Thursday, December 6, 2007

The Brown Daily Herald T hursday, D ecember 6, 2007

Volume CXLII, No. 122

Since 1866, Daily Since 1891

Investment Adashi to step down as bio-med dean chief is U.’s highest paid employee

By Chaz Firestone Senior Staff Writer

By Michael Bechek Senior Staff Writer

Cynthia Frost, vice president and chief investment officer, made $871,257 in compensation and benefits in 2006 and tops the list of Brown’s highestpaid employees, according to its most recent tax filings.

Frost, who was hired as the investment chief in 2000, is responsible for investing the University’s nearly $2.8 billion endowment. She reports to the chair of the investment committee of the Corporation, the University’s highest governing body, as well as to Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration Elizabeth Huidekoper.

The endowment stood at around $2.2 billion at the end of fiscal year 2006, President Ruth Simmons said at a faculty meeting in September. It fared relatively well in the last fiscal year despite the nationwide sub-prime mortgage crisis this summer, in part because many of the University’s investment managers anticipated the collapse, she said.

The University’s annual tax filings, which are part of public record because of Brown’s nonprofit status, report major figures on its financial holdings, revenues and expenses and list the compensation of its officers and five highest-paid employees. The latest data, from the Internal Revenue Service’s Form 990, are for fiscal year 2006, ending June 30, 2006.

In the tax filing, the University reported total assets of more than $3.35 billion at the end of fiscal year 2006, up from less than $2.93 billion at the end of the previous fiscal year. Nearly $2.4 billion of those assets were held continued on page 4

After nearly four years as dean of medicine and biological sciences, Eli Adashi will step down at the end of this academic year, he announced Wednesday.

“With much accomplished and with new challenges beckoning, it is time for fresh leadership to negotiate the key transitions ahead,” Adashi wrote in an e-mail Wednesday to members of the Division of Biology and Medicine. “Alpert Medical School is soundly positioned for further progress.”

Adashi, who has presided over a period of significant change in both the structure and the name of the Warren Alpert Medical School, will leave his position next June.

After a sabbatical period, he will return to Brown as a professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Provost David Kertzer ’69 P’95 P’98 told The Herald.

“Over the last few years, while he’s been dean, we’ve accomplished really a remarkable amount for the Medical School and the Program in Public Health,” said Kertzer, who announced Adashi’s departure in an e-mail to the campus-wide

community. “We’ll certainly miss him.”

A graduate of the Sackler School of Medicine of Tel Aviv University in Israel and a former chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Utah Health Sciences Center, Adashi took over the post in the winter of 2005 from interim dean Richard Besdine. Since then, Adashi has revamped the Med School’s aging curriculum, raised its national profile and this year accepted a $100 million gift to the Med School — continued on page 14

e l sewar d s

Courtesy of Brown.edu

Eli Adashi resigned as dean of medicine and biological sciences on Wednesday.

A year later, internationalization still just beginning to take shape

By Nick Werle Senior Staff Writer

With David Kennedy ’76 starting in January as Brown’s first Vice President for International Affairs, the administration has spent much of this semester preparing for his arrival.

The University’s internationalization effort, which aims to improve Brown’s image abroad and bolster the study of international issues on campus, has produced several flashes of activity this semester, but there is consensus that the pace of work will pick up once Kennedy starts next month.

“The story now is one of planning and continuity,” Kennedy said.

Up to this point, the internationalization agenda — first outlined as a University priority by President Ruth Simmons in her 2006 Convocation speech — has been primarily directed by the Internationalization Meara Sharma / Herald

continued on page 13

“Elsewards,” Brownbrokers’ 72nd original musical, opens tomorrow at Stuart Theater and runs until Sunday.

RIPTA free ride program a big hit so far At the John Hay Library, a mystery is unearthed

By Chaz Kelsh Staf f Writer

Brown students know a deal when they see one — and they have recognized the bargain of free RIPTA rides in record numbers.

Students, faculty and staff have taken advantage of the U-PASS program, which lets them ride on RIPTA buses for free, in huge numbers, according to Director of Business and Financial Services Elizabeth Gentry.

“I think it’s been wildly successful,” Gentry said. “It’s been really popular with the students.”

When Brown’s participation in the U-PASS program was altered this semester to make RIPTA completely free, student use increased by 227 percent, while faculty use increased by about 2 percent, Gen-

INSIDE:

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CAMPUS NEWS

www.browndailyherald.com

By Irene Chen Senior Staff Writer

Rahul Keerthi / Herald File Photo

A student boards a RIPTA bus, for free, at the Thayer Street tunnel.

try said.

In the month of October, RIPTA recorded 26,671 rides made by 2,975 unique Brown community members,

Garbage time A student activist has been offering to throw away Keeney resident’s trash for donations.

8-9

COLLEGE HILL TRANSFORMS

compared with 22,797 rides by 2,983 riders in September. continued on page 4 FACILITIES UPDATE The Herald takes a comprehensive look at ongoing construction and planned changes for the campus.

20 SPORTS

195 Angell Street, Providence, Rhode Island

FEATURE

Two summers ago, Reem Yusuf ’09, an archeology concentrator, participated in a dig in Palestine along the West Bank. But her latest discovery was unearthed right on campus — with members of the class of “VISA 1250: Art of the Book,” held in the Walter J. Feldman book arts studio in the basement of the John Hay Library.

Two weeks ago, Visiting Lecturer in Visual Art Elias Roustom, who teaches the class, decided to spend the class cleaning and organizing the studio. Roustom, with the help of a student, moved the book press, which was placed on top of a pedestal. When they moved the

Put on ice The men’s ice hockey team took it on the chin against Providence College on Tuesday, losing 8-0.

press, Roustom realized there were shelves on the other side of the pedestal, hidden by the wall. He had found all sorts of “junk” that day in the studio, and on first glance, the artifacts inside of the black shoebox looked like rocks, he said. But when he looked closer, he saw they were much more than rocks.

He told the class he had found something, and the class gathered around the shoebox, heavy with bits and shards of rocks.

Inside the box, the rocks were carefully shaped — some were pointed, still sharp enough to cut; continued on page 6

EDITOR’S NOTE This is the last issue of The Herald for the semester. Publication resumes Jan. 23.

Check browndailyherald.com for updates.

News tips: herald@browndailyherald.com

T oday Page 2

Thursday, December 6, 2007

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

We a t h e r

But Seriously | Charlie Custer and Stephen Barlow

Today

TOMORROW

sunny 36 / 20

partly cloudy 38 / 30

Menu Sharpe Refectory

Verney-Woolley Dining Hall

Lunch — Corn Souffle, Mashed Red Potatoes with Garlic, Chicken Gouda Calzone, Hot Turkey Sandwich with Sauce, S’mores Bars, Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Lunch — Pulled Pork Sandwich, Shoepeg Corn Casserole, Cauliflower, Mediterranean Bar, Grilled Rotisserie Chicken, S’mores Bars

Dinner — Pumpkin Raviolis with Cream Sauce, Rice Pilaf with Zucchini, Braised Beef Tips, Sourdough Bread, Tapioca, Cherry Kuchen

Dinner — Roast Turkey with Sauce, Vegan Roasted Vegetable Stew, Mashed Potatoes, Stuffing, Red Cabbage with Apples, Mexican Salad Bar, Cherry Kuchen

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

Aibohphobia | Roxanne Palmer

Octopus on Hallucinogens | Toni Liu and Stephanie Le

RELEASE DATE– Thursday, December 6, Pappocom 2007 © Puzzles by

Los Angeles Times Crossword Puzzle C r o sDaily sword Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis ACROSS 1 With 69-Across, this puzzle’s theme, which begins the eight words of 17-, 28-, 45- and 62Across 6 Buttress 10 Bed in a nursery 14 Año opener 15 One usually involves lines 16 Freeway division 17 Pat Boone’s longtime label 19 Gets off the fence 20 Old fleet member 21 Hopeful negative 22 Espy 23 Hosiery thread 25 Because of 26 Guttural interruption 28 “Hannah and Her Sisters” costar 32 Newspaper clipping 35 Smacked, biblically 36 With it 37 Emergency phone link 39 Holy office 42 Model material 43 Picks up the tab 45 Outdoor light source 49 Mardi __ 50 Vacuous 51 Pittsburgh-based metal giant 54 Damp at dawn 55 Developmental stage 58 Freelancer’s encl.

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5 Filmmaking siblings 6 For the time being 7 “Ghosts of Abu Ghraib” director Kennedy 8 Ye __ Shoppe 9 Annoyance 10 Trauma sufferer’s goal 11 Hip-hop figure 12 Entirely 13 Confer 18 Maj.’s superior 24 Squirt 25 Receiving desk gismo 26 Rhine whine?

27 Clod chopper 29 Muslim religion 30 “Who __ to argue?”

31 Baptism receptacle 33 World’s secondbusiest airport 34 Four-time Super Bowl-winning coach Chuck

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39 City near Longboat Key 40 33-Down screen datum, briefly 41 19th in a series 42 East Indian fig trees 44 Id modifier 45 Edges along 46 Lake near Syracuse

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Vagina Dentata | Soojean Kim

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:

Classic How To Get Down | Nate Saunders

xwordeditor@aol.com

12/6/07

T he B rown D aily H erald Editorial Phone: 401.351.3372 Business Phone: 401.351.3260

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

Mary-Catherine Lader, Vice President Mandeep Gill, Treasurer Dan DeNorch, Secretary

By Alan Olschwang (c)2007 Tribune Media Services, Inc.

12/6/07

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.

C ampus N ews Thursday, December 6, 2007

Fundraiser makes good use of garbage time

By Chaz Firestone Senior Staff Writer

Caroline Mailloux ’08.5 loves to talk trash, especially to Keeney freshmen. Ambling down the halls of the first-year dorm, she knocks on doors and informs students of a project to build a waste-disposal system in a slum in the West African nation of Mali.

But unlike most trash talkers, Mailloux isn’t all hot air. In her hands is an oversized barrel stuffed with scraps from scores of Keeney dorm room garbage bins — and she’s collecting more than just junk.

“We’d just show up in Keeney and offer to take out the trash for whatever spare change was lying around,” Mailloux said. “Rather than fumbling for loose pocket change, students pulled out ones, fives and tens.”

A five-year veteran of numerous campus fundraising efforts, from letter-writing campaigns to a “send a Crush to your crush” event on Valentine’s Day, Mailloux is one of a few innovative fundraisers who have capitalized on a new way to raise money on campus.

“Of my campus fundraising experiences, nothing was as successful as offering to take out trash for freshmen,” Mailloux said. “We raised close to $200 in one night.

Days in the P.O. didn’t even come

close to that.”

The trash trend is catching on.

After fruitless days in the University Post Office selling Starbucks pastries for Community Outreach through the Performing Arts, Diana Wollach ’10 did one lap around half of Keeney’s first floor with a large garbage bag in tow.

“Throwing out trash took us half an hour to make $100,” Wollach said. “Selling pastries didn’t make us nearly as much.”

Though Mailloux and Wollach said most students were glad to give up their trash and cash, there have been some surprise reactions.

When trash collectors knocked on the door of Jameson resident Akinyi Shapiro ’11, they got more — and less — than they expected.

“They asked me if they could take out my trash, but I didn’t know it was for money so I just emptied the bin,” Shapiro said. “I thought they were being noble.”

Roommate Celina Castillo ’11 realized what had transpired and interjected with a grin.

“I was like, ‘Akinyi, I think you’re supposed to pay them,’ ” Castillo recalled, laughing.

“It was terrible,” Shapiro said. “ ‘We want to take out your trash — but ha! — give us money.’ ” Caroline Segal ’11 thought more positively of the tactic after trash collectors stopped by her door.

“Everyone is too lazy to take out their trash that they’re willing to pay two, three, four dollars for it,” she said.

After giving the collectors some change from her wallet, Segal said she made a mental note of the idea.

“I think it’s brilliant,” said Segal, who volunteers for Housing Opportunities for People Everywhere. “So I brought it up at a HOPE meeting.”

But unfortunately for Brown’s many would-be do-gooders, not all trash-based initiatives have been as successful.

Scott Middleton ’10, who needs $4,000 by June to finance his upcoming cross-country trip with Bike and Build, gathered beer cans from Wriston Quadrangle’s trash rooms and hauled them to Seekonk, Mass., to exchange them for five cents apiece.

“You can’t get money for cans in Rhode Island, so I thought it would be a good idea,” Middleton said.

“But I only made $30. It wasn’t as much as I would have liked.”

Middleton said he’s abandoned can collecting in favor of the door-todoor trash service, which he heard about from Mailloux.

And to the delight of lazy Keeney freshmen with overstuffed garbage bins, he planned to start yesterday.

DPS made over 100 field stops between Jan. and Oct.

By Matthew Varley Staff Writer

As part of an ongoing effort to “demonstrate more transparency to the community,” the Department of Public Safety will now release field stop data reports biannually, Chief of Police and Director of Public Safety Mark Porter told The Herald. The current report, published on the department’s Web site in November, covers field stops conducted between January and October of this year.

The report is part of the department’s Field Stop Initiative, an effort to analyze, among other variables, the racial and gender makeup of those stopped by DPS. Field stops are interviews conducted by DPS officers and reported to the department. Though usually following calls to DPS, officers sometimes initiate such situations.

During the ten-month period, DPS conducted 101 stops with a total of 161 people. Thirty-three of the individuals were Brown students — of these, 25 were white and eight were Asian. One of these 33 students was also identified as ethnically His-

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

panic. Seven of the student stops were initiated by DPS — of these, six were white males and one was a white female.

Overall, 128 others, non-Brown students were stopped. Of these, 108 were white, 18 were black and two were Asian. Thirteen of these individuals were also identified as ethnically Hispanic. During this time period, 15,924 calls were made to DPS, and 0.6 percent of calls resulted in stops.

DPS began collecting information on the race and gender of persons stopped in 2005 “for internal review purposes,” Lieutenant Bruce Holt told The Herald. The report was made public “in response to concerns about negative community perceptions about the department,” Holt said.

Porter added that recommendations from the University’s Public Safety Oversight Committee influenced the decision to publish the information online.

“We’re hoping to gain more information about the types of stops being conducted and the results of those stops,” as part of “ongoing efforts to enhance DPS integrity and

transparency,” Holt said.

Unlike the 2006 report, the recent data includes the distribution of stops across times of day, days of the week and months. Most stops occur between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m. and are distributed evenly across the week with the exception of Wednesday nights, when fewer stops are reported. April was the month with the most stops. And stops were noticeably higher late last semester and at the beginning of this semester.

Last year’s report was followed by analysis by the Office of Institutional Diversity, which put the field stop data in perspective of the racial makeup of the Brown and Providence communities. According to the 2006 analysis, the relative infrequency of stops was “somewhat in contradiction to recent claims of excessive field stops.” Last year’s analysis, however, cites “current community tensions” and suggests “we should think about ways to perform checks on the data collection process.” A similar analysis is expected for this year’s data and, like last year’s, will be made available online, Holt said, likely at the beginning of 2008.

Environmental concerns top the agenda for UCS

By Franklin Kanin Senior Staff Writer

At a time when celebrities race to “go green” and push to get environmental issues placed on the national agenda, the Undergraduate Council of Students has put carbon neutrality and other environmental topics among its priorities. This semester, UCS has worked to get the University to focus on carbon neutrality and environmental preservation.

At the beginning of the semester, UCS President Michael Glassman ’09 told The Herald that the University’s environmental policies were an area of concern. In an interview on Tuesday, Glassman said that though UCS was not the only student organization working on carbon neutrality, he was very pleased with the work the council had done in the area.

UCS passed a resolution early this semester calling on the University to reduce its carbon emissions and increase environmental awareness.

“It’s going to happen by the end of the semester that Brown will have set a goal (for a reduction in carbon emissions), and it’s not our doing alone, but we’ve put a lot of pressure on,” Glassman said.

The environment was not the only area in which UCS members looked to make changes. The council also focused its efforts this semester on improving campus life reviewing in its own proceedings.

Glassman said the council had a successful semester. “I don’t think there’s too many of our goals that we’ve fully accomplished, but I think we’ve made a lot of progress on a lot of them,” he said.

The other major action UCS took this semester was passing a resolution to recommend the University Resources Committee raise the Student Activities Fee to $200, an increase of $54 over this year’s fee.

Student Activities Chair Drew Madden ’10, who spearheaded this initiative, began the semester intending to take action on the fee. He told The Herald in October that he wanted to get a feel for the student body’s attitude about raising the fee and to recommend the increase if students voiced their support. The resolution was a major change from the Fall 2006 session, when UCS voted down a proposed $13 increase.

The council has also been working behind the scenes. Members have met with President Ruth Simmons to discuss the Plan for Academic Enrichment and have engaged members of the Task Force on Undergraduate Education and the Faculty Executive Committee.

Much of council’s work this se-

mester was not done as a general body but through individual committees.

Academic and Administrative Affairs Chair Rakim Brooks ’09 has worked on service learning classes and January@Brown. Brooks said his committee has made a lot of progress on both topics.

The January@Brown program has gained 12 participants since last year, bringing its current total to 31 students. Brooks’ committee is also looking into making it possible to use the winter term as a way to integrate transfer students to Brown.

Campus Life Chair Ellie Cutler ’10 said her committee began the semester with goals related to improving safeRIDE and Dining Services. Her committee has met with both organizations, and they have been receptive to their ideas, Cutler said.

The Campus Life Committee was unable to alter safeRIDE routes — a semester goal — but Cutler said other ideas including “barf bags in safeRIDEs” and “improved signage and knowledge around campus,” were being considered for the future.

Early this semester, much of UCS’ general body meeting time was spent on internal affairs. In September, the council was rocked by rifts among its members, and accusations of unfair election practices were lodged against Glassman and UCS Vice President Lauren Kolodny ’08.

A weekend of compromise and discussion resulted in changes to the UCS code concerning special elections, proposed by Madden, and a UCS Assessment Task Force spearheaded by Communications Chair Gabe Kussin ’09. The task force is designed to review the operations of UCS and give recommendations in the spring on how to improve the workings of UCS. Many of the conflicts among members in the first month of the year stemmed from frustration with parliamentar y procedure, which was a recurring theme at meetings throughout the semester. Some complaints centered on marathon meetings that dragged on due to the numerous mundane details of parliamentary procedure. Others complained about misuse of the rigid UCS guidelines, which sparked arguments at meetings, including a heated confrontation between Brooks and Madden during the approval process for the Student Activities Fee resolution.

Despite the problems, Glassman said he is happy with what the council has accomplished this semester.

“I’m pretty happy,” he said. “I think there’s a lot more to do, and there aren’t very many areas where it’s like, ‘We had this goal, and we finished it.’ ”

!

������

Highest paid officers and employees, 2006 Cynthia Frost

$871, 257

VP and Chief Investment Officer

Ruth Simmons

$689,007

President

Kenneth Schimberg

$660,697

Dir. of Real Assets and Private Equity

Eli Adashi

$551,441

Dean of Medicine and Bio. Science

Edward Wing

$508,007

Chief, Department of Medicine

Robert Zimmer*

$467,518

Provost

Martin Keller

Chair, Department of Psychology and Human Behavior

$413,643

Elizabeth Huidekoper

$398,407

VP for Finance and Administration *Left to become president of the U. of Chicago in July 2006

Source: Internal Revenue Service Figures include total compensation and benefits

Thursday, December 6, 2007

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Students take advantage of free RIPTA service Brown’s RIPTA Ridership, October 2007

Prior to this semester, Brown sold half-price RIPTA fares to ����� faculty, students and staff. In Septem����� ber 2006, just 825 discounted tickets were purchased, and in October ���� 2006, 678 were purchased.

RIPTA is able to track Brown rid���� ers using its new electronic fareboxes, through which Brown ID ���� holders swipe their ID cards to pay ���� their fare. RIPTA then bills Brown each month based on the number of ���� riders. Brown also updates RIPTA each month with a list of valid ID ���� cards, which stops lost or expired cards from being used. ���� Based on these early numbers, Brown is on track to pay RIPTA be���� tween $150,000 and $200,000 annu���� ally, which matches the original cost estimate, Gentry said. Brown pays RIPTA per ride on a sliding scale � Grad Med Undergrad �#$ � �#$ � �#$ � that decreases the cost per ride as ridership increases. middle of Thayer Street, according Brown receives a monthly report to McCormick. The location had from RIPTA on U-PASS usage. That previously been one of the worst report breaks the usage down into in the state for RIPTA accidents, categories — student, faculty, staff he said. or other — and provides some basic Gentr y and McCormick instatistics, such as the highest num- dicated that it is still too early to ber of rides in a month on a single see any definite trends. “We really ID card. That number stands at 138, haven’t had a full year to be able to although Gentry warned that the tell,” Gentry said. “More and more figure includes each leg of trips that people are probably still giving (ridinvolved transfers between routes. ing the bus) a second thought,” she Brown was the first school in added, citing rising gas prices and the U-PASS program to integrate the parking crunch on College Hill its ID card with the new electronic as motivating factors. fareboxes, according to Gentry. It Gentr y also said the U-PASS has since been joined by the Rhode program is just “one piece of the Island School of Design, Gibbs Col- puzzle” of trying to reduce parklege and Roger Williams University, ing congestion on College Hill and said RIPTA planning manager Tim that it is not possible to measure the McCormick. distinct impact of the program. “It’s Brown has also worked with really hard to get people to give up RIPTA to run special buses directly their cars,” she said. from the Thayer Street stop to Bar“We’re kind of experimenting rington, where about 240 faculty and with this,” McCormick said. “Two staff reside, according to McCor- to three months is a really short time mick. There is one trip each morn- to assess the value of a relationship ing and evening, which eliminates like this. It really takes a little bit of the need to transfer at Kennedy time to understand the movement Plaza to reach campus. Gentry said of people.” He also said it might take the transfer was “one of the biggest time before people stop driving to detriments” to RIPTA use. campus and take the bus instead.

About 12 Brown employees cur- “People don’t just throw their keys rently use the special Barrington into the gutter and take the bus,” bus, McCormick said. A second he added.

McCormick said Brown’s riderdedicated bus will be added in January to facilitate the switch to Brown ship statistics are “a little bit stronemployees’ summer schedule, he ger than we expected,” but that added. Gentry said the University it is difficult to compare Brown’s is considering adding even more numbers to the other participants dedicated buses in future, though in the U-PASS program, which inthe University has waited for more clude RISD, Providence College and data to analyze which other routes Johnson and Wales University. “We are the most popular among Brown really haven’t sat down and coughed affiliates. that data hairball yet,” said McCorRIPTA also modified the Thayer mick, adding that Brown’s ridership Street entrance to the College Hill statistics are exceeding his expectabus tunnel to facilitate increased tions.

However, “Brown and RISD are Brown traffic by moving walls on either side of the portal back by 14 always going to be the best” for ridfeet to allow buses to pick up pas- ership simply because they are the sengers without stopping in the most urban and therefore the best

Rides Riders

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in “investments,” with the value of land and buildings owned by the University accounting for most of the remainder.

Simmons trailed Frost in second place in compensation and benefits, taking home $689,007 in fiscal year 2006. The median compensation for presidents of private universities has increased 37 percent since 2001, the Chronicle of Higher Education reported earlier this year, and stands now at just over $528,000.

Kenneth Shimberg, the Investment Office’s director of real assets and private equity, was the next-highest paid with $660,697 in salary and benefits. According to the office’s Web site, 11 percent of the University’s $2.8 billion “long term pool,” mostly consisting of its endowment, is currently invested in private equity, and 13 percent is held in real assets. Shimberg is one of five directors the Investment Office lists on its Web site.

Physicians at Alpert Medical School are among Brown’s highest-paid employees. Eli Adashi, the dean of medicine and biological sciences who announced his resignation Wednesday, was the third-most compensated employee, earning $551,441, including benefits.

Edward Wing, professor of medicine and chair of the department, was paid $508,007, while Martin Keller, professor of psychiatry and human behavior and chair of the department, was paid $413,643.

Below Simmons, the two other individuals listed as officers are Huidekoper, who received $398,407 in salary and benefits, and then-Provost Robert Zimmer, now president of the University of Chicago, who received $467,517.

The other officers listed are the University’s trustees, who do not receive any financial compensation or benefits.

In the IRS Form 990, the University reported $885 million in revenue in 2006 and $669 million in expenses. Of those expenses, $549 million was spent on “program service expenses,” which include education, financial aid, research support and operational expenses for services such as residence halls, dining halls and the Brown Bookstore.

Of the $885 million in total revenue, just $341 million was collected in exchange for these “program services.” That amount is only about 62 percent of the amount the University spent on them. Tuition and fees accounted for the largest chunk of this amount, netting the University $259 million.

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served, he said.

Continued funding for the UPASS program is in the proposed budget for the 2008-2009 academic year, which has been presented to the University Resources Committee, Gentry said.

“My hope and expectation would be that this would be approved,” especially given that the program advances the University’s stated aim of reducing congestion on College Hill, she said.

McCormick added that RIPTA is looking at other ways to advertise the dedicated bus service to Brown faculty and staff and might try sending e-mails specifically targeted at employees who live in Barrington. ���� � “It really takes one-on-one communication” to persuade people to take the bus instead of driving, he said.

Students use the free RIPTA service for both pleasure and workrelated purposes. Gene GoldsteinPlesser ’11 travels on the No. 11 bus every week to the Rhode Island Free Clinic on the south side of Providence, where he volunteers.

“The place is like a 45-minute walk, which would have been uncomfortable,” he said. “(Free bus ser vice) definitely made it a lot easier to make this kind of commitment.”

Goldstein-Plesser has also used the No. 66 bus to go to the beach in Narragansett and the No. 14 bus to go to T.F. Green Airport.

“It’s gratifying,” he said of the U-PASS program. “You get places for free.”

Margeaux Berroth ’11 concurred that RIPTA service makes getting around much easier. “I wouldn’t be able to get off the hill (without UPASS),” she said.

Britta Han ’10 also uses RIPTA for community service. She travels to the William D’Abate Elementary School in the Olneyville neighborhood of Providence once a week to help with an after-school creative writing program. Though the Swearer Center used to pay for her tickets, now the center doesn’t have to pay, Han said.

Other students, like Lauren Presant ’10, find little use for the U-PASS program. “For me, it’s easier to walk to the mall than it is to take RIPTA if I don’t know the bus schedule,” Presant said.

Anthony Rego, a RIPTA trolley driver, said Brown ridership has risen noticeably. “The trips have been starting to get more heavy with Brown students because they’re starting to take advantage of UPASS, which is a good thing,” he said, adding that many faculty and staff have been riding as well.

C ampus n ews Thursday, December 6, 2007

Page 5

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

VENlab team reveals breakthrough optic flow research

By Noura Choudhury Staf f Writer

Rahul Keerthi / Herald

Kaitlin Cohen ‘08 speaks to a student at the Global Health Resource Fair Tuesday night in Petteruti Lounge.

Pair of students support health efforts in Mali

By Catherine Straut Staff Writer

Many students go abroad to exotic locales, complete some community service and then come home. Caitlin Cohen ’08 and Erica Trauba ’07.5 have taken it one step further.

In 2006, the two students started an nongovernmental organization called the Mali Health Organizing Project to address health issues in the slum of Sikoroni, which is located outside the city of Bamako in Mali, an African nation north of Ghana.

The group is largely guided by the students and an appointed group of Sikoroni community members known as the Community Health Action Group, Cohen said. It focuses on using local health projects as a means to garner mutual investment from both the Mali government and the Sikoroni community in their own healthcare system, she added.

The genesis of the organization came in July 2005, when Cohen and Trauba were both working on AIDS research in Bamako through the Global Alliance to Immunize Against Aids. Cohen conducted surveys on attitudes about AIDS in the marketplaces of Bamako while Trauba worked with a Sikoroni women’s association, which was vocal about the need for a local clinic and for a concentrated effort to carry out local health projects.

To build on those efforts, Cohen and Trauba spent the following year fundraising in the United States and returned to Mali in June 2006 to begin work with the women’s association on the local clinic. Cohen said they helped the community leaders devise a system to select a group of community members to guide efforts and worked to give them training exclusively from Malian organizations, in order to increase credibility and potential for sustainability.

“We kind of fell in love with Sikoroni and fell in love with Mali,” Cohen said.

Cohen then decided to stay for the following year to help the

group get off the ground. Within four months, Cohen had successfully created a nongovernmental organization that was incorporated in both the United States and Mali by the end of the fall of 2006 and achieved full legal and tax status in both countries in January 2007. “I did all the paperwork on my computer attached to a bus battery,” Cohen said.

There are three branches of the group, which seek to address both health problems and their underlying causes. The core focus is upon health programs, Cohen said, the second branch offers support to the local women’s empowerment program and the third is a microfinance program designed to provide marginalized women, especially widows, with loans so that they can start their own businesses.

Currently the three biggest projects planned by the group are the creation of a town medical clinic, designing new trash disposal and waste sanitation systems and starting a maternal-child health program which is intended to supply marginalized women in the community with supplies and vaccinations for themselves and their children.

Cohen said the group acts as a fundraiser and negotiation facilitator for Sikoroni community leaders, helping them outline their goals for various health projects, then accompanying them to meetings with government leaders in order

to successfully negotiate for funding and support.

“It draws the leadership in the community and the leadership of the government (together) into this community which they’ve usually forgotten, ‘cause it’s a slum,” Cohen said. “We’re an organization that’s about using health to address the more intrinsic problems.”

Cohen and Trauba said they think the NGO and its projects will be self-sustaining in the future because of the amount of involvement and support from the Malian community leaders, whom Cohen described as “some of the sassiest, most driven and wonderful women imaginable.”

Both Trauba and Cohen said their time spent in Mali has guided their course of study at Brown, and they hope to get more Brown students involved to volunteer and eventually lead projects. In addition, the two said they would like to deepen Brown’s connection with the group by getting some sort of University sponsorship.

Trauba and Cohen said they hope to inspire other students to go abroad and volunteer.

The group “would not be what it is had we not lived there,” Cohen said.

Trauba cited her experience in Mali as one of personal growth. “Being in Mali has been sort of how I’ve grown up over college,” she said.

The cover of the Dec. 4 issue of Current Biology features breakthrough research in optic flow conducted by William Warren, professor and chair of the department of cognitive and linguistic sciences.

Warren and his team conducted the research at the University’s Virtual Environment Navigation Lab — located in Metcalf Research Laboratory, the 12-meter by 12-meter lab is one of the largest virtual reality labs in the world.

Optic flow is the motion pattern created at the eye when people move through the world, Warren said. When people move toward a specific point, motion appears to radiate out from that point and conveys information about the direction in which the person is moving.

Warren’s lab uses virtual technology to test theories on optic flow by controlling the laws of optics.

“Virtual reality is great because it allows us to manipulate the visual information that people are getting when they actually walk around,” Warren said.

The lab focuses on studying how people use perception to guide their actions, especially locomotion, Warren said. The current research at the lab uses walking

as a test case. When people are standing still, they have two ways to navigate toward an object in the distance, Warren said. They can simply start walking in the direction of the door, using visual direction, or they can begin to move and use optic flow to test their direction, since optic flow should radiate out from the object toward which they are traveling.

VENlab used two virtual settings for their research, according to Warren. One setting used a prism that bent light with a simulated door at the end, creating a rich environment for optic flow.

The other setting was a straightline environment that lacked surrounding flow. Subjects were supposed to walk toward the door, but the alteration was that the lab displaced the direction of optic flow 10 degrees to the right, making the door appear farther to the right than it actually was. In order to reach the target successfully, subjects had to adapt by walking slightly to the left to realign the optic flow with the direction of the simulated doorway.

Hugo Bruggeman, a postdoctoral research fellow who headed the experiment, discovered that individuals quickly adapted to walking slightly left of the target in order to reach the door when continued on page 6

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Thursday, December 6, 2007

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In basement of the John Hay, a discovery continued from page 1 others were rounded, perhaps to fit comfortably in a hand, Roustom said. One of the stones, about eight inches long and three inches wide, according to Roustom, was made from a shiny black material, possibly obsidian. Some had tiny tags with tiny French letters with a year and the names of cities, which Roustom recognized as in various regions of France.

The origin of this shoebox of artifacts is still a mystery. Roustom said he thinks the box may have been lost because the space in the library was transformed into a classroom.

“I’m wondering if they were sent down there for some sort of packaging or storage,” Roustom said. “And (when) the bindery changed over to a classroom ... they just got put against the wall, and that was it.”

“I could see how easily it would happen, if someone put something on a shelf and just decided to push it in,” Roustom said. “It takes two minutes to do that, (and) with your mind on different things, (they) would have been out of sight and out of mind.”

While Roustom discovered the artifacts, he says he doesn’t want any recognition — simply knowing more about the origin of this box is enough for him.

“I’d love to learn more about them — did someone give them to the library?” Roustom said. “Somebody may have had a private interest in it, maybe they found them themselves.

It would be cool to find out where they come from and why they’re there.”

Yusuf was also interested in finding out more about the history of these artifacts and how they had ended up on a shelf in the studio.

Yusuf had spoken to Professor Emeritus of Art Walter Feldman, who had previously taught the book-making course, about his interest in archeology and as a collector. She thought it was possible he might know how the box ended up in the studio.

Unfortunately, after tracking down the origins of the book press shelf where the box was found, Ann Dodge, coordinator of reader services at the John Hay Library, discovered that someone had donated the press to the classroom when it was converted from a storage room about two years ago. The shoebox and the artifacts it contains actually belong to a private owner and not the library, Dodge said.

“We think it was sent here by mistake,” Dodge said. “We will be contacting the former owner and returning it to the person we believe is the rightful owner.”

Roustom said he enjoys teaching a course about book making in the library, surrounded by the library’s rare collections.

“It feels like an underutilized resource,” Roustom said. “Above me (are) billions of dollars of rare books, and I’m teaching people how to make beautiful books and how to take care of books.”

While the class has not had many opportunities to take full advantage of the library’s resources, Routsom said he hopes to do so in the future.

Before knowing the origins of the press, Roustom had speculated that the artifacts may be part of a larger collection at the Hay. “The library has a collection of similar things of tools and tablets,” he said. “That’s what the Hay does. They’re one of the few libraries of the world that will collect things. They seem to collect everything.”

As an artist, Roustom said he is also intrigued by the possibility of an art project based on the discovery.

“Maybe someday I’ll use them (as) inspiration. ... They had some interesting shapes, and as an artist, I’m far more interested in shape than in historical value,” Roustom said.

“It might be fun to photograph them, make a book or print involving their shape and image. Maybe a story of how they were found could be involved.”

An archeology student, Yusuf said she was concerned with preserving these artifacts, many of which were dated to what may be prehistoric times. This discovery, she said, should be of interest to other students and professors in archeology as well as classics, and she said she hopes the library will find some way to preserve them and share them with the public.

“They (say) something mysterious about these people who made them,” Yusuf said.

VENlab’s optic flow work leading to breakthroughs continued from page 5 optic flow was available to them. A November press release said these subjects were usually able to make it to the door by the third trial. Subjects in the line environment without optic flow took approximately seven times longer to adjust, Bruggeman said.

The results of the research have a practical use in robotics, Bruggeman said. The knowledge of how humans use optic flow to guide perception can help in the formation of “robust steering algorithms” that tell robots to align the center of optic flow with their targets. Scientists can use such information to translate to robots qualities of the human perception necessary to convey visual information into locomotion. Warren’s lab will continue future studies to develop their ideas of human perception and the brain.

“Basically, we have to acknowledge that the brain is very much a

leaky system,” Bruggeman said. “It requires continuously new information to be updated.”

The team is focused on studying the role of the brain and re-evaluating the models currently used to explain its functions and its role in its environment.

“The deep insight here is that we normally think of the brain as controlling things,” Warren said.

“But really the brain is situated in an environment and it’s got to use information from the environment.

It’s not that the brain structures our behavior, it’s as much the environment structures the brain. It’s really a continuous loop.”

The results of VENlab’s current research has opened multiple doors for further studies because of the “endless problems” and questions the results have shown about the complexity of human behavior, Warren and Bruggeman said.

“We’re really at the start of trying to understand the brain,” Bruggeman said.

M etro Thursday, December 6, 2007

Breaking into ‘the Vault:’ 93 Benevolent St.

By Sara Molinaro Metro Editor

Let the rumors die. 93 Benevolent St. — the abandoned red brick house across the street from WBRU — otherwise known as “the Vault,” is not home to a secret society. It is not a music recording studio.

Despite the bars on the windows, it is not a home for the insane, and, their boasts aside, the fraternities probably don’t have the cash to buy it.

It might, however, be picked up, taken downtown, and turned into a museum.

Though 93 Benevolent St. is popularly known as the Vault — the name, after all, is painted on its front door — it’s also known as Bannister House. Edward Bannister was a prominent black painter who lived at 93 Benevolent St. from 1884 to 1899 with his wife, Christiana, though neither ever owned the property. Bannister was one of the founders of the Providence Art Club and was a successful artist in his own time — his accolades include a medal at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial, the first World’s Fair in the United States.

Due to Bannister’s prominence as a black artist at the end of the 19th century, 93 Benevolent St. has significant historical value. During the construction of the Heritage Harbor Museum in 2000, the building was considered an artifact that could be moved to the museum’s waterfront location, according to University Curator Robert Emlen.

While the Heritage Harbor Museum ultimately went in a different direction, other organizations — including the Rhode Island Black Heritage Society — have expressed interest in the building for its historical value.

In the 1930s, Euchlin Reeves owned the house and drastically remodeled it. According to a March 4, 1951 article in the Providence Sunday Journal, the Reeves family renovated Bannister House from 1938 to 1941. They lived next door to Bannister House and used it as a small museum to house their collection of antiques. It is for this reason that the building has bars on the windows, and, according to Brendan McNally, special assistant to the executive vice president for planning, a metal fire-door on the interior. These architectural details are what gives the building its popular name, the Vault.

According to the Journal article,

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Area’s homeless say Harrington Hall insufficient

By Nandini Jayakrishna Senior Staf f Writer

Sara Molinaro / Herald

The building at 93 Benevolent St. has a long and interesting history at Brown, and it may be moved downtown to serve as a museum.

the Reeves family originally intended for Bannister House to ser ve as a guest house. However, Mrs. Reeves told the Journal that “when guests come to spend a weekend or longer, she and Mr. Reeves retire in the museum and let the guests remain in the cottage. She realizes that it would be inhospitable to caution guests about reverence due chairs once owned by George Washington.”

Bannister House is currently owned by the University, and was listed in 2001 by the Providence Preservation Society as one of the Top Ten Most Endangered Properties in the city, due to the fact that it is “vacant and in disrepair,” according to the PPS Web site. The University technically classifies the building as a storage facility, though nothing is currently stored in the house, according to McNally.

The University acquired the property in 1989 and used it for several years as a rental property

for student housing, McNally said.

The house was vacated by the mid1990s, as were several other properties that “were in tough shape in terms of needed upgrades.”

Properties such as Bannister House are often acquired by the University not because of their particular potential for use but due to the strategic value of the land for long-term University use, according to Richard Spies, executive vice president for planning.

The Rhode Island Tax Assessor’s database values the land and the house together at a total of $407,300. While Spies said he was not aware of any outside individuals or organizations trying to buy the property, he said the University has “made it pretty clear that it would take a lot to make us consider selling the land — an unusual combination of circumstances.”

Spies told The Herald that since continued on page 8

Though 48 bunk beds and 40 regular beds fill Harrington Hall, several mattresses still line the walls of this men’s homeless shelter in Cranston, R.I. The shelter has one microwave and a small vending machine with two Cokes in it, but no meals are currently ser ved to residents.

There are three bathrooms — their stalls without doors. A tiny Christmas tree with lights sits on a stage in front of the room.

After the state tore down Welcome Arnold, formerly Rhode Island’s largest homeless shelter, many of the state’s homeless have taken refuge at Harrington Hall, said Jim Ryczek, executive director of the Rhode Island Coalition for the Homeless. The shelter’s official capacity is 96, but on Tuesday night 120 people filled the hall, Ryczek said. That number is likely to increase as the weather gets colder, he added.

Each resident gets one blanket, which does not provide enough protection from the cold late at night, said a man who called himself Mitch. Mitch has been taking shelter at Harrington Hall for close to a year, he said.

“You take a shower after a lot of people, (you get a) cold shower,” he said. “(Harrington Hall) is a pretty brutal jungle,” said Bill Bentley, director of planning and program development of the Urban League of Rhode Island. “You can’t even get up to go to the bathroom because by the time you come back, someone has your bed.”

Bentley said the Urban League currently runs the shelter, with only enough money to hire staff members and provide basic maintenance like sweeping and mopping.

The league cannot repair the building because the state, which owns it, is responsible for maintenance, Bentley said.

The shelter does not have case managers to help residents find housing or employment and to help those with substance abuse

and mental health issues because it lacks funding and resources, Bentley said. “(The state) should’ve torn down Harrington Hall (instead of) Welcome Arnold,” Bentley said.

“It was in much better shape: it had enough showers, bathrooms, privacy.”

“It kills me that (Harrington Hall is) the only place we have for folks,” said Noreen Shawcross, chief of housing and community development for the state. “It’s hard to find a place for 100 people.

It’s a real challenge.”

Earlier this year, the state cut funding that allowed the Urban League to provide dinner to Harrington Hall residents every night, Bentley said. Some residents bring their own food but often get into fights with others over the food.

“I’ve heard stories of guys fighting over candy bars,” Bentley said.

Another resident, Roger, who also wouldn’t provide his last name, said many residents have to choose between going to a meal site to get food and coming to the continued on page 12

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Thursday, December 6, 2007

Mysterious ‘Vault” not haunted continued from page 7 Bannister House is such a small property — just 2,400 square feet — that “as an institutional building, it’s hard to imagine.”

Spies referenced the 2002 Strategic Framework for Physical Planning, saying that the University would be looking into the area between Hope and Brook streets as a potential area for further expansion “in the long term.”

However, the University has no plans to take steps to renovate or preserve the building as it stands due to its small size. In the past there has been discussion of its being used as a museum by the University, Spies said, but he added, “It doesn’t make sense for us to try to run it as a museum. We don’t have the expertise.”

Though the University has no interest in Bannister House as the site for a museum, Spies said, it is willing to consider proposals from other organizations “about how it might be preserved.”

The Rhode Island Black Heritage Society is one such organization interested in the building. Bela Teixeria, the executive director, told The Herald that the Black Heritage Society hopes to acquire land off of College Hill, move the property and convert it into a museum. As she envisioned it, the museum site would ultimately include several buildings, some new and some of historical value, including Bannister House’s next-door neighbor, 89 Benevolent St., which is also owned by the University.

“We’ve secured, in a way, the University’s agreement to give us the house if we move it,” Teixeria said.

The Black Heritage Society has identified an area where they would like the building to be moved. It is a state-owned property that was recently vacated by the Rhode Island Department of Transportation — though Teixeria declined to elaborate on exactly where, fearing competition from other nonprofits.

Teixeria said the Black Heritage Society still needs to “raise the necessar y funds” to secure the land and move the property, as well as construct the museum that it intends to surround it. “It’s not the University’s fault that we haven’t taken possession of the building yet,” Teixeria said.

However, Emlen expressed concerns about whether Bannister House would sur vive being moved downtown. The red bricks visible at the front and sides of the building do not form the structure of the building — they are merely a facade added to the face of the original wood building when it was owned by the Reeves family during the 1930s. According to Emlen, if the building was lifted off the ground there is a risk that the bricks could crumble off the original wood frame.

Currently, the future of Bannister House remains uncertain. Spies said that the University has no plans “in the foreseeable future” to expand or build in that area of Benevolent Street and that it is “prepared to sit tight for awhile” to wait for proposals of historical renovation.

“If we reach a point where there is a tight time frame, we will let people know,” he said.

W orld & n ation Thursday, December 6, 2007

Paul’s quixotic run may make its push in N.H.

By Alec MacGillis Washington Post

CONCORD, N.H. — Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, has raised more than $10 million for his run for president in the past two months, leaving him well positioned to help swing the outcome of the first-in-the-nation primary in New Hampshire, a state well suited to his libertarian, antiwar platform.

And yet it was only late last month that his state headquarters here acquired a basic campaign tool: telephones. For months, Paul’s avid supporters were perfectly willing to make campaign calls with their own cellphones. The telephone company was dragging its feet, said Jared Chicoine, Paul’s 25-year-old state campaign manager. And, well, the Paul surge has been so sudden that some things have gotten lost in the rush.

“There’s been a lot going on,” Chicoine said in explaining the delay.

With so much money in the bank — and with more expected after another one-day fundraising “bomb” pegged to the Dec. 16 anniversary of the Boston Tea Party — the Paul campaign is in a position to make a push in a state whose “Live Free or Die” ethos makes it an ideal early target for the iconoclastic congressman. And Paul could have an impact on both of the party’s Jan. 8 primaries: He is drawing close to double digits in some Republican polls here, and it is not hard to find independent voters — who under state rules can vote in either party’s primary — who confess to fondness for both Paul and Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill. But as the campaign decides how to marshal its resources for the stretch run, it is unclear just how much control it will actually have over Paul’s fate here. That’s because not only is the Paul campaign’s lean infrastructure dwarfed by that of his rivals, it is also struggling to control the volunteer army that serves as his main driver, acting sometimes, but not always, in concert with the campaign leadership.

Last week, it was volunteers belonging to the Paul group at MeetUp, an online networking site, who organized an evening of phone calls at Paul’s headquarters here before watching the GOP debate together.

It was the same volunteers who organized a day of canvassing by 60 supporters Saturday, a frigid day so windy that a gust toppled the huge Christmas tree outside the State House in Concord.

And it is the same people who have churned out tens of thousands of Paul fliers from a Merrimack printing press co-owned by supporter Linda Lagana to sell at cost to Paul supporters around the country, separate from the mailings being paid for by the campaign. Recently, the head of Paul’s largest MeetUp chapter in New Hampshire, Jim Forsythe, paid $70 to create a glossy one-page “open letter” praising Paul. Lagana’s press rolled off 1,000 copies of Forsythe’s letter to be stuffed into the monthly newsletter in Forsythe’s town of Strafford.

“There’s a lot flying out of my shop right now,” Lagana said. “It must drive (the campaign) crazy.

They don’t know what we’re doing.

Fortunately, we’re pretty responsible.”

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Paul admitted how much his election prospects were outside his own control in a brief interview at a Manchester bar where he stopped Saturday night to greet a raucous throng of supporters. “They’ve been out walking the streets all day, and we didn’t plan it. We didn’t plan the money-raising. It is in a sense a revolution, a grass-roots revolution in the best of its meaning,” he said.

Asked if he hoped to exert more control over the effort as the primary neared, Paul demurred. “It’s the way I want the markets to work, so the market of politics should work that way, too,” he said.

He added with a chuckle: “The only thing that’s going to close it down is some (Federal Election Commission) ruling or something: `That’s too much freedom. We better abolish this spontaneity.’ ” The campaign does control one key area: mass media purchases.

Last month, it bought $1.1 million worth of television advertising time in New Hampshire for the remainder of the campaign, as well as about $430,000 worth of radio time in the state, said Jesse Benton, a national campaign spokesman. There are three television ads now in circulation — one on spending, one on civil liberties and one on the campaign’s momentum — with two more in the works.

The campaign’s other major investment has been in direct mail.

Benton and Chicoine declined to say how much the campaign has spent on mailings, but supporters proudly report receiving multiple pieces in their mailboxes and point to the high quality of the work, including a sleek 12-page, 8-by-11-inch brochure that supporters say went to every Republican in the state.

But the campaign still has plenty of money to spend in the final weeks in New Hampshire. Benton said it has to leave enough to compete in South Carolina and Nevada afterward, and it can purchase only so much more television time here, because most has already been reserved by other campaigns. But it is planning to add a couple of new staff members in New Hampshire, and “if there’s more radio that needs to be bought, it will be bought,” he continued on page 14

Missing man’s reappearance raises more questions than it answers

By Mary Jordan Washington Post

LONDON — Five years ago, John Darwin paddled his canoe into the North Sea from a town in northern England and disappeared. The smashed remains of his red boat later washed ashore near a golf course. A year later, the missing man was pronounced dead and his widow collected a life insurance payout.

On Saturday, Darwin turned up at a London police station, tanned but appearing dazed. “I think I am a missing person,” he told officers.

The former science teacher and prison official, 57, said he had no memory at all since 2000.

For a brief time, his tale appeared to be nothing less than a miracle return from the dead.

But on Wednesday, after rumors swirled for days, police arrested him and are now investigating whether the missing canoeist is really a con man.

“We don’t know what happened,” said Tony Hutchinson, the senior investigating police officer in the northern city of Cleveland, where Darwin disappeared. “Nobody was more surprised than I when he walked into that London police station, believe you me.”

British police on Wednesday issued a worldwide appeal for information from anyone who might have seen Dar win since March 2002, when an exhaustive search involving the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force failed to turn up his body.

Hutchinson said police have not ruled out that Darwin has amnesia, but are also investigating whether he committed criminal offenses in his mysterious disappearance. Three months ago, police reopened the investigation into Darwin’s death after receiving information that “raised some suspicions,” the detective said at a news conference.

Hutchinson said experts are trying to verify the authenticity of a photo published on Wednesday’s front page of the Daily Mirror tabloid that appears to show Darwin with his wife, Anne, in Panama last year. The newspaper said the

photo had been on the Web site of a company that helps people move to Panama.

“It’s not too difficult in this digital age to doctor a photograph,” Hutchinson said. But if it is valid, it “could change our thinking.”

Anne Darwin, a former receptionist at a doctor’s office, recently moved to Panama after selling her home in what neighbors have said was a hurry, leaving much of her furniture behind. She told reporters this week in Panama that she had no idea her husband was alive but that his sudden reappearance was the “moment I have prayed for.”

She said one of the couple’s two grown sons in England called and broke the news to her, saying, “ ‘Are you sitting down, Mum? I’m sitting here with Dad.’ ” British news reports, citing police sources, said Darwin’s e-mails at the time of his disappearance indicated he had romantic relationships with more than one woman in the United States. Others who knew Darwin told reporters that he had many debts when he vanished.

Margaret Burns, 80, an aunt of Darwin who lives in Hartlepool, not far from a prison where Darwin looked after inmates, described him as a “daredevil.” In a telephone interview, she said that if Darwin had been in Panama with his wife, “he should have stayed there” and not suddenly walked into a London

police station.

Burns said a joke around town is: “John was having a fine time in Panama until Anne arrived; that is when he decided to come back to the U.K.” “I think it’s best not to describe what I think of John,” she said.

After teaching for 18 years, Darwin took jobs first at a bank and then as a prison officer at Holme House, a category B prison one class below maximum security, where of ficials said he was in charge of prisoners’ welfare.

On March 21, 2002, he set off in his canoe from Seaton Carew, a seaside village where he had a waterfront home that he had recently sold for more than $900,000.

Ian Scott, manager of the Seaton Carew Golf Club, said in an interview that because the waters are dangerous he at first thought there was nothing “unusual” about Darwin’s reported drowning, even though the sea was particularly calm that day.

“But everybody is talking about it now,” Scott said, as many people all over England debated whether his wife knew he had not died and wondered where Darwin had been all this time.

The house that Dar win sold just before he vanished had been bought from an inmate whom Darwin met while working in prison, according to Scott.

“I think there is a lot more to this story,” he said.

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A new campus core in the Walk The Walk • $10 million project • Green space linking Pembroke campus to the main campus • Designer: Todd Rader and Amy Crews • $10 million left to raise

Thursday, december 6, 2007

How ‘Building Brown’ will ch

With 11 major projects, U. will drain cof

Creative Arts Center • $35 million for the project, plus $10 million endowment • $8.5 million left to raise • 35,000 square feet • Recital hall, multimedia labs and a recording studio in “interconnected living room-type spaces” • Architect: Diller, Scofidio and Renfro Mind Brain Behavior Building • $69 million cost, including operating endowment • $35 million left to raise • 80,000 square feet • Large lecture space along with seminar rooms, offices and labs • Future home to the cognitive and linguistic sciences, psychology and brain sciences departments • Architect: Leers Weinzapfel Associates Pembroke Hall Renovation • $9 million renovation • $4 million left to raise • Will house the Cogut Humanities Center and Pembroke Center for Teaching and Research on Women • Architect: Toshiko Mori Architects

College Hill will be transformed by $500 million in construction projects

By Michael Skocpol Senior Staff Writer

Over $1 billion raised, need-blind admission and a hundred new faculty positions — these often top the list of accomplishments that Brown can boast thanks to President Ruth Simmons’ wide-ranging Plan for Academic Enrichment. But five years in, many of the most visible changes to campus remain in store.

That’s the message behind University officials’ current agenda for the ongoing physical expansion. From ongoing efforts to create a vibrant greensward linking the Main Green with the Pembroke Campus to the $50-million Nelson Fitness Center that University officials hope will not only expand the Erickson Athletic Complex but also transform its look and feel, a range of high-profile projects will reshape College Hill in coming years.

Some changes will come in the form of new construction — the fitness center, a new Creative Arts

Center and a nearly $70-million Mind Brain Behavior building to house the soon-to-be joined departments of cognitive and linguistic sciences and psychology. Others call for insideout renovations of existing buildings, including Faunce House and Pembroke Hall.

And even as millions pour into the campus’ high-profile facelift, its guts are getting major surgery, too. Less glitzy but no less sweeping, a major — and costly, at $70 million — effort to renew major utilities infrastructure will accompany and accommodate the continued expansion. Targeted for completion in 2009, the utility-renewal effort is already well underway — as students seeking alternate routes to class around backhoes and gaping sidewalks this fall can attest.

All in all, officials say the average of $76.5 million spent annually on capital development since 2000 will be dwarfed in coming years, with $512 million more to be spent on buildings and infrastructure between now and 2011 — a robust $128 million

per year.

Steady returns from the ongoing Campaign for Academic Enrichment, which University officials expect to comfortably surpass its stated goal of $1.4 billion, have fueled growth so far Areas outlined in black indicate planned new construction. and will be needed in the future. Most of the projects officials expect to complete by the time the class of 2011 leaves ahead, University officials are pro- Swim Center last spring sent offiCollege Hill still require millions jecting cautious confidence that the cials scrambling to house Brown’s in donor commitments, and some remaining pieces of the current drive aquatics programs, few would have have yet to see a single penny con- will come together on schedule. expected a new $25-million pool to tributed.

Yet even with a clear road map, join the agenda. It remains to be seen But fundraising is only a part of some plans could change. Despite what moving parts may slide in or out the puzzle. The University is cur- $24 million budgeted over the next of administrator’s plans before all is rently shouldering over $400 million few years for dorm renovations, Sim- said and done. in debt to fuel its physical expansion, mons told the faculty last month that But physical expansion plans in and Executive Vice President for Fi- members of the Corporation, Brown’s their current incarnation already nance and Administration Elizabeth highest governing body, have asked detail a broad slate of changes and a Huidekoper said another $170 mil- her to place new student housing laundry list of hurdles that must be lion would need to be borrowed to among University Hall’s immediate cleared for them to take shape. In feed construction costs in the next priorities. That goal would need to these pages, The Herald lays out a several years. find space among an already crowded vision of how College Hill may look Despite the intensified efforts — spate of objectives. And before the different in four years’ time — and and attendant challenges — that lie surprise shuttering of the Smith what it will take to get there.

Thursday, december 6, 2007

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

hange the face of College Hill

ffers in five-year expansion of campus

A revamped athletic complex

While the footprint of the Erickson Athletic Complex won’t change, its contents will. The parking lot in front of the Olney-Margolies Athletic Center will become the Nelson Fitness Center, and the Smith Swim Center will be torn down and replaced.

Pembroke Field • $250,000 project • Installation of volleyball courts, new walkway and entrances • Designer: Quinnell Rothschild

Swim Center • $25 million in new construction • $14 million left to raise • 56-meter pool with springboard diving and two moveable bulkheads, with enhanced spectator seating, replacing the Smith Swim Center • Architect: Robert AM Stern Assoc.

Nelson Fitness Center • $35 million project, plus $15 million endowment • $23 million left to raise • 80,000 square feet for recreational athletic use • Will include weight training, dance/yoga studios and a basketball court that could accommodate large lectures • Architect: Robert AM Stern Associates Rhode Island Hall Renovation • $12 million for interior renovation • $5 million left to raise • Full renovation to house the Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World • Architect: Anmahian Winton Architects J. Walter Wilson Renovation • $18 million interior renovation • $10 million left to raise • Conversion of 66,000 square feet • Space for student services, including the University Mail Room, the Office of International Programs, the Chaplain’s Office and Psychological Services, plus classrooms to be available to students at night • Designer: Lerner Ladds/Shawmut

How long does it take to spend $512 million?

Pembroke Hall J. Walter Wilson

Utilities Upgrade

2008

2009

Stephen Robert Campus Center Rhode Island Hall Nelson Fitness Center Swim Center The Walk Residence Hall Renewal

2010

Stephen Robert ’62 Campus Center in Faunce House • $15 million interior renovation • $6.5 million left to raise • Renovation of building’s dining space and public areas, possibly with a courtyard area for dining and a student lounge space • Architect: to be determined Residence Hall Renewal • $24 million in renovations • $10 million left to raise • Comprehensive renovation of campus residence halls • Architect: to be determined

Creative Arts Center Mind Brain Behavior Bldg.

2011 • Photos courtesy of Deborah Baum • Map courtesy of Facilities Management

Page 12

Thursday, December 6, 2007

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

e l sewar d s

Courtesy of Chris Mendez ’10

Beds at Harrington Hall, a homeless shelter in Cranston, which advocates say doesn’t adequately house the state’s homeless.

Meara Sharma / The Herald Maggie Perkins ’08 plays Vivian Carter in “Elsewards,” which opens tomorrow at Stuart Theater and runs until Sunday.

Christmas tree, but no meals at homeless shelter continued from page 7 shelter to claim a bed.

“You have to claim (a bed) by a certain hour,” he said.

Shawcross said there are viable solutions to the food problem such as a “self-service café” where residents can make their own sandwiches. Stores like Whole Foods and Panera Bread could be solicited to donate food, she said.

But Shawcross said community providers like the Urban League, the Rhode Island Coalition for the Homeless and residents themselves have to try to get food to Harrington Hall.

Bentley said there is a “lack of concern” at the state level.

“I guess the state doesn’t think it has an obligation to feed people,” he said.

Chris Mendez ’10, coordinator of student group Housing Opportunities for People Ever ywhere, said he is part of a group that plans to contact several faith-based organizations in Rhode Island to bring food

to Harrington Hall.

Currently, a non-profit volunteer group called Breadlines stops by the shelter every other Friday to drop off sandwiches, “bags with goodies” and clothes like socks, said Anne Pari, coordinator of the group.

Mendez said he would like to introduce and expand more programs like Breadlines to bring food and clothes to residents more frequently.

Mitch said the state’s Adult Correctional Institution near Harrington Hall throws out enough food to feed him and the other residents three times a day.

“What would it take (for the state) to bring it here?” he said.

Roger, who is wheel-chair bound, said he hopes the state will try to remedy the situation at Harrington Hall.

“I have a blanket, thank God. People don’t have blankets. But we have a Christmas tree,” he said.

“We feel like less than prisoners here.”

Thursday, december 6, 2007

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After a year on the agenda, internationalization still beginning to take shape continued from page 1 Committee’s September report.

“All of us are still trying to digest the Internationalization Committee’s report and find out what voices weren’t heard from during that process,” Kennedy said.

The committee, created in October 2006, was charged by Provost David Kertzer ’69 P’95 P’98 with exploring how Brown could best strengthen its international connections and enhance the curriculum with a more coherent international focus.

“I think part of our interest is ensuring that practically every nook and cranny in the University benefits from the internationalization initiative,” Kertzer said. “Part of the new vice president’s job is to make sure that all of the major areas of the University are affected by internationalization.”

Indeed, Kennedy has already spent considerable time listening to University constituencies in an effort to develop a sense of Brown’s existing strengths and weaknesses.

Though his employment at Brown does not officially begin until January, Kennedy has spent most Thursdays and Fridays on campus this semester, even while maintaining his full teaching load as a professor at Harvard Law School.

“There are so many interesting initiatives going on at Brown and my own view is that I’m just beginning to see them,” Kennedy said. “My first project will be getting to know Brown better than I’ve been able to already.”

“My sense is that he’s really doing his homework in terms of spending time on campus every week, even a couple days a week,” said Associate Professor of Political Science Peter Andreas, a member of the search committee that selected Kennedy. “He has been doing the rounds, meeting with people, talking with the relevant faculty and administrators. ... He’s not starting until January, but he’s definitely putting in some serious hours at Brown this

semester.”

“It’s a lot of pro bono work, if you will,” Andreas said.

Kennedy will also be occupied setting up his office and staff. There are ongoing searches to fill two positions in his office: an executive assistant and a director of international affairs. Both searches have narrowed the applicants down to short lists, he said.

Though Kennedy’s office will eventually be located in the University Hall suite currently occupied by the registrar, he will work out of the Watson Institute for International Studies until his new space is ready in September.

The provost’s seed funding initiative, which will provide grants of around $10,000 to $20,000 to faculty groups working with international collaborators or trying to establish programs at Brown with an international focus, served as an effective way to see what is already happening. The list of winning proposals, announced yesterday, includes groups working with institutions in China, Brazil and France in a diverse array of fields.

“The fact that there were over 40 proposals shows how much interest there is in this initiative,” Kertzer said. Though Kertzer proposed the seed funding initiative as a tool to maintain the momentum of the internationalization agenda this semester, he said that it might become a regular feature in the future. The program will be administered by Kennedy’s office once it is running next semester, he added.

As the provost’s office continues to solicit faculty and student responses to the committee report, Kertzer said all of the proposals it contains remain on the table. “Nothing has happened in the last two months that has selected some and not others,” he said.

Nevertheless, two specific proposals have emerged as the most developed so far.

Global health, an area that received significant attention in the internationalization report, will certain-

ly become an important component of the overall agenda. Members of the Internationalization Committee’s global health working group have continued to meet throughout this semester to determine how Brown can best utilize its existing strengths to become a leader in the field.

The group also received one of the seed grants to support continued work through next semester on its proposal for a global health initiative. According to one of the group’s leaders, Associate Professor of Anthropology Daniel Smith, the goal is to present a proposal by the end of the current academic year.

“Our mission is to sketch out in a more detailed, concrete, implementable form ... a Brown global health initiative. Part of that is determining whether there are any structural changes that need to be made to increase Brown’s profile in global health,” Smith said. “We need to find something that fits with our strengths so we can carve out our niche.”

Smith specifically mentioned the “low walls between disciplines” as an advantage that will help create synergies between departments, better integrate the campus and the Alpert Medical School and help join together the research and educational aspects of the plan.

Though the report suggested developing a global health institute, Smith stressed that this idea is being considered but far from approval.

But Kertzer said internationalization would not merely be the creation of new centers and institutes. “When you look back five years from now to see what’s happened, there will be some combination of exciting new entities but also things will have happened to some existing entities that will transform them through internationalization,” he said.

The second idea that seems to have gained traction draws on Kennedy’s current research interests in international law and global governance. Though there are no concrete plans yet, Kennedy said he is “very hopeful that we’ll be able to inaugu-

rate something in the area of global governance in the Watson Institute in the coming years.” He envisions an institute for advanced research that would bring global legal scholars to Brown and anticipates that such a program would involve teaching undergraduates as well.

Andreas speculated that global governance would attract undergraduates’ attention and plans to discuss with Kennedy future plans for undergraduate study in the area.

While most of the excitement related to internationalization has yet to come, Kertzer said students are beginning to be affected by the effort. He mentioned that Persian classes were offered this year and that a recent donation will allow the

University to hire a full lecturer in the language next year.

Finally, ongoing study groups led by professors-at-large out of the Watson Institute have been praised for successfully allowing undergraduates to work closely with prominent international figures including professors-at-large Fernando Henrique Cardoso and Ricardo Lagos Escobar, former presidents of Brazil and Chile respectively.

“The study groups are relatively new, and my sense is that they have been quite successful. They are a very different experience from formal teaching in the classroom,” Andreas said. “They are terrific and really great opportunities for students.”

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Thursday, December 6, 2007

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Squash Adashi stepping down Paul looking at New Hampshire for strong push teams get slammed continued from page 1

continued from page 20 prepare us for good results during the balance of our season.”

The men showed improvement on the weekend against the Quakers as well. The Bears won more points overall, and three of the matches were extended to four games.

Alex Heitzmann ’10 had a tight match at No. 8, winning the third game before falling 10-8 in the final set.

The squash teams will train through winter break to prepare for their second semester schedule. Winter training begins Jan. 10. The squash teams will resume their season against Trinity College on Jan. 17 in Hartford, Conn.

thanks for reading

tied with a 2004 donation from liquor magnate Sidney Frank ’42 for the largest in University history — from entrepreneur Warren Alpert.

The Herald was unable to reach Adashi for comment, but the outgoing dean suggested in his e-mail to members of the Division of Biology and Medicine that he had brought the Med School to a key transition point and felt his goals as dean had been accomplished.

Adashi listed the details of his 2004 charge by the Corporation — “design a new integrated medical school curriculum,” “rank in the top quartile of U.S. medical schools” and “establish an academic medical center with Brown’s teaching hospital partners,” among others — and then wrote, “much of the aforementioned agenda has either been accomplished or else is securely underway.”

Under Adashi, the Med School climbed nine spots in the U.S. News and World Report’s scholastic rankings, and the curriculum — previously considered outdated — was overhauled to focus on interdisciplinary education. Adashi’s term has also seen increases in faculty and class size.

“I think he feels he’s accomplished a lot in the last three years,” Kertzer said, “and for various reasons, it is a tight transition period.”

Kertzer said the University is in the very early stages of finding a replacement for Adashi, but officials do not have any one candidate in mind. Brown’s Program in Public Health, which saw new life under Adashi, relocated last

year to an 11-story tower on South Main Street in accordance with plans to turn the program into an accredited graduate school by 2010. But until plans for accreditation are more concrete, Kertzer said it will be difficult to pinpoint the desired qualities of Adashi’s replacement.

“The first stage in any search like this is to look at the nature of the position,” Kertzer said. “In this case we don’t quite know yet what that will be.”

He also said it is not yet decided whether the search will be completed by the summer or whether the University will appoint an interim dean. Besdine, Adashi’s predecessor, served for two and a half years as interim dean while the University looked to replace Donald Marsh, who stepped down as dean of medicine and biological sciences in 2002.

“Whether we’ll have a regular dean or an acting dean for a few years is a decision we’ll have to make,” Kertzer said.

Students and deans interviewed

by The Herald praised Adashi for his record as dean and said they did not expect his departure.

“I’m very surprised,” said Associate Dean of Biological Sciences Marjorie Thompson. “I have always found Eli to be responsive and fair-minded with respect to undergraduate education.”

“I think it comes as a surprise to a lot of us,” said Jeremy Boyd MD’09, president of the Medical School Senate. “These past few years that he’s been here essentially coincided with the time I’ve been here as a student. It’s been a sign of change — beneficial change.”

continued from page 9

said.

The campaign’s other challenge is deciding where exactly to aim its pitch, because Paul is attracting such an idiosyncratic mix of supporters.

Campaign officials say they have relied on mailing lists that include antiabortion voters (Paul opposes abortion despite his opposition to government intervention in other areas), gun owners and opponents of mandatory mental health screening in the schools. But the volunteers working the new phones at the Concord headquarters last week were still doing basic voter outreach of the sort most campaigns were perfecting months ago, cold-calling voters to find out their favorite candidate and top two issues.

Not that Paul is necessarily competing directly against his rivals.

Campaign officials and volunteers alike say they see themselves as striving more to reach residents who have given up on politics. It is hard to imagine voters deciding between Paul and the pro-Iraq war Republicans in the rest of the field, they say, but they also are not making concerted efforts to reach independents leaning toward an antiwar Democrat like Obama.

“It’s a lot of lifelong Republicans, folks who’ve been out of it and were discouraged,” Chicoine said. “We don’t find droves of Democrats saying `This is our man.’ He is a conservative. He is an antiwar conservative in the line of what Republicans used to be.”Paul’s Quixotic Run May Make Its Push in N.H.

W. hoops shooting woes continue in loss to BU continued from page 20 ers took the lead, 31-27. Corinne Jean gave Boston University an even bigger lead with a 3-pointer in response to a Brown jump shot, and Boston University truly pulled away with 12 minutes left in the game, going on a 23-1 run to push its advantage to 55-34.

O’Neal said despite a lapse in shooting, the Bears still need to play aggressive defense. On offense, however, she said the Bears need to move the ball around more by penetrating gaps in the opposing

defense.

The Bears continued to play from behind for final 10 minutes, but kept the score relatively low considering the Terriers had scored more than 69 points in their previous two games.

Burr said she was happy with her team despite the loss.

“This shows good signs,” she said. “The team is working very hard.”

The Bears next game will take place over break in Bethlehem, Pa., where they will face Lehigh University in the Christmas City Classic on Dec. 29.

W orld & n ation Thursday, December 6, 2007

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Study links childhood Teen birth rate up for first time since ’91 weight, adult heart disease

By Rob Stein Washington Post

WASHINGTON — Being overweight as a child significantly increases the risk for heart disease in adulthood as early as age 25, according to a large new study that provides the most powerful evidence yet that the obesity epidemic is spawning a generation prone to serious health problems later in life.

The study of more than 276,000 Danish children found those who were over weight when they were 7 to 13 years old were much more likely to develop heart disease between the ages of 25 and 71 — even those who were just a little chubby as kids, and possibly regardless of whether they lost the weight when they grew up.

“This is incredibly important,” said Jennifer Baker of the Institute of Preventive Medicine in Copenhagen, who led the research being published Thursday in The New England Journal of Medicine. “This is the first study to convincingly show that excess childhood weight is associated with heart disease in adulthood, or with any significant health problem in adulthood.”

The study was published with an analysis of U.S. health statistics that projects teenage obesity will increase the nation’s hear t disease rate by at least 16 percent by the year 2035, causing more than 100,000 additional cases.

“This of fers a frightening glimpse of what we have in store,” said David Ludwig of Harvard Medical School, who wrote an editorial accompanying the studies. “The epidemic of childhood obesity is not a cosmetic problem. It can have profound long-term consequences for adult illness and death.”

The proportion of U.S. children who are over weight has tripled since 1976 and now totals more than 9 million. The sharp rise has already caused a jump in children developing Type 2 diabetes, which used to be known as adult-onset diabetes because it occurred almost exclusively among adults. Children are also increasingly being diagnosed with high blood pressure and cholesterol, which raised fears they will be more likely to develop heart disease — the nation’s leading cause of death. But previous studies produced mixed results.

“Although studies have hinted there may be an association, none has been able to confirm it,” Baker said. “They didn’t have the power to show the association.”

Baker and her colleagues analyzed information collected about the height and weight of 276,835 Danish schoolchildren between 1955 and 1960 and scoured hospital records from between 1977 and 2001 to see which of them went on to be hospitalized for heart problems as adults.

The risk increased with any amount of excess weight in childhood, the researchers found.

“Even a few extra pounds increases the risk,” Baker said.

“That’s the ver y frightening message from our results.”

For example, a 4-foot-1-inch boy who weighed about 61 pounds at age 7 faced a 12 percent increased risk of developing heart disease between the ages of 25 and 71,

compared with similar boy who was in the normal range of about 52 pounds.

The greatest increased risk, however, was for the heaviest older children, the researchers found.

For example, a 5-foot-1-inch tall boy who weighed 121 pounds at age 13 had a 34 percent greater risk compared with a boy of the same height and age who had a normal weight of 96 1/2 pounds. The risk was 51 percent higher if the boy weighed 132 1/2 pounds.

The risk was significantly lower for those who were over weight at age 7 but not at age 13, indicating that a child who can lose excess weight while still young, and remain at a normal weight, can reduce the extra risk substantially.

“This gives us hope,” Baker said. “This really suggests that if an inter vention occurs during this short period of time to help a child attain and maintain a normal weight, the risk of heart disease could be reduced.”

Because the researchers did not have data on the subjects’ adult weight, they could not definitively determine whether the increased risk was due to the effects of being over weight when young or because over weight children are more likely to become overweight adults.

“We speculate that it’s the early exposure,” Baker said. “It’s plausible that because these heavy children have these risk factors and are exposed to them early in life and continue to be exposed to them, that leads an increased risk in heart disease.”

In the second study, Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo of the University of California at San Francisco and colleagues used federal statistics from the year 2000 and oter data to project that by the time today’s adolescents turn 35 in 2020, up to 37 percent of men and 44 percent of women will be obese, resulting in an additional 100,000 heart disease cases by 2035. Bibbins-Domingo said the projections would have been even higher if the analysis had included the Danish data.

“We took a ver y conser vative approach,” she said.

Melinda Sothern, a childhood obesity expert at Louisiana State University in New Orleans, said the findings were disturbing because they suggested over weight children were not only experiencing more disease and disability in childhood, but many were also destined to be more sickly young adults.

“Over weight children are already losing their childhood. They can’t do the same types of activities as healthy weight children,” she said. “Now they will lose their early adulthood as well.”

Ludwig likened the childhood obesity epidemic to the threat from global warming: even though hard evidence is just now emerging about the consequences of the threat, society should act more aggressively to counter the trend.

“We don’t have all the data yet.

But by the time all the data comes in it’s going to be too late,” Ludwig said. “You don’t want to see the water rising on the Potomac before deciding that global warming is a problem. We need national policies to address childhood obesity too.”

By Jia-Rui Chong Los Angeles T imes

After 14 years of steady decline, the rate of teen births rose 3 percent in 2006, according to a federal study released Wednesday.

Health officials were uncertain why the number was increasing and whether it represented the beginning of a trend.

But Mary-Jane Wagle, president of Planned Parenthood Los Angeles, attributed the increase to the failure of abstinence-only educational programs, which can make teens less aware of contraceptive options.

“Ever y study shows that abstinence-only funding does not work to reduce teen pregnancy,” said Wagle, who was not involved in the research. “What Planned Parenthood would have hoped for would be money spent instead on comprehensive sex-education programs.”

Bill Albert, deputy director National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, a nonprofit and nonpartisan research group in Washington, D.C., added that after so many years of declining teen birth rates, “perhaps complacency has become the enemy of progress here.”

He doubted that the abstinenceonly program was to blame, largely because studies have shown that its impact has been negligible. “It really has not moved the behavior

needle one way or another,” said Albert, who was not involved in the study.

The new numbers were compiled by the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention using 2006 birth records covering 99.9 percent of the U.S. They calculated about 435,000 births to girls between 15 and 19 years of age or 41.9 births per 1,000 teenage girls.

The largest increase was among black teens, whose birth rate increased 5 percent to 63.7 births per 1,000 girls. The rate grew by 3 percent for whites to 26.6 births per 1,000, and 2 percent for Hispanics to 83 births per 1,000.

Only Asian teens saw a decline, dropping about 2 percent to 16.7 births per 1,000.

The last national increase in teen birth rates started in the late 1980s and peaked in 1991, when there were 61.8 births per 1,000 teenage girls, the CDC data showed.

Researchers said the declines that followed were the result of intense educational campaigns that discussed a range of issues, including abstinence, contraception and the risks of sexually transmitted diseases. Abstinence-only programs became more prevalent starting in 1996 because of significant increases in federal funding, Albert said.

The teen birth rate hit an alltime low of 40.5 births per 1,000 girls in 2005, the data show.

The declines in the teen birth rate had been slowing in the years before 2005, said Stephanie Ventura, chief of the Reproductive Statistics Branch at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and a co-author of the report.

While the increase from 2005 to 2006 is worrisome, the rate is still dramatically lower than the middle of the century, when women married younger and had babies earlier, Ventura said. In 1957, for instance, there were about 96 births per 1,000 teenage girls.

“We shouldn’t lose sight of the remarkable progress on an issue that traditionally was seen as a problem that couldn’t be solved,” said Claire Brindis, co-director of the Center for Reproductive Health Research and Policy at the University of California, San Francisco who was not involved in the study.

“The challenge is we may have reached the first wave of young people ... but each year there is a new group of teens,” she said.

“We need to regroup and recommit ourselves.”

The CDC group also studied the birth rate for all unmarried women and found it has climbed about 20 percent since 2002. In 2006, there were 50.6 births per 1,000 unmarried women.

Women in their 20s, rather than teenagers, have been the main contributors to the increase, Ventura said.

Page 16

Thursday, December 6, 2007

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Shooter opens fire in an Omaha mall, killing 8 plus himself

By Nicholas Riccardi and Stephen Braun Los Angeles T imes

OMAHA, Neb. — Holiday shoppers scattered in terror Wednesday as a young gunman sprayed an Omaha shopping mall with gunfire, killing eight people and wounding five others before he fatally shot himself.

Nebraska public safety officials and witnesses said most of the casualties were inside the Von Maur department store at the Westroads Mall on Omaha’s west side. The 20-year-old assailant, who wore military-style camouflage, opened fire from the store’s third floor shortly after 1 p.m., targeting store employees and customers with a semi-automatic weapon, witnesses said.

“At first I thought somebody was hammering, and then I realized no-

body could hammer that fast,” said Keith Fidler, a Von Maur store associate who said he watched in horror as the gunman shot an employee standing a few feet away. The victim collapsed near an escalator, Fidler said. “It was quiet for a few seconds, and then I heard a burst of about 30 to 50 rounds.”

The shooter, whom Omaha Police Chief Thomas Warren identified as Robert Hawkins, left several suicide notes. In an evening news conference, Warren declined to speculate on Hawkins’ motives, saying: “When you have an incident of this nature, it may be impossible to come up with an explanation.”

Police and sherif f’s of ficers swarmed into the mall within minutes, tending to the wounded and ushering out dozens of customers and employees who were hiding

inside bathrooms and dressing rooms.

“Everybody was scared, and we didn’t know what was going on,” said Belene Esaw-Kagbara, 31, another Von Maur employee. “We didn’t know what to do. I was praying that God protect us.”

Wednesday’s death toll marked the worst shooting rampage in Nebraska since 1958, when teenaged Charles Starkweather gunned down nine people during a two-day murder spree across the state.

Less than an hour after the first 911 calls were received, Omaha police found Hawkins’ body. Warren said an SKS semi-automatic rifle was recovered at the crime scene. ABC News reported Wednesday night that officials described the weapon as an AK-47-style weapon with two loaded magazines taped together -- a technique that enables a shooter to reload more quickly.

The Omaha World-Herald reported that witnesses said the gunman had a military-style haircut, wore a camouflage vest and carried a black backpack.

“The person we believe to be shooter died of self-inflicted gunshot wound,” Omaha police Sgt. Teresa Negron said.

Sarpy County sheriff’s officials said Hawkins had left a note, and several Omaha television stations

reported that police had recovered at least three notes left with relatives and friends in the area.

Deputies later searched a Bellevue residence where Hawkins had lived in recent months. Police also used a robotic device to search for explosives inside a green Jeep that officials believe Hawkins left in the mall’s parking lot. The search did not turn up any explosives.

On Omaha television broadcasts, those who knew Hawkins said he was a troubled youth who dropped out of high school a year ago. Hawkins recently was fired from a job at a local McDonald’s and had been taking medication for emotional problems, several friends said.

“He was depressed the last couple months, but I never thought he’d do something that extreme.” a friend, Shawn Saunders, told KETV. When the first shots rang out Wednesday, the mall was crowded.

Christmas music was playing on the Von Maur store’s sound system. It was just past the lunch hour, a time when the mall’s traffic typically thins.

When Keith Fidler, who worked on Van Maur’s second floor, heard the rapid-fire noises from the floor above, it took several seconds before he realized something was terribly wrong. “There were bursts and then it would get quiet and then you’d

hear these shots again,” Fidler said.

“After the first bunch, it was unmistakably gunshots.”

He said he heard a woman call out to a store employee approaching an escalator, asking him to call 911. The employee had no time to react. The gunman leaned over a third-floor railing and squeezed off several shots. The man crumpled to the ground by a counter. “He appeared to be shot in the head,” Fidler said.

Fidler crouched down for a few moments, and when the gunshots seemed to trail off, he and another woman maneuvered to where the downed man was. Fidler crouched toward the man to examine him and realized he was not breathing.

On the third floor, lawyer Jeffrey Schaffart was shopping with his wife when he heard the staccato of gunfire. Schaffart said he never saw the assailant, but as Schaffart began to flee, he realized he had been shot.

His hand and arm began to sting. In the confusion, Schaffart and his wife were separated, and he ended up in a restroom with several frightened women.

“I put napkins on my hand and used my tie as a tourniquet for my arm,” Schaffart said during a televised news conference at Nebraska Medical Center. “It seemed like an eternity before a guy showed up and yelled, `Sheriff!’ ” President Bush was in Omaha on Wednesday to attend a fundraiser and had left on Air Force One just an hour before the shootings started. A White House statement said Bush was “deeply saddened by the shootings in Omaha.”

“Having just visited with so many members of the community,” the statement said, “the President is confident that they will pull together to comfort one another as they deal with this terrible tragedy.”

After police found the gunman’s body, customers and employees were led out of the mall at gunpoint, holding their hands in the air until authorities were certain they were not connected with the slayings. At least five wounded were transported to area hospitals, and officials said Wednesday night that two victims remained in critical condition.

Even as police secured the mall site, Sarpy County deputies were beginning to investigate Hawkins. The youth’s mother reportedly brought in one of several notes he left behind that officials said hinted of a spectacular event and suicide.

Debora Maruca-Kovac, who owns a house where Hawkins lived in recent months, told the Associated Press that the youth was “an introverted, troubled young man who was like a lost pound puppy that nobody wanted.” She said that in addition to losing his job, Hawkins recently had broken up with a girlfriend. She said he phoned her about 1 p.m. Wednesday, telling her that he had left a note for her in his bedroom. She pressed for an explanation, but he hung up without elaborating.

Maruca-Kovac said she then called Hawkins’ mother, who came to the house and retrieved the note.

Hawkins wrote that he was “sorry for everything,” she said. He added: “Now I’ll be famous.”

done.

W orld & n ation Thursday, December 6, 2007

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Disneyland opens its doors to Chinese visitors

By David Pierson Los Angeles T imes

LOS ANGELES — At Universal Studios, they’ve printed stacks of theme park maps written in Chinese.

Disneyland for the first time sent salespeople to a trade show in China to promote the park.

And at the Shanghai Spring travel agency in Alhambra, northeast of downtown Los Angeles, owner Jan Huang has contracted four new tour buses and hopes to double her staff of tour guides to 20.

It’s all in preparation for what they hope could be a boom in new Chinese tourism to the United States that is expected to occur next year. Both nations are finalizing a deal to ease entry restrictions and lift a ban in China on promoting travel to the United States.

The negotiations have been going on for several years, but China government news agencies and sources at the U.S. Commerce Depar tment said a deal should be completed within the next few weeks.

The new travel rules are expected to be a particular boon to Southern California, which already sees more Chinese tourists — 110,000 in Los Angles County last year — than anywhere else in the United States. But travel officials expect that number to grow significantly if more members of China’s emerging middle and upper classes are able to travel here for vacations.

“The Chinese middle class has been accumulating tremendous wealth,” said Baizhu Chen, a professor of clinical finance and business economics at the University of Southern California. “They’re buying houses and cars, and now they want to travel. The Chinese have been closed for so long, they’re eager to see the outside world.”

In some ways, the situation appears similar to that of two decades ago, when free-spending Japanese flooded the likes of Disneyland and snatched up luxur y goods on Rodeo Drive. But Chen and others expect the Chinese to spend their money on higher-end shopping rather than on expensive restaurants and hotels. “The first batch of Chinese tourists won’t be that sophisticated,” said Chen, the USC professor. “They will come in tour groups, not as individuals, and will need to stay in places where people speak their language.”

Merchants who already cater to Chinese tourists are gearing up.

In Monterey Park, east of Los Angeles, drug stores line Gar vey

Avenue selling vitamins, dietar y supplements and virility pills popular among Chinese tourists who can often be found perusing the shopping district in dark business suits. Many of them don’t trust the safety and capabilities of similar drugs in China.

The same can be said for jewelr y and luxur y watches, because many visitors are worried about fakes sold in Asia.

Busloads of Chinese tourists and delegations often pour into Hing Wa Lee’s green marble and wood veneer showroom in San Gabriel to buy diamond rings, gold figurines and Rolex watches.

After ward, they head to any of the area’s dozens of authentic Chinese restaurants before retiring at the six-stor y Hilton hotel that towers over the many businesses offering imported DVDs, CDs, herbal medicines and foot massages.

“If you’re Chinese and you ask a travel agent overseas where to stay in L.A., they’ll say San Gabriel,” Lee said.

China’s travel industr y is currently prohibited from marketing the United States as a travel destination because of disputes over the strict entr y process after 9/11 — a reality U.S. officials blame on the need for national security and concerns about visitors overstaying their visas.

Though no law bars Chinese from applying for various visas to enter the United States, many Chinese are put off by what they consider high rejection rates, long lines at the U.S. embassies and consulates, lengthy personal inter views and costly application fees.

“The basic problem is the visas,” said Xu Chaoyao, China’s deputy consul general in L.A. “The percentage of those declined is ver y high. Its improved in recent years, but not enough. I think both sides want to sign an agreement, because it will benefit ever yone and it’s good for cultural exchanges.”

Industr y experts say the Chinese government wants assurances that travelers garner entr y visas more easily. Then Beijing will allow its major travel agencies to begin offering packages to the United States.

“It’s like giving the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval to visit the United States,” said Noel Irwin Hentschel, chief executive of AmericanTours International, an L.A.-based tour operator. “I think the risk of people overstaying their visas is minimal. Sure, people will

Gary Friedman (above) and Alex Gallardo (below) / Los Angeles Times

Shaolin monks (above) visit San Gabriel, Calif., last year. Many visitors from China flock to the area’s retail stores and restaurants where their language is spoken. Xu Chaoyao (below) is China’s deputy consul general in Los Angeles.

want to tr y to live in America, but I’ve seen the considerable changes in China.”

Hentschel, vice chair of the Commerce Depar tment’s U.S. Travel and Tourism Promotion Advisor y Board, has hired more Chinese-speaking staff in anticipation of a visa change. She said the first stages of the proposed agreement would allow only half a dozen Chinese tour operators to package vacations to the United States. Travelers would likely be restricted to the wealthy minority who live in major urban centers, such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

Estimates range as to how many more Chinese could visit the United States, but most agree it could dwarf the 600,000 travelers who came last year, mostly under the guise of business delegations.

All told, the United States received only a fraction of the 34 million Chinese who traveled overseas last year, a figure that is expected to increase 10 percent each year and swell to 100 million by 2020.

The group is growing so fast the Chinese government recently released a guide explaining how Chinese tourists should behave on foreign soil. One suggestion: Do not to talk so loud or you’ll attract thieves.

Europe, Australia and Asian countries near China, including Thailand and Singapore, are all deemed approved destinations by the Chinese government and have so far benefited most from the surge of tourists.

“Chinese tourists have been ever ywhere but the United States,” Chen said. “They see all the Hollywood movies and they see the culture. America in Chinese literally

Rapper ‘died naturally,’ coroner’s office says

By David Pierson and Andrew Blankstein Los Angeles T imes

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles County Coroner’s office said Wednesday that it would take more than a month to determine the cause of death for rapper Pimp C, the influential hip-hop figure who was found dead Tuesday at an upscale hotel on the Sunset Strip.

A medical examination is scheduled for Thursday, and Capt. Ed

Winter of the coroner’s office said the toxicology test won’t be back for at least six weeks.

“It appears that he died naturally,” he said. “There were no signs of trauma, no signs of drug paraphernalia.”

Winter added that there were no signs of foul play.

Los Angeles County Fire Department paramedics responding to a 911 call found the 33-year-old native of Port Arthur, Texas, lying on his bed at the Mondrian Hotel

in West Hollywood.

An investigation is pending.

Pimp C, whose real name was Chad Butler, was a member of the Texas hip-hop duo UGK, which scored a No. 1 album earlier this year.

UGK’s seventh album, “Underground Kingz,” reached No. 1 on the national album chart in August, but mainstream stardom eluded Butler and his partner, Bun B, for most of the group’s 15-year career.

means ‘beautiful country.’ There’s a lot of mystique.”

Traditionally, Chinese tourists have been viewed as budget travelers. Mark Liberman, chief executive of LA Inc., the city’s convention and visitors bureau, said Chinese visitors to Los Angeles County last year spent an average of $198 each per day — more than any other set of travelers.

It’s these sorts of prospects that

have compelled Universal Studios and Disneyland to prepare for more Chinese tourism.

“There’s enormous potential,” said Lisa Haines, a spokeswoman for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts.

“For the first time, our domestic (parks and resorts) participated in one of the largest trade shows in China this year. It reinforces the fact that we do look to China as a potential.”

E ditorial & L etters Page 18

Thursday, December 6, 2007

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Staf f Editorial

Diamonds and coal A diamond to the inspirations for some of this semester’s softer news features. To skunks, student rock stars, the Main Green’s resident bagpiper, nude art models — nudity in general, actually — our pages would have truly been empty without you.

Speaking of that, a coal to Ruth Simmons’ offshore slush fund for online gambling, the birth of baby pandas in the LiSci, the football team’s exciting run at the national title, the UCS sex scandal, the University’s bid to purchase the State House and convert it into upperclassmen housing and Brown finally finishing higher than 14th in the U.S. News college rankings — and other stories that didn’t actually happen but would’ve livened up our slower news days.

Diamonds to this semester’s B-list speakers. Randy Cohen, Chuck Klosterman, Al Franken and Michael Ondaatje: While none of you are Barack Obama, at least we don’t have to wait in line to hear you speak.

A diamond to Dean of the College Katherine Bergeron, the Undergraduate Council of Students and Hot Ham on Bulky Roll — three campus fixtures that always provide an easy target on Fridays for this space. Thanks for taking it in stride. Except for you, Hot Ham on Bulky Roll. You still suck.

STEVE DELUCIA

Coal to construction. We’ve figured out Banner’s Jurassic-era layout by now, but navigating the path from Lincoln to Pembroke remains a fresh challenge every week.

A diamond to all of our enthusiastic new staffers, who proved their loyalty by doing a laundry list of ridiculous activities last night. Not only did you bust into UCS’ general body meeting to give hugs to President Michael Glassman ’09, but you also got his autograph. We’re certain that is against parliamentary procedure.

And while we’re feeling nice, a thankful diamond to Bergeron, Assistant to the President Marisa Quinn, Associate Vice President for Campus Life and Dean of Student Life Margaret Klawunn, Provost David Kertzer ’69 P’95 P’98, Interim Vice President for Campus Life and Student Services Russell Carey ’91 MA’06, Associate Provost and Banner Project Owner Nancy Dunbar, University Registrar Michael Pesta and all the other administrators who make time to talk to us, sometimes several times a day. Even when we (occasionally) mess up your ridiculously long titles.

118 diamonds to The Herald’s next generation and the rest of our wonderful staff. We’re ecstatic to be passing it on to you all.

T he B rown D aily H erald Editors-in-Chief Eric Beck Mary-Catherine Lader

Executive Editors Stephen Colelli Allison Kwong Ben Leubsdorf

Senior Editors Jonathan Sidhu Anne Wootton

editorial Lydia Gidwitz Robin Steele Oliver Bowers Stephanie Bernhard Simmi Aujla Sara Molinaro Ross Frazier Karla Bertrand Jacob Schuman Peter Cipparone Erin Frauenhofer Stu Woo Benjy Asher Amy Ehrhart Jason Harris

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

photo Christopher Bennett Rahul Keerthi Ashley Hess

Photo Editor Photo Editor Sports Photo Editor

Business Mandeep Gill Darren Ball Dan DeNorch Susan Dansereau

General Manager Executive Manager Executive Manager Office Manager

production Steve DeLucia Catherine Cullen Roxanne Palmer

Design Editor Copy Desk Chief Graphics Editor

post- magazine Hillary Dixler Melanie Duch Taryn Martinez Rajiv Jayadevan Sonia Kim Matt Hill Arthur Matuszewski

Managing Editor Managing Editor Managing Editor Features Editor Features Editor Associate Editor Associate Editor

Steve DeLucia, Designer Erin Cummings, Katie Delaney, Max Mankin, Alex Mazerov, Copy Editors Simmi Aujla, Michael Bechek, Irene Chen, Chaz Firestone, Night Editors Senior Staff Writers Rachel Arndt, Michael Bechek, Irene Chen, Chaz Firestone, Isabel Gottlieb, Nandini Jayakrishna, Franklin Kanin, Kristina Kelleher, Debbie Lehmann, Scott Lowenstein, Michael Skocpol, Nick Werle Staff Writers Stefanie Angstadt, Amanda Bauer, Brianna Barzola, Evan Boggs, Caitlin Browne, Sam Byker, Marisa Calleja, Zachary Chapman, Noura Choudhury, Joy Chua, Patrick Corey, Catherine Goldberg, Olivia Hoffman, Ben Hyman, Erika Jung, Chaz Kelsh, Jessica Kerry, Sophia Lambertsen, Cameron Lee, Sophia Li, Emmy Liss, Max Mankin, Christian Martell, Taryn Martinez, Brian Mastroianni, George Miller, Anna Millman, Evan Pelz, Leslie Primack, Sonia Saraiya, Andrea Savdie, Caroline Sedano, Marielle Segarra, Melissa Shube, Jenna Stark, Catherine Straut, Gaurie Tilak, Simon van Zuylen-Wood, Matt Varley, Meha Verghese, Joanna Wohlmuth Sports Staff Writers Andrew Braca, Whitney Clarke, Han Cui, Evan Kantor, Christina Stubbe Business Staff Diogo Alves, Emilie Aries, Beth Berger, Steven Butschi, Timothy Carey, Jilyn Chao, Ellen DaSilva, Pete Drinan, Dana Feuchtbaum, Patrick Free, Sarah Glick, Alexander Hughes, Claire Kiely, Soobin Kim, Katelyn Koh, Darren Kong, Christie Liu, Philip Maynard, Ingrid Pangandoyon, Mariya Perelyubskaya, Viseth San, Paolo Servado, Kaustubh Shah, Saira Shervani, Yelena Shteynberg, Jon Spector, Robert Stefani, Lily Tran, Hari Tyagi, Lindsay Walls, Benjamin Xiong Design Staff Brianna Barzola, Chaz Kelsh,Ting Lawrence, Philip Maynard, Alex Unger, Aditya Voleti, Wudan Yan Photo Staff Oona Curley, Alex DePaoli, Austin Freeman, Emmy Liss, Meara Sharma, Tai Ho Shin, Min Wu Copy Editors Ayelet Brinn, Rafael Chaiken, Erin Cummings, Katie Delaney, Jake Frank, Jennifer Grayson, Ted Lamm, Max Mankin, Alex Mazerov, Ben Mercer, Ezra Miller, Seth Motel, Alexander Rosenberg, Emily Sanford, Sara Slama, Jenna Stark, Laura Straub, Meha Verghese, Elena Weissman

L e tt e r s Body&Sole is more than a collection of groups To the Editor: The Body&Sole board would like to correct the description of our organization in Friday’s article about the Fall Dance Concert (“Body and Sole’s Fall Dance Concert showcases student choreography,” Nov. 30). While we were thrilled to see the concert reviewed, Body&Sole is not precisely “an umbrella organization that unites Brown’s various dance groups,” but the umbrella organization for all student dance at Brown.

In past years the focus has primarily been on groups, but we hope to serve the entire dance community, not just those who are involved in student groups. One of our aims is to promote unity and collaboration between Brown’s many diverse and wonderful dance groups and to facilitate communication between student dance groups and the Department of Theatre, Speech and Dance, but this is by no means all we do.

Body&Sole annually runs the Fall Dance Concert with the mentorship of the department and distributes rehearsal space in the Ashamu dance studio, and

this year we are working on several new projects. We created a dance board to aid the faculty in selecting the choreographers who will work with students and in promoting more opportunities to see professional companies traveling to the area, a Body&Sole listserv for announcing dance-related events and are developing an informational Web site about how to get involved in dance at Brown. Brown is blessed with an already thriving dance community with a great many ways to be involved. We hope that we can strengthen and build upon this to create a dance community that engages all student dancers as well as the Brown community as whole.

The Body&Sole Executive Board Ashley Anderson ‘10 Christina Boursiquot ‘08 Kate Goodin ‘08 Allie Sevy ‘08 Stephen Ursprung ‘10 Dec. 4

Comment at Plame lecture was inappropriate To the Editor: The Brown community was honored to welcome Valerie Plame Wilson, former CIA officer, as a speaker for a Lecture Board-hosted event in Salomon 101 Tuesday night.

One of the topics Wilson addressed was sexism in the CIA. Ironically, a Brown student who spoke during the question-and-answer session thought it appropriate to preface his question to Wilson by noting her recent ap-

pearance in Vanity Fair magazine and that he thought he spoke for everyone in describing her as “hot.” Although we’re sure his intentions were complimentary, we are disheartened by this embarrassing representation of the Brown community.

Sara Gentile ’09 Rebecca Brady ’09 Richa Mishra ’09 Dec. 5

C O R R E C T I O N S P olicy 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.

C ommentary P O L I C Y 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.

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O pinions Thursday, December 6, 2007

Page 19

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Border fence a bad idea — and illegal, too MICHAEL RAMOS-LYNCH Opinions Columnist With the 2008 presidential elections right around the corner, presidential candidates have entertained extensive debate over the issue of illegal immigration. Former Mass.

Governor Mitt Romney, a Republican presidential candidate, fired the construction company working on his home because it was employing undocumented immigrants. The issue of illegal immigration is undoubtedly going to play an influential role in the 2008 presidential elections.

The Pew Hispanic Center utilized data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s March 2005 Current Population Survey to estimate the U.S. population of undocumented immigrants at 12 million, with over half from Mexico and nearly a quarter from other Latin American countries. The high numbers of undocumented immigrants coming from Mexico to the U.S. have frequently been cited by political conservatives as a cause of America’s declining economy. The main argument that many conservatives often cite is that the undocumented immigrants are taking jobs from Americans.

In order to limit the influx of illegal immigration from Mexico, President Bush has signed H.R. 6061, which enables the Department of Homeland Security to build a 700-mile fence along the border between Mexico and the U.S. Personal opinions on immigration aside, the construction of a border fence would be horribly detrimental to the U.S. economy, to the environment and to the seemingly infinite cultural exchanges that take place between Mexico and the U.S. along the border everyday.

Many conservative Republicans, such as Texas Governor Rick Perry, have stated that the border should actually be less restrictive and that more money should be invested in supporting legal immigration. The Laredo, Texas, City Council unanimously voted to not support any expansion of a barrier along the border. The mayor of Laredo, Raul Salinas, stated in a National Public Radio report, “These are people that are sustaining our economy by forty percent, and I am gonna

of Texas at Brownsville argued in the New York Times that the border fence will divide the Brownsville campus into two different areas. In addition, many environmentalists and wildlife experts have suggested that the construction of the border fence will greatly harm the delicate desert environment in which many animals live.

The construction of the fence has already proven to be an incredibly inefficient process.

At least one section of the border fence was

If one does not object to the construction of the border fence then one must be without objection to unchecked powers. close the door on them and put a wall? You don’t do that. It’s like a slap in the face.”

Disregarding the relationships and cultural exchanges that have become a normal and even necessary part of everyday life in many border communities like Laredo is not the only reason one should take objection to H.R. 6061. The construction of the border fence will divide the land and families of the O’odham, Cocopah and Kickapoo Native-American Nations that live along the border. Furthermore, the vice president of the University

mistakenly built in an undesignated area – a mistake that is going to cost American tax payers upwards of $3 million.

Though I imagine the Department of Homeland Security will not lose any sleep over a measly $3 million, the Department of Homeland Security has reserved $1.2 billion for “border security.”

Even if one were okay with the Department of Homeland Security making a $3-million mistake, displacing wildlife and harming the environment along the border as well as

dividing a multitude of communities that live along the border, one must object to Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff and his blatant abuse of the Real ID Act. The Real ID Act states, “Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall have the authority to waive all legal requirements such Secretary, in such Secretary’s sole discretion, determines necessary to ensure expeditious construction of the barriers and roads under this section.”

Chertoff has used the Real ID Act to justify violating a multitude of laws: the Endangered Species Act, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, the Coastal Zone Management Act, the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act and the National Historic Preservation Act to extend triple fencing through the Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve near San Diego.

Chertoff has easily avoided these laws because the language of the Real ID Act greatly limits the extent to which the decisions of the Secretary of the Homeland of Security can be subject to judicial review.

If one does not object to the construction of the border fence then one must be without objection to unchecked powers. The Real ID Act has made Chertoff a very powerful man – a man who is not limited by the law.

By avoiding so many laws in constructing the border fence, Chertoff has avoided justice.

The border fence is therefore being built on a foundation of extensive injustices. Regardless of my opinions concerning illegal immigration, I do not want Chertoff to use my tax dollars to create such injustices. The construction of this border fence and Chertoff’s unchecked powers must cease immediately.

Michael Ramos-Lynch ’09 wants to jump the border fence to avoid this New England weather.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Herald lacks coverage of student anti-war events To the Editor: During the past week, Operation Iraqi Freedom — Brown’s antiwar group and Brown Students for a Democratic Society planned two events to raise awareness of, and take action against, our government’s illegal, deleterious, lengthy and deadly occupation of Iraq.

On Nov. 29, we hosted a lecture by a Brown student and Iraq War veteran. He spoke about the extreme disconnect between the Bush administration’s claims about the effectiveness of the Iraq occupation and what he saw with his own eyes as a soldier. In his experience, civilian deaths, racism and wanton disregard for human rights and common sense were everyday occurrences, not deviations from the norm. Roughly 80 people, mostly students, attended the lecture, almost filling MacMillan 115.

On Nov. 30, we organized a march against the occupation of Iraq in downtown Providence, including signs, chants and a marching band. People left their offices, classrooms and stores to watch, and the response of almost all spectators was overwhelmingly supportive.

Onlookers told us they were relieved to see people voicing antiwar sentiments they felt but had no means to express. The march culminated in a rally on the steps of the State House, featuring speakers including an Afghanistan war veteran. We also delivered a petition to

the office of the Senate President, calling on Rhode Island state representatives to pass a resolution demanding that the federal government withdraw from Iraq. The petition highlighted the harmful effects of the occupation on Iraqis, American soldiers and typical Rhode Island families, whose social services are be-

SDS have received any Herald stories during this entire semester. There is a serious problem when the Providence Journal covers an event organized by a Brown student group (the OIF-sponsored Dahlia Wasfi lecture in October), but The Herald does not. There is a serious problem when “Islamofascism Aware-

Despite our repeated requests, none of the many anti-war events planned by OIF and SDS have received any Herald stories during this entire semester. ing cut because of the occupation’s outrageous costs. Roughly 100 students and community members participated in the march.

Though we contacted The Herald about both events, neither received coverage. In fact, despite our repeated requests, none of the many anti-war events planned by OIF and

ness Week,” which was widely denounced by most students and The Herald itself, gets front-page coverage, but anti-war events are not even given a brief blurb.

We are not suggesting that The Herald is maliciously undermining the goals of antiwar students by choosing to not report on their

events. However, regardless of intentions, the effect is the same: The Herald’s negligent coverage has marginalized the voices of antiwar Brown students. It has made our voices disappear from the campus discourse on the Iraq war. It has given the impression that antiwar students do not exist at Brown and that no students are taking actions to end the war, when this impression could not be further from the truth. We strongly urge The Herald to reconsider the events it chooses to cover. As members of Operation Iraqi Freedom and/or Students for a Democratic Society, we ask that The Herald give fair representation to the hard work of students who are doing their part to end the unjust occupation of Iraq.

Rick Ahl ’09, Former Herald Staff Writer Susana Aho ’10, Yesenia Barragan ’08, Susan Beaty ’10, Aditi Bhaskar ’08, Alexander Campbell ’10, Chia Chen-Speidel ’10, Francesca Contreras ’10, Mike da Cruz ’08.5, Joe DeFrancesco ’10, Andrea Dillon ’11, Valerie Hsiung ’11, Olivia Ildefonso ’09, Molly Little ’08.5, Sophia Manuel ’11, Emily Mellor ’10, Gabe Miller ’09, Mark Morales ’10, Jennifer Phung ’09, Sarah Rosengard ’11, Harrison Stark ’11, Alexander Tye ’10

Dec. 4

S ports T hursday Page 20

Thursday, December 6, 2007

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Squash teams swept in openers

Scoring woes continue to plague w. hoops

By Whitney Clark Sports Staff Writer

BY Christina Stubbe Sports Staff Writer

The men’s and women’s squash teams traveled to the home courts of squash powerhouses Princeton and the University of Pennsylvania over the weekend. Facing tough competition, the men and women were swept by both the Tigers and Penn, 9-0 in all four games.

On Saturday, the Bears took on Princeton in their toughest match to-date ­— the Tigers are ranked No. 1 in the nation on the women’s side and No. 2 on the men’s.

Despite the lopsided scores, the Bears benefitted from playing such a challenging opponent early in the season. According to Head Coach Stuart leGassick, the weekend revealed areas in need of improvement. Both teams will focus on volleying more effectively, making fewer unforced errors and getting to the ball early during intersession training.

The Princeton match had another advantage. “It ser ved as a good warmup for our Sunday match against Penn,” wrote men’s captain Ed Cerullo ’08 in an e-mail to The Herald.

Both the men’s and women’s squads showed definite improvement on Sunday against the Quakers. Brown was able to score more points and force longer matches. At the No. 9 slot, Sarah Roberts ’10 lost an intense five-game match.

“Sarah stepped up and adjusted her game,” wrote women’s captain Megan Cerullo ’08 in an e-mail to The Herald. “Sarah has been a strong contender in recent matches.”

Lily Cohen ‘11 also had a fivegame match at No. 8, and the women had two four-game matches.

Megan Cerullo remained confident about the season despite the losses. “The team, as a whole, can measure progress since the Ivy Scrimmages last month,” she said.

“I believe that continued hard workouts and intersession training will continued on page 14

Ashley Hess / Herald

Courtney Lee ’10 had three assists against Boston University last night, but the women’s basketball team couldn’t keep up with the Terriers.

What began as a game of unparalleled intensity and “tenacity of purpose,” as Head Coach Jean Burr coined it, soon gave way to a shooting drought that ended the women’s basketball team’s hopes of beating Boston University shortly after the beginning of the second half. Brown fell to the Terriers, 59-38, at the Pizzitola Center last night, dropping their overall record 1-9.

Despite slow starts from both teams, the Bears built momentum and eventually took an early 14-4 lead six minutes into the game. Brown’s shooting couldn’t be stopped, and Boston University struggled get into a rhythm.

“Everything was just falling into place for us,” said captain Annesly O’Neal ’08. “We had a lot of good communication and we were hustling all over the place.”

Brown’s hustle plays were the difference. Whether it was guards crashing the glass to snatch rebounds or forwards throwing themselves out of bounds to save loose balls, Brown

was able to stay in the game despite the Terriers comeback attempt, for a little while at least.

The Bears solid defense and seamless offense kept them in front until Boston University’s Amarachi Umez-Eronin ’09 broke a Terriers scoreless streak and ignited their comeback.

A jump shot from Aly Hinton of the Terriers pulled BU ahead 22-21 with 2:36 remaining in the half. But two made free-throws from Natalie Bonds ’10 pushed the Bears back on top just in time for the end of the first half at 23-22.

After both teams returned to the court for the second half of play, it was clear from the start that the Bears had lost something during the break. The Terriers came out with a zone defense, and the Bears struggled to adjust.

“We had trouble shooting,” Burr said. “We’re weren’t comfortable attacking their zone.”

Now it was Brown’s turn for a scoreless streak and with an intensity lacking in the first half, the Terricontinued on page 14

Friars offer no mercy in 8-0 win over m. icers

By Benjy Asher Assistant Sports Editor

The men’s hockey team had little to be happy about on Tuesday night.

From the get-go, Providence College dominated the Mayor’s Cup game between the teams and cruised to an 8-0 win.

“We just didn’t show up to play.

They out-worked us, and we didn’t show up with the proper attitude,” said Head Coach Roger Grillo.

“From the start of the game, we weren’t competing hard enough to win. They saw that we were off our game, and they cranked it up.”

Penalties hurt the Bears early, and the Friars found themselves with a power play opportunity just over a minute into the game. It took PC only 13 seconds of the power play to capitalize on the man ad-

vantage, when Pierce Norton got to a rebound near the left post and flicked the puck past goaltender Dan Rosen ’10 to give the Friars the early lead.

Brown contained PC’s attack for the remainder of the period, despite being outshot 15-4, but the Bears missed their best scoring opportunity when assistant captain David Robertson ’08 hit the post on a power play shot. Bruno headed to the locker room trailing 1-0.

In the second period, the Friars scored five times, in a frame in which they outshot the Bears by the dominating margin of 20-3. Brown even started off the period with a man advantage, but PC went up 2-0 on a breakaway goal just 29 seconds into the frame.

The Friars added three more goals over the next 12:05, at which

F anc y fencin g

point goaltender Tristan Favro ’10 made his collegiate debut in relief of Rosen. Favro made saves on the first two shots he faced, but with 47 seconds left in the period, the Friars took advantage of a four-on-three to add another goal, increasing the lead to 6-0.

Grillo attributed many of the team’s problems on Tuesday to a loss of focus after falling behind early in the game.

“You start to get off track, and you start to get individualistic, and you compound the problem,” he said. “We haven’t been playing great of late, and last night it caught up with us.”

The Bears’ woes continued in the third period due in part to five PC power plays, one of which resulted in a goal to put the Friars ahead 7-0.

Brown failed to capitalize on three

Sp

o r t s

man-advantages of its own in the final period, despite having six shots on goal during the power plays.

PC capped off the scoring with a shot from the right faceoff circle with 17 seconds left to make the final score 8-0.

Favro finished with 20 saves on 23 shots in his first collegiate game.

Still, the effort came in what was by far the Bears’ worst loss of the season.

“That was an embarrassing effort for all of us,” Grillo said. “Everyone in this program, the players and the coaches, know that we have to do better.”

Brown will try to rebound from the humiliating loss when it travels to New Haven, Conn. to face Yale on Saturday, in its first league game since a 4-2 defeat at the hands of Clarkson University on Nov. 17.

i n

Br

i e f

Two from football recognized After outstanding performances that earned them places in the Ivy League and Brown record books this year, Steve Morgan ’08 and Buddy Farnham ’10 have been selected to the 2007 New England Football Writers Football Championship Subdivision All-Star Team.

This is Morgan’s third time receiving All-New England recognition.

The kicker’s career total of 52 field goals is the most in Ivy League histor y, surpassing the previous Ivy record of 45 career field goals.

Morgan also finished his career as the leader in career kick scoring points, with 290, well clear of the previous mark of 229. Over the course of his career with the Bears, Morgan has connected on 52-of-70 field goals and 134-of-136 extra points. He was a perfect 30-of-30 on extra points this season. Morgan is a three-time first team All-Ivy selection and was the 2004 Ivy League Rookie of the Year.

Farnham has been with the Bears for only two seasons, but he has already made a name for himself. This year, the wide receiver tallied 78 receptions, the most in the Ivy League and the sixth best in the nation.

That number was also the sixth highest in Brown histor y. Farnham’s 885 receiving yards was third best in the Ivy League and 11th best in the Brown record books.

Morgan and Farnham will be honored as part of the All-New England team at the annual New England Football Writers Captains and Awards Banquet. The banquet will take place Dec. 13 in Wilmington, Mass.

Alex DePaoli / Herald File Photo Tri-captain Christine Livoti ’08 led the women’s fencing team to a 3-1 record at the Brandeis Invitational last weekend.

— Erin Frauenhofer