Tuesday, April 10, 2007

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD T UESDAY,

Volume CXLII, No. 47

PRIL

10, 2007

Since 1866, Daily Since 1891

Financial aid scandals will not touch U., officials say a “preferred lender” for its students.

The CIT Group, which acquired Student Loan Xpress in 2005, has placed the company’s three top executives on administrative leave, according to an April 9 press release.

The financial aid directors were also placed on leave at their respective universities shortly after details of the financial transactions first emerged on the Higher Ed Watch blog April 4. New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and the universities are conducting investigations into the stock holdings, according to Higher Ed Watch, which is run by the New America Foundation, a nonpartisan think tank.

Director of Financial Aid James Tilton, who used to work in Columbia’s office of financial aid, could not be reached for comment.

Brown has several safeguards in place to prevent a conflict of in-

BY JAMES SHAPIRO SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Chris Bennett / Herald

President Ruth Simmons delivered the Inaugural Invitational Lecture in the Humanities Monday afternoon in Smith-Buonanno 106.

Simmons urges ‘forceful engagement’ by humanists

BY DEBBIE LEHMANN SENIOR STAFF WRITER

The humanities are “central to any way of thinking about the human race,” President Ruth Simmons told a filled Smith-Buonanno 106 last night, urging the “forceful engagement” by humanists in a broad array of disciplines.

Simmons’ speech was the Inaugural Invitational Lecture in the Humanities, organized by the Cogut Center for the Humanities with the aim of allowing the Brown community to learn from prominent University faculty — many of whom may speak more often away from Brown than on campus.

Simmons “was an obvious choice” for the inaugural lecture, said Michael Steinberg, director of the Cogut Center. He added that Simmons is a “distinguished humanist” with University appointments in Africana studies and comparative literature.

Simmons called the humanities “the foundation” for other academic fields. Science and technology cannot advance without the humanities, she said, adding that “you have to walk before you can run.”

Humanists continue to come under fire for holding values “at odds” with those of the public and often respond to this criticism by turning inward, Simmons said. Whenever there are breakthroughs in science, humanists continued on page 4

INSIDE:

3 METRO

continued on page 4

Marine discusses two tours of duty in Iraq

BY ALEX ROEHRKASSE STAFF WRITER

The ongoing war in Iraq is worth fighting, U.S. Marine Corps Capt.

A.J. Fielder told an audience of 28 students and community members in Smith-Buonanno 201 last night.

In his talk, hosted by the College Republicans, Fielder drew from his own experience in two tours of duty in Iraq as commander of a heavy weapons platoon and a sniper platoon.

“Tonight, we have the opportunity to hear the unfiltered version of the goings-on in Iraq,” said Zack Drew ’07, president of the Brown Republicans, in introducing Fielder.

Fielder’s presentation included a discussion of the pitfalls of apathy and its remedy through mili-

tary service, as well as a profile of the Marine Corps. He then chronicled his tours in Iraq with a slideshow that featured photographs from the 2003 invasion and his later postings in Ramadi.

Fielder — now the Marines’ head officer selection officer for Rhode Island — said in his speech that he enjoys any opportunity to come share his stories on campus.

“It used to surprise me that we’d get so many applicants from Brown. It doesn’t anymore,” he said. “When I come up to Brown, the people that I talk to are engaging, they’re caring more about what’s going on in the world.

These are the kind of people the Marine Corps wants.”

Discussing his two tours of duty, Fielder described the initial invasion of Iraq as “conventional

Concert not canceled due to threats, ASA president says The Turkish-Armenian concert planned for Friday that was canceled was not called off because the president of the Armenian Students Association received threats, ASA President Ruben Izmailyan ’09 wrote Monday in an e-mail to The Herald. Izmailyan wrote that he was not in any way “threatened, intimidated or even asked to pull out.”

The Herald reported Monday that the concert was canceled due to threats, citing an e-mail from a Turkish Cultural Society member. That e-mail, which included a message sent from the TCS president to the group’s members, stated that the ASA president

A LEAP FOR OLEEP The Outdoor Leadership and Environmental Education Project celebrates its 10th anniversary this year and looks back on its accomplishments

www.browndailyherald.com

In light of ongoing financial aid scandals at institutions of higher learning around the country, University officials say students need not worry about similar corruption at Brown’s Office of Financial Aid. Three senior university financial aid officers — David Charlow of Columbia University, Lawrence Burt of the University of Texas at Austin and Catherine Thomas of the University of Southern California — sit on the advisory board for Student Loan Xpress, a company owned by the Education Lending Group, according to the Higher Ed Watch blog, which broke the story.

In return, they received shares in the Education Lending Group.

The New York Times reported that Charlow has made over $100,000 selling his shares since 2003.

Each of the three universities listed Student Loan Xpress as

5 CAMPUS NEWS

warfare,” as opposed to the more complex present situation. He also highlighted the changing nature of the enemy the U.S. military faces in Iraq.

“The difference between these insurgents now and those insurgents then was that their tactics were terrible” on his first tour, he said, citing an example of combatants trying to attack U.S. tanks by hand. Now, Fielder said, insurgents mow down groups of Sunni and Shiite children playing soccer to incite sectarian violence among their parents.

Fielder recounted the personal toll the war takes on the lives of Marines, describing the difficult yet vital task of thinking logically when fighting on the ground.

“We’re looking to shoot people. That’s our job,” he said of the

Chris Bennett / Herald Captain A.J. Fielder spoke Monday night about his two tours in Iraq.

sniper platoon he led in Ramadi.

“We tell ourselves what we’re doing is good, what we’re doing is required. The way I deal with this — I tell myself that for every person

PA S S O V E R P I Z Z A

and musicians received “warning messages” from members of the Armenian community and that as “the situation got serious, warnings turned into threats.”

Izmailyan, who declined to explain the cancellation for Monday’s article, yesterday told The Herald the cancellation was a joint decision between the two groups after the Armenian musicians decided not to participate.

“I have received nothing but encouragement in my handling of the innate complexities involved in such an event,” Izmailyan wrote Monday, “including continued on page 4

GUGGENHEIM GRANTS Five Brown faculty members garnered prestigious Guggenheim fellowships — the most won in a single year for the University

11 OPINIONS

195 Angell Street, Providence, Rhode Island

continued on page 4

Chris Bennett / Herald

The Gate served matzoh-and-cheese pizza over the weekend for students observing Passover.

BABY HATCHES PHENOM Adam Cambier ’09 argues that Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe should embrace the baby-hatch phenomenon

12 SPORTS

UPENN SPLITS BASEBALL The baseball team split a doubleheader against UPenn this weekend, leaving them at 1014 overall and 5-3 in the Ivy League

News tips: herald@browndailyherald.com

TODAY THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

PAGE 2

WE A

Chocolate Covered Cotton | Mark Brinker

T H E R

TODAY

TOMORROW

partly cloudy 48 / 30

mostly sunny 49 / 35

MEN

SHARPE REFECTORY

TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 2007

U VERNEY-WOOLLEY DINING HALL

LUNCH — Honey Mustard Chicken, Grilled Tuna Sandwich with Cheese, Pasta Spinach Casserole, Chocolate Frosted Brownies, Sugar Cookies

LUNCH — Shaved Steak Sandwich, Spinach Strudel, Mandarin Blend Vegetables, Chicken Gumbo Soup, Sugar Cookies

DINNER — Sesame Chicken Strips with Mustard Sauce, Lamb Stir Fry, Sticky Rice with Edamame Beans, Vegetables in Honey Ginger Sauce, Sugar Snap Peas, Honey Wheat Bread, Boston Cream Pie

DINNER — Honey Dipped Chicken, Creamy Parmesan Primavera, Rice with Peas and Coriander, Broccoli Cuts with Cheese sauce, Mashed Butternut Squash, Boston Cream Pie

SU

WBF | Matt Vascellaro

D O K U

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

Hi, How Are You | Alison Naturale

Deo | Daniel Perez �������������������

CR ACROSS 1 Biblical trio 5 Sweeties 10 Italian spewer 14 River in Warwickshire 15 Curator’s acquisition 16 “Victory is mine!”

17 Dramatic electric storm display 20 With the bow, in music 21 Fuzzy berry 22 Tobacco industry initials 23 Painter Édouard 25 Golf scoring system based on total strokes 27 How some stunts are done 29 Journalist Nellie 30 __ Tin Tin 31 Low areas 34 Watch displays, briefly 38 Guide for the 1Across 42 Alleviate 43 Feel the same way 44 Jackie’s “O” 45 Sch. with a Brooklyn campus 48 Losing weight 50 Half-sandwich companion 55 Bilko, casually 56 Spanish year 57 Bugle, for one 58 Playwright Simon 59 Highly valued asset, and this puzzle’s title 64 Increase 65 56-Across beginner 66 Small salamanders 67 Scotch bottle word 68 Away from the office 69 Goulash, for one DOWN 1 Vandalize 2 Bird: Prefix 3 Crack up

O S S W O R D

4 Fostered 37 Whack, biblically 51 Strip of gear, as a ship through heredity, 39 Move, in real estate jargon 52 Stage presence as desirable 40 Clucker 53 Maine campus traits 41 Landlord’s town 5 Jamaica-based contracts 54 Not yet mounted, Bond villain 46 “__ hollers, let ...” as a gem 6 Slender 47 Australian golfer 58 Element #10 swimmer Geoff Ogilvy won 60 Last letter at 7 Just about equal it in 2006 Cambridge 8 Unbending 49 Honorees’ 61 Hindu honorific 9 Discount places 62 Taxonomic suffix brokerage bigwig 50 “Lost Horizon” 63 Canberra’s state: Charles director Frank Abbr.

10 Essen article 11 Show off with a ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE: baton 12 Teenage turtle of comics 13 Peeved 18 Publishing size 19 Cash register 23 Man with a code 24 Singer Baker 25 Peach __ 26 WWII journalist Ernie 28 WWII fliers 32 Brain scan, for short 33 Barbershop tool 35 Skier’s aid 36 Factor in the 1980s S&L 4/10/07 xwordeditor@aol.com crisis

Deep Fried Kittens | Cara FitzGibbon

Cloudy Side Up | Mike Lauritano

T HE B ROWN D AILY H ERALD Editorial Phone: 401.351.3372 Business Phone: 401.351.3260

University community since 1891. It is published Monday through Friday during the aca-

Eric Beck, President

once in July by The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. POSTMASTER please send corrections to

Mary-Catherine Lader, Vice President Ally Ouh, Treasurer Mandeep Gill, Secretary

By Lila Cherry (c)2007 Tribune Media Services, Inc.

4/10/07

The Brown Daily Herald (USPS 067.740) is an independent newspaper serving the Brown demic year, excluding vacations, once during Commencement, once during Orientation and P.O. Box 2538, Providence, RI 02906. Periodicals postage paid at Providence, R.I. Offices are located at 195 Angell St., Providence, R.I. E-mail herald@browndailyherald.com. World Wide Web: http://www.browndailyherald.com. Subscription prices: $319 one year daily, $139 one semester daily. Copyright 2007 by The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. All rights reserved.

METRO TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 2007

PAGE 3

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Rhode Island set to divest from Sudan

BY SARA MOLINARO METRO EDITOR

State pension funds may soon be divested from corporations doing business in Sudan — the state House of Representatives unanimously passed a divestment bill last Thursday by a vote of 56-0. The legislation, previously passed unanimously by the Senate, will now go to Gov. Donald Carcieri ’65.

Rep. Joseph Almeida, D-Dist.

12, the bill’s primary sponsor, told The Herald he introduced the bill because he “wanted to send a message” both to international companies with contracts in the Sudan and to Congress, as well as “put serious pressure” on the Sudanese government.

Almeida said he developed the bill with the help of Brown students — specifically members of the Darfur Action Network, headed by Scott Warren ’09 — and added that “with young blood standing behind us, we

can get a lot done.”

Warren told The Herald that he has been working on the divestment bill for almost a year and a half, having first met with Almeida in January 2006. “To get a unanimous vote is really exciting” after such a long process, he said.

Warren said he is “hopeful that the governor will sign the bill,” adding that there is “no reason he wouldn’t,” but he noted that Carcieri’s policy advisers, with whom he has met, have not yet taken a position on the bill. But with unanimous passage in both the House and the Senate, the bill likely has enough votes to override the governor in the case of a veto.

In a speech made on the House floor before the vote on the bill Thursday, Almeida urged his colleagues to “show some compassion for other human beings” and said the bill would “stop the destruction continued on page 6

Tai Ho Shin / Herald

Backers of a bill divesting state investments from companies doing business in Sudan rallied at the State House last Thursday before the House of Representatives unanimously passed the legislation.

OLEEP, 10 years after founding, brings Met students to nature

BY ANNA MILLMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Courtesy of OLEEP The Outdoor Leadership and Environmental Education Program is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year.

read | share | recycle

The Outdoor Leadership and Environmental Education Project — a program that matches students from the Metropolitan Regional Career and Technical Center, a local charter school, with Brown student mentors — will mark its 10th anniversary this year.

OLEEP was started by several students participating in the Brown Outdoor Leadership Training program who thought inner-city minorities should have the opportunity to experience the role of nature in turning groups of classmates into groups of close friends, said Ben Castleman ’99.5, one of the group’s founders and currently director of curriculum and assessment at the Met Center.

Castleman said the fact that the program is still alive and strong after a decade of work is “a testament to the dedication of the coordinators and the clarity of vision that the program has kept over the years.”

Castleman helped found OLEEP in 1997. OLEEP “really came out of an experience I had on a BOLT

trip my sophomore year,” he said, explaining that his BOLT group’s backpacking trip had brought his group together in a way that only outdoor experiences could. After BOLT, Castleman wanted to provide students in Providence with the same opportunity to experience nature. The program has continued to be strong ever since, he said.

While the program’s methods have changed somewhat in the past 10 years, OLEEP still remains dedicated to its original vision, said Daniel Sonshine ’07, co-coordinator for the program.

Sonshine said the program has three components: weekly workshops to teach environmental science, weekend hiking trips to nearby parks and trails and mentoring through which each Met student participant is assigned a Brown student mentor.

One of the major changes in OLEEP over the past decade has been the increasing emphasis on environmental science, Sonshine said.

Though the group had started with a focus on connecting inner-city stucontinued on page 6

PAGE 4

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 2007

Humanities essential, Simmons says continued from page 1 are “singled out” as not contributing, she said.

But, Simmons said, humanists can and should contribute to finding solutions to all the questions individuals face today, whether relating to the environment, ethics or international affairs. She stressed that humanities should be at the center of public debates and conversations.

“Whatever the setting, we have to believe that we belong there and have something to offer,” she said.

Throughout her education, Simmons said, people tried to dissuade her from studying the humanities, urging her to pursue something “constructive” and “practically oriented.” But Simmons said it is important for educators to understand that the skills and knowledge people gain from the humanities “will overwhelmingly level the playing field” for them.

Simmons said universities should be responsible for identifying the values shaped and nurtured by the humanities. Universities must support efforts that put “a positive light on the role of humanists in problem solving” and must stop making apologies for the theoretical and aesthetic work of humanists, she said. Simmons also underscored the importance of applied work in the humanities, calling this “the highest priority for the next decade.”

“In a world where one is concerned about poverty, vast income disparities, the shrinking ice caps, the sheer velocity of change, the disappearance of all sorts of borders,” Simmons said, “We must ask — how will the humanities matter, and perhaps more importantly, how can we convince the world that investment in the humanities is practical?”

In the question-and-answer session following her speech, Simmons stressed the importance of advising in encouraging stu-

dents to pursue the humanities.

The University must “take advising very seriously,” she said, and should ensure there are people in advising capacities who can explain to students what they can do with degrees in the humanities.

Simmons also encouraged those in the humanities to keep asking for more resources.

“It’s important not to say, ‘Okay, that’s enough, we don’t require as much as other disciplines,’ ” she said.

Simmons said the Cogut Center, which launched in 2003, should play an important role in advancing the idea that humanists have much to add to the practical problems of today’s world. But broadening the role of humanists should be a goal for academics everywhere, she said.

“The world is starved for what the humanities can bring to public life,” Simmons said. “And there is no place that can advance the general principles of humanities better than universities.”

Financial aid scandals will not touch U., officials say continued from page 1 terest between officers and lenders, said University spokeswoman Molly de Ramel. “Financial aid officers sign a strict conflict of interest statement, which prohibits them from holding stock in a company of that kind,” she said, referring to student loan companies.

The University participates in the Federal Direct Loan Program, in which “the federal government acts as the lender and provides Fed-

eral Stafford and PLUS loan funds directly to Brown for our students and parents. Therefore, we do not have a preferred lender list for federal student loans,” according to a written statement provided by de Ramel.

“If a parent requests information on a private loan, we direct them to the ‘Financing a Brown Education’ link” on the University’s financial aid Web site, de Ramel said.

That link leads to an online brochure that states that “the Office of

Financial Aid is not able to endorse one loan product over another ...

Families are urged to utilize the Internet to research details on loan products, conduct comparisons between loan offerings, shop the loan marketplace and undergo non-binding pre-approval processes to determine the family’s tolerance for borrowing.”

The brochure does contain a list of loan programs “with which Brown University is most familiar.”

That list does not include Student

Marine recalls two tours in Iraq in campus speech continued from page 1 we kill, we’re saving a Marine’s life.

And I believe that.”

Fielder drew chuckles from the audience when describing the inadequacies of Iraqi security forces, recalling an instance in which a member of the Iraqi “special special forces,” as he said they called themselves, shot one of his subordinates in the leg.

“The Iraqi police and the Iraqi army have nowhere to go but up,” he noted, adding that Iraqis are increasingly willing to work with American forces as they grow more frustrated with conditions under the insurgency.

Drew said Fielder’s down-toearth perspective is what attracted the Brown Republicans to bring him to speak on campus. “He presents a very realistic point of view, a reasonable point of view — typical of a soldier, I guess, or a Marine. Not overly pessimistic, not overly optimistic, just very realistic,” Drew said.

In a question-and-answer session following his presentation, Fielder addressed questions about how Marines deal with the pretexts for the Iraq war, including intelligence fallouts on the issues of Iraq’s possession of weapons of

mass destruction and Saddam Hussein’s link to al-Qaida.

“The hardest part is talking to Marines about this,” Fielder said, “because they’re not stupid.”

Still, he said, he believes that the invasion was initiated with good intentions.

Fielder also showed photographs from everyday life as a Marine in Iraq, pointing out amenities sent by U.S. citizens and others that Marines acquired in Iraq. He also noted pastimes and distractions from Iraqi politics, such as watching baseball games.

“I don’t smoke. I never smoked.

But when I was over there, I probably smoked every night. I don’t know, I guess it relaxed me,” he said.

Now that he’s back in the United States, though, Fielder said those distractions have fallen by the wayside as he’s forced to answer tough questions about the war when visiting college campuses.

Fielder said much of the information that students and citizens in the United States get about the situation in Iraq is incomplete.

“I think there’s a lot of media there but not much journalism going on,” he said, adding that he never actually talked to any reporters while in Iraq.

Though his sniper platoon’s operations made media tagalongs difficult, one British photographer was embedded with his unit, Fielder said.

“He would come popping around the corner with his camera like it was a weapon,” Fielder recalled.

Drew agreed with Fielder’s opinion of press coverage of Iraq.

“The problem is not in what they present. I’m sure what they present is very accurate,” he said.

“The problem is the balance.”

“Everybody realizes why they do it — it’s for the ratings,” Drew said of 24-hour news coverage of the war. “It’s infotainment,” he said.

Drew added that campus conservatives face difficulty promoting a balanced dialogue about the war.

“You can’t expect a liberal arts institution with very liberal professors and a very liberal student body to have even an intelligent dialogue about the war. A lot of people aren’t willing to concede that there’s another side or another view,” he said.

“This wasn’t a terribly political lecture,” Drew added, “but I thought it was necessary and useful for the Brown community to hear the Marines’ point of view of why they’re there.”

Concert not canceled due to threats, ASA president says continued from page 1 from individuals who believed that this event was inappropriate at this time and with the given circumstances.”

Izmailyan wrote that the musi-

cians pulled out of the concert because many members of the Armenian community expressed concern about the “potential misuse of the event.” The musicians “did not wish to participate in an event that the Armenian community was not

united behind,” he wrote.

Izmailyan added that he was the only person who spoke to the musicians about their decision to withdraw from the concert.

— Debbie Lehmann

C AMPUS N EWS TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 2007

5 professors awarded Guggenheim fellowships GUGGENHEIM FELLOWSHIPS AMONG IVIES

5

Brock likens his project to a genome project for three-dimensional spaces. “Every three-dimensional space has its own best geometry,” he said.

During his fellowship, Brock will spend time at the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute in California, which he said has “great working conditions.” After his fellowship, Brock plans to return to Brown, where he has been teaching since the fall of 2004.

Self, who has been teaching at Brown for three years, is a historian specializing in 20th-century U.S. history, political movements and culture. As a Guggenheim fellow, Self will work on a book called “The Politics of Gender and Sexuality in America from Watts to Reagan,” which he said will explore subjects from “welfare to abortion to … gay rights.”

Harvey will work on a book called “Teaching Women: Biblical Women and Women’s Choirs in Syriac Tradition.” Syriac is a dialect of Aramaic that Harvey said is “still a spoken language in the Middle East among Christians.”

In her book, Harvey will examine how Syriac hymns “create entire lives for these Biblical characters” and portray women in “heroic terms,” she said.

Harvey has been teaching at

Dartmouth

UPenn

Columbia

2

Cornell

3 Yale

Harvard

5

Brown

Five Brown faculty members are among the 189 people awarded Guggenheim Fellowships this year, the most ever for the University in a single year.

The five recipients are Associate Professor of Mathematics Jeffrey Brock, Professor of Religious Studies Susan Harvey, Associate Professor of Judaic Studies Michael Satlow, Associate Professor of History Robert Self and Professor of Cognitive and Linguistic Sciences Michael Tarr.

The fact that Brown boasts so many winners this year is “an indication that there’s a lot of terrific work being done here,” Self said.

“It’s just wonderful to have received it,” Harvey said of the fellowship. “I’m astonished.”

The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation has been awarding fellowships in its American and Canadian competition for 83 years. Fellowships are awarded to “scholars and artists” who conduct “research in any field of knowledge (or) creation in any of the arts,” according to the foundation’s Web site. Though typically the fellowship’s recipients are affiliated with a university, the foundation also recognizes independent researchers and artists.

This year the foundation granted a total of $7.6 million in awards, with the amount granted varying for each individual recipient. The winners, selected from almost 2,800 applicants, were announced April 5. Among institutions, only Princeton University had more winners than Brown, with six professors receiving fellowships. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University, University of Michigan and University of California, Los Angeles also each had five awardees.

Brock conducts research on low-dimensional geometry and topology, according to the University’s Web site, and will work on a project titled “Models, Bounds and Effective Rigidity in Hyperbolic Geometry” with his Guggenheim award.

6

Princeton

BY RACHEL ARNDT SENIOR STAFF WRITER

PAGE 5

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

1

1

1

Brown for 20 years and specializes in late antique and Byzantine Christianity. Her fellowship will allow her to write her book more quickly than her last, she said, which took 14 years to complete.

Tarr is “trying to synthesize what we know about the neural basis of object recognition with recent computational approaches” in humans with his fellowship, he wrote in an e-mail to The Herald.

Tarr will work with peers in applied mathematics, neuroscience and computer science to create a model of object recognition in a project called “Statistical Models of Structured Visual Object Recognition in Humans.”

The record number of Guggenheim fellows from Brown “appears to be an indication that President (Ruth) Simmons’ Plan for Academic Enrichment is bearing fruit,” Tarr wrote. “The realization of this plan makes it an exciting time to be at Brown. … Of course, it could also be random variation (one should always test one’s theories!).”

Satlow will work on a project called “Jewish Piety in Late Antiquity” with his award. He will “investigate how the Jews of late antiquity understood their relationship with God,” according to the University press release.

Persian GISP in the works for next year

BY PATRICK COREY CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Next year, 18 students may study Persian at Brown if a proposed Group Independent Study Project is approved by the College Curriculum Council — a decision officials say is contingent on being able to bring a Fulbright foreign language teaching assistant in the language to campus.

Alex Ortiz ’09, one of the GISP organizers, said students interested in studying Persian met last fall with Dean of the College Katherine Bergeron and Provost David Kertzer ’69 P’95 P’98 to present over 100 signatures and statements from 15 students interested in studying the Middle Eastern language.

The group got “a very good reception,” Ortiz said.

Bergeron and Kertzer were “impressed” with what the students had to say, said Assistant Provost Shelley Stephenson.

The University was interested in providing instruction in Persian “at least in a provisional way” by the Fall 2007 semester, Stephenson said.

After that meeting, Stephenson said, she began to look for a faculty member at Brown fluent in Persian who might be able to lead a class but was unsuccessful. When she was unable to find a donor to provide the instructor’s salary and course materials, the decision was made to apply for a Fulbright teaching assistant to lead the GISP. The Fulbright teaching assistant — part of the Foreign Language Teaching Assistant program, sponsored by the State Department and administered by the Institute of International Education — would be a foreign graduate student for whom the Fulbright program would provide funds for travel, room and board. The Office of the Provost would waive tuition for the

scholar, who would take graduate-level courses, and provide funding for class materials.

While the Fulbright teaching assistant will actually teach the class, an external supervisor from the University of Pennsylvania who knows Persian will be hired to provide the syllabus and write the exams — a necessary measure for students to earn credit for the GISP. The GISP is also required to have a faculty sponsor — a position filled by Merle Krueger, associate director of the Center for Language Studies.

Belinda Navi ’09, one of the GISP’s organizers, said she was initially interested in Persian because the language is part of her cultural heritage. She said offering Persian courses at Brown would be a step toward fostering intercultural understanding.

“With the current state of our politics and foreign affairs, it’s really vital for this language — this cultural gateway — to be available at Brown,” she said.

Of the 18 students signed up for the GISP, two are graduate students. One is a first-year medical student and another a fourth-year doctoral student.

Since the Fulbright teaching assistantship is a one-year program, the University is seeking donations to establish a more permanent Persian program.

Stephenson said she hopes a successful GISP will demonstrate serious interest among students to potential donors.

“We’re trying to make a case for bringing instruction to campus on very solid footing, and we’re trying to do that quickly,” she said.

After the funding for a permanent program is available, the University can begin to search for an instructor. Stephenson said she is looking for an instructor willing to make at least a three- to five-year commitment.

so we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past

PAGE 6

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 2007

Softball tamed by Lions, quelled by Quakers

Rhode Island set to divest from Sudan continued from page 3 of people in Sudan.”

General Treasurer Frank Caprio told The Herald that the divestment bill would close the “loophole for international investors,” explaining that while U.S.-based companies that the state may invest in are not allowed to contract with or make investments in Sudan, an international company has no such restrictions.

The bill would “definitely” put pressure on the Sudanese government and “substantially weaken their hand,” Caprio said, noting that “governments like Sudan are only as strong as the economic conditions in the country.”

While Caprio said he was not sure whether or not Carcieri would sign the bill, he said he plans on meeting with the governor to give him background information and urge him to sign the bill.

Xay Khamsyvoravong ’06, Caprio’s deputy chief of staff, called the bill “very intelligent legislation.” He said the bill removes about $2.1 million of state pension funds from investments in RollsRoyce and Petronas and reinvests the money elsewhere. Rolls-Royce provides engines to Sudanese oil refineries, and Petronas produces fuel for Sudanese government aircraft, according to Khamsyvoravong.

“With such a blatant connection,” he said, “the only debate was over what the best way to (divest) was.”

A divestment bill was introduced in the General Assembly last year but did not pass. Carcieri’s office did not respond to requests for comment.

continued from page 12 fense from the previous innings gave up five runs on five hits in the bottom of the sixth inning, and the offense couldn’t capitalize in the end, leaving two on base to end the game, 5-4.

Against Penn, Brown lost another close one, 3-2, in the first game of its doubleheader on Sunday. The freshman class powered Brown on offense once again. Browne tripled to left and then scored on a wild pitch in the fourth to tie the game up at one. Amanda Asay ’10 went 2-for-3 on the day and hit her first home run of her career in the fi fth to put Bruno up by one.

“The pitcher made a mistake, and I hit it over left center,” Asay said.

But the Quakers responded with two runs in the bottom of the inning to stay up for good.

Jessica Iwasaki ’10 put in a solid effort on the mound for six innings, striking out five, allowing five hits and walking only one batter.

“The main thing was that we’re able to do one thing well in a game, either our defense or our hitting,” Iwasaki said. “We haven’t been able to combine the two — it’s a little frustrating.”

In the final game, Brown

once again started out on top with a 5-0 lead in the first. The Bears played small ball to score three runs, and Kelsey Peterson ’10 topped off the inning with two RBIs on a double to left.

“We batted through the entire line-up in just the first inning,” said Michelle Moses ’09 who pitched three solid innings in the game, striking out three and allowing only four hits. “Unfortunately, Penn responded with three home runs of their own in the first inning.

It knocked our spirits down a little, but we still fought hard.”

Brown went on to lose 14-6.

However, the chances for a division title are still within reach.

Brown plays two doubleheaders against Dartmouth Saturday and Sunday.

“It’s always nice to be home, not as chaotic (as road trips),” Asay said.

The Big Green is only one game ahead of Brown in the North Division standings, so Bruno could jump into second place with a successful weekend.

“We’re going to do really well against Dartmouth,” Lewis said. “We’ve been steadily improving — we just have to focus on stringing together a couple hits together and playing as a team on the field.”

After 10 years, OLEEP still building bridges between Met students, outdoors continued from page 3 dents with nature, the program has evolved to promote overall awareness of nature and the environment.

Rebecca de Sa ’09, co-coordinator for OLEEP, explained that the group’s emphasis on science is partly a reflection of the Met Center’s educational requirements and re-

quests from Met students.

She said the Met Center has a highly individualized approach to learning. Students typically participate in internships in several different fields, acquiring skills necessary for a well-rounded education, such as empirical and quantitative reasoning. Met student participants wanted to apply OLEEP to their quanti-

tative reasoning requirement, so the group shifted its emphasis accordingly to focus more on science, de Sa said.

But OLEEP is working to keep in touch with its original goals, Sonshine said.

“The science curriculum, in the end, is really rewarding,” Sonshine said. “But figuring out how to integrate leadership training and environmental awareness with that is a real challenge.”

One of the ways the group keeps in touch with its roots is by taking weekend hiking trips to surrounding parks and trails. The group goes on several trips a semester — for example, later this month, Met students and their mentors will head to the Massachusetts-Connecticut border to hike part of the Appalachian Trail. Other activities have more of a focus on environmental awareness, such as a recent trip to the Providence Water Supply branch in Scituate.

Sixteen Met students are currently involved in the program, paired with 15 Brown student mentors — the 16th Met student helps coordinate the Met side of the program. Castleman estimated that more than 100 students from the Met have been involved in the program in its history.

“It’s humbling to think that, 10 years after we began OLEEP, it’s still going strong,” Castleman said.

Both current student coordinators agreed that one of the most fulfilling aspects of the program is meeting the volunteers and participants.

“The people that I’ve met through OLEEP are terrific, and they really make the program. There is a serious aspect to what we do, but we have a lot of fun as well,” de Sa said.

TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 2007

W. tennis loses to Princeton and Penn continued from page 12 But Pautler felt the team put up a good fight against the talented Quakers.

“We were very much the underdog. Two girls on the Penn team are from the (Women’s Tennis Association),” she said. “Our general goal was to let them beat us and not us beating ourselves. We wanted to make fewer errors and not give them free points. I think we did that.”

In singles play, Mansur had the closest match for the Bears. She almost won her first set at third singles, but ended up losing the match 76, 6-1 to the Quakers’ Yulia Rivelis. At first singles, Pautler fell to Ekaterina Kosminskaya 6-1, 6-3 and at number two singles, Ames lost to Julia Koulbitskaya 6-2, 6-2. Finkelstein took a shot at Lenka Snajdrova at third singles, but was defeated, 6-1, 6-4. Penn’s Charlotte Tansill defeated Ellis, 6-0, 6-2 at fi fth singles and Tansill’s teammate, Lauren Sadaka, dismissed Sorokko, 63, 6-0 at sixth singles.

Teaming up for doubles did not help Bruno’s battle against Penn. Pautler and Mansur were close to earning a win but were unable to achieve a victory, falling 8-6 to Snajdrova and Rivelis at first singles.

“We played a good match and worked hard,” Pautler said about her doubles match with Mansur. “We played smart and played out of our comfort zone. We adapted well despite

PAGE 7

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

the loss. We did what we wanted to do.”

At second singles, the duo of Kirkpatrick and Ellis lost 81 to Kosminskaya and Koulbitskaya. Finkelstein and Sorokko were overwhelmed by Amanda Avedissian and Tansill, falling 8-1.

The Bears will try to bounce back from the dismal weekend and gain an Ivy win this weekend. Brown will play host to Cornell at 2 p.m. on Friday and will take on Columbia at noon on Saturday. Both Cornell and Columbia will be worthy opponents, but the Bears hope playing on their own territory will give them the advantage.

While the team is excited to battle Columbia because both teams have a historic rivalry, Brown must not forget about Cornell. The Big Red is traditionally an automatic win for many teams, but Dubusker said Cornell is a much-improved squad and will not be a pushover this weekend.

Dubusker feels the success of the team lies in a change in its current attitude.

“We need to think, ‘We are the better team today,’” she said. “Anything can happen on any given day. We can’t let our past results predict our future results.”

Despite the tough weekend, Brown hopes to defeat its opponents next weekend.

“We’re not a team full of expros or full of superstars,” she continued. “But we’re a team that can surprise people.”

Mahrtian Encounters: Reflections on the Masters continued from page 12 suggested he was intimidated.

On the other hand, I do agree that Tiger choked a little bit, but if there was a moment or two where he truly lost the Masters, it was not on Sunday, as some pundits would suggest.

It was at the end of Thursday’s and Saturday’s rounds, both of which finished with him bogeying 17 and 18.

Take away those four extra strokes, and Tiger finishes at 1 under par instead of 3 over. Yes, his Sunday round was mediocre, but he would have been in much better position to begin with had he not hiccupped at the end of two of his first three rounds.

Those who follow golf should give Zach Johnson his due and recognize what he did: He took Tiger’s best punch and never looked back. But do not count on a similar scenario playing itself out for the rest of the major season. Tigers rarely choke on their prey.

Could this be the end of Mickelson?

Phil Mickelson’s name was absent from the water-cooler talk surrounding the Masters this past weekend.

In fact, he has failed to even sniff the top of the leader board at any significant tournament for what seems like the past year. When he choked at last year’s U.S. Open, I didn’t think then that it would set him back, but he clearly has not been the same golfer since. When he was asked about his meltdown at Winged Foot and its effect on his psyche following his final round Sunday, he hesitated for a good 10 seconds, which was enough for me to believe that he has not recovered. It’s good that he got over his slump at the majors, because I’m not sure he will win another one.

Some suggest changes to televised golf While it souands like he has a true passion for the game, Jim Nantz just does not do it for me as lead commentator for the Masters. Come to think of it, I’m not his biggest fan when it comes to his work in football or college basketball either. Don’t get me wrong — I think the man has a nice voice and good command of his surroundings — but he’s like vanilla ice cream, satisfactory at first, but after a while, you start yearning for alternatives.

Those of you who read the Sports Guy blog are aware of how much momentum the Gus Johnson Bandwagon has gained in recent weeks following yet another stellar showing on his part during the NCAA basketball tournament. Though I’m not the first to suggest it, I would like to restate how fantastic it would be to get him covering golf. He would add some serious color to the game — both liter-

ally and figuratively — and the fans would be worked up into the same frenzy that surrounds constant-action sports like football and basketball.

Speaking of college basketball announcers who would make great golf broadcasters, I would love to see Verne Lundquist team up with Bill Raftery on the 16th hole of Augusta National. Lundquist has already proved to be one of the best overall play-by-play men in the business (he’s the best in my opinion), and Raftery’s catch-phrases of “A little kiss” and “Send it in, big fella” are perfectly applicable to a finesse sport like golf.

All I can say is that if Gus Johnson is seen roaming the fairways at the U.S. Open, someone up there likes me.

Chris Mahr ’07 and his columns are never absent from the water-cooler talk — among his friends, anyway.

PAGE 8

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 2007

M. tennis trounced by Tigers, Quakers continued from page 12 play by sweeping the doubles matches against the Tigers. At first doubles, the No. 53 duo of co-captain Dan Hanegby ’07 and Saurabh Kohli ’08 defeated Ted Mabrey and George Carpeni 84, and at second doubles, co-captain Eric Thomas ’07 and Chris Lee ’09 also triumphed 8-4 over Peter Capkovic and Alex Vuckovic. Zack Pasanen ’07 and Noah Gardner ’09 took an 8-4 win of their own at third doubles against Alex Krueger-Wyman and Sratha Saengsuwarn.

But in singles play, the Bears dropped their first four matches to give Princeton the four points it needed to win. At fourth singles, Kohli fell to Krueger-Wyman 6-3, 6-3, and at third singles, Thomas dropped his match 6-4, 6-4. Meanwhile, Hanegby faced off against No. 125 Capkovic at first singles, but after losing the first set in a tiebreaker, he dropped the second set as well to give Capkovic the 7-6, 6-3 win. At second singles, Basu Ratnam ’09 battled Saengsuwarn in a three-set contest, which he eventually lost 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.

“We didn’t win the big points,” Thomas said. “That’s what we really need to work on.”

Pasanen gave Brown its only singles victory of the day, defeating Charlie Brosens 6-3, 6-4 at fi fth singles. Lee, who competed while wearing a back brace after recently being diagnosed with stress fractures in his lower back, was forced to retire from the sixth singles match with Mabrey ahead 6-3, 2-2.

“We fought hard,” said Joe Scott ’08. “But I think we were just a little bit rusty in a few spots.”

The next day, the Bears dropped the doubles point to begin their match against Penn. At second doubles, Thomas and Lee overpowered Jonathan Boym and Mikhail Bekker 8-4, but losses at first and third doubles gave the

Quakers the point.

Brown had some closer matches in singles play. At first singles, Ratnam fell 6-2, 6-2 to No. 71 Jason Pinsky, but at fourth singles, Thomas soundly defeated Justin Fox 6-2, 6-3 to bring the score to 2-1.

“I jumped ahead early,” Thomas said. “I didn’t let (Fox) get into the match.”

However, after Hanegby lost the second singles match 6-4, 6-2 to Boym, Kohli narrowly dropped the third singles match 6-4, 2-6, 64 to Bekker, giving Penn the win.

At sixth singles, Gardner gave Brown another win, prevailing 6-4, 6-4 over Alex Vasin, and at fi fth singles, Pasanen lost a close match 6-3, 7-6 to Joseph Lok. “It’s tough, when the match is already over, to will yourself to win,” Pasanen said.

The weekend’s two losses put Brown into sixth place in the Ivy League. After Penn and Harvard tied at No. 1, Columbia and Princeton are tied for third, and Dartmouth is in fi fth place. This will be the first time since 2000 that the Bears will finish with more than one loss during the Ivy League season.

“We’re a long shot to win the Ivy League title,” Pasanen said.

“But this is the deepest I’ve seen the Ivy League.”

Thomas echoed the sentiments of his teammate. “It’s hard for one team to go undefeated,” he said. “We just need to focus on one match at a time and regain our focus.”

Next weekend, the Bears will travel to New York to compete against Cornell on Friday and Columbia on Saturday.

“We have a really tough trip next weekend,” Harris said. “The bottom line is to find a way to play to our potential. We have to find that next gear. Right now, we’re stuck in fourth gear in a five-gear car. Hopefully, we’ll find a way to move into fi fth gear.”

TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 2007

PAGE 9

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Brown splits pair with Penn continued from page 12 the fourth.

The score remained tied at 3-3 until the top of the seventh and final inning. After starting the inning by walking designated hitter Tim May, Bears starter Will Weidig ’10 got two quick outs. After an intentional walk to right-fielder Jarron Smith, closer Rob Hallberg ’08 entered the game and gave up a two-run double to shortstop William Gordon.

Trailing 5-3 in the bottom of the inning, the Bears got off to a promising start after centerfielder Steve Daniels ’09 led off with a double and advanced to third on left-fielder Ryan Murphy’s ’08 single. But Quakers starter Todd Roth recovered to strike out Thomas, first baseman Jeff Dietz ’08 and shortstop Matt Nuzzo ’09, with the last strikeout coming with the tying run at second after Murphy stole second. In all, the Bears stranded eight runners on base.

“I thought Weidig pitched especially well,” said Head Coach Marek Drabinski. “But you got to give (Roth) credit. Runners on first and third, and he strikes out our three, four, five batters. He might have thrown the best nine pitches of the game” in the bottom of the seventh, he added.

“We talked about it after the game,” Thomas said. “It was a good opportunity for us with the middle of the lineup coming up, (but) that’s just how the ball rolls sometimes.”

The second game was as tense as the first but without the solid pitching. Again, the Bears took a 20 lead in the first inning, this time off Thomas’ RBI triple and Nuzzo’s sacrifice fly. After Penn responded with two runs in the top of the second, Thomas hit his second homer of the day in the bottom of the inning, this one a three-run shot to dead center to give Brown a 5-2 lead.

The Bears added three runs in the third, with two coming off a double by third baseman Robert Papenhause ’09. Penn added a run in the fi fth and two more in the sixth off Smith’s deep home run to right-center.

With Brown leading 9-7 with one out in the top of the seventh and a Penn runner on second base, Drabinski called on Hallberg to enter the game. The coach said he told the closer they needed two and two-thirds innings out of him, even though he had pitched in the first game.

Hallberg got the Bears out of the seventh, but after the Bears scored three in the bottom of the inning off a homer by tri-captain second baseman Bryan Tews ’07, Hallberg gave Penn those three runs back in the eighth. With two outs and runners at the corners, Hallberg got out of the jam with help from Daniel’s spectacular diving catch in right-

center field, which likely prevented two runs from scoring. After Brown scored three runs in the bottom of the eighth, Hallberg gave up two more runs in the top of the ninth before striking out the last batter to earn his first save of the season.

“He really sucked it up and gave us what we needed,” Drabinski said of Hallberg.

Drabinski said he was pleased with his team’s performances this weekend, especially with Dietz and tri-captain starter James Cramphin ’07 pitching deep into their respective games on Saturday. He was also especially impressed by Thomas, who finished the weekend with 10 hits, three home runs and 12 RBIs in 15 at-bats. Thomas attributed his productive weekend to being more patient at the plate.

“Thomas had a hell of a weekend,” Drabinksi said. “The (Penn) coach thought Devin was the best player in the league.”

“He’ll sorely be missed” after he graduates this year, Drabinski added.

In addition to Thomas, Murphy hit the ball hard this weekend. He went 6-for-9 against Penn yesterday to become the team’s batting leader with a .358 average.

“I had no idea,” Murphy said when he was told of his feat. He said increased playing time has helped him at the plate.

Drabinski and Murphy said the team, which is now tied with Harvard for the Red Rolfe Division lead, wants to win three out of four games in the remaining series with Ivy League teams. If the Bears can do that, Drabinksi said the Bears “can write our own ticket” to the playoffs.

The Bears are scheduled to play a doubleheader with the University of Maine at a neutral site in Maine on Wednesday, but the game will probably be moved or canceled, according to Brown Sports Information. If that’s the case, the team will next play at Dartmouth, with a doubleheader scheduled for Saturday and Sunday.

happy lottery

E DITORIAL & L ETTERS THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

PAGE 10

TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 2007

STAF F EDITORIAL

Making aid transparent Two years ago, apparently in response to the rising cost of tuition and consequent financial strain on students, Columbia University changed how it informed students about private student loan lenders.

Last week, as part of an ongoing investigation by New York Attorney General Anthony Cuomo into the relationship between university administrators and private student loan lenders, it was revealed that officials at three different institutions of higher education — including Columbia’s executive director of financial aid, David Charlow — that had listed Student Loan Xpress as a preferred lender had profited handsomely from stock in the private lender, in effect, making money off of their power to advise students.

What seemed like an isolated anomaly may soon expand in scope to touch other institutions. Along with these three incidents at Columbia, the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Southern California, university administrators who were well-paid to serve as “consultants” to Student Loan Xpress or companies like it have come under scrutiny. Days before the Columbia scandal broke, Cuomo’s office settled an investigation into five other universities’ practice of taking commissions based on the number of student loans they directed to various private lenders. Continued investigation has also implicated an employee at the Department of Education.

We’re glad the University has safeguards in place to prevent such an astounding conflict of interest — Brown participates in the Federal Direct Loan Program and simply offers a list of private lenders that the University is “most familiar” with. In addition, the University requires financial aid officers to sign a conflict of interest statement, banning them from owning shares in student loan companies. These are good, pro-active measures and deserve to be applauded.

Yet when Columbia “reorganized” its practices two years ago, that university intended to “ensure that we identified lender sources who could provide the most favorable terms and services for our students” and “ensure a competitive process,” according to an e-mail administrators sent to all undergraduates in the current scandal’s wake.

It appears that, in the student loan industry — it is, after all, an industry designed to turn a profit — an ill-defined line has been crossed.

And in turn, this opaque area of university finance has been exposed to perhaps overdue scrutiny. We are pleased that, though other attorney generals may not follow suit, at least some officials and journalists will not let this stop here. Instead, we hope they will push for increased transparency in financial aid administration and the practices of private lenders. Light is the best disinfectant.

This scandal’s nature suggests the complex nature of an industry that remains a mystery for those of us most affected by undergraduate financial aid. Struggling through competing university packages is hard enough, but speculating about the veracity of and motivations behind a school’s recommendations and policies adds undue burden to what is already a complicated process for students and their families. We commend Cuomo for bringing these issues to light, and we look forward to continued reassurance from Brown — and our own director of financial aid, James Tilton, who formerly worked in Columbia’s financial aid office — that students on College Hill won’t someday wake up to the news that just recently rocked Morningside Heights.

ROXANNE PALMER

LETTERS Eat healthy during crunch time To the Editor: I’m the nutritionist at the University, and I’m writing in response to a recent Herald article (“Pressure mounts as theses crunch time nears,” April 6).

As the article pointed out, this is the time of year when student schedules become maximally packed, and nutrition and self-care can take a backseat to deadlines. But eating well and academic productivity don’t have to be mutually exclusive — a relatively minimal investment of time in meals and snacks allows students to perform significantly better by decreasing fatigue, boosting cognitive functioning and maintaining stable moods.

Probably the most helpful thing students can do during crunch times is keep their rooms or kitchens well-stocked. Carbohydrate-rich choices like whole-

grain crackers and fruit, partnered with protein-rich options like hummus and yogurt, provide long-lasting mini-meals that are fast and filling, and the East Side Marketplace and Peapod Express both allow students to order groceries and have them delivered for a minimal fee. I cordially invite anyone who wants to know more about balancing nutrition and deadlines to join me on April 12 from 4 to 5 p.m. in the Wellness Cafe (Memorial Room, 2nd Floor Faunce) for a discussion of food and mood.

Heather Bell, Nutritionist Brown University Health Services April 9

T HE B ROWN D AILY H ERALD Editors-in-Chief Eric Beck Mary-Catherine Lader

Executive Editors Allison Kwong Ben Leubsdorf

Senior Editors Stephen Colelli Sonia Saraiya BUSINESS

EDITORIAL Lydia Gidwitz Lindsey Meyers Stephanie Bernhard Stu Woo Simmi Aujla Sara Molinaro Ross Frazier Jacob Schuman Michal Zapendowski Peter Cipparone Justin Goldman Sarah Demers Erin Frauenhofer Madeleine Marecki

Arts & Culture Editor Arts & Culture Editor Features Editor Features Editor Metro Editor Metro Editor News Editor Opinions Editor Opinions Editor Sports Editor Sports Editor Asst. Sports Editor Asst. Sports Editor Asst. Sports Editor

PHOTO Eunice Hong Christopher Bennett Jacob Melrose

Photo Editor Photo Editor Sports Photo Editor

General Manager Mandeep Gill General Manager Ally Ouh Executive Manager Darren Ball Executive Manager Dan DeNorch Laurie-Ann Paliotti Sr. Advertising Manager Office Manager Susan Dansereau PRODUCTION Design Editor Steve DeLucia Copy Desk Chief Chris Gang Graphics Editor Mark Brinker Graphics Editor Roxanne Palmer Web Editor Luke Harris POST- MAGAZINE Hillary Dixler Melanie Duch Taryn Martinez Rajiv Jayadevan Mindy Smith

Managing Editor Managing Editor Managing Editor Features Editor Features Editor

have an opinion? apply to be a herald opinions columnist!

send a sample column to opinions@browndailyherald.com

Steve DeLucia, Designer Catherine Cullen, Erin Cummings, Madeleine Rosenberg, Copy Editors Senior Staff Writers Rachel Arndt, Michael Bechek, Oliver Bowers, Zachary Chapman, Chaz Firestone, Kristina Kelleher, Debbie Lehmann, Scott Lowenstein, James Shapiro, Michael Skocpol Staff Writers Susana Aho, Taylor Barnes, Brianna Barzola, Evan Boggs, Irene Chen, Nicole Dungca, Catherine Goldberg, Isabel Gottlieb, Thi Ho, Rebecca Jacobson, Tsvetina Kamenova, Franklin Kanin, Hannah Levintova, Abe Lubetkin, Christian Martell, Taryn Martinez, Zachary McCune, Nathalie Pierrepont, Alexander Roehrkasse, Jessica Rotondi, Marielle Segarra, Robin Steele, Allissa Wickham Sports Staff Writers Amy Ehrhart, Kaitlyn Laabs, Eliza Lane, Kathleen Loughlin, Megan McCahill, Marco Santini, Tom Trudeau, Steele West Business Staff Dana Feuchtbaum, Kent Holland, Alexander Hughes, Mariya Perelyubskaya, Viseth San, Kaustubh Shah, Jon Spector, Robert Stefani, Lily Tran, Lindsay Walls Design Staff Brianna Barzola, Jihan Chao, Aurora Durfee, Sophie Elsner, Christian Martell, Matthew McCabe, Ezra Miller Photo Staff Stuart Duncan-Smith, Austin Freeman, Tai Ho Shin Copy Editors Ayelet Brinn, Catherine Cullen, Erin Cummings, Karen Evans, Jacob Frank, Ted Lamm, Lauren Levitz, Cici Matheny, Alex Mazerov, Ezra Miller, Joy Neumeyer, Madeleine Rosenberg, Lucy Stark, Meha Verghese

CORRECTIONS POLICY The Brown Daily Herald is committed to providing the Brown University community with the most accurate information possible. Corrections may be submitted up to seven calendar days after publication.

COMMENTAR Y POLICY The staff editorial is the majority opinion of the editorial board of The Brown Daily Herald. The editorial viewpoint does not necessarily reflect the views of The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. Columns, letters and comics reflect the opinions of their authors only.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR POLICY Send letters to letters@browndailyherald.com. Include a telephone number with all letters. The Herald reserves the right to edit all letters for length and cannot assure the publication of any letter. Please limit letters to 250 words. Under special circumstances writers may request anonymity, but no letter will be printed if the author’s identity is unknown to the editors. Announcements of events will not be printed.

ADVER TISING POLICY The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. reserves the right to accept or decline any advertisement at its discretion.

O PINIONS TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 2007

PAGE 11

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Down the hatch ADAM CAMBIER OPINIONS COLUMNIST Have you ever found yourself with a baby that you just couldn’t be bothered to keep?

Maybe you had it in the bathroom at your high school prom and had to ditch the little bugger to go dance with your sweetie. Perhaps your baby momma up and died on you like Carey Lowell in “Sleepless in Seattle.”

The baby might have outlived its appeal and reached its expiration date, like a carton of cottage cheese left out in the sun.

Hell, it could have been just plain old buttugly.

Well, if you find yourself in this situation and live in Kumamoto Prefecture in Japan, you’re in luck. Jikei Hospital has installed Japan’s first so-called “baby hatch,” an alcove in the hospital’s wall where would-be mothers can anonymously dump their unwanted offspring. Any children left there are supported by the Catholic Church until Angelina Jolie can fly in and adopt them.

The baby hatch, euphemistically deemed the “cradle of storks,” is equipped with a warmer to keep deposited children from getting too cold. When a baby is placed in the slot, an alarm sounds inside the hospital, much like the way Cold Stone Creamery employees sing obnoxiously when you put money in their tip jar.

All in all, the baby hatch is a pretty brilliant idea. It gives doomed babies a chance at redemption. Most importantly, it adds a new,

ironic twist to the phrase “down the baby hatch,” often used to feed assorted mashed vegetables to children.

Despite these painfully obvious benefits, conservative Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has publicly voiced his opposition to the installation of the hatch, citing his campaign platform of bringing “family values” back to Japan.

Although Abe and his cohorts can’t find a law under which to block the opening of the hatch, their vehement disapproval of the

about popes from this era (in the words of Britney Spears, they were “not that Innocent”), he may have sanctioned the invention because there were a few too many little Innocent IV’s running around the Holy See. Over the next seven centuries, new foundling wheels rolled out all over the world.

From Flanders to France and from Britain to Brazil, these wheels proved a wild success.

Several had to close down because too many women left too many babies in too few baby hospitals: Apparently, dumping your spawn

All in all, the baby hatch is a pretty brilliant idea. It gives doomed babies a chance at redemption. plan baffles me. In an effort to change Mr. Abe’s mind, I have done a little research into this invention’s illustrious history.

The first proto-baby hatches on record are from Italy around the year 1198. Sanctioned by Pope Innocent III, these so-called “foundling wheels” acted as revolving doors where women could stuff their babies in one side and get a fat load of nothing out the other — a beneficial exchange for both sides.

The Pope justified his support for the wheels by saying that it kept women from killing their babies. Given what we know

into a little device that ensured it would be someone else’s problem forever was a pretty attractive prospect even in less enlightened times. Foundling wheels eventually fell out of use, due to a combination of the aforementioned overuse and some moral misgivings about encouraging child abandonment.

Modern baby hatches made their debut in Germany in 2000. Instead of being a revolving-door affair, they involve a heated cradle with motion and weight sensors. They are, to say the least, a tech-savvy way to throw away your seed.

In German, these high-tech hatches are called “babyklappe.” Since their debut, more than 80 babyklappe have sprung up all over the country, giving innumerable women the opportunity to klappe on or klappe off. After all, they’re the klappers.

Once a woman leaves her baby in the babyklappe, she is given an eight-week grace period to come and reclaim her baby without any legal repercussions whatsoever.

This window gives the fraulein in question a chance to decorate the baby’s room, work off all the baby weight, or maybe just take a little “me” time before committing to her infant. What more could a worried new mother need?

If she decides that she rather prefers not having to deal with the drive to the hospital to pick her little one back up, that’s fine too.

Then the child is put up for adoption, while it’s still small and cute.

So, Shinzo, let’s talk. You may have some lame reason like “family values” to protest the opening of Jikei Hospital’s baby hatch, and that’s all well and good. But just think about it — ditchin’ babies is a rich and storied tradition, and maintaining tradition is what conservatism is all about.

Besides, in a country where the population is stagnating, abandoning youngsters is, at the very least, an improvement over abortion.

It’s time to swallow your pride and take a big ol’ bite of realism pie, right down the hatch.

Adam Cambier ’09 would have made a good medieval pope.

‘Objective’ journalism does not mean ‘balanced’ journalism

BY KARLA BERTRAND OPINIONS COLUMNIST The American news media has long held objectivity as a tenet of journalistic integrity.

While, of course, this is never fully attainable — bias creeps in through the selection of headlines and photographs, through word choice, through the internal ordering of quotes in the report and so on — the goal of attempting to keep journalists’ personal opinions out of their reporting is a noble one.

However, this ideal has been redefined by a tendency to navigate the middle ground of all debates, most perniciously in a sort of “he said/she said” journalism. This technique, which has become practically ubiquitous, involves “presenting both sides of the issue:” giving equal airtime to opposing viewpoints without ever attempting to investigate the facts of the matter. While sometimes more voices allow for a fuller understanding, often this method is misleading, as it gives a facade of validity to unsupported or simply false arguments.

Consider, for instance, an event generally held as a paragon of journalistic accomplishment — the media exposure of the Watergate scandal. It cannot be denied that that journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein played a primary role in bringing down a Republican administration — tarnishing the reputations of numerous right-wing officials, setting into motion a chain of events that led to the impeachment and resignation of the Republican president and linking the party with scandal and corruption in the minds of innumerable Americans for Godonly-knows-how-long. It would be absurd, however, to claim that the story should have been suppressed for the sake of “ob-

jectivity.” History lauds these reporters for their actions. Today, however, they would probably be denounced for their “partisan attacks” and “biased, activist journalism” — not only by those threatened by their coverage but also by the very news media they represent. Can you imagine how the story would play out if it happened in today’s climate of overzealous, misguided “fairness?”

It would be a farce: Woodward on one half of the screen, presenting his case, with some

the public — this “he said/she said” presentation engenders a further problem. By only giving airtime to the opposing extremes of any issue, the media sets up a false dichotomy and showcases an artificially polarized depiction of the range of opinions involved.

There are often more than just two sides to a story, and most alternative views are less extreme than those presented by talkinghead pundits vying for the best sound bite.

Furthermore, the strange parity cre-

One cannot juxtapose facts with falsehoods as though both were of equal validity. Sometimes the facts of the case happen to come out for or against a particular “side” of a debate.

To obscure that is dishonest.

Nixon aide on the other half, denying everything. No matter that one man has extensive research, reliable sources and, in short, the facts on his side, while the other man is lying like a rug. The news media would present both and consider it a job well done — thorough and balanced coverage.

In addition to failing in the primary purpose of journalism — ferreting out the truth of current events and presenting them to

ated by this presentation makes the entire concept of truth seem nebulous. As Lewis Black puts it, “If everything seems credible, then nothing seems credible. You know, TV puts everybody in those boxes, side-by-side.

On one side, there’s this certifiable lunatic who says the Holocaust never happened.

And next to him is this noted, honored historian who knows all about the Holocaust.

And now, there they sit, side-by-side, they

look like equals! Everything they say seems to be credible. And so, as it goes on, nothing seems credible anymore! We just stopped listening!”

The gist of objectivity is not to make sure you are representing viewpoints different from your own but rather to make sure that, as far as possible, your personal opinions don’t influence your presentation. The media these days, however, has conflated the admirable precept of avoiding support of one particular side due to personal beliefs with the misguided notion of avoiding bolstering a side because the evidence demands it. One cannot juxtapose facts with falsehoods as though both were of equal validity. Sometimes the facts of the case happen to come out for or against a particular “side” of a debate. To obscure that is dishonest.

Objectivity should entail a search for the objective truth. Debates about the nature of ontology aside, this goal, however unfeasible in reality, is a worthy one, which has unfortunately been all but replaced by the mantra of “fairness.” Are we being fair to both sides? Are we giving them equal representation? If the media wants to present multiple opinions on a story, fine — but the journalistic responsibility does not end there. There is also the obvious necessity of actually going out into the world and ascertaining the facts of the matter, as well as they can be reckoned. They’re supposed to be journalists, for God’s sake. Slapping two opposing opinions up on the screen is not the same as reporting the news. That is not objectivity — it is intellectual laziness, it is deception and it is doing a great disservice to the American people.

Karla Bertrand ’09 is a big fan of “facts,” despite being an opinions columnist.

S PORTS T UESDAY TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 2007

PAGE 12

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Brown splits Penn doubleheader, ties Harvard for Rolfe lead

BY STU WOO FEATURES EDITOR

The baseball team followed its impressive doubleheader sweep of Columbia on Saturday by splitting a doubleheader with the University of Pennsylvania (13-13, 7-5 Ivy League) at home Monday. Brown is now 10-14 overall and 5-3 in the Ancient Eight.

The Bears dropped the day’s first game, 5-3, after failing to drive in runners from scoring position, but they rebounded to win an ugly 15-12 slugfest in game two.

As they did in the two Columbia games on Saturday, the Bears took a lead in the bottom of the first inning in the first game. Catcher Devin Thomas ’07, who went 7-for-7 against Columbia with six RBIs and a homer, continued his hot hitting by belting an opposite-field two-run homer. The Quakers tied the game in the third on two sacrifice flies, and Brown traded runs with Penn in the bottom of the third and top of continued on page 9

BY AMY EHRHART SPORTS STAFF WRITER

Princeton’s victory over Brown was the Tigers’ first league win. Princeton now stands 1-2 in league play.

On Saturday, the sun did not shine on the Bears either. In singles play, Penn swept every Brown player in straight sets.

With their victory over Brown, the Quakers improved to a perfect 3-0 league record.

The Bears knew they had their work cut out for them entering the match, as Penn is the strongest team in the Ivy League, according to Pautler. “It was hard to come off of a 7-0 loss to Princeton and be excited for the match (against Penn),” she said. “We could have used some more energy.”

The winter gloom of Rhode Island extended to New York and Philly this weekend with the softball team. The Bears came back winless, though they only lost three of their four games by a combined score of five runs against Columbia and the University of Pennsylvania.

“We’re up and down game-togame, and we’re either having trouble right off the bat or staying in it in the end,” said co-captain Amy Baxter ’08.

Against the Lions on Saturday, Bruno was down 6-0 by the sixth inning before it started generating some offense. After reaching first on an error, second baseman Andrea Browne ’10 scored the first run for the Bears on excellent base-running off of consecutive grounders by her classmates centerfielder Brittany Lavine ’10 and shortstop Katie Rothamel ’10.

“Andrea did a great job at leadoff this weekend,” Baxter said.

“She was finding ways to steal and was a big part of the runs we scored.”

Another excellent freshman effort came from Whitney Lewis ’10 in the seventh, who came to the plate after a single by Baxter and hit her first home run of her career, over the left center-field wall for Brown’s third and final run.

“I was really excited ... I’m not usually a home-run hitter,” Lewis said. “I’m more focused on getting contact with the ball, but the pitch was inside and up in the zone, and I just hit it.”

In the second game against the Lions, the Bears took an early 4-0 lead into the sixth off of RBI singles from Kelsey Wilson ’09, Baxter and Lewis.

However, Brown’s stellar de-

continued on page 7

continued on page 6

Ashley Hess / Herald File Photo

Catcher Devin Thomas ’07 went 10-for-15 against Penn and Columbia, including three home runs and 12 RBIs.

W. tennis swept off the court by Princeton and Penn

BY MADELEINE MARECKI ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

The women’s tennis team traveled to Princeton and the University of Pennsylvania this weekend in the hopes of drawing some blood from its Ivy League rivals. However, the Bears could not muster any strength against the Tigers and the Quakers, and both opponents swept Brown, 70. Bruno’s record now stands 0-3 in league play and 5-11 overall.

Assistant Coach Cecily Dubusker said she was disappointed with the weekend’s results.

She attributed her team’s lackluster performance largely to low morale.

“The results are much lower than we are capable of,” she said.

“We are a young and inexperi-

Softball tamed by Lions, quelled by Quakers

enced team, and we are battling injuries, but we are not letting excuses get in our way … We have issues with belief. We need to continue to work on competitiveness and not fall into resignation.”

The Bears faced Princeton on Friday and did not put up much of a fight. In singles play, every player lost in straight sets except rookie Emily Ellis ’10 at fi fth position. Ellis dropped the first set against Sarah Huah, 6-4, but fought back to take the second set, 7-5. However, she could not close out the match, losing the tie-break, 1-0 (14-12).

Her teammates also struggled through their matches, with Michelle Pautler ’07 falling to Melissa Saiontz 6-4, 6-2 at number one singles and captain Daisy Ames

’07 losing to Ivana King, 6-2, 6-1, at number two singles. At third singles, Princeton’s Darcy Robertson defeated Sara Mansur ’09 6-4, 6-4, while Blakely Ashley dismissed Bruno’s Alexa Baggio ’09 6-3, 6-1, at fourth singles. At fi fth singles, Tanja Vucetic ‘10 lost 60, 6-1 to Kelly Stewart.

Kathrin Sorokko ’10 and Brett Finkelstein ’09 produced the Bears’ best performance in doubles play, but the effort still was not strong enough to earn them a victory. The duo bowed to Ashley and Kristen Scott, 86, at third doubles. At first doubles, Pautler and Mansur could not muster a winning game, losing 8-0 to King and Saiontz. Kelley Kirkpatrick ’08 and Ellis lost at second doubles to Huah and Robertson, 8-3.

Reflections on the Masters M. tennis trounced by Tigers, Quakers I doubt that anyone, save Nick Faldo of CBS, could have foreseen the conclusion of the Masters two days ago. Tiger was one off the lead and in the final pairing on Sunday, and most people just expected him to Chris Mahr intimidate the Mahrtian Encounters rest of the field into folding like a lawn chair. Though he had never come back in a major tournament after trailing through the first three rounds, you would figure that this scenario rendered that bit of trivia harmlessly moot.

Yet instead of a coronation for Tiger’s 13th major victory, golf viewers were treated to the sight of a 31-year-old, balding Iowan named Zach Johnson slipping his arms into his very own green jacket. What made the finish all the more surreal was that everyone had this feeling — even when Tiger had to eagle the par-4 18th hole just to force a playoff — that Tiger would squash this Cinderel-

la story. And yet for Johnson, the clock never struck midnight.

Immediately after the Masters coverage had concluded, I debated with my suitemate Brian whether Johnson had in fact won the Masters or whether Tiger had simply lost it. Johnson had the low score by the end of 72 holes, but at the same time, Tiger had numerous opportunities to close the gap and surge to the top of the leader board. As much as it is a cop-out answer, I felt that Johnson won it and Tiger lost it simultaneously.

This was the first time in quite a while that I have watched a golfer in the final round trade blows with Tiger and come out on top.

When Tiger eagled on 13 to cut Johnson’s lead from four strokes to two, I naturally assumed this was the beginning of the end — either Johnson would falter or Tiger would surge. Instead, Johnson birdied three out of four holes from 13 to 16 and finished with a 69 on the day. I saw a steely determination in his eyes that never

BY ERIN FRAUENHOFER ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

For the past two years, the men’s tennis team has ruled the Ivy League, but over the weekend, the Bears’ sovereignty was broken by two losses against Ivy League foes. After taking a 52 loss to No. 75 Princeton in its Ivy League opener on Friday, No. 69 Brown had another 5-2 loss to No. 74 University of Pennsylvania, with whom they shared last year’s Ivy League title, on Saturday. Penn now shares first place with Harvard in the Ivy League standings, while Brown shares sixth place with Yale and Cornell.

“It wasn’t our best weekend,” said Head Coach Jay Harris. “We just couldn’t find a way to play our best tennis. We fought hard and played pretty well, but it wasn’t enough. Both matches were extremely tight. We just couldn’t find a way to push through that door.”

The Bears began Ivy League Jacob Melrose / Herald File Photo

continued on page 7

continued on page 8

Chris Lee’s ’09 two doubles wins were not enough to help Brown overcome Princeton or Penn over the weekend.