Monday, February 25, 2008 by The Brown Daily Herald

The Brown Daily Herald M onday, F ebr uar y 25, 2008

Volume CXLIII, No. 22

Since 1866, Daily Since 1891

Corporation boosts financial aid Tuition will increase at slower rate

2008-’09 Annual Loan Amounts $5000

By Michael Bechek and Michael Skocpol News Editors

Faced with the competing pressures of a slumping economy and the need to keep pace with peer schools that have strengthened financial aid programs, the Corporation approved a plan at its winter meeting Saturday that will decrease the financial burden on low- and middle-income students and draw more heavily on the University’s $2.8 billion endowment than ever before. The $752.7 million budget for fiscal year 2009, which begins July 1, will include $68.5 million for financial aid — an increase of 20 percent from the previous fiscal year. Most of that increase will go toward reducing student loans across the board, and eliminating them entirely for students whose families earn less than $100,000 a year. For families with incomes below $60,000, the required family contribution will also be wiped out. “There are ver y few schools in the country that are going to have more competitive of fers than Brown,” said Provost David Kertzer ’69 P’95 P’98. He added that the University felt it was

$4000 $3000

No loans for many students

by George Miller Senior Staff Writer

Annual family income “necessary to do something quite substantial this year to improve financial aid.” With the overall budget set to increase by 6.7 percent from the current year, the Corporation approved a 3.9 percent hike in tuition and fees to $47,740, a smaller increase than has been typical of the last several years, in which it has raised those costs by about 5 percent annually. Nationwide inflation was about 2.2 percent in 2007, according to the Treasury Department. Tuition and student fees are expected to make up about 50 percent of the University’s total income in fiscal 2009, down from 58 percent six years ago, before Brown introduced a need-blind admission policy and began gradually increasing its commitment

An $11.5 million increase to the financial aid budget will mean fewer loans and less debt for financial aid recipients, starting next fall. All students from families making under $100,000 a year will have loans eliminated from their aid packages. That includes about 62 percent of financial aid recipients, said Director of Financial Aid James Tilton. For the rest — those from families making more than $100,000 a year — loans will be cut significantly. Loans will be reduced to $3,000 a year for students from families making between $100,000 and $125,000, to $4,000 a year for those from families making $125,000 to $150,000 and to $5,000 a year for those from families making more than $150,000. In addition, students’ loans will not increase from year to year. For most families with incomes under $60,000, the parental contribution will also be eliminated. Families with incomes under that mark but with assets greater than $100,000 will still be required to make a pa-

continued on page 6

continued on page 7

Sophomores may be able to squat in dorms ResLife could decide on proposal this week

ARTS & CULTURE

Tisch ’76: The man on top By Michael Skocpol News Editor

Last Saturday, the Corporation concluded business in one of its more eventful meetings in recent memory, announcing increased fi-

Q&A nancial aid, raising endowment draw and endorsing a fresh assessment of the Plan for Academic Enrichment. Following the meeting, Chancellor Thomas Tisch ’76, the University’s highest officer and the Corporation’s leader, took a walk with The Herald around the Main Green to discuss the meeting and issues facing the University.

“I’m asking you to consider hiring me for the hardest job in the world,” Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., told nearly 4,100 people at a rally at the Rhode Island College Recreation Center Sunday afternoon.

METRO

Courtesy of brown.edu

Sophomore-only housing like Caswell Hall, above, will not hold squatters. Rooms picked through a first-pick competition are also not eligible for squatting.

tery would be a “better thing for students.” The new policy would stipulate that any student whose room was obtained via the lottery could keep their room as long as they comply with certain criteria. Rooms received off the waiting list or through the first-pick competition are not eli-

lights, camera... A student film gets some action in the Oscars preshow

CAMPUS NEWS

gible, and those received through Disability Support Services would be reviewed for squatting on a caseby-case basis. Students would not be able to squat sophomore-only housing. Though Morgenstern said this continued on page 4

the “silver tsunami” Alpert Medical School leads the field in the study of aging

OPINIONS

The Herald: There were two major concerns the University Resources Committee highlighted in its report: the competitive and political climates right now, and also concerns about a slowing economy. Were those concerns that the Corporation shared? Thomas Tisch: There’s certainly an awareness of the economy in general and financial markets specifically, but importantly, there was a very clear sense that it’s important to build upon and to move forward and to some degree accelerate some of the initiatives that have begun continued on page 6

Clinton makes campaign stop at Rhode Island College By Nandini Jayakrishna Senior Staff Writer

By Emmy Liss Senior Staff Writer

Rising second-semester sophomores and all rising juniors may be able to avoid the housing lottery this year. The Office of Residential Life could approve a Residential Council proposal early this week that would change the current dorm-room squatting policy and allow more students to keep their rooms for a second year. Squatting was designed to allow students to live in their rooms for an additional year — as long as they were obtained through the housing lottery. Currently, only rising seniors may live in their rooms for a second year. If the proposal is passed, students will be permitted to squat in lieu of participating in the lottery a second or third time. The policy would be extended to rising juniors and those entering their fourth semester so students who have taken leave will not be penalized, said Michael Morgenstern ’08, chair of the lottery committee. Morgenstern said expanding the system to younger students would make the housing experience better all-around. Many feel “the lottery experience is hellish,” he said, and alleviating the pressures of the lot-

Michael Skocpol / Herald

Chancellor Tom Tisch ’76 sees himself as the Corporation’s moderator.

Clinton’s visit follows in the footsteps of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Michelle Obama, who have both visited Rhode Island in the last few weeks. Rhode Island’s March 4 primary is especially important for Clinton, who has lost 11 straight primary contests to rival Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill. Obama also has more committed delegates nationwide. But a Feb. 9-10 poll conducted by Professor of Political Science Darrell West found Clinton leading Obama in Rhode Island, 36 to 28 percent. In her address, Clinton emphasized that she has the “strength and experience” to lead the country forward. “There is no contradiction between change and experience,” she said. Without naming him, Clinton attacked Obama for having a naive vision of how to solve the country’s and the world’s problems. “I could stand up here and say,

in november, WWjd? Max Chaiken ‘09 notes Obama’s potential appeal among evangelicals

‘Let’s just get everybody together. Let’s get unified,’ ” Clinton said. “The sky will open, the light will come down, celestial choirs will be singing and everyone will know we should do the right thing, and the world will be perfect.” “Maybe I’ve just lived a little long,” she said, prompting laughter and cheers from the crowd. Clinton said the biggest difference between her and Obama is on the issue of universal health care. Though Obama speaks about supporting universal health care, his plan does not require everyone to be covered by health insurance, Clinton said. Clinton also criticized President Bush’s handling of both foreign and domestic issues during his tenure in office. She said though the job of any president is challenging to begin with, it will be “especially tough following George Bush and Dick Cheney.” “There’s so much we have to undo as well as do,” she said. Clinton also said she would call for a gradual troop-withdrawal from Iraq within 60 days of taking office. “I think we can begin the process of telling the Iraqis they have to take responsibility for their own country,” she said. One supporter held a sign readcontinued on page 4

tomorrow’s weather A downpour rivaled only by this year’s flood of Meiklejohn applications

rain, 43 / 36 www.browndailyherald.com

195 Angell Street, Providence, Rhode Island

News tips: herald@browndailyherald.com

T oday Page 2

Monday, February 25, 2008

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

But Seriously | Charlie Custer and Stephen Barlow

Sharpe Refectory

Verney-Woolley Dining Hall

Lunch — Vegan Curried Tofu Scramble, Chicken Parmesan Grinder, Savory Chicken Stew, Mexican Pizza, Butterscotch Chip Bars

Lunch — Enchilada Bar, Bacon Ranch Chicken Sandwich, Baked Macaroni and Cheese, Spicy Fries, Butterscotch Chip Bars

Dinner — Macaroni and Cheese, Creamy Rosemary Polenta, Roast Beef Au Jus, Seafood Gumbo, Washington Apple Cake

Dinner — Italian Meatballs with Pasta, Pizza Rustica, Italian Couscous, Saigon Beef and Ham with Veggies, Washington Apple Cake

Sudoku

Enigma Twist | Dustin Foley

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

Shelf | Miguel Llorente

RELEASE DATE– Monday, February 25, 2008

Los Angeles Times Daily oCrossword Puzzle C r o ssw rd

Vagina Dentata | Soojean Kim

Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

ACROSS 1 Request to a waiter 6 Bad time for Caesar 10 Rural roof topper 14 Circle lines 15 Musical finale 16 Like fine wine 17 Medical transplant need 19 Central church section 20 Dessert in the sky? 21 Trait transmitter 22 Motivated to succeed 24 State north of Nev. 25 Ones who lose on purpose 26 Cornucopia 31 Thief thwarter 32 Made unctuous 33 Big bird from Down Under 36 Clothing tag datum 37 Bumpkins 38 Penned, to Shakespeare 39 Garden tool 40 Church dogma 41 Give off light 42 “Phooey!” 44 Astrological diagrams 47 “Overhead” engine part 48 Opposed (to) 49 Close to one’s heart 51 Pampering place 54 Wide-angle or zoom 55 Truck stoppers 58 Once, once 59 “I’d like to get a word in?” 60 Live 61 Fr. holy women 62 __-poly 63 River mouth formation DOWN 1 Field yield 2 Mata __ 3 Nervous, after “on”

4 Hush-hush gp. based in Langley, Va. 5 “... my __ for a horse!”: Shak. 6 Revered symbol 7 Ready to dish out 8 It became Tokyo in 1868 9 Fish in a crowded-subway metaphor 10 Narcissist’s trait 11 Tequila plant 12 “Fat chance!” 13 Idyllic settings 18 Not able to hear 23 Collecting Soc. Sec., maybe 24 Memo intro 25 Take out, as text 26 Greasy spoon vittles 27 Mishmash 28 Use a wrecking ball on 29 Canterbury currency 30 Defamation in print 33 Idle of Monty Python 34 Otter relative 35 Versatile vehicles

37 Clothes chest wood 38 Bit of spontaneity 40 Spanish aunts 41 Took the lead role 42 Noteworthy events 43 Picket line crosser 44 Popular mall jewelry store 45 In plain sight

46 Thickheaded 49 Burr-Hamilton contest 50 “Small screen” award 51 Black & Decker rival 52 Brat 53 “The Thin Man” dog 56 Pi-sigma link 57 Give the heaveho

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:

Free Variation | Jeremy Kuhn

xwordeditor@aol.com

2/25/08

Dreaming in Focus | Max Abrahams

If you do one thing on College Hill today... Check out the Sophomore Slump Week: Old School Movie Night 7-10 p.m. in Sayles Hall

2/25/08

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-

Simmi Aujla, President

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

Ross Frazier, Vice President Mandeep Gill, Treasurer Darren Ball, Secretary

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.

A rts & C ulture Monday, February 25, 2008

Page 3

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Students’ film shown at Oscar pre-show By Caroline Sedano Senior Staff Writer

Courtesy of america.gov

The members of the “Axis of Evil Comedy Tour” are, from left, Aron Kader, Maz Jobrani, Dean Obeidallah (guest performer) and Ahmed Ahmed.

‘Evil’ comedians tackle stereotypes, xenophobia

By Joanna Sharpless Contributing Writer

Maz Jobrani had a clear message Friday night: “Please, guys, don’t always blame Middle Easterners first, OK? It’s not always us, all right?” He continued, “I mean, quite often it is. But not always.” Jobrani, an Iranian-American comedian, performed for a packed Salomon 101 with fellow comedians Aron Kader and Dean Obeidallah, of the “Axis of Evil Comedy Tour.” The event was co-sponsored by the Muslim Students Association, the Office of the Chaplains and Religious Life and the Office of Student Life. Attendees roared with laughter as the three joked about their experiences as Americans of Middle Eastern descent in the post-9/11 world. Obeidallah and Kader are both Palestinian-Americans. The three comedians said they wanted to challenge media-driven stereotypes of Middle Easterners. “Every time they show us, they show the crazy guy, right? On TV, always the crazy guy burning the American flag going, ‘Death to America!’” Jobrani said. “Just once, I wish they would show us doing something good, like baking a cookie… ‘Hello, I am Muhammad, and I am just baking a cookie. I swear, no bombs, no nothing.’” Confronting such stereotypes was the main goal of bringing the comedians to campus, according to Rumee Ahmed, associate university chaplain for the Muslim community. Ahmed said he hoped the performance would address the “xenophobia that’s been brought on by post-9/11 politics — the idea that we’re constantly supposed to be in fear of an attack or a group of people.” Rashid Hussain ’10, president of MSA, said he hoped the event would “show a human face” of Muslims. “In the modern media, you often see representations of Muslims and Arabs only in a negative light, and you never see them laughing or performing in any way,” Hussain said. “We were hoping with this we could show people there is another side to it, it’s not just flag burning and screaming jihad.”

Jobrani told The Herald he became a comedian primarily because of his interest in acting and comedy, but he added that he thought that the medium allowed for particularly effective social commentary. “One of the jobs of a comedian is to expose hypocrisy. Another is to defend the underdog,” Jobrani said. Comedy allows him to “get the point across in a friendlier or nicer way,” he added. The Office of the Chaplains and Religious Life decided to bring the event to campus because humor facilitates tolerance and acceptance in the community, Ahmed said. “If we can laugh at each others’ close, sacred rituals while respecting them at the same time, we’re able to appreciate other people’s funny-looking rituals better, and approach our own rituals with a little humor,” he said. Accordingly, the comedians were not afraid to mock their own cultures. Kader, imitating an Arabic accent, mocked the stereotype that ArabAmericans are humorless. “We’re very funny people,” he said. “We have great sense of humor. You think we don’t? I kill you, I burn your flag!” Current events such as the upcoming American elections were also popular topics. “This election, no one talks about bin Laden,” Obeidallah said. “He’s a has-been. He put out four tapes over the last few months. No one cared. ... The next time you see bin Laden, mark my words, he’ll have his own reality show on VH1. Like, ‘The Flavor of bin Laden.’” Obeidallah, who said he liked current presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., joked about Obama’s middle name “Hussein.” “People infer he’s a Muslim, and people mean it in a derogatory way,” Obeidallah said, adding that if Obama revealed that he was actually Muslim at his inauguration, he would be “the first president shot by his own Secret Service.” Jobrani was careful to note that he wasn’t “America-bashing.” “I criticize both sides,” he told The Herald. Nonetheless, mockery of President Bush was common. Jobrani criticized both Bush and Iranian President continued on page 4

Little did Jonathan Gordon ’11 know when he was approached five months ago by a couple of seniors to act in their short film that he would end up on the Oscars. Last night’s Academy Awards pre-show included a segment on student filmmaking, which featured an inter view with Paul Wallace ’08 and Nicholas Clifford ’08 and clips from “The Face,” a 15-minute short film that they wrote, directed and produced as an independent study project in the Department of Modern Culture and Media. “It was really awesome!” said Wallace immediately after seeing the pre-show feature. Two weeks ago ABC found Wallace and Clifford after contacting the University for a television special on short student films. The network was put in contact with Wallace and Clifford through the Ivy Film Festival and the MCM department, Gordon said. Wallace then submitted the film and four short clips. “They ended up showing more than just the four scenes I gave them, which is fantastic,” Wallace said. “It was just crazy to have this piece of mine and Nick’s life... shown on the Oscars.”

The sci-fi film is set in a postapocalyptic world as two brothers, played by Gordon and Clifford, make their way to a refugee camp in order to escape the “Locust” — a mysterious creature destroying the world and all its inhabitants. Wallace and Clif ford began working on the script last summer and filmed during November and December. They are set to wrap up production next Thursday. The project was completely created by Brown students — everything from makeup and sets to the original score. The four-person cast is also made up entirely of Brown students, including Alexandra Panzer ’08 and Elizabeth Rothman ’11. “I was ecstatic and really excited,” Gordon said of seeing the clip on the awards pre-show. He added that he was also “nervous, because I hate seeing myself on film.” After working on the script over the summer, Wallace and Clifford found Gordon and Rothman by sitting in on TSDA 0030: “Introduction to Acting and Directing,” and they proceeded to film in locations all over Rhode Island during November and December. “The most important thing is how wonderful it was to do this at Brown and to have as many talented people make this into some-

thing so wonderful. Our hopes were to realize the vision, which was exceeded completely — the film grew much bigger than all of us could have dreamed,” Wallace said. When the film is finished, it will be shown at the Avon Cinema on March 13. After that, Wallace and Clifford will be entering “The Face” into film festivals and trying to circulate the film to as many people as possible, Wallace said. The two plan to move to Los Angeles when they graduate to promote the film and begin work on two other projects. “I don’t know the ramifications, but for me it’s just about putting the film first,” Wallace said. “Nick and I have faith in this thing that’s bigger than all of us and having it on ABC during the Oscar pre-show is a dream come true.”

Page 4

Rising juniors may squat continued from page 1 policy would deter “students from taking sophomore-only housing,” the committee “still stands behind the idea of sophomore-only housing.” Other rooms that cannot be squatted include Wriston Quadrangle suites, Morriss Hall suites, Miller Hall apartments and Graduate Center apartments. In order to squat a room, a certain number of the original occupants must be returning — one student in a single, two in a double, two in a triple, three in a quad, four in a quintet, four in a sextet, five in a septet and six in an octet — and all forms must be handed in by the lottery’s Super Deadline Day, which falls on March 4 this year. ResCouncil tried to make another big change this year — eradicating the policy of giving rising seniors their individual priority numbers before Super Deadline Day. Seniors would then receive a lottery number based on a group’s average of individual priority numbers. But giving seniors individual priority numbers before they commit to a lottery group allows students to pick their roommates based on numbers, Morgenstern said. When first designed, the rule was intended to give seniors with

Monday, February 25, 2008

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

bad priority numbers the option to live off campus. Now that the deadline for off-campus housing permission is earlier, the policy makes little sense, Morgenstern said. “The council feels it just hurts students,” Morgenstern said. “It promotes opportunism.” Morgenstern said though the policy is seen as a privilege, it stigmatizes on those with poor numbers. ResLife did not approve the council’s plan to change this policy for the upcoming year, but Morgenstern said the council is looking to gauge campus opinion and hopes to bring the proposal back to the table next year. Devin Sutcliffe ’10 received his room through last year’s first-pick competition, and though he would not be able to squat his own room, thinks sophomores should be able to. “Generally speaking, (sophomores) are going to have worse housing than juniors anyway,” he said, and there would therefore be more desirable rooms remaining for students in lottery. “I thought about keeping mine and I changed my mind,” said Rachel Levenson ’10. “I actually don’t think it would be a good idea — the selection for incoming sophomores is poor enough already, and I don’t think it would be fair to leave them with even less.”

Arab-American comedian jokes on dating life continued from page 3 Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for their management of the current relationship between the two countries. Of Ahmadinejad, Jobrani said, “He says some stupid shit. Bush doesn’t say stupid shit, so much as he says shit stupidly.” Obeidallah also mocked Bush for poor pronunciation, especially of Arabic words. Mimicking Bush’s mispronunciation of “al-Qaida,” Obeidallah said, “Al-Qaida has gone from a Middle Eastern terrorist group to a Mexican restaurant.” The comedians also spoke seriously at the show. Obeidallah shared how the attacks of September 11, 2001 changed how others view him. “I went to bed September 10 a white guy, and I woke up September 11 an Arab,” he said. “I’d have people label me an Arab-American comedian, which they’d never done before. That was fine. The weird thing was somebody said bad things to me about being Arab, and I began to defend it and get in touch with my heritage.” Yet being Arab-American has its benefits, Obeidallah said, citing immunity to identity theft and the ability to get dates with women who find him “exotic — sort of like kiwi: sweet, tasty and a little hairy.” The comedians discussed their American identities in addition to

their Middle Eastern roots. “We’re here to get laughs. We’re here to build bridges,” Obeidallah told the audience. His third goal, he added, was to “bring peace between America and New Jersey.” The son of a Palestinian father and a Sicilian-American mother, he grew up in the Garden State. Kader, whose mother is Mormon, said that when Mormons asked him if he had considered becoming a missionary, he said, “To an Arab, a mission’s a whole different thing. Generally we don’t come back from those.” Students found the show entertaining and thought-provoking. Nic Mooney ’11 said the performance gave him a new perspective on Middle Eastern culture. “It was nice to see sort of a different perspective on things,” he said. Farrukh Malik ’11 said he identified with many of the jokes. “Some of the jokes — especially if you’re from the Middle East or around there — some of the stuff was so spot on. It was unbelievable,” he said. Hamoon Eshraghi ’10, an IranianAmerican, agreed. “I would give it an A,” he said. “I felt like I could relate, or a lot of the things he was saying were very visible in my own life.” Ahmed and Hussain said they were very pleased with the event and its large turnout. The line for the event “snaked back out past

(Faunce House),” Chaplain Ahmed said. Hussain, the Muslim Students Association president, did not see the event because he gave up his seat so someone else could watch the show, but he said he heard the praise the event garnered afterward. The comedians themselves also said they thought the performance was a great success. At a post-show question-and-answer session held in Arnold Lounge, Aron Kader said, “It was the best college show I’ve ever experienced.” The large turnout and anticipation of the event helped him get excited about the show, he said. “This was as good a show as we would have had on our tour, when we do a big theater show.” Obeidallah said he also thought that the diversity of the crowd and the significant presence of people of Middle Eastern heritage helped to get the audience laughing. “The laughter’s almost a release at some level. It’s beyond just comedy. It’s like, ‘Yeah, I went through that. I know what it’s like to be thought I was being suspicious because of my heritage,’ ” he said. He said he also thought that seeing Middle Easterners laugh at their own heritage “frees white people to laugh.” The group could not bill itself as the “Axis of Evil Comedy Tour,” as one of its members, Ahmed Ahmed, did not participate in the show. He was on tour out of the country, according to Maz Jobrani. True to form, Obeidallah joked that Ahmed Ahmed was “being held for questioning.”

Clinton fan faints at rally continued from page 1 ing, “It takes a woman to stop a war.” Clinton also promised to sign bills expanding children’s health insurance and promoting stem-cell research — both of which were vetoed by President Bush. She said she will push for an economy that benefits the average American and not just “George Bush’s friends and allies, the wealthy and the well-connected.” During the rally, one supporter close to the stage fainted, prompting Clinton to say, “I’m sure it was my heated rhetoric.” Deedee Quick, an attendee from Portsmouth, said though she is undecided, she is leaning toward Clinton because she speaks on specific policy issues. “I don’t think (Obama) should learn on the job, which is what is going to happen with him, I think,” Quick said. Quick said she supports Clinton because of the senator’s gender. “I wish I didn’t feel that way, but I really feel like it’s time for a woman to try this,” Quick said. “She’s a good candidate ... and somebody has got to break the barrier. I think she is capable.” Clinton’s experience working at the local, state and national level makes her “best prepared” to be president, said Craig Auster ’08, one of the co-leaders of Brown Students for Hillary. Auster, who finds it “unfortunate” that most Brown students are rooting for Obama, said Clinton should be the “clear choice” for college students because she has a better plan to make college more affordable, to create jobs and to provide health care for “people our age.”

C ampus n ews Monday, February 25, 2008

Forbes ’76 and Expedia CEO address EP Forum

Meiklejohn app numbers above usual

By Jenna Stark Senior Staff Writer

by Hudson Leung Contributing Writer

More than 450 students submitted applications to the Meiklejohn Peer Advising Program — the most ever, said Deputy Dean of the College Stephen Lassonde. The University typically accepts about 300 applicants, including those who have already served as Meiklejohns, for the advising positions, Lassonde said. It also designates 15 student leaders to oversee the advisers. The application process was done online for the first time this year, eliminating the hassle of paper forms. Applicants cited a range of reasons for applying. The program, named for former Professor of Philosophy and Dean of the College Alexander Meiklejohn, class of 1893, provides freshmen with advisers to guide them through their first year, particularly during important times such as class registration and exam periods. The application deadline, originally scheduled for Thursday, has been extended to today at noon. “I was really frustrated and overwhelmed by all the choices that Brown offers,” said Stacey

Jean Yves Chainon / Herald File Photo

Usually about 300 apply to be Meiklejohns, but more than 450 applied this year.

HaYoung Park ’11. Park said she shopped more than 20 classes this semester, and compiled a list of her experiences. “I wanted to make use of all this research by sharing it with other freshmen who will be going through the same thing next year,” she said. Matt Hernandez ’11, an applicant, said, “I also don’t want to see freshmen struggle through first semester. I want to make it easier for them.” Allison Yorita ’10 is a veteran Meiklejohn who must reapply to the program. “I had a good experience with my Meiklejohn, and I wanted to do the same for others,” she said. Colin Feuille ’09, also a veteran

adviser, said he also wanted to share his positive experience with the Meiklejohn program. “I really liked my Meiklejohns freshman year and I thought it might be fun to do things to help other people,” he said. Having friends who were also applying was an incentive as well, he added. Students who have already served as Meiklejohns account for about half of all applicants in any given year, Lassonde said. “Once people get involved, a lot of them decide to continue with it throughout their time at Brown,” said Adrienne Healey ’08, one of the student heads of the program. continued on page 8

Gerontology research grows as nation ages By Brian Mastroianni Senior Staff Writer

With the nation’s elderly population growing, Brown researchers are riding what one professor called a “silver tsunami,” bringing increased attention — and funding — to Alpert Medical School’s research and education programs on aging. In December, the Med School’s Center for Gerontology and Health Care Research was named a Center of Excellence in Geriatric Medicine and Training by the John A. Hartford Foundation, which will give the program a $1.3 million grant. This follows a grant of more than $10 million the Med School received for aging research in November from the National Institute on Aging. This distinction shed light on a program at Brown that has “a very long and distinguished record of excellence in research regarding aging,” said Richard Besdine, director of the Center for Gerontology and Health Care Research and professor of medicine. Terrie “Fox” Wetle, associate dean of medicine, public health and public policy, said the research is important because of the “silver tsunami” the nation faces. “We have an increased need to understand health care and provide quality care efficiently to our elderly citizens,” Wetle said. The Hartford Foundation recognized Brown’s gerontology program as one of “only a handful of programs that will train tomorrow’s medical teachers,” said Christopher Langston, the foundation’s program director. The foundation also recognized similar programs at Wake Forest University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, this past year, which was “the first time that the foundation has awarded three

Page 5

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

programs,” Langston said. While the foundation has been recognizing programs in gerontology research for more than a decade, Brown’s Center for Gerontology and Health Care Research has been gradually growing in size and influence. The center was recognized by the University in 1986, and “in 2000 we recruited Dr. Besdine, who increased the focus on bench sciences,” said the center’s former

director, Vincent Mor, professor of medical science and chair of the Department of Community Health. Mor leads the team that won the $10 million NIA grant in November. With Besdine’s appointment, the center has increased its focus on “training medical students in dealing with elderly people,” Wetle said. “Brown is viewed as a natural continued on page 8

Seniors take note: Timothy Forbes ’76, chief operating officer of Forbes, Inc., encourages you to “follow your passions and dreams” because there’s “plenty of time to make a living.” Forbes, a member of the Corporation’s Board of Fellows, and Dara Khosrowshahi ’91, chief executive officer of Expedia, Inc., addressed students and alums as the keynote speakers at the 11th Annual Entrepreneurship Forum, hosted by the Brown University Entrepreneurship Program. The forum, held in Faunce House on Feb. 23, consisted of the keynote speakers’ lectures, panels and roundtable discussions. Forbes, the first keynote speaker, began his speech by

expressing his “surprise and delight” that Brown now has an entrepreneurial program, which was not present during his years at the University. “It is evidence of a very wonderful change in the world and at Brown that this program exists here,” he told The Herald after the speech. “As a student you are an entrepreneur in that you are responsible for your education.” Forbes advised the audience to look to the past for lessons on entrepreneurship — for example, that timing and purpose are instrumental to success in business. His grandfather, B.C. Forbes, used the booming economic climate of the 1920s, along with a little luck, to grow Forbes magazine, he said. In addition to his business savvy, B.C. Forbes was known for his continued on page 8

History students bring back undergrad journal By Sara Sunshine Contributing Writer From 1974 to 1991, Brown’s history journal covered ever ything from Venetian historiography to riots in Harlem in 1943. Then, for unclear reasons, the student-run publication, called CLIO after the Greek muse of history, ceased publication. Not many history concentrators on campus knew about that publication until last year, when a group of 10 students from the history Department Undergraduate Group decided to start a history journal at Brown, thinking it hadn’t been done before. Led by Samantha Seeley ’07 and David Beckoff ’08, the students realized they were following in others’ footsteps when Professor of History

Gordon Wood mentioned to them that he remembered another journal and suggested they look for it, Beckoff said. “It wasn’t really a question of a revival, actually,” Seeley wrote in an e-mail to The Herald. “When we first started talking about doing an undergraduate history journal, we had no idea that the project had a predecessor at Brown.” Seeley, Beckoff and the other undergraduate editors worked quickly to put the first edition of the journal together in three-and-a-half months in spring 2007. In that time, they designed a Web site, collected 85 submissions, selected eight of those and raised money. The fundraising pro-

continued on page 8

Page 6

Monday, February 25, 2008

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

With pressure on several fronts, U. increases aid continued from page 1 to financial aid, according to a University press release. Hoping to remain aggressive in lowering the cost of education and continuing to support the Plan for Academic Enrichment despite an inauspicious economic outlook, the Corporation decided to increase its annual draw on the endowment to 5.89 percent, estimating that such a move would add an additional $22.9 million to its resource pool. The University’s highest governing body had long capped the endowment draw at 5.5 percent. The annual draw is applied to an averaged endowment size over the previous 12 quarters to avoid reflecting short-term ups and downs in investment returns. The University’s budget is developed by the University Resources Committee, a group of faculty, students and staff that is chaired by Kertzer. That group presents a report to President Ruth Simmons, who reviews it and formally presents a budget to the Corporation for approval. A cautious outlook The URC struck a cautionary note in its annual report this year, saying that a possible economic slowdown “had a profound impact” on its recommendations. Though the new budget appears to support the University’s continued rapid growth during its $1.4 billion capital campaign — planning for expenditures about $3.5 million greater than the University’s projected revenue — it is perhaps less aggressive than last year’s budget. For the current fiscal year, expenditures were expected to exceed revenue by about $9.3 million, with the gap filled in by drawing on reserve funds. The Corporation approved the use of $50 million in reserves in 2004 to fuel the Plan for Academic Enrichment, and each budget since then has drawn on the funds to pad its resources. But the URC acknowledged that “for the first time in several years ... the current economic outlook is cause for concern,” and that “it is clear that there will be constraints on the growth in revenue and resources for the next few years.” It predicted more conservative budgets for the coming years and advised restraint in planning beyond fiscal 2009. “It’s a cautious budget,” said Elizabeth Huidekoper, executive vice president for finance and administration. “But I also think it’s ambitious.” She said the smaller draw on reserves is not simply an indicator of the budget’s attempt to limit use of reserves, but also a reflection of long-term planning goals. “We had always planned on that deficit amount coming down,” she said. “This current year (fiscal 2008) is high.” “But now we have to rethink pretty much everything because of this financial aid situation,” she said. Had the University not been blessed with “extraordinar y endowment returns,” she added, it would have faced a difficult choice in budgeting for financial aid changes. Instead, it was able to devote money toward slashing loans for students by tightening up the budget in other areas. “We’re conservative on salary increases, and we’re conser vative on other things,” she said. However, both Kertzer and Huidekoper said the need to excite prospective donors about the Campaign for Academic Enrichment means that overreacting to a perceived blow to the economy could hurt more than help. Since prospective donors want to feel that their money would contribute to an exciting cause, the University must continue to implement the plan in order to sustain donations, Kertzer said. With a gloomy economic outlook in mind, the Corporation also felt pressure from its competitors — some of the countr y’s wealthiest colleges and universities — as well as from Congress to make Brown more affordable to students. Late last month, a letter from Senate Finance Committee leaders Sens. Max Baucus, D-Mont., and Chuck Grassley, RIowa, was sent to Brown and other wealthy

2008-’09 Revenue

continued from page 1

(in millions of dollars)

Undergrad. tuition and fees

$108.6

$122.2

Endowment income

$343.5

Fundraising

$50.5

Grants

$124.7

Other Total: $749.4

2008-’09 Expenses (in millions of dollars)

$41.7 $264.7 $208.9 $157.2

Instruction and support Student Support Administration Debt and facility renewal

Total: $752.9 Steve DeLucia / Herald

schools to request detailed information on their endowment management, spending, tuition and financial aid. That letter came on the heels of Grassley’s suggestion in October that he might introduce legislation to require that colleges and universities spend at least 5 percent of their endowments each year to help ease students’ tuition burdens, a requirement Brown and other universities have opposed. “We all feel that having Congress involved in managing private university endowments is a ver y bad idea for a lot of reasons,” Kertzer said, adding that the United States has a higher education system that is “the envy of the world” because the government does not exert much control over its private universities. In what was partially seen as an attempt to ward off such legislation, Harvard, the nation’s richest school with a $34.6 billion endowment, announced in December that it would replace all student loans with grants and eliminate financial contributions for families earning less than $60,000. Since then, many other top schools, including Princeton, Yale, Stanford, Dartmouth and the University of Pennsylvania, have followed suit by announcing improved aid packages of their own. “Brown and its peers face tremendous public and political pressure to keep the overall level and the annual increases to our tuition and fees as low as possible,” the URC said in its report, noting that such a situation was “especially difficult” for Brown because it is more dependent than many competitors on tuition for its operating budget. “It’s a matter of balance,” Kertzer said, noting that because the University’s financial aid budget is supported only in small part by its endowment, it must use “unrestricted” dollars that might other wise go toward libraries, dorms or other essential ser vices. It is in that sense, he said, that Brown is “in a different situation” than some wealthier schools like Har vard, Yale and Princeton. “We don’t have limitless resources,” he said, adding that the URC discussed “both doing less and doing more” than the financial aid improvements that were ultimately

Interview with the chancellor

settled upon. But unlike some of its richest competitors, it decided not to expand aid to upper-middle-income students and instead to focus on helping those who were “most feeling the pinch,” he said — that is, those already receiving financial aid. Forging ahead The Corporation also gave the green light to what is being called “Phase II” of the Plan for Academic Enrichment, expressing continued support for the plan’s original goals and recommending several areas of focus, including the improvement of the undergraduate experience. Simmons and the Corporation resolved in May to conduct a comprehensive review of the plan’s priorities and to seek feedback from the University community. Dean of the College Katherine Bergeron briefed the Corporation on the findings of the Task Force on Undergraduate Education, which released its report last month, and recommended efforts to improve advising. The Corporation approved $550,000 in additional support for undergraduate advising “and to other undergraduate academic support activities.” The Corporation also recommended that the University continue to focus on support for doctoral training and research and on internationalization. The internationalization effort was not part of the original Plan for Academic Enrichment, but has come to the forefront in the last year with the hiring of David Kennedy ’76 as Brown’s first vice president for international affairs. Projects being developed by Kennedy’s office, including an “international postdoctoral fellows program,” will get an additional $1.45 million in the next fiscal year. The budget for graduate student support will increase 16 percent. While the Corporation did not reach a decision on whether or not it will build a new dorm — a much-discussed topic at the its last meeting in October — Kertzer said the subject was “mentioned briefly in a couple of meetings.” The Corporation also voted to accept a dozen large gifts to the University worth nearly $21 million. Gifts exceeding $1 million require the body’s direct approval.

over the last series of years in the Plan for Academic Enrichment. And to address issues that quite frankly weren’t as high on people’s radar screen a year or two years ago, such as the entire issue of the changing competitive environment of financial aid. The competitive environment is tough, but in some respects it’s always been somewhat tough for Brown. The University doesn’t enjoy the level of endowment ... that other schools enjoy. It’s interesting: For many years that might have held Brown back in terms of initiatives. For many years, while the vast majority of analogous institutions had need-blind admissions, Brown didn’t. And for many years people might have said, “That’s a nice idea. That’s a worthy idea. We just can’t afford to do it.” Part of the perspective that Ruth and her administration have brought to Brown is a change of formulation, where they said, “That’s a great idea. We can’t afford not to do that.” A handful of the schools that Brown traditionally competes with — particularly Harvard, Yale and Princeton — have endowments that grow by billions of dollars every year. Do you think Brown can keep up with those schools in the current environment, and should it try to? The reality is that Brown has an enormous strength that many of those schools would like to have: the depth of engagement as a learning community, the student satisfaction with their academics, their academic work. The fact that Brown doesn’t have the largest endowment hasn’t stood in the way of Brown students attaining their goals at the University. And to me, it’s a marvelous testament — it’s one of those data points that says something about what happens here educationally. The reality is that other schools in this environment have materially more resources to direct to certain issues. Many of the Ivy League colleges ... are at the present time engaging in just dramatic campus expansions. Yale is, Harvard is, Princeton is, Penn is, Columbia is. ... We’re making material advances, and the challenge is to do that in a measured way. You stand here on this campus — it’s a magnificent campus, in a city that’s gotten much better over the years, certainly better since I was at school here, with a ferocity and openness to the city, and still encapsulated. You can’t imagine: It’s a form of endowment that isn’t measured in money. In terms of the culture here, the student satisfaction, the sense of engagement, is a piece of the endowment that can’t be measured in money. So I think sometimes there can be a little bit too much emphasis on the money piece. One always has to be conscious of it in terms of resources, but it isn’t everything. Reducing the growth of tuition and expanding financial aid were stressed in the budget this year. With that in mind, do you think that a Brown education is accessible enough for low- and middle-income students? The reality is, to find the right balance to make the education as accessible as possible: to understand the needs and responsibility to nurture this learning community and to ensure that this learning community is passed on to future generations, as we’re lucky enough that it’s been passed on to us. And I think the Corporation is very mindful and responsible, and also deeply caring, in an intelligent and very decent way. There are many voices and perspectives of people in the room, and they come together. Hopefully out of that process comes wise and considered judgments. Where do you see Brown in 10 or 15 years? How do you expect it to be different from what it is right now? It’s a moment of great generational change, but it’s also a moment of great affirmation of Brown’s history and traditions. A point I’d like to emphasize: The Corporation ... is a very collegial, honest, realistic, optimistic, committed group. It’s an honor to be a part of the conversation, and there is an enormous sense of process and reflection in the work of the Corporation, and an enormous respect for the culture.

CAMPUS NEWS The protesters chanted slogans for financial aid reform — “Education is a right; we will not give up the fight” and “Debt has got us on our knees; we demand tuition freeze” — as part of Students for a Democratic Society’s “Parade for Accessible Education.” At one point, two members of SDS entered the Corporation’s meeting to deliver a petition signed by about 500 members of the Brown community. The group called the event a “parade” in part because it was a “kick-off” for its continuing efforts, said Jason Hitchner ’10, an SDS member and event coordinator. Though accessible education requires more than just University funding, the group chose to focus on economic reforms this weekend because of the Corporation’s meeting, said Donata Secondo ’10, a member of SDS and another event coordinator. The group wants to make “the Corporation aware that students at Brown are really ready for a change to happen,” Secondo said. “(Financial aid reform) fits well with all the things Brown prides itself on.” According to flyers the protesters distributed as they paraded around campus with a marching band, SDS demands “expanded financial aid, the replacement of loans with grants, longer deferments on any remaining loans and a tuition freeze and reduction.” Though peer institutions have placed some reforms into motion already, “Brown has always said we don’t have that kind of endowment,” to support increased financial aid, said Olivia Ildefonso ’09, an SDS member participating in the protest. “Brown is always riding the wave,” Ildefonso said. This is an opportunity for Brown to “be more progressive (and) set the trend,” she added. “Education is a right,” said Sarah Rosengard ’11. “You can’t withhold that right because of economic and monetar y reasons.” Providence residents supported students and participated in the protest. “This is an impor tant issue for non-Brown students,” said Mark Bray, a graduate student at Providence College. “Making it important that—regardless of economic background, education is accessible—bears on the greater pursuit of education.” SDS star ted the protest by delivering the petition, signed by students and some professors, to the Corporation meeting. Hitchner said he received a

continued on page 9

Increases in financial aid budget Financial aid budget (in millions) Change over previous year

8.2%

8.0%

2004- 2005- 2006- 2007- 20082005 2006 2007 2008 2009 Source: URC reports 2003-2008

“We may experience some growth of financial aid on the margins” as more people see the announcement and apply, he said, but the number of students on aid won’t increase significantly. Next year’s 20 percent increase in the financial aid budget far outstrips recent increases, which have held somewhere just below 10 percent.

percent increas e from budget/ previous year

Increas es in financial aid budget: School year/

8.2% 9.0% 4.2% 8.0% 20.3%

2 0 0 4 -2 0 0 5 2 0 0 5 -2 0 0 6 2 0 0 6 -2 0 0 7 2 0 0 7 -2 0 0 8 2 0 0 8 -2 0 0 9

$46,418,000 $50,572,000 $52,685,000 $56,906,000 $68,457,000

9.0% 4.2%

20.3%

$68.46

rental contribution, but that amount will be calculated based on their assets and come out of their assets — not out of their income, Tilton said. Currently, 12 percent of students receiving financial aid are exempt from the parental contribution, Tilton said. Under the new plan that number will rise to 33 percent, he said. Those students’ packages will consist of only grants and workstudy grants. But the new financial benefits will not come without a cost. The “no-work” rule for first-year aid recipients — which protected freshmen from having to work during their first year at Brown — has been eliminated, Tilton said. But he said that feedback from freshmen indicated that although they appreciated packages without a work requirement, they would prefer a reduction in loans. Tilton and Dean of Admission Jim Miller ’73 presented several proposals for financial aid to the University Resources Committee, which prepares a budget recom-

mendation for the president. The other proposals were “just a different take” on the same concepts that appeared in the final plan, Tilton $80m said. Students from families making 70 under $60,000 were of particular concern, Tilton said. The rationale 60 for the new plan was not just increasing scholarships, he said,50 but decreasing student debt. 40 Under the current financial 30 aid policy, students from families making under $100,000 currently 20 graduate with total debt between $10,250 and $25,850, according 10to a University press release on Saturday. That debt load will drop0to zero for new students. The plan also reflects students’ concerns over limits on outside scholarships, Tilton said. Currently, outside scholarships can only reduce the “student-ef for t expectation,” according to the financial aid Web site. Starting next year, those scholarships can reduce loans, work and the summer savings, Tilton said. The changes do not include aid for students not currently receiving it, Tilton said.

$56.91

Despite the below-freezing temperatures and early hour, a loud crowd of protestors circled University Hall on Saturday morning, while members of the University’s highest governing body met to set next year’s tuition and decide how much money to allocate to financial aid.

continued from page 1

$52.69

By Emmy Liss Senior Staff Writer

“ver y positive reception” from students when circulating the petition. Secondo added that many students expressed “how excited they are that people are talking about this.” “It’s great that they gave me financial aid, but I’m screwed with loans,” said Yesenia Barragan ’08. “(The University) has to be accessible to working-class students.” “When I get out of college, the prospect of being in $80,000 of debt is frightening,” said Ben Nicholson ’11. “It’s not some big statement. It’s just common sense.” Accompanied by a marching band that included brass instruments, makeshift dr ums and homemade maracas, protesters circled several dorms, gathering additional protesters before looping back to the Main Green. The protest caught attention on Thayer Street, as cars honked

‘No-work’ rule for first-years slashed

$50.57

Students protest for financial aid reform Marching band makes music for Corp. meeting

Page 7

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

$46.42

Monday, February 25, 2008

Source: URC reports 2 0 0 3 -2 0 0 8

Page 8

Meiklejohn program receives record number of applications continued from page 5 “What’s really amazing about the Meiklejohn program is that it’s completely voluntary.” Other Ivy League institutions that have tried to copy the Meiklejohn program have to pay their advisers, she added. “I think it’s great that it’s not necessary — and that’s because of the Brown University passion about helping one other, about the benefits of the open curriculum and just meeting new people,” Healey said. “It’s really important,” Lassonde said. “There aren’t many places that have such a strong peer advising system.” As peer advisers dedicated to serv-

ing the needs of freshmen, he said, the students who become Meiklejohns at Brown make a personal commitment to their roles. “Meiklejohn information is the most up-to-date information on students’ needs and concerns, and gives faculty advisers a good perspective on students’ needs,” he said. “The faculty advising program is really a complement to the Meiklejohn program,” he said. Applicants were required to write three short essays and a letter of introduction, and to include a letter of recommendation from a Residential Peer Leader, adviser, faculty member, coach or another similar individual. Veteran applicants were required to submit a recommendation from one of their current advisees.

Alpert gerontology gets boost as population ages continued from page 5 leader because of its long history of research, compounded with the high quality of its researchers. This combination has led to Brown’s continued influence.” Since 2000, the University has added 10 geriatric specialists, according to the center’s Web site. According to Besdine, there is no set number of staff the program is looking for in order to continue its growth. “We are not going for numerical records. We are just reaching demands,” Besdine said. “The story everywhere in the U.S. is, as the population of 65 years and older doubles, the demand for expertise in medical care and research to understand aging will increase. We will continue to grow.” Besdine’s emphasis on building a staff and promoting continuing education has proven a trend in his career. “This is essentially the third geriatric program he has been leading,” Langston said. “He has done similar work in the past and has a known track record of building excellence.” Besdine previously worked at Harvard and the University of Connecticut. “He has a good understanding of the scope of building a program like

Monday, February 25, 2008

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

this one,” Ian Buchanan MD’10 said. “I think there is a firm base at this point in the program, and that as time goes on, the program will continue to mature and that this maturation will happen naturally.” The recognition from groups such as the Hartford Foundation helps spread the word about the demand for aging research and medical education, Besdine said. The grant “gives us time to develop more sources and to ensure the best for our academic centers,” he said. “The foundation helps us fund junior faculty and train our students on how to take care of older people. This is a skill that will be necessary whether they are involved in the sciences, or are more policy-related or involved in the bench sciences,” Mor said. Buchanan said the program has changed how he approaches medicine. “I never expected to be working in gerontology, but now I see it as an opportunity to approach something outside of my previous experience, and I will learn from it even though I doubt that I will be practicing primary care,” Buchanan said. “No matter what kind of doctor I become, I know that I will come into contact with the elderly, and this experience will make me a better physician.”

Forbes ’76 advises entrepreneur hopefuls continued from page 5 motto that the origin of business was to “produce happiness, not to pile up millions,” Forbes added. Advocating optimism and courage, Forbes urged the forum attendees to take risks in order to succeed. “Try to always remember that every problem we face is someone else’s business,” he said, calling this phenomenon “creative destruction.” While Forbes magazine could have lost many readers as the Internet gained prominence, the company instead was able to adapt, and actually grew. Forbes, Inc. made a profit and achieved international fame with the creation of its Web site, forbes. com, Forbes said. Despite his current success in the company, Forbes never thought he would join the family business and originally planned on a career in Hollywood. “I’m surprised at what I’m doing,” he said. “It’s absolutely not what I thought I’d be doing when I was (students’) age.”

Forbes chose to focus his speech on the past to show the usefulness of the study of history, he told The Herald. “I was trying to convey how the attitudes towards different things ebb and flow and how changes in the world inevitably touch things you’re going to be doing,” he said. “History (is) a way of getting experience without living it.” “I liked his advice that you never know what you’re going to be involved in 10 years from now,” said Neil Parikh ’11. “I thought that was really important for students in college who don’t really know where we’re going to end up in life.” Erika Gruppo ’09 and Phyllis Yip ’08, co-presidents of the Entrepreneurship Forum, said they enjoyed the speech because it showed entrepreneurship is relevant to all academic field. “The speech was very applicable to Brown and a liberal arts education,” Yip said. “Why does Brown produce so many entrepreneurs?” The forum also included the pan-

els, “Going Green: Entrepreneurship and the Environment,” “Media and the Arts” and “Startups: Lessons from Entrepreneurs.” The panel leaders were professors and notable alumni from businesses including ApplyWise and Multimedicus. Following the panels, the forum had roundtable discussions with representatives of finance, journalism and publishing, marketing, technology and non-profit companies. The forum concluded with a second keynote speech by Khosrowshahi about maintaining an entrepreneurial culture in a large company like Expedia, Inc., Yip said. She added that he spoke about “how entrepreneurship is about taking risks, and then he gave examples of mistakes he made in the past.” Yip was pleased with the forum’s speakers and discussions. “We wanted to show the campus that it doesn’t matter if you’re interested in business specifically, but entrepreneurship will apply to anything you do,” she said.

History journal back for its second year continued from page 5 cess was “remarkably easy,” since “most departments were incredibly willing to give something to help a new undergraduate endeavor,” Seeley wrote. The Brown Journal of History seeks to be “interdisciplinary,” said Co-Editor-in-Chief Jill Luxenberg ’08. Submissions are not limited to students in the history department, a policy which “enables (the journal) to have broad approach across campus,” added Beckoff, the journal’s other co-editor-in-chief. The editors also maintain contact with the Brown Classical Journal, which publishes earlier in the semester, in order to eliminate any overlap. The students behind the Brown Journal of History are proud of its “emphasis on the relationship between graduate students and undergraduate students,” said Paige Meltzer GS, the journal’s graduate adviser. While only articles from undergraduate students are published

in the journal, a group of graduate students mentor and help the undergraduates who run the journal. The graduate students are paired with undergrads based on their regional specialty. Both students read each submission, and the graduate students offer additional feedback. “They can tell us if we’re being too hard or too soft on someone,” Luxenberg said. This “collaborative process ... helps strengthen the department overall,” Meltzer added. The students also received help from the libraries, professors and University officials. “We’re really fortunate to have faculty that are supportive and an adviser that’s really interested in what we do,” Beckoff said, referring to Ethan Pollock, assistant professor of history and a faculty adviser for the journal’s staff. Each submission receives a response stating whether the paper was accepted and detailing the paper’s strengths and weaknesses.

“There’s really a sense that this has an educational purpose,” Beckoff said. The staff said they want to expand the journal this year, including a few more articles than were in last year’s edition, but added that their first priority is to ensure the journal’s longevity. “Because undergraduate publications are so closely tied to the motivation of individuals who are at Brown for such a short time, they tend to have short life spans,” Seeley wrote. “Our goal was to figure out a way to make the journal about process rather than product, and to institutionalize it through that process.” Beckoff said he hopes to establish the journal’s reputation around campus and keep the number of submissions rising from year to year. He added that he would eventually like to see the publication expand beyond Brown. The deadline for submissions to this year’s Brown Journal of History is today.

Game sees Seligmann ’09 with his Duke coaches continued from page 12 he got the ball. They finally got their chance to roar early in the second period, when Seligmann took the ball up the right side of the field, cut toward the net to avoid two defenders and, as he was falling, slung a left-handed shot that beat the goaltender. His celebration was low-key; there was no sense that he was releasing any frustration. He later said that he was still concerned about the score, which was 3-1 after his goal. But Seligmann allowed himself a vigorous fist-pump and a scream after recording an assist in the fourth period. Brown beat Lehigh, 10-4. Seligmann wore No. 45 on his jersey, the same as he did at Duke. He said he decided to keep his number because he had become synonymous with it; supporters of the accused players made bumper stickers featuring his number during the case. Besides, the 6-foot-1, 230-pound Seligmann said, “45 looks better on a wider frame.” On Saturday, Seligmann only briefly thought about what he went through over the past two years when the national anthem was played on loudspeakers, he said. But he said he focused on the game once it started.

Memories of Duke, surfaced only after the game, when he chatted with Cassese and Pressler. Pressler would have missed Seligmann’s game had it been held on Saturday, as scheduled, since Bryant had its own game that day. But he was able to attend after Brown’s game was postponed from Saturday afternoon because of weather. Seligmann realized Pressler was in the stands only after the game. After he saw the coach, the two of them walked to the field to see Cassese. The three took a photo and then talked — but only about lacrosse. “It was about the moment,” Pressler said. “We talked about the game and about lacrosse. That’s why we’re here.” Cassese said he always expected such a reunion, since “the lacrosse world is small.” Seligmann said he found the situation a little bizarre. “Coach Pressler (and I) looked at one another and said, ‘It’s kind of funny how things work out, isn’t it?’” Seligmann said. It wasn’t the first time Seligmann met Pressler at Brown. Bryant scrimmaged here last fall, and the two spoke after the game. But yesterday’s meeting was especially significant because Cassese is one of the main reasons Seligmann

transferred to Brown. Cassese tried to find universities Seligmann could transferred to when it became clear that the player couldn’t resume his education at Duke. So Cassese started calling Division I coaches, and Brown Head Coach Lars Tiffany ’90 was one of the first. The two are friends, as Cassese coached under Tiffany at Stony Brook in 2005. Cassese said that he was thrilled to see Seligmann “running around, just being a kid again.” He said he didn’t feel bad at all about his former player scoring against his team. “I guess there’s always going to be reminders of what was the Duke case,” Seligmann said. “But it just felt good to see all three of us — me, Coach Pressler, Coach Cassese — everybody who went to their respective schools now are seeing success.” Seligmann said last week that he couldn’t comment on a new lawsuit against Duke. Last week, 38 players — not including Seligmann and the other accused teammates — and nine family members sued the university and the city of Durham, N.C., for their handling of the case. The three accused players reached a settlement with Duke last year. — Jason Harris contributed reporting to this article.

Monday, February 25, 2008

Page 9

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

M. hoops’ defeat at Cornell Mentally tough lax team wipes out Lehigh came in the second half continued from page 12

continued from page 12 The teams traded scores for most of the second half. Cornell led 54-46 thanks to a three-pointer by forward Geoff Reeves, but the Bears cut the deficit to one at the 8:45 mark when McAndrew picked up a loose ball and converted a lay-up. But for the rest of the game, the Bears scored only from the freethrow line, as McAndrew, Huffman and swingman Peter Sullivan ’11 repeatedly missed open jump shots. The killing blow came with 2:19 left. After Cornell center Jeff Foote missed a lay-up, the Big Red beat the Bears to the loose ball — as they did nearly every time Saturday night — and poked the ball back to Foote, who hadn’t moved but was unguarded. As his 7-foot frame rose for the dunk, so did the entire crowd of 4,254 at the Newman Arena, which many fans said had never been as loud as it had been at that moment. With Cornell up by seven, Brown started fouling. But the Big Red made their free throws down the stretch to effectively seal their first league title — and the first won by a team other than Princeton and the University of Pennsylvania — since 1988. After the game, McAndrew said the Bears’ plan was to stop forward Ryan Wittman and point guard Louis Dale, Cornell’s top two scorers. But while the duo scored only 13 points, the Big Red got 25 points out of their bench — all from Reeves, who scored 14 points and hit all four of his threepointers, and Foote, who scored 11. Brown’s bench could only muster three points on the night. Skrelja said Cornell’s grabbing offensive rebounds (12, compared to Brown’s two) and loose balls ultimately felled the Bears. “We were definitely prepared,” he said. “We had a good scouting report. We knew Reeves was a shooter and a couple of times, we just left him

open. Foote — we just wanted to make him finish, and he did.” Skrelja had 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Huffman had a gamehigh 19 and McAndrew added 18. The Bears shot just 33 percent for the second half, compared to Cornell’s 50 percent. Brown also hurt itself by missing four out of eight free throws during part of the stretch. Saturday’s game followed a 67-52 win over Columbia in New York City the night before, in which Brown trailed 33-29 at halftime, but started an 18-0 run at the end of the first half. The Bears’ defense held the Lions to just 13 second-half points. McAndrew scored a team-high 18 points, while Huffman and Sullivan each added 16. McAndrew and Skrelja said the team, which has already clinched its first winning season in five years, is looking to win its four remaining games in hopes of a bid to the National Invitational Tournament or the newly created College Basketball Invitational, which will take 16 teams. “We’re definitely looking forward to this upcoming weekend with Princeton and Penn to finish the season at home on a high note and to win … in hopes of a postseason bid,” McAndrew said. “You want to play basketball for as long as you can, so we’ll get back to it (tomorrow) and it should be fun. It’s an exciting time for us. We still have a winning record for the first time in my career.” McAndrew and Huffman can shoot for individual achievements as well. McAndrew, the league’s leading scorer with 17.0 points per game, is a frontrunner for the Ivy League Player of the Year award, and McAndrew now has 1,028 career points, good for 19th on Brown’s alltime scoring list. Huffman is now in 12th place, with 1,198 points. Princeton visits the Pizzitola Center on Friday and Penn visits on Saturday. Princeton plays at 7 p.m. and Penn, 6.

W. hoops stalls twice as opponents break records continued from page 12 Columbia players got at least three minutes of playing time and four players recorded in double digits for scoring. Brown’s bench players also saw some time and O’Neal contributed a lot of the Bear’s successes to that spark from off the bench. After their loss early in the weekend, the Bears jump-started their game against Cornell on Saturday. A lay-up by Ashley Alexander ’10 set the tone for the beginning of the first half. Bruno played head to head with the top Ivy League contender, tying twice but remaining in the lead until the 14:32 minute mark when a layup from Moina Snyder put the Big Red ahead by one. “We know that we can beat anyone, especially in the Ivy League,” O’Neal said. “It just felt good to show that we were hanging in with the other team.” Cornell remained in the lead until O’Neal finally scored the equalizer off a jumper, bringing the score to 14-14 with 9:28 left in the half. But the next six minutes determined the game’s conclusion. Cornell went on a 15-2 shooting spree and secured their lead into the second half.

“We actually played with them pretty even in the first half,” O’Neal said. “It was that five minute stretch that really killed us.” Williams echoed her teammate’s sentiments. “That five minute spurt was what gave them that 12 (points) lead at half time,” she said. “That five minute spurt, that dead period absolutely killed us.” The Big Read finished the half ahead, 33-21. Going into the second half, Cornell played off their first half run. Though neither team scored until a good two minutes into the game when a free throw by Gretchen Gregg ended the scoring drought, Brown didn’t get on the boards until the 17:30 mark. A 10-0 run by the Big Red sealed the deal for good at 59-34 with 5:41 remaining. Despite outscoring the Big Red in the last 4:28 of the game, Cornell still came out ahead, 65-41. Brown heads to Princeton and Penn next weekend for their last road trip of the season. “For the most part, this could be a new beginning for the team next year.” O’Neal said. “So I think we’re just looking to improve and work on our weakness.”

much like Bell’s move earlier. This time Spirko made the initial save on Shakespeare’s low shot, but the rebound dribbled out right in front of the net, where Feinberg picked it up and put it home for his first collegiate goal. In the second quarter, Brown extended its lead with 10:52 to play in the half on a goal by newcomer Reade Seligmann ’09. The attacking midfielder, who transferred from Duke, drove down the right side then switched to his left as he cut between two Lehigh defenders towards the net. Seligmann beat Spirko top-right as he was falling down to put the Bears up 3-1. Lehigh cut the lead to 4-2 with 1:29 left in the half, but the Bears regained the momentum before the intermission. Bell won the ensuing faceoff and fed long-stick midfielder Peter Fallon ’11, who put Brown up 5-2 going into halftime. The team was very happy with the play of its freshmen, who were all seeing their first action at the collegiate level. “I was particularly impressed with the freshmen,” said Tiffany. “I was really excited to see them out there.” Though Tiffany normally worries about the mental part of the game, he was most “impressed that the lights are on.” It is difficult to tell how freshmen will react at the collegiate level, though Tiffany said the team tries to simulate competition as much as possible through scrimmages and intense

SDS parades for better financial aid continued from page 7 in agreement, and students gathered outside the Sciences Librar y to watch. Over the weekend, the Corporation decided to replace loans with grants for students whose families earn less than $100,000 per year and to eliminate parent contribution for most students whose families earn less than $60,000. After the meeting, SDS members released a statement that said the group appreciated the University’s efforts. But “there are still significant changes to be made,” the statement said. The Corporation’s approved budget will not sufficiently support transfer and international students, does not address the lack of diversity in the student body created by poor financial aid and does not acknowledge “the social and academic challenges faced by student workers in an environment of low wages and high expectations for student contributions,” the statement said.

Thanks for reading.

practices. Part of the freshmen’s success comes from the fact that they’re treated like every other player on the team, Tiffany said. “We’ve created a culture where the freshmen are a part of the program just as much as the seniors,” Tiffany said. “We have the advantage of being a spring sport, so we’ve had five months with them. We tell them they really aren’t freshmen anymore.” Other freshmen contributing to the win were Matt Greenberg ’11 on man-down defense and Jeffery Foote ’11, who scored Bruno’s final goal late in the fourth quarter. Goalie Jordan Burke ’09 outleted the ball to long-stick midfielder Jake Hardy ’10 at midfield, and then Hardy carried it into the zone. Two passes later, attackman Thomas Muldoon ’10 sent a pass left to right across the face of the net to Foote, who finished the scoring for the day. Muldoon was Brown’s leading scorer last season as a freshman with 23 goals and nine assists. He appears ready to repeat the feat this season, getting off to a good start by racking up two goals and three assists on the day. Hardy played well all day, using his length to harass Lehigh midfielders and knock numerous balls loose. He also started a number of fast breaks off of ground balls and outlet passes. The defense as a whole was very strong. Though the team was outshot 38-27, Tiffany said the team gave up the right kinds of shots. “The way we play on defense is

not to not let you shoot. We force the outside shot or losing angles,” he said. Tiffany added that Burke’s strength in goal allows the rest of the defense to be more conservative and allow outside shots because it knows Burke, who had 14 stops on the day, will make those saves. Brown also showed improvement on faceoffs, where it won 10 out of 18. It was a priority in the offseason because Brown won just 38 percent of its face offs last season, according to Tiffany. “The faceoff is unique in lacrosse,” he said. “In basketball, if I score, you get the ball. The same in football unless you onside kick. Hockey is different because possession isn’t as fixed. The make-it, take-it mentality is huge.” Tiffany attributed most of the improvement to volunteer assistant coach Glen Gordon, who has taken over face-off coaching duties from Tiffany. Though Bruno amassed seven penalties to Lehigh’s one, Tiffany felt it was just a product of aggression. “We ask our men to play with this manic intensity,” he said. “They are going to get some penalties. In the long run we can create some turnovers.” The Bears will take their 1-0 record on the road next Saturday at Hofstra. Looking forward, Sharnick said the Bears are hoping for an Ivy League title, but Tiffany said he doesn’t believe in the word “expectations.” The team’s mantra is “expect nothing, earn everything.”

E ditorial & L etters Page 10

Monday, February 25, 2008

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

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

Bravo, Brown This weekend saw a major step forward in Brown’s history. Saturday morning, the Corporation passed the budget for fiscal year 2009, and among other significant changes, this budget substantially increases the amount of money allocated to financial aid — no parental contribution from families whose income is below $60,000, no loans for those below $100,000, significantly reduced loans for everyone else. This is great news. Students currently receiving financial aid can expect better aid packages next fall. Students not on financial aid can expect a more economically diverse student body. Prospective students wowed by similar moves taken by some of our peer institutions will be wowed by us, too. A Brown education — a fantastic privilege available to only a few thousand a year — will be a more realistic choice for an ever-increasing portion of American society. Granted, the University’s new policies don’t extend as far as some of those announced by our peers. Transfer and international applicants are still examined in a need-conscious way. Brown isn’t replacing all loans with grants, nor is it drastically changing the way aid packages will look for students with family incomes of over $100,000 — for example, by instituting a percentage-based parental contribution, as some Ivies have done. And University support for students on financial aid who want to accept unpaid internships is still embarrassingly small — the Brown Internship Assistance Program and Aided Internship Program will cover, at most, a total of 65 students this summer. But still, a 20 percent increase to financial aid, in one year, cannot and should not be discounted; and in focusing on lower- and middle-income students, Brown is making these changes where they’re most needed. The one significant blemish to the University’s broadly revamped policies is the elimination of first-years’ work-study scholarships — a change that means more students will have to struggle to balance a job with their academic work. Incoming freshmen next fall will certainly miss that scholarship. In the long run, though, trading that scholarship for a debt-free (or at least less debt-ridden) graduation is surely worth it. We recognize the tough place the University is in financially, especially given the economic downturn already in progress. Some people will say that, in making these changes, Brown is one of the last top-tier institutions to come around the financial-aid corner. But history will show that these colleges’ sweeping increases in aid all took effect in fall 2008. The order of these announcements is immaterial. We applaud an administration making these changes in the face of a much smaller endowment than our peers’ — irrespective of the external political climate. The Corporation members were courageous this weekend. This move may delay the proposed construction of a new dormitory by several years. It may limit the number of new professors we hire. It may dictate smaller raises for faculty for a short time. The University’s leaders recognized these considerations as valid, but in ultimately voting to place a greater emphasis on financial aid, they showed just how bold they could be.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

P ete fallon

Letters Accessible education To the Editor: Brown Students for a Democratic Society is pleased to see the Corporation taking student needs, interests and concerns into consideration. The recent expansion of financial aid is an important step toward creating accessibility at Brown. We hope that Brown will continue to place accessibility at the center of all decisions regarding University policy. SDS thanks the hundreds of students who signed our accessible education petition and came out to the parade that preceded the Corporation’s decision. This victory attests to the power of organized student voice. Our continued efforts can ensure that this is part of a larger change. In the realm of financial considerations, there are still significant changes to be made. Brown’s financial aid policies leave transfer and international students without the assurances afforded to others. Additionally, as tuition hikes continue to exceed inflation, high sticker prices discourage many potential applicants from ever seriously considering Brown, regardless of the level of financial aid offered. Furthermore, the Corporation announcements do not address the burden of some ancillary costs and fail to ameliorate the social and academic challenges faced by student workers in an environment of low wages and high expectations for student contributions. Finally, financial aid alone doesn’t address the complex issue of under-representation. The University must actively strive for a student population that more closely reflects class diversity. As we move forward it is imperative that Brown recognize accessibility extends beyond the financial concerns. Students’ access to education is further affected by factors such as citizenship, race, age and parenthood. We must recognize barriers to potential students from marginalized groups and take concrete

action to provide a supportive and inclusive environment. Where successful programs exist, they should be expanded; where they lack — as in the case of childcare for student-parents — they should be instituted. Accessibility also means opening Brown’s resources to the Greater Providence community. It is unacceptable that Brown isolates itself from the host community from which it benefits. Our resources, academic and otherwise, such as libraries and lectures, should be freely available to nonstudents. However, access must not take the form of imposition. It is important that Brown look to the community for guidance in how it can best ally itself with community interests. Furthermore, in setting an example of accessibility, the Corporation and Administration can use their significant influence to effectively and honestly support student voices calling for increased public funding of education at the state and national level. Lack of accessibility in higher education is a systemic issue that cannot be dealt with by individual institutions acting independently. Education is both a human right and a public responsibility. SDS will strive towards this vision of accessible education, both on our campus and across the country. We have faith that the Corporation and the rest of the Brown community will do so as well. Susan Beaty ‘10 Vale Cofer-Shabica ‘09 Mike da Cruz ‘09 Carly Devlin ‘09 Joe Defrancesco ‘10 Kristin Jordan ‘09 Donata Secondo ‘10 James Dean Stefano ‘11 Mael Vizcarra ‘10 on behalf of Brown SDS Feb. 23

Corrections A graphic accompanying an article in last Wednesday’s Herald (U. courts big donors, Feb. 20) misstated the total cost of the renovation of J. Walter Wilson Laboratory. It is $18 million, not $24 million. The same graphic incorrectly labeled data about the Walk, for which the University is planning to raise $10 million, all of which still remains to be raised. A photo capiton accompanying a review in Friday’s Herald (“ ‘Hamletmachine’ piles layers on layers,” Feb. 22) spelled Sam Yambrovich’s ’11 name incorrectly. C O R R E C T I O N S P olicy The Brown Daily Herald is committed to providing the Brown University community with the most accurate information possible. Corrections may be submitted up to seven calendar days after publication. C ommentary P O L I C Y The staff editorial is the majority opinion of the editorial board of The Brown Daily Herald. The editorial viewpoint does not necessarily reflect the views of The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. Columns, letters and comics reflect the opinions of their authors only. L etters to the E ditor P olicy Send letters to letters@browndailyherald.com. Include a telephone number with all letters. The Herald reserves the right to edit all letters for length and cannot assure the publication of any letter. Please limit letters to 250 words. Under special circumstances writers may request anonymity, but no letter will be printed if the author’s identity is unknown to the editors. Announcements of events will not be printed. advertising P olicy The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. reserves the right to accept or decline any advertisement at its discretion.

O pinions Monday, February 25, 2008

Page 11

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Runway reversal BY LINDSEY MEYERS Opinions Columnist Female models have long provided a cultural looking glass through which women judge their own beauty. However, with due apologies to Keats, beauty is not truth and truth is not beauty in this looking glass. Instead, beauty is a mutable commodity that changes in accordance with the evolving aesthetic standards of the fashion industr y. In this funhouse mirror of beauty, brunette has become the new blonde and the fuller figured models of the ’50s have become thinner. As size two has become the new size four and size zero has become the new size two, female models have become dangerously thin. To borrow Tom Wolfe’s frightfully evocative phrase, many female models are now “x-ray women.” This obsession with thinness has created some troubling health concerns. The London Times reports that one Brazilian model, who subsisted on a diet of apples and tomatoes, died of anorexia. She was 5’7” and weighed 84 pounds. Another South American model, who exclusively ate lettuce and drank diet sodas, died of a heart attack. Unsurprisingly, responsible people in the fashion industry are concerned about these health risks. That is why many fashion leaders are working to create new standards for female models. Just over a year ago, they began to promote a more positive and healthy body image in fashion. They have directed their focus to the body mass index, or BMI,

of female models, a figure determined by dividing a person’s weight by their height. In Spain, designers were recently required to choose models with a BMI of at least 18 — it’s not uncommon for models to have BMIs as low as 14 or 15. In Italy the suggested BMI is 18.5, and physicians have been present at some casting calls. And in Britain models have to be certified not anorexic or bulimic in order to participate in this year’s London

are redefining standards of feminine beauty literally before our eyes. But as the current debate centers on female bodies, one wonders where this leaves male models. Can one find in the fashion world a cultural equivalent to the gender debates involving Hillary and Obama? The answer, it seems, is that there is no functional equivalent of the Equal Protection Clause in the fashion industry. While a healthy body

As size two has become the new size four and size zero has become the new size two, female models have become dangerously thin. To borrow Tom Wolfe’s frightfully evocative phrase, many female models are now “x-ray women. Fashion Week. By refusing to be complicit in aesthetic standards that threaten female models’ health, some in the fashion industr y are creating a positive trend. Just as Hillar y’s campaign is redrawing the gender boundaries for women in politics, these fashion leaders

image is gradually being promoted for female models, male models are losing weight. The aesthetic of waiflike men emerged most notably with Hedi Slimane’s sleek Dior Homme suits. And, it has become the rage in fashion. Androgyny has been given a new name, and male models are looking more

and more like female models. Indeed in the politics of fashion, there does not seem to be a separate aesthetic that corresponds to the male and female blocks of national politics. Instead, there seems to be a distinct blurring of gender differences. Guy Trebay’s Feb. 7 New York Times article “The Vanishing Point” underscores this trend. Statistics show how average male model size has drastically slimmed down. Trebay reports that booking agent George Brown at Red Model Management said, “When I get that random phone call from a boy who says, ‘I’m 6-foot-1 and I’m calling from Kansas,’ I immediately ask, ‘What do you weigh?’ If they say 188 or 190, I know we can’t use him. Our guys are 155 pounds at that height.” These trends suggest the existence of an unfair gender politics in the fashion world. For while it has become unseemly for female models to be too thin, men now face the ‘skinny issue.’ Defenders of this new male aesthetic may suggest that the health issues for male models are different than they are for female models, since the acceptable body fat percentage for men is lower than for women. However, men can become just as dangerously thin. And as we all live in a culture where anorexia has become a “lifestyle choice,” in the words of the London Times, the fashion industry has a social obligation to create a healthy body image for men and women alike.

Lindsey Meyers ‘09 is looking forward to Anna Wintour’s visit to the Oxford Union on Tuesday

On electability, Barack Obama and ... Jesus? BY MAX CHAIKEN Opinions Columnist Electability has become quite a buzzword these days. As the Democratic Party’s nomination process continues to unfold, it has become an increasingly important topic. Which of the two remaining Democrats can more effectively defeat the presumptive Republican nominee, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., in November? Last week, Matt Aks ’11 wrote that we should “reject this discussion of electability” (“The trap of electability,” Feb. 15). Aks and other supporters of this argument suggest that Democrats should ignore the Republican nominee and choose their candidate based solely on substantive policy differences (of which there are, admittedly, few) or “an additional round of research and vetting.” This makes little sense. After seven years of deception and secrecy, a misguided war and a mismanaged economy, Democrats should have it made. But Democratic voters would be foolish to disregard John McCain and choose their nominee without trying to determine which candidate can best compete against him. McCain is as viable a GOP candidate as there could possibly be in this election cycle. He is perceived as a moderate even though he has shifted all of his moderate stances to the right in the course of the primary. He is a decorated war hero with decades of Washington experience. He poses a serious threat to the Democrats’ chances of winning in November, and simply assuming that Democrats will win because of discontent with Bush is ludicrous. (Are you scared of John McCain yet, Dems? You should be.) It is absolutely critical to consider which Democrat would more easily defeat McCain, and the answer is clearly Barack Obama.

Obama has destroyed Clinton among independent voters and self-identified Republicans in the Democratic primaries. In Wisconsin, according to the CNN exit poll, Obama won among voters of all party affiliations, but took Republicans (who made up 9 percent of the voters) by a whopping 44-point margin, and independents by a 31-point margin. In Virginia, the effect was even greater: he took Republicans by 49 points and independents by 39. Obama has often won by significant mar-

only force behind the incredible increases in Democratic turnout, he has shown the capacity to earn more votes than some of the Republican candidates combined. In South Carolina, for example, he had about 295,000 votes to McCain and Huckabee’s combined 280,000. But all of these reasons have been clear for quite some time, and if you’ve been watching closely, you already knew about them. So, in addition to these easily verified reasons why Obama appears more electable than

Democratic voters would be foolish to disregard John McCain ... It is absolutely critical to consider which Democrat would more easily defeat McCain, and the answer is clearly Barack Obama. gins and he has garnered support in red states that Democrats haven’t campaigned in for years (Kansas and Idaho come to mind). He has also shown the ability to win in important swing states, such as Virginia, Colorado and Missouri. Additionally, Obama has shown the capacity to bring hordes of new voters to the polls. Young voters and students are finally turning out — something that benefits not only Obama, but our country and our generation as well. And while Obama is probably not the

Clinton, I’m going to suggest one more: Jesus Christ. One trend that I have noticed as the primary season has developed is that there is a strong correlation between states where Mike Huckabee has done well and states where Obama has done well. Of the eight states that Huckabee has won, seven have held Democratic contests, and Obama has won five: Iowa, Kansas, Alabama, Georgia and Louisiana. Huckabee and Obama have both enjoyed significant support from church-

going voters. In their respective primaries, Obama won over a larger proportion of voters who attend church regularly than did Huckabee. Yes, it is true that many of Huckabee’s voters are socially conservative evangelicals who take stances with which Obama does not agree. Many would not be impressed by his pro-choice and pro-civil-union stances. But when it comes to many other prominent issues, such as economic justice, protecting our environment, fixing a broken health care system or achieving a greater level of ethics and transparency in government, evangelicals and Barack Obama should have a lot of shared concerns. Given that Jesus himself was an advocate for the poor and the hungry, the crippled and the blind, Obama’s challenge with evangelicals is not to find the common ground but to communicate it effectively. On June 28, 2006, Obama was the keynote speaker at the Call to Renewal conference. He spoke in depth about the profound lack of religious dialogue between conservative and liberal America, and specifically about the discomfort of much of liberal America with even “the hint of religion.” When progressives forfeit any and all religious dialogue to conservatives, he said, they “forfeit the imagery and terminology through which millions of Americans understand both their personal morality and social justice.” Obama already has the potential to shift the electoral map. But perhaps his willingness to reach out to people of faith — to remind us that were Jesus to vote, he just might vote for Barack Obama — could prove another huge advantage.

Max Chaiken ’09, a coordinator of Brown Students for Obama, is a progressive Jew who has a deep respect for Jesus’ call to feed the hungry and clothe the naked

S ports M onday Page 12

Monday, February 25, 2008

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Lions, Big Red drop w. hoops Whitney Clark Spor ts Editor

The Bears lost both their games in the Pizzitola Center this weekend by wide margins, 81-55 to Columbia on Friday Columbia 81 and 65-41 to 55 Cor nell on Brown Saturday. Their 65 opponents had Cornell 41 reason to celBrown ebrate because these outcomes allowed them to break some important records. After beating Brown at home and improving its record to 9-14 overall, 6-3 in the Ivy League, Columbia collected its first season sweep of the Bears since the 2001-02 season. Additionally, the 26-point margin of victory was the Lions largest advantage since their 82-55 win against Dartmouth in 1991. Cornell was equally impressive. After beating the Bears, the No. 1 team among the Ivies improved its record to 16-6 overall, 9-1 in the Ivy League, setting a school record for conference wins in a season. With an extended winning streak of eight, the Big Red also broke a record for consecutive games won that stood for 33 years. Despite an early Brown turnover just 20 seconds into the game that led to a three-pointer by Columbia’s Brittney Carfora, Brown matched up well against the Lions in the beginning of the first half. After a layup by Sadiea Williams ’11 at the 15:29 mark, the Bears were within one point, 10-9. But Columbia seemed to have just been warming up. The Bears gave up six turnovers after their close encounter with the Lions and, despite a combined ten points from Shae Fitzpatrick ’10 and Christina Johnson ’10, Brown was unable to bring down their deficit. For the remainder of the half the Lions went on a 28-11 run, putting the team ahead 40-24 at the half. Columbia shot 46 percent from the field at the half, while Brown came in with only 22 percent, scoring just five shots of its attempted 23. What kept the Bears in the game at this point was their free throw shooting. They shot 70 percent, beating the Lion’s 63 percent at the half. The second half started out with a layup by Courtney Lee ’10. Despite improving their shooting percentage to 48 percent, the Bears were struggling with rebounds, which greatly hindered them throughout the game. “I think what wasn’t working was the fact that we were letting Columbia get tons of second chances. They were out-rebounding us,” said captain Annesley O’Neal ’08. “What we need to do is focus on getting defensive boards; instead, we’re giving teams second and third chances, and that hurt us.” Bruno’s turnover rate also stalled any chance at coming back. Columbia scored 30 points off of 26 Brown turnovers and recorded 14 steals . “We needed to take care of the ball; we started out with multiple turnovers,” O’Neal said. “That’s kind of the issue.” By the end of the game, all 13

Cornell sinks m. hoops’ Ivy title hopes Seligmann ’09 By Stu Woo Senior Editor

ITHACA, N.Y. — It was billed as the Ivy League’s game of the year, with the second-place men’s basketball team 67 t r a v e l i n g Brown Columbia 52 here Saturday to take 65 on Cornell Brown 74 and its 9-0 Cornell conferenceleading Ivy record. And with the Bears’ defense stifling the Big Red’s best two players, it appeared that Brown would pull off the upset. All-Ivy guards Mark McAndrew ’08 and Damon Huffman ’08 showed the urgency of seniors who had never won a league title, hitting a barrage of lay-ups and three-pointers. But in the end, the Bears couldn’t stop a balanced Cornell offense buoyed by a rambunctious home crowd. The Big Red out-shot and out-hustled the Bears in the second half for a 74-65 comeback victory. The loss means that the team’s three seniors — McAndrew, Huffman and center Mark MacDonald ’08, who has missed the past four games after suffering a concussion — will likely graduate without a championship or an NCAA Tournament trip. Ashley Hess / Herald File Photo “I really feel bad for those seniors,” said swingman Chris Skrel- Mark McAndrew ‘08 scored his 1,000th point this weekend in a win ja ’09. “All those hours in the gym, against Columbia and is now 19th on Brown’s all-time scoring list. all the late night shooting, running undefeated in Ivy play since the tive Huffman three-pointers. Their miles and miles in practice just University of Pennsylvania went matchup zone defense was forcing with that one goal in mind — in 14-0 in 2003 Ivy play. the Big Red to settle for jump shots making the NCAA Tournament “Definitely, there’s a sense of that often missed. — and it’s just tough.” disappointment,” McAndrew said. But the defense started to slack Brown (15-9 overall, 7-3 Ivy) “We set out in the beginning of off, and Cornell went on a run, now trails Cornell (18-5, 10-0 Ivy) the year with the goal of winning ending the half down just 33-31. by three games with only four re- the Ivy League championship and Guard Adam Gore led the run, maining. Both schools finish their knowing what was on the line” on hitting four of five three-point attempts in the half. Gore finished schedules against the league’s four Saturday night. worst teams, so the Bears can’t The Bears got off to a quick with a team-high 18 points. expect losses by the Big Red, who start in the first half, leading 25-13 could become the first team to go at the 7:29 mark after two consecucontinued on page 9

By Stu Woo Senior Editor

Reade Seligmann ’09 had been looking forward to yesterday’s men’s lacrosse game for nearly two years. He hadn’t played since March 2006, when he and two Duke teammates were accused of raping an exotic dancer at a team party. Since transferring to Brown in the fall, the since-exonerated Seligmann has been eager to put the case behind him and become just another college lacrosse player again. But when he put on a Brown uniform for the first time yesterday and stepped onto Brown’s Meister-Kavan Field, there were two reminders of his Duke life watching him. On the opposing sideline was Kevin Cassese, Seligmann’s former assistant coach at Duke who now heads the Lehigh squad. In the stands was Mike Pressler, the former Duke head coach who resigned during the case. He now coaches at Bryant University, 10 miles away in Smithfield. The three former Blue Devils are now each on smaller, fledgling teams after leaving Duke, a perennial national title contender. Seligmann is hoping to lead his team, which finished 7-7 last year, to the NCAA Tournament. Cassese, who became Duke’s interim head coach during the case, is looking to rebuild the Lehigh program as a 26-year-old head coach, one of the youngest in the NCAA. Pressler has settled in Rhode Island, leading a Division II team to its most successful season ever last year. But the spotlight was on Seligmann yesterday, which was clear from the starting lineup announcements, when the crowd gave him its loudest ovation. During the game’s early goings, fans cheered Seligmann every time continued on page 8

M. lax soars to victory over Mountain Hawks By Jason Harris Sports Editor

Ashley Hess / Herald File Photo

continued on page 9

debuts before former coaches

In their season-opening 10-4 win against Lehigh, Nic Bell ‘09 recorded a goal and an assist in Brown’s first game on the Meister-Kavan field turf.

Attackman Andrew Feinberg’s ’11 goal off a rebound late in the first quarter gave Brown a 2-1 lead against Lehigh, Lehigh 4 at which point Brown 10 the Bears never looked back. Bruno defeated Lehigh 10-4 on Sunday at Meister-Kavan Field in its season opener. Having waited an extra day to play because of postponement for weather conditions, Brown was ready to get its season underway, but it was Lehigh who struck first. The Mountain Hawks controlled the opening faceoff and proceeded to posses the ball, patiently working it around the Brown zone in a counterclockwise direction. Though Brown escaped the possession, it was unable to clear the zone and set up its offense. Lehigh took the ball away at midfield and scored a transition goal to go up 1-0, 2:11 into the game. That was the best news for Lehigh all day, however, as it was all Bruno after that. Faceoff man Nic Bell ’09 was the first Bear on the board for the season, tying the game with 9:03 to play in the first

quarter. Bell beat his man at the top left of the box and then drove to the middle, where the Lehigh help was too late to stop Bell from beating goalie Eric Spirko. He would add another tally later in the game as well. Though the team started off playing sloppily, with some errant passes and a too-many-men-on-thefield penalty, the Bears settled down after getting their first game jitters out. “It was the first quarter of the first game, and you are trying to figure out what’s going on,” Head Coach Lars Tiffany ’90 said. “You can’t really prepare for the real thing.” “Obviously there were a couple mistakes early on,” said tri-captain Brian Sharnick ’08. Still, he was pleased with the fact that “our intensity was there. We were scraping for ground balls.” Play was even for the rest of the quarter, until Feinberg put Brown up for good with the first of his two goals. With 2:35 remaining in the opening period, midfielder Matt Shakespeare ’10, situated at the top left of the box, faked as though he was going to use a pick to his right and drove left towards the cage, continued on page 9

Monday, February 25, 2008

Published on Feb 25, 2008

The February 25, 2008 issue of the Brown Daily Herald

browndailyherald

Similar to

Popular now

Just for you

Go explore