THE BROWN DAILY HERALD FRIDAY, APRIL 14, 2006
Volume CXLI, No. 50
THE WRITE STUFF Students and professors reflect on their experiences with the year-old literary arts concentration CAMPUS NEWS 5
BLAZERS, NOT BREASTPLATES With “The Medium,” Brown Opera Productions shows off Brown’s little-known penchant for classical music ARTS & CULTURE 3
WINNING THE WAR Michal Zapendowski ’07 has a special message for the White House: how to win the war on terror OPINIONS 11
Writing the honors thesis
As deadlines loom, students reflect on the experience and describe requirements in different departments BY NATHALIE PIERREPONT CONTRIBUTING WRITER
On Monday night, Peiling Li ’06 completed the third chapter of her history thesis, which analyzes desertion during the Civil War. The 50 pages of the chapter are “the best writing I’ve ever done at Brown. … I’m really proud,” she said. The final product — which has been two years in the making —is due in less than a week, and though she has only completed a little more than half of the 120 pages she expects to write, she is surprisingly calm. As she pulled out two four-inch binders full of research she began over the summer, which are perfectly organized and labeled with color-coded post-its and highlighter marks, she explained that the thesis-writing process has taught her valuable lessons of balance and adaptability. “It’s a psychological battle trying to keep yourself sane” during this process, Li said. Like many other seniors hoping to graduate with honors, Li is in the final stages of writing her thesis — an undertaking that varies depending on each department’s requirements as well as individual students’ philosophy about the endeavor.
Courtesy of Patrick Cook-Deegan
This summer, Patrick Cook-Deegan ‘07 plans to bike across Laos to raise $15,000 to help build a new school in the country. He was inspired to go on the trip while studying abroad last semester.
TOMORROW
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Banner may alter key aspects of registration
Different requirements Honors history students like Li are required to take a three-course sequence in order to write a thesis. The process begins with a seminar taken during the spring of a student’s junior year, HI 92: “Selected Topics in the Writing and Interpretation of History,” taught by Professor of History Kenneth Sacks, who coordinates the department’s honors program. Sacks’ seminar introduces students to history research methods and helps sharpen their critical reading and writ-
Administrators in University Hall know one thing about life with Banner. “We should have fewer lines in University Hall during registration and shopping period,” said Associate Provost Nancy Dunbar. “Everyone agrees about that.” Banner, a comprehensive program that will include online registration for courses, may change many aspects of pre-registration and shopping period beginning in Spring 2007 if it is implemented on schedule, said Dunbar and University Registrar Michael Pesta. But Pesta and Dunbar are unsure of how significant the changes will be, they said. Along with the online registration system, Banner will replace current systems and databases for the University’s admissions and financial aid operations. Administrators are leaning toward tailoring Banner so upperclassmen will be able to pre-register for courses before underclassmen. In addition, course prerequisites — now largely ignored — will be enforced. Both Pesta and Dunbar said the system may encourage students to select their schedules sooner. Banner will immediately tell students whether they have gained a spot in a course, Dunbar said, adding that students might register earlier because of this feature for fear that courses will fill up quickly. “Students are going to be having to
see THESIS, page 4
see BANNER, page 6
Jean Yves Chainon / Herald
Many candidates for honors in various departments are putting the finishing touches on their thesis projects as final deadlines near. Li has been looking at the thesis experience from a broad, idealistic perspective. She believes that writing a thesis “arms students with a different way of thinking,” as it trains students “to think more critically in everyday life.” She added that her thesis “is not the seminal product of my undergraduate years.”
Patrick Cook-Deegan ’07 will cycle across Laos this summer for an educational cause
While other Brown students may spend the summer as camp counselors, in office internships or investment FEATURE banks, Patrick Cook-Deegan ’07 will bike along the entire length of Laos, alone. Cook-Deegan will cycle 900 miles in an effort to raise $15,500 toward building a new Laotian school. Sandwiched between Thailand and Vietnam in Southeast Asia, Laos has the dubious distinction of being one of the 10 poorest countries in the world. A former varsity lacrosse player for the Bears, CookDeegan spent nearly a month in Laos last summer while on an eight-month journey around the world which culminated in a semester abroad at the University of the Bosphorus in Turkey. The “incredible poverty of the majority of Laotians” that Cook-Deegan saw firsthand inspired him to help alleviate local
TODAY
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BY SIMMI AUJLA SENIOR STAFF WRITER
A long and winding road to a Laotian school BY ILA TYAGI STAFF WRITER
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challenges in his own way, he wrote on the Web site created for his trip. He sees his project, Cycle For Schools 2006, as an opportunity to better understand the needs of people in the developing world, something he hopes to continue to do after he graduates. Cook-Deegan’s trip is scheduled for Laos’ monsoon season, which makes the country’s terrain challenging. To prepare for the conditions, Cook-Deegan went snowshoeing in Vermont over spring break. As further training he will take part in a half Ironman competition in June, in which he will have to swim 1.2 miles, bike another 56 miles and run 13.1 miles. “That should get me in pretty good shape,” he said. Despite the trying environment of his summer endeavor, the only special equipment Cook-Deegan plans to pack is a hammock with a mosquito net and “lots of bug repellant.” Expressing a disdain for the traditional tourist traps found in every country, Cook-Deegan said he hopes to immerse himself in Laotians’ lives, eat meals with them, sleep in their houses and see how they live in “more of a raw form.” So far, Cook-Deegan has raised approximately half the money needed to build the school, primarily through e-mails sent to friends and relatives requesting financial donations and encouraging them to pass the message on. STA Travel has agreed to subsidize Cook-Deegan’s airfare, and DHL is sponsoring the shipment of his bike to Laos. He is making his trip in partnership with Room to Read, an international or-
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see LAOS, page 8
U. explores renewable energy options BY BRENNA CARMODY STAFF WRITER
Though the University has long focused on increasing energy efficiency, these efforts only recently have turned toward exploring renewable energy options. This movement has been stimulated by student groups, including the Brown Environmental Action Network and the Undergraduate Council of Students, as well as Providence’s City Council. Because its focus has been augmenting energy efficiency — by using upgraded oil and gas technologies, for example — the University does not currently purchase any renewable energy, such as solar or wind power. “The environmental impacts in the near term are the same (for both renewable and efficient energy sources) because fewer emissions have to be produced by dirty (power) plants,” said Kurt Teichert, resource efficiency manager for Facilities Management. But Teichert said renewable energy is important for economic and environmental concerns. Renewable energy is much better for the environment, and it also “offers a much more stable energy cost,” he said. While energy plants require construction costs and the use of fossil fuels, renewable energy sources such as wind farms only require construction costs. Brown has long been interested in “investigating viable ways to incorporate renewable energy into our portfolio,” Teichert said. The Urban Environmental Lab was installed with solar panels and now has photovoltaic panels to provide energy for heat.
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Recently, students have also taken up the cause. The Undergraduate Council of Students passed a resolution April 5 calling for the University to purchase 25 percent of its energy from renewable sources by the year 2010. The same resolution also supported a $25 opt-out student fee to subsidize the purchase of this energy. The University has not solicited students’ opinion on renewable energy in the past, but recent evidence shows that students are concerned about the issue. In a March UCS poll, 77.4 percent of respondents said they would support the University if it spent money to obtain its own source of renewable energy. “Up until this point there hasn’t really been a campaign that has mobilized the student voice,” said Aden Van Noppen ’09, a member of BEAN. She added that “students really want this.” Van Noppen described the University’s current energy policy as a “kind of non-existent conservation effort that isn’t really doing anything.” The UCS resolution supported a $25 opt-out fee instead of a mandatory fee because “UCS was much more likely to pass it if it was opt-out,” Van Noppen said. If the University commits to the $25 opt-out fee, the money will most likely be put toward Renewable Energy Certificates, Van Noppen said. “That’s great because it is still putting renewable energy on the grid,” Van Noppen said. If no undergraduate students were to opt out of the fee, see ENERGY, page 6 News tips: herald@browndailyherald.com