Thursday, February 14, 2008

The Br wn Daily Herald T hursday, F ebr uar y 14, 2008

Volume CXLIII, No. 17

W. rugby needs green to get gold

Since 1866, Daily Since 1891

Freshman lounges back in business

protestors: roberts got it wrong

By Emmy Liss Senior Staff Writer

Seth Motel Contributing Writer

The women’s rugby team qualified for a shot at the national championship for the second straight year — but winning games has been only half the battle. Faced with a tight budget, the club team is struggling to raise money to fund itself for the postseason.

The team has been trying to find a way to get enough money to attend the rugby Sweet 16 in Albuquerque, N.M., which will take place April 18 to April 20. If the squad advances after that weekend, it will have to find a way to return to the West Coast two weeks later for the sport’s Final Four.

As a club sport, women’s rugby is organized differently from varsity sports. The team receives a yearly budget of $20,000 from the Department of Athletics, but the athletes are not recruited and the coaches volunteer their time.

The team has had difficulty obtaining extra money to go to the USA Rugby National Guard Division I Women’s College Playoffs and Championships, said team president Kalie Gold ’08, who plays scrumhalf and wing.

“The better we do, the more popular we become,” Gold said, as the team will be invited to bigger and better meets.

But with the higher standards come financial problems. Studentathletes in club sports take on the administrative roles of the team since the coaches already work for free.

The team has lobbied the Depart-

Simon van Zuylen-Wood / Herald

Locals protested Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts’ appearance in downtown Providence Tuesday.

Last week, John Dahdah ’09 received a call from Vivian Ortiz ’10, one of the resident counselors he oversees as an RC rep in Keeney Quadrangle.

“I said, ‘Dahdah, you have to come down here right now,’” Ortiz said. “Usually I call him for bad things.”

Dahdah found a group of students watching Super Tuesday coverage and hanging out together in the lounge, while other students baked cookies next door in the kitchen.

This sight might be normal in many dorms, but up until last week, was unheard of in Ortiz’s unit.

This year, nine lounges in freshman units — six in Keeney and three in Andrews Hall — started the fall semester as upperclass bedrooms.

Though one will remain as a dorm room for the rest of the year, three were converted back to lounges in October and the remaining five became lounges last week. continued on page 4

SEE METRO, PAGE 3

No U.S. post office on campus in 2009, but new seating may come

By Chaz Kelsh Senior Staff Writer

Director of Student Activities Ricky Gresh addressed the Undergraduate Council of Students about the upcoming renovation of Faunce House into the Stephen Robert Campus Center at its general body meeting Wednesday evening in Petteruti Lounge.

Gresh announced that the reno-

vated space will not feature a U.S. post office because the Postal Service is unwilling to have an office on campus after its current lease expires at the end of the 2008-09 academic year.

Renovations to the J. Walter Wilson Laboratory will be complete before next year’s orientation, relocating many of the offices currently in Faunce, Gresh said.

Gresh asked UCS members to

express thoughts about the plans for renovation. Council members mentioned increased bathroom availability, the potential to add a latenight eatery that could accept meal credits, the importance of a space similar to the current Underground and additional open spaces.

Several UCS members also mentioned the importance of increasing Faunce’s accessibility. Gresh said Faunce is a hard building to make

completely accessible, but the renovated J. Walter Wilson will not have this problem.

Gresh said he wants the new campus center to be a more comfortable place for students to simply hang out in, citing problems with finding spaces in Faunce currently.

If you simply go to Faunce, “you’re going to find a lot of closed doors,” he said. continued on page 4

continued on page 4

Smallest classes find some big fans

By Joanna Wohlmuth Senior Staff Writer

Ashley Hess / Herald File Photo

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The women’s rugby team has been doing well on the field, but not with its coffers.

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www.browndailyherald.com

Say you walked into class one morning to find only two students in the room. Are you early? Did class get cancelled? Not to worr y. Having less than a handful of students in a class is not as uncommon as you may think, and for some students, the small class is just part of another Thursday.

Last semester, 58 out of 767 primar y meeting classes below the 2000 level had less than five students enrolled, Senior Associate Registrar Robert Fitzgerald wrote in an e-mail to The Herald. Out of the 760 offered this semester, 78 now have less than five students, though this number may change as students add or drop classes.

Fitzgerald said there seems to be no correlation between specific departments and courses with low enrollment. “(The size is) pretty much why I’m taking the class,” said Zach

text arrest Put your phone down and your hands up: texting behind the wheel may become illegal in RI

11

OPINIONS

Green ’10 of his three-person PHIL 1890C: “Philosophy and Science of Perception” class. “It’s a lot like having a private tutor.”

Green, a philosophy concentrator who transferred to Brown this semester from George Washington University, said he found the class size particularly intriguing because it is one of the higher-level courses offered by the Department of Philosophy. Green said though he shopped some classes that seemed more interesting, the opportunity to be in a course with only two other students was too good to resist.

A graduate student also audits the course, Green said.

Cici Matheny ’09 said she was concerned that other students in JUDS 0300: “Israeli Literature in Hebrew,” this semester would be more advanced in the language than she was and that the reading load would be too heavy. Then she found out that she would be the only one taking the class.

“I am talking all the time, so

it’s good for learning the language and I can move at my own pace,” Matheny said.

She and her professor decided to only meet once a week. And instead of assigning specific readings to complete, the professor gives her an amount of time — usually about six hours per week — and tells her to read as much as she can. Though she described the experience as “intense,” Matheny said she is enjoying the class so far.

Professors also appreciate the unique atmosphere created by small classes.

“I really like having an environment where people feel comfortable participating ... It ends up that I lecture less and there is more discussion,” said Assistant Professor of Philosophy Katherine Dunlop, who teaches PHIL 1890C. Though Dunlop, who is new to Brown this year, said she enjoys

18 is the new 21 Chloe Lutts ‘08 makes a case for getting your drink on, from age 18 and up

195 Angell Street, Providence, Rhode Island

cloudy, 47 / 19

continued on page 6

tomorrow’s weather Maybe Valentine’s Day will make Providence’s weather seem more bearable.

Probably not.

News tips: herald@browndailyherald.com

T oday Page 2

Thursday, February 14, 2008

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Menu

But Seriously | Charlie Custer and Stephen Barlow

Sharpe Refectory

Verney-Woolley Dining Hall

Lunch — Corn Souffle, Chicken Gouda Calzone, Hot Turkey Sandwich with Sauce, Krinkle Fries

Lunch — Mediterranean Bar, Pulled Pork Sandwich, Shoepeg Corn Casserole, Valentine’s Day Desserts

Dinner — Pumpkin Raviolis with Cream Sauce, Braised Beef Tips, Spinach Lasagna, Rice Pilaf with Zucchini

Dinner — Roast Turkey with Sauce, Green Beans, Red Cabbage with Apples, Valentine’s Day Desserts

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

© Puzzles by Pappocom

RELEASE DATE– Thursday, February 14, 2008

Los Angeles Times Puzzle C r o sDaily s w oCrossword rd Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

ACROSS 1 Shop orders 6 “You should be kissed, and often, and by someone who knows how” speaker 11 NYC destination 14 Call off 15 Staff addition 16 Manning of the NFL 17 Hearst Castle architect 19 Clue seeker: Abbr.

20 Not running 21 Outcast 23 Got off one’s desk 24 Yankee Clipper airline 25 Arrange home financing 32 Bewail 33 Chooses 34 Early riser?

35 “Just you wait, ’__ ’iggins”: song lyric 36 Old __: Crockett’s rifle 38 Alone 39 Henry Fonda’s birthplace: Abbr.

40 Center 41 Motrin competitor 42 Aesopian output 46 Belarus city 47 Yo counterpart 48 Rutabaga, for one 50 Festive decoration 55 Calendario span 56 Custard recipe option 58 Strong current 59 1980s teammate of Bird and McHale 60 Successful, in slang 61 Mil. stores 62 Three-star officer: Abbr.

63 Long lock DOWN 1 “M*A*S*H” ranks 2 Neighbor

3 Whom Tony and Rico fought over, in “Copacabana” 4 Precalc course 5 Substitute 6 Girl in a #1 Beach Boys hit 7 “Cotton Candy” trumpeter 8 One of a joule’s 10,000,000 9 “Mad” event in an 1865 novel 10 Lessees 11 Qui-Gon Jinn, for one 12 Bug with bounce 13 Friends and neighbors 18 Central 22 Sleazy paper 24 Infield flies 25 Broken mirrors, to some 26 Lisa of “The Cosby Show” 27 Rolls Royce Dart engines, e.g.

28 Suffix for honor 29 Liturgical piece 30 Tropical jam fruit 31 Actress Georgia 36 Nautical spar 37 Composer Satie

38 Warning to drivers 40 Bitter 41 Hampshire College town 43 __ Tin Tin 44 Hired guns 45 Start to bat?

48 Diamond protector 49 Computer operating system since the ’60s

Gus vs. Them | Zachary McCune and Evan Penn

50 Prudent 51 Apt subject for today that’s hidden in this puzzle’s four longest answers 52 They rest on pads 53 Some buglers 54 Old theaters 57 Derby’s home: Abbr.

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE: Free Variation | Jeremy Kuhn

xwordeditor@aol.com

2/14/08

Nightmarishly Elastic | Adam Robbins

T he B rown D aily H erald

By Linda Tay Stevens (c)2008 Tribune Media Services, Inc.

Be our Valentine.

2/14/08

Editorial Phone: 401.351.3372

The Brown Daily Herald (USPS 067.740) is an independent newspaper serving the Brown

Business Phone: 401.351.3260

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

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

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

M etro Thursday, February 14, 2008

Roberts honors federal courthouse anniversary Protestors chant from Kennedy Plaza

By Simon Van Zuylen-Wood Senior Staff Writer

Upwards of 200 people showed up at the United States Courthouse in downtown Providence Tuesday morning, where Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts commemorated the building’s centennial anniversary. The guests inside Courtroom 1 were honoring the courthouse’s storied legacy; those outside were protesting what they felt saw as Roberts’ conser vative political agenda. Roberts’ speech was met with applause and laughter inside the courthouse, but was marred by the constant static of shouting and chanting from Kennedy Plaza.

Roberts was the main attraction of the opening ceremony of the United States Courthouse Centennial Celebration. He is the first sitting Chief Justice to come to Rhode Island on official business in more than 200 years — and the first who didn’t arrive on horseback, joked Bruce Selya, senior judge of the United States Court of Appeals.

Also in attendance were Gov. Donald Carcieri ’65 and Mayor David Cicilline ’83. Other speakers included architect Maurice Finegold and Master of Ceremonies and Chief Judge Mary Lisi.

The five-stor y granite courthouse, which a centur y ago also served as post office and customs house, was honored both for its architectural and historical significance as a Providence landmark.

The dark gray building, located on the east side of Kennedy Plaza across from City Hall, features arched door ways and columns

typical of the beaux-arts architectural style.

Rober ts spoke of the Cour thouse’s place in the state’s legal history and its significance as a city landmark but mostly focused on President Abraham Lincoln, whose 199th birthday was on Tuesday.

Roberts, who reminded the audience that Lincoln carried Rhode Island in both his presidential runs, traced the roots of the 16th president’s legal career. Lincoln “developed an interest in the law at a small, local courthouse in Booneville, Indiana,” Roberts said, adding, “This is a much grander courthouse — and it truly is a grand building, now 100 years old.”

Throughout the ceremony and during Roberts’ speech, protests could be heard from outside the building. Protesters from various groups, including the Spring Mobilization Committee to End War and Occupation, the “Raging Grannies” and Brown’s anti-war group, Operation Iraqi Freedom, hold Roberts partially accountable for what they say is the unjust treatment of detainees in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Providence resident Shane Jones, who was protesting as a member of the Spring Mobilization Committee to End War and Occupation and the International Socialist Organization, handed out flyers detailing Roberts’ culpability in perpetuating the “War on Terror” and in “curtailing civil rights.”

Jones was unconcerned with honoring the courthouse, calling it “a big gallows.”

Chris Murphy, a member of the International Socialist Organization, said Roberts is “not just interpreting law — he’s making law,” adding that “the people of Rhode Island want Guantanamo shut down.”

Mark Morales ’10, who led Brown’s Operation Iraqi Freedom group into Kennedy Plaza and nearby Burnside Park from 10:30 a.m. to noon, said the protest comprised about 70 people at its peak.

Morales said Roberts is complicit in the torture of Guantanamo detainees because he ruled in favor of the federal government in the 2005 case Hamdan vs. Rumsfeld as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. According to Jones, this ruling would have allowed the government to declare any citizen an enemy combatant and impinged upon American civil liberties. The Supreme Court reversed the decision in 2006.

Roberts closed his speech by returning to Abraham Lincoln, saying “I am confident that if judges and lawyers follow his example, those who stand on the steps of this courthouse 100 years from now will also have much to celebrate.”

The protesters standing on the steps of the courthouse Tuesday were successful at least in garnering attention, though it is unclear whether they got their message across to Roberts. Roberts joked about the protesters’ charges, saying “this is a group of people who prefer the Classical Revival style to the Beaux-Arts style.”

After the ceremony, the street outside of the cour thouse was still peppered with protesters, some clad in orange prison-suits.

Morales, who said he was “pretty satisfied” with the protest, was not concerned that Roberts ignored the specifics of the protest. “He can try to write off what the majority of Americans feel, and it doesn’t change the fact that this is a democracy and we have the right to express our opinions.”

Texting and driving could become illegal

By Noura Choudhury Staff Writer

It may soon be illegal for drivers in Rhode Island under the age of 18 to send text messages while driving, though they’ve been banned from using hand-held cell phones since 2006.

At least five states have banned hand-held cell phone use while driving, according to a Jan. 16 article in the Providence Journal. Washington and New Jersey are the only states that have instituted text and instant messaging bans, according to the article.

First- and second-time offenders would incur a $50 fine, while repeated offenses would involve a higher fine and even a revocation of the teenager’s driver’s license until the driver’s 18th birthday, according to the Journal. Though the bill is aimed at teenage drivers, the General Assembly is also considering a bill that would ban all hand-held cell phone use while driving in the state.

Ross Cheit, associate professor of political science and public policy, said that though banning text messaging and hand-held cell phone use while driving will make roads safer, it is already implicitly possible for officers to ticket drivers who text message. If text messaging causes drivers to lose attention and drive erratically, drivers can be ticketed for breaking the

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

“rules of the road,” he said.

The bill only adds a minor specification to behavior that is already illegal, Cheit said.

“I think these kinds of bills are enforcement tools and that the benefit from the point of view of the state is that if you have a specific prohibition against something, it’s then easier to enforce against someone who’s done it,” he said.

Despite the threat of fines, Lauren Reimnitz ’11 said she didn’t think she would change her habits while driving if the law passed.

“The law just changed in California, where I’m from, and it didn’t affect me,” Reimnitz said.

Zohar Atkins ’10 said he does not text message while driving, but he is still opposed to the bill because he believes it “infringes upon human freedom.”

Michael Hoe ’08 occasionally sends text messages while driving, but he said he would probably change his habits if the bill were passed. Still, he doubts how strictly the law could be enforced.

“It’s one thing to be on your phone and they can see it, but if they’re texting and it’s closer to their laps, how are they going to see?” Hoe said.

Lt. John Ryan, commanding officer of the Providence Police Department District 9 substation, which serves College Hill, said the law would be difficult to enforce, but he said that officers would defi-

nitely issue tickets if drivers were caught text messaging after the law went into effect.

“It’d be ver y difficult — you’d have to see somebody doing it inside the car,” Ryan said.

Across the country there have been several cases of text messaging causing car accidents, including one that resulted in the death of a 13-year-old boy in Massachusetts last month, according to the Journal. Ryan was not aware of any cell phone-related accidents in Providence.

Since September 2007, the Department of Public Safety has assisted the PPD with 11 motor vehicle accidents, DPS Executive Officer Paul Shanley wrote in an e-mail to The Herald.

“None of the accidents so far have shown any evidence of cell phone use as a factor in the accident,” Shanley said.

Cicilline ’83 looks toward city’s ‘next bright horizon’

By Rachel Arndt Metro Editor

Though the year ahead may be difficult for Providence residents, Mayor David Cicilline ’83 is “optimistic,” he said in his annual State of the City address Tuesday night.

Providence is “vibrant, revitalized and safe,” the second-term mayor told the crowd at the Rhode Island Convention Center.

“Each year, I have put forward bold challenges for us to reach and then looked ahead toward the next bright horizon in this unfolding story.”

Cicilline, whose term expires in 2011, repeatedly told the audience, “We have to do everything we can to protect Providence families in these increasingly tough times.”

“We have courageously shined a light into our city’s dark shadows,” Cicilline said. “While other cities across America are facing all-out emergencies … we in Providence are experiencing our lowest crime rate in 30 years.”

Providence’s $112 million economy backs up the “investments both in our city’s passion and in our city’s economy,” Cicilline said.

“But even with all of this progress, we still have old business left unfinished.”

The mayor focused much of his speech on the financial conditions of the city, the state and the country.

“Clearly, the largest and most obvious challenge is posed by the state budget crisis,” he said. “The other major challenge is posed by the national economic slowdown and possible recession.”

Rhode Island has recently been plagued with financial trouble, Cicilline said. The state is facing an estimated $384 million deficit this year, prompting Gov. Donald Carcieri ’65 to call for a $12.7 million reduction in funds to local governments, according to a Feb. 1 Providence Journal article.

“The Rhode Island budget crisis casts a dark shadow over the financial well-being of every city and town,” Cicilline said. “If the Governor’s proposal to cut aid to cities and towns in the middle of

the budget year is enacted, we will have to cut services,” Cicilline said.

To combat the state’s shaky economic future, Providence needs to protect its “hard-won momentum,” Cicilline said. “We know in our bones that our best days are ahead of us.”

To maintain its upward swing, the city must focus on education, Cicilline said.

“Investing in our children’s education is the single best way to ensure future economic health,” Cicilline told The Herald.

“Nothing is more important to use than the healthy development and education of our children,” he said. He cited Pathways to Opportunity — a job-finding program — and Stepping Up, a program that aims “to train residents in critical health jobs,” as successful ventures in this area.

The city has already invested $35,000 in the latter program, according to a Nov. 2, 2007 Providence Journal article.

“Our worker training and summer jobs programs in Providence are more robust than ever before,” Cicilline said. These programs help with job placement, sometimes sending participants to the Community College of Rhode Island for job training.

The state budget crisis is “shifting a greater share of education cost to cities and towns,” Cicilline told The Herald. “(The) whole system is broken.”

Despite Cicilline’s enthusiasm for Providence’s future, not everyone in the room was as optimistic.

Dave Talan, chairman of the Providence Republican Party, said the mayor “needs to look for other ways for the city to balance the budget,” such as lowering how much education costs the city.

As the mayor entered and left the room, president of the Providence firefighters union Paul Doughty held up a sign reading, “CicillineLies.com.” The Web site is a fact-finding effort by the union to shed light on what Doughty calls the mayor’s “irresponsible spending,” he told The Herald.

Doughty called Cicilline’s speech “long on form (and) short on substance.”

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Thursday, February 14, 2008

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

W. rugby looks for gold on and off the field continued from page 1 ment of Athletics for extra postseason funds for both this season and next, but the department has been unable to fully fund the trips. Gold estimated the team might need to raise $15,000 to pay for airfare and hotels in the New Mexico portion of the playoffs.

In the past, players have paid for gas in order to carpool to away games when the budget did not include money for a bus.

Gold said the players have been working shifts at the Gate and at concession stands at hockey games to raise funds for the trip.

Although rugby is not an NCAA sport, Brown’s club team has developed into a nationally ranked program. Led by center Emilie Bydwell ’08, who has been training for the national team, the Bears won the Northeast Championships for the first time this season and were ranked No. 1 in the country.

If the squad wins its first two games to advance to the Final Four, which the team failed to do in its 2004 and 2007 playoff appearances, it would have to find about another $15,000 to go to Stanford University on May 2-3 for the finals. After months of raising money, the team would need to do it all over again — and quickly.

“We would just have to go into emergency mode,” Gold said.

Gold’s injured left wrist shows another difficulty the team faces.

Since the athletic trainers are assigned to work with the 37 varsity teams, club athletes usually have to go to Health Services for medical attention.

After an X-ray at Health Services didn’t show anything, Gold continued to play on the team. Later, a sports medicine professional examined her wrist and saw that it was, in fact, broken. Gold said that more medical attention is the highest priority for the team — after salaries for its coaches.

Head Coach Kerrissa Heffernan, who is also the senior associate director of the Swearer Center for Public Service, said the team understands the budgetary restraints of club sports. She was not critical of the Athletic Department’s approach to funding club sports.

The team and the Athletic Department have discussed making rugby a varsity sport.

“We do play varsity-level teams,” said Andi Payne ’10, who plays the position of prop. However, she

added that the responsibility and control the students currently have over the team would be missed and might diminish the appeal of the team for some players.

Susannah Kroeber ’11, a flyhalf for the team, said the team lacks alumni donors. In contrast, the men’s club rugby team has been in existence for longer and has more alums who donate to the team.

The Department of Athletics facilitates fundraising through the Brown University Sports Foundation. But the foundation receives donations for specific teams, not for a general discretionary fund.

“We support (women’s rugby) just like we support any other team,” said Nicole Peters, assistant director of athletic development for the foundation.

Only five schools field women’s rugby teams under the NCAA Emerging Sports program. Of the country’s other programs, many function similarly to Brown’s team.

But Vassar College’s women’s rugby team is notably different.

Their club team has not had much difficulty in obtaining money to attend the playoffs this year or in earlier years, said Vassar Coach Tony Brown. The college’s athletics department pays for Brown to be a full-time coach who runs both the men’s and women’s teams.

“We are a club sport that is treated like a varsity sport,” Brown said. “(The school) recognize(s) that being a contact sport and playing at a collegiate level needs to be supervised.”

Gold said that being a member of the women’s rugby team is “like having a job on campus.” She added, though, that the team’s extra efforts have brought the players closer together. The players work well together and try to keep offfield distractions aside, she said.

“When we’re in a practice, you feel that we’re just playing rugby,” Gold said.

Nevertheless, she said some of the players might soon reach a “breaking point.” Although she said she is confident that the team will find the money to go to the Sweet 16, a trip to the Final Four would come with anxiety — not just about playing for a trophy, but also because of the financial burden it would place on the players and the extra work they would need to do to fly to California.

“It’s a lot to ask student athletes,” Gold said.

Emmy Liss / Herald

West Andrews residents Trent Nelson-Rivers ’11, Roshni Assomull ’11 and Christiana Stephenson ’11 enjoy their new lounge.

Students cook, relax in lounges again continued from page 1 Lounges get temporarily converted to dorm rooms every year, said Richard Bova, dean of the Office of Residential Life.

“We always have to employ lounges to ensure that all students who want housing have it,” Bova said. Students returning from leave are among those who don’t participate in the housing lottery but still need rooms. Administrators aren’t sure how many students they’ll have to accommodate until the beginning of August.

“We can know numbers but we can’t specify identity,” said Thomas Forsberg, associate director of housing and residential life.

Without important information like gender and class year, students cannot be placed in rooms until the last minute.

The lounges ser ve as “swing space,” Bova added. ResLife needs the space “to make sure we can house everyone on opening day,” Bova said. He said he works to move these students living in lounges to standard dorm rooms as quickly as possible.

“Everyone knows we need lounges,” Dahdah said, adding that admin-

istrators “have been very supportive” in making lounges available.

Bova said officials in the Office of Campus Life and Student Services are notifying higher-level administrators of the lack of common space in dorms.

Bova and Forsberg said they will always keep at least some lounges open in each building. But Residential Peer Leaders in Keeney said spaces like Arnold Lounge are not adequate substitutes for hall lounges.

Arnold Lounge requires students to walk outdoors and is constantly being used for outside meetings.

Though students find it a good study space, they are often in need of a place for small group gatherings, some said.

Jameson House resident Mady Heldman ’11 uses Arnold, but said, “It’s nicer to have a place to call our own.”

RC Ben Lowell ’10 said the small lounges increase the amount of casual socializing among residents. His unit received a lounge in October and had a pasta dinner in their new kitchen and lounge to celebrate.

“It’s a place where I see a lot of people congregated at all times of the day,” he said.

Heldman and her neighbors received a lounge last week, but prior to that, had no common spaces where the entire unit could gather.

“We weren’t ver y united as a unit — we had to hang out in small groups in rooms,” she said. “We were more of a group of cliques than a group as a whole” Dahdah recalled having a pizza party in the hallway last year in his Keeney unit, which had no lounge.

Ortiz said her residents used to congregate, and even study, in the laundry room.

She and her fellow RPLs have had a hard time procuring space for their programs, resorting to their community director’s apartment and renting Arnold Lounge. Students were less likely to attend if the event was outside of the unit, she said.

“Now we don’t have to drag people to events,” she said. “We can say, ‘It’s right here!’”

Dahdah said he had the same difficulty last year with attendance when events were not easily accessible. But the lounges promise to be a helpful tool for his RPLs, he said.

“We no longer have to worr y about making do,” he said. “If the space is on the hall, people will come.”

UCS talks renovations, chairs continued from page 1 UCS also held elections for a vacant at-large representative position.

After a heated debate on the merits of electing a current associate member over a former UCS member, Michael MacCombie ’11, an associate member of UCS since September, beat Associate Member Jerry Cedrone ’11, Kieran Fitzgerald ’10 and former Campus Life Chair Brian Becker ’09, who was not on UCS while studying abroad last semester. Associate members attend UCS meetings but have no voting power.

Melea Atkins ’10 was elected Corporation liaison. The position was left vacant by the recent resignation of Martin Bell ’10, who addressed UCS to explain that he resigned for personal reasons.

UCS also confirmed the first seven members of its UFB oversight task force, who include Herald University Account Manager and UCS Alumni Liasion Ellen DaSilva ’10, UCS’ representative on UFB Stefan Smith ’09, Alex Seitz-Wald ’08, Beth Dresdale ’10, Nicholas Leiserson ’09,

Brian Lee ’09 and Ji-Hee Shin ’09 .

In other UCS news, Facilities Management allowed students to express their views on 11 different classroom chair options today in the Sharpe Refectory after the council suggested that it solicit student input.

Drew Madden ’10, student activities chair, told The Herald that he served on a task force created to examine various options for classroom renovations after the Office of the President made funding available for the purpose.“There are so many things that could be bad about a chair,” he said. Gresh said he suggested the Ratty as the location since students go there anyway.

Students reacted well to the chair display, which included an easel to allow students to vote their preferences. “I think it’s a good thing that they’re considering students’ preferences instead of just going over our heads,” Julian Jimarez-Howard ’11 said. “We can only hope” that Facilities Management will actually take students’ input into account, he added.

Rahul Keerthi / Herald

Students tested different classroom chair designs at the Ratty yesterday.

“The Ratty is the kind of like the one unifying factor throughout Brown’s campus,” said James Rowan ’08, praising the location of the chair display.

Other students were skeptical that their feedback would be acted upon. “It seems like a great way to make us content with whatever comes out of this,” Madeleine Avendano ’11 said.

C ampus n ews Thursday, February 14, 2008

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Bringing humans into CS, by way of robots In partnership with corporations, other universities and historically black colleges, the University is working to encourage more African-American students to study computer science.

The medium chosen for this project? Robots.

The Advancing Robotics Technology for Societal Impact Alliance, which is funded by a three-year, $2-million grant from the National Courtesy of brown.edu Science Foundation, connects historically black colleges and research A new partnership will connect African-American students and robots. institutions to foster collaboration.

The alliance includes Brown and 15 other institutions, as well as several corporate partners, among them Microsoft and Apple, according to its Web site.

“African Americans now account for just 4.8 percent of almost 2 million U.S. computer and information scientists,” according to a University press release. This job category is projected by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics to be one of the fastest-growing fields over the next decade, and the University joined the alliance in an effort to encourage more African-American students to get involved.

Chad Jenkins, assistant professor of computer science, is heading the alliance at Brown. According to Jenkins, the alliance hopes to provide channels for students from historically black colleges and universities to do research at places like Brown.

“Robotics is something everybody gets,” he said, citing the growing prevalence of robots in everyday life, from vacuum cleaners to the cruise control function in cars.

Through the alliance, Jenkins is already planning to take on interns for this summer to work with the Brown Robotics Group. This student research group, led by Jenkins, studies human-robot interaction and robot learning, he said. The interns will be from participating historically black universities and will be matched to Brown by their schools’ advisers.

Along with engaging interested students in advanced robot research, Jenkins said he hopes to work on making low-cost robot platforms available to anyone. For him and his team, this means creating programs and equipment that are both easy to use and affordable.

“To advance computing technology and robotics,” Jenkins said in the press release, “we need as many great minds in the field as possible.”

— Anne Deggelman

Prof. finds Alzheimer’s makes driving risky Alzheimer’s disease, in its early stages, may significantly increase the risks of driving, according to a recent study by Professor of Clinical Neurosciences Brian Ott. Patients with early stages of Alzheimer’s disease experienced a more rapid and greater decline on driving tests than other elderly people, according to an article by Ott, director of Rhode Island Hospital’s Alzheimer’s Disease and Memory Disorders Center, published by the Courtesy of brown.edu journal Neurology last month.

Proessor of Clinical Neuroscience Brian Ott The study tested the driving ability of 128 elderly individuals — 84 in the early stages of Alzheimer’s and 44 of normal cognitive ability — over a three-year period. The patients self-reported their driving accidents, which researchers verified with state records.

The motivation behind the experiment was to allow government officials to make informed decisions about driving safety regulations, Ott said. Ultimately, he added, he would like further research on the topic to yield a “simple and reliable screening test” to evaluate cognitively impaired drivers.

The study encountered several surprises — first, how few accidents the Alzheimer’s group had, in part because the study recommended patients refrain from driving once they became hazardous, effectively removing the most dangerous drivers from the roads.

Another surprise was that cognitively normal drivers also experienced a decline in driving ability, though it was not as rapid as the drop off in the Alzheimer’s group.

Ott’s study is the most recent of several that draws attention to the University’s leading role in aging research. Fifty-thousand-dollar grants were recently awarded to two professors for extending the lives of fruit flies, and in November, the National Institute on Aging awarded a $10-million grant to Brown to study long-term care in nursing homes.

Drivers with Alzheimer’s initially experience difficulty processing visual information and later have trouble executing decisions, leading to particular problems at intersections, Ott said.

The study also found that lower education, increased age and cognitive impairment independently caused poorer driving performance.

In further research, Ott said he plans to place cameras in elderly people’s cars to circumvent the anxiety of a formal road-testing situation that often skews results. ­— Lauren Pischel

Andean leaders discuss region’s future South American ambassadors speak

By Patrick Corey Staff Writer

Andean leaders joined prominent Latin American scholars on campus Tuesday and Wednesday to discuss the region’s future at a conference.

Hosted by Brown’s Center for Latin American Studies and the Watson Institute for International Studies, the conference featured a keynote discussion with diplomats from Ecuador, Venezuela and Bolivia.

Called “Changes in the Andes: Realities, Challenges and Opportunities for Inter-American Relations,” the conference comprised five panels. The panels, which focused on themes including social equality, sustainability and the role of natural resources in the Andes, each featured one speaker on behalf of each of the three countries and a commentator in a discussion moderated

by Brown faculty members.

The keynote event, a roundtable discussion held on Tuesday in a halffull Salomon 101, featured ambassadors from Ecuador and Venezuela, Luis Benigno Gallegos Chiriboga and Bernardo Alvarez Herrera, and the first minister in the Bolivian embassy to the United States, Virginia Aillon. After introductions from James Green, director of the

Center for Latin American studies, and former Sen. Lincoln Chafee ’75, a visiting fellow in international studies at the Watson Institute, the participants spoke in turn about the problems with neo-liberal reforms in their countries.

After their comments, the group fielded questions first from Christopher Lydon, a media personality and visiting fellow at the Watson Institute, and then from the audience.

While Lydon’s questions focused on the diplomats’ thoughts on the Democratic presidential primary race, some students asked Alvarez questions about the policies of Hugo Chavez’s government.

The conference was meant to shed light on the democratic transformations happening in a region largely ignored by the American media. The elections of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez in 1998, Bolivian president Evo Morales in 2005 and Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa in 2006 all represent the transition of power in the region from right-wing reformists to the people, Aillon said.

“Our concern was to create within the academic world a dialogue about what is going on in Latin America,” Green said. He criticized mainstream coverage of the region, saying that one of the conference’s goals was “to overcome the stereotypes and the hysteria that exist in the U.S. media.”

Green said the conference will produce a policy statement to send

to Congress and presidential candidates. The statement will increase awareness of Latin America as more than just a place from which people emigrate to the U.S., Green said.

The Center for Latin American Studies will also produce an edited collection of articles based on the conference discussions to be printed in an academic publication, Green said. Green said he hopes to make the “Changes in the Andes” conference an annual event at Brown that focuses on a different theme every year, such as the environment, drug policy and indigenous movements.

He also said he hopes to engage David Kennedy ’76, vice president for international affairs, in an effort to establish a permanent institute at Brown in which Latin American leaders can meet with scholars and policy makers to discuss how to make “better policies for the world.”

Over winter break, David Poritz ’11, while working for a non-profit in Ecuador, helped organize the conference by scheduling leaders’ visits to Brown. “I think it was a huge accomplishment,” he said. “The Andean region is so important. Politically, economically — it’s becoming a real global player..”

Poritz said he hopes for a continued dialogue on the transformations in the Andes at Brown and a change in the American attitude toward the region. He called the event an “inauguration,” and said it “represents the beginning of a movement regarding the Andean region in America.”

Exhibit puts Quebec on display

By Sara Sunshine Contributing Writer

The John Carter Brown Library is commemorating the anniversary of famous navigator Samuel de Champlain’s establishment of Quebec in 1608 with a new exhibit.

The exhibit, “Hostile Intimacy: A Century and a Half of Conflict Between New France and New England,” opened in December. It will remain at Brown until the endof February, when it will move to the Boston Public Library. Visitors can see the exhibit for free.

The display’s variety of media illustrate the history between New France — including territory that is now Quebec — and New England from 1608 to 1776. The exhibit has poetr y, maps, documents, drawings and engravings from the era.

It includes “Bref Discours,” the first manuscript that describes Champlain’s travels, and his first published book, “Des Sauvages”, according to a Feb. 7 University press release.

The John Carter Brown Library’s approximately 10-book collection of Champlain documents is “very good,” said Susan Danforth, assistant librarian for library operations and curator of maps and prints.

But the library needed about 70 pieces to create an adequate “visual narrative,” said Danforth, who is also the exhibit’s curator. So she completed the exhibit with other pieces from the library’s collection that, though not authored by Champlain, were related to the topic of relations between New France and New England.

Danforth began working on the

Alex DePaoli / Herald

The John Carter Brown Library has a new exhibit on the history of Quebec. exhibit in September. She wanted to display the way the “antagonism” between the French and English played out in a nascent America, she said.

Danforth added that she wanted the exhibit to address a broader time period, rather than adhering to the traditional focus on the French and Indian War, which took place from 1754 to 1763.

After the exhibit relocates to Boston in March, it will acquire another piece called the “Cellere Codex,” a manuscript account of Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano’s early 16th-century travels up the Northeast’s Atlantic Coast and his stay in Narragansett Bay. The piece is on loan from the Morgan Library and

Museum in New York.

The manuscript is “one of the most important documents in the history of exploration,” according to the University press release.

“It’s a stunner,” Danforth said.

Ted Widmer, director and librarian of the John Carter Brown Library, said the exhibit will “highlight a world-class collection that is not all that well-known to the Brown community.”

Widmer said he hoped the display would help visitors appreciate the importance of the time period.

“If things had turned out a little differently, we might all be cheering for the New France Patriots,” he said.

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Itty-bitty classes please undergrad shoppers continued from page 1 teaching the small class, she added that “the reason I have this job is because I like philosophy and I wouldn’t mind reaching a few more students.”

Last semester, PPAI 0700A: “Issues Facing Education Policy,” a freshman seminar, also had three students.

“It was a really good chance to get to know someone that is an expert in their field,” Christiana Stephenson ’11 said. She said the instructor, Postdoctoral Research Associate in Public Policy Charisse Gulosino, “wanted us to get real knowledge and discussion ... Because there are only three people, you have the advantage of being able to slow down and get explanations.”

One of the unique aspects of taking a small class is that students get a chance to know their classmates and professor, Stephenson said. The students would eat din-

ner at the Verney-Woolley Dining Hall together after ever y class and on the final day of the course they went out to dinner at Meeting Street Cafe with Gulosino.

“The three of us are really good friends now and we got to know a faculty member, which is a privilege, especially for freshmen,” Stephenson said.

Small classes allow for increased collaboration and feedback, she said, adding that they also force students to stay on top of readings, lecture notes and attendance because any lapse will be immediately obvious in class.

Despite the increased pressure, Stephenson said most students feel that the benefits of small classes make them worth taking.

“I think that a lot of people (who shopped the course) decided that they just didn’t want an intense seminar in education policy,” Stephenson said. “None seemed to not want to take it because of the size.”

www.browndailyherald.com

W orld & n ation Thursday, February 14, 2008

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Texas, Ohio now must-wins for Clinton Mastermind of Beirut bombing killed in attack

By Dan Balz and Anne E. Kornblut Washington Post

WASHINGTON — After big losses to Sen. Barack Obama in Tuesday’s Potomac Primary, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton signaled Wednesday that she will challenge her rival more aggressively, launching new television ads and attempting to overcome the Obama campaign’s clear organizational advantages.

The pummeling she took in Maryland, Virginia and Washington D.C. raised new questions about her campaign’s message and strategy, which Democratic strategists said she must fix if she hopes to slow Obama’s growing momentum in time to defeat him in what are now must-win contests in Ohio and Texas on March 4.

“I don’t believe she can wait to March 4,” Democratic strategist Bill Carrick said. “She has to make a stand (in Wisconsin). There is a national trend taking hold in state after state. The early polls show a big lead and then start to evaporate when the campaign gets engaged.

Texas and Ohio are not demographic enclaves immune from the national political trend.”

Added another Democratic strategist: “She is doing shockingly little right now to refresh and recharge her message, to make herself or her campaign interesting or to offer a credible alternative (to) Obama’s narrative of what the race is about. ... She has to find a way to do those things on the way to Texas and Ohio.”

Maggie Williams, Clinton’s new campaign manager, conveyed the sense of urgency felt inside the campaign when she said during a conference call she and Clinton held Wednesday that a number of aides had spent the night at the Virginia headquarters.

Clinton was described as energetic during the 40-minute conference call with supporters, according to one person who listened in. She noted the campaign’s fundraising of late and pointed out that Ohio and Texas have enough delegates at stake to vault her back into the lead if she does well.

Clinton’s first step in trying to reverse Obama’s momentum came early Wednesday with a release of a new ad criticizing her rival for refusing to debate in Wisconsin before next Tuesday’s primary. But while that suggested Clinton may get tougher with Obama, her initial moves were

tentative. Speaking at a rally in McAllen, Texas, Wednesday morning, she said, “I am in the solutions business.

My opponent is in the promises business. I think we need answers, not questions.”

Later, in Robstown, Texas, she addressed the issue of change that has been at the heart of Obama’s message. “There’s a lot of talk in this campaign about what kind of change we’re going to have,” she said. “Well, let me just say change is going to happen whether we want it or not.

Change is part of life. Change is a constant. The question is who can master and direct change so it actually results in progress for America.”

During a press conference, she smiled as she brushed off Tuesday’s defeats, noting that her husband had lost Maryland in 1992. “Some weeks one of us is up, and the other’s down, and then we reverse it,” Clinton said.

The television ad in Wisconsin highlighted one goal of the Clinton campaign, which is to force Obama to agree to more debates. The two are scheduled to meet on Feb. 21 in Texas and on Feb. 26 in Ohio. But advisers continued on page 8

Senate bars waterboarding; veto expected

By Greg Miller Los Angeles T imes

WASHINGTON — In a sharp rebuke to the White House, the Senate passed legislation Wednesday that would impose sweeping restrictions on interrogation methods used by the CIA and ban a condemned technique known as waterboarding, in which a prisoner is made to feel he is drowning.

President Bush is expected to veto the bill, which would outlaw an array of coercive interrogation tactics that U.S. allies have denounced but the administration has claimed are critical to preventing terrorist attacks.

The measure, which already has passed in the House, would require the CIA to abide by interrogation guidelines adopted by the U.S. Army in the aftermath of the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal.

Because of the looming veto threat, the Senate vote was seen in some ways as a political showdown over one of the most divisive issues in the country’s response to the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Last week, the CIA confirmed it has used waterboarding and the White House said the technique could be authorized again — reigniting a controversy over human rights and national security.

The debate has ties to two other sensitive issues: the Bush administration’s decision this week to seek the death penalty in military commission trials for six accused Sept. 11 plotters and its push for congressional approval of expanded electronic surveillance in a measure that immunizes phone companies for their role in past spying. The Senate passed such a bill this week, and House members are debating whether to go along.

Many Democratic lawmakers have denounced waterboarding as a form of torture that has undermined U.S. moral standing.

“To me, this is really a very big day,” said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, DCalif., sponsor of the provision that

would limit interrogation methods.

“Torture is out.”

But leading Republicans ­— as well as conservative Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia — have defended the legality of what the CIA refers to as “enhanced” interrogation techniques.

The decision by Republicans to allow a vote on the measure — forgoing procedural moves that could have blocked it from coming to the floor — suggested party leaders saw political advantage in avoiding the showdown and setting up a presidential veto. The bill was approved 51-45 in the Senate after passing the House in December, 222-199. Neither margin would be sufficient to override a veto.

Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the presumed GOP nominee for president and a former prisoner of war in Vietnam, voted against the measure, even though he is singularly identified with the issue of enlightened treatment of detainees.

McCain led earlier efforts in the Senate to ban cruel treatment of prisoners and has denounced waterboarding in presidential debates.

But preserving the CIA’s ability to employ so-called enhanced interrogation methods has broad support in the party’s conservative base.

In a statement, McCain explained his vote against the measure by saying he believes waterboarding is illegal under existing U.S. law but does not want to bind U.S. intelligence officers to restrictions designed for the military.

“I believe that our energies are better directed at ensuring that all techniques, whether used by the military or the CIA, are in full compliance with our international obligations and in accordance with our deepest values,” McCain said.

The leading Democratic contenders for president, Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Barack Obama of Illinois, did not vote.

The Senate split largely along party lines, although five Republicans voted for the measure, and one Democrat, Sen. Ben Nelson of

Nebraska, voted against it.

Civil liberties groups praised the outcome. Elisa Massimino, Washington director of Human Rights First, called the vote momentous and said that, if enforced, the law would “ensure that the United States no longer employs interrogation methods it would condemn if used by our enemies against captured Americans.”

The vote was not on a stand-alone interrogation measure but on broader legislation that sets the spending priorities for the U.S. intelligence community in the coming year.

The original bill included no language on the treatment of detainees.

That provision was inserted during negotiations between the Senate and the House. Feinstein’s added language would bar all U.S. agencies from using “any treatment or technique of interrogation not authorized by the United States Army Field Manual.”

Under existing law, only prisoners in U.S. military custody are afforded such protections. The CIA abides by a different set of rules — spelled out in an executive order signed by Bush in July ­— that allows the agency to use an array of harsh methods, including sleep deprivation and so-called stress positions.

After the Senate vote, White House spokesman Tony Fratto said that “for a number of reasons, the president’s advisers would recommend a veto of this bill.”

In acknowledging last week that the agency had used waterboarding on three prisoners in 2002 and 2003, CIA Director Michael Hayden said information from those prisoners accounted for roughly one-third of the CIA’s intelligence reports on alQaida in the aftermath of Sept. 11.

The Army Field manual bans all but 19 interrogation approaches. It outlaws sleep deprivation and the practice of putting prisoners in stress positions designed to cause pain.

It also bans unwarranted touching of detainees, the use of dogs to intimidate and subjecting prisoners to extremes in temperature.

By Ziad Haidar and Jeffrey Fleishman Los Angeles T imes

DAMASCUS, Syria — A senior Hezbollah militia leader, wanted by the U.S. for helping mastermind a series of deadly attacks over two decades, including the 1983 bombing that killed 241 American troops in Beirut, Lebanon, has been killed in a downtown neighborhood here, security officials said Wednesday.

Hezbollah quickly accused Israel of plotting the assassination of Imad Mughniyeh, 46, who they said died in a car bomb attack late Tuesday evening. Jerusalem denied involvement, but the killing is likely to further aggravate tensions in Lebanon, where domestic political turmoil and Hezbollah’s crossborder hostilities with Israel have inflamed the region for years.

The death was a blow to Hezbollah’s military wing and Lebanon and Israel braced for how the Shiite militant group might respond. The incident also raised questions whether Syria may have carried out the killing to improve its relations with the West, or if Damascus’ sprawling intelligence network had been penetrated by outside plotters.

Syria condemned the assassination, with Interior Minister Bassam Abdil Majieed reading a statement saying that “the investigation is underway to find the perpetrators.”

Syrian officials said Mughniyeh,

also known by the nom de guerre, Hajj Radwan, spent most of his time in Tehran rather than Damascus.

Iran, a key Hezbollah ally believed to have regarded Mughniyeh as a strategic asset for creating mischief in the region, blamed Israel as did the radical Palestinian group, Hamas, which promised revenge.

The assassination of Mughniyeh “is the result and another prominent example of organized state terrorism by the Zionist regime,” Mohammad Ali Hosseini, Iran’s foreign ministr y spokesman, told Iran IRNA state news agency.

“After a life filled with jihad, sacrifices and achievements ... the leader Hajj Imad Mughniyeh (Hajj Radwan) was martyred by Israeli Zionists,” Hezbollah said in its statement. The militant group said that Mughniyeh, sought by the FBI with a $25 million bounty for his capture, had been an Israeli target for more than 20 years.

A statement released by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Omert’s office said: “Israel rejects the attempt by terrorist elements to ascribe to it any involvement whatsoever in this incident.” Israeli security officials and military analysts, nonetheless said they were thrilled at the news.

“We are all replaceable and Mughniyeh too will be replaced but this is undoubtedly a harsh blow continued on page 8

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Clinton encouraged to change her image continued from page 7 to the senator from New York are anxious for more, believing they are the best opportunity to shift the focus from talk of Obama’s gathering momentum to comparisons on matters of substance and readiness.

Wisconsin presents a challenge to Clinton. The campaign had sent mixed signals about how actively she would compete there, and she can ill afford another loss the size of those she suffered on Tuesday.

Lopsided victories by Obama not only add to his lead in the delegate hunt but create an unmistakable sense of momentum that could overwhelm Clinton on March 4.

Top Clinton strategists dismissed the idea that Obama’s momentum is

strong enough to carry him through the next three weeks, noting that perceptions have swung wildly from week to week depending on the outcome of state-by-state contests. Walter Mondale in 1984 and Jimmy Carter in 1980 lost key primaries before winning the nomination, chief strategist Mark Penn reminded reporters during a conference call.

But others in the party, including some who have been backing Clinton, say Obama’s winning streak has raised the stakes considerably.

“She absolutely must win both Ohio and Texas to stay alive,” one strategist noted. “Most of all, she has to find a way to change the fundamental dynamic of the race.”

“She has got to get her voice back,” wrote another strategist, who

urged the Clinton campaign to recapture what worked in New Hampshire a month ago. “No one can stand hearing or seeing her because she does not sound or look authentic. She’s got to show her authentic self. ... Her problem is enormous, though she can overcome it. She needs to win and she needs a new voice, and she needs to manage her spouse.”

Democrats outside the Clinton campaign said she must build her recovery — particularly in Wisconsin and Ohio — on white voters who do not have a college degree.

These voters stayed largely loyal on Tuesday when other groups were defecting. They went 61 percent to 32 percent for Clinton in Maryland and 57 percent to 42 percent for Clinton in Virginia.

Hezbollah leader killed in suicide attack continued from page 7 to Hezbollah — not only to morale but to the personal security,” Danny Yatom, a member of the Knesset and former chief of Mossad, told Israeli media. “Leaders will now understand that they are not immune. In addition, this deals a blow to Hezbollah capabilities, as it will take time for someone else to achieve the scope of his experience.”

In Washington, the Bush administration applauded Mughniyeh’s killing, calling him one of the world’s most dangerous terrorists and a cold-blooded murderer who was responsible for many dozens of deaths.

“The world is a better place without this man in it,” said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack.

“One way or another he was brought to justice.”

A mercurial figure occasionally appearing in grainy black-and-white photographs, Mughniyeh purportedly led Islamic Jihad during Lebanon’s civil war in the 1980s. He had close ties to Iran and was indicted in the U.S. for the 1985 hijacking of

a TWA airliner. He was suspected of having a role in the 1983 bombings of the U.S. Embassy and Marine and French peacekeeping barracks here that killed a total of 350 people.

During the 1980s and 1990s, Mughniyeh had the aura of a terrorist strategist arranging strikes across an unstable Middle East. He was involved in the kidnappings of several westerners in Lebanon, authorities say, and was wanted for the 1992 attacks on the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina. There were also allegations that his militant wing had a hand in the 1996 bombing of the Khobar Towers in Saudia Arabia that killed 19 Americans.

A master at concealing his identity, Mughniyeh was believed to be one of the key security officials supervising Hezbollah’s war against Israeli troops in the summer of 2006.

That conflict emboldened Hezbollah and patron Iran and further destabilized Lebanon while leading to questions about whether Syria would continue meddling in Lebanese politics as it quietly attempted to improve relations with the West.

“The guy is a legend,” said a rank-

ing official in one Palestinian militant group with offices in Damascus who spoke on condition of anonymity.

“He has been in hiding for at least 20 years. He has changed his appearance three times by having plastic surgery. Every time we met, he had to reintroduce himself to me.”

Samir Frangieh, a Lebanese member of Parliament who belongs to the pro-western March 14 party, said Wednesday that it was possible Syria carried out the bombing “to strike a deal” with the U.S. that would allow Damascus to be cleared in a U.N. investigation into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. A U.N. report has strongly indicated Damascus involvement in the Hariri slaying, which occurred three years ago Thursday.

“Mughniyeh was one of Hezbollah’s main military leaders,” said Walid Sharara, a Beirut-based political analyst who is an expert on Hezbollah. “This is equivalent to a declaration of war on Hezbollah by Israel and a message of threats to Syria.”

Amos N. Guiora, a former senior Israeli counter-terrorism official and military judge, said he did not know who killed Mughniyeh, but that the operation had all the hallmarks of an Israeli operation and that it was similar to others that the Jewish state has launched over the years against terrorists who have attacked its civilians in Israel and elsewhere.

“One plus one leads me to the conclusion that it was us but I have no inside information,” said Guiora, who was involved in legal and policy aspects of targeted killings for the Israeli government. “If indeed it was us, it would send a clear message about the long arm of Israel, that sooner or later you will be tracked down and you will be killed, that you are not safe anywhere.”

The car bomb was detonated in a posh residential neighborhood near the center of the capital Damascus around 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday, media reports said. Witnesses were quoted as saying that one passerby was also killed in the blast.

A crushed Mitsubishi vehicle was seen being taken away from the crime scene, media reports said.

Authorities in Damascus did not provide any comment on the incident.

The Al-Jazeera TV network quoted Sami Abu Zuhri, a Palestinian Hamas official as saying: “We urge the Muslim and Arab nations to act decisively against the Zionist octopus that threatens the security of Arab and Muslim countries.”

He added that Israel faced “unprecedented attacks” if it was behind the killing.

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Davis ’10: Three weeks of hoops beat an hour of football continued from page 12 competitors are regular, untainted kids. This makes the drama of winning and losing, mistakes and miracle shots and team rivalries much more compelling. These kids wear their emotions on their sleeves, and those watching can feel their joy, pain and ecstasy right along with them. This is in stark contrast to the greedy, self-serving and self-centered nature of the NFL. During March Madness, it’s about the competition, and it’s about the team.

From a purely logistical standpoint, March Madness has an advantage due to its length. Three weeks of intense action, excitement, and drama beats one four hour slot, no matter how exciting those four hours are. This is especially true because, while getting a compelling storyline and a dramatic game in the Super Bowl is hit or miss (who cares about the Bears vs. Colts?), during March Madness you are guaranteed to have lots of close, intense games with many intertwining storylines running throughout the entire tournament.

One of the most compelling storylines, and one that the NCAA tourney has a virtual monopoly on in the sports world, is the upset.

Who can forget George Mason’s Cinderella run in 2006, when the number eleven seed in the D.C. Regional made it all the way to the Final Four, disposing several bigname schools along the way, including the bracket’s number one seed UConn. Emotional and improbable runs like that can only happen in such a scene as the NCAA tournament. Because of the age of the players, the pressure with which they must constantly battle and the nightly intensity of the tourna-

ment, upsets happen more often and in more exciting fashion during March Madness than in any other sporting event.

And one of the reasons upsets are so compelling during the tournament, besides the objective drama of an underdog performing at peak levels to dethrone a better team, is that we spectators are much more invested in the outcomes of each game. Whereas in the Super Bowl, when basically only two cities get to root for their team, during March Madness, everyone can start with a team, or a few teams, that they can truly root for. This, coupled with the obvious added investment of filling out a bracket and putting money on the line, makes for a much more involved and interested spectator.

Let’s face it: the Super Bowl is a media construct. Even its name is sensational. If not for all of the hype and the advertisements, the relentless press coverage and the mindless babble, it would not continually be the most-watched event of the year. This is indicative of the values of the NFL as a whole, where gluttonous, self-serving characters such as Terrell Owens and Jerry Jones are the biggest stars. When it comes down to it, the atmosphere, purity of players and competition, transcending storylines and just general intensity make March Madness a far better sports spectacle than the Super Bowl. So, while you all may be celebrating Eli Manning finally hitting puberty or perhaps looking ahead to next year with high hopes, I have only to look ahead a few weeks. Now that’s something to get excited about.

Patrick Davis ’10 is mad — absolutely mad — for March Madness

M. lax looks to freshman to bring team up on field continued from page 12 League with 13.00 saves per game, while ranking fifth nationally with a .624 save percentage.

Despite the plethora of returning stars from last year’s team, Brown will also look to its freshman class to make an impact this season.

“We have an excellent incoming freshman class,” Sharnick said. “I think they’ll see a lot of playing time and be able to help us out, whether in a starting spot or a specialized role.”

Though the Bears had many bright spots in their 2007 season, often cracking the top 20 in national polls, the season had its fair share of disappointments, as well. After a 6-3 start, Brown lost four of its

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last five games to finish 7-7 overall and 1-5 in Ivy League play. All five league losses came by three goals or less, including a four-overtime 9-8 loss to Dartmouth.

“Ivy league games are different from non-conference games for us because the Ivy League is one of the strongest, if not the strongest, leagues in the country,” Sharnick said. “If a ground ball goes one way or the other, it can decide the outcome of a game. I just attribute (our struggles) to great competition in the league.”

This season, though, the team has its sights set higher.

“Our ultimate goal is to win an Ivy League championship and be a contender for the national championship,” Sharnick said.

W. track puts up a mighty performance continued from page 12 Thelma Breezeatl ’10 finished second in the 55-meter dash and third in the 200-meter dash. Although the 200-meter finish was a personal best for Breezeatl, she was even more pleased with the team’s performance.

“Sprinters came out strong this weekend, we all did ver y well,” Breezeatl said. “It felt good to see that we’re beginning to hit all of our times though there ís always room for improvement.”

In the 200 meter Akilah King ’08 had a strong finish, posting a time of 24.80 seconds, while teammates Lucy Higgins ’11 and Natasha Smith ’11 were close behind. In the 400 meter Higgins finished ninth with a time of 57.09 seconds.

“Our sprinters definitely improved and overall ran faster than they have all season. The BU track is a banked track and a fast surface, which helped out a lot,” Lake said.

Samantha Adelberg ’11 was the Bears’ leader in the 800 meter with a third place finish of 2:11.98. This was a personal best for Adelberg, placing her sixth all-time at Brown. In the 1,000 meter Michaeline Nelson ’11 finished ninth in 2:59.76, while Smita Gupta ’08 had a 9:30.28 finish in the 3,000 meter. Not only was this a personal best, but it was good enough to break the Brown school record and earn her the 24th best time in the nation. It also provisionally qualified Gupta for nationals in the event. Even though Gupta had a very successful run, she said she still feels she can improve.

“I definitely went into the race hoping to PR (set a personal record)

from my 3K performances last year and hoping to run at least around the time that I did,” Gupta said. “I’m still hoping to run that event faster this season, but I was definitely happy with the result.”

Gupta was quick to mention her running partner Ariel Wright ’10, who also had a very successful day at the track, finishing third in the 5,000 meter with a time of 16:49.41.

Wright’s performance puts her fifth all-time at Brown.

“It felt great to see my training partner, Ariel Wright, PR by 10 seconds in the 5K. There’s some real gratification in knowing that our very similar training pays off in many of the same ways.” Gupta said.

In the field it was a slightly different story. While there were first place finishes in the track events, the best in the field was Rachel Biblo ’11, who earned third place in the long jump with a jump of 17-10.75 feet. In the shot-put Danielle Grunloh ’10

took home a fourth-place finish and Brynn Smith ’11 placed behind her at eighth. In the pole vault it was Tiffany Chang ’08 leading the Bears, finishing in eighth while Cassandra Wong ’10 and Kristen Olds ’09 tied for 16th.

The women are looking forward to this weekend in Hanover, N.H. at the Dartmouth Invitational. They are ready to compete in a team scored event and expect to continue their success as the season winds down and the Ivy League Championships get closer.

“Our women’s team is really strong. We have tremendous leadership in our senior class and we have a very good work ethic,” Lake said. “We also have solid depth and we have very good talent. It is a close knit group that is willing to work extremely hard. Our staff is truly excited by our potential and definitely proud that things are going so well.”

E ditorial & L etters Page 10

Thursday, February 14, 2008

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

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

Common ground First-years, rejoice! Five more lounges, rightfully yours but long occupied by trespassing upperclassmen, are now available for your social needs!

Let’s be frank. On-campus housing at Brown is in a sorry state. Our dorms are old, with many in need of interior renovations, more reliable heating or at least a new coat of paint. Sophomores with high lottery numbers regularly end up living in close proximity to raucous Greek houses, even when that’s the last thing they want. The brutalist, misshapen Graduate Center is highly prized among sophomores and juniors.

Upperclassmen decamp for houses and apartments off campus at the first opportunity.

But University officials have noticed. The report from the Committee on the Residential Experience is renewing calls we’ve heard from our hallmates for years — to establish a stronger sense of community in dormitories, and not just in freshman dorms. Nebulous plans are being laid for new or expanded residence halls, even though it’s likely that current undergraduates won’t see those completed before their graduation. Changes to the fee structure are being considered, with the goal of allowing any student lucky enough to have apartment-style housing to be able to pay for it. And despite some students’ horror stories, the Office of Residential Life is doing an admirable job, given what they have to work with.

The most recent development involves the lounges scattered throughout first-year units. ResLife’s stated policy is to use these lounges as “swing space,” which gives them a small buffer when trying to place hundreds of students whose housing plans change at the last minute.

This semester, though, marked the return of all but one of these lounges to those who need them most: first-year students. And though we didn’t all have lounges in our first year here, we’re sure that lounges tangibly increase the quality of life for those freshmen.

Most students need a place in which to socialize, study, cook or hang out. A double bedroom, a laundry room, a hall — these can’t always meet that need. Lounges in first-year units, though, can; by providing space for meetings, study groups, unit functions, and even parties.

Every year, dozens of students who want to live off campus are denied permission to do so. At the same time, a few dozen are living in converted lounges, and in so doing, denying the best living situations to hundreds of freshmen. On face, having a centralized student body — in which everyone lives on campus — sounds great. But at least for the near future, until new apartment-style dorms are offered on campus, ResLife should make this quick solution: Allow a few more off-campus each semester, and get a much happier first-year student body.

The University should commit to keeping first-year units’ common spaces free common use. The removal of upperclassmen from those lounges may not be heralded by students as the panacea for all our housing ills, but it represents a key first step in the right direction.

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

A D am R obbins

L e tt e r s U. will provide off-campus parking and other resources To the Editor: We are writing to provide further clarification with regard to the plan for university parking for undergraduate students next academic year. An article in Friday’s Herald (“No more parking for students on campus,” Feb. 8) gave the impression that undergraduate students who choose to bring a car to school would be on their own for parking next year. That is not the case.

It is true that given the construction on campus, the supply of available parking spaces is in high demand.

The University, in collaboration with other College Hill neighbors and the city, has been working hard on a variety of initiatives to manage both the supply and the demand for parking as well as reduce carbon emissions from motor vehicles.

These initiatives include the highly successful RIPTA UPASS program which allows any Brown Card holder to ride public transportation anywhere in Rhode Island free of charge. Also available to the Brown community is the Zipcar program which, with the minimum age for users soon to be reduced to 18, is an excellent transportation option for students.

Next year the University will continue to provide parking for undergraduate students, but at a location off of College Hill. We are in the process of identifying

an appropriate location within approximately two miles of the campus. Any remote parking lot for students will be well-lit, staffed overnight by security guards and readily accessible to campus by University shuttle and RIPTA. In general, student use of their cars is relatively infrequent, especially compared to faculty and staff who drive to and from the campus every day. Accordingly, we believe this solution will both meet student needs for parking and ameliorate the demand for parking on College Hill. We also anticipate this initiative will result in fewer students bringing cars to campus, which will help to achieve the widely-supported goal to reduce the University’s carbon footprint.

Further details about student parking for next year will be forthcoming later this semester. In the meantime, information about RIPTA UPASS, Zipcar and other transportation options is available on-line at: http://www.brown.edu/Administration/Finance_and_ Admin/transportation/.

Russell Carey Interim Vice President Campus Life and Student Services Feb. 13

photo Rahul Keerthi Meara Sharma Min Wu Ashley Hess

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O pinions Thursday, February 14, 2008

Page 11

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Getting back to the ‘old-time religion’ of the Democratic party DON TRELLA Opinions Columnist As a relatively young presidential candidate with a sizable following of young supporters, Barack Obama has frequently been compared to John F. Kennedy. He may well become that figure for our generation, but in terms of electoral strategy, he might do best to emulate Ronald Reagan (as he himself said he wishes to): “There were ‘Reagan Democrats’ … I want ‘Obama Republicans.’” Like Reagan, he could supplement the support from his own party with some from those who lean toward the opposite party. I believe the way to do this is to focus on the promise of economic prosperity like Reagan did — except in a Democratic way.

Ronald Reagan was successful because he took the most appealing parts of conservatism — low taxes and less government (the “oldtime religion” of the GOP) — and persuasively argued his case to the American people. He also used the long-standing American tradition of distrust for politicians and for government to gain popular support for his economic policy — by cutting taxes, he was “getting the government out of people’s lives.”

The Democratic nominee in 2008 (whoever it might be) needs to realize that there is no issue around which Americans can unify like the promise of economic prosperity. I focus on Obama particularly because data seems to indicate that he has trouble with the workingclass white demographic. However, either candidate should realize that this is a unique opportunity for the Democratic nominee (and Democrats generally) to forcefully reassert their claim over the issue, especially with recent talk of a looming recession.

But the way you do that (as a Democrat) is by getting back to the “old-time religion” of the Democratic Party — a promise to secure and uplift the American middle class. It was the promise that made my grandfather (an Irish-American immigrant) proud to be a Democrat. It’s the same promise that Bill Clinton revived to bring “Reagan Democrats” back into the fold in 1992.

But the middle class is feeling the squeeze even more today than they were in 1992. The buying power of the American dollar is depleting at an alarming rate. Jobs are being exported by the thousands to India and China every day. People who tried to make the dream of

as they ever have been with corporate greed and the unfortunate outcomes that have resulted from letting the free market “solve” every problem we encounter.

As Hillary Clinton and Obama compete for former Edwards supporters in the remaining primaries (and eventually, as one or both continue on in the general election), they should keep with the tradition of co-opting Edwards’s ideas. Some tough talk and concrete promises about forcing corporations to behave responsibly would be welcomed.

People have distrusted government for a long time, but they also distrust big corporations like HMOs or those that comprise the oil and

If you call yourself a Democrat and you use “populist” like a swear word, shame on you — get out of my party.

To be a Democrat is to be a populist. home ownership a reality for their family are becoming the victims of foreclosure, after predatory lending institutions conned them into “adjustable rate” home loans, which start off low and then jump sharply after a few years.

In the earlier primaries, John Edwards’ greatest base of support came from middleclass white voters, and this should come as no surprise if you ever listened to one of his speeches. The middle class is as discontented

gas lobby. Prices at the pump are at an all-time high. Health care costs continue to skyrocket.

Yet somehow times have never been so good for the health insurance industry and for oil companies — they’re growing richer as working families are being squeezed tighter and tighter. People are mad and they feel it’s unfair because guess what? It is unfair.

Even “regulation” need not be a dirty word in 2008, if the Democrats aren’t afraid to play real offense in a presidential campaign for

the first time since FDR. Here’s an example I would use: Mortgage brokers used to be legally prohibited from charging the sorts of exorbitant interest rates that ultimately led to massive defaults and the subprime mortgage crisis. Focusing on a promise to regulate mortgage brokers (so they can’t screw people, like they did) is a good thing.

I actually was an Edwards supporter until he dropped out. I was obviously in the minority among Democrats, particularly at Brown.

When I would ask people what they thought about Edwards, the response I got most frequently was that they didn’t like his “populist” rhetoric — that he was too adversarial, too focused on “fighting” big corporations.

Like, seriously? I feel like I must have missed some memo to report to my local WalMart and drink the free Kool-Aid. When did young Democratic primary voters suddenly get so enamored with big corporations? If you call yourself a Democrat and you use “populist” like a swear word, shame on you — get out of my party. To be a Democrat is to be a populist. It’s about ensuring that power is not concentrated in the hands of a fortunate few (and wresting it away from them if necessary) so that the circle of opportunity can be widened to include all citizens, regardless of the hand that the lottery of birth has dealt them.

Edwards knew how to win support from a traditionally Republican demographic —he was elected to the Senate in red-state North Carolina. If Obama, too, wants to appeal to right-leaning voters, he’s going to have to make sure middle-class voters know that “change” isn’t just going to Washington, it’s also going to their pocketbooks. In fact, that’s the path to the Democratic nomination and to the presidency for Obama or for Clinton.

Don Trella ’08 fancies himself a Willie Stark

Why I’m voting (and you should, too!)

BY CHLOE LUTTS Guest Columnist Mine hasn’t been the typical college experience: I spent my freshman year in Paris and half my junior year in Beijing. I did it to learn foreign languages, understand other cultures and have new experiences. As a side effect, all this globe-trotting has given me a new perspective on America, often taking the form of a greater appreciation for this country and the freedoms we have here.

I gained a new respect for free markets and affirmative action in France. China made me reevaluate the value of representative democracy and the free press, not to mention Wikipedia.

But I lost some freedom every time I came home too, and it had nothing to do with distance from my parents. As an 18-year-old returning from Paris three years ago and again as a 20-year-old coming back from China this summer, I was abruptly denied a capacity I’d begun to take for granted — I couldn’t drink alcohol. I couldn’t go to a bar with friends. I couldn’t order a margarita when I went out for Mexican food with my parents. I couldn’t even buy a bottle of wine to make coq au vin.

When I came back from Paris, it was an inconvenience; when I came back from China — almost a college senior, four months away from my 21st birthday and having just spent a semester 6,740 miles away from home — it seemed like an injustice.

The inconsistency finally hit me one Monday morning in July, when I reported to the Salem Superior Courthouse to ser ve jur y

duty. I was happy to do it; it’s responsibilities like these that earn us the freedom I cherish as an American. But then my mother pointed out a discrepancy that vexed me for the rest of the morning — by whose reasoning are 18-year-olds responsible enough to serve on a jury and vote, but not to drink?

Whether you think 18-year-olds are old enough to drink or too young to vote, you have to agree that the reasoning here is flawed. I’m in the former camp myself, especially since American 18-year-olds can also be drafted, serve alcohol, drive, be tried and sentenced as adults, have consensual sexual relations and

abridgment of the age of majority.”

If we — the people directly affected — are acquiescent about this, no one else is going to stand up for us. The segment of our population caught in the odd limbo between 18 and 21 is the key demographic here: your vote is the only voice you have for securing the rest of your rights.

The day before my jury duty, both the Boston Globe and the New York Times published stories on a new Massachusetts law requiring all residents to purchase health insurance.

Both papers quoted experts who said the system isn’t going to work unless young people

We, young people, are a sitting duck for government abuse. We don’t have a voice at the upper levels of government and it’s our own fault. get married without parental consent.

As John McCardell, Jr., president emeritus of Middlebury College, wrote in the New York Times on Sept. 13, 2004, “The 21-year-old drinking age is bad social policy and terrible law. It is astonishing that college students have thus far acquiesced in so egregious an

start buying insurance. In fact, a 2006 survey conducted by the state reported that over half of the uninsured are between the ages of 19 and 29. That may seem high, but it’s not surprising, considering that young people, as a group, don’t require very much medical care and don’t make very much money. What

we do make, we’d rather not spend on health insurance we’re not going to use.

So far, the generally healthy, not terribly wealthy demographic isn’t convinced. And for good reason: as the one group uninsured primarily by choice, we’re the victims of the new law. For a healthy 20-something earning just a little too much to be eligible for state subsidies, a $200 a month insurance plan is expensive — and not worth it.

Putting two and two (and two) together — namely, jury duty, mandatory health insurance and the drinking age — I’ve realized that we, young people, are a sitting duck for government abuse. We don’t have a voice at the upper levels of government and it’s our own fault. Voter turnout has been falling since the 1960s, mostly because new generations coming of age aren’t voting. As the voting population ages, politicians pander to their interests and try to win their votes — not ours.

With constitutionally mandated minimum ages for representatives, senators and president (25, 30 and 35 years old, respectively) no one is going to stick up for us unless we stick up for ourselves. Politicians listen to people whose votes they can win. They’re not going to focus on issues we care about until we show them they can win our votes.

They’re not going to try to win our votes until we start voting.

Voter turnout among young people increased in the 2004 and 2006 elections. A few more years, and we just might be able to vote and drink — though hopefully not at the same time.

Chloe Lutts ’08 is finally 21

S ports T hursday Page 12

Thursday, February 14, 2008

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Keep the Super; I’ll take the Madness As I sat down with a group of my best friends and an ice cold beer to watch the Super Bowl on a massive projection screen, I found myself longing for something Patrick Davis different. Like March Madness when you finally get that girl you’ve had a crush on since middle school and soon realize she has actually been arrested several times and has three kids, I felt admittedly apathetic and unenthused about the so-called “Big Game.”

Maybe it was because I knew the victor would either be the cheating, soulless Patriots or the National Football Conference East rival Giants, but honestly I believe it was because I was looking ahead a month or so to the best event of the year, and was too excited to care about a silly little football game. Yes, I’m talking about March Madness, the mother of all sporting spectacles (save for the World Cup).

Yes, the mere temptation of filling out a bracket and watching all of my favorite teams and underdogs compete was too much to handle (not that I fill out a bracket, because that would make me NCAA ineligible and is unethical on many levels…). So, why, you may ask, is the NCAA Tournament so much better than the Super Bowl?

Well, allow me to divulge…

First and foremost, the teams, players, competition and all of the drama and excitement involved are purer, and therefore more compelling. The players are young and relatively unexposed to the corruption involved in professional sports.

While there are those like Carmelo Anthony, or in football, Reggie Bush, who have been exposed to this even in college, the vast majority of the continued on page 9

M. lax has its eye on championships Track and

field looks for an edge

By Benjy Asher Assistant Sports Editor

After a disappointing finish last season, which ended with a 7-7 overall record, the men’s lacrosse team is ready for a big 2008 season. Leading the team will be Brian Asher ’08 and Jeff Hall ’08, both midfielders, and defenseman Brian Sharnick ’08. This year’s team will feature many top players from last year’s squad as well as a strong crop of newcomers ready to take the field for Brown.

The team will need to compensate for the graduation of several key offensive players, including midfielder Alex Buckley ’07, now a member of Major League Lacrosse’s Los Angeles Riptide, and attackman David Madeira ’07, who scored a team-high 24 goals during the season and was acquired by the Riptide in the 2008 MLL Supplemental Draft.

“We’re obviously going to miss them a lot,” Sharnick said. “They’re both great players, and we’re going to miss what they brought in terms of both leadership and talent.”

However, the Bears will also return with a strong offensive squad, including preseason All-American attackman Thomas Muldoon ’10.

In his freshman season, Muldoon burst onto the collegiate lacrosse scene with 23 goals and 9 assists, for a team-high 32 points. The Bears’ offense will also feature attackmen Kyle Hollingsworth ’09, who finished last season with 15 goals and 9 assists, and Jack Walsh ’09, who racked up 11 goals and 11 assists.

This year’s team will also feature a solid group of midfielders, anchored by Asher and Hall. Asher led the team’s midfielders with 32 ground balls in 2007, to go along with four assists, and Hall picked up 10 ground balls while also con-

By Nicole Stock Contributing Writer

Ashley Hess / Herald

Tri-Captain Brian Asher ’08 will be an integral part of the men’s lacrosse team’s quest for an Ivy League championship. tributing to the offensive effort with four goals. Zach Caldwell ’10 will return after a strong freshman season that included nine goals and two assists. The group of midfielders will feature other returning players such as Nic Bell ’09, who finished with 29 ground balls in 2007, and Charlie Kenney ’10, who picked up 21 ground balls last season. Joining the group will be Reade Seligmann ’09, a transfer from Duke, a perennial contender for the NCAA championship.

The defensive corps lost valuable players as well, including Bobby Shields ’07, who earned first-team all-New England honors last season. Sharnick, along with returning players like Reed DeLuca ’08 and Michael Miller ’10, will hope to fill that void and provide a strong presence in front of All-Ivy and All-New England goalie Jordan Burke ’09.

Last season, Burke led the Ivy continued on page 9

Refreshing victory for swimming and diving at Cornell

By Anne Deggelman Contributing Writer

The men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams were focused on teamwork in Ithaca last weekend as they took on Cornell in their second-to-last meet before Brown heads to the league championship.

Both squads swam away with solid victories, with the women beating the Big Red 162-138 and the men finishing ahead 176-124.

“It was the most energy our team has had this season at a meet,” said Ally Wyatt ’08. “It was pretty exciting and fun for all of us.”

Coach Peter Brown echoed these sentiments.

“Team spirit was crucial,” Brown said. “Cornell came at us with everything they had.”

The women racked up a 24-point victory over Cornell, picking up wins in 10 events total. Wyatt and Sage Erskine ’11 each won two individual events in addition to helping their team earn a victory in the 200-yard medley relay with teammates Lauren Zatorski ’08 and Candice Sisouvanvieng-Kim ’11.

Other highlights from the meet include Ainsley McFadgen ’09 claiming the first individual win of the day in the 1000-yard freestyle followed by Stephanie Pollard’s ’11 victory in the 200 freestyle.

For women’s diving, Jessica

Courtesy of DSPics.net

Ally Wyatt ‘08 led the women’s swimming and diving team to victory with two individual wins, in the 100-yard and 200-yard breast stroke events.

Williams ’09 kicked off the meet with a second place finish in the three-meter dive. In the one-meter dive, Jacquelyn Rudis ’08 picked up her first win of the season, with Katie Olko ’10 coming in at a close third.

On the men’s side, the Bears

racked up a 52-point win, placing first in 12 out of the 16 events, and earning second place in the other four. The men proved their depth as a team with seven different swimmers winning individual events.

“We swam really well,”said Kevin Hug ’08. “We had someone

step up and swim real fast in every event.”

Daniel Ricketts ’09 joined a team of seniors comprised of Hug, Grant Garcia ’08, and Brian Kelly ’08, to pick up a second place finish in the first relay event, the 200 medley.

Ricketts went on to claim first place in the 200 free. Along with Ricketts, Conor Carlucci ’11, Ryunosuke Kikuchi ’11 and Peter Volosin ’08 each won two individual events.

Men’s diving also contributed to the team effort when Jonathan Speed ’11 won the one-meter dive by a 20-point margin, with C.J. Kambe ’10 snagging third place in the same event.

The Bears had expected a tough fight, according to Hug, after losing to Columbia in their previous meet — a team Cornell had defeated.

This meet was also the first time the senior class had defeated Cornell in a dual meet.

Coach Brown said he hopes the Bears can keep this energy alive as they near their last dual meet scheduled for this Saturday against Yale. This will constitute the closest version of a home meet that this team will see this season. The meet will be held at the Roger Williams pool, with a fan bus leaving from the OMAC an hour before the start.

Wyatt said she and the rest of the continued on page 9

The men’s and women’s track and field teams traveled to Boston University this past weekend for the Valentine Invitational. Since this was not a team scored meet for the Bears, it was a great opportunity for individuals to focus on improving times and distances in order to prepare for next weekend’s scored meet at Dartmouth.

In Boston, the men finished well with several personal records and a few strong finishes in the meet. The Bears’ best finish was Andrew Chapin ’10, who recorded a distance of 47-00.75 feet in the triple jump, good enough for seventh place. Chapin said he was excited about his finish this past weekend because he felt it gave him an edge heading into the upcoming competition.

“Jumping well also gave me a much needed shot of confidence going into the final couple of meets before the Ivy League Indoor Championships.” Chapin said.

In other field events, David Howard ’09 placed eighth in the shot put with 51-09.00 feet and 15th in the weight throw, tied with Eric Wood ’09 at a distance of 52-04.75.

On the track the Bears’ top finisher was Matthew Jasmine ’09, who finished eighth in the 55 meter hurdles in a time of 7.68 seconds. There were also several notable place finishes for Brown including Joseph Mastrangelo ’09 with 22.48 seconds in the 200 meter and Kevin Cervantes ’10 in the 400 meter in a time of 49.36 seconds. John Loeser ’10 came in ninth in the mile with Nick Sarro ’08 right behind. Both men had personal best finishes in the event. Sean O’Brien ’09 took home a ninth place finish in the 800 meter, posting a time of 1:52.28, also a personal best.

Alex Stern ’10 and Chris Collins ’11 were right behind O’Brien with times of 1:56.05 and 1:57.48, respectively.

In the 3,000 meter, Colin Brett ’10 ran a 8:24.39, while in the 5,000 meter Duriel Hardy ’10 finished ninth with a time of 14:32.54 followed by Ryan Graddy ’08, who placed 16th in 14:35.87. All three men finished with personal bests in their events and Hardy’s strong performance placed him second in the league.

“Our men are doing extremely well for who we are, and we couldn’t be more excited by our progress,” said Head Coach Craig Lake.

Although the Bears had several personal records and many strong finishes, they know that it is going to be a tough road ahead. But the team is confident that it can compete well in the weeks to come.

“Staying mentally focused when your legs aren’t one hundred percent fresh is key,” Chapin said. “I think for the team as a whole to experience that same kind of success, we will need to look to guys like Loeser , O’Brien , and Stern, guys who have been running really well, for motivation.

The women’s track and field team had another impressive weekend with several top finishes. Nicole Burns ’09 led the way for the Bears, finishing first in the 400 meter, while continued on page 9