Wednesday, March 1, 2006

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD WEDNESDAY, MARCH 1, 2006

Volume CXLI, No. 24 A HIGHER STANDARD? Newly appointed commission examines the possibility of bringing standardized tests to colleges and universities CAMPUS WATCH 3

STUDENTS TEACHING STUDENTS Across University departments, TAs receive varying degrees of preparation before assuming teaching roles FEATURES 5

Details of divestment not yet released Representatives from ACCRI, STAND not sure what University’s next move will be

BY CHLOE LUTTS SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Though the Brown Corporation announced on Saturday its intent to divest from companies implicated in the genocide in Darfur, the decision has yet to be met with an immediate and concrete plan for action.

In a University-wide e-mail announcing the decision to divest, President Ruth Simmons wrote, “The administration will proceed to assemble and provide information to the Corporation’s Advisory & Executive Committee regarding companies whose business activities in Sudan can be shown to meet the criteria for supporting and facilitating the Sudanese government in its continuing sponsorship of genocidal actions and human rights violations in Darfur.”

Louis Putterman, professor of economics and chair of the Advisory Committee on Corporate Responsibility in Investing, said neither the Office of the President nor the Corporation has contacted him since the decision was made. “We don’t really know yet” what is happening next, he said.

Elizabeth Huidekoper, executive vice president for finance and administration, said the Corporation wants to take care to ensure all companies the University divests from are in fact involved in the genocide in Darfur. Although “the Corporation members have all headed home,” Huidekoper expects them to conduct an “independent assessment” in the next few weeks to determine the exact divestments that will be made.

The ACCRI’s statement in favor of divestment reads, “With regard to

effectiveness, precedents (including those pertaining to the recent civil war in Sudan itself) suggest that there is a real possibility that the signal sent by Brown and other organizations will lead some of the companies concerned to suspend their operations, that difficulty raising capital will slow the growth of operations of other such companies, and that the resulting slow-down in economic growth and in growth of government revenue will encourage the Sudanese government to change its behavior.”

Although Brown has succeeded in sending this signal — the Corporation’s decision was reported in over 60 newspapers worldwide, according to Scott Warren ’09, head of the Brown chapter of Students Taking Action Now: Darfur — the economic effects of divestment will not be felt until the University actually withdraws funds from any companies in which they are currently invested.

After Chancellor Stephen Robert ’62 P’91 announced the Corporation’s decision, Warren told the Herald, “We’re thrilled that the University has decided to issue a statement in favor of divestment … however we urge the University to make a list of the companies as soon as possible … because actions speak louder” than words.

Assistant Secretary of the Corporation Amalia Davis and Marisa Quinn, assistant to the president, referred The Herald to Michael Chapman, vice president for public affairs and University relations. Chapman said no more information has been released see DIVESTMENT, page 9

WHEN WEALTHY WHITES WED Josh Teitelbaum ’08: The push for gay marriage is not a civil rights struggle, but instead caters to the queer elite OPINIONS 11

Due to an unusually large number of students registered for the 9 a.m.

Monday/Wednesday/Friday section of CH 35: “Organic Chemistry,” the class’ lecture hall, MacMillan 117, is overfilled.

Min Wu / Herald

A section of CH 35: “Organic Chemistry” meeting in MacMillan 117, pictured here last semester, has been overcrowded this semester.

Editorial: 401.351.3372 Business: 401.351.3260

TOMORROW

rain / snow 36 / 24

Scholars, media outlets say Simmons’ age, Brown loyalty will factor in decision

BY STU WOO CAMPUS WATCH EDITOR

As soon as Harvard University President Lawrence Summers announced his resignation last Tuesday, academics and the media began speculating about who will succeed him.

One frequently mentioned name is that of Brown President Ruth Simmons, whose office has so far declined to answer any questions regarding her interest in the Harvard presidency.

A scholar of college presidents, a prominent former Harvard professor and a current Harvard professor who helped oust Summers said Simmons would make a compelling candidate to lead one of the world’s most prestigious institutions of higher education.

“If I’m sitting on the Harvard Corporation and I looked at Ruth Simmons’ presidency both at Smith (College) and Brown, I would know she has the capacity to be the next president of Harvard,” said Stephen Nelson, who studies college presidents. “My guess is that she’s probably going to be on the list and that she’s going to get some serious consideration.”

Nelson is an associate professor of educational leadership at Bridgewater State College and the author of a book titled “Leaders in the Crucible: The Moral Voice of College Presidents.” He is also affiliated with Brown’s Leadership Alliance.

Simmons might be appealing to Harvard in light of Summers’ tumultuous tenure, Nelson said. Summers resigned primarily because members of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, the university’s largest school, criticized his leadership ability following

Other popular lecture courses able to find bigger rooms

Despite several attempts, the section has been unable to move to a bigger room.

There are currently 314 students enrolled in this section of the class, according to information from the Office of the Registrar. The capacity of MacMillan 117 is 300. In the first few weeks of the semester, students filled

TODAY

sunny 32 / 22

President’s office mum on Simmons’ interest in Harvard’s top spot

U. tries to accommodate overcrowded Orgo

BY SARAH GELLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

www.browndailyherald.com

An independent newspaper serving the Brown community since 1891

the room and crammed into the aisles.

“It was literally packed,” said Stephanie Angione ’08, who is in the section.

“People were in the aisles, standing in the back. There was not a free seat in the room.”

Though two sections of CH 35 are offered this semester (the second meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 9 a.m.), the Monday/Wednesday/Friday section, taught by Professor of Chemistry Matthew Zimmt, is particularly popular.

“He has the reputation of being a good teacher,” Angione said.

Julia Beamesderfer ’09 signed up for Zimmt’s section based on his reputation and on its meeting time. “I’ve heard that he’s very energetic and keeps people awake in the morning. This section also works better for my schedule.”

So many students signed up for Zimmt’s section that the registrar moved some into the second section. On the first day of class, however, students were told that they could attend whichever section they wanted, as the material covered is identical. There is no cap on enrollment in either class. As a result, many students began attending Zimmt’s section, which led to the overcrowding.

“People would come in at (8:45 a.m.)

195 Angell Street, Providence, Rhode Island

see ORGO, page 4

Harvard.edu

Gabrielle Salazar / Herald

President Ruth Simmons’ office declined to comment on Simmons’ interest in the Harvard University presidency recently vacated by Lawrence Summers (left). the resignations of many of the school’s top deans and administrators.

What Simmons could bring to the Cambridge, Mass., university is the ability to be a strong leader while building coalitions, Nelson said.

“Simmons clearly is a listener,” he added.

“She would clearly listen while still having great force herself. She would work to a consensus and work with people to build coalitions and do what Summers wouldn’t do. Harvard, as an institute, is going to need someone to get the organization back together.”

Simmons could also “instantly” heal some wounds that Summers inflicted at the university last year, when he remarked at an academic conference that women may have less innate scientific ability than men, Nelson said. Simmons, who at Smith started the first-ever engineering program at a women’s college, may appeal to many see SIMMONS, page 7

R.I. minimum wage to rise today

BY ASHLEY CHUNG STAFF WRITER

Rhode Island’s minimum-wage workers will get a raise today.

The state minimum wage will rise by 35 cents to $7.10 per hour today and will increase to $7.40 at the end of the year. Despite concerns about the possible economic conMETRO sequences of the raise, Gov. Don Carcieri ’65, who previously threatened to veto the hike, allowed the bill to become law without his signature.

“The governor was concerned that raising the minimum wage twice in less than a year would significantly undermine Rhode Island’s effort to create more jobs,” said Jeff Neal, a spokesman for Carcieri.

But District 14 State Sen. Daniel DaPonte, D-East Providence, who sponsored the bill in the Senate, said the minimum wage hike is necessary.

“The minimum wage, regardless of the number, gives a minimum value to a job,” DaPonte said. He said the new increases will keep that value in line with the increases in costs of living in Rhode Island. “We’re just keeping pace,” he said.

Carcieri, who vetoed a mini-mum see WAGE, page 4 News tips: herald@browndailyherald.com

THIS MORNING THE BROWN DAILY HERALD · WEDNESDAY, MARCH 1, 2006 · PAGE 2 Jero Matt Vascellaro

TO D AY ’ S E V E N TS CAREERS IN THE COMMON GOOD: HOW TO FIND A FULLTIME JOB 12 p.m. , (Pembroke Hall, Third Floor) — Come learn more about strategies you can develop to plan a career in the common good.

“BRAIN MECHANISMS OF EMOTIONAL MEMORY” 4 p.m. , (Hunter Lab 206) — Kevin Labar of Duke University will give a talk as part of the Michael S. Goodman ‘74 Memorial Lecture Series, sponsored by the psychology department.

“KNOWING THE CARIBBEAN” 5:30 p.m. , (Watson Institute) — Dr. Silvio Torres-Saillant, the founder of the Dominican Studies Institute in New York, will talk about Caribbean and Dominican identities.

“IT’S NOT JUST FOX NEWS: THE CONSERVATIVE MEDIA AND HOW THEY’RE SHAPING AMERICA’S DISCOURSE” 7 p.m. , (MacMillan 117) — Jay Nordlinger, managing editor of National Review, will speak about America’s media.

Part of The Herald’s lecture series.

Deo Daniel Perez

MENU SHARPE REFECTORY

Chocolate Covered Cotton Mark Brinker

VERNEY-WOOLLEY DINING HALL

LUNCH — Buffalo Chicken Wings with Bleu Cheese Dressing, Carrot and Celery Sticks, Parsley Potatoes, Fresh Sliced, Carrots, Magic Bars, Apple Turnovers

LUNCH — Vegetarian Corn Chowder, Country Wedding Soup, Chicken, Andouille Shrimp Jambalaya, Spinach Strudel , Mandarin Blend Vegetables, Magic Bars

DINNER — Tilapia Provencal, Couscous, Italian Vegetable Saute, Asparagus Spears, Italian Bread, Orange Jello, Orange Delight Cake

DINNER — Vegetarian Corn Chowder, Country Wedding Soup, Cajun Baked Fish, Vegan Vegetable and Tempeh Saute, Herb Rice, Corn Cobbets, Stir Fry Vegetable Medley, Italian Bread, Orange Delight Cake

Cappuccino Monday Christine Sunu

RELEASE DATE– Wednesday, March 1, 2006

Los AngelesCTimes Puzzle R O SDaily S WCrossword ORD Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

ACROSS 1 Decorative floral chains 9 Note below B 15 Kid on a base 16 Worker with DNA, at times 17 Gist 18 Exotic South Seas island 19 Diminutive endings 20 Hindu title 22 Actress Thurman et al.

23 Outburst from Homer 24 Priggish old-time teacher 27 “__ boy!”

29 Ambient music composer Brian 30 Kind of quarterback 34 Inflexible about the rules 39 “Got it” 40 It means nothing 42 Bucs’ home 43 Sculpted figures, often 45 “To help, or at least to __”: Hippocrates 47 TV host Peeples 49 Swear 50 Battle to end all battles 55 The “pond” in a Brit’s “across the pond”: Abbr.

58 Campus bigwig 59 Catch on 60 “The world __ much with us”: Wordsworth 62 Absorbed 64 “Goodness me!”

67 Horrible Hun 68 Holstered guns, and this puzzle’s title 69 Rodeo ropes 70 Beef dishes in pastry shells DOWN 1 Celebrated 2 Poet’s Muse 3 Shortstop called “The Wizard of Oz” 4 Newcastle’s river

5 Kimono sashes 55 Video game 44 Naps pioneer 6 Old California fort 46 Agnes of “Agnes 56 “The Velvet Fog” of God,” for one 7 Stubborn Scot’s Mel 48 Fruity quaff word 50 “You’ve got __!”: 57 Wind-borne silt 8 Tuck away deposit “Sold!”

9 Lawsuits 51 Fashion’s Oscar 60 “Ricochet” rapper 10 Patty Hearst’s 61 Reaction to de la __ kidnappers: freshness?

52 Shoppers’ Abbr.

63 Middle East gp. destinations 11 So-so 65 Fizzle out 12 Jungian principle 53 Diarist Nin 66 Psychologist 54 Belief in God 13 Pave over LeShan through reason 14 Light beam splitter ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE: 21 Future school?

24 RR stop 25 It’s raised during a ruckus 26 Numbers games 27 Experts 28 Crowd 30 Paul’s ’60s-’70s singing partner 31 Aussie hopper 32 Dept. head 33 Free (of) 35 Cheering sounds 36 Britney Spears’s “__ Slave 4 U” 37 Life support course subj.

38 Hebridean hat 41 Off one’s rocker 3/1/06 xwordeditor@aol.com

Homebodies Mirele Davis

Goldfish Dreams Allison Moore

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3/1/06

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CAMPUS WATCH THE BROWN DAILY HERALD · WEDNESDAY, MARCH 1, 2006 · PAGE 3

National commission considers standardized testing at colleges, universities High tuition costs, low literacy levels among college graduates prompt calls for greater institutional accountability

BY JUSTIN AMOAH STAFF WRITER

A newly appointed commission will consider whether standardized testing should be implemented into twoyear and four-year colleges and universities as part of an effort to prove students are learning and to provide a tool for evaluating institutional performance.

U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings appointed the commission that will focus on accountability in colleges and universities. The national commission aims to improve higher education by ensuring that college graduates are prepared to meet the needs of the workforce.

“Our system of higher education must provide a world-class education that prepares students to compete in a global knowledge economy,” wrote Charles Miller, the chairman of the commission, in a public memo explaining the role of the commission.

Miller cites standardized testing as an alternative to ranking systems, such as the annual U.S. News and World Report college and university rankings, that “use a limited set of data, which is not necessarily relevant for measuring institutional performance or providing the public with information needed to make critical decisions.”

A standardized government test is a “clumsy” way of measuring the impact of higher education on students, said Liz Hollander, executive director of Campus Compact, a national organization of approximately 1,000 college and university presidents that is committed to fostering social responsibility among students. The program was started and is currently housed at Brown.

“You would have to assume that everyone wants to get the same thing out of a college degree,” Hollander said.

“That’s a pretty problematic assumption altogether.”

“47 percent of students are in community colleges; they are doing everything from preparing themselves to go onto a four-year school and getting a liberal education

to getting highly-technical training for a very specific profession,” continued Hollander, who also sits on the advisory committee on the International Consortium on Higher Education.

“Higher education needs to hold itself responsible for student learning,” Hollander said. She said that a “fruitful” way to ensure accountability in higher education may be to ask students to volunteer to take the National Survey of Student Engagement, which asks freshmen and seniors to answer questions about their educational experiences, including topics such as their classroom participation, time spent on homework, interaction with faculty, time spent in community service and other measures that allow colleges and universities to get a sense of what their students’ experiences are like.

John Tyler, chair of the University’s education department, said that much of the call for more accountability in higher education might stem from rising tuition costs and recent assessments on adult literacy.

A recent literacy study by the American Institutes for Research found that more than 75 percent of students at two-year colleges and more than 50 percent of students at four-year colleges do not score at a proficient level of literacy. The study also found no difference between the quantitative literacy level of this generation’s college graduates compared with previous generations.

The study, titled “The National Survey of America’s College Students,” sampled 1,827 graduating students from 80 randomly selected two- and four-year public and private institutions.

The study found higher literacy levels among students whose coursework placed strong emphasis on applying theories or concepts to practical problems. The study found no relationship between students’ majors and their literacy ability.

Spellings’ commission seeks to emphasize critical thinking, analytical reasoning, problem solving and

After student is shot, Florida campus police force looks to Tasers Brown also considering equipping DPS officers with the non-lethal weapon

BY MELANIE DUCH SENIOR STAFF WRITER

After a campus police officer shot a student with a 9 mm handgun Feb. 8, Florida Atlantic University launched an investigation into the possibility of arming officers with non-lethal Tasers in addition to guns. Brown’s Department of Public Safety is currently undergoing a similar investigation into Taser feasibility on campus.

The FAU shooting took place at 12:34 a.m. in a parking lot where campus police were called following a disturbance that occurred inside Indian Rivers Tower, a dormitory on campus.

Zachary Carroll, a 21-year-old junior at FAU, was reportedly smashing cars and acting violently when two campus officers arrived.

“They confronted him and gave him verbal commands, but he refused to comply. He kept walking towards the officers, at which time he lunged at the closest officer and at least one shot was fired,” said FAU Police Chief Bill Ferrell.

Carroll, who, according to a CBS news report, was shot in the shoulder and hand, underwent surgery at Delray Medical Center in Delray Beach, Fla., and has since been released.

The officer who shot him, 26-year old Mary Ann Douglas, “feared for her life,” Ferrell said. She is currently on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of multiple investigations by the Boca Raton police department and the FAU police department into the incident, which Ferrell said is standard procedure.

The 37-person FAU force is currently equipped with batons, pepper spray and semi-automatic handguns, but Tasers may soon be added.

“We’ve gone as far as contacting a couple companies and we had a contractor last week come in and do a PowerPoint presentation,” Ferrell said. “We also had demonstrations where several officers volunteered to be tased.”

Mark Porter, chief of police and director of public safety at Brown, said the University is also discussing the possibility of purchasing Tasers. When Porter arrived at

Brown in April 2005, there was some talk of arming officers with Tasers, but an extensive study was not conducted, he said.

“We’re still reviewing the facts to see if Tasers would be a device that we would use here, and I think that review is going to intensify over the next few months,” he said.

“I’ve been reviewing some of the uses of Tasers with other police departments Jacob Melrose / Herald throughout New England.” He added The Department of Public Safety that he read several is considering equipping officers reports about the with Tasers as a non-lethal alternative to guns.

FAU incident.

Tasers can be implemented only in addition to firearms, Porter said, because one of their drawbacks is they cannot be utilized if a suspect is using deadly force.

“Because it’s not lethal, it might not be the most suitable weapon in that situation,” he said of potentially fatal circumstances. He added, however, that there were many “non-deadly force situations” where “you would want the officers to employ Tasers.”

Both Porter and Ferrell said that Tasers would probably not be issued to every campus officer but to only a select few who would receive special training.

Ferrell said he has to decide whether or not every officer will be forced to carry a Taser.

“Everyone doesn’t want to (carry Tasers) for different see SHOOTING, page 8

written communications as important skills that should be refined or acquired at colleges and universities.

Tyler said that in comparison to K-12 education, higher education is not compulsory and therefore the market has the ability to hold schools accountable.

“If people are lining up at the door to get into a Brown or a Harvard, when they could go some other place and maybe pay less, then it looks like they are saying, ‘We believe these places are doing their job,’ ” Tyler said.

He said that the real concern is that at the level of state public universities and at community colleges, people are much less mobile and have much less choice and therefore they may not be able to “vote with their feet and pocket books” when determining which institution to choose.

He added that because “standardized test” is “such a loaded term,” the majority of people at Brown and other elite universities would probably be against it.

But, if the situation was framed to be about providing more information to parents and the public about how well schools do at preparing students to enter the world, then the response may be different.

Stressing the need for better assessment measures, Tyler said: “When people ask, ‘Isn’t more information better?’ my response is, ‘Yes, as long as it’s good information.’ ” Miller told the New York Times that if individual institutions like the elite universities in the Ivy League did not want to gauge student learning with standardized tests, then “it would be OK with me.”

Jane Glickman, a spokeswoman for the secretary of education, said that at this time the commission has held only three meetings and, therefore, it is too early to speculate on how its recommendations will impact the future of higher education. She added that students at Brown interested in having a say in this discussion should reserve a spot at the public hearing on the future of higher education that will be held in Boston on March 20.

College roundup Gonzaga fans told to stop ‘Brokeback Mountain’ insult Fans of Gonzaga University’s men’s basketball team have been asked to stop yelling “Brokeback Mountain” at opposing players during home games.

The reference to a recent movie about homosexual cowboys is an apparent insult that implies that an opposing player is gay, the Associated Press reported.

Fans of the Catholic university’s basketball team, which is currently ranked No. 5 in the country, taunted a player from Saint Mary’s College of California with a chant during a Feb. 7 home game, but faculty advisers for a Gonzaga sports booster group called the Kennel Club implored students to stop the chant before a nationally televised Feb. 11 game against Stanford University.

“We implore the students of the Kennel Club to show the nation this weekend what makes Gonzaga different,” Kennel Club advisers David Lindsay and Aaron Hill wrote in a letter in the student newspaper, the Bulletin. “We challenge the students of the Kennel Club to exhibit the class, the creativeness and the competitive drive that has become a foundation of this great university.”

A faculty member told the AP that the matter had been widely discussed by faculty and students.

Several students have written to the Bulletin to decry homophobia and discrimination at Gonzaga.

New European institute to rival MIT The European Union presented plans last Wednesday for the creation of a rival to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The Associated Press reported that the European Institute of Technology should be a “flagship of excellence in higher education, research and innovation,” according to EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.

Barroso told the AP that the plans will be forwarded to EU governments and will be discussed at an EU summit next month. Member states will decide the location of the institution, which will be funded by member states, the EU budget and private businesses.

“It should be a location that enjoys a certain tradition and credit,” Jan Figel, the EU’s education commissioner, told the AP. — Stu Woo

PAGE 4 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD WEDNESDAY, MARCH 1, 2006

Orgo continued from page 1 and have to sit on the steps because the classroom was just so crowded,” Angione said. She added that Zimmt initially did not want to switch classrooms

and tried to get the lecture simulcast in the room next door. The registrar’s office gave Zimmt the neighboring room, MacMillan 115, but he later told students that officials at Media Services were unwilling to simulcast the lecture.

Zimmt declined to comment to The Herald about the situation

and Media Services could not be reached to comment.

Despite Zimmt’s initial opposition to moving, students continued to complain, saying the current situation poses a fire hazard because so many students sit in the aisles, according to Angione. Zimmt then agreed to move and consulted the Office of the Registrar about switching the class to Salomon 101, which seats 576 people.

Beamesderfer said Zimmt told students he had talked to the University and got the move to Salomon approved. Shortly after this, he told the students that the move was cancelled because the lecture hall in Salomon only has two chalkboards, compared to the nine available in MacMillan 117. According to students, when he asked the registrar for additional chalkboards, Zimmt was told he would have to buy them himself.

“The idea of him teaching on two chalkboards is ridiculous.

There are nine chalkboards in MacMillan and he covers all of them completely,” Beamesderfer

said.

University Registrar Michael Pesta wrote in an e-mail to The Herald that because MacMillan 117 is in the chemistry building and was designed specifically for that purpose, it is the logical choice for CH 35. Only two rooms, Salomon 101 and a room in Alumnae Hall, are larger, and “neither of (them) would be deemed suitable by the department,” he wrote.

Pesta also wrote that MacMillan 117 is more likely to have the facilities for teaching chemistry that are not present in Salomon.

Beamesderfer, who visited the Tuesday/Thursday section of CH 35, which also meets in MacMillan 117, said that class had only a quarter of the people in the Monday/Wednesday/Friday section. Zimmt asked students in his section to attend the other section if they are able.

Two classes that received larger-than-expected enrollments were able to successfully switch classrooms. Lecturer in Economics Maria Carkovic, who is

teaching EC 150: “Current Global Macroeconomic Challenges,” said that when many more students than were pre-enrolled came to her class, the students went looking for an empty classroom and found one. Carkovic said she notified the University of the change and was allowed to stay in the new room.

Professor Michael Vorenberg’s HI 174: “Civil War and Reconstruction” was also allowed to move to a larger classroom. He said that he notified the Office of the Registrar that there were too many people to fit in his classroom, and they switched him to a bigger room.

The crowding in CH 35 continues. “It’s emptied out a little, but it’s still pretty packed.

Fewer people are standing in the back, but there are tons in the aisles,” Beamesderfer said.

“If you want to be assured a seat you need to leave at 8:30 a.m. If I leave at 8:40 a.m. I have to sit in the aisle. One day I overslept and had to stand in the back.”

“Orgo for me now starts at 8:30 a.m.,” Angione said.

Wage

Assembly in January of this year, Neal said, seeking a one-step increase in the minimum wage to $7.10 instead of the two-step increase. Neal said Carcieri recognized that prices in Rhode Island have increased and was

willing to discuss a single 35 cent increase with the General Assembly.

But in the end, Carcieri allowed the two-step increase to become law without his signature, echoing a previous minimum wage hike in 2003, when he allowed the wage to rise to $6.75 an hour without signing the bill.

“Governor Carcieri recognized that the General Assembly was determined to pass the two-step increase regardless of its effect,” Neal said. “As a result, he decided to move onto other issues.”

But DaPonte said Carcieri’s decision was “entirely political.”

He said Carceri decided not to act after seeing opinion polls that vetoing the wage hike would be unpopular.

Neal said Carcieri is still concerned that the two-step increase in minimum wage will “create a drag on jobs by sending the wrong message to employers.”

In a recent study by the Beacon Hill Institute for Public Policy Research at Suffolk University, Rhode Island ranked 37th out of the 50 states in terms of economic competitiveness — its ability to sustain high standards of living for its residents. When minimum wage in a state increases, its overall level of competitiveness went down in the study.

“The minimum wage is already bad in Rhode Island,” said David Tuerck, executive director of the Beacon Hill Institute. “It would be even worse to increase it.”

Tuerck said if Rhode Island wants to improve its competitiveness, it should resist further increases in the minimum wage.

He said raises inevitably lead to job losses and discourage firms from operating in the state due to the high minimum wage.

But DaPonte said Rhode Island’s lack of competitiveness is due to high energy costs and a “lousy” tax structure.

Anna Dagliere, who earns $7.25 an hour working at Store 24 on Thayer Street, said that she had not heard anything about the increase.

Though she earns more than the new minimum wage, she said she now wants her pay to go up as well to keep above that level. “$7.10 is more than I was making when I first started, and now that’s the minimum wage?”

Dagliere said. “I guess the moral of the story is, get a different job.”

continued from page 1 wage increase last year, tried to compromise with the General

Fill in the grid so that every row, every column and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 through 9.

Solution, tips and computer program at www.sudoku.com.

CAMPUS NEWS THE BROWN DAILY HERALD · WEDNESDAY, MARCH 1, 2006 · PAGE 5

Faculty opposition to ‘Science Cohort’ focused on implementation, not goals

BY NAOMI SMITH CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Several faculty members with reservations about the proposed Integrative Science and Engineering Program have said they do not oppose the program’s goals, but are concerned about how the University plans to implement them.

The program, which a University committee is reviewing, aims to recruit 60 students each year to an undergraduate program in multidisciplinary science. In addition to traditional science concentration requirements, admitted students would be required to take five courses that emphasize interaction and collaboration among traditional science departments. All students in the program would also be guaranteed two University-funded summer research grants.

The proposal received mixed reviews at the February faculty meeting, said Professor of Geological Sciences Jan Tullis. “There were some people with questions and concerns, and others who stood up and said, ‘Wow, this a great idea,’” she said. “But what I want to emphasize is that the two sides are not poles apart.

Our goals are very similar, but we

differ on their implementation.”

The main objectives of the program are to increase the number of underrepresented groups and general matriculation in the sciences at Brown, as well as to create “citizen scientists” whose broad, multidisciplinary science background will “better prepare them for the collaborative nature of the real world,” said Professor of Computer Science Thomas Dean, who headed the Science Cohort until last October.

“I think these are all very laudable goals,” said Professor of Computer Sciences John Savage, adding that he applauds the efforts of his colleagues to further the multidisciplinary education that is the “hallmark of Brown.”

“But I have my reservations about how successful the program will be in the long term,” he said. “It seems unstable and is not well-grounded.”

Savage said he is concerned that the core sequence of courses for the program may vary from year to year. “The content of these courses is in the hands of two faculty members, with the committee only providing see COHORT, page 7

Preparing students to teach

Different departments have varied requirements, training programs for TAs

BY KRISTINA KELLEHER STAFF WRITER

Across the University, there is no uniform training or supervision of teaching assistants — large introductory courses may rely heavily on undergraduate TAs while other courses FEATURE use only graduate students. In fact, the only University-wide standard for graduate teaching assistants is competency in English, as determined by standardized tests or completion of a program run by the Center for Language Studies.

Each department determines its own TA program and is responsible for ensuring fairness, consistency and thorough training of both undergraduates and graduates, according to Dean of the Graduate School Sheila Bonde.

Among the most rigorous of these programs is training for TAs in the Department of Computer Science. Before the semester even starts, undergraduate TAs must attend a training camp that can last a full week for introductory courses, according to Aaron Myers ’07, a TA for CS 15: “Introduction to Object-Oriented Programming and Computer Science” and CS 16: “Introduction to Algorithms

and Data Structures.”

“Students are encouraged to TA … it’s an honor,” said Michael Frederickson ’07, a CS concentrator.

Each course has multiple undergraduate TAs and one head TA. Two “meta TAs” — one administrative and one technical — run the TA program, according to Myers.

As undergraduate CS concentrators line up to become TAs, instructors can be selective. After filling out online applications, prospective CS TAs meet with the course instructor and head TA, who then assemble the team for the course.

In addition to standard TA duties, CS TAs grade programs and written assignments, prepare support code, sample code or demos of programs and even perform skits in lectures.

Each undergraduate TA submits a “blacklist” of friends taking the course, which ensures they will never grade a friend’s work, Myers said, and a specifically designed system ensures fairness when undergraduate TAs grade their peers’ work in large introductory courses like CS 15.

The system distributes student work semi-randomly, so the same TA will never grade one student’s work twice during a

single semester.

Undergraduate TAs are most valuable in introductory classes, where students are likely new to programming, because the TAs may have just completed the course themselves, according to Frederickson.

The detail-oriented discipline requires a retinue of rigorously trained TAs, Frederickson said.

“If you’re writing a paper and you miss one comma, you missed one comma,” he said. “(If) you’re writing a computer program and you miss one comma, you might as well have written nothing,” Frederickson said.

Other departments may not have training camps but still employ varying degrees of rigor when selecting TAs. In the Department of Biology, faculty members select a course’s undergraduate TAs from those students who previously excelled in the course and applied for a position. Qualifications include experience, range of knowledge, performance and teaching interest or ability, according to Associate Dean of Biological Sciences Marjorie Thompson. see TA, page 6

PAGE 6 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD WEDNESDAY, MARCH 1, 2006

TA continued from page 5 Undergraduate TAs are not allowed to grade subjective questions but are allowed to grade problems under supervision and with clear rubrics. Exams graded by undergraduates are anonymous or encoded, according to Thompson.

In BI 20: “Foundations of Living Systems,” up to 28 undergraduate TAs run the course labs and mark assignments but do not determine grades. Repeat and graduate TAs are paired with inexperienced ones, and all assistants meet with Professor of Biology Kenneth Miller ’70 P ’02 and Jody Hall, a manager of undergraduate laboratories, once a week to go over the lab and prepare for the week ahead. A daylong general training session also reviews policies, safety issues and lesson plans.

The graduate TA experience In stark contrast to the biology and CS programs, political science courses never use undergraduate TAs. P. Terrence Hopmann, chair of the Department of Political Science, said the faculty in the department believe undergraduate TAs pose too significant a possible conflict of interest.

“It’s not a good idea to have peers making subjective judgments on peers,” Hopmann said.

Although TAs lead sections in introductory classes, the department does not offer any special programs in pedology.

Hopmann said the department tries to assign graduate TAs to courses that relate to their graduate work whenever possible.

Much like the political science program, undergraduate TAs have never been part of the structure of the history department. According to James McClain, chair of the department, there is no budget for undergraduate TAs. The department does offer

workshops for graduate students on grading, evaluation and fulfilling other TA duties effectively.

But McClain said the most important training is on the job. Though the Department of American Civilization allows its graduate students to offer their own courses, McClain said his department does not.

Individual departments, rather than a central University authority, admit graduate students, and only graduate students with previous teaching experience receive assistantships in their first year, Bonde said.

“At its very best the program puts undergraduates with students who are in the forefront of their fields,” Bonde said.

Bonde’s office surveys graduate TAs to get a sense of their expectations for the experience.

Many departments require or actively encourage programs at the Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning, according to Bonde.

But Rebecca More, director of the Sheridan Center, said the center does not train graduate students to be teaching assistants but instead focuses on training them for future careers in teaching. Graduate students are admitted on research, and not teaching, ability, she said.

Many graduate students do complete a Sheridan Center’s teaching certificate program that promotes reflection on teaching through lectures and workshops rather than teaching methods.

The center also offers individual consultations in which staff members review graduate TAs in the classroom to evaluate their own improvement.

Still, More said TA training is left entirely to the departments and individual professors. She cited the geology department’s graduate TA training, led by Professor of Geological Sciences Jan Tullis, as exemplary. More said Vice President for Research Andy van Dam and Miller are also effective in training undergraduate TAs.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 1, 2006 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD PAGE 7

Simmons continued from page 1 at Harvard, if only for the fact that she is female. That she is black is another plus, Nelson said.

Harvard has never had a woman or person of color as its president in its 370-year history.

Simmons has received rave reviews from a Harvard faculty member closely following developments with the university’s presidency. Judith Ryan, the Harvard German and comparative literature professor who authored the no-confidence motion that precipitated Summers’ resignation, said she has known Simmons since her tenure at Smith and believes she would make a good candidate. “(Simmons) has a lot of experience,” Ryan said. “She’s a person who’s very savvy and I think she’s a remarkable role model for anyone in higher education.”

But Ryan added that a wide number of candidates should be considered and that it is too early to settle on a few names.

Simmons’ name also appeared last week in a Bloomberg News article in which former Harvard and current Princeton University professor Cornel West called her a “model” for what the Harvard president should look like. West was unable to return calls from The Herald for comment.

Beyond academia, various media outlets have speculated on what Harvard will look for in its next president. Bloomberg, the Boston Globe and other sources reported that women — such as Princeton President Shirley Tilghman and former Wellesley College and Duke University President Nan Keohane — and scientists appear to top the wish list of those at Harvard.

An article in the most recent issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education reported that several search-firm consultants and sitting presidents put Simmons on the shortlist of potential candidates for the Harvard presidency, saying that she was “among the names that came up most frequently.”

An editorial from Inside Higher Ed suggested possible candidates have three requirements:“a Harvard degree (or three), demonstrated intellectual accomplishment (and) a certain amount of gravitas.”

Simmons appears to have all three. She received her Harvard degree in 1973 — a Ph.D. in romance languages — and was also honored in 1997 with the university’s Centennial Medal, awarded annually to distinguished alums.

Of course, Simmons may not even be considered for the Harvard position. Nelson said the Harvard Corporation, the

school’s governing body that will select the next president, may pass over Simmons because of her age. At 60, she still has great energy, Nelson said, but Harvard is looking for someone who can commit to the university for at least 10 years, and any 60-year-old would think twice about making such a long commitment.

In addition, the Harvard Crimson, the university’s student newspaper, reported that in 2001, the university’s presidential search committee passed over thenUniversity of Michigan President Lee Bollinger, who was 54 at the time, in part because he was too old. The committee ultimately selected Summers, who was 46 upon taking office.

Nelson said another downside to Simmons is that her leadership experience at Smith and Brown might not translate well in Cambridge. Harvard, with a student body of about 21,000 and several world-class professional schools, is drastically larger and more complex than Brown, which had roughly 7,500 total students in 2004. But Nelson added that several college presidents have made successful jumps from smaller schools to larger ones, citing former Brown President Howard Swearer, who led Carleton College, a small liberal arts school in Minnesota, before coming to College Hill.

Still, Simmons will appear to many Harvard Corporation members as a “top-10, maybe top-five” candidate for the university’s presidency, Nelson said.

The only question is: will she be tempted to leave Brown if offered the Harvard position?

So far, Simmons is keeping her mouth tightly shut. Marisa Quinn, assistant to the president, wrote in an e-mail to The Herald that the Office of the President would not be responding to questions about “the situation at Harvard.”

But Nelson cautioned to not interpret anything from the lack of comment.

“I don’t think there’s anything suspicious about that or that she’s hiding or ducking anything,” Nelson said. “It would be best for her and best for everyone else if nobody knew” if Harvard has been in contact with Simmons.

If Simmons is interested in the position, she would hurt those at Brown by publicly declaring her interest, Nelson said. But if she is not interested in the Harvard job, making this public could be detrimental to Harvard’s search and potentially embarrassing to those on the university’s search committee — some of whom Simmons may know.

Nelson said it would be difficult for Simmons to not consider “the most distinguished headship of an academy in the world.”

“Harvard is such a prize,” he

said. “With all due respect to (other top universities), Harvard is a platform, a noted pulpit that is unlike any other. I think it would be hard to turn it down out of hand.”

Simmons may want to use that noted pulpit to push her own agenda for higher education in the United States. A Smith College spokeswoman said Simmons left Smith for Brown in part because she would have greater influence on national policies.

“When (Simmons) went to Brown, she noted it would enable her to play a more direct role in national needs — things like graduate education, minority access to education and national education policies,” said Kristen Cole, media relations director at Smith. “She had ambitious plans.”

A chance to become one of the most prominent role models and biggest American success stories may also sway Simmons towards Cambridge, Nelson said.

Time Magazine profiled her in 2001. Born the last of 12 children in a sharecropper’s shack in Texas, where there was no money for books or toys, Simmons received an apple, an orange and 10 nuts for Christmas every year.

When she walked to school, people called her “nigger.” But despite the odds against her, Simmons won a scholarship to Dillard University, graduated in 1967, earned her doctorate from Harvard in 1973 and has been making waves in the world of academia ever since.

“Her personal story, her personal narrative, would be enormous both for Harvard and for academics and for the country,” Nelson said. “Those things are very seductive, in the best sense of the word.”

On the other hand, a few things may keep Simmons on College Hill, Nelson said. Other than age, Simmons may want to see through her Campaign for Academic Enrichment, which started its public fundraising phase in November and is expected to conclude in 2010. Ryan, the Harvard professor, was quick to point this out.

“Brown is in the middle of a campaign right now, and I would imagine she would have conflicting feelings” about leaving the University, Ryan said.

“I could see her staying at Brown as well as being tempted to come to Harvard if an offer was made,” Ryan added.

Professor of Cognitive and Linguistic Sciences Sheila Blumstein, who served as Brown’s interim president immediately before Simmons arrived, declined to speculate on whether or not Simmons would have an interest in the Harvard position.

But she did say that it would be “very bad” for Brown if Simmons did leave for Harvard.

“There’s a lot of unfinished

business (at the University),” Blumstein said. “It would be a disruption to the Plan for Academic Enrichment. We’ve just started a capital campaign and we can’t raise money and capital without a president onboard.”

Blumstein continued: “(Simmons) has given great stability and goals and aspirations to the institution. My hope is that she will see it through.”

Simmons told the Providence Journal last year that the Brown presidency will be her last job.

The article suggested that she expected to stay at Brown for 10 years — the length that most university presidents tend to lead. This July will mark her fiveyear milestone at the University.

However, Simmons is not under contractual obligation to stay at Brown, Nelson said, and Simmons left Smith after only six years for College Hill. Her tenure was the shortest of any Smith president.

Simmons’ lack of comment did nothing to alleviate Brown students’ worries that their president may jump ship.

Simmons currently enjoys an 86.7 percent approval rating by students, according to a February Herald poll.

Two students sitting in the Blue Room Tuesday afternoon expressed dismay over the possibility of Simmons’ departure.

“I would be very upset and I would feel betrayed,” if Simmons left Brown, said Matthew Soursourian ’08. “She’s only been here for (four-and-a-half years), and in terms of college presidencies, it’s not a really long time. She can’t leave — she just started the capital campaign. It’s something she needs to follow through.”

Soursourian said he understood why Simmons would decline to comment about her views on the Harvard job, adding that Simmons should keep her interest, if there is any, private.

But he said Simmons should publicize her intent to leave Brown as soon as she makes a decision.

Reed Keefe ’06, a Boston native who has been closely following the developments at Harvard, also said she thinks Simmons should stay.

“I think that would be very bad move,” Keefe said of the possibility of Simmons leaving.

“She’s very popular at Brown right now. She’s just sort of found her place in the Brown community and started her plan.”

Keefe said she heard rumors of Simmons going to Harvard as soon as Summers resigned and, unlike Soursourian, thought that Simmons should come out with a definitive statement about her interests.

“I would like it if she made a definite statement that she wanted to stay,” she said. “I’m surprised that there hasn’t been a statement made already.”

Cohort continued from page 5 broad guidelines. If the content is not reasonably consistent over a substantial period of time, the program will not be fully integrated into the curriculum.

We need to ensure that there’s continuity,” he said.

The summer research grants guaranteed for students in the program have also generated some controversy.

“There are already significantly more people applying for (Undergraduate Teaching and Research Assistantships) than get them,” Tullis said. “I am left wondering how this program can guarantee some ‘special’ students the resources that others won’t have access to.”

Tullis said she fears this may make the program seem to favor its students over other science students at Brown, thereby fostering elitism, “which does not sound like a very Brown thing to do.”

However, Dean said the program aims to encourage dynamic interplay between students and disciplines across campus, a process which will erode the perception of elitism rather than promote it.

“I think there are these goblins in the closet that people imagine,” he said. “People are worried that we’re trying to turn Brown into a (California Institute of Technology) or a (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), which is just not going to happen. In some senses we can’t get better in the humanities, in terms of attracting the best and brightest.

But where Brown could improve is to make the sciences ‘uniquely Brown.’ ” He said the program’s interdisciplinary nature places it “squarely within the concept of what a Brown education is.”

But Savage said he has observed “lackluster” support from faculty regarding the proposal.

“If the University is going to make this major push and have it succeed, it needs enthusiastic support from the faculty. It has to be completely owned by the faculty, they have to believe in it and feel a strong sense of ownership. And I don’t believe that the current proposal does that,” he said.

Savage said more backing could be achieved by encouraging increased dialogue between detractors and proponents of the program. “If the Science Cohort Committee had a dialogue going, we could accommodate (detractors’) reservations and restructure the program, bringing everyone onboard,” he said.

The issue will be further discussed at a faculty forum March 16 and will be voted on at a later date.

PAGE 8 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD WEDNESDAY, MARCH 1, 2006

Skiing

Briefs

continued from page 12

continued from page 12

snow and icier conditions than the western teams are accustomed to in the Rockies.

Those conditions will make for a faster, more evenly matched race.

Despite Brown’s slight logistical advantage, nationals will mark the team’s most difficult challenge of the year.

“The girls realize now that they have a chance to make the podium at Nationals,” Leblanc said. “It will be a totally different story at nationals though. There is a lot more depth to teams. … The whole thing will likely be decided by one-tenth of a second over three (competitors’ times).”

Although a repeat of last season’s finish is not out of the question, the team has done well to even qualify, skiing without Hilary Swaffield ’06, who left the team, and Nina DiBona ’07, who has been unable to compete due to a knee injury. Both routinely finished in the team’s top three last season, meaning other team members have had to step up with faster times.

“At times during the year, they didn’t believe in themselves,” LeBlanc said. “Jamie and Sophie were never really scoring last year because we had Hilary and Nina.

Then this year, some girls got shoved into the limelight unexpectedly and took a little while to acclimate themselves. But they skied to their potential this weekend.”

competitors will fence for spots in the NCAA nationals.

Equestrian narrows UConn’s lead The equestrian team finished first out of three teams in Hebron, Conn. on Sunday, beating out the University of Connecticut and Wesleyan University. The Bears’ narrow victory over UConn, 33-29, moves them closer to the Huskies in the regional standings, in which they now trail by 33 points.

Point rider Grace Peloquin ’07 rode to victory in the intermediate fences. The Bears did not have another point rider take the top spot in an event, but the team did have four more first-place finishes.

Whitney Keefe ’07 won the open flat in her division, Dana Liljegren ’06 and Katie Goetz ’08 both won the novice flat and Irmak Tasindi ’08 won her division of walk trot canter.

The Bears ride again on March 12 at Windswept Farms in Warren, R.I. It will be their first home meet of the year.

Steady diet of ranked squads proves too much for w. water polo The women’s water polo team headed west to California over

Shooting continued from page 3 reasons and I’m not quite sure at this point if I’m going to make them all get Taser-certified,” he said.

Ferrell said he is uncertain whether Tasers would have helped Douglas in the Feb. 8 shooting.

“Things may have been different if we had the Tasers, but we don’t know. We just have

the weekend to compete at the Gaucho Invitational, hosted by the University of California, Santa Barbara. The top 15 teams in the country participated in the tournament, and Brown faced four of them. Unfortunately, the Bears dropped all of those contests and fell to 1-8 on the year.

In its first match on Saturday, Bruno faced the nation’s topranked team, the University of Southern California. Although Paige Lansing ’07 scored two goals, the Trojans put up 17 in a 17-4 win. Facing No. 8 Arizona State University later that day, the Bears fared somewhat better but still dropped an 11-3 decision.

Sunday brought more ranked opposition. Brown took on the No. 12-ranked University of Michigan and dropped another decision, 12-2. A 13-1 loss to the No. 14 University of California, Davis closed out the weekend for the Bears.

Brown’s best performance of the weekend came against yet another ranked team and the host of the Guacho Invitational, No. 11 UC Santa Barbara. The Bears played the Guachos on Friday before participating in the tournament and lost that contest 11-6. Karylanna Kopra ’07 had three goals for the Bears in that match.

—Sports staff reports

to move forward,” he said.

Porter echoed the sentiment. “(Carroll) was noncompliant. He refused to obey the commands of officers,” he said, “but I don’t know if Tasers would have helped or worked in that situation because each situation is different.”

Carroll was charged with several felonies as well as two accounts of aggravated assault, according to a report by the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He was suspended by FAU.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 1, 2006 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD PAGE 9

Mardi Gras parades go on

BY J. JIONI PALMER NEWSDAY

NEW ORLEANS — There was never any doubt Jim Thompson would ride atop a Mardi Gras parade float this year as he has for more than a decade. Or that he and his family would partake in the pre-Lent festivities.

“People in New Orleans are ready to come out and party and have a good time. Mardi Gras is part of the fabric of the city,” Thompson, 55, of Baton Rouge, said. “If you don’t have Mardi Gras in New Orleans you might as well not have red beans and rice.”

While that scrumptious Southern dish wasn’t on the menu at the party whereThompson’s family and their friends waited Sunday night for him and the rest of the Krewe of Bacchus to parade through the warehouse district, there was more than enough savory gumbo and not-too-spicy chili to satisfy the taste buds and tax the waistline.

But with much of New Orleans still in tatters and roughly half of the city’s residents still displaced around the country, Thompson’s wife, Jane, said it just didn’t feel right to attend the krewe’s annual Mardi Gras ball at the Convention Center as she normally would.

“To put on a ball gown, I thought was a little excessive,” said Thompson, a third-grade teacher whose Baton Rouge

W. squash continued from page 12 to Sunday’s win by downing Emily Gladden 9-0, 9-5, 9-0 at ninth position. “I think our final display demonstrated just how far we have come.”

Breck Haynes ’09 also recorded a victory against Arianna Kourides at fifth seed, three games to one. Following her first full season on the squad, Haynes agreed that the team’s improvement was

Divestment continued from page 1 since the original announcement of the Corporation’s decision.

STAND and the ACCRI have compiled a list of nine companies recommended for divestment and detailed why they believe they facilitate genocide. The list is composed of ABB Ltd., Alcatel, Marathon Oil, PetroChina, Petronas, Siemens, Sinopec, Taftnet and Total SA. All but Alcatel and Siemens are oil companies. In addition, both STAND and the ACCRI listed

school took in about 120 evacuated students. “I don’t hold it against anyone who went, but for me it was a little excessive.”

Instead, she opted to spend a somewhat subdued evening — by New Orleans standards — kicking back with friends and relatives at a house party a block off the parade route.

The sounds of a rock band playing at the Bacchus Bash, an all-day street party, still reverberated throughout the neighborhood and people walked the streets with beers and hurricane drinks in hand as they had in years past, but the vibe just wasn’t the same.

“I feel like a lot of culture left the city because the people are gone,” Jack Thompson said in his assessment of the revelry. “You can tell they’re mostly tourists.”

Periodically, someone at the party received a phone call from a float rider with an update on the progress of the parade, which began at 5:15 p.m. but didn’t roll by where they were located until almost 11.

“He (my husband) said the crowds are larger than they’ve ever been,” Jane Thompson said, a throng attributed to the first time in memory of staging the two “super krewes” of Bacchus and Endymion on the same night.

That news and the realization that the floats were approaching

impressive.

“It’s great to see that we have strong contributors like Charlotte and Megan (Cerullo ’08) who are playing so high (in the seedings) during the early stages of their collegiate careers,” she said. “We could be a very competitive force in the next couple of seasons.”

The team finished with a final record of 5-4 for the season. The next event for a limited number of squad members will be the WISA Individuals at Amherst, Mass., Mar. 3-5.

other schools that have divested from or are considering divesting from each one.

In an e-mail to The Herald, Putterman wrote, “Because I was not there and haven’t spoken with anyone who was present at the Corporation meeting, I don’t know for sure whether the Corporation was given our list of companies and of reasons for targeting them.” He added that the Corporation’s choice of companies is complicated because “the lists targeted by different universities and states involved in the divestment movement do not exactly match.”

ignited the energy level among the gathering of about 20 or so people, who quickly freshened their beverages and headed out the door.

As the sound of the marching bands boomed louder and the lights from the floats grew brighter, the people climbed their ladders and otherwise positioned themselves to catch as many “throws” — an assortment of beads, stuffed animals, cups, key chains and other knickknacks — as possible.

“Tonight they’re good, tomorrow they’re just plastic beads,” Jane Thompson said. “What’s scary is what the women do for these plastic beads.”

In addition to paying — in the case of Bacchus, $750 — to be on a float, the riders can spend as much as $2,000 each on throws.

“It really gives you a feeling of power ... It is an unbelievable feeling,” Jim Thompson said of participating in the parade.

In light of the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina, Thompson said, riding this year took on special meaning.

“For everything that’s happened I hope we never have a Mardi Gras like this,” he said.

“You know people were out there who lost everything but they are out there because it’s Mardi Gras. Anyone who criticizes us for having Mardi Gras ain’t from New Orleans.”

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Thursday, 6 p.m., 195 Angell St.

EDITORIAL/LETTERS THE BROWN DAILY HERALD · WEDNESDAY, MARCH 1, 2006 · PAGE 10

STAFF EDITORIAL

Defining divestment On Saturday, when the Brown Corporation decided to divest from companies linked to the Sudanese government, Chancellor Stephen Robert ’62 P ’91 emerged from University Hall and voiced the University’s noble pro-divestment stance.

“I can’t think of anything more abhorrent or heinous” than the genocide in Darfur, Robert said to the group of students rallying on the steps of Faunce House in favor of divestment.

He went on to call investing in companies implicated in the genocide “contrary to every value … we hold dear.”

We agree with Robert, which is why we supported the University’s largely symbolic gesture to divest. But for a gesture to carry any weight, the University has to follow through with it — and plans to do so remain unclear. The Corporation voted to divest from companies that meet a set of criteria, not an actual list of companies. Granted, it’s only been four days since the decision was announced, but no one seems to know how divestment will go forward.

Even though the Advisory Committee on Corporate Responsibility in Investing provided President Ruth Simmons a list of nine companies it determined to be facilitating genocide in Darfur, the chair of the ACCRI, Professor of Economics Louis Putterman, has not been told whether the Corporation was given the list.

In addition to this lack of communication, a handful of top University officials are either uninformed or unwilling to comment on the details of divestment. Both the assistant to the president and the assistant secretary of the Corporation referred The Herald to the public affairs office, which could not provide any information. Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration Elizabeth Huidekoper would only say that Corporation members would conduct an “independent assessment” in the next few weeks. All of this makes us wonder who is in charge of enacting the divestment decision. And if the process is truly moving forward, why does it remain so loosely defined?

Yale University, which decided to divest just 10 days before Brown, presented a much clearer model: The announcement to divest was complete with the list of seven companies Yale had decided to blacklist. Moreover, the university disclosed that it owned stock potentially worth several million dollars in one of the companies.

We urge the University to clarify the details of the divestment process and hurry to approve the list of nine companies— which was heavily researched by both members of the ACCRI and Brown’s chapter of Students Taking Action Now: Darfur — for divestment.

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD EDITORIAL Robbie Corey-Boulet, Editor-in-Chief Justin Elliott, Executive Editor Ben Miller, Executive Editor Stephanie Clark, Senior Editor Katie Lamm, Senior Editor Jonathan Sidhu, Arts & Culture Editor Jane Tanimura, Arts & Culture Editor Stu Woo, Campus Watch Editor Mary-Catherine Lader, Features Editor Ben Leubsdorf, Metro Editor Anne Wootton, Metro Editor Eric Beck, News Editor Patrick Harrison, Opinions Editor Nicholas Swisher, Opinions Editor Stephen Colelli, Sports Editor Christopher Hatfield, Sports Editor Justin Goldman, Asst. Sports Editor Jilane Rodgers, Asst. Sports Editor Charlie Vallely, Asst. Sports Editor PRODUCTION Allison Kwong, Design Editor Taryn Martinez, Copy Desk Chief Lela Spielberg, Copy Desk Chief Mark Brinker, Graphics Editor Joe Nagle, Graphics Editor

PHOTO Jean Yves Chainon, Photo Editor Jacob Melrose, Photo Editor Ashley Hess, Sports Photo Editor Kori Schulman, Sports Photo Editor BUSINESS Ryan Shewcraft, General Manager Lisa Poon, Executive Manager David Ranken, Executive Manager Mitch Schwartz, Executive Manager Laurie-Ann Paliotti, Sr. Advertising Manager Susan Dansereau, Office Manager POST- MAGAZINE Sonia Saraiya, Editor-in-Chief Taryn Martinez, Associate Editor Ben Bernstein, Features Editor Matt Prewitt, Features Editor Elissa Barba, Design Editor Lindsay Harrison, Graphics Editor Constantine Haghighi, Film Editor Paul Levande, Film Editor Jesse Adams, Music Editor Katherine Chan, Music Editor Hillary Dixler, Off-the-Hill Editor Abigail Newman, Theater Editor

Andrew Kuo, Allison Kwong Night Editors Chessy Brady, Taryn Martinez, Copy Editors Senior Staff Writers Simmi Aujla, Stephanie Bernhard, Melanie Duch, Ross Frazier, Jonathan Herman, Rebecca Jacobson, Chloe Lutts, Caroline Silverman Staff Writers Anna Abramson, Justin Amoah, Zach Barter, Allison Erich Bernstein, Brenna Carmody, Alissa Cerny, Ashley Chung, Stewart Dearing, Gabriella Doob, Phillip Gara, Hannah Levintova, Hannah Miller, Aidan Levy, Jill Luxenberg, Taryn Martinez, Ari Rockland-Miller, Jane Porter, Chelsea Rudman, Sonia Saraiya, Kam Sripada, Robin Steele, Kim Stickels, Nicole Summers, Laura Supkoff, Spencer Trice, Ila Tyagi, Sara Walter Sports Staff Writers Erin Frauenhofer, Kate Klonick, Madeleine Marecki, George Mesthos, Eric Perlmutter, Marco Santini, Tom Trudeau Account Administrators Alexandra Annuziato, Emilie Aries, Steven Butschi, Dee Gill, Rahul Keerthi, Kate Love, Ally Ouh, Nilay Patel, Ashfia Rahman, Rukesh Samarasekera, Jen Solin, Bonnie Wong Design Staff Ross Frazier, Adam Kroll, Andrew Kuo, Jason Lee, Gabriela Scarritt Photo Staff CJ Adams, Chris Bennett, Meg Boudreau, Tobias Cohen, Lindsay Harrison, Matthew Lent, Dan Petrie, Christopher Schmitt, Oliver Schulze, Juliana Wu, Min Wu, Copy Editors Aubry Bracco, Jacob Frank, Christopher Gang, Taryn Martinez, Katie McComas, Sara Molinaro, Heather Peterson, Sonia Saraiya, Lela Spielberg

D A N I E L L AW L O R

LETTERS E D I TO R ’ S

N OT E

On Monday, Feb. 27, The Herald published a guest opinions column by Jason Carr ’09 titled “Why I’m not recycling.” It was later discovered that several sentences of the column closely resembled specific phrasing from John Tierney’s article “Recycling is Garbage,” which appeared in the June 30, 1996 issue of the New York Times Magazine.

The Herald operates under the tacit understanding that columnists honestly represent the authorship of their articles and accurately cite all sources. The editorial board apologizes to Herald readers for having allowed this article to be published and assures them of The Herald’s continued commitment to journalistic integrity.

Herald coverage of Winn lecture misleading To the Editor: On Thursday, Feb. 16, Brown Students for Life and the Kaleidoscope Fund hosted Sally Winn, the vice president of Feminists for Life of America, to give a lecture about resources for pregnant and parenting students. In her presentation, Winn discussed the two primary factors that lead women to have abortions: lack of emotional support and lack of financial support. She then continued to suggest practical solutions that can be done on college campuses to alleviate these pressures.

In The Herald’s coverage of the event (“Feminist for life Winn wants support for pregnant students,” Feb. 17), The Herald reported the reasons leading women to abortion that Winn presented with the qualifier “according to Winn.” We would like to clarify that Winn’s data were taken directly from the Alan Guttmacher Institute, the research arm

of Planned Parenthood and are thus neither her personal conclusions nor even statistics from a pro-life organization.

To initiate positive change, we hope to work together with campus pro-choice organizations to create the Brown University Pregnancy Resources Committee, a nonpartisan effort to identify the needs of pregnant and parenting students and staff on campus. Abortion politics aside, pregnant students should not have to sacrifice their educations to carry out their pregnancies. Plan to get involved!

Sean Rumschik ‘06 Joanna Joly ‘07 Co-Presidents, Brown Students for Life Feb. 23

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...it’s like vegetables for your mind CORRECTIONS POLICY The Brown Daily Herald is committed to providing the Brown University community with the most accurate information possible.

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OPINIONS

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD · WEDNESDAY, MARCH 1, 2006 · PAGE 11

March of the gay penguins Same-sex marriage is not a civil rights struggle, but a privilege for the bourgeois elite of the queer community

BY JOSH TEITELBAUM

GUEST COLUMNIST

In his Feb. 17 letter to the editor, Max Chaiken ’09 expressed his disapproval of a quote of mine from the Feb. 15 Herald article, “Brown Dems, Queer Alliance turn out in support of same-sex marriage,” in which I allude to the fact that some members of the LGBTQ community support gay marriage while others do not. To be fair to Max, I concede the hostile tone implied by that the quote, but, as these things sometimes go, what I said had been taken out of context.

That quote was lifted from my oftenrepeated “the LGBTQ community is a big makeup case” spiel, in which I remind people that LGBTQ people exist at all points of the political spectrum. Although it’s sometimes difficult for people to reconcile the fact that Queer Alliance spon-sors events like Sex Power God and the Drag Show, while at the same time working for same-sex marriage, people need to remember that Queer Alliance is an umbrella organization and, as such, strives to do justice to a multitude of queer identities and expressions.

That notwithstanding, what better an opportunity to talk about the gay marriage

issue from a standpoint other than the conservative mainstream gay and lesbian view that seems so pervasive in today’s media? Like Chaiken, who only made mention of assimilation in his letter’s title without exploring the idea further, I will leave the topic of assimilation alone.

Marriage is assimilation. Marriage supporters champion the fact that marriage is assimilation, while marriage opponents use that fact in their condemnation of it; the only thing left open for debate is whether or not assimilation is the right direction to take.

labeled as anything short of hypocritical.

At the rally, I met some of the nicest, whitest, most bourgeois gays and lesbians anyone could hope to meet. As is typical of these get-togethers, there was hardly a person of color in sight. Being the masochist that I am, I asked one of the rally’s organizers if he had seen any people of color yet that day. Now, you might think that this was a strange question to be asking, but I knew he’d understand. With his wink and quick pat of my bottom, he let me know that he understood my motivations: either I wanted to find a drug dealer, or I was having a craving for a little jungle lovin’.

(It’s important to note that at this point I was not yet in my usual anti-marriage getup consisting of a leopard print blouse and matching scarf. Had I already been sporting my tranny-hobochic garb, he would’ve read my question differently: I would have been some sex criminal looking for my thug friends so that I could rob these white folks. He would’ve called security.)

In making my rounds, I came across the sweetest little cherry plucked straight from the Brown Democrats’ big supple bush of thoughtful, informed, culturally sensitive fruits; for the purposes of this column, we’ll call this prominent little activist “Brown Dem.” Oh, she was so ripe! The Brown Dems, kindly supporting the gay agenda, had been on hand at the rally to collect signatures of supporters. Our little Brown Dem, having no idea who I was despite her deep

The queer marriage struggle is about a few wealthy white gays and lesbians securing the last bit of privilege they need to be just as well-off as their heterosexual counterparts.

Let me tell you about Marriage Equality RI’s Valentine’s Day rally. (It’s important to note here that the whole reason I have to tell you about the rally is because I was there, Mr. Chaiken, and you were not — not that that in any way should make your argument less valid, nor does it mean that your challenge of the commitment of radical queers to LGBTQ struggle should be

commitment to LGBTQ issues, asked me to sign. When I informed her that I did not wish to sign — well, let’s just say that I can’t really repeat what she said while in polite company. Sometime after I turned away from her screaming red face, a member of QA’s political action committee, the group with which I went to the rally, explained to the little Brown Dem that I am queer. That didn’t stop her. I guess straight people really do know what’s best for us freaks.

Bottom line of all this: marriage discriminates. The “rights” that marriage gains for gays and lesbians are only for the most traditional of couples; that means trannies, uglies, loners and whores best step aside. Despite the invocation of civil rights language by marriage supporters, there’s nothing about marriage that even remotely deals with civil rights. Have HIV/ AIDS? Ever been victim of a hate crime?

Love getting the shaft at work because of job discrimination? The queer marriage struggle is about a few wealthy white gays and lesbians securing the last bit of privilege they need to be just as well-off as their heterosexual counterparts; for them, this is the end of the gay rights struggle.

You tell me, if you could get married today, would that be it for you? Would you be, as Marriage Equality RI suggests, “equal?”

While I chose Brown partly because I’d never have to take math again, even my silly fairy brain knows that there’s something wrong with that equation.

Josh Teitelbaum ’08 and his life-partner are registered at both Crate & Barrel and Pottery Barn.

It’s time the West accepts ethnic non-cooperation Western nations must give up pressuring the rest of the world to adopt a utopian model of multi-ethnic democracy

BY MICHAL ZAPENDOWSKI GUEST COLUMNIST

All over the world — from the Muslim territories of western China, to the former state of Yugoslavia to post-Saddam Iraq — multi-ethnic states are being put to the test. In the West, the multi-ethnic theory is founded largely on the desire of wellmeaning but naïve governments and organizations to force “ethnic groups” to “learn to live together,” smile and hold hands and forget about their differences.

Armed with this theory, the United States is pressuring Iraq’s ethnic groups to put aside their differences and form a “national unity” government, while in Bosnia the United Nations High Commissioner has consistently pursued a policy of forcing the Serbian Republic to reintegrate with the overwhelmingly Bosniak and Croat Bosnian Federation. It seems we haven’t given up our belief that we know what’s best for the “more primitive” nations that populate the earth.

The territories of the former Yugoslavia have barely emerged from the bloodiest ethnic conflict of their history, and the United Nations and, most importantly, the North American and European nations that spearheaded NATO intervention, are demonstrating that they have learned nothing from that conflict. Rather than recognizing the bloodbath as the failure of the multi-ethnic model of Yugoslavia, the West has chosen to stubbornly cling to utopian beliefs that not only arrogantly disregard the democratic will of the peoples in question — all of whom want to govern themselves, rather than trying to govern one another — but show a blatant disregard for the history of the West itself, which owes its current stability and prosperity largely to the establishment of ethnically

homogeneous nation-states by previous generations.

The permanent political crisis of postSaddam Iraq patently demonstrates the failure of the utopian model of inter-ethnic cooperation, which outside of the West has largely served as little more than a façade for the domination of one ethnic group over another. What government can possibly function when every election is followed by six months of painful negotiations among fundamentally opposed communities? It is precisely in order to move on from the painful and divisive issues of ethnicity that the inter-ethnic model has to be abandoned. Rather than arguing over which group controls what parts of the government and forcing the false, exasperated consensus of “national unity” over fundamental cultural divisions, countries need to be free to move beyond the ethnic impasse to begin solving their deep economic and social problems. This is especially true in the case of Iraq, and for this reason it is absolutely imperative that the multi-ethnic experiment — which began in the form of repressive empires and continues in the form of Western naïveté — be abandoned once and for all.

When President Woodrow Wilson argued for national self-determination as a recipe for worldwide political reform in 1918, he was on to something good.

The fact that separatist conflicts continue even in prosperous nations like Canada and Spain that have abandoned political repression demonstrates that these conflicts have little to do with economic problems or government policies.

Their fundamental root is the desire of

every people that forms the majority in a particular territory to be recognized as fully sovereign, independent and equal to other nations. This desire is fully justified and fully democratic.

The fundamental question at the heart of ethnicity is identity. Nations such as the United States, where an overarching identity not organized around ethnicity exists, can function effectively as multi-ethnic states.

However, we should not assume that all countries are like the United States. Efforts to impose an overarching nationalist identity on states without one will never work. State repression against something as fundamental as individual identity is not only immoral and contradictory to

as in cases where ethnic boundaries are unclear or dispersed minorities exist within majority populations, the support of selfdetermination should be coupled with a firm resolve to defend the internationally recognized rights of minorities.

History is so replete with examples of multi-ethnic states that don’t work that listing them all would require a special issue of The Herald. Fundamentally, our des-ire to force foreign peoples to “get along” springs from a lack of acknowledgment that their divisions are legitimate. It is symptomatic that Western scholars acknowledge our own Western identities (French, British, etc.) while referring to other peoples as mere quarreling “ethnic groups.” Let us not forget that we Westerners have spent more time and energy slaughtering one another over religious and national differences than any other part of the world. We were not able to put aside our fundamental differences until we all had our independence from one another.

For the good of the world, we need to get off our high horse, embrace pragmatism, reject utopianism and acknowledge the democratic will of foreign populations and allow, and even encourage, diverse communities to go their separate ways and govern themselves independently. It is only by recognizing the world’s divisions that we can soften them, and as long as we try to repress them we will only deepen them.

Efforts to impose an overarching nationalist identity on states without one will never work. the principles of democracy, but history has proven that it achieves the opposite result of the multi-ethnic state project, pushing ethnic groups deeper into their communitarian divisions and, in extreme instances, setting the stage for ethnic war.

Of course, none of this means that the United Nations should endorse ethnic cleansing or the repression of minorities in the name of the nationstate. It is precisely in order to avoid the domination of numerically superior ethnic groups over their neighbors that coherent ethnic territories should become independent states whenever possible. When this is not possible, such

Michal Zapendowski ’07 is getting ready to go to Serbia, and this is his way of sucking up.

SPORTS WEDNESDAY THE BROWN DAILY HERALD · MARCH 1, 2006 · PAGE 12

Skiers come up big in giant slalom; headed to nationals

BY STEPHEN COLELLI SPORTS EDITOR

WATERVILLE VALLEY, N.H. — Any number of clichés would be appropriate to describe the ski team’s performance on Sunday at the USCSA Eastern Regionals: it saved its best for last, stepped up when it mattered, made the most of its opportunity. The Bears won Sunday’s giant slalom, overcoming a fourth-place finish in the slalom to finish in second place and qualify for the national championship.

With a trip to the United States Collegiate Ski and Snowboard Association National Championship on the line in Sunday’s giant slalom, the Bears put together their best race of the season. Kelly O’Hear ’07 won the event with a time of 1:39.52, helping Brown edge the University of Massachusetts by almost three seconds.

She set the tone for Brown by ripping off a first-place run that could have been even faster, said Head Coach Mike LeBlanc.

“She is skiing at a different level right now,” LeBlanc said. “For our team, her job is simply to finish (the race in order to secure points). She took it easy her first run and still (won) by a second.”

The skiers that followed O’Hear were able to maintain the momentum. On a course with numerous tight turns and a steep drop at the end, all five Brown skiers attacked the mountain during their first run far more aggressively than the other teams in the competition. Sophie Elgort ’08 placed fifth with a time of 1:42.90, and Janet Marley-Mauzy ’07 took eighth with a time of 1:43.99. The combination of the top three times determines the team’s overall finish.

“All season, it’s been a little frustrating because it seemed that every week we would have some individual standouts, but

we all couldn’t put it together on the same day,” O’Hear said. “To have everyone click at the same time was unbelievable.”

The giant slalom run contained two steep drops, or pitches, on the course, but Brown managed to pick up time in those two areas. Most of the competitors slowed when approaching the second pitch that contained a hard right turn leading into the drop. The Brown skiers all maintained their speed during that portion of the course, earning a commanding lead that became nearly insurmountable when the afternoon’s run was shortened due to deteriorating conditions.

Following Saturday’s slalom event — also held at Waterville Valley — Bruno had been stuck in fourth, with O’Hear, Elgort and Johnson all scoring for the Bears.

O’Hear was fourth in the slalom, although she is better in the giant slalom.

“We knew that only five teams qualify for nationals (from regionals), so we didn’t want to just make it, we wanted to make it easily,” O’Hear said.

Both Elgort and Marley-Mauzy were actually behind Mallory Taub ’08 after the first run of the day. Taub, who had been in fifth, finished in 18th after slipping on her second run.

Jamie Johnson ’06 managed a careerbest finish and nearly joined her three teammates in the top 10 with a time of 1:44.24, good for 11th.

Now, the team will attempt to duplicate its second-place finish at last year’s national competition. This year’s races will be held at Sugarloaf, Maine, which should provide a bit of an advantage for the team over such formidable western rivals as Sierra Nevada College and Rocky Mountain College. Sugarloaf boasts much harder see SKIING, page 8

No. 7 women’s squash ends season on high note at Howe Cup

BY STEELE WEST SPORTS STAFF WRITER

The women’s squash team cast aside Williams College 6-3 at the Howe Cup in Cambridge, Mass., on Sunday. It was a crucial win for the Bears because it helped them maintain their No. 7 national rank.

In addition, the win speaks to the team’s improvement over the year. The Howe Cup serves as the National Championships in collegiate women’s squash and provided the team with its stiffest test of the year.

The key to victory was Brown’s domination of the top half of the draw against Williams. Four of its top five players defeated their opponents, setting Bruno up for success. Dominant performers

included Charlotte Steel ’09 at the number four position and Minoo Fadaifard ’08 in the third match. Steel swept aside her opponent in straight games 9-5, 9-5, 94 and Fadaifard shut out Williams’ Caite Warner 9-0 in the final game to take a very competitive match.

Despite losses earlier in the tournament to Yale and Dartmouth by scores of 90 and 8-1, respectively, the team was satisfied with the improvements it made throughout the season.

“It was really exciting to watch the evolution of the squad throughout the season,” said Herald Contributing Writer Nathalie Pierrepont ’07, who contributed see W. SQUASH, page 9

AWW ZUCKS

Ashley Hess / Herald

Keaton Zucker ’06 was named ECACHL Player of the Week after her three-goal, two-assist performance this weekend. With the five points, Zucker broke the 100point mark for her career and now sits in 16th place on the Bears’ all-time list.

W. tennis battles No. 24 South Carolina early before falling 5-2

BY BART STEIN SPORTS STAFF WRITER

Kelley Kirkpatrick ’08 and Ashley Pariser ’08 hugged in celebration after an improbable 9-7 victory to clinch the doubles point over the University of South Carolina, ranked 24th in the nation.

Unfortunately, the upset win in the doubles portion was not a sign of things to come, as the Bears failed to capitalize on their auspicious start, losing 5-2 to fall to 3-5 on the season.

Kirkpatrick and Pariser left it all out on the court against a doubles team that included freshman Gira Schofield, ranked 46th in singles. At that point in the match, they hoped to provide the spark that could propel the Bears to a huge upset victory.

“We hoped our victory would provide momentum,” Pariser said. “Any time we can get the doubles point from such a good team it provides us with confidence.

It makes our opponent realize they are going to have to work to beat us.”

It seemed, for a moment, that the Bears could indeed pull off something special. Daisy Ames ’07, playing first singles, started off her match on fire against Schofield, the Gamecocks’ young star, jumping out to an early 5-2 lead.

Ames was all over the court, consistently drawing cheers from the small crowd as she unleashed a dazzling array of winners.

The match, however, abruptly slipped away. Schofield started connecting on big serves and began attacking the net

aggressively. As has been the case all season, Ames would go on to lose in a score (7-5, 6-1) that did not accurately reflect the competitiveness of the match.

“I started the match really loose and relaxed,” Ames said. “All the pressure was on her to beat me. I’m upset I lost, but I am learning and becoming better. When the Ivy season starts, I will be ready and more prepared than ever.”

One highlight for Brown was the continued excellent play of Sara Mansur ’09. Mansur teamed up with Brett Finkelstein ’09 to notch a victory at third doubles and was the only Bear to win a singles match in a thrilling 2-6, 6-4 (10-5) win.

Mansur is 4-4 this year in singles play, which is impressive for a first-year. She has played as high as third singles, and her attacking style draws attention from both teammates and opponents.

“Sara is one of our more aggressive players,” said Head Coach Paul Wardlaw.

“Recently, she has been able to strike a good balance between being aggressive and consistent and it is really paying off.”

Mansur and the rest of the Bears will have to be in top form this Sunday when they face No. 26 Clemson University at 11 a.m. at the Pizzitola Sports Center.

Wardlaw was obviously disappointed with the loss to South Carolina, but he said he is very encouraged by his team’s overall performance.

“We were very competitive against a top-25 team,” he said. “That says a lot about where we are going as a program and how much we have improved.”

Sports briefs: Equestrian narrows margin in cup race by edging UConn; saber squads power fencing

Ashley Hess / Herald

Minoo Fadaifard ’08 recorded a big win at the number three position in Brown’s defeat of Williams. She swept all three games in helping the Bears down the Ephs, 6-3.

Fencing squads combine for ninth at IFA Championship The fencing squads competed at the 112th Intercollegiate Fencing Association Championship at the University of Pennsylvania over the weekend, taking on some of the top-ranked teams in the nation. The men’s and women’s teams combined to finish ninth overall, with the former taking ninth out of 11 teams and the latter finishing seventh out of 12.

Both the men’s and women’s teams were led by their saber squads, which finished fourth in their respective divisions. Sabreist Dan Mahoney ’07 turned in the Bears’ best individual

performance, finishing sixth in the individual event. Mahoney made it to the quarterfinals before losing 11-15 to Harvard’s Tim Hagamen, an Olympic hopeful for 2008 who ended up taking silver at the event.

Sabreists Olivia Partyka ’06 and Deborah Gorth ’09 led the women’s squad, qualifying for the individual rounds and finishing ninth and 15th, respectively.

Nick Bender ’09 turned in a strong performance with the foil, qualifying for the individual event and taking seventh place. Bender defeated Yale’s Corey Werk in the first round, taking down the defending IFA silver medalist

15-14 in overtime. Despite Bender’s individual effort, the foilists finished ninth overall.

All-American epeeist Ruth Schneider ’06 did not compete due to a lingering cold that hindered her at the New England Championships the week before. Without her, the women’s epeeists finished 10th out of 12 teams.

Harvard dominated the IFAs, taking first in the men’s and women’s competitions to finish first overall The fencing team will compete in the NCAA Regional Championships on Sunday in Cambridge, Mass., where see BRIEFS, page 8