The Brown Daily Herald T uesday, S eptember 30, 2008
Volume CXLIII, No. 81
Since 1866, Daily Since 1891
BSR up for mtvU ‘Woodie’
An era ends: Miko closed for good Owner cites ‘mismanagement’
By Alexandra Ulmer Staf f Writer
Video may have killed the radio star, but mtvU is paying homage to one small radio station that rents its air space from the Wheeler School and only broadcasts over the air for 10 hours a day — Brown Student and Community Radio has been nominated as one of the country’s best campus radio stations for mtvU’s fifth annual college music awards, the Woodies. Listeners can vote for their favorite station at mtvU’s Web site until Nov. 7. But voting for BSR is only open until Oct 6., and the college television network will announce the winner out of the 20 nominated stations on Nov. 12. “I think we have a shot, if we can get the word out,” BSR Station Manager John McGarry ’10 said, upon being told of the nomination by The Herald. “We’ve always thought of ourselves as a good station.”
By Nandini Jayakrishna Metro Editor
A locked door, a dark, almost bare interior and a large sign reading “Space for Lease” in red letters. Today, that’s all that greets visitors and customers to what was once Wickenden Street’s popular sex store, Miko Exoticwear. The shop closed this July after
METRO
Courtesy of Sarah Moore
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Vanessa Adams ’08 and Jenny Weissbourd ’08.5 pause while hosting “One Man’s Trash” in the BSR studio this summer.
Panel on U.S.-Russian relations draws crowd of 100 By Sydney Ember Contributing Writer
A panel of five scholars gathered on Monday afternoon to discuss U.S.-Russian policy in light of the recent war in Georgia and Kosovo’s declaration of independence earlier this year. The forum, entitled “Georgia and Kosovo: A New Cold War,” sought to answer a wide range of questions concerning the deterio-
ration of American relations with Russia. Despite inclement weather, nearly 100 students and faculty came to MacMillan 117 for the forum, which marked the start of the Watson Institute for International Studies’ project on Nuclear Dilemmas in the 21st Century. Panel members spoke at length about NATO and the meaning of self-determination for states as it
Sexual health at Brown rises in Trojan ranks By Matthew Varley Higher Ed Editor
Grade point averages may be taboo on Brown’s campus, but this year the University has a 3.31 according to a decidedly non-academic source — the makers of Trojan condoms. Brown ranks 17th out of 139 U.S. colleges and universities in the third annual Trojan Sexual Health Report Card, which surveys resources and services available to students. The University moved up 22 places from 2007, when it was ranked 39th. With a 3.50 GPA as calculated by the report card, Stanford University claimed the top spot in the rankings after placing 41st last year, though the school was ranked number four in 2006. Among Ivy League schools, Columbia and Cornell beat Brown to rank second and third in the survey, respectively. “Ivy Leaguers love to be on top,
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METRO
After Tannenwald introduced the panel, each member spoke about different aspects of the conflict in Georgia and Kosovo’s recent declaration of independence. “I want to start by saying that whatever happens between Russia and the European nations and the United States, whatever it may be, it will not be a cold war,” said Ab-
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CAMPUS NEWS
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t e n t o f o pp o r t u n i t i e s
and we’re not talking just academics,” Trojan said on its Web site. According to a Trojan press release, many students surveyed across the country said their health centers had improved over the past year, but a third of students said “they would not contact their health centers with questions about sexual health.” Laurel Foglia ’08.5, who was an M-Sex facilitator in the fall of 2007, said the University “can always do more” to provide sexual education and resources to students. For example, while Foglia said it is “pretty easy to make an appointment and go” for tests for sexually transmitted infections on campus, she added that Health Services could do more to advertise its programs. Foglia also said vending machines that sell condoms, like the one in the gender-neutral bathroom
It’s easy being green R.I. economic and political leaders confer on creating more environmental jobs
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relates to Kosovar independence. They agreed that relations between the United States and Russia are deteriorating. Though the forum was not explicitly concerned with nuclear weapons, Nina Tannenwald, one of the co-leaders of the project and the forum’s moderator, said before the event that nuclear issues would inevitably come up because the forum concerned U.S. and Russian relations.
Donald Kendall / Herald
A study abroad fair on the Main Green Monday showcased options for students hoping to spend time learning away from College Hill.
BYe Bye Bikes DPS cracks down on bicycle corpses abandoned on walkways, with the disabled in mind
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OPINIONS
Teen Moms Now Trendy Adrienne Langlois ‘10 asks that students evaluate Sarah Palin’s position on sex education
195 Angell Street, Providence, Rhode Island
a “mismanagement” of funds by the store’s manager — who had quit shortly before then — made it impossible for the business to remain open, owner Jeff Gellman told The Herald. Gellman said that some bills that he thought had been paid had, in fact, not been paid — what he called a “side-effect” of mishandling and not a cause. “You delegate someone to run the company and they’re not paying the bills,” he said. “It was mismanaged.” Gellman first started Miko in 1993 on North Main Street, selling lingerie, sex toys, gifts, books, videos and accessories. Last year he decided to move the store to 268 Wickenden St. — a location with a better layout and greater proximity to Brown and the Rhode Island School of Design. College Hill students made up almost 30 percent of the store’s customers, The Herald reported in March 2007. Apart from being a store, Miko also included a resource center where classes and workshops were held to promote healthy sexuality. Gellman acknowledged that after the business moved to its new location he made the mistake of not paying enough attention to it, giving the manager free rein. In early July, after the manager left on very short notice, Gellman said he and the shop’s full-time employees discovered that their health insurance had expired almost two months ago. Upon delving deeper, Gellman said he saw that the business’s expenses were far exceeding its revenues. “As much as we want to do well for the community and change the landscape for masturbation and sex in Providence, we have to earn a profit,” he said, adding that he, his wife and six children are still without health insurance. The store’s closing came as a rude surprise to its workers. Megan Andelloux, a certified sexuality educator and consultant, who conducted classes and workshops at Miko, said the store’s closing was unfortunate both for its continued on page 4
12 SPORTS
Rookie No More Bianca Aboubakare ’11 tries for a spot at an elite national tennis tournament
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