, who recently passed away from complications to a spinal cord injury similar to the one that paralyzed Langevin years ago. Langevin and Dana Reeve looked on in silence last night as President Bush called the technology that could cure Langevin, and could have saved Christopher Reeve’s life, an attack on “children, families and society.” Right around the same time, Brown University students — Republicans and Democrats — watched as President Bush vowed to enact a system that would put our life savings in the stock market. He made a point of telling people over fifty-five that their savings would not be subject to this Wall Street roulette, but us kids tend to vote in lower numbers, so he had no qualms informing us that our retirements would be tethered to the dependability of corporate EnronAmerica. A few minutes later, soldiers stationed in Iraq watched as President Bush addressed foreign policy. He boasted about his record of “providing servicemen and women with the tools for victory.” After the speech, many of these servicemen and women returned to duty in armored vehicles without the armor. But the true flaws in the Bush ideology were evident not just in what the President said last night, but in what he did not say. He failed to mention the fact that the weight of his tax cuts has sent the federal budget deficit spiraling out of control — a problem that is leading to a declining dollar and higher mortgage rates — and that it will rise by at least

$2 trillion if the President’s Las Vegas-style social security plan is passed. He failed to mention the fact that while he can find forty million dollars to throw inauguration parties for himself, he can’t seem to find funding for Homeland Security, as cargo is still not screened in airports and dozens of nuclear power plants are guarded with minimal resources. He failed to mention the fact that social security benefits will remain stable for at least the next two generations, and simple modifications like raising contribution caps will ensure the stability of benefits for the next century without subjecting our savings to the whims of the stock market. The selling-out of our social security to the financial lobby is indicative of much of President Bush’s agenda. To the careful viewer, between the smug oneliners and the staged photo ops, the true nature of the Bush ideology was apparent last night. The Bush Administration cares more about the wants of corporate America than the needs of the American people. They would sell our retirement savings to the captains of finance while taking away our right to sue companies that purposely harm us and try to keep it secret. They would give tax breaks to millionaires while denying funding to first responders. They would talk about preserving freedom while proposing a constitutional amendment to deny it to millions of decent Americans. President Bush’s State of the Union offered few surprises. From his plan to dismantle social security — which he was too scared to talk about during the election season — to his neglect of American servicemen, the true colors of the Bush Administration were in full force. Seth Magaziner ’06 is the President of the Brown College Democrats.

What the Democrats should have said MICHAL ZAPENDOWSKI GUEST COLUMN

Last night we heard George W. Bush deliver the Annual State of the Union Address. Notice I didn’t say “his” State of the Union Address. And man, let me tell you, you could tell this was the most popular President of the new millennium by the way he was received. By my own calculations the President spoke for 40 minutes and was interrupted by applause 61 times, out of which the longest continuous segment of speech was 51 seconds and the longest segment of applause was three minutes. It’s moments like this when you can really see why American Democracy triumphed in the Cold War. I mean, whenever General Secretary Stalin used to give a speech, he would talk non-stop for an hour, followed by an hour of non-stop applause. Communism really doesn’t take human nature into account. By dividing the speech and mandatory applauding into alternating segments of varying length, the United States has proven yet again the superiority of Capitalism and Democracy in catering to people’s short attention spans. After the speech and a commercial segment that was obviously geared toward Republicans (investment insurance), we got to hear the Democratic rebuttal. I zoned out for most of Harry Reid, the new Democratic Senate Leader. I remember the phrase “We are all children of god,” though, and a lot of talk about how he was from a god-fearing, family-friendly part of Nevada. Basically, the message was: “We Democrats are uncomfortable in our own skins, and therefore always on the defensive. Please don’t think that we’re just big-city liberals who don’t share Middle America’s fundamentalist values.” At that point, the camera moved over to Nancy Pelosi, who had been sitting there the entire time staring intently at the camera, grinding her teeth. It was difficult to understand her half-criticisms of the Iraq War

because she spoke through a determined, clenched smile, facing the camera with the expression of a person who really wants to let you know there’s a piece of arugula stuck in your teeth, but can’t say anything for fear of attracting attention to it. The whole time, I was making a mental list of all the things the Democrats should have been saying in response to the Republican State of the Union. They could have mentioned the fact that while the president made spreading freedom across the world the centerpiece of his speech, his administration has strengthened its alliances with despotic regimes in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. With General Musharraf barely holding onto power in Islamabad and the Saudis benefiting so greatly from their special relationship with the United States, American pressure could very possibly hasten democratic reform in both of these nations, and not a single American family would be forced to sacrifice their son in the process. They could have poked a hole in the President’s “defense of marriage” rhetoric. A previous Republican president, then a relatively unknown politician from Illinois, once said that the question of slavery really didn’t have to do with state and federal authority or the admission of western territories but boiled down to “respecting the Negro as a human being.” Pelosi and Reid could have busted through Bush’s bluster similarly — either gay Americans are human beings, in which case they are unjustly denied the right to marry, or they are somehow less than human, a state which would denigrate the legal institution of marriage. Unfortunately, the only prominent Republican from Illinois these days is Dennis Hastert, and the only thing I’ve ever heard him say is, “Bud. Weis. Er.” They could have pointed out the fact that while the President has begun to talk a lot about respecting

other nations, his Administration began its term by walking out on international talks, his Secretary of Defense has publicly ridiculed the nations of Europe, and his strategy for rushing to war in Iraq did more damage to America’s international standing than any action by any previous government in U.S. history. If the president is serious about getting other nations to help us in Iraq, why doesn’t he give them something that they want, like a signature on the Kyoto Protocols? One difference between us Democrats and the Republicans, they could have said, is that we do not believe that America ought to remain “above” using diplomacy to achieve its goals. And they could have pointed out the fact that while the President constantly invoked freedom during his speech, his administration has flouted American freedom by monitoring people’s library records and holding terrorist suspects in prolonged detention without a shred of evidence. Mr. Bush has been eager to bring freedom to other nations, but freedom at home, the very foundation of our society, has been supplanted by “getting the bad guys” and “defending marriage.” But maybe the Democrats were right. Calling the Republicans out on their hypocrisy could have been seen as negative, “divisive politics.” That’s why they were right there with the Republicans, clapping obediently every time “Two-term” Bush waited for applause, and then pronouncing their fealty to family values, national security and the political submission in the face of the terrorist threat. The State of the Union is apparent. But there’s always the recourse of the royalist, the fleeing slave, the draft dodger. Oh teeming masses, huddled upon the Northeastern and Pacific shores! I have heard songs of a land, a land which they call: “The true north strong and free…” Michal Zapendowski ’07 does everything in moderation.

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

EDITORIAL/LETTERS THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2005 · PAGE 10 S T A F F

E D I T O R I A L

Give grades CPR Once upon a time, so they say, the grade C stood for average performance. Today at Brown, C grades seem to be an increasing minority. According to the Sheridan Center, the percentage of A grades awarded at Brown increased from 35.5 percent in 1990-91 to 43.6 percent in 2000-01. But it is not the growing number of A’s that is our primary concern. As Brown becomes a more selective school, it is not unreasonable to suggest that the University is attracting students who perform better in the classroom. What concerns us is the ambiguous meaning behind the letters. Among departments and even within them, there is no consistency as to the significance of the grades assigned. Depending on the course, an A may denote anything from excellence to mediocrity — in one biology class, the top 50 percent of students received A’s, while the others were given B’s. The policy of another course reserved A’s for the top 10 percent. Many courses assign grades on an absolute scale. Some courses standardize grades among sections; others do not, leading students to search for the section led by the professor who is considered the easiest grader. Students are partially to blame for this phenomenon. With our eyes on post-college opportunities, or perhaps habituated to getting A’s in high school, we are disappointed when we receive something else and put pressure on professors to validate our views of ourselves. This doesn’t just lead to grade inflation — it leads to an environment of exceptions that blur the lines between letter grades. We agree with Associate Dean of the College David Targan that instituting a college-wide grading policy conflicts with Brown’s philosophy. Last April, Princeton introduced a system limiting the number of A’s that could be given in any department in an effort to reduce grade inflation. This policy supersedes professors’ individual philosophies and is unequivocally not appropriate for Brown. But there is a relatively simple change that could lend credence to Brown’s grading system while upholding professors’ judgments. By making course performance reports available to students taking classes for grades, professors could continue grading according to individual standards while providing students with feedback more useful than a single letter. The faculty should adopt the College Curriculum Council’s recommendation at its next meeting, just in time to allow CPRs to be requested in graded courses this semester.

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD EDITORIAL Jonathan Ellis, Editor-in-Chief Sara Perkins, Executive Editor Dana Goldstein, Senior Editor Christopher Hatfield, Senior Editor Lisa Mandle, Senior Editor Meryl Rothstein, Arts & Culture Editor Melanie Wolfgang, Arts & Culture Editor Justin Elliott, Campus Watch Editor Robbie Corey-Boulet, Metro Editor Stephanie Clark, Focus Editor Kira Lesley, Focus Editor Te-Ping Chen, Opinions Editor Ari Savitzky, Opinions Editor Chris Mahr, Sports Editor Ben Miller, Sports Editor PRODUCTION Peter Henderson, Design Editor Katie Lamm, Copy Desk Chief Lela Spielberg, Copy Desk Chief Matt Vascellaro, Graphics Editor Ashley Hess, Photo Editor Juliana Wu, Photo Editor

BUSINESS Ian Halvorsen, General Manager Daniel Goldberg, Executive Manager Mark Goldberg, Senior Financial Officer Lisa Poon, Marketing Manager Abigail Ronck, Senior Accounts Manager Kathleen Timmins, Senior Accounts Manager Laird Bennion, Senior Project Manager Elias Roman, Senior Project Manager Jungdo Yu, Senior Project Manager Laurie-Ann Paliotti, Sr. Advertising Rep. Susan Dansereau, Office Manager POST- MAGAZINE Fritz Brantley, Editor-in-Chief Adrian Muniz, Executive Editor Sarah Gordon, Calendar Editor Abigail Newman, Theater Editor Josh Cohen, Design Editor Marissa Hauptman, Photo Editor Ruthie Baron, Features Editor Jeremy Beck, Film Editor Paul Levande, Assistant Film Editor Jesse Adams, Music Editor

Rani Mukherjee, Night Editor Katie Lamm, Lela Spielberg, Copy Editors Senior Staff Writers Camden Avery, Alexandra Barsk, Eric Beck, Mary-Catherine Lader, Ben Leubsdorf, Jane Porter, Stu Woo Staff Writers Marshall Agnew, Zachary Barter, Hannah Bascom, Danielle Cerny, Christopher Chon, Stewart Dearing, Gabriella Doob, Amy Hall Goins, Kate Gorman, Krista Hachey, Jonathan Herman, Leslie Kaufmann, Allison Lombardo, Meryl Rothstein, Jen Sopchockchai, Jonathan Sidhu, Lela Spielberg, Stefan Talman, Jessica Weisberg, Melanie Wolfgang, Anne Wootton Sports Staff Writers Kathy Babcock, Zaneta Balantac, Stephen Colelli, Lexi Costello, Ian Cropp, Justin Goldman, Bernard Gordon, Katie Larkin, Matt Lieber, Shaun Macnamara, Chris Mahr, Ben Miller, Eric Perlmutter, Jilane Rodgers, Marco Santini, Brooke Wolfe Accounts Managers Steven Butschi, Rob McCartney, John Nagler, David Ranken, Joel Rozen, Rukesh Samarasekera, Ryan Shewcraft Project Managers In Young Park, Libbie Fritz Design Staff Deepa Galaiya, Allison Kwong, Jason Lee Photo Staff Marissa Hauptman, Ashley Hess, Matthew Lent, Bill Pijewski, Kori Schulman, Sorleen Trevino, Juliana Wu Copy Editors Chessy Brady, Jonathan Corcoran, Eric Demafeliz, Leora Fridman, Allison Kwong, Katie Lamm, Suchi Mathur, Cristina Salvato, Sonia Saraiya, Lela Spielberg, Zachary Townsend, Jenna Young

DANIEL L AWLOR

LETTERS Zapendowski and Silberman get it right To the Editor: Last fall in The Herald (“Goldwater revisited,” Nov. 4, 2004), I voiced my post-election hopes for the Democratic party. I challenged the left to use the loss as a jumping-off point to discuss on every level what we are doing wrong and how we can do better instead of directing bitterness against the other side. I want to thank Michal Zapendowski and Joel

Silberman (“Sit down, you rabid hatemongers” and “The rhetoric gap,” Feb. 1) for doing just that. I am proud that Brown University is a liberal institution approaching the left’s present difficulties with a forward-looking and constructive eye.

Maha Atal ‘08 Feb. 2

LETTERS@ BROWN D A I LY HERALD

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

OPINIONS THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2005 · PAGE 11

Affordable housing in Providence GUEST COLUMN BY DAVID SEGAL Students’ autumn efforts towards the attempted defeat of George Bush were laudable: the semesters in Wisconsin and Ohio, the weekend trips to New Hampshire, the donations and the phone banking — all were valiant. But as we are all too aware, they failed. In light of this, it is in some sense heartening that there is much work to be done locally. For were those very students who worked so hard for John Kerry to apply their passion to Providence politics, they could achieve real change. Despite its renaissance of sorts, Providence remains one of the poorest big cities in the country. Throughout the ’90s, White-Hispanic segregation increased more here than anywhere in the nation. Housing is unaffordable for 45 percent of the population. A quarter of families and more than 40 percent of children live in poverty. But there are initiatives before the City Council that would address all of these problems, and students who supported Democrats this fall because of their party’s (good, but mostly far too timid) stands on socioeconomic issues could help us do great work here. During the 90s, in line with trends across the country, Providence’s government adopted policies that aimed to decrease poverty, reduce crime, and raise test scores through the gentrification of city neighborhoods. The story is a familiar one: new businesses are attracted through infrastructure improvements and tax

breaks, upwardly mobile residents come to town, seeking jobs at those businesses; empty nesters that fled to the suburbs decades ago return for their retirements and property values go up. In many ways, these are all good things, but for a lot of people they mean higher rents and taxes. And, if a city is not focused on improving job opportunities for its current residents, such residents face an increased cost-of-living without jobs that pay enough to meet it. The result is that the neediest are effectively forced to leave town, because they can’t afford to stay. And those who do stay face an even steeper struggle to make ends meet. As the poor leave, poverty rates go down, crime declines, and test scores rise. The city — or parts of it, at least — is left artificially “improved.” All without our having taken on the hard work of helping the poor grow out of poverty and educating children from disadvantaged homes. Meanwhile, those who suffer most from gentrification are conveniently no longer around to speak out against it — and therefore cannot use their votes against the politicians whose policies led them to suffer. The city should reject this cycle, and promote development that strengthens its neighborhoods by improving the lives of those who live in them. There are several policies up for consid-

In the wake of Kerry’s defeat, there is still much work to be done locally. Were those very students who worked so hard for John Kerry to apply their passion to Providence politics, they could achieve real change. eration before the city that would do just that. The city should: 1) Implement the First Source Hiring Ordinance, which was passed in 1985 but has never been enforced. It would require that projects financed by the City, or receiving tax breaks, hire Providence residents. Residents would gain access to thousands of jobs and millions of dollars. 2) Address our affordable housing crisis by amending the zoning ordinance. An “inclusionary zoning” ordinance would require all new large developments to include affordable housing. In return, the city would allow slightly higher or denser development to offset costs to developers. 3) Institute a “responsible contracting” ordinance, requiring that big projects that get tax breaks use contractors that pay fair wages, provide health insurance and have apprenticeship programs. This would ensure that developments in Providence produce good jobs — good local jobs, if we abide by the First Source Ordinance.

Boston and other big cities with hot development markets have put these laws in place. If we do too, new projects would still mean higher property values and increased local tax revenues, but they would also yield good jobs and affordable housing, improving the lives of all of Providence’s residents and making it easier for them to afford to live in the city they call home. In conjunction with the Providence WORKS! campaign, and community organizations like DARE, Jobs With Justice, ACORN, and the Rhode Island Housing Network, I’ll be working towards the passage of these initiatives through the spring and summer. If you can help — even just as an extra body at a rally or two — please send an email to dare@daretowin.org, with Providence WORKS! as the subject. David Segal is Providence’s Ward 1 City Councilman.

The much-discussed “wake-up call” GUEST COLUMN BY NATALIE SMOLENSKI By now most of us have heard the reelection of George W. Bush likened to a “wake-up call” for American liberals. We have been waking up from a complacency engendered by the historical presence of many liberal values in mainstream political discourse. Since the New Deal, American liberals have shaped domestic public policy with federal power, causing the size of national government to grow and animating some of the most important steps in combating domestic injustice: social security, welfare, civil rights and abortion rights. While the skeleton of biggovernment liberalism has remained in place for the last 25 years, its purpose has slowly been inverted. In other words, we now have a powerful central government that mobilizes against liberalism. In 2005, we find the most consolidated, powerful conservative force yet heads a governing body shaped by 20thcentury liberal thought. I finally understand what conservatives have been saying all along. Governing and lawmaking involves more than just keeping the country running; it is also the act of forcing others to comply with an officiallysanctioned moral structure. Unfortunately, I failed to realize this until after people with whose morals I disagreed came to power. Many of us protest that President Bush shouldn’t make ideological appointments or pass ideologically-motivated legislation. We argue that government should represent all the people, even the significant numbers who vehemently disagree with the President. We condemn “winner-take-all” approaches to politics, and complain that Bush is an “alienator”

and an “isolator.” But such argumentation is disingenuous. A liberal Supreme Court used a loose interpretation of the Constitution to guarantee previously undesignated rights like privacy; generations of executives and legislators took it upon their respective branches of government to ameliorate social ills such as racism and poverty. The aforementioned criticisms also reflect an almost willful misunderstanding of conservative political thought. “Compromise” sounds all well

“morality” has been traditionally defined in a one-dimensional, conservative fashion. But like it or not, American liberalism is every single bit as morality-based as Mr. Santorum’s political views. All political thought asserts a morality; it’s only the language in which it is couched that changes. We don’t have to use judgmental, antagonistic, legal or JudeoChristian rhetoric to voice our morality, but we do have to own it and express it freely, or else it just sounds phony, and people don’t elect or support phonies.

Over the past 50 years conservatives have tried to create social change largely without the government’s help. We would do well to study their tactics. and good to someone who’s out of power, but not to people who regard abortion with the same horror that liberals regard the three-fifths compromise. Over the past 50 years conservatives have tried to create social change largely without the government’s help. We would do well to study their tactics. I’m speaking here of spreading our gospel. Of fully embracing and milking the fact that being liberal is taking a moral stance, and in fact a superior one. “Morals” is an ugly word to many progressives; it conjures forth images of Rick Santorum and the countless “public interest” groups with the word “family” in their names. This is probably because

A Supreme Court ruling or a new bill in Congress will result in social backlash unless its content is supported by the popular morality. Every time a court rules, for example, to uphold a woman’s right to an abortion, the right makes political gains. Recently the satirical newspaper “The Onion” ran an article with the apt title, “Anti-Racism Laws Mutate Racism Into Newer, Stronger Form.” Not that using government to protect liberal values is wrong, but we need to mount an assault on more than one front. Changing people’s hearts is what really matters here; once you do that, there is much less need for a law in the first place.

It has been to our great disadvantage that we liberals, in part due to holierthan-thou myopia, have tried to convince others that we’re not trying to impose our own values on anyone; that we are simply campaigning for freedom to choose (abortion, sexuality, what have you) and trying to ensure that “morality” stays out of it. This attitude is simple selfdelusion. To give just one example, the left invokes freedom of choice selectively. It does not, for instance, support voucher programs (which provide school choice for low-income students), nor does it allow people to choose not to pay taxes that provide abortions to low-income women (while campaigning for pacifists’ right to choose to not pay taxes that support the military). Why do liberals trumpet “choice” as a value that self-evidently trumps all others? Don’t we also value freedom, equality, opportunity, justice, protecting the weak, and preventing undue harm? The extent to which conservatives have succeeded in “converting” a nation to their moral thought will be evident in the relatively near future, as public reaction to W.’s Supreme Court appointments and legislative agenda materializes. But the lesson to be learned from his victory at the polls is already clear: sometimes, going straight to the people instead of the government is the most effective way to ensure social change. Especially when you don’t like the government and it doesn’t like you. Natalie Smolenski ’07 writes for the Brown Daily Squeal.

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

SPORTS THURSDAY FEBRUARY 3, 2005 · PAGE 12

Hat trick for Meech ’05 nets him ECAC Player of the week

Nick Neely / Herald

Mike Meech ’05 was named ECACHL Player of the Week after scoring four goals this past weekend. BY MATT LIEBER SPORTS STAFF WRITER

Brown’s Mike Meech ’05 was named ECACHL Player of the Week Monday, after helping Brown to a weekend sweep of Yale and Princeton. The wins improved Brown’s ECACHL record to 6-5-2 (11-6-3 overall), bumping the team up into a tie for sixth place. Friday against Yale, Meech led the Bears to a 5-3 win with his first career hat trick. He tied the game at 1 with his first goal, then broke a 3-3 tie with what proved to be

the game-winning goal. “Yale has not been having a good season, but they’ve turned it around the last few games,” Meech said. “They play an uptempo style and jump their Dmen up into the play. That creates a lot of chances for us, and we were ready for them.” Brown’s scoring opportunities this weekend mainly came on power plays. The team’s seven power play goals this weekend raised its percentage from 15 to 20.2 percent. “We’ve had two freshmen playing on the power

play. For freshmen to step in and contribute in such a big way has been great,” Meech said. Head Coach Roger Grillo adjusted the personnel on the power play unit, adding first-year Jeff Prough into the front line with Meech and captain Les Haggett ’05. “Prough knocked down a clearing attempt by the Yale defender,” Meech said. “There was a loose puck and he got taken out (of the play), but he got me the puck and was able to walk in from the wall and beat the goalie up high.” The next night against Princeton, Meech scored on the power play to give the Bears a 2-1 lead late in the first period. “Our team started off really strong at Princeton,” Meech said. “Chris Swon (’05) had a good game. He’s on my line. We had some good even-strength chances. And freshman Chris Poli joined the line. Poli can shoot well, and hopefully I can get him some passes and scoring chances.” Meech’s scoring on the weekend made him the team leader with 18 points, including nine goals. “Coming in this year as a senior, I was more confident,” Meech said. “And I’ve been getting more ice time, and playing on the first unit on the power play.” Meech says that after the season is over, he’d like to continue playing hockey professionally, see MEECH, page 7

‘Street agents’ are sliming the system in football BY MATT HAYES THE SPORTING NEWS

At some point next week in a courtroom in Memphis, Tenn., college football will take one giant leap backward when the gavel strikes and a trial ends. From then on, it’s only going to get worse. It’s easy to turn apathetic because of the monotonous annual stories of rogue boosters infiltrating college campuses. Now the same, slimy corruption has found its way into high school football, soiling the system before it ever takes root. In the week that we celebrate national signing day and the anticipation of another season, we also finally must acknowledge the seedy underside of recruiting. “It’s enough to make the hair on the back of your neck stand up,” says Grant Teaff, executive director of the American Football Coaches Association. “We can’t overlook it anymore.” Especially after a high school football coach in Memphis, Lynn Lang, went on the stand last week and admitted to offering a player, Albert Means, to the highest bidder. Seven schools offered money for the big defensive tackle; the winner, Alabama, paid $150,000 to the coach, who auctioned off a 17-year-old kid without a hint of remorse. We can’t overlook it anymore. Especially after Miami (Fla.) Coach Larry Coker stood up at last month’s AFCA annual meeting and demanded something be done to curtail what many call “street agents.” That’s right; these brokers are so slippery, so sleazy, they’ve been tagged with their

Fencing captures win in first home meet since 2001 BY ZANETA BALANTAC SPORTS STAFF WRITER

In its first home meet in three seasons, the fencing team struggled early against New England Conference opponents, but both the men’s and women’s teams came out on top with a 4-0 victory for the men and 3-2 for the women. “We had a fantastic tournament this weekend,” said Head Coach Atilio Tass. “The results in the men’s side are very promising. … The home court advantage and especially the wonderful supporters that had showed up was a very important aspect.” With six teams competing throughout the day, the OMAC was full with excited fencers preparing themselves for individual bouts. The Bears occupied the first four strips, waiting to challenge their first opponent of the day. Against Dartmouth, the Bears proved why NCAA national polls

consider them one of the best fencing teams in the country. They easily advanced past the Big Green with a 21-6 victory for the women and 18-9 for the men. There were several nice performances in the first round for the women. All-American Ruth Schneider ’06, who went undefeated throughout the tournament, led her epee squad to the only 9-0 sweep of the day against the Big Green. In one particularly exciting match, rookie Leah Shabshelowitz ’08 came from a four-touch deficit to defeat her opponent. “That was one of those things we don’t see very often,” said teammate Shauna Edson ’05. Meanwhile, on the men’s side, Dan Dorsky ’05 led his saber squad to a 7-2 win with the aid of a strong performance from Jeremy Adler ’06. The foil and epee squads also defeated the

Ashley Hess / Herald

see FENCING, page 7

Foilist Jeremy Zeitlin ’07 and the rest of the men’s fencing team went undefeated in the team’s first home meet in three seasons.

own disparaging nickname that sounds like something out of a B movie. Here’s how it works: A high school coach or a “longtime friend” of the family — or wait, how about scumbag? — leeches onto a young kid in junior high school. This child — because that’s what he is at that age — usually is being raised by a single mother. Her son, who can run faster than anyone on the block and is 3 inches taller and 20 pounds heavier than most high schoolers, is desperate for a father figure. So the scumbag, err, street agent, forms a relationship with our junior high schooler. Buys him a shirt or lunch here and there, feeds his head with grandiose dreams. By the time our young star is a high school senior, the scumbag – who now magically becomes our star’s “mentor” — is brokering deals with colleges. “It’s disgusting,” Coker says. And it’s not just in Memphis — and it’s not just in college football. College basketball has similar problems with AAU coaches who wrest control of players from their parents and high school coaches. Street agents have been around for years in college football, that annoying noise rattling in the closet that no one wants to acknowledge. After last week’s trial slapped a price tag on it, it no longer can be ignored. The scumbag testified he bought cars and went to strip clubs with his loot. Meanwhile, our star left the school that paid for his services after one year, returned home to Memphis and spent the next three years on the University of Memphis’ football team. He now is a potential lateround pick in April’s NFL draft, and although he has the ideal size for a defensive tackle, scouts say he’s lazy, has weight issues and takes plays off. No wonder. When Coker brought up the street agent issue at last month’s AFCA meeting, he said it could develop into something that could seriously damage the sport. Coker won’t state publicly his reasons for initiating the discussion at the meeting, but sources say he is upset because he believes recent high-profile recruits from Miami were steered away from the Hurricanes by a street agent who once coached high school football in south Florida. South Florida or South Dakota, what’s the difference? We can’t overlook it anymore. B R O W N S P O R T S S CO R E B OA R D Weekly Awards Gymnastics: Melissa Forziat ’05, ECAC Coaches’ Choice Award

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