M O N D A Y FEBRUARY 7, 2005
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Volume CXL, No. 9
www.browndailyherald.com
An independent newspaper serving the Brown community since 1891
PATRIOT GAMES Chris Mahr ’07: For the Boston sports fan, life is undeniably good SPORTS
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NEW’S DAYS 2005 New Plays Festival to give new pieces by three grad students their time in the sun A R T S & C U LT U R E 3
THE EYES HAVE IT Brown researcher finds the molecule responsible for regulating our internal clocks CAMPUS NEWS
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TODAY
TOMORROW
partly cloudy 45 / 30
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McWalters: Hope High will not be split BY ROBBIE COREY-BOULET METRO EDITOR
Rhode Island Education Commissioner Peter McWalters outlined plans to improve Providence’s troubled Hope High School in a ruling issued Friday, METRO SPECIAL ending a deliberation process that began with a five-day series of public hearings in mid-December. While the decision — which includes an order of reconstitution and a “Consolidated Corrective Action Plan” — features a vast array of internal changes at Hope, McWalters opted not to close down the school or assume control of its daily operations. “This school is staying under the jurisdiction of the Providence School Department,” McWalters said. “I don’t want any misunderstanding about this.” Several community leaders and local
politicians have called for the closing of Hope in recent weeks, including Ward 7 City Councilman John Igliozzi and the Providence Educational Excellence Coalition, with members from several Rhode Island youth and faith-based organizations. Instead, McWalters’ decision calls for the installation of a “special master” to supervise improvement efforts and ensure implementation of the corrective action plan. The “special master” will be obligated to report back to McWalters, though the position does not have any decision-making authority. The role has yet to be filled — McWalters said he will have someone from outside of the state in the position by March 1. The decision also orders the creation of a teacher-review committee that will evaluate about 100 faculty members, according to McWalters’ objectives. Teachers must submit letters stating their approval of the 19
educational objectives in the plan by Feb. 18. The committee will review each letter and make a recommendation to District Superintendent Melody Johnson on whether the teacher should be allowed to continue working at Hope in the fall. The committee will not take into account teachers’ prior performance but will instead emphasize their commitment to future improvements at Hope. “We are not in a position” to evaluate previous classroom performance, McWalters said. According to the plan, Hope will retain its current structure, which contains three small learning communities within the school. Each community — centered on the themes of leadership, arts and technology — holds about 400 students. These communities will be granted control over budgetary
The tracking system last year only measured pounds recycled per student, and did not take into account the overall amount of waste at a school, Bennett said. In response to this problem, this year there will be a prize awarded not only for the traditional pounds recycled per student competition, but also for recycling rate. This see RECYCLE, page 4
see DOWNLOADS, page 4
see HOPE, page 6
BY AIDAN LEVY STAFF WRITER
see FUNDING, page 7
Chris Bennett / Herald
A student advertises the 10 week-long Recyclemania program that began last week.
BEAN kicks off RecycleMania Promotional videos to intimidate competition BY ARI ROCKLAND-MILLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Dartmouth, our Ivy League neighbor to the North, didn’t only outdo Brown in the U.S. News & World Report 2004 college rankings. Surprising Brown students, Dartmouth also beat Brown last year in RecycleMania, a 10-week nation wide recycling competition. This winter, however, as Dartmouth students cluster together in frigid New Hampshire basements, members of the Brown Environmental Action Network have been out and about trying to galvanize Brown students about RecycleMania. RecycleMania 2005 leaders Allie Silverman ’05 and Herald photographer Chris Bennett ’07 said they were pleased with last year’s solid middle-of-the-pack finish — ninth place out of 17 participating schools — considering Brown was participating for the first time. “The schools who volunteered to participate in RecycleMania last year were already ahead of the game,” Silverman said, explaining that schools who sign up for RecycleMania are the ones who feel most passionately about the need to raise awareness about recycling on their campuses.
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Students and administrators met last Friday with representatives from four music download services to investigate the possibility of bringing legal music downloads to campus. David Greene, vice president for campus life and student services, described the meeting as “exploratory.” “We’re trying to see whether it’s useful to think about bringing this service to Brown,” Greene said, both for its “entertainment value” and its possible educational benefits. The four services presented at the meeting were Rhapsody, Cdigix, Ruckus and Napster. The committee, which was meeting for the first time, is made up of administrators from Computing and Information Services and the Office of Campus Life and Student Services, as well as students from the Undergraduate Council of Students. Also present was Marcel Garaud, vice president for new technology at Sony BMG Music Entertainment, who works as a facilitator for the Campus Action Network, an industry group that works with college campuses and music services. Colleges across the country are caught up in the issue of illegal music downloads. Last year, the Recording Industry Association of America filed a subpoena against the University for information about two apparent users of Brown’s computer network it had sued for illegal file-sharing. While not a “direct response” to any legal incident, Greene said the University is certainly interested in finding “alternatives for students to download music legally.” “Brown isn’t going to be able to protect its students for too much longer” from the RIAA, said Sarah SaxtonFrump ’07, student activities chair for UCS and a participant in Friday’s meeting. Other universities have turned to legal music services as such an alternative. According to Avery Kotler, senior director for business and legal affairs at Napster, 13 campuses currently use the
UFB to weigh outside funding when allocating funds Throwing parties, organizing community service initiatives and funding 14 trips to politically volatile states prior to the presidential election caused the Brown Democrats to feel the strain of a budget crunch last semester. Due to a 20 percent increase in the number of Category III student groups — 116 groups eligible this academic year for thousands of dollars in funding from the Undergraduate Finance Board — available resources for each group have been substantially depleted, leaving groups scraping the bottom of the barrel and turning to outside organizations for additional funding. “We encourage student groups to raise money, and we try to encourage students not to come to UFB as a last resort, but as the last step in their funding process,” said Sarah Saxton-Frump’07, student activities chair for the Undergraduate Council of Students and a UFB representative. “The size of the pie is the same, but everybody’s slice is getting smaller.” Cutbacks, though sometimes minor, have forced groups to seek financial assistance from new sources, soliciting funds from administrative and academic departments as well as Brown alums. The Democrats are currently finalizing negotiations for an intercollegiate conference scheduled to take place from April 29 to May 1, featuring prominent speakers and nightly social events. “We’ve never attempted to solicit for outside funds until this year,” said Seth Magaziner ’05, president of the Democrats. “The conference is the kind of thing that costs a lot of money — tens of thousands of dollars. UFB tends to gravitate more towards giving money to umbrella groups.” When student groups submit their budgets for next year this April, the application will include an unprecedented
U. considering legal alternatives for student music downloads
Student assaulted outside bar A 19-year-old female Brown student was sexually assaulted around 1:30 a.m. Sunday in an alleyway next to the Liquid Lounge at 165 Angell St., according to a Providence Police Department report. The victim told PPD that she fought with her attacker until he fled. In an e-mail to the campus, Officer Mark Perry of the Department of Public Safety wrote that the victim told police she suspected she had been drugged and could not recall leaving the bar. She described the assailant as a
195 Angell Street, Providence, Rhode Island
5’10” white male, age 25 to 26, with dark brown hair and brown eyes. He was wearing jeans and a dark t-shirt, according to the PPD report. The woman was transported to the Women & Infants Hospital, where she was treated and released. Perry cautioned students against accepting drinks from strangers or leaving open beverages unattended. Anyone with information about the assault should call the Providence Police Detective Office at 272-3121. — Herald Staff Reports News tips: herald@browndailyherald.com
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THIS MORNING MONDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2005 · PAGE 2 Coreacracy Eddie Ahn
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TO D AY ’ S E V E N TS THE HUMAN FACE OF WAR 7:30 p.m. (MacMillan 117) — Speakers address situation in Iraq.
BLOOD DRIVE 11 a.m. (Sayles Hall) — Day 1 of a 3-day winter blood drive.
Penguiener Haan Lee
MENU SHARPE REFECTORY LUNCH — French-onion Soup, Vegetarian Tomato Bisque, Vegan Vegetable Couscous, Meatlover’s Pizza, Pulled Pork Sandwich, Pancakes, French Toast, Lyonnaise Potatoes, Snickerdoodle Cookies, Rainbow Cake
VERNEY-WOOLLEY DINING HALL LUNCH — Vegetarian Vegetable Barley Soup, Chicken Okra Gumbo Soup, Jamie’s Spiced Chicken Wings, Baked Manicotti with Tomato Sauce, Corn & Broccoli Casserole, Snickerdoodle Cookies
DINNER — Grits soufflé, Baked Potatoes, Fried Shrimp with Cocktail and Tartar Sauces, Meatloaf with Mushroom Sauce, Focaccia with Mixed Herbs, Meatloaf with Mushroom Sauce, Lemon Chiffon Cake
DINNER — Vegetarian Vegetable Barley Soup, Chicken Okra Gumbo Soup , Pork Chops with Seasoned Crumbs, Tofu Parmesan, Cranberry Wild & White Rice Pilaf, Fresh Vegetable Melange, Wax Beans, Focaccia with Mixed Herbs, Lemon Chiffon Cake
Chocolate Covered Cotton Mark Brinker
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ACROSS 1 Have dinner 4 Specialized idiom 9 Jacques’ “after” 14 Lakers’ org. 15 1865 assassin 16 Dancing Castle 17 Club game for partners 20 Baserunning strategy 21 She gets what she wants 22 Wine bottle stopper 23 __ Moines 25 Hair on a horse’s neck 27 They come from a single ovum 34 Yale student 35 Apiece 36 Vietnam’s capital 37 Castle protection 39 Uncle Sam feature 42 Highway access 43 Dark 45 Like a battery in need of a boost 47 __ Vegas 48 “Nothing new” 52 Get the show on the road 53 Building wing 54 Music halls 57 Paint layer 60 Gung-ho 64 Garb for 27Across, maybe 67 Quench 68 Scout rank 69 Minivan alternative, briefly 70 __-face: smooching 71 Mild oaths 72 Inside info
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ARTS & CULTURE MONDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2005 · PAGE 3
RISD celebrates diverse Jewish art BY JOEL ROZEN STAFF WRITER
In recognition of the 350th anniversary of Jewish life in America, the Rhode Island School of Design Museum has refurbished its 20th-century art galleries with the creative output of Jewish artists. The exhibition, REVIEW “Celebrating the Jewish Contribution to 20th-Century American Art,” includes works harvested primarily from the museum’s permanent collection brought together to give visitors an opportunity to revel in RISD’s more venerable and prized artifacts. Concentrating mainly on the period just after 1945, the collection is organized around the rise of Abstract Expressionism, a seminal movement in the history of modern art. Including Jewish luminaries such as the Latvian-born artist Mark Rothko, who relocated to New York during a time of political upheaval in Europe, the exhibit, which finishes its run on April 17, highlights the creative talents of new immigrants at a moment of artistic transition. Nathaniel Stein GS, an intern in the Museum’s department of painting and sculpture, served as guest curator for the display. Though several of his presentational sensibilities err on the side of being overly austere, with too many questions left unanswered by his minimalist object labels, Stein has prepared a sensible overview of the era’s benchmark visual souvenirs. Linking the collection’s staggering breadth of paintings, sculptures and photographs, the exhibit bears testament to the outstanding contributions of America’s Jewish artists. As Stein’s introductory text points out, however, because many of the featured artists were struggling to establish themselves both as Americans and as creditable newcomers to the art scene, the majority of them shirked acknowledgement of their Jewish heritage as a formative influence. As a result, although the Museum has focused its advertising for the exhibition around a unifying theme of heritage and ethnicity, the pieces are ultimately diverse
and devoid of any obvious Judaic influences. But this takes nothing away from the quality of the art therein. American artist Roy Lichtenstein’s cartoonish “Pyramid II”— created when Lichtenstein was a sensation and before he became the reigning king of refrigerator magnet kitsch — demonstrates the skill of an innovator at the height of his power. The composition, a mammoth display of pop art reconceived in oils, is captivating in its form, bringing the ancient immensity of the Giza Pyramids into a contemporary age. Perhaps the exhibition’s main draw is a floor-to-ceiling canvas by Rothko, painted in 1954 and called, simply, “Untitled.” The piece is exemplary of the Abstract Expressionist style and characteristic of Rothko’s peerless intensity. A recent RISD purchase, the piece includes only three dominant colors — white, yellow, and orange — arranged in solid squares. It is breathtaking in effect. There are also smaller treasures to be found in RISD’s anthology. A trip around the gallery’s myriad Aaron Siskind, Helen Frankenthaler and Jackson Pollock stunners reveals a glimpse of Nancy Spero’s plaintive 1966 elegy, “Les Anges – La Bombe,” in which the atomic bomb is remembered as a blood-red eruption of screaming heads. The feeling of loss is palpable, and within the dimensions of a small, almost unnoticeable gouache on paper sketch, Spero conjures emotions powerful enough to fill a wall-length mural. But the real surprise of the exhibit lies in an adjacent room featuring the crop of 20th-century Jewish photographers. Stein expertly chose the selection of silver-gelatin prints to demonstrate the rich legacies of photographers Diane Arbus, Lisette Model and Garry Winogrand. Model’s “Running Feet, Fifth Avenue” elegantly invokes the chaos of 1940s New York, with its focus on the patent leather shoes of businessmen and women as they rush to meet a deadline. In her comic portrait, “A Family One Evening in a see ART, page 4
Festival features grad student plays BY ROBIN STEELE STAFF WRITER
Skip, a corporate trainer, overlooks a comfortable landscape littered with logos and office chairs, while presenting information about the Hiroshima bombing in a sincere tone. This scene is followed by the introduction of a pair of Japanese twins and a device known as the Chamber, which causes audience members to replay violent past experiences. Luckily, Skip is an actor, as are the audience members filing onstage and into the Chamber in a play called “Hiroshima 2005: The Apology Module.” “Hiroshima” is one of three plays in part one of the New Plays Festival put on by The Brown Literary Arts Program and the Brown University/Trinity Repertory Consortium. The festival features workshop productions by three firstyear graduate student playwrights. “Big John and Little Ben,” by Samuel Marks GS, the first play to be presented in the festival, is the story of a father and son down on their luck and how they try to save and help each other, Marks said. According to Marks, this play, which focuses on family and growing up, will tackle different issues than most of his previous works, which featured characters in their early 20s in urban settings. “This is my first attempt at drama with a capital ‘D,’” said Marks, who started writing plays a few years ago while working as an actor in New York City. “Sweet Dreams of Paris,” by Andy Bragen GS, takes place in a desolate, unidentified landscape, see FESTIVAL, page 6
PAGE 4 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD MONDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2005
Downloads continued from page 1 Napster campus program, which was developed in partnership with Pennsylvania State University. Music “is one of the things that touches students daily,” Kotler said, and companies such as Napster are seeking to replace illegal music sharing with legal music downloads and streaming. There were “differences of opinion” among committee
members over the four services presented Friday, according to Ben Creo ’07, appointments chair for UCS. The services vary widely in capabilities, with two strictly offering music and the other two also offering movies and other media. Some offer only streaming music from the Internet, while others allow “tethered downloads” of songs which can play on a computer but cannot be burned onto a CD or placed on a digital music player without additional costs. Even with the extra costs, only one service, Rhapsody, will
work with the popular Apple iPod, Saxton-Frump said, who also noted none of the programs work on the Macintosh operating system. The prices of the four services are considered proprietary information and could not be shared, but Greene did say there was a great deal of difference in cost among the services. How the University could finance this project has not yet been discussed, but Creo said he opposes using the student activities fee to fund a music service. But there were definitely one or two attractive options among the programs presented, Creo and Saxton-Frump said. “Everyone’s going to use this program” if the University implements it, Saxton-Frump said. “I’d bet on it.” If the University decides to go forward with a music service, it would probably be implemented in the next academic year, Greene said, though the current semester was not out of the question. Creo said he felt the general consensus of the committee was to try to roll out the program this semester. The committee will meet again this week to discuss the presentations.
Recycle continued from page 1 way, Brown students who reuse their same trusty travel mug every day will also contribute to the school’s success in RecycleMania. To raise excitement and awareness about RecycleMania, BEAN members say they will use many media outlets to advertise the competition. Nearly all BEAN members proudly sport a RecycleMania 2005 poster on the outside of their dorm room doors, and BEAN Eco Reps posted signs in campus trash rooms. In addition, organizers will give T-shirts to those fervent recyclers who help promote the event and post week-by-week results on large whiteboards in the Sharpe Refectory and the post office. This year, weekly standings will also be posted online on the Daily Jolt, so students can see how Brown stacks up against its recycling rivals. Bennett said he is producing multiple promotional videos showing Brown students cooperatively recycling and getting excited about RecycleMania. These short videos will be sent to competitors as an intimidation
tactic, Bennet said. Bennett struggled to explain the idiosyncratic intensity of these videos — one has to see them to truly understand their potent message, he said. “We’re trying to make it a little livelier than last year, in terms of the mania,” co-leader Silverman said. Last year jokes circulated about what Bennett called “loose accounting” at some of Brown’s more unscrupulous competitor campuses. Despite their drive to win, Bennett and Silverman said the competition is above all friendly and healthy and not about winning or losing. This year’s prizes, a smiling bowling pin with webbed feet and a jolly little man with a green face and orange construction hat, demonstrate the light-hearted nature of the competition. Both prizes were made from a conglomerate of reused objects. The overall goal of RecycleMania is to raise awareness about recycling on campus and to inspire the entire community to participate. It takes a long time for students to change their personal habits and behavior, especially if they came from homes that did not recycle, Silverman said. RecycleMania is simply a fun way to help raise awareness about the importance of recycling, and the avenues that facilitate recycling here at Brown. “Students at Brown are so smart — it’d be so nice if they could just take two extra seconds and take advantage of the simplified recycling process,” she said.
Art continued from page 3 Nudist Camp, Pennsylvania,” Arbus sets up a latter-day rendition of Edouard Manet’s “Petit Déjeuner sur l’Herbe”— two women and one man in a field, all shooting bovine grins at the camera. For those interested in the more historical aspects of RISD’s collection, a survey of Morris Engel’s “Coney Island,” Jules Aarons’ “North End, Boston” or Arthur Fellig’s “Untitled” should be considered. Hung together, both Aarons’ and Fellig’s pieces present a particular brand of 1950s-era urbanity in the Northeast, focusing on teenagers who look like actors at a casting call for “West Side Story.” Although one would expect a little more background explanation from the novice curator — the Museum lacks even a small pamphlet on the exhibition, and the object labels are conservative to the point of seeming oblique — Stein has done a vibrant job of amassing pieces that reveal the Jewish contribution to American art. With so many fine artists placed in such close proximity, one almost wishes this serendipity were more permanent.
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CAMPUS NEWS MONDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2005 · PAGE 5
Long vigil brings “strange eye cell,” sleep clock discovery BY ALLISON WHITNEY CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Xudong Qiu held a month-long vigil in a room lit only by red lights and the beam of a microscope. The windows and doors were sealed with blackout paper, and his only companion was a single human kidney cell. Qiu, a postdoctoral research associate in neuroscience, was waiting for the cell to produce a tiny electrical current, the missing evidence needed to prove his hypothesis and catapult his name into the most respected scientific journals in the world. Now, over a year later, Qiu has published his first paper in Nature trumpeting his discovery that melanopsin is the molecule responsible for sensing light in ipRGCs, strange eye cells that were discovered only three years ago. Like rods and cones, ipRGCs are a type of light-sensitive cell in the mammalian eye. They translate incoming light into an electrical signal that is sent to the brain. But these cells are not responsible for vision the way rod and cone cells are. Instead, ipRGCs transmit information about overall light intensity directly to the part of the brain that controls our circadian rhythm, the internal clock that primarily regulates when we wake up and fall asleep. Professor of Medical Science David Berson, who discovered the cells in 2002, said the circadian rhythm “is like the
clock chip in your computer,” which can keep time all on its own but sometimes needs to be reset. The ipRGC cells make sure that your internal clock remains synchronized to the 24-hour day-night cycle. Berson said many researchers suspected that melanopsin was the molecule responsible for sensing light, but Qiu, under Berson’s guidance, was the first to prove it. Three other researchers published papers with similar conclusions the same month. To prove melanopsin’s role in sensing light, Qiu used genetic engineering techniques to make kidney cells that produced the protein. The kidney cells are not normally responsive to light, but when they produce melanopsin, they suddenly begin to behave like photosensitive cells. Like ipRGCs, they generate a very small electrical current after being stimulated by light. Because the cells respond to light, Qiu had to block out all daylight in his lab. However, he knew that melanopsin was not activated by red light, so he put a red filter over his desk lamp, providing just enough light to work by. It took an entire month of testing three cells per day, day after day, before Qiu saw the first electrical signal produced by a kidney cell. Then he set about discovering exactly what color of light the molesee DISCOVERY, page 8
DEMS HOST MARRIAGE EQUALITY CONFERENCE
Juliana Wu / Herald
College Democrats from Providence College, Salve Regina University, Roger Williams University and the University of Rhode Island participated in the Marriage Equality Conference hosted by the Brown Democrats in Smith-Buonanno Sunday. The conference gave young Rhode Island Democrats an opportunity to network and learn how to lobby at the State House for gay marriage legislation. Speakers at the conference included same-gender couples who have been married in Massachusetts as well as lobbyists and legislators who shared their experiences working at the State House. Students above browse the “Picture Equality” exhibit, which presented over 200 photographs of Rhode Island citizens who support gay marriage legislation. Conference attendees had their photographs taken to add to the display, in hopes of eventually displaying 1400 supporters from the state.
PAGE 6 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD MONDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2005
Hope continued from page 1 and hiring decisions. An additional administrator will also be hired to work in conjunction with learning community directors, a position the plan states is “essential” for smooth operation of three distinct schools on one campus. When the communities were first established in September 2003, this fourth administrator “could not be found,” the decision reads. The plan also outlines steps to address Hope’s dropout rate, which at 52 percent is the highest among Providence high schools. Beginning in the fall, entering ninth graders will enroll in “ninth grade academies,” each headed by an assistant director and a group of faculty members. These academies are intended to facilitate teacher-student advising and increase personalization, thereby starting each student down a fouryear educational path. The ruling received mixed reviews from those who attended Friday’s press conference, a reaction McWalters said he was anticipating. “Some people are going to say I didn’t go far enough. Other people are going to say I went too far,” he said. Many of the elements required to improve Hope “were already on the table at both at the school level and the state office,” he said. “If not, we would have had to be more dramatic.” The role of a “special master” drew concern from both school officials and community leaders. Johnson told The Herald she feared this role had been “positioned as an adversary, sort of like a big brother-type thing.” However, the concept of a “special master” is not unique to Providence, and Johnson said she has had positive experiences with people in similar roles while working for other districts. The position “serves as an advocate for all the employees in the building” and allows involved par-
ties to effectively “express their concerns and frustrations,” she said. “I’m hoping we can regroup (the position) around that,” she said. But Mary Sylvia Harrison, president of the Rhode Island Children’s Crusade, who has previously served as spokesperson for the Providence Educational Excellence Coalition, told The Herald she questioned what tangible impact this position will have on the school’s daily operations. “As I understand it, there is an authority retained by Commissioner McWalters,” she said. “What’s the consequence? The jury’s still out” as to whether someone in this position can make a difference, she said. But Harrison said she is “pleased” McWalters approved the hiring of an independent party to oversee implementation of the plan, adding she is “optimistic” that McWalters’ decision will set positive change in motion. Johnson expressed concerns as to how the plan will be thoroughly implemented given the school’s “huge budget shortfall” and general lack of resources. “So far, the government and the legislature have not stepped up to the plate” to address these budgetary issues, she said. Alykhan Karim ’06, who founded Students Teaching Students last year to organize tutoring efforts at Hope, echoed Johnson’s concerns. “From our experiences there, what we noticed was a huge lack of funding,” he said. The school was dependent on volunteer groups such as Students Teaching Students to coordinate many extracurricular programs, including recreational activities, SAT workshops and college preparatory programs, Karim said. “I was hoping that if anything, there would be some more funds allocated to Hope,” he said. Karim expressed ambivalence regarding McWalters’ decision, saying “it really doesn’t sound like they’re doing that much.” But Karim said he approved of McWalters’ decision to retain Hope’s current structure, saying the school’s closure would have
Festival continued from page 3 and follows a man called Leo, a border guard staying in a played-out romantic relationship because he fantasizes of taking his girlfriend to Paris, Bragen said. According to Bragen, who became interested in playwrighting as an undergraduate at Johns Hopkins, the play is a black comedy that centers on the themes of borders, citizenship and belonging. He cited the work of filmmaker Francois Truffaut as an influence. In terms of setting, this play is a departure for Bragen, whose previous works have been set in real or mythic incarnations of New York City. Bragen, in anticipation of audience feedback, had two words for potential theatergoers: “Be kind.” Molly Rice GS set “Hiroshima 2005” at a corporate training session of a company attempting to amicably partner with a Japanese corporation. The play explores the American bombing of Hiroshima at the end of
been traumatic for students currently enrolled and may have contributed to higher dropout rates. Igliozzi told The Herald he hoped the decision would be “the watershed event to get the entire Providence school system functioning correctly.” Igliozzi had previously floated a proposal calling for the city to demolish Hope’s current building and sell its 18 acres of surrounding property, thereby allowing the creation of three small charter schools linked in public-private partnerships with Brown, Johnson and Wales University and the Rhode Island School of Design. But his proposal received a lukewarm response from the three private institutions, and McWalters’ plan effectively ruled out the demolition of Hope. During the question-andanswer session following the Spring Semester Opening Address Tuesday night, President Ruth Simmons said she was skeptical of Igliozzi’s proposal, calling it “more of an idea than a plan” and doubting the University’s ability to effectively enact improvements. “The thing that concerns me most about people with ideas of how to reform the school is that they don’t understand that, fundamentally, bringing in outsiders to run the school is not the answer,” she said. “A lot of people believe it’s easy to run a school. It isn’t.” Igliozzi expressed disappointment that private institutions would not “start taking the lead to create different types of opportunities and come up with different solutions.” But he said he hoped McWalters’ decision will move the school in a “positive direction,” calling Hope “the bellwether for the entire Providence school system” that may serve as a model for reform at other area high schools. Though the plan may spark initial gains for Hope, Johnson said she believes turning the school around may require “a five- to tenyear process.” Educational leaders need to be willing to commit “time and continued investment” to reach the desired results, she said.
World War II and the way in which acts of violence are connected and create a web of guilt, Rice said. “Hiroshima 2005” is filled with stark realism, unlike some of her previous works, many of which had elements of music and fantasy, she said. Rice said that she became interested in playwrighting after working at a variety of jobs, including that of a rock musician. Rice said that she anticipates going through many more drafts of her play after this workshop, but is looking forward to the festival. “I think (the plays) will all be great,” Rice said. “Very different plays from different writers, each with their own strengths.” “Big John and Little Ben” will be presented February 9 and 12 at 8 p.m.; “Sweet Dreams of Paris” will be presented February 10 at 8 p.m. and February 13 at 3 p.m.; and “Hiroshima 2005: The Apology Module” will be presented February 11 at 8 p.m. and February 12 at 2 p.m. The productions will take place in the McCormack Family Theater. The productions will be free and open to the public.
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2005 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD PAGE 7
Funding continued from page 1 request for the amount of money each group has received from outside benefactors. While not meant to intentionally penalize student groups for successful fundraising efforts, the information may have negative repercussions on groups’ UFB funding. “We’re not going to be basing all our decisions even close to solely on how much money a group has, but there are some groups where it might have an impact,” said Adam Deitch ’05, UFB chair. The external funding factor will be used primarily to “inform discussion,” Deitch said, but any ostensible effect on the allocation of funds is unclear. Groups that have demonstrated enthusiasm and resourcefulness in their fundraising efforts may be rewarded, Deitch said, while groups unwilling to take the initiative may be penalized when UFB funds are distributed. Yet Saxton-Frump is not certain that external fundraising will prompt increased UFB support. Rather, she said, UFB may choose to bolster a fledgling group’s bank account if the group makes a concerted effort to raise funds but cannot do so because it lacks the appeal of other groups. Not funding such a group has harmful implications, she said. An under-funded group’s only recourse is to take out a UFB loan, which gives the group until the close of the semester to pay off its debts, or all of its accounts are frozen. This gives UFB impetus to inquire into external fundraising, Frump said, in order to promote fiscal responsibility as well as provide a safeguard against unreliable debtors. Some groups, such as the College Hill Independent, may have to clamp down on the brakes this semester, as The Herald reported last month. Unless advertising compensates for a $1,000 budget cut per semester, the Indy may only publish 11 issues instead of the usual 12, said William Smith, co-managing editor. Though the Indy receives over $10,000 in funding — more than any other student organization — the cost per issue is less than most other campus publications and more students contribute to it, Smith said. “They told us that everyone needed to make sacrifices. They kept saying that over and over,” Smith said. “The UFB needs to reassess its policy for funding new student groups at the expense of old ones.” Despite some claims of UFB recalcitrance and insularity, Deitch said he has received positive administrative and student feedback. “The theme for the whole year has been accountabili-
ty, communication and openness,” Deitch said. “We’re trying to change UFB from a closed, uncommunicative and mysterious organization to a communicative, accountable group.” Starting Wednesday, groups will have less paperwork. A new policy implemented by the Student Activities Office in conjunction with UFB eliminates the need for groups to notify UFB and the SAO prior to making a purchase to ensure a reimbursement. Each group’s funds are divided into sub-categories called “line items,” including travel, supplies and copying, among others. UFB divides the money for each line item after deliberation, by, for example, allocating copying funds to a group solely for the purpose of producing printed materials. In the near future, UFB plans to streamline the process by eliminating superfluous line items, Deitch said. To transfer money from one line item to another, a group must make a cogent proposal to UFB for approval, Deitch said. The process can be frustrating for student group leaders. “We have something like $900 per semester, and we didn’t use all of it,” said Jennifer Paul ’07, co-coordinator for Amnesty International at Brown. “It was partially due to all the sub-categories. I didn’t understand how to use all my funds, so that was frustrating.” But most Category III groups did not finish the semester with a UFB-provided budget surplus, Deitch said. Funding, especially this year, is invariably “less than ideal,” he said. To compensate for the deficit, UFB encourages groups to find ways to adapt and stretch the money further. “Everyone has to take up a little bit of the burden,” Deitch said. With limited funds to dole out from an annual budget of $788,392, UFB’s ability to fund more projects is contingent upon an increase in the student activities fee paid by each student, which constitutes the budget. Currently at $136, the fee can only be increased if UCS advocates for a change, but the deadline for a feeincrease proposal has already passed. “It was mostly my fault because we couldn’t organize all the necessary parties,” said Joel Payne ’05, UCS president. “We had a short window to make a proposal when I realized that the budget issue was as delicate as it was, and we didn’t have enough time to put together something really cohesive.” Payne plans to establish a longterm system that would automatically ensure fluctuation in the student activities fee in proportion to the rate of inflation. The new system would take into account the number of groups and the UFB budget, thereby reducing the need for an annual reassessment of the
situation, he said. As for now, groups will have to persist through the next year. Circle K, a subsidiary of the Kiwanis Club, an international community service organization, is ineligible for UFB funding on account of its Category I status. UCS decides the status of each group, often taking into account a group’s history. Circle K became an officially recognized group this year, but with so many others vying for UFB funding, the group was not able to secure Category II status, which allows for nominal financial support. As a result, the group has solicited funds from Kiwanis and other donors, said Olga Abinader ’05, vice president of Circle K. But the umbrella group has left Circle K without an umbrella. “There are some things I have to pay out of my own pocket,” see FUNDING, page 9
PAGE 8 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD MONDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2005
Pollard continued from page 12 credited with inventing modern football, called Pollard “one of the greatest backs these eyes have ever seen.” Pollard’s achievements on the field were not just lauded, but officially recognized as well. After Brown’s 8-1 campaign in 1916 he was named to Camp’s All-American Backfield. In the 1930s Camp would again honor Pollard by naming him to his “All-Time College Dream Backfield.” After college, Pollard continued his football career, playing professionally for the Akron Pros of the American Professional Football League, which would be renamed the National Football League in 1922. He was the first black player on the Pros, who went on to win the championship in 1920 after an undefeated season. The next year he became the first black professional football head coach, serving as player-coach
for Akron. He coached the Pros until 1926, then coached other NFL clubs in Indiana and Milwaukee, Wis. In 1933, the NFL owners created an agreement that effectively banned black players from the league. In response, Pollard started the Brown Bombers, a team comprised of black stars that went around the country playing against all-white teams for three seasons starting in 1935. The barnstorming Bombers were neither the first nor the last of Pollard’s entrepreneurial achievements. While at Brown, he was known around campus as the founder of Pollard Varsity Pressing Club, a service that pressed members’ shirts for $1 a month. His business was so successful that he was granted an additional room out of which to work. After retiring from football, Pollard went on to a successful career in the private sector. He founded the first black investment firm and the first weekly black tabloid in New York City. He also founded a movie studio
in Harlem and coal delivery companies in Chicago and New York. In a time of harsh racial conflicts, recognition of Pollard’s achievements was slow in coming. In August 1954, he was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame. He was also part of the inaugural class of the Brown Athletic Hall of Fame in 1971, and two years later was elected to the National Black Hall of Fame. After he died in 1986 at age 92, Pollard was posthumously named to Brown’s 125th Anniversary All-Time Team in 2003. In 2004, the Black Coaches Association, in concert with Brown, established the Fritz Pollard Award, which is to be given annually to the BCA’s male coach of the year. The winner also receives a $10,000 prize.
Discovery continued from page 5 cule did respond to, checking hundreds of cells over several months. “I would feel very happy if I could get one (to work) every day,” he said. His research has generated a lot of interest in the scientific community because of the novelty of the photoreceptor system. “Science tends to run in fads,” Berson said. “The story is so different, there is still a lot of buzz.” While melanopsin is found in the human eye, it is also found in regions deep in the brains of many other animals. Bird and lizards are synchronized to the day-night cycle without the use of their eyes, Berson said. In fact, light passes through many animals’ skulls to penetrate the area of the brain which controls the circadian rhythm. In mammals, the skull is too thick to allow light to pass through, so we have outsourced the same job to our eyes, with a “main line signal going right from the retina to the clock,” he said. Now that melanopsin’s role in this system has been defined, Berson and Qiu are trying to discover the other molecules in the cell responsible for creating the electrical signal. They suspect it is generated by tiny channels in the cell’s membrane that are structurally very similar to those found in the invertebrate eye. “It’s a little fly characteristic in the human,” Berson said with a grin.
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2005 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD PAGE 9
W. hoops continued from page 12 at 4-4. “It was an up-tempo game, and we were allowed to use our speed and athleticism to take it to them,” said co-captain Andrea Conrad ’05. “Right from the start, it was a physical game, but we were bigger, stronger and faster, and it showed.” Points were at a premium in the early going, as both teams played swarming defense and showed they were not afraid to get on the floor to go after the ball. During one of the many jump balls during the first half, it seemed as if tensions might boil over. With just over 12:30 left before halftime and the Bears
Eagles continued from page 12 Philadelphia, which hasn’t won an NFL title since 1960. The Eagles are 0-for-2 in Super Bowls, having lost to the Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl XV after the 1980 season. The only guy who showed up for the Eagles was Terrell Owens, who played with two screws in his right ankle and against the better judgment of his surgeon. Seven weeks after suffering torn ankle ligaments and a broken fibula, Owens was the best player on the field for the Eagles, making nine catches for 122 yards. Unfortunately for the Eagles, his teammates and coaches didn’t perform up to those standards. Once again, Patriots Coach Bill Belichick and his trusted defensive coordinator, Romeo Crennel, came up with a unique twist in the game plan to contain McNabb. Rather than use the 3-4 alignment with three down linemen and four linebackers, the Patriots switched to a 2-5, with two linemen and five linebackers. “We tried to get as much pass rush as we could,” Belichick said. “We knew chasing him around all day would be a tough proposition, so we tried to match up our best pass rushers.” The net result: McNabb was under duress throughout, and forced many of his passes. McNabb, one of the NFL’s best scramblers, rarely got out of the pocket to buy time. Three of his four sacks came in the first half; he was intercepted once in the first half and twice in the second. “This game could have been a blowout (for the Eagles),” McNabb said. “You take away those three interceptions, and we’re probably up two or three touchdowns. But that’s woulda, shoulda, coulda. Give them the credit.” The Eagles tried to get Westbrook involved, but the Patriots’ alignment helped shut him down. By keeping so many linebackers on the field, Westbrook had some space to work with, but not as much as he would have liked. Often covered by linebacker Tedy Bruschi, but also shadowed by linebackers Mike Vrabel and Ted Johnson, Westbrook’s effectiveness was limited. He did score a touchdown on a 10-yard pass with 3:35 to play in the third quarter, tying the game at 14-14. But he was not the impact player the Eagles had hoped for. Westbrook’s longest play from scrimmage was a 22-yard run, but
holding a 9-5 lead, Conrad got the ball near the right sideline. Columbia forward Adia Revell went after the ball and in the ensuing tie-up ended up flying out of bounds. When Bruno tried to inbound, Revell shoved Conrad, who pushed back. The referee only saw Conrad’s part and whistled her for a technical foul. Susan Kearn hit both free throws, but the Bears were in control for the rest of the half, taking a 30-20 halftime lead. For the second night in a row, the Bears controlled the second half, scoring 38 points to Columbia’s 24. The exclamation point on the victory was set by Robertson, who came running down the lane on a fast break with 4:43 left, caught the ball in the lane, spun in traffic and laid the ball up with one hand to give
the Bears a 59-40 lead and bring the crowd to life. Robertson finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds, her sixth double-double of the year. Hayes, meanwhile, led all players with 20 points. She also had three assists and nine rebounds. KingBischof turned in another excellent performance, scoring a career-high nine points. The sweep was a nice jumping-off point for the Bears, who travel to Dartmouth and Harvard next week, the teams in front of and behind Bruno in the standings. Two wins there would put the Bears in the driver’s seat in the race for the Ivy Championship. “This was a great weekend and a great sweep,” Conrad said. “There is no better way to lead into the next couple of weeks.”
that was on the final play of the first half. He had just 22 yards on his other 14 carries. As for Reid’s curious decision not to use the hurry-up offense late in the game, his explanation was just as mystifying. “Well, we were trying to hurry up,” he said. “It was the way things worked out.” Huh?
When your team is down by two scores with less than four minutes to play, how can you not go to the hurry-up? But the Eagles continued to huddle until just over two minutes to play. They finally scored on McNabb’s 30yard pass to Greg Lewis, who ran a post route, with 1:48 to play. They then attempted an onside kick that was recovered by the Patriots.
Funding continued from page 7 Abinader said. “Once you become an official group, I wish that would allow you to receive money.” John Butler ’07, vice chair of the Latin American Student Association, a Category III group, said he has needed to find other sources of revenue to back group initiatives, mostly through academic and administrative departments. When he applied last semester for a line item change, the request was denied. After questioning UFB’s reasoning, the response he got was inadequate, Butler said.
“They told me the vote, but they didn’t tell me why,” he said. “I try to avoid UFB when possible. Going through UFB is sort of an arduous process.” While Butler would rather not solicit for external funds, it’s a foregone conclusion that LASA will have to do so, he said. But requiring groups to divulge how much external revenue they receive on April’s budget application is unnecessary, Butler said. “The reason they’re asking for outside funding in the first place is because UFB is not giving groups enough money,” he said. “It seems counterproductive to say tell us how much outside funding you’re getting, and we won’t give you more money.”
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HERALD OPEN HOUSE Today, February 7, 2005 5 - 8 p.m. 195 Angell Street
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
EDITORIAL/LETTERS MONDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2005 · PAGE 10 S T A F F
E D I T O R I A L
Funds race Recent cuts in student group funding are no one’s fault. Brown students love to create clubs, political groups and publications. This activity should be encouraged. New organizations promote innovation and engage those who may not already participate in student groups. Unfortunately, the Undergraduate Finance Board has a limited budget, and as new student groups form, UFB must make tough decisions on how to dole out their $788,392 annual budget. In response to tightening budgets, groups ranging from the community service club Circle K to the Latin American Student Association say they will search for funding from non-traditional sources on- and off-campus. UFB will require groups to disclose such funding when they submit their budget proposals this April for the 20052006 academic year. But UFB Chair Adam Deitch ’05 and Representative Sarah Saxton-Frump ’07 indicated UFB has not come to a consensus on how this information will be used. Deitch suggested groups could be penalized if they do not show initiative in soliciting outside funds, but SaxtonFrump said some worthy groups could have trouble attracting donations because their causes may be less popular. Outside funding should certainly be considered when groups apply for UFB funding, but groups should be neither penalized nor rewarded for their success or failure in attracting donors. Not every club has the connections or know-how to levy outside funding, and off-campus dollars funneled to student groups often come with strings attached. Therefore, UFB should keep in mind its charge to the entire student body when making its budget decisions. If a speaker would interest a wide swath of the Brown community, UFB should provide funding for such an event, whether it funds the speaker in totality or contributes money to cover only what the student group was unable to raise from outside donors. UFB’s purpose is to dole out our student activities fees in a manner that benefits the greatest number of undergraduates. UFB should not push student groups into a fundraising rat race.
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
Jason Lee, Night Editor Allison Kwong, Sonia Saraiya, 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, Aidan Levy, Allison Lombardo, Meryl Rothstein, Joel Rozen, Jen Sopchockchai, Jonathan Sidhu, Lela Spielberg, Stefan Talman, Jane Tanimura, 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 Conservative finds Smolenski compelling To the editor: Natalie Smolenski’s opinions column (“The much-discussed wake-up call,” February 3) was a breath of fresh air. While most political articles are an exercise in boredom, shamelessly regurgitating the talking points of the Democratic Party, Smolenski’s article provided a sound argument and a tempered approach to liberalism. Her insights into current American politics are both compelling and accurate, and she does well to expose the great liberal myth that Democrats are somehow above morality. Rather than irrationally insulting conservatives and their elected leaders, Smolenski turns an eye towards her own
party, pointing out both the strengths and weaknesses of its political philosophy. While I am no liberal, I appreciate her well-reasoned analysis and ability to point out mistakes within her ranks. I also appreciate her efforts to embrace the liberal morality rather than shunning it. I hope that another article, one further explaining how Dems can work outside of government to affect change, is forthcoming. One note: I think that all Americans, not just liberals, regard the three-fifths compromise with equal horror. Kent Haines ’07 February 3
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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
OPINIONS MONDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2005 · PAGE 11
Reforming the Undergraduate Finance Board GUEST COLUMN BY CALEB KARPAY As a freshman accustomed to thinking of Ivy League schools as some of the richest institutions in the world, I was unnerved to hear about the College Hill Independent’s recent budget cuts. According to an article in The Herald (“Indy among student groups feeling budget squeeze,” Jan. 28), the cause of the cuts was not due to a decrease in the quality or readership of the Indy, but was instead made in order to “accommodate a growing number of student groups.” Most students choose a school because when they go to visit, they intuitively like the place and the people. While this “feel” is very hard for a school administration to create, student groups are one of the most important components of this atmosphere. Student life and student activities are what make or break a school. That said, the Undergraduate Finance Board has a fundamentally wrongheaded way of distributing funds. The UFB says its goal is to “support financially to the greatest extent possible given limited resources every eligible student group to meet its goals based on its needs,” yet as the case of the Indy shows, this needbased approach means strong groups still can suffer. When we go to Thayer Street, we don’t go to Antonio’s because we think Mr. Antonio needs the money, but because it’s wicked good pizza. We should distrib-
ute funds on the same principle. Each group should receive money according to its service to the community, not according to how much it needs the money. We should not be in the business of propping up groups just for the sake of having a certain number of groups, espe-
dent decide how to break up the student activities fee of $136 that they are currently being individually charged. We would thus be in the position of valuing what certain groups do (or don’t do) for the community, and promoting or demoting them in the most democratic
We don’t go to Antonio’s because we think Mr. Antonio needs the money, but because it’s wicked good pizza.We should distribute funds on the same principle. cially if those groups do nothing for the community. Service can mean everything from organizing social events to political activism, but like a tree in the forest, we need to hear it if it’s going to fall. We don’t get any benefit out of a dance no one goes to, nor do we benefit from an activist group that doesn’t let us in on their activism as well. I’d be pretty concerned if there were activist groups on campus that didn’t want everyone to know they existed, but our current system allows for such groups not only to exist, but also to actually receive funding. One solution would be to let each stu-
forum possible. While I’m sure that the UFB and Undergraduate Council of Students try to distribute funds in a correct and informed manner, they’re never going to be as “smart” as all of us when it comes to supporting our most vibrant student groups. Some might argue that with this “unregulated” approach, various activities will not receive as much money as they need to operate. However, under the current system, many groups don’t receive any funding at all, or just a nominal “social budget” of $90. If we changed
the setup, given our yearly contributions of $136, it’s more than likely that a selfinterested member of some under-funded group would give at least $90 of their discretionary dollars to their own group. In order to let students know what groups were doing and what they needed, we could hold an activities fair similar to the one held for freshmen. There, students would pledge amounts to specific groups after hearing their respective sales pitches. Money would go where we felt it belonged, in the hands of the groups that made Brown a dynamic place to be. This market atmosphere would remind student groups that they are not meant to be inwardly focused, but that they should rather develop a presence on campus. While students may be concerned that the diverse array of activities will be compromised if we let “the masses” decide, I don’t think this will prove to be a problem at Brown, a place where we are conditioned to value variety. There is no reason why a small group of students like the UFB should appropriate funds based on need. Instead, the criterion should be a student group’s value to Brown’s campus — something the entire Brown student population is most fit to decide.
Caleb Karpay ’08 speaks for the masses.
ROB SAND
George W. Bush: anti-corporate crusader? It looks like the Bush administration might finally do something good — something amazing. Maybe I should know better, but I think there has got to be some good in him somewhere just like any other person. Could this be it? The New York Times reported this weekend that the president will “seek deep cuts” in farm subsidies and commodity programs in his upcoming budget. Yet his proposal amounts to more than cuts: it is much-needed reform. Bush is finally taking action regarding massive spending deficits, and wants to cut $587 million in aid to farmers next year and $5.7 billion over the next 10 years. More importantly, he wants to close a subsidy limit loophole consistently exploited by wealthy corporate farmers. Anyone connected to agriculture will tell you that government subsidies are an essential part of the business. As one Iowa farmer told me this summer, “For a lot of farmers, government payments make the difference between being in the red or being in the black.” Agricultural subsidies in the past, however, have done perhaps as much harm as good by becoming “America’s largest corporate welfare program,” as Brian Reidl of the Heritage Foundation puts it. A new kind of big business — big agribusiness — has begun taking over farming and the lion’s share of farming subsidies. Currently, the richest 10 percent of farmers — agribusiness owners operating massive factory-style farms — collect 60 percent of farm subsidies. These farms have Donald Trump-style wealth compared to the dire straits of most family farms. They are large enough to afford selling their product at prices their smaller competitors cannot afford when prices are high, and can create artificial scarcity when prices are low by simply letting their extra product rot. Instead of fostering competition, the subsidies make rich farmers richer and poor farmers poorer. They have
Currently, the richest 10 percent of farmers — agribusiness owners operating massive factory-style farms — collect 60 percent of farm subsidies. These farms have Donald Trumpstyle wealth compared to the dire straits of most family farms. quickened the death of farming as a way of life, turning it into just another business. How did this happen? Rich farmers with the resources to do so found loopholes in the previous subsidy collection limit of $360,000. They exploited the loopholes repeatedly in order to collect far more than was intended — J.G. Boswell Company, a California cotton operation, collected $5.6 million in 2002 alone. The Environmental Working Group estimates that such devious exploitation added up to $1.7 billion in unnecessary subsidies in both 2001 and 2002. President Bush’s proposal would fully close this loophole. If it sounds to you like President Bush might stand up against powerful, wealthy interests, you heard correctly. As EWG President Kenneth Cook told the Times, “I am stunned and impressed. The Bush administration is opening the door to reform on the most contested issue in agriculture policy today. Taxpayers will no longer have to subsidize the demise of the family farm.” Cook thinks these cuts will also reduce pressure on Congress to make cuts to soil and water conservation programs, which are in need of greater funding as it is. What remains to be seen is whether the president has the intestinal fortitude to actually go through with his proposal. Personally, I doubt it — over 100 farm groups
have indicated their readiness to lobby hard against it, and I’m having some difficulty recalling a single instance when Bush stood up for the little guy. But here’s to hoping he’s had a change of heart and will stick to his guns to close this loophole. It would be even more impressive if Bush made a commitment to pushing radically decentralized agricultural production. Locally-grown foods bring greater diversity to local economies, use fewer herbicides, pesticides and fertilizers, and necessitate only minimal transportation from the vine to your plate. This means not only tastier food, but more economically sustainable farming that vastly reduces the health and environmental costs associated with pollution from agricultural chemicals and commodity transportation. Yes, expecting such a commitment from President Bush is laughable. But then again, until just a few days ago, so was the idea that he would attempt to close a corporate welfare loophole. While every one of his past actions gives me reason to doubt that Bush will indeed stand up to wealthy interests, let’s cross our fingers that one cowboy has come to his senses.
Rob Sand ’05.5 can shuck corn faster than you.
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
SPORTS MONDAY FEBRUARY 7, 2005 · PAGE 12
Fritz Pollard ’19 gets longoverdue invite to Canton BY BEN MILLER SPORTS EDITOR
Almost 100 years after he played his last game in a Brown uniform, Frederick Douglass “Fritz” Pollard ’19 has been elected to the Professional Football Hall of Fame. He will be formally enshrined Aug. 7 in Canton, Ohio. Pollard was selected for the Professional Football Hall of Fame on Saturday, along with quarterbacks Dan Marino, Steve Young and Bennie Friedman, who played in the NFL from 1927 to 1934. Pollard “was a humble, small person,” said Artemis Joukowsky ’55 P’87, chancellor emeritus and author of “Ever True: This History of Brown Football.” “He was fast as the devil,” Joukowsky said. “He could run with an incredible sense of balance. Every photo you see of him he is running practically parallel to the ground. He was able to keep his momentum
going forward without falling.” Pollard was a leading part of Brown’s 1916 team that played in the first annual Rose Bowl against Washington State University. Earlier that season Pollard helped lead the Bears to back-to-back wins over Yale and Harvard, a feat that had never been accomplished before by any school. Against the Bulldogs, Pollard gained 307 yards and scored one touchdown in Bruno’s 21-6 victory. The next week, against the Crimson, Pollard accounted for almost half of Brown’s rushing yards and scored two touchdowns. He also exhibited twoway skills, intercepting two passes in the Bears’ 21-0 victory. According to “Ever True,” during his time at Brown, Pollard was described by newspapers such as the New York Globe as “the peer of any man now occupying niches in the football hall of fame.” Walter Camp, who is see POLLARD, page 8
INTs, bad clock management among Eagles’ fatal mistakes BY BOB GLAUBER NEWSDAY
Three interceptions thrown by Donovan McNabb. Not enough juice from Brian Westbrook. Horrendous clock management late in the game by Andy Reid. Outguessed and outblocked. Any more questions about why the Philadelphia Eagles couldn’t beat the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots? The Eagles talked a good game all week about how the Patriots were beatable and about how they were ready to become the first team in franchise history to win a S P O R T S W E E K E N D R E S U LT S
Super Bowl. But in the end, poor performances by nearly all the critical players and coaches doomed the Eagles in Sunday night’s 24-21 loss at Alltel Stadium. Westbrook had 44 yards rushing and 60 receiving, and needed twice that much for the Eagles to have a chance. Reid was calling plays as if it were the first quarter when the Eagles were trailing by 10 points with less than four minutes to play in the fourth. And the Eagles’ blitz-happy defense was negated by New England’s superior blocking from its offensive line and running backs. Put it all together, and the suffering continues for the city of
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 4 Women’s BASKETBALL: Brown 64, Cornell 46 Men’s ICE HOCKEY: Vermont 3, Brown 1 Women’s SWIMMING: Brown 169, Yale 131 Men’s SQUASH: Brown 9, Tufts 0; Brown 9, MIT 0 Women’s SQUASH: Brown 9, Tufts 0 Men’s BASKETBALL: Cornell 76, Brown 75 Women’s ICE HOCKEY: Dartmouth 6, Brown 3 WRESTLING: Brown 32, Princeton 11 SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 5 Women’s BASKETBALL: Brown 68, Columbia 44 Men’s ICE HOCKEY: Dartmouth 3, Brown 1 Men’s TENNIS: Brown 7, Colgate 0 Women’s TENNIS: Brown 7, Colgate 0 Women’s SQUASH: Yale 9, Brown 0 Men’s SQUASH: Yale 9, Brown 0 Men’s BASKETBALL: Brown 54, Columbia 52 Women’s ICE HOCKEY: Brown 1, Vermont 0 Men’s TRACK: 5th of 10 (URI Invitational) Women’s TRACK: 2nd of 8 (URI Invitational) Men’s SWIMMING: Yale 175, Brown 66; Columbia 134, Brown 107 (at Yale) GYMNASTICS: Rutgers 190.750, Pitt 190.050; Brown 186.000, Rockport 183.450 (at Rutgers) SKIING: 2nd place (MIT Carnival) WRESTLING: Drexel 31, Brown 7; Penn 19, Brown 12 SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 6 Men’s TENNIS: N.C. State 4, Brown 3 SKIIING: 2nd place (Brown Carnival) FENCING: Brown 14, MIT 13
see EAGLES, page 9
Weekend sweep of NY schools has w. hoops second in Ivies BY BEN MILLER SPORTS EDITOR
The women’s basketball team showed no ill effects from last week’s loss to the University of Pennsylvania, exhibiting superior athleticism and defense in two blowout victories over Empire State rivals Cornell, 6446, and Columbia, 68-44, this weekend. The sweep gives the Bears a league-best 13-6 overall record and puts them in second at 5-1 in the Ivy League, a half game ahead of rival Harvard. “I’m very pleased with the depth of the team,” said Head Coach Jean Marie Burr. “The players have focused on their defensive goals, and now it has sparked the offense.” Friday night, the Bears faced a Big Red squad that came into the game 2-15 overall and 0-4 in league play. Despite its poor record, Cornell refused to quit in the first half, battling back from an eight-point deficit over the last 4:45 to enter halftime trailing 33-31. “We were flat, needed some intensity with what we do well. We have a lot offensive threats, but they have to work hard,” Burr said. Cornell might have taken the lead going into intermission if it had not been for Ashley KingBischof ’07. The team’s sixth woman, King-Bischof led all scorers in the first half with eight points despite playing only 10 minutes. While the individuals that came out on the floor for Bruno to start the second half may have been the same, they played like an entirely different team. The Bears scored the first eight points of the half, including six from center Holly Robertson ’05. “Coach Burr laid the law down and said that we must play better defense,” Robertson said of Burr’s halftime speech. “She said that we need to take more pride in the fact that we
Ashley Hess / Herald
Ashley King-Bischof ’07 had 17 points and seven rebounds in the Bears’ weekend sweep of Cornell and Columbia. have Brown written across our chests.” The Bears held the Big Red scoreless for the first four minutes of the second half and continued to dominate the rest of the way, allowing only 15 points, seven of which came from the free throw line, for the last 20 minutes of play. Bruno shot 42.4 percent for the half, more than double Cornell’s 4-of-20 shooting performance. In addition, the Bears forced 23 turnovers and recorded 16 steals. A large part of the Bears’ success in the second half was a more established inside-outside game between Robertson and Bruno’s perimeter players. Standing four inches taller than the competition, the 6’5” Robertson used her size advantage to pour in 11 points in the second half. She finished with a game-high 18 points, along with
nine rebounds (five offensive) and four blocked shots. “They didn’t have anyone that matched up height-wise,” Robertson said. “I tried really hard if the ball came in to me to kick it out. I was looking for the open shooter, and the double team didn’t seem to be as strong tonight.” Co-captain Sarah Hayes ’06 also performed well for the Bears, scoring 15 points and grabbing eight rebounds. She continued to exhibit her impressive perimeter defensive skills, notching six steals. The next night, the Bears took on Columbia (10-9, 3-3 Ivy). In a fast and very physical game, Bruno took the lead on its first offensive possession and never looked back. The Lions managed to tie the score only once, see W. HOOPS, page 9
Super Bowl win makes NE that much warmer At roughly 10:30 Sunday night, I left the comfort of my Hope College dorm room and ascended to Cloud Nine. It wasn’t even one of those CHRIS MAHR “This is the MAHRTIAN greatest moment ENCOUNTERS of my life” feelings. I just had a feeling of contentment, an inherent knowledge that everything was going to be all right. So what if I had 120 pages of reading due tomorrow? So what if I was thus far unable to land a summer job? So what if I had no real career ambitions? I had a warm feeling nestled in my stomach that won’t go away for some time, and that’s all that mattered. What’s great about this new feeling of confidence in the New England air is knowing your team will triumph, overcoming whatever deficit, injury, or vengeful act
of God in the way. That 7-0 lead the Eagles took midway through the second quarter? No problem, just respond with a demoralizing response drive. Breaking through against a daunting Philly blitz? Just screen them to death and let Tom Brady throw darts to Deion Branch. Stopping Donovan McNabb? Will three interceptions and perpetual harassment do? New England sports teams, you spoil me. Yet, at this stage the Pats are merely the instigators of the good vibes, not the source of it. New England had more or less established itself as the new sports capital of the world when the Sox broke their 86-year drought back in October. That made it two professional sports championships within the course of a year, something I would have been more than content with. Yet in these
salad days of New England fandom, there was destined to be more. I was shocked like anyone else at the Boston College men’s basketball team’s 20-0 start (keep in mind that they play five minutes down the road from my house, hence my loyalty). I was not shocked about the Patriots rumbling through the regular season and following it up with a business-as-usual postseason resulting in a third title in four years. It seemed rather ho-hum, truth be told. This recent success has suddenly made the New England winters easier to tolerate. It doesn’t matter if it’s one degree outside with a wind chill of -11, because we are the new sports capital of the world. When baseball season ends, the Patriots are in the middle of another great season. When football season
ends, we suddenly have the BC basketball team to keep us entertained well into March and, I hope, into the first few days of April. And whenever BC’s run in the NCAAs comes to a close, we have the defending World Champion Red Sox opening their season against a 41-year-old with shaky knees and a bad back. Oh, how sweet it is. Can the good times last forever? Right now, as much as I would like that to become a reality, I know that nothing lasts forever, particularly total sports supremacy. But why not soak it in while it’s still fresh? Anything beats complaining about the weather. Sports editor Chris Mahr ’07 hails from Newton, Mass. Although he is an admitted fairweather Pats fan, he still loves Boston sports like life itself.