Friday, February 1, 2008

The Brown Daily Herald F riday, F ebr uar y 1, 2008

Volume CXLIII, No. 8

Since 1866, Daily Since 1891

Bear fills Giant shoes

Straight path on Walk opens to public

By Franklin Kanin News Editor

By Patrick Corey Staff Writer

DeOssie ’07 is headed for the Super Bowl

Whether a devo ted member of the Brady bandwagon or a Big Bluebooster, every Brunonian will have at least one player to root for on the

FEATURE football field this Sunday.

Not even a year after marching through the Van Wickle gates, Zak DeOssie ’07 will take to the field a s a long snapper for the New York Giants, who face off against the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII. DeOssie, an All-American who just months ago was captain of Brown’s football team, was chosen by the Giants in the fourth round of the National Football League draft as a linebacker last April. Mostly expected to warm the bench until he further developed his talent, DeOssie was thrust into a starting position when long snapper Ryan Kuehl injured his calf in training camp. Sporting jersey number 51, he squats and hurls the football 15 yards into the hand of Jeff Feagles,

the Giants’ punter.

“It’s been an incredible ride,” DeOssie said in a telephone interview. “My dream has always been to play in the NFL, and here I am doing it in the greatest show on earth.”

DeOssie, who is in Arizona preparing for the big game, said he will proudly represent his alma mater on Sunday. “It’s a pleasure to be out here representing Brown University and the Brown football program,” he said.

Phil Estes, Brown’s head football coach, favorably recalled DeOssie’s years with the team. “He was one of the best football players we’ve ever had in the linebacker position and that I’ve ever coached as well,” Estes said. “He was a guy that could make plays behind the line of scrimmage and was just terrific downfield as well.”

Estes, who has seen his players go to the National Football League before, said he is very excited for DeOssie. “Just to make the NFL when you’re up against all odds... was a dream come true,” Estes said. “Here’s a chance to make history.”

Number 51 is not the first DeOssie to have played on the Giants.

His father, Steve DeOssie P’07, was both a linebacker and long snapper

“I’d love to have him have the same experience I did in winning the Super Bowl — it’s the pinnacle of any football career, and the chance to be a world champ is something I would love my son to experience.”

The Walk, the ongoing construction project that will link Pembroke College with Lincoln Field, took another step towards completion over winter break, when a temporary sidewalk opened allowing students to journey from Waterman Street to Meeting Street without traveling on Thayer or Brown streets.

Michael McCormick, assistant vice president of planning, design and construction, said that the next section of the Walk will be completed

by May, “well before Commencement.”

Completion, he said, includes a concrete walkway, plantings, open green spaces and trees that will eventually characterize the entire Walk. Stoplights and crosswalks for Angell and Waterman streets will also be ready by May. Students leaving Pembroke for the Main Green or the Sharpe Refectory have been using a finished portion of the Walk that was integrated into the construction of the Sidney

continued on page 4

continued on page 6

Ashley Hess / Herald File Photo

Zak DeOssie ‘08 will make his first Super Bowl appearance on Sunday, ending his first season in the NFL. He has mostly played special teams this year.

for the Giants — and rival Patriots — during his 12-year NFL career.

But despite his split allegiances, the NFL veteran said he knows whose name he’ll be shouting Sunday.

“I’m definitely rooting for my son to win the Super Bowl,” said Steve DeOssie, who hoisted the Lombardi Trophy himself in 1991.

SPOTLIGHT

DPS delays new bike rules Bikes without decals will be seized

By Brian Mastroianni Senior Staff Writer

Google comes to town...

Courtesy of Google Inc.

Minsuk Kim ‘08, seen here on Google Street View, walks down Williams Street with a friend.

...along with some privacy concerns

By Stu Woo Senior Editor

One day last fall, Minsuk Kim ’08 put on a teal sweater, gray pants and black shoes. He and a friend then walked east on Williams Street, around the corner from Kim’s apartment.

Kim doesn’t recall this particular incident. But Google does.

On Dec. 11, the search engine giant introduced a service called “Street View” to Providence. The feature, integrated with the popular Google Maps, allows Internet users to get a panoramic view of most Providence street addresses.

3

ARTS & CULTURE

Google says that Street View is a practical tool allowing users to, say, see if parking is available around an address or to find the name of a business they passed by. But critics complain the product is invasive and smacks of “Big Brother,” since Street View takes such clear photos — many of which include distinguishable shots of unsuspecting passersby.

Like Kim, who didn’t notice anyone or anything photographing him. He didn’t even know his

Speaking out A professor and his students nod to protest speech from America’s past

www.browndailyherald.com

5

CAMPUS NEWS

likeness was on Street View until a friend sent him a text message over winter break, telling him to check out Williams Street.

So Kim went online. There he was, walking toward either his friend’s house or a liquor store, he says. He laughed when he saw the image, which was clear enough for any acquaintance to recognize him.

“I just think it’s funny,” Kim says. “I also wasn’t doing anycontinued on page 7

iclickers It looks like a “retro candy bar cell phone,” but this device may be standard fare in your next class

11

OPINIONS

Although the Department of Public Safety originally planned to enforce bicycle registration on campus starting in January, the measure will not be put into effect until at least fall 2008, if not later. Under the new rules, students will be required to place a small decal on their bicycles and be entered into a DPS database.

“We are still seeking continued endorsements from other University departments,” said Michelle Nuey, DPS manager of special services. So far, only three bikes have been registered this semester, while 163 were registered in all of 2007.

That number will most likely increase after the requirement takes effect, DPS Crime Prevention Officer Mark Perry said.

Though DPS has never required students to register their bicycles, administrators are now taking steps to address bicycle ownership negligence. The abandoning of bikes by students where they block pedestrian traffic has pushed DPS to enforce registration rules. Owners of registered bikes will be given decals indicating that their bike is officially registered with DPS. Once registered, bike owners will receive “an e-mail photo of their bike and registration information, and their information will be kept in our database,” Perry said.

Like a balloon James Shapiro ‘10 addresses the problem of grade inflation and its effect on learning

195 Angell Street, Providence, Rhode Island

“The University has not been facing the problems that it is facing now, such as the presence of abandoned bicycles, which are eyesores and get in the way of people trying to put their bikes on the racks,” Perry said.

DPS will place signs on bikes left outdoors without decals. The signs will tell bike owners how to register their bikes.

Bicycle owners will get a chance to learn about the new measures before their bikes are taken away.

“People will need to truly be informed about the new process. We won’t automatically be removing bikes and breaking locks,” Perry said. Though he did not offer a specific time frame, Perr y said that students who find signs on their bikes should register them immediately.

But once impounded, an unregistered bicycle would be impossible to recover. Unregistered bikes will either be “trashed if completely destroyed” or donated to an organization that recycles bicycle parts, Perry said.

“This measure will prevent students from violating fire and safety codes by no longer having bikes blocking handicapped ramps and stairwells” Perry said.

Perry said the initiative “will not be foolproof, but it does work,” Out of a total of 23 bikes reported stolen on campus last year, only four were registered. “Those four were not recovered, but registered bikes are undeniably less likely to

Cloudy, 50 / 29

continued on page 4

tomorrow’s weather It’s going to be warm and cloudy — well, maybe not on Google Street View, but certainly in real life

News tips: herald@browndailyherald.com

T oday Page 2

Friday, February 1, 2008

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Menu

But Seriously | Charlie Custer and Stephen Barlow

Sharpe Refectory

Verney-Woolley Dining Hall

Lunch — tomato Basil Pie, Roasted Herb Potatoes, Fresh Sliced Carrots, Sliced Turkey and Roast Beef, Sliced American and Cheddar Cheeses

Lunch — Chicken Fingers, Baked Vegan Nuggets, Vegan Rice Pilaf, Corn, Blondies

Dinner — manciotti Piedmontese Rice with Peas and Coriander, Mashed Butternut Squash, Italian Green Beans, Baked Potatoes, Grilled Cheese

Dinner — Salmon with Provensal Sauce, Grilled Chicken, Mexican Cornbread, Casserole, Basmati Rice Pilaf, Chocolate Cinnamon Cake Roll

Dunkel | Joe Larios

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

Enigma Twist | Dustin Foley

RELEASE DATE– Friday, February 1, 2008 © Puzzles by Pappocom

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle

C

o ssw or d Lewis Edited by RichrNorris and Joyce Nichols

ACROSS 1 Maker of the old arcade game Periscope 5 User’s annoyance 9 The “a” sound in “about” 14 Mr. X 15 It’s out on a limb 16 Applesauce 17 Reaction to too much rum?

19 Jumper cable connection 20 Engagement 21 Optic layer 22 Map aid 23 Techies’ gossiping site?

25 Punctured 28 Valley denizens of fiction 29 Directly 30 “__ Believer”: 1966 hit 31 “Not so fast!”

34 __ B’rith 35 __ Park: FDR home site 38 Impossible, and hint to this puzzle’s theme 39 Fabergé favorites 40 Acquire justifiably 41 Team since 1962, familiarly 43 Like 44 Teammate of Pee Wee and Duke 45 Back in 49 Alfalfa and asparagus beans 52 Tallahassee and Tampa?

54 Korean resignee of 1960 55 Confine, with “up” 56 “Today” rival, briefly 57 Good 59 Transparent online journal?

61 Sensory stimuli 62 Station 63 Go here and there 64 General who commanded the 1945 air attacks against Japan 65 Some studios, in ads 66 Singles

DOWN 1 Declined 2 He was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Grammy the same year as Arturo 3 Big number 4 Director Lee 5 Like many a matinee idol 6 One with a trade 7 Eleanor Roosevelt’s real first name 8 Plus, across the Pyrenees 9 First name in puppetry 10 Parabola or ellipse 11 Don? 12 Bonded 13 Marine agreement 18 Sign of life 22 “The Quiet American” author 24 Fearsome Foursome lineman 25 Festival in the month of Adar 26 Slate, e.g.

27 Elevated platform

29 Loser to FDR in 1944 32 Menu item 33 Cousins of Twinkies 34 Attack from all sides 35 Mend 36 It’s a lock 37 Where all the guys in dresses hang out?

42 They may be round 46 Jungle hybrid

47 Dismiss 48 Ancestors of ballerina Maria Tallchief 50 “Star Trek” lieutenant 51 Tousled 52 Salute with spirits 53 Runs to 55 Oater sound effect 57 Balt. Sea country 58 Chemical ending 59 Coll. number 60 Dude

Gus vs. Them | Zachary McCune and Evan Penn

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:

Classic Nightmarishly Elastic | Adam Robbins

xwordeditor@aol.com

2/1/08

Classic Deep-Fried Kittens | Cara FitzGibbon

By Pamela Amick Klawitter (c)2008 Tribune Media Services, Inc.

2/1/08

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

Join The Herald Next Weds., Feb. 6 at 8 p.m.

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A rts & C ulture Friday, February 1, 2008

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Prof. finds new meaning in protest speeches

By Ben Hyman Staff Writer

On July 14, 2007, a young man named Matthew Floyd Miller stood at a simple wooden lectern on Boston Common, the golden dome of the state house gleaming in the background. Speaking to a crowd of 40 or 50 people, he decried the “calm, smiling, murderous president in the White House.” He called for the impeachment of those in power and for civil disobedience to “disturb those who are in charge of the war.” The audience responded with shouts of, “That’s right,” and bursts of applause.

But the war Miller criticized was taking place not in Iraq, but in Vietnam. The people he wanted to impeach were Richard Nixon and Spiro Agnew. Miller, a professional actor, was reading words that had been spoken at the same site on May 5, 1971, by Howard Zinn, a leader of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.

This unsettling, perplexing event was part of the Port Huron Project, conceived and directed by Mark Tribe ’90, assistant professor of modern culture and media studies.

Named after the 1962 Port Huron Statement — the manifesto of the activist movement Students for a Democratic Society — the project is an ongoing “series of reenactments of protest speeches from the New Left movements of the 1960s and 70s,” according to PHP’s Web site.

“Each event takes place at the site of the original speech and is delivered by a performer to an audience of invited guests and passers-by.”

So far, Tribe has produced reenactments of a 1968 speech by Coretta

Scott King in Central Park and a 1965 speech given by SDS President Paul Potter on the National Mall, as well as the Zinn speech.

Tribe films the reenactments and distributes the footage on DVD and online. Watching these recordings — available at www.nothing.org/porthuronproject — the viewer, already separated from the event itself by what Tribe calls “temporal dislocation,” experiences an even greater sense of distance. The reenactments explore the fault lines between art and politics, reality and spectacle and, of course, past and present.

“It does sound like they were written yesterday,” Tribe said of the speeches. “You just have to change the nouns and it makes perfect sense. It’s uncanny.”

For Tribe, the idea for the project arose from a very personal disconnect between past and present.

When Tribe arrived at Brown as a freshman in 1985, he found himself in an environment marked by student activism and political protest.

That fall, he said, students built a shantytown on the Main Green to protest the University’s investments in companies doing business with apartheid-controlled South Africa.

But when Tribe returned to Brown in 2005 to teach, he found a very different environment. “Three years into a bloody and misguided war, the campus is quiet. No protests, no flyers,” he said in an interview with the Journal of Aesthetics and Protest. He began to conceive of the PHP as a way to “connect with the sense of possibility” of New Left protest movements and somehow combat what he saw as the apathy of his students.

The project began in September

2006 with a reenactment of a speech Coretta Scott King assembled from notes taken from her husband’s pocket after his assassination. Tribe produced the piece — officially called “Until the Last Gun Is Silent” — with the assistance of Shane Brennan ’07, one of his students. “The first one was kind of an experiment to see how it would work,” Tribe said.

The next summer, aided by an Undergraduate Teaching and Research Award and a production team of five students, he directed “The Problem Is Civil Obedience” and “We Must Name the System,” the Zinn and Potter speeches, respectively.

“The UTRA was a fortuitous opportunity,” Tribe said. “I realized that working with a posse of five students was really great. I constantly asked for their input.”

Christina Ducruet ’08, who worked on research and outreach, described the PHP as exciting and thought-provoking. “I believe it’s a really good exercise for us to look at the past in creative ways and learn from it,” she said. “I felt really inspired by these speeches.”

“Part of what’s at stake in this project,” Tribe said, “is making the statement that art belongs in public space, that it can be provocative and politically-relevant.”

On Jan. 9, Tribe’s was one of 41 projects selected to receive a prestigious grant from the Creative Capital Foundation, which will allow him to produce reenactments of speeches by labor organizer Cesar Chavez, civil rights activist Stokely Carmichael and Black Panther Bobby Seale this summer. An exhibit of the project is scheduled for October at several spaces in New York.

Over the course of the PHP, Tribe

Courtesy of Meghan Boudreau

Max Bunzel performs Paul Potter’s (former president of Students for a Democratic Society) renowned speech at the group’s April 17, 1965 march on Washington.

has found that some of his original ideas about the project have changed.

“Initially, I thought I wanted to inspire my students, shock them out of their apathy,” he said. “That’s no longer an aspiration of this project.

It’s more about a kind of compare and contrast. The striking similarity between then and now, in terms of the problem, puts into sharp relief the difference between then and now, in terms of the solution.”

Tribe’s opinion of Brown’s lack of anti-war protest has also shifted.

“I don’t think my students are apathetic or even cynical,” he said. “I think they’re realistic. I think they

understand clearly that bodies in the street no longer have the impact that they did 40 years ago.” Tribe added that he doesn’t see a contemporary equivalent of New Left protest speech. “I think times have changed,” he said.

“If we’re not out on the Main Green to protest in the way people did in the ’60s,” Ducruet said, “we’re still learning, and people will go out and make unbelievable changes in the world.”

As for what form political protest may take in the 21st century, Ducruet said, “I’m figuring that out at Brown every day.”

Dance for Darfur with the Superpowers

By Robin Steele Ar ts & Culture Editor

Students who feel like dancing and want to support a good cause are in luck this weekend. Boston Afrobeat band the Superpowers will play Saturday night in Leung Gallery as part of its second annual Darfur Benefit.

The event is co-sponsored by Darfur Action Network, Phi Kappa Psi, Amnesty International and BrownRISD Hillel.

The band, which usually numbers about a dozen people, was started in 2005 by drummer Adam Clark and identifies with the music genre Afrobeat — a term coined by influential Nigerian musician Fela Kuti. Superpowers trombonist Alex Asher described Afrobeat as a combination of Nigerian rhythms, juju music and American funk.

According to Asher, the Superpowers, formerly known as the Boston Afrobeat Society, started as a repertoire band playing Fela’s music, but they have since grown from there. Asher described the band as “young, mid-20s, primarily white musicians” who were influenced by Fela’s music because of its beauty and its political significance but also seek to remain true to their own sound.

“We’re going our own path (and) making music for dance,” he said, touting the band’s propulsive rhythms and the cathartic dance experience it inspires.

“We’re calling it a 21st-century dance band,” Asher said. He added that community outreach is important to the group, which makes a

Courtesy of the Superpowers

The Superpowers will be performing this Saturday at Leung Gallery for the 2nd Annual Darfur Benefit.

point of performing at Darfur benefits and events for other causes.

The Superpowers — winners of Best World Music Act in the 2006 Boston Music Awards and the 2007 Boston Phoenix Music Awards — released their debut album, “Revival Time,” in September. According to a press release, the band has been hailed by critics as a “poly-rhythmic juggernaut.” The band has since been touring to support its album, Asher said.

The band is made up of four horn players, two guitarists, an electric bassist, keyboardist, drummer and two or three percussionists, using a variety of instruments including shakers and bells, Asher said.

“We’re a really big band (with a) really big powerhouse sound.”

Band members make use of a clave — a rhythmic pattern used in African and Spanish Caribbean music — which makes up the structural foundation of the piece.

The Afrobeat movement, as Asher described it, stems from the work

of Fela, whom Asher compares to Bob Marley. Although Fela created his music largely in the 1960s and 70s, he has only been discovered in America more recently. His influence can be heard in the music of contemporary artists such as Duke Amayo. In recent years, Afrobeat bands have cropped up in various parts of the country, Asher said.

After a positive experience at last year’s benefit, Asher said students this year should expect a “rager” and should leave their inhibitions at the door.

Scott Warren ’09, a leading member of Darfur Action Network, said the energetic band drew a lot of people at last year’s performance.

“It’s a great band,” Warren said.

“It’s a different kind of scene.”

All proceeds will go directly to humanitarian aid and there will be photographs and information about events happening in Darfur, he added. “We want people to have fun but we want to positively impact the situation as well,” Warren said.

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Page 4

Bears get squashed continued from page 12 physically for the match. I saw a lot of really good squash so, overall, I’m pleased.”

Head Coach Stuart leGassick echoed Cerullo’s sentiments.

“The women all played really, really well,” he said. “All of the matches were incredibly close and could have gone either way. The team did not lose through lack of effort.”

The two-and-a-half-hour match between the men’s teams that followed was equally captivating, despite the 1-8 loss. An epic five-game match from captain Ed Cerullo ’08, in which he played superbly to take a 2-0 lead before losing the last three, exemplified the determination and drive that permeated the rest of the team.

Adrian Leanza ’11 played one of the longest matches of the night, just losing to his thoroughly exhausted opponent, 2-9, 9-10, 9-7, 7-9. The third game itself lasted a full 30 minutes.

The sole victor y for Brown came from seventh seed, Patrick Davis ’10, who played one of his best matches of the season. Davis came back from one game down to win in four close games, 6-9, 10-8, 10-9, 9-5.

“I felt great prior to the match as I had a good warm up,” Davis said.

Friday, February 1, 2008

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

“It was pretty clear that although I lost the first game it was going to be a close match. My opponent was getting tired and I knew that if I could keep the pressure on him and move him around the court, then I could probably win.”

After the match, leGassick cited Davis’ win as, “outstanding,” while even Williams’ head coach Zafi Levy was impressed by Davis’ exceptional play.

Though only Davis could pull out a victory, the team still felt it performed solidly against No. 11 Williams.

“As a team, I think we all played pretty hard,” Davis said. “The final 1-8 scoreline is not necessarily indicative of the playing.”

The team has another tough match ahead of it this Saturday against No. 6 Dartmouth.

The women also encounter Dartmouth on Saturday, ranked seventh for the women, but not before meeting No. 6 Stanford this Friday. “We’re looking forward to the next week of matches,” Cerullo said. “We’re still coming off of a few wins so our matches against Stanford and Dartmouth should also be pretty close ones.”

The women meet Stanford at 7:30 p.m, at the Pizzitola Center.

On Saturday, the men will take on Dartmouth at 11:30 a.m., to be followed by the women at 1:30 p.m.

DPS looking to track students’ bicycles continued from page 1 be stolen,” Perry said.

Students have mixed feelings concerning the new regulations.

“It is beneficial to register your bike since it is easier to track the bikes down” Nishikant Sheorey ’11 said.

But some students disapprove of the measure.

“The less rules, the better,” said Jason Yum ’11.

Adam Maynard ’11 said he didn’t think bike registration had to be mandatory.

“It is a good idea to register your bike, but students shouldn’t be forced,” he said.

David Pagliaccio / Herald File Photo

All bikes will have to be registered or owners will risk having them removed by DPS.

DeOssie long-snapping for Giants Sunday continued from page 1 As Steve DeOssie watches his son follow in his footsteps toward the biggest stage in football, he said he has experienced something new himself.

“I was never nervous anytime I stepped on the football field,” he said. “But I get nervous when he gets out there, wanting him to do well.”

Zak DeOssie, a native of Andover, Mass., will be playing against the team he supported and idolized throughout his childhood.

But his connections to the Patriots run deeper than just rooting for them on Sundays. He attended Phillips Andover Academy with Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichik’s daughter and was a ball boy for the Patriots in their 2001 Super Bowl victor y. He said he’s still “a big fan” of Boston’s other professional sports teams: the Celtics, Red Sox and Bruins.

“All that gets put aside for this weekend,” his father said.

Steve DeOssie said the NFL was not originally a priority for the recent Brown alum. “He had opportunities to go to some bigger football schools, but he wanted an education first. Coming out of Phillips Andover and then going to Brown, it was obvious from his selection that education was of primar y importance,” he said. “Of course, any kid that plays football

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would dream of going to the NFL, but he also was smart enough to know the NFL was an extreme long shot for any kid growing up. He always had his priorities correct — he wanted to get an education, and if something else happened along the way, that was great, too.”

Both Estes and the elder DeOssie attribute the long snapper’s success to his work ethic and competitive spirit. “What got him to the NFL and what got him to Brown and what allowed him to graduate is the same thing that makes him successful in the NFL — he’s as hardworking a young man as you will find,” said the proud father.

“He welcomes the opportunity to compete, and that’s what made him a great player in college and that’s what makes him successful in the NFL.” Jose Yearwood ’08, a teammate of Zak DeOssie’s while he was at Brown, echoed that sentiment. “He was one of the hardest working people I’ve ever been around. I think in all my years of working with him, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him lose his strength,” Yearwood said. “He was a very, very competitive dude, and he really went all out for his teammates.”

Yearwood said he has enjoyed watching his friend succeed in the NFL this year. “It’s been nothing short of amazing,” he said. “It’s kind of surreal watching him compete against the best.”

The stakes and level of competition are higher now, but Steve DeOssie said the drive to succeed is the same. “The pressure, in any football game — at any level, really — comes from not wanting to let your teammates down,” he said. “You work so hard for so long and then when it comes down to it, the biggest concern is not the TV, and it’s not the coaches — it’s not wanting to let your teammates down.”

Though the collective Brown spotlight will be on the recent alum, Zak DeOssie may spot another Bear on the opposite side of the field this weekend. Bill O’Brien ’92, who played and coached football at Brown, will stand on the sidelines Sunday as an offensive assistant coach for the Patriots.

“Its really a no-lose situation for us,” Estes said. “Whoever wins, we’re having a Brown grad getting the Super Bowl ring.”

Estes, who grew up in New England, said he would root for both Zak DeOssie and the Patriots this weekend.

“I would love to see Zak upset the Patriots and get that Super Bowl ring,” he said. “But at the same time, I can’t be happier either way.”

Zak DeOssie didn’t share any of Estes’ ambivalence.

“I’ve got nothing but respect for the Pats,” he said. “But I want to go out there and kick their asses.”

C ampus n ews Friday, February 1, 2008

Winter break Xbox thefts among incidents

By Max Mankin Senior Staff Writer

The following summary includes all major incidents reported to the Department of Public Safety between Dec. 13 and Jan. 23. It does not include general service and alarm calls.

CRIME LOG The Providence Police Department also responds to incidents occurring off campus. DPS does not divulge information on open cases that are currently under investigation by the department, PPD or the Office of Student Life. DPS maintains a daily log of all shift activity and general service calls, which can be viewed during business hours at its headquarters, located at 75 Charlesfield St. Friday, Dec. 14: 10:37 a.m. Complainant stated that at 9 a.m. she was at the Salomon Center taking an exam. She stated that she was sitting in the rear of the auditorium and moved to the front. When she moved, she did not take her shoulder bag and contents with her. At the end of the exam at 10:15 a.m., she returned to where she was sitting and discovered the bag missing. There are no suspects at this time.

10:32 p.m. Officers were dispatched to the upper area of Keeney Quadrangle for a noise complaint.

Upon arrival they heard loud music and yelling coming from Bronson House. As they approached the room, two males were entering.

The officers observed a beer pong table set up with approximately 30 empty cans of beer on the table and on the floor. There were two opened 30-packs of beer which were later confiscated. All occupants of the room were under 21 years old. The officers gathered all of their information and asked where they had gotten the beer from. A student advised them that “he found the beers under a tree.” The students were dispersed and this report has been forwarded to the Office of Student Life.

Sunday, Dec. 16: 5:00 p.m. Student stated that her laptop was stolen from her room.

She stated that around 4:10 p.m., she left her door unlocked and took a shower. She returned around 4:40 p.m. and noticed that her laptop and $60 in cash were missing from her room.

Wednesday, Dec. 19: 11:26 a.m. A contractor reported that he stored fiberglass pipe covering and tools in the mechanical room in the basement of the John Hay Library on Dec. 18 at 2 p.m. On Dec. 19 at 7 a.m., he noticed that the materials and tools were missing.

The materials were stored in plastic bags. There was no sign of forced entry or any damage found in the mechanical room.

7:56 p.m. Student reported that he was in his dorm room sleeping from around 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. When he woke up to let his roommate inside he realized that the door had been closed, when in fact before he went to sleep he had originally continued on page 9

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

iClickers help science classes go interactive

By Caroline Sedano Senior Staff Writer

What does a professor do when he has to teach about 200 students the importance of chemical structures of living organisms?

This semester professors in some biology and physics classes are trying to increase students’ participation — and interest — with the introduction of “iClickers,” devices that allow professors to ask students multiple-choice questions in class.

In class, students answer multiple choice questions posed by the professor using their iClickers, just like audience members on the television quiz show “Who Wants to be a Millionaire.” They can work together to discuss the question and get credit for their answers when a green light shines, showing their answer has been submitted.

The professor then immediately reviews the results of the quiz to see how students fared.

“The whole purpose was that as we added more and more technology people receded into electronic cocoons and only came out for tests. People stopped coming to class and section,” said Assistant Professor of Biology Arthur Salomon, who teaches BIOL0280: “Introductor y Biochemistr y.”

The iClickers, which are free for Rahul Keerthi / Herald students, are shaped like “a retro A student demonstrating the use of a clicker issued by the Sciences Library. candy bar cell phone,” Salomon said.

Banner ID, which means the pro- the iClickers in two of his other “Usually people are falling fessor knows which student has classes, BIOL1880: “Comparative asleep and drooling,” Salomon which iClicker.

Biology of the Vertebrates” and “Typically the ones most con- PHYS0040: “Basic Physics.” said. “Now in the middle of class they are brought to life arguing fused don’t raise their hand. Now “People immediately start talkabout the material.”

I can tailor my lecture in real time ing and it gets loud in the room,” According to Ingrida Berbe- based on the quiz results,” Salo- when students use the iClickers, Feuille added. rian, an administrative assistant mon said.

“I expected it to be a lot more at Computing and Information Samuel Terman ’09 also uses Services, CIS has ordered 500 intrusive, but we just use it once a the iClicker in “Basic Physics” and iClickers. Students can pick up class so it’s no big impact,” said Co- “Introduction to Biochemistry.” the devices at the Friedman Study lin Feuille ’09, who is in Salomon’s continued on page 6 Center after registering with their biochemistry class. Feuille uses

Faculty fellows struggle for support

BY EMMY LISS Senior Staff Writer

At the end of a class-filled day, Brown students crave a place where they can relax for a few minutes and regroup. The faculty fellows program aims to provide this bit of respite — students can luxuriate with real furniture, entertainment, conversation and “exposure to fresh fruits you may not see at the Ratty,” said J. William Suggs, faculty fellow and associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry.

“Our faculty fellow is the perfect break to a night of studying,” Christi Zaleski ’11 said. Drawn especially to the study breaks with entertainment from student groups, she added, “They expose me to a little bit of Brown culture in a warm and inviting environment, not to mention great food.”

The University’s latest written update on the Plan for Academic Enrichment says additional funding has been provided to improve the academic component of these study breaks, but faculty fellows said they have not yet seen any change.

Five years ago, a grant from the Hewlett Foundation enhanced the multi-decade faculty fellow program by beginning to pay visiting professors and scholars already on campus an additional stipend to attend study breaks. “The grant gave more impetus to programming and was a high point in coordination between deaneries,” said Stephen Merriam Foley ’74, another faculty fellow and associate professor of English.

Since the end of that grant, even though an update on the Plan for Academic Enrichment said the Unicontinued on page 6

Seventeen international scholars visit Watson Institute

BY Anna Millman Staff Writer

The Watson Institute for International Studies is welcoming 17 new visitors-in-residence to Brown this semester who will participate in a variety of programs.

Associate Director of the Watson Institute Geoffrey Kirkman ’91 described the process whereby visitors come to Brown as “ad hoc.”

“There are a combination of people who approach us and say ‘Hey, I’d like to spend some time here,’ and people we approach to invite,” Kirkman said.

This semester, the Watson Institute has partnered with The Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World to participate in the Scholars at Risk project, an international network of universities that, according to its Web site, “provides sanctuary” for scholars whose academic freedom or human

rights are threatened. Through this partnership, the Watson Institute has brought the renowned Iraqi archaeologist Behnam Abu al-Soof to College Hill.

“Every semester brings a different mix of visitors,” Kirkman said.

This semester there are visitors from 15 different countries, including Brazil, Spain, Papua New Guinea and Iraq. Many of the visiting professors are on sabbatical from teaching at their regular universities of employment. One such professor, Jorge Luis Esquirol, said he sees this semester as an opportunity to “re-charge my academic batteries ... I’m really excited to work in this environment.”

Esquirol said his experience with Brown so far has been positive. When he first arrived at Watson, he said he was apprehensive about the process of settling in and registering and went to the directory to find the offices of the faculty

he had contact with. “Imagine my surprise,” he said, “when I found my name and office number on the directory already.”

Esquirol, who is professor of law and director of international and comparative programs at Florida International University, said he was especially looking for ward to interacting with specialists in Latin American studies while at Watson.

Esquirol, who said he is using this semester to write a book on the impact of the American legal system on Latin American law, said he will also work with Vice President for International Affairs David Kennedy ’76 on the multidisciplinary project in global law, governance and social thought that Kennedy has been developing.

In addition to working on research projects, some of the visitors teach seminars and study groups, Kirkman said.

“One of the most exciting things we’ve done with the visitors is the study groups,” Kirkman said. “They give students the opportunity to interact with the visitors.” In the past, the Watson Institute has brought former Rhode Island Sen. Lincoln Chafee ’75 and former President of Brazil Fernando Henrique Cardoso to lead study groups on campus, Kirkman said. This semester, one such study group on new media in international affairs will be run by the radio broadcaster Christopher Lydon, he said.

According to the Watson Institute’s Web site, Lydon will also use Watson Institute resources for his “Open Source” podcast, which interviews international figures.

Bringing visitors to Watson “adds a lot to campus life,” Kirkman said.

“The overall goal is to make sure that (they) provide a mix of perspectives and add to the strengths of the Brown community.”

Page 6

Friday, February 1, 2008

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Two m. soccer players head to MLS continued from page 12

Meara Sharma / Herald

The new path that temporarily completes the Walk connects Angell Street to Waterman Street.

Path now connects Angell and Waterman streets continued from page 1 E. Frank Hall for Life Sciences. Until now, students could cross Olive Street going south and pass over the land where Peter Green House sat until this summer. But when they got to Angell Street they were met with an ominous construction site and a gate covered in “Building Brown” banners. Students then had to either head up the hill to Brown Street or down the hill to Thayer Street.

Those gates have since opened and a temporary black asphalt sidewalk now invites pedestrians to walk straight through to Waterman Street and across to Lincoln Field. On the south side of Waterman Street, the path narrows considerably as walkers squeeze between a greenhouse and Arnold Laboratory.

The overall master plan for the Walk includes an extension onto Lincoln Field. The greenhouse appears to be in the way of that extension, but the University has no current plans to move or demolish it. “At this point, we’re not moving forward with that,” McCormick said.

Pembroke residents said they are pleased with the project’s latest development. Napong Rugkhapan ’08 lives on Pembroke’s campus and said the new path shortens the trek across campus considerably. One goal of the Walk is to give Brown’s two campuses a unified feeling; Rug-

khapan said he “definitely feels more integrated to the larger campus.”

The new sidewalk is flanked on both sides by dirt-ridden construction areas, and Rugkhapan said he looks for ward to a day when “it wouldn’t be so bare.”

After the current section is complete, the project will direct its focus to Pembroke’s front green. Crossing Meeting Street northbound, the landscape will be altered to redirect walkers towards Pembroke’s campus. That portion of Walk construction will take place over the summer and be ready for next fall, McCormick said.

For now, students are happy with the progress. Diane Mokoro ’11 has a class on Pembroke’s campus and enjoys the convenience of easily crossing. “It’s much easier than going up the really steep hill or down to crowded Thayer Street,” she said.

During the fall semester, Mokoro found an alley that allowed her to follow the basic path of the Walk but was disappointed when it was closed off for construction. “Now I don’t need it,” she said.

Cara Mazzucco ’10, who lived on the north side of campus last year, agreed. “It would have been really nice if the path were open last year,” she said. “There was no direct path to the other side of campus. I’m sure everyone will use it.”

Clickers help students continued from page 5 “It’s kind of fun, if you have an hour-and-a-half class and you break it up in the middle with a game, it wakes everyone up and keep people engaged,” he said.

Though Feuille is amenable to the new iClickers, Salomon says that he has had some complaints from students. Salomon is weighting the quizzes, which his students take every class, as equivalent to a midterm — meaning students need

to go to class to get credit.

“One thing Brown students love is absolute freedom and control and in one sense we are requiring them to show up and discuss. They e-mail me saying, ‘What, we have to go to class?’” he said.

Though students and professors are still figuring out the mechanics of the iClickers, Salomon believes they’ll continue to improve his class.

“The students really dig it. I dig it,” he said.

been some disappointment (if it hadn’t worked out).”

Britner thought he had a chance with the Revolution because since they are in the area, they had seen him play a few times. That is a strong factor in the MLS, where the scouting networks are not as strong or deep as they are in many of the other major sports leagues. He also felt he might have a shot with Toronto FC because he is a native Canadian.

When draft day rolled around, Britner sat in his Providence apartment on his couch, watching the first few rounds on television.

But soon, he had to go out with his roommate and so he left with his mind wandering and wondering.

A few hours later, he got the call from Nicol, with his Scottish accent, telling him that he had been drafted by the Revs. Britner was especially excited because New England was where he really wanted to be.

“They are a class organization,” Britner said. “(Robert) Kraft, who owns the Patriots, owns them.

Jeff Larentowicz (’05) is on the team.”

For now, Britner is still living in his off-campus apartment and making the 25-minute commute to Foxboro, Mass., for training, which began on Tuesday. Though he was ecstatic to be drafted, Britner was ready to get back down to the business of proving himself at the next level.

“We start fitness tomorrow,” he said on Tuesday. “They say

that the first week is just running.

You don’t even touch a ball.”

Though the road ahead will not be easy, the thrill of being drafted still lingers with the former Bears’ captain.

“Everyone’s goal is to play professionally,” he said. “I am getting an opportunity now many people don’t get.”

Manuel took a different path to draft day. Manuel, who missed the first five games of the Bears season for personal reasons and scored his first collegiate goal in overtime against Boston College this season, was not drafted in the MLS Superdraft like Britner. He went to a number of smaller combines and had tryouts in a number of places including Florida and as far away as Israel. “Laurent did a lot of legwork on his own by making contacts,” Noonan said.

Noonan did what he could for Manuel, as well, by tr ying to get him nominated for the MLS Supplemental Draft, which is for players not taken in the Superdraft, on Jan. 24.

Manuel, who started just five games for Bruno but was often a spark off the bench and a phenomenal teammate, had to pay to go to the various workouts, and he expected to go to a showcase for players who weren’t selected in either draft.

“I just got lucky,” Manuel said.

“Coach (Juan Carlos) Osorio saw me play and liked me. I thought they might invite me to training camp but I had no clue I’d be drafted.”

In fact, Manuel missed the call from Red Bulls’ technical director and former U.S. national team

player Jeff Agoos informing him that he had been drafted because he was out training.

Manuel had a hard time expressing his happiness, still slightly in shock almost a full week after being drafted.

“The road has not been easy,” he said. “The hard work has finally paid off, as cliché as it sounds.

There’s still a lot of work to do, but I’m just so happy.”

He was drafted in the fourth round, 49th overall, in the Supplemental Draft, and he will have to work hard to make the Red Bulls, who drafted six players ahead of him in the Superdraft or Supplemental Draft.

Luckily, the Red Bulls are a good fit for the Brown midfielder because he will be able to return home to his native New York.

Though they leave College Hill, Britner and Manuel give something back to the University.

“Our job at Brown is to help people begin careers they are going to enjoy,” Noonan said. “If it is a playing career, then that reflects just as well as getting students into medical school.”

This year’s draft day successes also help Bruno soccer, as it continues to promote its reputation by turning out solid players like Britner’s new teammate Larentowicz, who worked his way up from the bottom of the Revolution organization to starter.

Britner and Manuel will tr y to continue that tradition, but to do so they will have to internalize the best piece of advice that Manuel has received about playing at the next level.

Students enjoy food and faculty fellows continued from page 5 versity has “provided new funding to support faculty programming in the residence halls,” faculty fellows describe their support system as ad-hoc — speakers are constantly brought to classrooms, but there is no structure for bringing them to the attention of faculty fellows.

According to Russell Carey ’91 MA’06, interim vice president for campus life and student services, there has “certainly been an investment in residential programming,” but that includes a broad category of “significant expenses,” expenditures such as Residential Peer Leader programming, student activities and the Late Night Fund.

But the faculty fellows are in need of “more of a chartered path to follow,” and could all use administrative support, said Nancy Jacobs, faculty fellow and associate professor of history.

The Committee on the Residential Experience, co-chaired

by Margaret Klawunn, associate vice president for campus life and dean of student life, is currently evaluating programs in existence.

The committee will make recommendations for improving student

residential life in a preliminary report, which should be completed in the next few weeks.

Klawunn met with faculty fellows in the fall and had “a conversation about providing support” with them then, she said. With faculty fellows, including Suggs and Jacobs, on the committee, the topic is being discussed, and the report’s recommendations may address faculty fellow support, Klawunn added.

Foley said he and the other fellows are constantly e-mailing a cappella groups, for example, and it would be useful to have one central office to manage coordination and communication. “It’s not just a matter of adding dollars but resources to coordinate with what’s already on campus,” he said. He and his colleagues are “devoted to integrating faculty fellows into the academic and social calendar,” he added.

But bringing in guests requires research and investigation. “When you bring someone in, you have to nucleate it,” Suggs said. “You have to know people will come.”

Timing could also make attendance unpredictable — Foley’s weekly study breaks are held at 10 p.m. — a time that’s “great for

breaks, not for a lecture,” he said.

Students view the study breaks as a brief interruption from homework assignments for a snack and casual conversation and are not usually looking to add to the intellectual load of the evening.

“Study breaks are a chance to get away from lectures and get to know professors as people,” Trenten Nelson-Rivers ’11 said.

“It would be nice every once in a while, but we already have guest lecturers all the time. This is a time to relax and do something different,” Zaleski said.

Foley recently hosted a “brilliant guest lecturer” and followed the talk with a reception at 4 p.m.

Though students had expressed interest, no one came, which Foley attributes to trying to hold the event at an hour when schedules were already crammed full.

Jacobs seems to have touched on a potential solution. She brought a visiting scholar to her class through an academic grant and was then able to bring him to her home for a dinner with students. A proponent of mealtime discussions, she said students are overscheduled but that “everyone eats” and “there is a particular conviviality over a shared meal.”

Suggs said he recognizes the abundance of activities that Brown students participate in but that faculty fellows “don’t want to give them more things to do, just better things to do.” He wants to ask students, “How can we make your semester more memorable?”

Suggs said he’d like to see study breaks include visits from “extraordinarily eminent people.” One of his top picks? Jack Black.

Friday, February 1, 2008

Smile! You’re on Google Street View! continued from page 1 thing incriminating, but I could see how it could be a problem.”

“Don’t Be Evil” When Google first introduced Street View last May, the Mountain View, Calif., company imagined it as a way to further “understand the world through images.”

“With Street View, you can virtually explore city neighborhoods by viewing and navigating within 360-degree scenes of street-level imager y,” wrote Stephen Chau, Street View’s product manager, in a Google blog entry introducing the tool. “It feels as if you’re walking down the street!”

With Street View, which debuted in five cities and is now in 23, Google introduced a technology that seemed unfathomable just a few years ago. Though Amazon. com and other companies have attempted similar projects, Street View is by far the most advanced, since it seamlessly stitches images together to create a virtual street.

Google uses regular cars, equipped with “imaging technology,” to collect images and location data as they drive down public streets, wrote Elaine Filadelfo, a Google spokeswoman, in an e-mail.

Filadelfo added that the vehicles have the “Google Maps” logo on them.

Street View is simple to use.

Users enter a street address in Google Maps and, if the feature is enabled for that particular location, click “Street View.” They will then see a panoramic shot of that location and can virtually move up or down a street using the arrow buttons.

Filadelfo wrote that Street View images are usually a couple of months to a year old when they are uploaded. Google plans to update its Street View images in the future, she added, and is currently working on adding high-definition photos in a “wide variety of cities.”

Those high-definition photos may not sit well with critics who say Street View already intrudes too much on individual rights.

Though the product breaks no laws for the most part — after all, the images are shot from public property — it raises serious ethical questions, says Rebecca Jeschke, spokeswoman for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a digital rights group.

“Something like Google Street View really is the first step in a feeling that we’re being recorded in ever ything we do,” Jeschke says. “Generally, we can expect a certain amount of anonymity (in public places). This shows a real change to that, and that’s disturbing.”

Street View can be potentially embarrassing. When the feature debuted last year, bloggers posted some of their favorite images: of

Wednesday 8 p.m.

195 Angell.

Be there.

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

sunbathers, of people entering or leaving strip clubs and even one of a man who appears to be breaking into a house.

“You shouldn’t have to think about whether or not you’re on camera when you’re going to the doctor or perhaps going to drug treatment,” Jeschke says.

She adds that a journalist found a Street View image of Kevin Bankston, one of Jeschke’s co-workers, smoking, “a habit that he’s not proud of.”

Bankston, a lawyer for the EFF, has urged Google to make it easier for people to remove photos of themselves on Street View.

Jeschke says this still doesn’t totally solve the problem, since most people wouldn’t know where they would have been photographed.

She believes Google should make it a priority to blur faces or remove people from photographs. The company should have the technology to do that, she says, since it has the “best programmers in the country.”

Filadelfo wrote that Google “takes privacy ver y seriously.”

The company has set up a simple, online process that allows clearlyidentified individuals to request that their photos be removed.

Google, whose informal corporate motto is “Don’t Be Evil,” currently doesn’t have any plans to automatically blur faces in Street View, Filadelfo wrote, though she added that the laws may “vary by country to abide by local laws and cultural norms.” Social networking blog Mashable.com reported on Nov. 30 that Street View will blur all faces and license plates in its European version when it launches.

Despite her objections to Street View, Jeschke says it does have its advantages. She used it herself to figure out what a restaurant looked like.

“But I didn’t need the shots of the people in the frame to do that,” she adds.

Googling around Brown Google Street View is available in most of Providence and virtu-

ally all of the East Side. At Brown, Street View images are especially easy to view. Campus landmarks are clearly displayed and faces can be made out everywhere.

A cursor y glance around Brown’s campus on Street View shows nothing out of the ordinary. The photographs appear to be taken on different days, since some parts of Brown are sunny while others are not. The streets are relatively empty and there is plenty of parking, as well as construction workers, suggesting that some images were taken over the summer. Kim, the photographed student, knows his photo was taken in the fall since the friend accompanying him wasn’t in Providence in the summer. The Avon Cinema on Thayer Street appears to have been photographed around early October, since “The Jane Austen Book Club” is advertised outside.

Several students interviewed on Waterman Street on a recent afternoon say they have mixed feelings about Street View in Providence.

Elaine Tran ’09 says she hasn’t heard about Street View, but that she feels indifferent toward it.

“Random people see me on the street all the time,” she says. “I really don’t care.”

What if she had a bad hair day or if she were picking her nose?

“I shouldn’t pick my nose in public, anyway,” she says.

Herman Hsu ’08 felt dif ferently.

“If there was a photo of me, I’d like to know if it’s posted online,” he says. He adds that a photo of someone could be embarrassing or even threaten someone’s job if he or she is protesting or wearing a Halloween costume.

Eduardo Moncada GS sounded a bit concerned when told about Street View, calling it “Big Brotherish.” But he says he sees its benefits.

“Say you want to visit Brown as a student from the Philippines,” Moncada says. “You could see the places where you would take your classes, the dorms where you would live.”

A Street View of campus

Courtesy of Google Inc.

Above, a police officer looks on as construction workers work on Pembroke College on Meeting Street. Below, a student walks by the Van Wickle Gates.

Illustration by Gabriela Scarritt

Critics complain that Google Street View is too intrusive.

Friday, February 1, 2008

Skrelja ’09 breaks out continued from page 12 points and 10 rebounds. He sought to build on that over the summer, saying he spent “hours and hours” running, weightlifting and practicing basketball. He said it was the hardest he had ever worked.

His routine seemed to pay off.

Robinson, who had just begun his first year at Brown, was immediately impressed after Skrelja’s first individual workout. His teammates were impressed, too.

“At the beginning of the season,” said guard Steve Gruber ’10, “Chris was looking like he was going to be the man, the man on our team. He was just dominating.”

Skrelja felt like he was playing at a level he never had. But as the days to the season opener at Michigan State drew closer, Skrelja felt a pain in his left foot.

He tried to practice through the pain, but on the morning the team departed to Michigan, the pain became unbearable. He saw a doctor, who diagnosed Skrelja with a stress fracture in the foot.

Skrelja was out with the first injury of his career. After eight weeks, Skrelja’s doctor said he could return to the court if he felt healthy.

So Skrelja did, playing against Rhode Island and Albany. He played poorly, shooting 3-for-21 against the teams. Then, the pain returned.

“I had just been so anxious on the sideline,” he said. “I just thought, ‘I couldn’t wait to get back on the court.’ ” So Skrelja was out for another four weeks, returning in time to play the entire Ivy League season.

But he wasn’t the same player he was before the season started.

“When you’ve been hur t,” Robinson said, “you come back and you’re on a totally different chronological clock than everyone is. You’re always a step behind, even if you’re in shape.”

Playing in 21 games, Skrelja finished with a per-game average of 7.0 points and 3.9 rebounds.

After the season, Robinson gave Skrelja a list of skills to work on

Trudeau ’09 continued from page 12 born in 1936, seemed finished as a presidential candidate after Americans decided they’d rather have a beer with George W. Bush in 2000.

Meanwhile, the Red Sox staged one of the greatest comebacks ever in 2004 against the Yankees, when they did something … improbable. Years later, they have re-emerged as powerhouses, with potential firepower that scares the crap out of both baseball teams and Americans — again, one more literally than the other.

Barack Obama reminds me of the New Orleans Hornets. The Western Conference’s improbable team, meet the Leftern Conference’s improbable candidate. Obama became a political rock star back in 2004 after delivering the keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention. The seeds for New Orleans’ unlikely rise were also planted in 2004, when an 18-64 campaign led to the draft pick of Chris Paul. Many people imagined Obama becoming a legitimate presidential candidate — just not in 2008. Likewise, Paul would make the Hornets contenders someday. But then Iowa happened and the pundits at MSNBC called Obama the Democratic frontrunner. Meanwhile, after blowing out the Spurs 102-78 for their eighth

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

over the summer. One of the items on that list: ball-handling.

Skrelja worked on that by playing a lot of one-on-one basketball.

When Skrelja returned to Brown in the fall, he became the Bears’ primary ball-handler, replacing the graduated Marcus Becker ’07.

The 6-foot-6 Skrelja, who has almost always been a small forward, said it took him some time to get used to his new position. He made some bad turnovers in his first few games. But now, he said that running the offense is his favorite thing to do — besides rebounding, which he likes because “it’s all about hustle and it really doesn’t take any skill,” he said.

Though Skrelja’s take on rebounding may illustrate his all-out style of play, he also insists he has matured. A prime example: Jelani Floyd ’11 has been sidelined for all but two games this season with a stress fracture. Skrelja’s advice to Floyd? “Take your time,” he said.

Robinson praised Skrelja for his leadership skills and his defense, which he thinks may be the team’s best. The coach said Skrelja still needs some work on his jump shot. Skrelja had also been struggling with his free throws, but has felt more comfortable at the line since he started shooting them one-handed in December.

Robinson said he is particularly impressed by Skrelja’s “insatiable appetite for learning, and that’s on and off the court.”

Outside basketball, Skrelja’s teammates say he is outgoing and fun. Gruber, one of Skrelja’s best friends, said the swingman loves watching reality TV, especially, “the trashy VH1 shows.”

Studying economics, Skrelja isn’t quite sure what he wants to do after he graduates. His dream is to play professional basketball in Italy or Spain after he graduates and then return to the United States to work on Wall Street, for a sports franchise or as a basketball coach.

“I’m still thinking about it,” Skrelja said. “I change my mind every two weeks.” straight win Jan. 26, the pundits at ESPN were discussing the Hornets as the league’s top team.

Hillary Clinton sounds a lot like the New York Mets. The nation all but assumed Clinton would be the Democratic nominee last summer, just like everyone assumed the Mets would win the NL East, except for maybe Jimmy Rollins. When last summer ended, even Rollins must have assumed a Clinton/Mets victory.

Double-digit leads in the polls for Clinton, a seven-game lead with 17 games

Crime log: Xboxes stolen, beer confiscated continued from page 5 propped it open with a door stopper.

His laptop and Handycam mini DVD recorder were stolen. He had no idea who would have done this, and there are no suspects at this time.

9:00 p.m. While on routine patrol at Wayland Arch, officers came across a group of seven young men who were unloading an eight 30-packs of beer from an SUV. The officers asked them where they were headed, to which they replied Olney House. They then asked them to produce their identifications. Upon retrieval of their IDs, they found only two of them to be of legal drinking age, and three of them were Brown students. At this time the supervisor responded to the location and determined the men aged 21 and over would be allowed to carry the beer to its destination. He informed the students it is against Rhode Island General Laws to purchase alcohol for, or to allow minors to possess, alcohol, and that such conduct is also a violation of University policy.

This report was filed and forwarded to the Office of Student Life.

Friday, Dec. 21: 10:03 a.m. A professor reported that on Nov. 16 at 11 a.m., she noticed various types of thermocouple wire and scrapes missing. She stated that both of the rooms are busy working labs and the items missing are there to test rock deformation.

Friday, Dec. 28: 8:38 a.m. Officers were dispatched for a report of an intrusion alarm. When they arrived on scene the exterior of the building was secure. However, they found a pick in the lock of the north side basement door. The interior was checked and everything appeared to be in order.

Wednesday, Jan. 2: 9:52 a.m. Two employees reported that between 4 p.m. on Dec. 21 and 8 a.m. on Jan. 2, unknown person(s) pried off the security cables from and stole their Universityassigned laptops. There was no force left for the Mets. But then Clinton was blind-sided by Obamamania in Iowa, while the Metropolitans got Chase (Utley’d) out of the playoffs.

They choked. Clintons and Mets shed tears, and just when everyone was ready to leave them both for dead, Hillary came back with a left hook in New Hampshire, and the Mets traded four prospects/projects for the game’s best pitcher, Johan Santana.

Tom Trudeau ’09 anticipates that much of his original draft will be cut.

used to get into the building and the elevator on the east side was found unsecured over the mentioned time span. The cables were taken as evidence and the case is under investigation.

10:09 a.m. Complaintant reported that some time between 11 a.m. on Dec. 29 and 10 a.m. on Jan. 2 unknown person(s) took his bicycle.

He said that he had left his bicycle in a hallway. He reported that the bike was not locked.

4:34 p.m. A professor reported he had parked his vehicle on Cooke Street at approximately 10 a.m. Upon his return to his vehicle at approximately 4:15 p.m. he found the side front passenger’s window broken and his navigation system missing.

He reported he had left the item in plain view in the front of the vehicle.

Providence Police arrived on scene and took a report.

Monday, Jan. 7: 7:04 p.m. An officer noticed graffiti on the Lot 71 sign. The graffiti appeared to have been written with black marker. Facilities Management was notified.

Wednesday, January 16: 3:09 p.m. Student reported that on Friday, Dec. 21 at approximately 2 p.m. he left for winter break and his gaming console was there. When he returned at approximately 2:30 p.m. on Jan. 18 his gaming console, three wireless remotes and two plug-in attachments were missing from the common area of the suite. He said he had spoken with a roommate, who was the last to leave the suite. He stated the door was secured and the console was there when he left.

10:19 p.m. An officer met with a student complainant who stated that when he left for winter break on Dec. 20 at 5 p.m., his iHome was on his desk. He stated that he locked the door to his dorm room. When he returned from winter break on Jan. 16 at approximately 12:30 p.m. he found his iHome missing. There are no suspect(s) at this time.

Thursday, Jan. 17: 11:50 a.m. Student reported that between Dec. 22 and Jan. 17, his XBox and two video games were stolen from his friend’s dorm room.

12:11 p.m. Student reported that between Dec. 25 and Jan. 14, four DVDs were taken from his room.

Friday, Jan. 18: 11:43 a.m. Employee reported a laptop missing. The door to the room does not lock, but the laptop was secured to a desk with a cable lock.

She said the lock and cable were still secured to the desk, but the laptop was pulled off the cable.

Sunday, Jan. 20: 9:35 p.m. A student reported that he had left Liquid Lounge around 2:30 a.m. and while walking home was hit in the back of the head.

There are no suspects at this time.

Detectives are investigating.

Monday, Jan. 21: 4:29 p.m. Student reported that when he arrived back on campus after leaving for break on Dec. 22, he discovered that his Xbox, controllers, games, battery charger and cables were missing. There was no sign of forced entry. There are no suspects at this time.

Wednesday, Jan. 23: 3:08 p.m. An assistant professor stated that a Brown-owned laptop was stolen from a laboratory approximately between 12 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. She reported the two doors located in the laboratory were both left unlocked and the room was left unattended. A post-doctoral fellow stated that approximately between the hours of 12 p.m. and 1 p.m., he witnessed a light-skinned black male, approximately 30 to 40 years of age, 6-foot-3 and wearing a gray and white long winter coat, exit a room and enter his laboratory room, which are connected by an unsecured fire door. When the unknown male saw him he turned around and exited back through the fire door. He stated he thought nothing of it at the time.

The case is under investigation by detectives.

E ditorial & L etters Page 10

Friday, February 1, 2008

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

S t a ff E d i t o r i a l

Diamonds and coal Diamond to Shark sushi hibachi and grill owner Ray Hirsh, who will have a five-foot shark swimming in an 1,800-gallon tank when the restaurant opens. We think Starbucks will be kicking themselves for nixing the idea to have killer whales serving lattes.

Cubic zirconium to the thief (or thieves!) who stole six Xboxes in six separate incidents over winter break. We appreciate that you’re trying to help us study, but those things cost $300.

Also, a diamond to the shark. We wouldn’t want to be stuck in a tank on Thayer Street our entire lives.

Diamond to Assistant Professor of Modern Culture and Media Studies Mark Tribe ’90, who said modern-day viewers of his Port Huron Project’s reenactments of 1960s and ’70s protest speech suffer from “temporal dislocation.” Next time we miss class, we’re definitely using that as an excuse.

Coal to Jesse Maddox ’08 for not giving us that override we wanted to enroll in PIMP 101: “How to Be a Playa,” with Dr. Jesse Maddox. Also, you took the class off BrunoBooks after we interviewed you.

Diamond to outgoing District 9 Commander Lt. Paul Campbell. Several Herald editors will miss you driving by us, hitting the brakes and jumping out to say hello. Good luck downtown.

Coal to the students who told officers busting their party they found more than two 30 packs of beer “under a tree” outside Keeney. So that’s where all our beer went.

Diamond to water fountains. Every time we publish anything remotely related to lead, water or fountains, our landlord (the University) mysteriously removes something from our building and attempts to cover their tracks. Bring it on.

A coal to Juniper, the new fro-yo place on Thayer Street, for being overconfident. It’s good to hear that you’re not intimidated by the four other ice cream parlors near campus because yogurt is “so different.”

A greasy diamond to Jo’s for adding fish & chips to your menu. It’s almost like being in England, except we’re not getting screwed by the exchange rate.

T he B rown D aily H erald Editors-in-Chief Simmi Aujla Ross Frazier editorial Arts & Culture Editor Robin Steele Asst. Arts & Culture Editor Andrea Savdie Higher Ed Editor Debbie Lehmann Features Editor Chaz Firestone Asst. Features Editor Olivia Hoffman Metro Editor Rachel Arndt Metro Editor Scott Lowenstein News Editor Mike Bechek News Editor Isabel Gottlieb News Editor Franklin Kanin News Editor Michael Skocpol Opinions Editor Karla Bertrand Opinions Editor James Shapiro Sports Editor Whitney Clark Sports Editor Amy Ehrhart Sports Editor Jason Harris Asst. Sports Editor Benjy Asher Asst. Sports Editor Andrew Braca Asst. Sports Editor Megan McCahill

Senior Editors Taylor Barnes Chris Gang Stu Woo Business Darren Ball General Manager General Manager Mandeep Gill Susan Dansereau Office Manager Alex Hughes Sales Manager Lily Tran Sales Manager Public Relations Director Emilie Aries Jon Spector Accounting Director Claire Kiely National Account Manager University Account Manager Ellen DaSilva Darren Kong Recruiter Account Manager Credit Manager Katelyn Koh Ingrid Pangandoyon Technology Director photo Rahul Keerthi Meara Sharma Min Wu Ashley Hess

Photo Editor Asst. Photo Editor Asst. Photo Editor Sports Photo Editor

post- magazine production Steve DeLucia Production & Design Editor Chaz Kelsh Asst. Design Editor Asst. Design Editor Alex Unger Catherine Cullen Copy Desk Chief Adam Robbins Graphics Editor

Matt Hill Rajiv Jayadevan Sonia Kim Allison Zimmer Colleen Brogan Arthur Matuszewski Kimberly Stickels

P ete fallon

Letters Brown students are activist, not apathetic To the Editor: In his recent column (“The sorry state of student activism at Brown,” Jan. 28), Max Chaiken ‘09 reproaches Brown students for their apathy toward activism on campus. Chaiken gives the impression that activism is dead at Brown and students simply do not care about the issues that affect them. He overlooks all of the successful events organized by Brown student activists over the past semester.

From our experiences as members of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), we believe that students are far from “disaffected and disinterested” when it comes to taking collective action on issues that they care about. On a rainy Saturday morning during Parents’ Weekend, thirty Brown students traveled to Boston to join a massive regional protest against the war in Iraq.

A month later, Brown SDS, along with Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), organized a talk given by an Iraq war veteran and current Brown student, who discussed the vast differences between the media’s coverage of the war and his experiences on the ground in Iraq. His lecture mobilized students to attend one of the largest demonstrations Providence has seen in years, an antiwar march and rally organized by Brown SDS and OIF that brought together students, community activists and war veterans. Many other student groups also organized great events and actions over the last semester that are now being ignored and belittled.

We will continue to organize this semester against the occupation of Iraq and the rising cost of education here in America. Along with SDS chapters throughout the nation, Brown SDS has been working on a campaign

for accessible education. This campaign will combine educational forums that suggest new ways for the administration to make education more affordable with direct actions to demand that students have a democratic say in the decision-making process. We encourage all Brown students to take an active role in this campaign or become involved in other causes that interest them.

Chaiken makes an interesting point when he connects his lack of knowledge regarding the issues recently addressed by the student union with the absence of coverage in the Herald. The Herald bears some responsibility for the false perception that students are not taking action. None of the events mentioned above received coverage in the Herald, even though they attracted a large number of students. By failing to cover important events organized by student activists, the Herald reaffirms the mistaken idea that Brown students are apathetic.

Complaining about the “complacency and apathy” of Brown students does nothing to encourage more students to become involved. Rather, it only serves to dishearten the many student activists who dedicate their time and effort to raise awareness and organize actions. Showcasing the powerful effect that Brown students can have when they work together to bring about change is the best way to inspire others to make their voices heard.

Susan Beaty ‘10 Olivia Ildefonso ‘09 Mark Morales ‘10 Jan. 31

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

Steve Delucia, Designer Jake Frank, Seth Motel, Elena Weissman Copy Editors Robin Steele, Night Editor Senior Staff Writers Sam Byker, Nandini Jayakrishna, Chaz Kelsh, Sophia Li, Emmy Liss, Max Mankin, Brian Mastroianni, George Miller, Alex Roehrkasse, Caroline Sedano, Jenna Stark, Joanna Wohlmuth, Simon van Zuylen-Wood Staff Writers Stefanie Angstadt, Amanda Bauer, Evan Boggs, Caitlin Browne, Marisa Calleja, Zachary Chapman, Noura Choudhury, Joy Chua, Patrick Corey, Catherine Goldberg, Olivia Hoffman, Ben Hyman, Erika Jung, Sophia Lambertsen, Cameron Lee, Christian Martell, Taryn Martinez, Anna Millman, Evan Pelz, Sonia Saraiya, Marielle Segarra, Melissa Shube, Gaurie Tilak, Matt Varley, Meha Verghese Sports Staff Writers Han Cui, Evan Kantor, Christina Stubbe Business Staff Diogo Alves, Steven Butschi, Timothy Carey, Jilyn Chao, Pete Drinan, Dana Feuchtbaum, Patrick Free, Sarah Glick, Soobin Kim, Christie Liu, Philip Maynard, Mariya Perelyubskaya, Paolo Servado, Saira Shervani, Yelena Shteynberg, Robert Stefani, Lindsay Walls, Benjamin Xiong Design Staff Ting Lawrence, Philip Maynard, Aditya Voleti, Wudan Yan Photo Staff Oona Curley, Alex DePaoli, Austin Freeman, Emmy Liss, Tai Ho Shin Copy Editors Ayelet Brinn, Rafael Chaiken, Erin Cummings, Katie Delaney, Jake Frank, Jennifer Grayson, Ted Lamm, Max Mankin, Alex Mazerov, Ezra Miller, Seth Motel, Alexander Rosenberg, Emily Sanford, Elena Weissman

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O pinions Friday, February 1, 2008

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Page 11

Shallow marks JAMES SHAPIRO Opinions Columnist Grades are on the rise at Brown and many other universities. They have been for some time. Grade inflation is a lot like the Incredible Hulk: Ordinarily neither good nor evil, it becomes downright dangerous when it gets too large. On the one hand, inflation mildly bolsters students’ prospects for employment and admission to graduate schools. On the other hand, it devalues genuine academic achievement. In an ever-increasing number of courses, the top student receives the same, qualitatively indistinguishable grade as the median student. Brown officials can and should take measures to mitigate the harmful consequences of further inflation.

Addressing grade inflation requires that we recognize it as a problem. Yet some deny that grade inflation even occurs. They acknowledge that A’s have risen from 40.6 to 49.6 percent of all grades awarded over the past ten years, but they deny that the trend constitutes “inflation” in the strict sense of the word. Inflation skeptics claim that as Brown becomes more and more selective, the average quality of students and academic work should trend upward. They say that the increase in A’s reflects an appropriate, proportional response to the increase in “A-worthy” academic performance.

The argument isn’t totally off base, but it overlooks some of the other causes behind rising grades. Professors at almost every college and university face unfortunate structural incentives to award higher grades, regardless of students’ academic performance. A professor who tends to give students lower grades will, other things being equal, receive more negative course evaluations and experience

more unpleasant altercations with indignant students and parents. Given that tenure decisions are to some degree affected by course evaluations, professors might understandably (or unconsciously) grade generously.

The pressure to dole out higher grades only increases as colleagues and peer institutions raise them. It’s a vicious cycle.

Regardless of whether students are really surpassing professors’ expectations at unprecedented levels, there is no reason why aca-

dividing A’s and B’s will always be somewhat arbitrary. It’s ludicrous to demand that professors unswervingly cling to the standards they set in their first year of teaching.

Perhaps the most promising proposal to preserve the integrity of our transcripts would supplement a student’s grades with information about the distribution of grades in each of her courses. This solution offers several advantages. First, it could stop inflation dead in its tracks. Students would worry (and com-

Given that tenure decisions are to some degree affected by course evaluations, professors might understandably (or unconsciously) grade generously. The pressure to dole out higher grades only increases as colleagues and peer institutions raise them. It’s a vicious cycle. demic standards should stagnate. If a school starts to attract better students, it makes perfect sense to raise the bar. Inflation advocates presuppose some free-floating platonic ideal of the “A-grade” that professors can always refer to at the end of each semester. In fact, the line

plain) less about getting B’s if transcripts accurately conveyed the difficulty of their course of study. Second, transcript distributions would preserve professors’ autonomy. They could continue to grade students at their discretion. The proposal looks even better when

compared with the most common alternatives — deflating grades with strict departmental curves or surrendering to the rapid atrophy of grades as meaningful, informative tools.

Of course, the long-term viability of this solution depends in large part upon whether it stops (or at least slows) grade inflation. Published distributions would become irrelevant and potentially damaging in courses that award A’s to a sizeable majority of the class. More dramatic measures may be necessary in the distant future. In the short-term, distributions would partly counteract inflation by placating anxious students in hard courses and insulating professors from perpetual pressure to raise the average.

Some people contend that grades are a poor indicator of learning and support grade inflation as a means of effectively making grades irrelevant. Those opposed to grades should defend outright elimination instead of gradual, piecemeal dilution. It also seems as though grades are an excellent proxy for learning in many cases. While creative writing may be very tricky to grade, calculus instructors have relatively simple and objective processes for testing students’ understanding of the material. Brown already accounts for the most subjective courses by making them mandatory S/NC. Even if grades are at some level arbitrary, they undeniably motivate students to work harder.

Many think that grade inflation policy requires a choice between higher and lower average grades. The real choice is between meaningful representation of our educational achievements and black ink on a worthless sheet of paper labeled “transcript.”

James Shapiro ’10 wants employers to understand the difference between Engineering and ENGN 0090.

Lettuce sucks SONIA SARAIYA Guest Columnist I had a somewhat horrifying experience at the Gate last semester that turned a smoldering distaste into a roaring hatred. Interestingly enough, this involved panini. I have a lot of respect for the Gate and I love the panini machine, though it is not possible for them to stock enough fresh bufala mozzarella to keep me satisfied and sometimes you have to wait half an hour. But it’s worth it to get the exact melty-hot sandwich you want. I spent hours visualizing my panini with pesto, grilled chicken, provolone, onions and spinach — so my heart beat fast with terror when my panini was handed to me brutally violated by a thick slice of tomato and an colossal leaf of lettuce.

You’d think that since every panini is custom-made to order, this is impossible. How on earth could lettuce have infiltrated my lovingly handmade sandwich? The tomato I could at least respect, but the lettuce! Lettuce is a stand-in, a scab, a filler plant product. I desperately scanned my order, looking for reason in this debauched world.

And I found it.

It seems that in order to not have lettuce on my panini, not only would I have to choose a series of ingredients that were not lettuce, but I would also have to deliberately check off an artfully concealed box that says “NO Lettuce.”

Why can’t I escape lettuce? How did lettuce manage to sneak into all kinds of food, like a bad porn star — sitting there, not per-

forming, but inexplicably in ever y scene, wilting under the pressure?

Well, our inexplicable dependence on lettuce goes way back. Ancient wall paintings in Egypt suggest that lettuce was sacred to the Egyptian fertility god Min (not one you saw in your fifth-grade textbooks, because depictions of him are what we now refer to as “inappropriate”) and was considered to be an aphrodisiac, possibly because the variety of lettuce was, er, long, thin, and secreted a milky sap. Furthermore, some ancient civilizations, including the Egyptians and pos-

up most of everything they ate anyway and Wikipedia is full of crap, so I don’t trust any of them to tell me what to eat. I can only assume that lettuce was so unappetizing that civilizations felt the need to attach legend and myth to them so that the proletariat would choke it down.

Either way, for four thousand years humans have been stuffing their faces with lettuce. These days we do so with poorly harvested tomatoes and enriched white flour bread products. Frankly, I find this stupid and a problem with humanity, sort of like

How did lettuce manage to sneak into all kinds of food, like a bad porn star — sitting there, not performing, but inexplicably in every scene, wilting under the pressure? sibly the Romans, ate lettuce for a chemical in the stem called “Lactucarium,” or, I am not making this up, “Lettuce Opium.” Any discernible opiate characteristics of lettuce are, I think, completely ridiculous, but the healing properties of lettuce seeds lurk at the edges of disreputable texts and apparently popped up more recently when alternative medicine became popular. I do know that I have no idea what the hell Egyptians ate besides possibly papyrus, Romans vomited

war. Stop the bland crap: END LETTUCE, now and forever.

If things like “nutrition” concern you, iceberg lettuce is at the very bottom of the totem pole. When it comes to things like vitamins, iceberg lettuce is weak. While spinach, another common leafy green, has a lot more sodium per ser ving (this must be that elusive “taste” they speak of) it has 70 percent of the recommended daily value of vitamin A per ser ving; iceberg lettuce

delivers a paltry 2 percent. Spinach also has five times as much dietary fiber and twice the protein of iceberg lettuce. Plus, Popeye eats spinach to be strong.

As far as I can tell, lettuce is like Britney Spears. Overpublicized. She’s sort of in your face all the time because the powers that be think you want to hear about her crazy mental institution stuff and numerous babies and lip-syncing catastrophes and even her kid sister getting knocked up. But you sort of realize one day that you don’t really care anymore about her, and maybe you feel weird about bringing it up during lunch because all your friends are talking about it. But I bet they’re all thinking the same thing: Britney Spears is stupid, let’s talk about the war in Iraq and how depressing it is. Similarly while the mystical culinary powers that be think that every single person on this planet wants a piece of limp white plant matter in between their greasy tomato and meat, I bet everyone is secretly thinking that the lettuce in their freeze-dried sandwich from Au Bon Pain sucks a lot. I certainly am thinking that all the time. I’m even thinking it about your sandwich.

I should point out that I hear there are other, fancier types of lettuce in the world, like “arugula” and “radicchio.” That’s cool, you know, whatever. When McDonald’s starts putting arugula in their cheeseburgers, I’ll forgive the world for iceberg lettuce, commonly called “lettuce.” But by God, we’re not there yet. And until we are, I will crusade against this vile scourge. And whine when the Ratty runs out of spinach.

Former Herald Senior Editor Sonia Saraiya ’08 thinks war is like Britney Spears, too.

S ports F riday Page 12

Friday, February 1, 2008

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Finally, Skrelja ’09 is ‘the man’

Super ... What?

It’s February 2008, which means for the better part of a year, people have been looking forward to one upcoming event. It makes for perhaps the best reality television possible, captivates our imagination and forces millions to root for someone Tom Trudeau they hadn’t been Tru Story rooting for all season long. We pass time by watching analysts debate who will win. Of course, I’m talking about the Superbbbbbuuuh, TUESDAY! Yes, this Tuesday will likely set the stage for the fall’s national election.

With sports metaphors being thrown around in politics these days— Hail Mary Pass, home runs and every candidate’s favorite: comeback kid — how can we not help but compare our nation’s leaders to sports teams?

John McCain? More like the Boston Red Sox. Both earned sympathy and respect for enduring years of torture — one more literally than the other. McCain was a prisoner of war for five-and-a-half years in Vietnam, while the Sox were prisoners of sucking for 86 seasons, thanks in part to terrible management, divine punishment for having obnoxious fans and being the last team in baseball to integrate talented minority players.

Both were left for dead in recent years. McCain, who may have already passed the life expectancy for those

By Stu Woo Senior Editor

Ashley Hess / Herald

Chris Skrelja ‘09 is third in the Ivy League in assists per game (3.94) and rebounds per game (6.3). He started taking one-handed free throws in mid-December.

continued on page 9

Williams squash halts Bears’ winning streak

by Lara Southern Contributing Writer

Despite a spectacular display, the men’s and women’s squash teams were defeated on Wednesday night visiting Williams College.

The men fought hard in their 8-1 loss, bringing their record to 2-7, while the women’s nail-biting defeat ended their six-game winning streak, bringing them to 6-5 on the season.

The women from both teams came out fighting, with several matches going the maximum five games. After Brown’s first four seeds narrowly lost their matches, it was up to the bottom five to level the match — a feat they accomplished with admirable aplomb.

Captain and fifth-seed Minoo Fadaifard ’08 set the tone for the

Sp

o r t s

comeback, winning her match in three quick games, 9-0, 9-3, 9-5.

Her teammates followed suit, with three tightly contested wins from Sophie Scherl ’11, Lily Cohen ’11 and Kali Schellenberg ’10 at six, seven and eight, respectively, tying the overall score at 4-4. Ninth seed Sarah Roberts ’10 pulled out a spectacular performance in a thrilling deciding match, which lasted five grueling games. She was narrowly beaten in a heartbreaking final game, losing 4-9, 9-7, 4-9, 10-8, 7-9.

“We knew it would be close,” said captain Megan Cerullo ’08, who also battled hard through her narrow loss at one. “Williams is always a tough rival, but we were prepared mentally and continued on page 4

i n

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Men’s basketball and gymnastics notes Men’s Basketball:

Tri-captain center Mark MacDonald ’08 will probably not play in either game this weekend because of a concussion he suffered last Saturday in a victory over Yale. MacDonald said he has not practiced this week and can only do so once all symptoms of the concussions disappear. The team plays against Cornell on Friday and Columbia on Saturday. Both games are at the Pizzitola Center at 7 p.m.

Gymnastics:

The gymnastics team will wear special breast cancer awareness leotards in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Week in its meet against the University of Rhode Island and Rhode Island College. The meet is on Sunday at 1 p.m. at the Pizzitola Center. Part of the cost of the leotards will be donated to the Gloria Gemma Breast Cancer Resource Foundation. The team has asked that fans wear pink, and there will be a donation box for spectators. ­—Sports Staff Reports

After the men’s basketball team beat Yale last Saturday, the two stars of the game — Chris Skrelja ’09 and Damon Huffman ’08 — gave interviews to two different reporters outside the locker room.

Huffman was in the middle of a sentence when he stopped abruptly.

He stared at Skrelja.

“Dude, you are so loud,” Huffman said. “I can’t even hear myself think.”

In a more recent inter view, Skrelja insisted he’s not normally a loud person. (He backed it up by giving a decidedly un-loud interview.) But on the court, Skrelja has been as vociferous as any of his teammates.

Running the Bears’ offense as sort of a “point forward” or “point center,” Skrelja is third in the Ivy League in assists per game (3.94) and rebounds per game (6.3). He averages 9.1 points a game, but has twice scored more than 20. Head Coach Craig Robinson has come to rely on Skrelja, who has played more minutes than anyone on the team besides Huffman.

The season has been a kind of validation for Skrelja. While he didn’t exactly struggle in his first two years at Brown, he thought he would break out as a freshman.

Skrelja, the son of Albanian natives who moved to the United States in 1980, grew up in a suburb outside New York City. For

two years, he attended Hastings High School in New York. He then transferred to Trinity Catholic, a basketball powerhouse in Stamford, Conn. There, he played with other future Division I basketball players, including Craig Austrie, now at Connecticut. and Mike Trimboli now at Vermont. Trinity Catholic won the state championship his junior year and was the runner-up a year later.

When Skrelja chose to attend Brown his senior year of high school, he had lofty expectations.

“I thought I would be one of the best freshmen in the league,” he said.

But Skrelja disappointed himself with the way he played that season.

He said he was “just young and immature (in terms of) playing basketball.” He was also frustrated with the way he and his team, which finished 10-17 that season, were playing.

Adding to his unhappiness was his homesickness, which he said was so bad that he seriously considered transferring to a college closer to home. But his parents and an old coach urged him to stick to Brown, and he was ultimately convinced.

Though he averaged just 3.3 points per game and 2.6 rebounds per game, Skrelja showed flashes of brilliance on the court during his first season. His best game was at Harvard, when he led the Bears to a win with a double-double of 19 continued on page 9

Former soccer stars achieve their goals

By Jason Harris Spor ts Editor

Matt Britner ’07.5 is headed for Gillette Stadium while teammate Laurent Manuel ’08 is off to Giants Stadium.

No, the Patriots and Giants aren’t searching for clutch field goal kickers in Sunday’s Super Bowl. Britner and Manuel were drafted by the teams that play the other kind of football in those stadiums: the New England Revolution and the New York Red Bulls of Major League Soccer, respectively.

The two seniors who helped the men’s soccer team to an Ivy League title are moving on to new playing fields.

“I was elated. It’s where I wanted to be,” Britner said after he got the call from the Revs in the third round of the Jan. 18 MLS Superdraft. Britner was taken 41st overall, and was the fourth player selected by the Revolution.

Britner had been hoping that he might be drafted ever since Brown’s season ended. He attended the MLS combine on Jan. 12 and 13, where many coaches had a chance to see his talent, which solidified the Bears’ backline all season.

Still, the experience was mostly a mystery for the Ivy League Player of the Year.

“I went down to the combine and I did all right. Not spectacular,” he said. “I didn’t have anyone behind the scenes to let me know.”

Britner did not have an agent like some other players, though he did have some support from Brown Head Coach Mike Noonan.

“I have a role to promote them,” Noonan said. “Matt was highly sought after. I had con-

Ashley Hess / Herald

Matt Britner ‘07.5 was the 41st player taken in the Major League Soccer Superdraft.

He began training with the New England Revolution on Tuesday.

versations with (Revolution Head Coach) Steve Nicol and other MLS coaches.”

With such uncertainty, Britner, who lost two seasons of his collegiate career due to back-to-back ACL injuries on opposite knees, couldn’t help but manage expec-

tations.

“I put no pressure on myself, starting with the combine,” he said.

“I didn’t want to try to do too much.

I can’t control what the coaches like. There probably would have continued on page 6