The Brown Daily Herald M onday, O ctober 22, 2007
Volume CXLII, No. 93
Bloggers, soldiers recount Iraq’s front lines
Since 1866, Daily Since 1891
Jindal ’91.5 is first nonwhite La. gov.
‘ the h o rr o r ’ r o cks al u m n ae
By Isabel Gottlieb Senior Staff Writer
By Chaz Firestone Senior Staff Writer
Nearly 40 journalists, soldiers, Marines, activists, authors, bloggers, filmmakers, professors and dedicated students gathered on campus this weekend to discuss coverage of the war in Iraq and the importance of firsthand accounts of war as keys to the public’s understanding of the war. “Front Lines, First Person: Iraq War Stories,” a two-day conference sponsored by the Watson Institute for International Studies, brought together some of the world’s most celebrated chroniclers of war and packed them into the Joukowsky Forum for hours of discussion and debate, hoping to create “bridges for conversation” across the fault lines between soldiers and civilians. “Progress doesn’t take place in the university, in the military or in political circles through blind consent,” said Professor of International Studies James Der Derian, one of the conference’s organizers. “It only happens through contestation — dissent with a willingness to listen to the other.” Six two-hour sessions Friday and Saturday allowed attendees to hear a wide range of perspectives from 20 panelists, including award-winning blogger and Iraq war veteran Colby Buzzell, military blogger Matthew Burden — aka “Blackfive” — and Deborah Scranton ’84, whose recent film “The War Tapes” won the Tribeca Film Festival’s “Best Documentary” honors and was shortlisted for an Oscar nomination. In a Saturday morning session on “Reporters and Rapport,” Charles Monroe-Kane, a producer for National Public Radio, praised public media outlets such as NPR over commercially owned media outlets for capturing more personal, in-depth war stories without being “beholden to a Pepsi commercial.” Members of the Senate, when they approved the use of force in Iraq and, especially, in Afghanistan, had little information about what they were vot-
of President Bush’s policies that threaten women’s rights. The sarcastically toned film included criticisms of abstinence-only sexual education in schools, the withdrawal of millions of dollars in funding from reproductive health clinics nationwide and the Global Gag Rule, a policy that places restrictions on family planning on an international scale. Eleanor Smeal, president of the Feminist Majority Foundation, ex-
U.S. Rep. Bobby Jindal ’91.5, R-La., was elected governor of Louisiana Saturday with 54 percent of the vote in an open primary. A former Rhodes Scholar, consultant and congressman, Jindal is the first American of Indian descent elected to a gubernatorial position. He is also the first to win an open seat outright in Louisiana since 1975, when the state adopted a unique electoral system in which all candidates run against each other in a primary regardless of party. If no candidate garners over 50 percent of the vote, the top two candidates will continue to a run-off. Jindal’s main competitors in the race were Walter Boasso, a state senator who switched from the Republican to Democratic party in order to run, and businessman John Georges, who also left the Republican Party to run as an independent. With all precincts reporting, Boasso made the strongest showing among Jindal’s competitors, with 17 percent of the vote. Jindal will be Louisiana’s first non-white governor since Pinckney Benton Stewart Pinchback, a black man who held the position for several weeks in 1872 and 1873. At only 36 years old, Jindal will be the youngest governor in the nation when he takes office in January 2008. In 2003, Jindal ran for governor but lost to Democrat Kathleen Blanco, who decided not to run for re-election this year after she was widely criticized for her handling of post-Hurricane Katrina rebuilding efforts. Katrina also cast a wide shadow on the race in the form of the state’s voting population. The total number of voters dropped from 1.4 million in the 2003 gubernatorial race to 1.3 million this year, including a drop from 121,841 to 75,880 voters in New Orleans alone, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reported Oct. 21. Jindal’s victory speech was a mes-
continued on page 9
continued on page 5
Min Wu / Herald
DJ and producer RJD2 performed solo Friday night as part of the Brown Concert Agency’s fall show.
Politics of ‘hope’ lure Obama supporters By Brianna Barzola Staf f Writer
“Fired Up and Ready to Go!” chanted the group of students at a crowded Blue State Coffee on Saturday, Oct. 13. Over the course of the night, about 150 students flooded the cafe for “Barack the Mic,” an event hosted by the Brown chapter of Students for Barack Obama. The SFBO was started last spring and is one of about 600 national chapters. The national SFBO, which is
part of the national campaign organization of Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., began as a Facebook group and quickly earned a large following of students who began
FEATURE forming chapters on college campuses nationwide. Because of its quick growth, SFBO was made an official part of the Obama campaign. Sean Eldridge ’09, who worked for the SFBO as national director of development, wanted
Brown to have its own chapter. He and Adam Axler ’08 founded Brown’s chapter last spring. “Student groups are usually a separate entity from campaigns, and as far as I know this has never been done,” Eldridge said. “We also wanted to get a headstart on the other campaign groups on campus by starting early.” The group met during the summer and elected Max Chaiken ’09 as chapter coordinator. continued on page 5
Feminist conference attracts crowd By Stefanie Angstadt Staff Writer
About 130 student feminist activists from 20 colleges in the region came together at Brown on Saturday with global leaders on women’s rights and members of the Providence community to share thoughts and experiences and to discuss ways to fight gender inequality. The conference, entitled the “Global Leadership Summit: Eliminating Violence, Empowering Women,” featured an array of lectures and workshops
and was co-hosted by the Brown Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance and its affiliate, the Feminist Majority Foundation. Prompted by the success of February’s “Active Bodies, Active Minds: Young Women Making Change” conference on gender equality, the conference kicked off and concluded in Salomon 001. Its smaller workshops were held throughout Salomon Center. The day began with a screening of “Global Majority ... Again,” a short film condemning several
continued on page 7
Over 800 disciplinary violations reported last year By Allison Wentz Contributing Writer
Over 800 alleged violations of the non-academic disciplinary code were processed from July 2006 to June 2007, according to an August 2007 report released by the Office of Student Life. OSL annually makes public a report detailing the resolutions of alleged violations of the University’s Standards of Student Conduct. Cases are referred to either non-disciplinary or disciplinary dispositions. Non-disciplinary dispositions handle less severe infractions through warnings, mediations or
Sam Cohen / Herald
Former Sen. Lincoln Chafee ’75, Matthew Burden and Eric Rodriguez ’08 discuss the experiences and blogs of soldiers stationed in Iraq.
INSIDE:
3
ARTS & CULTURE
www.browndailyherald.com
FLOWERS OF PRAISE A colloquium celebrating the 150 years of Baudelaire’s “Les Fleurs du Mal” was held on campus.
4
CAMPUS NEWS
BUZZELL ON BLOGS Colby Buzzell, Iraq war military blogger, speaks to The Herald about being praised by Kurt Vonnegut.
dean’s conferences. Other cases are heard by the Peer Community Standards Board, deans of student life, the University Disciplinary Council or an administrative hearing officer, depending on the nature and severity of the violation. Two hundred and eighty-six cases were resolved through disciplinary dispositions in the 2006-2007 academic year. Most of these disciplinary resolutions were handled by dean’s hearings, according to the report. Dean’s hearings resolve cases such as underage drinking, harassment, behavior of a guest and damage to University property and can result in
11
OPINIONS
195 Angell Street, Providence, Rhode Island
MEMORIES OF BHUTTO Maha Atal ‘08 considers former Pakistani P.M. Benazir Bhutto, “Sex and the City” and feminism.
sanctions ranging from a warning to deferred suspension. Non-disciplinary dispositions were used in 577 cases in the 2006-2007 academic year — 340 more than the previous year. Associate Dean of Student Life Terry Addison said this spike is due to a “huge increase in the number of copyright cases.” The University is attempting to crack down on illegal downloading of music and movies because of the risk such downloading places on both the student and the University, Addison said. Students receive a warning letter for first offenses and may lose continued on page 5
12 SPORTS
FOOTBALL FALLS The football team blew a 31-14 lead against Cornell on Saturday, ultimately falling 38-31.
News tips: herald@browndailyherald.com