Thursday, February 10, 2005

T H U R S D A Y FEBRUARY 10, 2005

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Volume CXL, No. 12

POST- IS IN THE AIR Lonely on Valentine’s Day? We’ve got your Feb. 14 survival guide

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COPS SAVE LAPTOPS Student alerts DPS to theft in progress; no one injured in arrest of two larcenists

INSIDE

Clinton to speak April 29

CAMPUS NEWS

3

PHYSICS DEPT. RESPONDS Professor Chung-I Tan: Dept. committed to encouraging women in the field O P I N I O N S 11

TODAY

TOMORROW

wintry mix 34 / 24

snow 34 / 18

Blizzard cleanup cost U. $60k

DAYS OF OUR LIVES

BY ERIC BECK SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Former President Bill Clinton will give a University-sponsored public address in Meehan Auditorium April 29.

Clinton will also speak to students as the centerpiece of the Northeast College Democrats Convention that weekend, according to Brown College Democrats President Seth Magaziner ’06.

Clinton’s public address will focus on policy issues, while the speech to the Democrats — at which some space will be reserved for members of the public — will be “more political in tone,” Magaziner said.

Clinton will waive his large speaker’s fee for both events.

The charismatic former commander in chief “probably gets 1,000 requests a week” for speaking engagements, Magaziner said.

The College Democrats conference, which was held for the first time at Northeastern University last year, will be limited to around 500 students, half of whom will be from Brown, Magaziner said.

Registration has not begun for the event, but “we anticipate that because of Clinton, we’ll have unusually high demand,” he said.

Past speakers such as Howard Dean and Richard Perle have drawn over-capacity crowds when speaking in the Salomon Center, leaving many interested community members outside. The University hopes to host Clinton in Meehan Auditorium, with a simulcast of the speech to the Pizzitola Memorial Sports Center, according to the Brown News Service.

The University will issue a limited number of free tickets for the address.

Clinton, a graduate of Georgetown University and Yale Law School, has spoken at Brown once before, at a private memorial service for Clinton family friend Casey Shearer ’00 in May 2000.

The last U.S. president to give a public address at Brown was Jimmy Carter, who spoke at the opening of the Watson Institute for International Relations in 1986, Magaziner said.

— Herald staff reports

Mantak, helps explain why she suspects most date rape incidents at Brown are not reported. “Unfortunately there is a lot of stigma in reporting a date rape for people who have been assaulted by someone they know,” Mantak said.

“The people who are more comfortable filing reports and the kind of situations we are (hearing about) in emails are ones where the person is a stereotypically true victim,” Mantak said.

Such “stereotypical” situations typically involve “date rape drugs” such as GHB, Rohypnol, or Ketamine. Mantak suggested students protect themselves by covering any open drinks with their hand, not accepting drinks from

Thanks to this week’s warmer weather, the Main Green is nearly green again — the snow from last month’s blizzard is beginning to melt. But students are still carefully navigating narrow and icy sidewalks lined with piles of snow — evidence of the highest snowfall accumulation in Rhode Island in 27 years. And the snow and sleet expected this afternoon could make matters worse.

The University’s efforts to clear the snow dumped by the blizzard began on the evening of Saturday, Jan. 22, when crews from the Department of Facilities Management worked 18 hours to clear sidewalks and driveways. With a break of only 16 hours, the team returned for another 12 hours — an effort that cost the University over $60,000, John Noonan, vice president for facilities management, told The Herald in an e-mail.

Noonan, who could not be reached for an interview, wrote that Facilities Management is responsible for clearing snow from all sidewalks and driveways adjacent to University buildings, as well as interior sidewalks such as those on the Main Green. But the University contracts out snow removal for offsite buildings, such as those in the Jewelry District, he wrote.

Facilities Management works closely with Disability Support Services to develop a snow response plan that ensures that routes traveled by people with limited mobility are among the first cleared, said Catherine Axe, coordinator of DSS. Axe described the response to last month’s blizzard as pretty smooth, though she noted that the sheer volume of snow made the job more difficult.

Facilities Management dedicates specific crews to clearing paths for those with limited mobility, Axe said, noting that the crews need to be aware that handicapped entrances are frequently located on the side or rear of a building.

She said Facilities Management gives out the cell phone numbers of snow-clearing crews to students with limited mobility to ensure a quick response if students find their paths blocked.

Even two weeks after the blizzard hit Rhode Island, Brown’s Facilities Management is still working to keep campus sidewalks free from ice, Noonan wrote.

“We are still currently removing snow daily to increase our number of parking spots lost because of the storm and to make room for plowing of additional snow,” he added.

The University’s snow removal equipment includes four pickup trucks with plows, four sand and salt spreaders, and 10 tractors with plows or buckets, Noonan wrote.

As for the streets of Providence, the city’s Department of Public Works keeps all city streets clear, said John Nickelson, the department’s director.

Nickelson said property owners are required to keep sidewalks adjacent to their property clear, a regulation enforced by the Providence Police Department.

Chris Fortin, manager of Tealuxe on Thayer Street, said store owners typically keep the sidewalks on Thayer Street clear,

see ASSAULT, page 5

see CLEANUP, page 8

Juliana Wu / Herald

Students gathered in the Hourglass Café Wednesday to study, socialize and enjoy live music.The Café is open Monday through Thursday from 6 p.m. to 12 a.m. and expects to host free live music every Wednesday and Thursday night.

Providence ‘back on track,’ Cicilline ’83 says

BY ROBBIE COREY-BOULET METRO EDITOR

After years of government corruption and economic stagnation, Providence is “back on track” and poised to reap the benefits of reform, Mayor David Cicilline ’83 said in his METRO State of the City Address Wednesday night.

But Cicilline said the city still faces many challenges as his first term progresses, from a struggling public school system to budget constraints imposed by state and federal lawmakers.

Cicilline centered much of his speech on the city’s recent economic gains, highlighting GTECH Corp.’s decision to locate its headquarters across from the Providence Place Mall as well as new businesses opening along Westminster Street — developments that offer “a sneak preview of

the future of downtown Providence.”

This renewed interest from CEOs and developers reflects a shift in the Providence business environment, signifying an era of “accountability and transparency” in municipal government, Cicilline said.

The projects — epitomized by the nine new businesses that have opened on Westminster Street in the past 12 months — demonstrate that Providence has largely shed the reputation of a corrupt local government “that had lost its way,” Cicilline said.

But such economic progress is weakened by state and federal policies that place a strain on urban programs and taxpayers, he said, citing as an example the “gutted” budget for the federal Community Development Block Grant Program, which promotes see PROVIDENCE, page 4

Prevalence of date rape on campus unknown

BY MARY-CATHERINE LADER SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Most date rape situations go unreported, according to University officials, though the report of a sexual assault this past weekend may have raised student awareness.

An e-mail crime alert sent out Sunday notified the University community that a female student had been subject to a “sexual assault.” The Providence Journal reported Wednesday morning that the student had been raped. This has not been confirmed to The Herald by the Providence Police Department.

According to Director of Health Education Frances Mantak ’88, Health Services receives two or three reports of date rape each year. “But that doesn’t tell us much about the prevalence (of

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date rape), unfortunately,” Mantak said.

“In general, rape is the most underreported crime, and acquaintance rape is the most underreported of rapes,” said Gail Cohee, director of the Sarah Doyle Women’s Center. “We try to coordinate reports (with Health Services), but we all know it’s underreported.”

Given the difficulty of measuring date rape incidence within a community, Mantak relies largely on national statistics. These statistics, listed on the Health Services website, report that one in every 10 college women has been raped in her lifetime. For those women raped while in college, nine out of 10 offenders were not strangers to the victim.

The relative frequency of this socalled “acquaintance rape,” said

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THIS MORNING THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2005 · PAGE 2 Coreacracy Eddie Ahn

Interested in reporting? Photography?

Copy editing? Design? Graphics?

Stop by

The Herald at the Activities Fair Today, February 10, 2005 6 p.m. - 9 p.m., Leung Gallery Jero Matt Vascellaro

TO D AY ’ S E V E N TS Taboo and opacity are two sides of the same phenomenon. The talk is based on his forthcoming book,“Israel's Last Taboo.”

‘ISRAEL’S LAST TABOO’ 4 p.m. (McKinney Conference Room, Watson Institute) — Avner Cohen will discuss Israel's ultimate national taboo — its policy of "nuclear opacity"— and the manifestations of this taboo in a variety of discursive and institutional forms.

Because of this policy, the tension in Israel between democratic values (e.g. transparency, accountability, the right of the citizen to know) and demands for secrecy based on security claims have reached unprecedented heights.

MID-YEAR STUDENT ACTIVITIES FAIR 6 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. (Faunce House) — Over 140 student groups will be at this year's Mid-Year Student Activities Fair.

There will be performances, music, presentations, and much more. Come see what other students are up to, and what you could be involved in!

Penguiener Haan Lee

MENU SHARPE REFECTORY LUNCH — Hot Turkey Sandwich with Sauce, Mashed Red Potatoes with Garlic, Sugar Snap Peas, Chocolate Cherry Upside Down Cake, Sugar Cookies.

DINNER — Braised Beef Tips, Baked Sweet Potato with Honey and Chives, Sunny Sprouts, Summer Squash, Sourdough Bread, Tapioca, Chocolate Sundae Cake.

VERNEY-WOOLLEY DINING HALL LUNCH — Vegetarian Mexican Bean Soup, Lobster Bisque, BBQ Beef Sandwich, Eggplant Parmesan Grinder, Cauliflower, Sugar Cookies.

DINNER — Vegetarian Mexican Bean Soup, Lobster Bisque, Roast Turkey with Sauce, Vegan Roasted Vegetable Stew Mashed Potatoes, Stuffing Whole Kernel Corn Green Beans, Sourdough Bread, Chocolate Sundae Cake.

Chocolate Covered Cotton Mark Brinker

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Apt name for a herding dog 5 Keats’s “The Eve of St. __” 10 Pointer’s pronoun 14 New Age musician John 15 Montana county named for its first governor 16 Move, realtorstyle 17 Ascot, notably 19 Donations 20 All over 21 Places for wranglers 23 Mighty Ducks’ org.

24 Double-check a check 27 Pasta pick 28 Surgeon’s procedure 30 Staples supply 32 “An Iceland Fisherman” author Pierre 33 Coloring name 35 Decorative pitcher 36 Kind of space 37 Fortuneteller’s reading material 41 Conspicuous 43 Race in a Wells novel 44 Garb seen at 21Across 47 Impish expressions 48 Certainty 49 Pool member?

52 LAPD ranking 53 Faith __ 55 Maintenance worker 57 Sea World attraction 58 Mountain road sign 61 Scraps 62 Gill of country 63 Operatic slave girl 64 Aberdeen gal 65 Kid brothers, at times 66 Alphabet quartet

DOWN 1 Choke 2 Busiest European airport 3 Snowball 4 Fen-__: banned diet aid 5 Square things 6 Dutch cheese 7 Neither partner 8 Raised transports 9 Futurist 10 Professional publication 11 Treasure State capital 12 Amaretto flavor 13 Prepares, as salad 18 Guaranteed: Abbr.

22 Autobahn auto 25 Crime lab procedure 26 Ranking member 29 Top-notch 31 Civil wrong 33 USAF Academy site 34 Pompeii attraction 1

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Homebodies Mirele Davis

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE: U G H S P E A K S O L O F A H A G L A T A P H I S P E N C E N E R N A R I V T A X E O X E N G E N E O D O R

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By Allan E. Parrish (c)2005 Tribune Media Services, Inc.

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02/10/05

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The Brown Daily Herald (USPS 067.740) is published Monday through Friday during the aca-

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CAMPUS NEWS THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2005 · PAGE 3 IN BRIEF

Spring Weekend planners continue to discuss scheduling conflict University student activities officials and representatives from numerous student organizations met Thursday night to discuss Spring Weekend’s scheduling conflict with the Jewish holiday of Passover but did not arrive at a firm resolution.

Ricky Gresh, director of student activities, said individual campus organizations will discuss the proposed scheduling alternatives among their members before finalizing any recommendations.

Over the past weeks, the University has reached out to student leaders from the Brown Concert Agency and Class Coordinating Board, among other groups, to find ways to maximize community participation during Spring Weekend while respecting the religious needs of Brown’s Jewish population, Gresh said.

Talks will continue into next week with a possibility of a decision by the end of the week, Gresh said.

Sentiments on campus have been mixed due to a lack of knowledge about possible alternatives.

“I don’t have enough knowledge of the University’s alternatives to make an informed judgment,” Ben Arfmann ’07 said.

Some students are unsure of the degree to which events can be shifted, given the short notice.

“Ideally, there wouldn’t be a conflict,” Matt Sawh ’08 said. “It’s worth trying (to reschedule), but I’m not hopeful as to whether confirmed acts can be changed.”

— Stephen Narain

Alert student, DPS officers foil laptop thieves Thanks to the effort of an alert student and Department of Public Safety officers, two would-be laptop thieves were caught and arrested early Sunday morning on the Pembroke Campus.

According to the DPS report, two men were seen walking out of a New Pembroke dorm room with two laptops around 2:30 a.m. Sunday. A female student, noticing the two men, raised a minor commotion about the possible larceny, which alerted a DPS officer just outside the dorm. Several other campus officers were called to the scene and the two men, who were not Brown students, were arrested, said DPS Capt. Emil Fioravanti.

“Everything worked out really well, and no one was hurt,” Fioravanti said.

“The laptops were recovered and it was just a good ending for the people who potentially could have lost a laptop.”

Fioravanti suspected that the victims had left their doors unlocked, which allowed the thieves easy access to the laptops. He warned students to keep their doors locked.

— Stu Woo

Hamilton still engulfed in speaker controversy Prof. who wrote Sept. 11 essay came to Brown in 2002

BY JUSTIN ELLIOTT CAMPUS WATCH EDITOR

Hamilton College became embroiled in a media-fueled conCAMPUS WATCH troversy last week after it was discovered that a University of Colorado professor invited to speak at the New York college had written an essay in which he called victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks “little Eichmanns,” in reference to Nazi leader Adolf Eichmann.

After widespread national media coverage, threats of violence caused the cancellation of the professor’s visit, but discussion and reflection have continued this week at Hamilton.

The professor, Ward Churchill, a tenured member of Colorado’s Ethnic Studies Department, was originally scheduled to come to Hamilton’s Clinton, N.Y., campus Feb. 3 to speak about prisons and Native American rights, his areas of scholarly interest. After the outcry over Churchill’s essay began, Hamilton President Joan Hinde Stewart ordered that the event be changed to a panel discussion on “Limits of Dissent” at which Churchill’s views could be confronted.

The essay in question, titled “Some People Push Back: On the Justice of Roosting Chickens” and written on Sept.

11, 2001, has been the object of denunciation particularly for its argument that the civilians who died in the terrorist attacks were not innocent victims.

Of those killed in the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, Churchill wrote, “They formed a technocratic corps at the very heart of America’s global financial empire. ... If there was a better, more effective, or in fact any other way of visiting some penalty befitting their participation upon the little Eichmanns inhabiting the sterile sanctuary of the twin towers, I’d really be interested in hearing about it.”

The controversy at Hamilton began after the student newspaper, the Spectator, published a story on the front page of its Jan. 18 edition about Churchill and his essay, according to Spectator Editor-in-Chief Ian Mandel.

Mandel told The Herald that from there the story “kind of snowballed from our paper to the local papers to the national media.”

Churchill did not incite controversy when he appeared at Brown in April 2002 as part of a conference entitled “Imprisoned Intellectuals: A Dialogue with Scholars, Activists and (Former) U.S. see CHURCHILL, page 5

PAGE 4 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2005

Providence continued from page 1 the revitalization of urban neighborhoods.

Such financial obstacles stem from “the Republican leadership in Washington” that “has stacked the deck for the wealthiest and created enormous deficits,” Cicilline said. Also, state lawmakers continue to burden cities and towns with inflated property taxes that compromise the availability of affordable housing as well as the profitability of owning a business, he said.

One new program meant to address this issue is CommerceDirect, which Cicilline said offers $25,000 loans to start-up businesses and “decreases the amount of red tape involved in getting approved.”

The Main Street Investment Program will distribute capital to the city’s commercial districts, further encouraging economic growth, he said.

Providence’s economic turnaround has been buoyed by gains in public safety spearheaded by Chief of Police Dean Esserman, Cicilline said. The department’s efforts led to an 11-percent reduction in violent crime last year, while neighboring cities Boston and New Haven, Conn., both saw increases in violent crime.

Cicilline said he will continue to promote the “renewed sense of trust (that) is pumping new vitality into the economy.”

Cicilline also announced the creation of the “Mayor’s Roadmap for a Greater Providence,” a series of goals incorporating every municipal department that “is already serving as the playbook for every city worker.”

The Roadmap is designed to advance the five priorities Cicilline emphasized when he took office in 2002 — healthier neighborhoods, high-quality education, improved public

safety, economic growth and fiscal integrity.

The goals of the Roadmap will be evident in the city’s response to everyday problems, such as road hazards, as well as more complex issues, like the affordable housing crisis, he said.

Cicilline also took time to highlight recent public education milestones, such as improved test scores and financial reform that has made the district “one of the most financially efficient school districts in New England.”

These improvements reflect the hard work of district employees, Cicilline said, particularly the “masterful” district superintendent Melody Johnson.

Providence resident Angelo Adams told The Herald he appreciates Cicilline’s efforts to promote after-school programs and secure educational funding for the city.

“The other stuff to me is just politics,” he said. “When you have something that’s transparent … it makes it easier. He’s very transparent.”

After his prepared remarks, Cicilline told The Herald that Rhode Island Education Commissioner Peter McWalters’ recent ruling that outlined plans to improve Providence’s troubled Hope High School is emblematic of “a much larger challenge we face.”

Though the ruling represents a concerted effort on behalf of district administrators and faculty to address Hope’s most pressing issues, Cicilline said Providence public schools require additional resources allocated from the state level to foster improvement.

The most recent budget proposal issued by Governor Donald Carcieri ’65 “doesn’t address the issue,” Cicilline said.

“Refinancing public education has to be the priority,” said Jonny Skye Njie ’95, adding that a dramatic “disparity between the haves and the have-nots” currently plagues the school

Cicilline said Providence public schools require additional resources allocated from the state level to foster improvement. system.

“We need to redefine what dignity looks like and apply those values to the public schools,” he said.

Providence resident Paul Jones said he believes Cicilline’s discussion of property taxes was the speech’s most important issue. He approves of efforts to find “other ways to fund educational and business initiatives,” he said.

Fred Guggenheim said he believes Cicilline “has worked really hard to bring a lot of important things to the city,” calling his ability to gain the trust of businesses and government employees “Kennedyesque.”

But Andrew Panciotti Sr. said he doubted whether Cicilline had fully shed the “politics of the past,” particularly questionable policies that benefit business owners.

“Of course there’s preferential treatment,” Panciotti said. “That hasn’t changed at all. I’d like to see him enjoy this term. I don’t think he’ll get another one.”

Cicilline delivered his address to a crowd of nearly 200 in the Rhode Island Convention Center’s Rotunda Ballroom.

Outside the convention center, members of the Providence Fire Department picketed the speech, hoisting signs that read “The Mayor’s Rhetoric is Costing You Money” and encouraging Cicilline to resolve city firefighters’ ongoing contract dispute.

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

CAMPUS NEWS THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2005 · PAGE 5

UCS discusses WebCT printing, STD tests At its general body meeting Wednesday night, the Undergraduate Council of Students’ Campus Life Committee discussed plans to work with Health Services to change its HIV and STD testing policy.

Currently, members said, tests may not be confidential, depending on students’ insurance providers.

Other initiatives discussed at the meeting included free printing from WebCT, the Brown University Community Council and replacing lost or stolen street signs.

The Admission and Student Services Committee reiterated its

goal of making WebCT printing free, so students will not have to “budget their education,” said Brian Bidadi ’06, chair of the committee.

The Brown University Community Council received 48 applications for four available positions, Appointments Chair Ben Creo ’07 said. Applications are being reviewed, and the selected members will soon assume the duties of their newly created positions.

UCS intends to work with Computing and Information Services to raise the visibility of wireless locations on campus so students can take

advantage of the available technology, Representative Schuyler von Oeyen ’05 said.

The council is also working to make sure the 85 lost or stolen street signs on and around campus are replaced, said Associate Member Sara Damiano ’08.

Members of UCS committees have begun holding office hours at various times in the Sharpe Refectory and the Verney-Woolley Dining Hall in order to directly address any questions or concerns students might have, members said.

— Laura Supkoff

Churchill

times on the Fox News Channel program “The O’Reilly Factor,” a section of Hamilton’s Web site opened to comment from the public was flooded with negative responses.

Several posters identified themselves as alums and voiced their disgust with the college, while others wrote that they were formerly prospective students but no longer

plan on applying to Hamilton.

Despite many public calls for Churchill’s visit to be cancelled, including a Wall Street Journal editorial calling on Hamilton alums to boycott the college’s capital campaign, Stewart initially stood by the event, citing free speech concerns.

“But there is a principle at stake, for once the invitation was extended ... and accepted by Ward Churchill, it became a matter of free speech,” Stewart said in a Jan. 30 statement.

But Feb. 1, two days before Churchill’s scheduled visit, Stewart canceled the event due to “credible threats of violence.”

Churchill has since resigned his position as chair of Colorado’s Ethnic Studies Department but stayed on as a faculty member. He has received threats of personal violence.

At Hamilton, students and faculty are still grappling with questions that arose out of the controversy, according to Mandel. Stewart took questions at a Tuesday campuswide discussion. A faculty panel Wednesday night featured four Hamilton professors discussing academic freedom.

“It’s still a hot issue — we’re still talking about it,” Mandel said.

Mandel said there is widespread agreement that a diversity of opinions should be offered at Hamilton, but “the thing that people have a problem with is the way this guy expresses his views ... that’s where the disparity of opinion is.”

As to whether Hamilton’s reputation has sustained long-term damage, only “time will tell,” said Hamilton Director of Media Relations Vige Barrie. Barrie said Hamilton’s administration doesn’t know what, if any, effect the controversy will have on the college’s capital campaign or on volume of applications.

“Probably our greatest concern is how this might have distracted all of us from our primary mission, which is running a college, and that’s the unfortunate part,” she said.

continued from page 3 Political Prisoners on War, Dissent and Social Justice.”

After Churchill’s scheduled visit to Hamilton became a national news story and was featured several

Assault continued from page 1 strangers and avoiding punch bowls that could have been spiked with dangerous substances. But although last weekend’s incident, when the victim may have been drugged, has created an opportunity to address date rape, Mantak said it involves “elements that are not all that common.”

“One of the most common things in general, and one of the most common things that happens at Brown, is acquaintance rape,” Mantak said.

“I think students come to Brown thinking they’re going to be safe from crime, that crime happens somewhere else and we’re in this bubble where bad things don’t happen,” Cohee said.

“Date rape is a problem for everyone, everywhere, but particularly this age group.”

“It’s important to emphasize that we see it in all situations,” Mantak said. “It’s not just at offcampus bars from strangers.

We’ve seen it at on-campus parties.”

She suggested students make plans to leave parties together and look after their friends. “It can happen with people you know and it can happen with just alcohol,” Mantak said. “In fact, alcohol is the most common date rape drug.”

Students can find information about date rape situations, drugs, and the Brown policy on sexual

misconduct through the Health Services Web site. Individuals who may feel symptoms of a date rape drug or want to report a crime should call Brown’s Department of Public Safety at 863-4111. Although assaults must be reported within 72 hours in order for physical evidence to be collected, students can seek counseling through Psychological Services regardless of how recently an incident occurred.

Several support programs, including the Advocate Program run by Cohee at the Women’s Center, are available to victims, but are often underutilized because students voice concerns through so many different channels, including the Office of Campus Life and peer counselors.

Health Services aims to educate students about sexual assault through table slips, posters and, this past fall, a mandatory session on date rape for all first-years during orientation, among other things.

“I think there are lots of gaps in knowledge,” Cohee said. She added that she and others at the Women’s Center are willing to give programs about sexual assault if students express interest.

“We can always do more,” Mantak said. But she hesitated to differentiate date rape at Brown as a problem distinct from that of any other university.

“I don’t think Brown is any different, better or worse, because we all live in the same world,” said Mantak.

RISD team to build solar house

BY CHELSEA RUDMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

On the evening of Feb. 3, RISD SOLAR invited Providence families to a presentation of its solar house design in a dual effort to raise funds and educate the community. The house will be entered in the national Solar Decathlon competition this fall. With construction scheduled to begin in less than a month and the team still $200,000 shy of its projected fundraising goal of $350,000, the team was pleased to see “a really positive response” from the community, according to Fundraising Committee Chair Cristina Zancani-Tabena RISD ’05.

Coordinated by the U.S. Department of Energy, the Solar Decathlon competition challenges participating teams to construct a self-sustaining, energy-efficient solar home. Houses are judged in categories ranging from “Architecture” to “Energy Balance,” so teams must address both aesthetic and technical aspects in their designs. The DOE hopes the Solar Decathlon “will keep pushing the state of housing in the United States … (as well as) advance research and development,” according to Mike Wassmer of the National Renewable Energy Lab. Calling himself a technical liaison between teams and organizers, Wassmer spoke from experience on both sides of the competition, as he was a student on the winning team of the University of Colorado at Boulder in the 2002 competition.

Wassmer outlined the DOE’s specific goals, which included “improving home design and quality of life in and around the house” and “developing more beneficial ways to produce and use energy.”

He called the contest “the educational opportunity of a lifetime for the policymakers,” emphasizing that the competition is intentionally held on the National Mall while Congress is in session.

Wassmer said he personally witnessed the interest lawmakers take in the competition when he showed Boulder’s design to Colorado representatives in 2002.

The contest also yields benefits for the participating students and institutions, Wassmer said.

Aside from hands-on experience and technical knowledge learned, students acquire an excellent addition to their resumes. At job interviews after his own experience on the Boulder team, the Decathlon “was all prospective employers wanted to talk about,” he said.

Specifically addressing the RISD design, Wassmer, who will not be on the judging panel at the competition, called RISD “an early favorite” and said the team’s “drawing set was a work of art.”

The scope of the competition is national, and RISD will be the only team representing Rhode Island. “We should have support from our community,” Zancani-Tabena said.

RISD Adjunct Professor of Architecture Jonathan Knowles, who co-heads the project with RISD senior faculty member William Yoder, said that since the project started, about 50 students have been involved, including several Brown engineering and architecture students.

Currently, engineering students Stephen Pepe ’05 and Alex Bowman ’05 are representing Brown on RISD SOLAR. The two became involved through Brown’s chapter of Engineers Without Borders, which Bowman founded. see RISD, page 8

PAGE 6 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2005

In India, dirty needles used for immunization can spread other diseases

Rama Lakshmi / Washington Post

Jayalakshmi Nair, an Indian health worker, administers a vaccine against leprosy and tuberculosis to a 3-month-old at a village immunization clinic. About 65 percent of all injections in India are unsafe because of improper sterilization, syringe re-use or incorrect injection practices.

BY RAMA LAKSHMI THE WASHINGTON POST

Ad s w i l l a p p e a r i n T h e He ra l d o n Va l e n t i n e’s D a y, Fe b. 1 4 A L L A D S A R E P R E PA I D. D E A D L I N E I S F E B. 1 1

GUDAMB, India — As soon as a rural health worker, Jayalakshmi Nair, walked into this village on a recent visit, she began encouraging women to bring their children to receive immunizations against such life-threatening diseases as tuberculosis and leprosy.

But as she set up a makeshift office with a table and chair in the courtyard of an elementary school, she knew that she could be spreading other illnesses.

By the time the mothers reluctantly lined up with wailing children in their arms, Nair had begun using a pot of water that had been heated over a wood fire to clean her reusable syringe. For two hours, Nair dipped used needles in the lukewarm water for a few seconds with her bare hands before re-using them.

“There is no power in the village most of the day. For sterilization we are supposed to carry kerosene and cooking stove with us to the villages,” Nair said, capping the needles before she pre-

pared to use them again.

“But for six months there has been no kerosene supply. So I have to make do with whatever I have,” she said, acknowledging the risks associated with unsterilized equipment. “For me, immunizing the children is a bigger priority.”

For shots against tuberculosis and leprosy, she used the same needle and glass syringe for each child, pausing between patients by briefly dipping the needle in the steel pot. For diphtheria shots, she changed the needle but used the same glass syringe for each injection without any attempt to sterilize the equipment.

Government-run immunization sites such as Nair’s in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh are a major danger zone for the spread of blood-borne infections such as Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and HIV, according to a study funded by the World Bank last year. Nair is a government nurse in the state’s see NAIR, page 9

PAGE 8 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2005

Fencing continued from page 12 The men’s team fell to eighthranked Harvard 4-23, despite solid effort. The women also fell short, 5-22, in their attempt at dethroning the No. 4 Harvard women.

“We have to be able to shake off previous losses and fence each bout like it’s the first of the day,” Edson said. “We can’t get bogged down in being discouraged or frustrated about things we could have done in other bouts. We have to just gather what energy we have and keep fighting. That can be hard to do when you’re coming off a bad loss.”

The Bears fared better in the match against the University of Pennsylvania. Despite an overall loss of 7-20 for the women and 819 for the men, two of the Bears’ squads were victorious over the Quakers. Men’s sabre ended its match 5-4, while Schneider led her epee squad to a 5-4 victory.

Schneider, who had in the previous round defeated Harvard’s number-one female epeeist, long-time rival Jasmine McGlade, 5-2, went 11-4 for the tournament.

The win over McGlade was especially important to Schneider, who had faced her five times previously, winning only once.

“She absolutely tore Jasmine apart when they fenced the last bout of that round,” Edson said.

“It wasn’t enough to get us a victory over Harvard, but it was such a beautiful bout and so satisfying to watch that we really didn’t care.”

In the last two matches of the tournament, the men and women shared split victories.

The women lost to Cornell 819, but defeated the University of North Carolina 14-13.

With women’s epee and sabre ending their matches 7-2 and 4-5 against UNC, respectively, the foil squads battled for the victory all the way to the last bout. Foil anchor Jennifer Hausmann ’07 ended the 13-13 tie with a hard-fought win against UNC’s last fencer.

“She often ends up being our saving grace, since foil is usually the last weapon to finish,” Edson said. “So if the other squads have it tied up 13-13, we don’t tell her we need her to win it for us, but then we descend on her with cheers and hugs once she comes through for us.”

On the other strip, men’s epee, foil and sabre squads defeated Yeshiva University 5-4, 9-0, and 7-2, respectively. Despite the easy

victory, the men could not build any momentum off of it, and fell to UNC 12-15.

Setting the losses of the tournament aside, the Bears now gear up to send their full team to the post-season tournaments.

“Overall we did very well,” Tass said. “It’s just that yesterday was not our day. The tournament here at home turned out to be fantastic. And the tournaments of the last semester all ended up in a very positive note, so we had a winning record. And that shows that we are in the right track. We are looking forward to repeat our good performance of the season into the championships,” Tass said.

The fencers return home to the OMAC Saturday, Feb. 26 for the second time this season to host the ECAC Championships.

Cleanup continued from page 1 even though the building owner or leaser is legally responsible.

“It would be foolish not to,” he said.

Even with clear sidewalks and roads, students still find themselves struggling through the canyons created by snow piles on the sides of roads and sidewalks.

Though the city clears snow from the roads, Nickelson said it uses trucks to remove snow piles from road shoulders only in the central business district downtown.

“There’s not much you can

RISD continued from page 5 The group was “looking for projects in Providence related to appropriate technology or environment,” Bowman said, and RISD SOLAR “was perfect.” The engineers will be “interfacing between RISD people and engineering firms” throughout the construction process, according to Bowman.

“Our expectations were far fulfilled” with regard to the community’s response to the presentation, Zancani-Tabena said. She said fundraising is “a long process” and the event was just the first step in a series of steps that the team hopes will ultimately yield needed

W. swim continued from page 12 Kruger ’07 doing the same in the latter.

For the Bulldogs, the streak came to a merciful end as sophomore Moira McCloskey edged Brush in the 200-yard backstroke. But the Bears did all they could to downplay the Bulldogs’ first win, as Brush, Jessica Brown and Lindsay McKenna ’07 took second, third and fourth, respectively.

The Bears did not win again until the final event, the 400yard freestyle relay, which was won by a team of Robinson, Wong, Brandstetter and see W. SWIM, page 9

do about that except to wait for it to melt,” Fortin said.

The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority shut down after Governor Donald Carcieri ’65 declared a state of emergency, said Karen Mensel GS’92, RIPTA’s director of marketing and communications.

With the exception of Kennedy Plaza and other RIPTA properties, the authority relies on the state’s Department of Transportation and local municipalities to clear roads, Mensel said, adding that the blizzard’s aftermath did not cause any significant detours or service disruptions.

“We came through the whole thing in pretty good shape,” she said.

funding. Though no other similar evenings are planned for the near future, the fundraising committee will be busy over the next few weeks following up with the connections made at the event.

This week marks the third and final deadline for the team: submission to the central coordinators of its complete construction documents.

Construction of the module on South Water Street is scheduled to begin in March. The team hopes to be finished before graduation in June.

After a summer of exhibition to the public, the team will deconstruct the house for transport down to Washington and will begin its final construction Sept. 29, entering the final phase of a two-year long journey.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2005 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD PAGE 9

Nair continued from page 6 Saharanpur district, where only 38 percent of the population has received immunizations, officials said. They have reported outbreaks of measles in the region almost yearly.

Officials said they expected a significant change with the decision to begin introducing autodisable syringes in all of their immunization programs, starting this year.

The AD syringes, as they are known, are single-use injection devices that work by locking the plunger of the syringe after a dosage has been administered, making re-use impossible.

About 250 million to 300 million immunization injections are given in India every year and the

switch from glass to AD syringes is being made despite a significant cost increase in India’s immunization program, officials said.

“Protecting children by the right immunization device is central to increasing child survival rates in India,” said Marzio Babille of UNICEF, which has used AD syringes in trial programs in India. “Introduction of AD syringes boosted demand for immunization by 20 percent in the villages we work in, because parents see that the shots are painless and safe,” Babille said.

According to the World Bankfunded study conducted by a nongovernmental consortium, the Indian Clinical Epidemiology Network, or IndiaCLEN, about 65 percent of all injections in India are unsafe due to improper sterilization, syringe re-use or incorrect injection practices. And 69

W. swim

Lanza

continued from page 8

continued from page 12

Kowalsky. This completed the exceptional meet for the Bears, a day they felt was a fitting sendoff for the team’s seniors.

“This was our seniors’ last home meet,” Wong said. “I think everyone wanted to give them something to look back on with pride.”

Mirch echoed the sentiment.

“We wanted to make it a memorable experience,” she said, “and thank them for everything they have given to this team.”

Now the Bears must prepare for the Ivy League Championships Feb. 24-26 in Princeton, N.J. Especially after their last showing, the Bears have the confidence that they can compete for the ultimate prize.

“A win like this to end the dual meet season puts us in a very good position going into the Ivy Championship,” said Jessica Brown. “We’ve got the momentum going and just have to keep doing what we’ve been doing and we’ll do well in the Ivies.”

Coach Brown believes, after a strong season with an even stronger finish, that his team has the right to be self-assured about their chances at the Ivies.

“I believe we are confident,” he said. “We sure should be.”

bona fide all-star and top-five player in the league more than Dwyane Wade this season?

Everyone knew he was talented, especially after the playoffs last season, but did anyone suspect he’d be putting up numbers like 23.6 ppg, 7.2 apg and 5.2 rpg one year later? I knew Miami would be great with the addition of Shaq, but little did I know that the Diesel wouldn’t even be the best player on his own team. For those of you who only catch Wade highlights on SportsCenter (mostly acrobatic dunks, the occasional spin into the reverse fall-away), try watching an entire Heat game.

Every time he touches the ball is a highlight.

Biggest Disappointment: I love Flip Saunders and the Big Ticket as much as the next guy, but has any team fallen from grace harder than the Minnesota Timberwolves? A year ago at this time they were still being mentioned as one of the top teams in the league.

Now, they’re at .500 and just lost to the Celtics (Tony Allen what?). Spree looks older than ever, Wally Szczerbiak is still stealing passes from his own

percent of injections administered in government-run facilities were found to be unsafe.

Beset with the problems of irregular and inadequate supply of equipment, India’s race to increase immunization coverage has often meant taking shortcuts on safety procedures.

“India has one of the largest immunization programs in the world,” with tens of thousands of sites, many of which use glass syringes, said Pradeep Haldar, a Health Ministry official.

“Monitoring each site is impossible. Injection safety has been compromised because sterilization is a cumbersome, time-consuming process.”

The World Health Organization estimates that at least 50 percent of the world’s 16 billion injections administered each year are unsafe, posing serious health risks.

teammates and Sam Cassell still looks like an alien. It’s just not working for them, or for KG. 2004-2005 NBA Champions: It will be the San Antonio Spurs. I’m not just saying that because they currently have the best record in the league.

The core three of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobli have emerged as the most dominant, experienced and entertaining threesome since Rick Solomon and his camera teamed up with Paris Hilton for a cinematic masterpiece.

They’re all in their prime, they’re playoff-tested, they’re proven winners and they don’t have to go through Shaq to get to the finals this year. No team is more solid offensively and defensively. They’re also 2-0 against the Suns, with one of those wins being a 21-point whipping. Other than the Seattle Supersonics, no other team even has a remote chance of taking them in the postseason.

Sold? Good. Now let’s all hope David Stern reduces Ron Artest’s suspension so we can get some more antics with him and Stephen Jackson before the playoffs begin.

Marc Lanza ’06 thinks everytime he writes a column, it’s a highlight.

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

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

E D I T O R I A L

State of College Hill Now that Mayor David Cicilline ’83 has delivered his “State of the City” address, we’ve heard this month the state of nearly every geographical group in which we claim membership — except College Hill.

Businesses are leaving Thayer Street en masse. The street losing its unique quirkiness is sad, but if a mega-chain like the Gap can’t survive, there must be a bigger problem than meets the eye. The Thayer Street Improvement District needs to examine ways to make Thayer Street, as a whole, just as appealing an option to consumers as Providence Place’s one-stop convenience. Otherwise, businesses will never survive here.

Parking problems also plague College Hill. For a situation that has existed for so long, little seemed to be getting done about the parking crunch until recently. Finally, some steps are being taken. Brown’s RIPTA subsidy for students and staff is encouraging the University’s population to leave cars at home, and the conversion of the lot behind Minden Hall gives visitors to the University a place to park while on tours and at meetings.

Finding parking for prospective Thayer Street customers is the next logical step in solving the parking puzzle.

Neighboring Hope High School is indeed emblematic of a larger problem with Providence schools, as Cicilline told The Herald Wednesday night. Providing more money for schools from the state level would not be just throwing money at the problem — schools in Rhode Island are enormously underfunded. Taking steps like appointing a “special master” to oversee Hope’s three communities will be ineffective if the resources to make positive change are not present.

The coming arrival of GTECH just beyond College Hill will be a boon to both college students and staff, who will benefit from the research opportunities presented there, and to R.I. residents who will benefit from the jobs the business will create. We’re also glad that soon, the big, ugly construction project drawing the ire of local residents won’t be one belonging to the University.

After taking note of all that is going on around them, Brown students need to think about Ward 1 City Councilman David Segal’s words in his Feb. 3 column in The Herald. After seeing Brown students’ efforts in New Hampshire during the November election, Segal said students could “achieve real change” by applying that same persistence to issues that face residents of College Hill. We are lucky to be living in an area like College Hill, a place where Brown students spend the majority of four years of their lives. For all the benefits we get from living in this area, it should be natural to give back.

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, Features Editor Kira Lesley, Features 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 Robert McCartney, Senior Accounts Manager David Ranken, Senior Accounts Manager Kathleen Timmins, Senior Accounts Manager Lisa Poon, Marketing Manager Ryan Shewcraft, Technology Officer Abigail Ronck, Senior Business Consultant 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

Kishore Kumar, Night Editor Katie Lamm, Lela Spielberg, Copy Editor 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, Jane Tanimura, Jessica Weisberg, Melanie Wolfgang, Anne Wootton Sports Staff Writers Kathy Babcock, Zaneta Balantac, Stephen Colelli, Ian Cropp, Justin Goldman, Bernard Gordon, Katie Larkin, Matt Lieber, Shaun MacNamara, Chris Mahr, Ben Miller, Eric Perlmutter, Jilane Rodgers, Marco Santini, Charlie Vallely 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, Judy He, Matthew Lent, Nick Neely, Bill Pijewski, Kori Schulman, Sorleen Trevino Copy Editors Chessy Brady, Jonathan Corcoran, Eric Demafeliz, Leora Fridman, Allison Kwong, Suchi Mathur, Cristina Salvato, Sonia Saraiya, Zachary Townsend, Jenna Young

NICK SCHADE

LETTERS U. should not fund student music downloads To the Editor: I am very sorry to hear that the University is considering putting down a load of money for a music download service (“U. considering legal alternatives for student music downloads,” Feb. 7), apparently without properly justifying why it is doing so at all. This is especially amazing amidst broad budget cuts.

This move raises real questions about how the University views its priorities, as well as what values it wants to teach us.

The more colleges take on the role of the Entertainer and Beneficent Giver, the less attention academics will attract. Prospective students will come to evaluate their choices based on the entertainment package rather than on the educational

life and active student culture, which are truly what make a university environment unique.

Furthermore, by keeping students in the evaporating dreamworld of the last few years in which music is always free, the University ensures that we continue to take no responsibility for what we all knew was illegal, however unjust CD prices are.

If we want to listen to proprietary music, we of all people can afford to buy it ourselves. If we’re too cheap, let’s make our own music.

It is precisely the notion that the University is a shopping mall and we are the consumers who are always right and must be pampered that seriously damages Brown’s hope for a convivial future.

Nathan Schneider ’06 Feb. 9

Writing Fellows Program remains a wellappreciated and vital resource To the Editor: As the Director of Brown’s Writing Fellows Program, I am always grateful for The Herald’s coverage of our work, and I appreciate your lead article and editorial on the subject of writing at Brown.

While it is true that our resources are stretched thin this semester, I take that as a positive sign that the Brown faculty members are committed to supporting the writing instruction of their students.

The program’s founding principle is that all writers would benefit from starting to write papers early while receiving helpful feedback on drafts of their essays. In spite of the fact that some students may

resist writing more than one draft of a paper, endof-semester evaluations indicate that 90 percent of students in Writing Fellows courses find us an effective and welcome resource.

We try to reach as many undergraduates as possible. The University must balance many competing budgetary claims, and we are grateful for the continuing support of the Dean of the College.

Dr. Rhoda L. Flaxman Director, Writing Fellows Program Director, Dean of the College Writing Programs Adjunct Assistant Professor of English Feb. 9

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

OPINIONS THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2005 · PAGE 11

Clarifying misimpressions about the Dept. of Physics GUEST COLUMN BY PROFESSOR CHUNG-I TAN I was disturbed as well as saddened when I read the Herald’s report about negative perceptions of the Department of Physics last week (“University Striving to Improve Academic Climate for Women,” February 2). As the chair of the Department of Physics, I am writing to assure all concerned students that the department is fully committed to making the highest level of physics teaching and research available to both men and women undergraduate and graduate students.

It is often the case that an article of this type, written in the backdrop of the recent Harvard controversy, does not always portray the situation accurately or completely.

The Physics faculty takes teaching very seriously, but the Herald’s article unfortunately did not reflect this positive attitude. It also did not mirror our department’s commitment to encouraging women in physics. For example, we host the Women in Science and Engineering office in Barus and Holley and have strongly supported their efforts for a number of years.

But nonetheless, perception is often part of reality. If the perception among any group of our students is reflected to any degree by this article, we must carry out a serious self-examination on how this perception came about and on how it can be rectified.

We are greatly concerned about the absence of women faculty in the Department of Physics, but given our limited ability to hire new faculty, this is not an easy issue to address. Last year’s death of Prof. Mildred Wigdoff removed a pioneering woman physicist from our department. We recently hired an outstanding woman physicist who serves as an excellent role model for students and are pressing for permission to bring other such superb scientists to Brown. Given the current lack of women professors, we also work to invite female

scientists to speak at our colloquia and seminars and serve as mentors to our students.

I would like to clarify several misleading impressions the Herald’s article generated. First of all, the situation of female students in physics at Brown has generally been improving in recent years. A quick look over the past decade indicates that the number of our female physics concentrators has been on the rise. Several recent, stellar, female undergrads have continued their studies in physics at prestigious graduate schools such as Harvard and Stanford, and many of our women students are among the best students in our research groups.

The Department of Physics is at the forefront of welcoming diversity, including women, to its ranks of faculty and students.

The Herald’s article suggested that the Department of Physics lacks concern for our female students. Although I was unable to be at the WiSE meeting a week ago Friday, I understand that it was very productive, with many frank and useful exchanges. Constructive suggestions were made, and good things were said about physics and our faculty, which were unfortunately left unreported in the Herald’s article. It is also worth pointing out that, although faculty were not explicitly invited, several of our deparment’s faculty were present, another indication that our faculty do care about these issues.

A special physics faculty meeting is scheduled tentatively for next Wednesday, when David Targan, Associate Dean of the College, and Brenda Allen, Associate Provost and Director of Institutional Diversity, will discuss their concerns and ideas with us. A meeting with concerned female physics students is also being organized. One important issue we would like to concentrate on is the retention of women in physics and how the support system can be improved. To this end, we have invited the former chair of the Harvard Department of Physics, a national leader on increasing diversity in physics, to give a colloquium on “Physics and Women” this spring.

Once we have had these opportunities to learn more about the concerns of women in our department, we will develop and implement a clear plan, and shall continue to address this matter.

The Department of Physics is at the forefront of welcoming diversity, including women, to its ranks of faculty and students. These efforts have been in force for many years, and will be continued in the future. Just as we try to provide quality teaching, so will we be vigilant in assuring that there is neither official nor unofficial prejudice against women in our department.

We will continue to strive to make studying physics an exciting as well as a nurturing experience for both men and women at Brown.

There is no room for bias in the scientific enterprise, which must remain open to ideas from every member of the community. Although the continuing deficit of women in the physical sciences is a national problem, at Brown we are working to be leaders in addressing this matter.

Professor Chung-I Tan is the Chair of the Department of Physics.

WILL CODRINGTON

In response to the incoming Bush team The televised State Department celebration of Colin Powell’s tenure was bittersweet, marking the imminent departure of the old Bush team and the arrival of a new.

As Republicans control all three branches of the federal government, the Democrats have an extraordinarily difficult task ahead of them. To preserve America’s social safety net— government-run social security, funding for the failing public school system, expanded health care coverage — and to increase allied support abroad they must subject the conservative agenda to a dense gauntlet of scrutiny and opposition.

Democrats need a cohesive political machine that will shift the focus of Capitol Hill debate and they must begin by attacking the President’s nominees for posts in the several branches of government. Only by highlighting the deficiencies of Mr. Bush’s team can they gain the support of the citizenry. Their attempts in several recent nomination hearings have been mediocre.

Perhaps the best performance from the Democrats occurred in the last two weeks in the confirmation hearings of the new Attorney General. Gaining only partisan support, Alberto Gonzales barely made it out of the Judiciary Committee’s confirmation session, with a 10-8 vote. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-New York, stated correctly that the nominee is “less polarizing than John Ashcroft.”

On the Senate floor, Gonzales faced rough criticism for a memo that claimed, in reference to enemy combatants and terrorist suspects, that the “new paradigm renders obsolete Geneva’s strict limitations on [the] questioning of enemy prisoner[s].” Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass rightly bashed Gonzales for his failure to answer numerous questions about the creation of the memos, all but one of which remain secret. Former Secretary Powell, by the way, attacked the Gonzales position on several grounds in a January 2002 memo of his own, warning of “widespread condemnation by allied nations” and that we could be encouraging “enemies to find ‘loopholes’ to

not apply the Geneva POW Convention.” He ultimately was confirmed with 36 votes against him — an abominably low level of support.

Condoleezza Rice survived a confirmation showdown full of caustic attacks from Barbara Boxer, and to a lesser degree from John Kerry, receiving the least senatorial support in the floor vote of any incoming Secretary of State in almost 200 years. In today’s interconnected global community it is appalling that America’s chief diplomat does not have the overwhelming support of the first branch of government. How can we feel comfortable that she will reestablish ties across the world if she cannot

Only by highlighting the deficiencies of President Bush’s new team can the Democrats gain the support of the citizenry. even have Congress unified behind her? In a sense, overcoming Senate objections was the easy part for Condi.

Her leadership, if it is to be called that, of the National Security Council was marked by her inability to communicate numerous warnings of the then-looming terrorist attacks prior to September 11th. Only time will tell how she will lead this administration to deal with the pressing situations in nations like Iran, North Korea, and the Sudan.

Contrary to the cries of the majority, President Bush’s judicial nominees are almost always confirmed. The few who were blocked — Miguel Estrada, Janet Rogers Brown and Pricilla Owens — are well publicized anomalies. With

about 85 percent of those nominated having been confirmed and 204 vacancies filled in the first term, President Bush has very little to complain about, save the 10 or so failed nominees about whom he is so persistent.

This confirmation rate has remained high despite the fact that some even failed to win the support of their respective senators. Perhaps most important is the question of who will replace Chief Justice Rehnquist and fill the other potential retirements from High Court during this term. No change on the bench has occurred in more than a decade and the average age of the Justices is slightly over 70. It will be necessary to appoint a leader who will both work well with senior Justices and maintain some sense of unity amongst the nine. Hopefully, the President will not turn again to the Charles Pickerings and the William Pryors — candidates so unqualified that they required controversial recess appointments to secure a position on the federal bench.

At least for the next two years, Democrats are going to have to deal with the political environment shaped by the 2004 election. In order to stay afloat, they need to foster a strong sense of cohesion amongst themselves, like congressional Republicans did in the mid-1990s. In order to gain seats in two years, they need to muster support against extremist nominees and act on their fierce opposition to far-right ideals. Democrats are going to have to follow the lead of their more outspoken members and train the newest of their battalion in the art of bareknuckle politics. The Gonzales committee hearings should serve as a model for the Democrats; their challenges sent a firm message to the nominee, the president and the citizenry that persons who exhibit hasty and poor judgment will be under close scrutiny within the halls of the Capitol. Until 2006, scrutiny is all the clout the minority party has.

Will Codrington ’05 is the king of bare-knuckle politics.

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

SPORTS THURSDAY FEBRUARY 10, 2005 · PAGE 12

W. swimming wins eight straight events to end regular season with rout of Yale

Ashley Hess / Herald

In their final meet of the regular season the women’s swimming and diving team dominated the Bulldogs, winning nine events, including eight straight.

BY CHARLIE VALLELY SPORTS STAFF WRITER

In its final dual meet of the season Friday at the Smith Swim Center, the women’s swimming and diving team routed a strong Yale squad (8-4, 4-3 Ivy League), 169-131. The Bears dominated from the outset, winning the first eight events of what was expected to be a close contest. With the win, the Bears are now 6-3 overall, 5-2 in the Ivy League.

“I think Yale was really surprised that we were able to perform like we did,” said Elizabeth Wong ’06. “I think they were expecting it to be a close meet as well.”

But instead, it was a blowout from the

start.

The Bears began their winning streak in the 400-yard medley relay, as Jessica Brown ’05, Aly Wyatt ’08, Lauren Zatorski ’08 and Eileen Robinson ’06 combined for the victory. Next, Dillon Delaney ’08 won the 1,000yard freestyle, finishing first by 2.41 seconds and recording a personal best time of 10:22.63.

“She kept things rolling after the firstplace finish in the relay,” said Katey Mirch ’06 of Delaney.

Her teammates did the same. In the third event, the 200-yard freestyle, Becky Kowalsky ’07 touched the wall first. Then

Jessica Brown won the 100-yard backstroke, with Emily Brush ’07 and Katie Brandstetter ’07 finishing third and fourth respectively.

With the momentum fully in their favor, the Bears cheered each other on to keep the streak alive.

“Everybody was pretty focused (going into the meet),” Mirch said. “But there was also a lot of team spirit. When people weren’t racing, they were on the side cheering. After winning the first few events, people got excited and just wanted to keep it going.”

Head Coach Peter Brown said that such team chemistry has been instrumental to the team’s success.

“I am proud of our team effort,” he said.

“Everyone is on the same page and that’s important — the women are doing a nice job of getting behind each other.”

Julia Lippe-Klein ’07 then notched a victory in the 100-yard breaststroke, with Wyatt ’08 finishing second.

If the Bears had yet to assert themselves over the first five events, they certainly did so in the sixth. Meredith Cocco ’07 led a 1-4 sweep of the 200-yard butterfly, swimming a personal best time of 2:04.46. Ashley Wallace ’07, Bridgette Cahill ’06 and Mirch rounded out the sweep.

The winning streak was capped off by Eileen Robinson, who won both the 50and the 100-yard freestyle, with Wong and Zatorski taking third and fourth in the former event, and Brandstetter and Lis see W. SWIM, page 8

Split squad for w. track takes second at URI

BY KATIE LARKIN SPORTS STAFF WRITER

It was a busy weekend for the women’s indoor track team, which competed in two meets and won both.

Saturday, part of the team traveled to Kingston to participate in the University of Rhode Island Invitational. Seven teams competed, with the Bears finishing second.

It was a close competition throughout the meet, and though several top performers had been sent to New York City for the Armory Invitational, the team still finished only 2.3 points behind host URI. Finishing in first place were Fara Kitton ’05 in the 55-meter hurdles with a time of 8.38, and Kelly Powell ’06 in the 800-meter run, beating her opponent by 2 seconds.

Jaylon White ’05 placed second in the 55meter, scoring for her 7.37 second-performance. Also scoring on the track were Lauren ECACHL STANDINGS Men’s Ice Hockey Team ECACHL 1. Cornell 12-2-2 2. Colgate 11-4-1 2. Harvard 11-4-1 4. Vermont 9-5-2 5. Dartmouth 9-7-0 6. Brown 7-6-2 7. St. Lawrence 7-8-1 8. Union 7-10-0 9. Clarkson 6-9-1 10. RPI 4-11-1 10. Princeton 4-11-1 12. Yale 3-13-0 Women’s Ice Hockey Team ECACHL 1. Dartmouth 13-1-0 2. Harvard 12-1-1 3. St. Lawrence 11-2-1 4. Yale 9-5-1 5. Brown 8-7-1 6. Princeton 6-5-2 7. Colgate 5-7-2 8. Clarkson 4-9-1 9. Cornell 3-12-1 10. Vermont 3-11-0 11. Union 0-14-0

Pts. 26 23 23 20 18 16 15 14 13 9 9 6

Overall 16-4-3 19-8-1 14-6-2 15-10-3 12-9-2 12-7-3 13-13-2 11-17-1 10-16-2 12-16-2 6-15-2 4-18-1

Pts. 26 25 23 19 17 14 12 9 7 6 0

Overall 20-2-0 14-6-2 21-4-3 11-12-1 11-10-2 12-6-4 12-13-2 9-12-6 3-15-3 5-20-3 5-21-1

Hale ’07 in the 200-meter dash, Micol Monaghan ’07 in the mile and Kathleen Loughlin ’07 in the 3,000-meter run.

“I was happy with their performance, but I’m still trying to find a solid quarter-miler,” said Head Coach Robert Johnson.

The women scored exceptionally well in field events. Co-captain Jill Lynch ’05 placed first in the shot put with a throw of 42-8, and Laura Dudek ’07 placed second in the same event with a throw of 38-5. Scoring points in the weight throw was Jennifer Donahue ’05, with a solid throw of 50-11.

In the high jump, Ashley Wall ’05 placed, first clearing 5-5, and Erin Meschter ’06 finished second at 5-3. In the pole vault the women posted first and third place finishes.

Janea Russ ’06 qualified for the ECAC by clearing 11-9 3/4, while Tiffany Chang ’08 and Allison Brager ’07 tied for third. Brager’s jump was a personal best.

“We had a split crew, so I was happy with

the performances. I think it was a productive weekend; we are becoming sharper as a team for the upcoming championships,” Johnson said.

Sunday at the Armory Invitational in New York City, Brittany Grovey ’06, Dominique Bosa-Edwards ’05 and Naja Ferjan ’07 competed against some of the top athletes in the NCAA. The women met the challenge headon, all three experiencing success in their respective events.

Despite tough competition, Grovey came out on top in the triple jump, winning with a mark of 39-11 1/4. Bosa-Edwards finished fifth in the invite with a jump of 37-9 1/4, and is now ranked fourth all-time at Brown.

Ferjan, with a time of 2:09.99, took third in the 800-meter run.

The Bears will compete again this weekend, traveling to Boston to compete in the Fast Track Invitational, hosted by the Boston University Terriers.

NBA at the half: Nash is MVP, Spurs are team to beat, another Blazer is crazy Now that we’re slightly past the halfway point of the NBA season, I’ve been jonesing to pull a Marc Stein and hand out my midseason awards and analysis.

The season has already featured more breakout MARC LANZA LANZA, NOT stars, controverTONY DANZA sy and standard NBA comedy than the past few years combined. I mean, not since Latrell Sprewell tried to end P.J. Carlesimo’s life has the league come down on a player as hard as it has on Ron Artest. Here are my personal highlights and awards.

Midseason M.V.P.: I can see the merit in giving this award to LeBron James.

His improvement from last year to this year is so significant that he is now unquestionably the best living professional basketball player. “Making your teammates better” is cliché, but making Zydrunas Ilgauskas look like an allstar center is worth setting aside a few hours to catch this miracle in the act.

However, this award belongs to Steve Nash. I refuse to succumb to the argument that his defensive inefficiencies preclude him from winning the award.

The fact is he’s the most integral part of one of the top franchises in the league.

When he sat out with an injury for a few games, the Suns looked like my suitemates playing pickup at the OMAC, minus the periodic spells of cardiac arrest and severe panting. No one has been more valuable to his team than Nash.

Comedic Moment: Qyntel Woods getting busted for hosting pit bull fighting in his basement. Yes, this is the same guy who once handed the police his rookie trading card when pulled over during a traffic stop. Since the start of the season, he has now been suspended twice, arrested once and waived … by the Portland Trailblazers! I was convinced they were going to enshrine him in their hall of fame and retire his jersey after the most recent offense. Has anybody lived up to the Jail-blazer nickname more than Woods? Why does Artest get all the attention?

Breakout Star: Other than LeBron, has anyone solidified his position as a see LANZA, page 9

Fencing falls short against tough competition

BY ZANETA BALANTAC SPORTS STAFF WRITER

The fencing team traveled to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Invitational last past weekend with hopes of a strong end to its season heading into the ECAC Championships.

Unfortunately, both the men’s and women’s teams fell short in their competition against several of the top fencing programs in the country. Despite a strong effort, both squads ended the tournament with a 1-4 record, wrapping up their season with overall records of 10-10 for the women and 9-9 for the men. “(The results were) not as strong as we’d hoped,” said Head Coach Atilio Tass. “The teams in the tournament are

at a different level. Their recruiting system works differently and they have a lot stronger recruiting opportunities than we do, so the levels of our opponents are a lot more experienced than our team. …

Those teams have recruiting power and an environment, that support that we do not have.”

In their first match, the Bears faltered against the speed and fake attacks of the New York University fencers. The men’s and women’s squads were defeated 8-19 and 9-18, respectively. Women’s sabre was the only Brown squad to win a segment, going 5-4 for the round.

“They were good at keeping you on your toes by doing a lot of sudden, quick motions that were very precise, but at the same time make you jump ever so

slightly every time they do it,” said epeeist Shauna Edson ’05. “After four or five fakes they’ve lulled you into a false sense of security, and then boom, they’re past you and you’re hit.”

According to Edson, All-American epeeist Ruth Schneider ’06 was particularly displeased with her play against the Violets. Usually one of the team’s strongest fencers, Schneider lost as many matches against NYU as she had all season. Edson said the poor first round energized Schneider, who went into the rest of the tournament determined to dominate.

The Bears failed to bounce back in their next match against the Crimson. see FENCING, page 8