The Brown Daily Herald F riday, O ctober 3, 2008
Volume CXLIII, No. 84
Since 1866, Daily Since 1891
Budget slows replacement of possibly unhealthy cups By Chris Duffy Contributing Writer
Dining Services is replacing plastic cups in campus dining halls due to a possible health threat. But because of budget concerns, they will only replace broken cups instead of all the cups immediately. The plastic cups contain the chemical Bisphenol A, or BPA, which has been linked to numerous health problems. The new cups will be BPAfree. “Since the news of potential detrimental health effects of BPA broke last spring, we have been searching for a replacement cup that is both BPAfree and affordable,” Ann Hoffman, director of administration for Dining Services, wrote in an e-mail to The Herald. The cups in question have the number seven on the bottom in the recycling symbol, which signifies that the plastic is polycarbonate. The Herald reported last spring that the polycarbonate used in these cups contains BPA, which has come under scrutiny in recent months after the Canadian government declared the plastic compound toxic. BPA acts as a hormone disrupter in the body because it’s broken down into natural estrogens. “This is an estrogen and we’ve seen with other estrogens in the body that there is a decreased ability to have children and
an increased risk of cancer,” said Scott Belcher, a professor at the University of Cincinnati who studies BPA and plastics. Belcher recently published a study showing that BPA was leached up to 55 times more rapidly after polycarbonate plastic water bottles were exposed to boiling water. Belcher said that the age of the plastic doesn’t seem to matter. “It looks more like it’s the repeated high-temperature washing. With polycarbonate cups in a cafeteria, it’s probably being released.” Hoffman wrote that plastic cups in the dining halls are exposed to “highheat dishwashing” but added that due to budget limitations, Dining Services “couldn’t afford to replace our entire inventory of cups at one time.” Students outside the dining halls expressed surprise and concern when told about the presence of BPAs in the plastic cups they’d just used. “Replacing the cups should be a priority that the school puts money towards,” Meredith Hunt ’11 said. “I’m surprised,” Zach Wilson ’12 said. “I think that it’s important enough if it’s a health risk for them to spend the money and replace all the cups. It’s weird that they’ve only replaced some. It should be all or nothing.” In the meantime, Belcher said, “there is clear reason for caution based on the science. My personal choice would be to avoid the polycarbonate.”
Kim Perley / Herald
Twenty-eight students are using Brown’s off-campus student parking lot this year.
Fewer than 30 students using U. parking U. considering moving spots back to campus By Alexandra Keegan Contributing Writer
Only 28 students are currently using the University’s new off-campus student parking lot — down from as many as 250 students using oncampus parking last year. The students are parking in the
SPOTLIGHT
Spy game: From Williams St. with love Espionage in the name of art
The Delta Tau fraternity has been forced to cancel a scheduled event this weekend after being placed on a six-week probation this week by Greek Council. The council sanctioned the fraternity for failing to properly register a charity auction it held two weeks ago. DTau members said they believe the probation is unfair. Matt Kahn ’10, DTau’s treasurer,
Brenna Carmody ’09 leans over a tall iced coffee and uses detailed hand gestures to explain a fundraising idea to her professor across the table. She fumbles with her pen and sits cross-legged, adjusting her chair as she transitions from one idea to the next. She wears flip-flops. At a corner table on the raised platform a few feet to Carmody’s left, Claire Russo’s ’09 hands move in short bursts, but her eyes stay focused on Carmody. “Poor posture,” Russo writes in a worn, unlined notebook. “Gesticulatey.” Today, Russo is not at Starbucks to sip the Earl Grey tea by her side or to study in the cushioned armchair she eyed when she walked in. She’s here for Carmody. She has studied Carmody’s daily schedule, staked out a proper lookout point and brought supplies to document Carmody’s every move. Russo is a spy. Carmody is her target. The twist? Carmody asked for it.
By Charlene Kim Contributing Writer
Courtesy of Claire Russo
continued on page 4
What makes a hero? “Dreams of Antigone” mixes ancient Greek drama with American politics
www.browndailyherald.com
continued on page 4
said the probation was in response to an unregistered event in Olney House on Sept. 19. The Date-a-Delt charity event auctioned off about 10 fraternity brothers to raise funds to aid victims of Hurricane Ike. Kahn said DTau chose to give the proceeds of more than $800 to the Gulf Coast Ike Relief Fund through the Greater Houston Community Foundation in an effort to “give as directly to the people as we possibly can.” continued on page 4
PawPrints problems prove profitable for some pupils
Claire Russo ‘09 grabbed a clandestine photo of her target, Brenna Carmody ‘09.
3
“With what we’re expending to run security and the shuttle, we can better use funds in other ways,” Gentry said. As recently as 2005, Brown was allocating as many as 500 oncampus spots to undergraduates, according to a January 2005 Herald article. It later reduced the number of available spots to 250 and then announced last semester it would
DTau loses party privileges because of charity auction By Hannah Moser Contributing Writer
By Chaz Firestone Features Editor
ARTS & CULTURE
lots at Providence Piers, about two miles from the center of campus, said Elizabeth Gentry, assistant vice president of financial and administrative services. The Herald reported in April that the lot has 250 spots. So few students are parked in the off-campus lot that, while campus parking is still crunched, the University is considering returning the 28 spots to campus, Gentry said.
5
CAMPUS NEWS
polo Sans water Polo team hopes to gain recognition — and funding — as club sport
11
OPINIONS
Spurred by widespread problems with printing clusters earlier this semester, Computing and Information Services last week reset all student’s PAWPrints credit to $30. Starting in the second week of the semester, a problem with the network configuration of printers meant many students weren’t able to print PDF files and files from MyCourses. CIS was able to locate and fix the problem.
FUN IN THE STACKS Alvin Kerber ’11 thinks you should actually check out books at the library
195 Angell Street, Providence, Rhode Island
12 SPORTS
It then reverted each student’s PAWPrints account back to $30, regardless of how much of the allowance had already been spent. “People would be going to the printer, and either nothing was happening because the job was so slow or massive, or the printer would print a ton of junk with dense random text,” said Steven Lavallee, head of the Friedman Study Center. Lavallee said that as the printer continued on page 4
athlete of the week Buddy Farnham’s ‘10 pregame ritual: crepes with his roommates
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T oday Page 2
Friday, October 3, 2008
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
We a t h e r
Vagina Dentata | Soojean Kim
TODAY
TOMORROW
partly cloudy 65 / 46
sunny 66 / 45
Menu Sharpe Refectory
Verney-Woolley Dining Hall
Lunch — Saturday Night Jambalaya, Broccoli Au Gratin, Zucchini Burgers, Nacho Bar, Hash Brown Potatoes
Lunch — Chicken Fingers, Vegan Nuggets, Vegan Brown Rice Pilaf with Mushrooms, Baked Potato Bar
Dinner — Fried Catfish With Tartar Sauce, Spanish Rice, Fresh Vegetable Melange, Red Potato Frittata
Dinner — Pizza Rustica, Grilled Chicken, Stuffed Shells with Sauce, Roasted Potatoes with Shallots
Brown Meets RISD | Miguel Llorente
Sudoku Fill in the grid so that every row, every column and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 through 9.
Epimetheos | Samuel Holzman
Enigma Twist | Dustin Foley
© Puzzles by Pappocom RELEASE DATE– Friday, February 22, 2008
Los Angeles Times Crossword Puzzle C r o sDaily s wo rd Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
ACROSS 1 Mister Rogers’s home 4 “Africa” band 8 Like 14 Wild __ 15 Nashville attraction 16 “Le dÈjeuner des canotiers” artist 17 Lecture with no ad-libbing? 20 Bathsheba’s spouse 21 Bronze metal 22 Authority 23 Wearing things that clash, e.g.? 28 Connecting flights 29 Series about the firm McKenzie Brackman 32 Largest U.S. campus, enrollment-wise 35 Bucs’ scores 36 Entirely 37 Chutney fruits 40 One might get stuck in the sand 41 Gauge 42 Pops 43 Post-accident advice 44 Flightless birds 45 Chest 48 Leave one’s disguises at home? 53 Former flier 55 “I’m sorry, Dave” speaker of sci-fi 56 Orlando acronym 57 Allow a prisoner unlimited phone calls? 62 Fairy king 63 Just how you see it 64 Stooge with bangs 65 One of the reputed Dead Sea Scrolls authors 66 After 67 Saint’s start? DOWN 1 Online intrusion
2 Ballerina’s support 3 Unemotional 4 Uncle Sam feature 5 Pick, with “for” 6 Tony-winning Morse role 7 Bed occupants 8 Detroit’s Joe Louis, e.g. 9 White, in Waikiki 10 Fill (in) 11 Early “high-tech” typewriter brand 12 Fey of “30 Rock” 13 Overindulgence 18 Apple varieties 19 Depressing place, with “the” 24 “Misery” Oscar winner 25 Tops 26 Speak poorly of, or speak poorly 27 Gerald O’Hara won the land for it in an all-night poker game 30 Baseball’s Jes˙s 31 He plays Dr. Carter on “ER” 32 Actor Sharif
33 Miss America didn’t wear one from 1975-2005 34 Disturbs 36 ’90s Toyota 38 First, for one 39 Mount of Greek myth 40 Parisian picnic place 42 Car inventor George 45 Show elation 46 Elder hostile?
47 Offensive to some, briefly 49 “Behind the Music” airer 50 Start of an old boast 51 Flaps 52 Siouan speakers 53 Card holder 54 Breaks down 58 “The Chronic” Dr. 59 Pen denizen 60 Not allow to sit 61 Reject
Alien Weather Forecast | Stephen Lichenstein and Adam Wagner
ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:
Fizzle Pop | Patricia Chou
xwordeditor@aol.com
2/22/08
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A rts & C ulture Friday, October 3, 2008
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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
Trinity Rep’s ‘Antigone’ channels myth, modern politics By Emily Toner Contributing Writer
What makes a hero? Trinity Repertory Company’s new show, “The Dreams of Antigone,” attempts to answer this question, channeling an ancient story from Greek myth. People have known Sophocles’ “Antigone” for millenia, but at Trinity Rep this month, director Brian McE-
Tonight: “Melodie”; songs of Debussy and Faure, performed by Katherine Bergeron, mezzo-soprano; Fred Jodry, baritone; and Dana Gooley, pianist. 8 p.m. in Grant Recital Hall. Now through Oct. 5: “Funnyhouse of a Negro,” by Adrienne Kennedy. Now in a Sock & Buskin production directed by Kym Moore. Tonight and Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday at 2 p.m. All performances are in Leeds Theatre. Student tickets are $7.
REVIEW leney and playwright Curt Columbus — associate director and artistic director of the company, respectively — debut a modern interpretation of the classical tale. A mash-up of ancient Greek drama and contemporary American politics, “The Dreams of Antigone” presents the audience with a world of tyrannical ultimatums and misguided rule. Creon, played by Fred Sullivan Jr. has taken charge of Thebes with an iron fist after the downfall of his cousin and brother-in-law, Oedipus. A disastrous civil war between Oedipus’ sons Eteocles (Mauro Hantman) and Polyneices (Aaron Rossini GS) has left the city in disarray and endless bodies in open graves. Killed in a fraternal duel, Eteocles is now honored as a hero of the state, while the rebellious Polyneices, by Creon’s decree, lies unburied on the battlefield. The real hero of this story is its title character. Antigone (Rachael Warren), the daughter of Oedipus — or, alternately, his half-sister — chooses to bury her brother Polyneices, defying Creon’s orders and sealing her own death. At the start of the play, the stage sits in a state of decay, the scene of a fallen empire. The strong stone pillars that once held up grand temples now lie in collapsed ruin. Slipping through the space come great metal cages, ugly pieces of modern industry. While the set evokes the crumbling monuments of the past, Columbus places the characters in small, private spaces — the kitchen, the council chamber, the privileged quarters of
Editors ’ picks
Courtesy of Trinity Rep
Rachael Warren as Antigone and Angela Brazil as Ismene in “The Dreams of Antigone.” the palace. In this context, tragedy becomes domestic drama in search of a more personal examination of these ancient characters. After burying her brother, Antigone stumbles into the household kitchen, where she finds the family cook making rolls. They talk sentimentally of her childhood and how things have changed, how her family once was happy. “The Dreams of Antigone” does not replicate the heightened, abstract tone of Greek tragedy, but rather presents intimate portraits of confused people who don’t always know what is right — even if they think they do. The members of the Chorus, including the cook, the family housekeeper, and a war widow, provide the viewers with individual perspectives on larger events, instead of grandiose meditations. Likewise, Columbus and McEleney humanize Antigone, presenting her as the over-privileged daughter of royalty who defies the law in a stint of drunken anger rather than in utter conviction of her own actions.
It is only through her act of civil disobedience that Antigone gains the power to question what is good and just. By speaking out, Antigone breaks the silence that seems to loom over Creon’s Thebes. Columbus and McEleney appear to compare the tyranny of Creon to current United States politics. The chorus slips into recitations of “We the People … ” and the patriotic chants of national anthems — heavy-handed gestures toward Washington and American politics that become overbearing and predictable. Creon gains a network of cronies and advisors, insiders on a par with Karl Rove and Donald Rumsfeld. The comparison is not strictly allegorical, yet it suggests a strongly didactic criticism of the black-and-white thinking present today and the suppression of challenging voices. While it is easy to criticize American politics, “The Dreams of Antigone” also blames the audience for its own silence, both outside and inside the world of the theater. Columbus points out the convention of docile
theatergoing, linking it to the silence of the public in the face of authority, which Antigone opposes. The audience becomes a culprit as the tragedy unfolds onstage. By passively observing, Columbus suggests, the viewers are complicit in Antigone’s death. In “The Dreams of Antigone,” the ghosts of the past appear in the dreams of the characters; the dead still haunt the living. Dead soldiers and departed relatives stay with the characters, living on and becoming heroes through their memories. The play points out that characters, too, live and die. Through the power of storytelling, they also challenge us to speak out. This production might be just one among many versions of an ancient tale. Yet in its telling, it takes the time to remind the viewer why these stories are worth telling twice. “Dreams of Antigone” runs through Oct. 26 in the Dowling Theater at Trinity Rep, located at 201 Washington St. in downtown Providence.
Now through Oct. 12: “Pixilerations”; fifth annual festival of digital art and performance. Events include a concert featuring Daniel Bernard Roumain; digital videos at the Cable Car Cinema; and an exhibition. See http:// www.pixilerations.org for event times and locations. Now through Oct. 18: “2008 Most Endangered Properties Photography Exhibit”; Providence Preservation Society exhibition at Butterfield, 232 Westminster St. On view Tuesday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and Sunday, 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. Now through Oct. 19: “Views and Re-Views: Soviet Political Posters and Cartoons”; exhibition at the David Winton Bell Gallery in List Art Center and the John Hay Library. On Oct. 8, Abbott (Tom) Gleason will deliver a lecture, “Views and Re-Views: Looking Back at Bolshevik Political Art,” at 7 p.m. in List. On Oct. 10, the Cogut Center for the Humanities will offer “Political Art and Its Paradoxes: A Symposium,” from 3 to 6:30 p.m. in Pembroke Hall.
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Friday, October 3, 2008
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
The spy who loved me: my housemate Number of students using U. parking drops sharply continued from page 1
‘The Shadow’ Russo’s handler is Geddes Levenson ’09, half of the brains behind the operation. In collusion with her housemate-cum-accomplice Annie Blazejack ’09, Levenson has arranged for nine members of her Williams Street house to spy on each other through surrogate agents for hire like Russo. Though each resident knows who is after whom, none of the housemates know the identities of the spies enlisted to follow, document and photograph them. Levenson and Blazejack — both visual arts concentrators — plan to display the fruits of the elaborate game in the second-floor gallery of the List Art Center later this month. Levenson says the project was inspired by French conceptual artist Sophie Calle, who once had her mother hire a private detective to follow her around Paris for a piece called “La Filature,” or “The Shadow.” Though she knew she would be followed, Calle did not know where or when. “She was a different person because she knew someone was following her,” Levenson says. “The art piece is her life, but is it really her?” In modifying Calle’s project, Levenson and Blazejack have created a web of espionage in which each participant is both predator and prey. “You can live with people and still not know very much about them outside of the house,” Levenson says. The one caveat to the game is that spies can only survey their targets outside of the house. Though sleep and meals are off-limits, classes and Starbucks meetings are kosher — the game begins the second you step out the door. The Chase Russo received her assignment from Levenson by e-mail along with Carmody’s schedule for the week,
which Carmody had surrendered for the project. She zeroed in on Monday’s 1 p.m. meeting at Starbucks and brought a notebook and a camera to conduct her surveillance. Carmody was sitting in the northwest corner of the cafe near the sugar and cream stand, so Russo picked a table on the raised platform in the southeast corner to observe her target from afar. But when Carmody’s company arrived and the group needed a bigger table, they moved to a ground-level table directly beside Russo. “1:09 — relocate to sit near front windows,” she wrote. “This is too easy!” Five pages and one photograph later, Russo had carefully documented Carmody’s mannerisms, the content of her meeting — planning a dance-themed fundraiser for New Works, a Malian dance troupe — and even the skill with which Carmody presented her ideas — “Brenna clearly has her shit together.” “It was thrilling,” Russo says. “It definitely felt as though I was doing something illegal.” Russo says she doesn’t know much about how the project will look, but added that being kept mostly in the dark about Levenson’s and Blazejack’s plans might be intentional. “Geddes has been very vague in her e-mails,” Russo says, adding that not knowing the final plans could keep her focused on the task of accurately documenting Carmody’s activities. But Monday at Starbucks, Russo may have been too focused on Carmody and not enough on her own stealth. “After a while, I could tell she was watching me,” Carmody says. “Nobody takes pictures in Starbucks.” The Show Levenson and Blazejack say the project aims to get people thinking about the concept of identity, which is supposedly captured by the spies but may actually be more elusive.
“It poses questions about identity, but also about psychology,” Levenson says. “Are they really the people the notes and photos say they are?” Carmody says she hasn’t changed her behavior since the game began last week, but has learned more about herself and the way the other people see her. “I haven’t altered what I do, but it does make you think when you go about your day, ‘Is this something that looks odd?’” Carmody says. “‘Is someone going to comment on the fact that I spend five hours a day at Au Bon Pain studying and drinking coffee?’” Blazejack agrees that being followed hasn’t changed the way she lives her life — for the most part. “It’s impossible to think about being followed all the time,” she says. “But every now and then I remember that someone could be following me and I tuck my hair back, sit up straight.” Levenson and Blazejack say the exhibit will feature a portrait chosen by each resident — “like Facebook,” Blazejack says. Each resident will record themselves reading the notes taken about them, which will be played at stations around the room. The image of each resident as presented by the notes will likely contrast with each resident’s perceived self-image, Levenson says. Not only do people often have skewed images of themselves, Levenson says, but the character of the spies often seeps into their notes. “People sensationalize their descriptions,” Levenson says, mimicking: “‘And she touched her hair as though to communicate the meaning of life!’” Whether the project will accomplish its goal remains to be seen, but in the meantime the residents agree the experience has at least taught them about themselves. “It’s interesting to see how you project yourself to the world,” Carmody says. “I didn’t realize I had such poor posture.”
PawPrints problems solved, money reset continued from page 1 error occurred more frequently, the library staff and CIS realized there was a major problem. Jeffrey Clark, manager of the CIS Computing Facilities and Repair Services department, which supervises the PAWPrints program, said that every student’s account was reverted to the full $30 because it would have taken too much energy and time to look at each individual student’s printing records. It is CIS policy to reimburse students for printing problems if there is are complications with the equipment, he said. The reimbursement will not incur huge costs because the problem was solved early in the semester, Clark
said. Additionally, many students were charged for pages that were never actually printed because of the system’s problems, he said. Lavallee said that the situation was “very frustrating and very slow,” but CIS was very responsive and worked hard to solve the problem. Regina Grebla GS, a doctoral candidate in epidemiology, said she noticed the issues but thought that the problem was just an overload on the system. “I just thought there were too many students using it at once.” Nicole Wilson ’09, who said she prints many articles for her science classes, called the problem “timeconsuming.” “There were a lot of times I would
just leave because I wouldn’t be able to print out the articles,” she said. Maricruz Mendez ’12 solved the problem by copying and pasting the text of PDFs to Microsoft Word documents — though that took a while, she said. But students said the reimbursement was very generous. “I was surprised and happy, obviously,” Aristides Nakos ’12 said. However, some students were unaware of the recent reimbursement. Josh Jubelirer ’12, said he “didn’t even know they had reverted everyone’s account back to $30.” “We knew students were doing things in a hurry and printing was really inconvenient,” Lavallee said. “And we felt their pain.”
continued from page 1 move student parking off campus entirely. The cost of parking in the lot is $600 per year, and the spaces are available through a lottery in April for juniors and seniors. The lot is lighted, fenced and available by safeRIDE 24 hours a day. A few students with disabilities still have parking spots on College Hill. Given that many students can rent parking spots on College Hill from local property owners and no current data on student parking habits are available, Gentr y said the University would like to survey students to better understand their parking decisions. “A survey could help us get a better handle on the overall picture of what transportation options people are using and to get the information we need to make improvements and make the overall system more beneficial for users,” said Marisa Quinn, vice president of public affairs and University relations. The University has been under pressure from the city of Providence for several years to reduce the need for parking on College Hill, which was one reason it decided last semester to move student spaces off campus. New construction will absorb more parking spots. The construction in front of the Olney-Margolies Athletic Center will eliminate enough parking spots that the University would be out of compliance with city law if it didn’t replace them, according to a Feb. 13 Herald article. At the same time, the University has been making alternatives avail-
able for students without cars. Students can use Rhode Island Public Transit Authority buses or trolleys free of charge, thanks to a program started last year. Brown also partners with Zipcar, an autosharing program through which students can rent cars that are stationed in the Power Street parking garage. Students can also choose not to use Brown’s parking facilities and make arrangements for their own parking off campus. Claudia Davidson ’11 keeps a car off campus and said she wouldn’t use campus parking. “It’s not convenient at all. The lots are far, and it defeats the purpose of having a car.” Jon Bogard ’09 lives off campus and keeps a car at his residence. “It has been quite handy having a car on campus,” he said. But “if parking in the Providence Pier Brown lot were to have been my only option, I likely would not have brought my car here,” Bogard added. Bogard said he’d prefer to see money spent on a student parking lot allocated to more financial aid. “The benefit of having a car on campus is one enjoyed only by the owner of the car.” Students also said they are considering environmental and practical factors. “I think that (the shuttle ride downtown) would deter me from bringing a car, but I don’t feel like I’d need a car on campus anyway,” Emily Viggiano ’12 said. “Maybe it’s a good thing because the shuttle ride would encourage people to use public transportation, which would help the environment.”
DTau on probation over unregistered charity party continued from page 1 Greek Council Chair Adam Kroll ’09 confirmed that the fraternity has been placed on probation for not registering the event. Though Delta Tau was aware that any event bringing in over 100 people or selling alcohol must be registered, Kahn said the group held the event anyway to try to get money to the Gulf region as quickly as possible. DTau brother Nicholas Jessee ’11, who was manning the door that night, said an officer from the Department of Public Safety came by around 11 p.m. Jessee said he offered the officer a walk-through, but the officer declined, giving Jessee his card and telling him to call if there was a problem. Kahn said the fraternity was surprised four days later, on Sept. 23, when it heard Greek Council would hold a hearing about the unregistered event. DTau Vice President David Tagle ’11 was one of three representatives present at the Sept. 30 hearing. Tagle said he and the two other represen-
tatives explained the incident before a board of six Greek Council members. The board, made up of four members of the Greek Council’s executive board and two Greek house presidents, then explained the grievance against the fraternity before making a decision in private and e-mailing the results to DTau’s president. Kahn said the council decided to place DTau on six weeks of probation retroactive from the date of the Sept. 19 event. The probation forces the fraternity to cancel BlackOut II, a Class F party — the largest type sanctioned by the University. The party was scheduled for tonight. Kahn said DTau had invested considerable funds in preparation for the party. For example, it had already paid for a disc jockey and applied for a one-night liquor license from the city of Providence. “I just want to leave it at that we followed our internal review process and we’re upholding our decision,” Kroll said.
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C ampus n ews Friday, October 3, 2008
News
Page 5
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
i n
Heat available to 95 buildings Monday
Brief
By Brian Kelly Contributing Writer
Starting Monday, Facilities Management will make heat available to 95 major buildings on campus, paying special care to make sure energy use is both environmentally and financially conscious during the winter months, staffers said. The 95 buildings are heated by Brown’s central heat plant. The heat to other university buildings is provided by a system of 220 independent boilers. In an effort to conserve energy, heat will be available, but not turned on until a specific building meets certain requirements. “Outside temperature, number of calls we’re getting and actual temperature in the buildings” will be the determining factors for when heating systems will turn on in individual Kin Perley / Herald
A student worker serves a drink in the Blue Room. The campus eatery phases out iced coffee in the colder months and brings in pumpkin muffins when they have a special batter.
Blue Room menu mysteries explained For years, Brunonians who frequent the Blue Room have enjoyed refreshing iced coffee and sumptuous pumpkin muffins. But these tasteful treats are available only on certain days and in certain seasons; for the rest of the year, students have to do without. Iced coffee is generally phased out in the colder months because of a drop in demand, Sophie O’Connell ’09, Blue Room unit manager, wrote in an e-mail to The Herald. The iced lattes that were introduced this fall, she added, will likely follow suit. Linda Whittaker, the Blue Room’s assistant manager of retail operations, who is in charge of menu decisions, explained in an e-mail to The Herald that because the pumpkin muffin batter is bought from a supplier, the muffins can be offered only when the supplier has batter in storage. Due to high demand last year, the supplier ordered extra batter and the Blue Room could offer the muffins for a longer time period, she wrote. O’Connell added that the pumpkin muffins are also part of a muffin rotation and are not offered on a daily basis. Not all students are aware about when and why these items disappear from the menu. As he watched a friend savor a bite of one of the elusive pumpkin muffins in question, Annam Nguyen ’12 guessed “Maybe it’s a seasonal thing.” The Hope Street Salad, which can be made only in the fall due to its use of fresh and local produce,the Valentine’s Day crepe-making event and this October’s new make-your-own-oatmeal bar are other examples of seasonal offerings at the Blue Room, O’Connell said. —Anit Jain
Grad students get writing help Lawrence Stanley, senior lecturer in English, attracted a crowd of 42 graduate students in Barus and Holley Wednesday night during the first workshop of the Brown Graduate School’s Dissertation Writing Project. The workshop was part of a project launched recently to help graduate students write dissertations and grant proposals. Started about 10 days ago, according to Beverly Larson, director of communications of the Graduate School, the program is similar to the Writing Fellows program, which helps undergraduates with their papers. Graduate students now have access to three writing coaches in the Writing Center in J. Walter Wilson Hall, available via appointment, to aid them with their dissertations, along with open workshops every semester on the transition from doing research to conveying the results through writing. Brown’s Graduate School decided to start the program after receiving feedback that not all graduate students were comfortable with dissertation writing. “We knew that some students were feeling uncertain about the shift from research to writing,” Larson said, also saying that she wanted the program to “be proactive and offer a service that is helpful.” However, since the program is in its early stages, it could change in the years to come, adding more tutors and more workshops if the demand exists, she said. Professors have been asked to refer any students they think might benefit from the program, which has been announced on the Brown Web site. President of the Graduate Student Council James Doyle wrote in an e-mail, “It is often difficult to start writing after doing fieldwork, lab work, or other research and to have some guidance will be a great resource for Ph.D. candidates.” —Shara Azad
buildings, according to James Coen, director of Maintenance Services at Facilities. Heating the University is complicated by a 3.5 mile loop of piping that must run for a buffer period before campus-wide heating can commence. “It’s not like a heater in your house,” Director of Sustainable Energy and Environmental Initiatives Chris Powell said. He added that there have been several upgrades to the system that will make winter climate control more eco-friendly. Powell specifically noted that the replacement of all steam traps and condensate receivers, parts that improve circulation, prevents extra heat loss and decreases the need for extrachemical treatment of the water used to heat campus. Better filtration equipment, an upgraded and fully automated central control system
and renovations to residence halls are some of the changes that Coen said will be “major energy savers.” Facilities will also heat buildings only during hours when they are normally in use. Carlos Fernandez, assistant vice president of Facilities Operations and Engineering, said Facilities is using updated technology to reduce Brown’s carbon footprint. For example, Facilities has installed thermostats throughout Minden Hall in order to heat the building more efficiently. Previously, the dorm had only one thermostat in its lobby, Fernandez said. The department’s efforts have already reduced University-wide carbon emissions to 2003 levels since last year, while Facilities is still doing “everything we can to keep heating costs down,” Powell said.
Polo team hopes to ride to recognition By Emily Rosen C ontributing Writer
After failing to gain recognition as an official club sport, a group o f student polo players will plead their case to the Undergraduate Council of Students Student Activities Committee Monday in hopes of becoming an official student activity. Polo team representatives will present their constitution to the committee, which will decide Monday night whether to approve the group and finalize its decision Wednesday, according to Student
Activities Chair Ryan Lester ’11. Last February, a group of Brown students decided to start an informal polo team, but not until this semester has the team taken significant action to become officially affiliated with the University. Polo Team Captain Steven Holman ’11 said he thinks the team will receive some money to help cover its expenses, but he is not yet sure what agreement will be reached. Team members take regular lessons at a cost of $50 per person per lesson at the Newport Polo Club in
Portsmouth. Holman said he realizes the team will probably not be able to get enough money to fully cover the cost of the lessons, so he anticipates that the team will have to charge membership dues and try to get sponsors. Team members currently pay for each lesson out of their own pockets or work for the club as compensation. “The $50 fee is kind of expensive but it’s actually a really good deal,” Holman said, adding that access to horses is included in the continued on page 6
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A predator, just off endangered species list, is now prey By Julie Cart Los Angeles T imes
DANIEL, Wyo. — It’s hard for ranchers here to figure how it came to this — again. After railing for more than a decade against the federal government for reintroducing gray wolves to the region, after finally
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WORLD & NATION winning the battle to get the animals taken of f the endangered species list, what went so wrong that Washington stepped in last week to protect the wolves all over again? It began near here in this highaltitude chaparral. No sooner were gray wolves delisted in March than sportsmen in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming began locking and loading. Wyoming officials declared 90 percent of the state a “free-fire zone.” Hunters from around the state flocked to rural Sublette County to bag a wolf. Rancher Merrill Dana, 57, saw the results right away. Hunters aboard snowmobiles chased wolves across the early spring snow on his sprawling ranch. “The first morning it was opened up, they killed three up here,” he said. “Trespassers. We didn’t even know they were up here until we heard the snow machines.” Dana said he has been offered as much as $2,500 for permission to hunt wolves on his land. He refused. As with many ranchers here, there is no love lost between Dana and wolves. He was mad that the interlopers hadn’t asked permission to hunt. “I wanted people I know to get them,” said Dana, who was among a hunting party that eventually killed a 110-pound male. Through the early summer, an average of a wolf a day was being killed across the region. In all, at least 130 animals died since the delisting, or nearly 10 percent of the wolf population in the northern Rockies. Then, on July 21, a federal judge stopped the hunt. Last week, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service capitulated and began the process to relist wolves. “People over-reacted,” said cattle rancher John Robinette of Dubois, Wyo. “I don’t think the policy was intended as: `Go out and see how many wolves you can kill.’ “ Robinette has lost cattle, horses and dogs to wolves. Even when the wolf was listed, he had a rare federal permit to shoot any wolf he saw on his 25,000 acres. But he said he was convinced that giving ever yone that right would lead to needless and reckless slaughter. “People went out all over the state shooting and bragging about it and putting pictures in the paper,” Robinette said. “This is what I dreaded this spring: that someone would go out and get a bunch of pups out of a den and get their picture in the paper. It was going to draw unwanted attention.” Among cattlemen, distaste for wolves is as broad and wide as the sagebrush plain that stretches in all directions from Dana’s ranch. Once hunted nearly to extinction,
Polo trotting toward recognition
the West’s most-reviled predator roams freely here, coming down to these khaki-colored valleys from nearby national forests in search of elk and the occasional cow or calf. Dana’s thoughts about wolves are complicated. He enjoys wildlife and readily acknowledges that the clever and strong wolf is especially fascinating. But after the controversial program to reintroduce the wolf in the 1990s, the animal has come to symbolize unwelcome federal meddling in rural Western lives and land. For the time being, at least, wolves in the northern Rockies are back on the endangered species list while the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reconsiders the issue. Federal officials are monitoring the wolf management programs in Montana and Idaho, which canceled its wolf hunt planned for September. In Wyoming, federal wildlife of ficials took over wolf management while a committee of the Wyoming Legislature crafts a new policy. It was a stunning reversal in what wildlife biologists had hailed as a success story. The species had flourished, its population growing by about 20 percent a year since wolves were reintroduced in Yellowstone National Park in 1995. This was proof the Endangered Species Act worked, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Ser vice said when it delisted the wolf in March. In July, federal District Judge Donald Molloy issued an injunction against the state wolf plans, after a challenge by environmental groups. He questioned whether indiscriminate killing would reduce wolf numbers back to crisis levels. He also said the hunt could isolate packs of wolves, reducing the species’ gene pool.
Some wildlife biologists say the damage is already done. Nearly all of the known wolves in Wyoming’s free-fire area were killed in little more than a month. Recent estimates show that the wolf population in the three states began to decline for the first time in more than a decade even before the hunt. “The decision (to relist them) has brought the wolves a massive reprieve, a lifeline,” said Louisa Wilcox, who tracks the issue for the Natural Resources Defense Council in Livingston, Mont. Some of the wolves shot since March were known to have killed livestock and were taken by authorized hunters. But half of the wolves killed without permits were shot in Sublette County. “The wolves in the predator area were taken out; those wolves are gone,” said Mike Jimenez, who leads the Wyoming wolf recovery project for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Ser vice. “That’s no surprise. They are vulnerable to hunting.” Suzanne Stone, who manages a wolf program in Idaho for Defenders of Wildlife, said that Wyoming’s hunt couldn’t have come at a worse time for wolves. “Late spring, they can’t travel that well,” she said. “They stay close to their den sites, and they are not going to leave the pups or the alpha female. It’s an easy time of year to kill wolves.” Dana thinks he knows the details of the last wolf kill, on May 2. He believes the hunter was a young man who tracked a female for 70 miles on a snowmobile in and out of dense stands of trees. “She was a loner who was plumb lost,” Dana said of the wolf. “All her mates were gone (killed). The kid was going through sagebrush and fences and trees. He tore up
an $8,000 snow machine.” In the past seven years, Dana has lost 11 calves and cows and two dogs to wolf predation. His neighbor, Kevin Campbell, 54, says he has never lost livestock to wolves. Their experiences reflect regional and national statistics. Across the county in 2006, coyotes, dogs, mountain lions and even vultures killed more cattle than did wolves. Last year in Montana, coyotes were blamed for 51 percent of cattle losses due to predators, while dogs were accountable for 11 percent, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Ser vice, part of the federal Department of Agriculture. Yet the perception persists that wolves are dramatically reducing livestock inventories and big game. Elk and deer populations are stable in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, according to state wildlife officials. “When you say `wolf,’ it drives a lot of hard feelings,” Robinette said. To Campbell, a Bondurant rancher who was helping Dana sort and load cattle for sale last week, wolves and livestock are not compatible. “I tr y to have an open mind,” he said, shifting in his saddle. “But I think they should go back to the policy we just had, to be able to shoot them.” In rural areas of the upper Rockies, it’s not uncommon to come across bumper stickers proclaiming “The Only Good Wolf Is a Dead Wolf.” Although sentiments are somewhat less volatile in the cities, a store in upscale Jackson this week had two stuffed wolves for sale for about $4,500 each. One tag read “recent taxidermy.”
The Herald. More dangerous than a pack of rabid wolves.
lesson price. Polo is played on horseback by players with mallets who seek to knock a wooden or plastic ball into the opposing team’s net. Earlier this year, Holman and others on the team looked into becoming a club sport affiliated with the Department of Athletics. Recreation Coordinator David Longo said one of the main reasons the polo team was denied recognition as a club sport was that the team did not have “a history of organizational and competitive success,” mostly because the team is relatively new. Before granting teams club sport status, Longo said, the department wants to be sure the team will be a continuing organization on campus. “If we are going to invest in a club sport, it is important that the team is organizationally and structurally sound,” said Longo, who encouraged the polo team to organize more competitions to add to its presence . Longo said student-run teams on campus can either be club sports or student activities. Since club teams are directly affiliated with the Department of Athletics, Longo said there are certain benefits associated with club sport status including administrative support and some need-based financial support. There are also two tiers of club sports teams on campus. First-tier teams do not have varsity counterparts, whereas second-tier teams do. Longo said that if polo were to become a club sport, it would be in the first tier because Brown does not have a varsity polo team. Before making polo a first-tier club sport, the Department of Athletics wants to be sure it meets all the requirements. In order for a team to become a club sport, Longo said there must be a reasonable amount of interest, proof of adequate facilities, an of ficial coach for potentially high-risk sports and a record of organizational success. Longo said the polo team showed that it had enough interest, but added that he feels the team does not completely meet other requirements. Because the polo team practices at an off-campus facility, Longo said there could be potential liability issues with transportation. Holman added that the polo team’s coaching situation is up in the air because the current coach is leaving to play professional polo. The polo team, which has six regular members and a few lesscommitted students, hopes to compete in a regional competition if the team can pay the entry fee, which Holman estimates to be about $500. The team also hopes to arrange competitions with other schools such as Vassar, Yale and Cornell. But Holman’s eyes are set on a loftier goal — to have the team compete in a polo league. “We’re not really at that level yet,” he said. Despite the denial of club sport recognition, Holman remains optimistic about the team’s situation. “We’re really excited this year, and hopefully we’ll have a good first year,” he said. “We want people to come out and try it. There’s no experience necessary and it’s a lot of fun.”
W orld & n ation THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
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Fewer illegal immigrants entering U.S.
Complaints filed with IRS against political pastors
Friday, October 3, 2008
By Cynthia Dizikes Los Angeles T imes
WASHINGTON — For the first time in a decade, the make-up of the U.S. immigrant population might be shifting, with the number of illegal immigrants falling behind the number of those entering the country legally, according to an independent report released Thursday. The swing, a possible result of the economic slump and a federal immigration crackdown, marks a reversal of a pattern that began in the 1990s, when the number of illegal immigrants surpassed those arriving lawfully, according to the study by the Pew Hispanic Center, a Washington think tank. “This is a population that had been growing rapidly and substantially for at least 15 years and the growth has essentially come to a halt in 2008,” said Jeffrey S. Passel, a senior demographer who co-authored the report. Other recent studies have pointed to possible declines in the number of illegal immigrants living in the U.S. But the Pew study is among the first to show a decrease in the number of illegal immigrants coming into the country. The report estimates that 11.9 million undocumented immigrants were living in the United States as of March, making up nearly 4 percent of the population. From 2000 to 2004, about 800,000 illegal immigrants a year entered the U.S., more than 90 percent of those from Latin America. Since then, the average has
dropped to about 500,000 a year. By contrast, legal immigration has remained steady at about 650,000 people a year. The findings have spurred debate over the reason for the apparent shift. Likely causes include the economic slowdown and federal enforcement measures that include mass workplace raids, which have been criticized by immigrant advocates. The economic downturn has had a disproportionate effect on foreign-born Hispanics, many of whom work in the crumbling housing and construction sectors. The U.S. enforcement crackdown came at a time when the economies of Mexico and other Latin American countries have been stable, experts said. “The climate in the United States is not positive to these workers,” said Frank D. Bean, Director for the Center for Research on Immigration Population and Public Policy at the University of California, Irvine. “Whether that is the beginning of a new trend, or an ephemeral result of the labor market, is the question.” Still, the new data suggest that the rate of illegal immigration can vary according to conditions and policies, said Steve A. Camarota, research director of the Center for Immigration Studies, a Washington think tank that favors more controls on all forms of immigration. “The idea is that illegal immigration is a fact of life, sort of like the weather,” Camarota said. “What this suggests is something
else, that if you change the incentives, whether it is through enforcement, the economy, or some combination of the two, people respond.” Immigration has not been a major issue in this year’s presidential campaign but is likely to confront a new presidential administration and Congress as experts spar over ways to address the issue following the collapse of congressional immigration reform efforts last year. “People come to work and they come because there is a job. They are not accidental tourists,” said Angela Kelley, Director of Immigration Policy Center in Washington, who added that she believes the economy is the primary factor driving down numbers of illegal immigrants. Camarota cautioned, however, that the increased law enforcement also had played a vital part. “Even a small increase in enforcement can have a huge impact on behavior,” Camarota said. “If you pull one person over for speeding, everybody slows down.” Another study released Thursday by Pew pointed to the disproportionate effect of the economic downturn on “non-citizen immigrant households.” At the same time that the median annual income of all U.S. households increased, the non-citizen immigrant households watched their incomes decrease from about $40,600 to about $37,600 in 2007. Of those households, nearly half were headed by an undocumented immigrant.
By Duke Helfand Los Angeles T imes
A watchdog group that advocates the separation of church and state has filed complaints with the Internal Revenue Service against seven churches where pastors on Sunday endorsed presidential candidates or delivered political sermons — defying a federal ban on campaigning by nonprofit groups. “These pastors have decided to thumb their noses at the Internal Revenue Ser vice and at the whole concept that the church is a place where partisanship should be left at the door,” said the Rev. Barr y W. L ynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. The complaints, one filed Thursday and the others earlier in the week, were welcomed by the Alliance Defense Fund. The conservative legal group in Arizona organized Pulpit Freedom Sunday as an opening salvo in a legal assault against the federal law that prohibits candidate endorsements by tax-exempt organizations. As the group described the effort, 31 pastors at Christian congregations around the United States evaluated the “differing positions of the presidential candidates in light of Scripture.” (Two others are expected to do the same within the next month.) Many of the religious leaders
endorsed Republican nominee John McCain or spoke out against Democrat Barack Obama. The defense fund pledged to represent the churches in federal lawsuits to overturn the 54-year-old federal ban that, the organization says, has stripped churches of their constitutional freedoms of speech and religion. The churches that drew the attention of the Americans United group: First Southern Baptist Church in Buena Park, Calif.; Bethlehem First Baptist Church in Bethlehem, Ga.; Fair view Baptist Church in Edmond, Okla.; Warroad Community Church in Warroad, Minn.; Calvar y Chapel Kings Highway in Philadelphia; New Life Church in West Bend, Wis.; and Trinity Baptist Church in Yukon, Okla. Defense fund attorney Erik Stanley said he was not concerned about the IRS complaints. Participating pastors, he said, would be sending copies of their sermons to the IRS as a follow-up to their Sunday addresses. “The goal was to make this pulpit initiative something the IRS could not ignore,” Stanley said. “The end result is a victor y either way. If the IRS comes after them, the churches have their day in court. If the IRS doesn’t come after them, it’s basically a green light to go for ward. But ultimately these churches are hoping for their day in court.”
24 Iraqis killed near two Judge won’t dismiss charges against Stevens Shiite mosques Thursday By Jeffrey Fleishman Los Angeles T imes
BAGHDAD — Bombs and gunfire ripped through the end of Ramadan here on Thursday, killing at least 24 worshipers and Iraqi soldiers near two Shiite mosques in a worrisome reminder that the drop in violence in recent months can be shattered by successive explosions. The blasts struck in the early morning of Eid al-Fitr, the feast that ends the holy month of fasting. Fourteen people, including three soldiers, were killed and 28 injured when a sedan blew up outside a mosque in the Zafaraniya neighborhood of southeastern Baghdad. A man wearing a bomb vest wrestled with a security guard before blowing himself up outside the Rasoul mosque in New Baghdad, killing 10 and injuring nine people. A witness to the Zafaraniya attack, a vendor who gave his name only as Salaam, said that moments before the explosion, he saw a car racing toward the mosque and an Iraqi armored vehicle parked near the entrance. He said the blast created a fireball, setting the armored vehicle and four cars ablaze. “I feel distressed,” said Salaam, who helped evacuate the injured to a hospital in a pickup truck. “Despite all the government assurances that the security situation is improved and Ramadan this year was safe ... the situation is still bad.” In other attacks around the country, six people, including two
children, were killed in Diyala province when gunmen opened fire on a mini-bus in Kesaba village. An Interior Ministry worker was shot and killed in the southern city of Hillah. Violence in Iraq has fallen significantly in recent months, but Thursday’s bloodshed in Baghdad, which appeared to have been carried out by Sunni militants, was the second day of powerful sectarian bombings in less than a week. On Sunday, three blasts in Baghdad killed at least 31 people and injured dozens. Baghdad is a city of checkpoints as Iraqi forces take over more from U.S. troops and citizens test the limits of newfound security. A recent Pentagon report found that civilian deaths across the country were down nearly 80 percent from June to August compared with the same period last year. But suicide bombers and assassination squads still evade the barbed wire and blast walls. The Pentagon report concluded that Iraq’s progress, spurred in part by the U.S. military surge and the cooperation of former Sunni militias, is “reversible and uneven.” Sectarian animosities have been agitated by tribal and religious differences playing out against several factors: upcoming provincial elections, Iranian-funded militias and the slow pace of the Shiite-led government absorbing as many as 100,000 former Sunni fighters into the army, police and other civil service jobs.
By Carol Leonnig Washington Post
WASHINGTON — A federal judge refused Thursday to dismiss charges against Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, ruling that Stevens’ corruption trial can proceed despite the prosecution’s belated disclosure of information that could aid his defense. After a surprise revelation Wednesday night that Justice Department lawyers had not disclosed the potentially exculpatory information, the ruling followed a hearing on the matter late Thursday. “Although the court is persuaded there is a ... violation, the court is not persuaded that dismissal of the indictment or mistrial is the appropriate remedy,” said U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan. He added that the government’s actions had broken his trust in the prosecutors and ordered them to give Stevens’ attorneys copies of all witness inter views. “The court has no confidence in the government’s ability” to meet its obligations to ensure a fair trial, he said. Stevens, 84, is charged with failing to disclose on Senate financial documents that an energy company executive who contributed to his campaigns also extensively renovated Stevens’s Alaska home without charging him for all of the work. The potentially exculpator y material involves remarks by the executive, Bill Allen, a key pros-
ecution witness, to FBI agents that he believed Stevens would have paid for the renovations if Allen had billed him. Attorneys for the government did not disclose those remarks to the defense until late Wednesday. The chief of now-defunct Veco is a longtime friend of Stevens’ and had sought the senator’s help with company projects. Stevens, one of the most powerful Republicans in the Senate is running for re-election to a seventh full term. Sullivan said Allen’s information is not entirely new — prosecutors had previously summarized his views in a September letter to the defense — and noted that the defense can stress it when Stevens’ attorneys cross-examine Allen. But Sullivan ruled that government prosecutors had violated a critical requirement that they turn over potentially helpful information to the defense. Prosecutors said they would report Sullivan’s finding to the Justice Department’s Of fice of Professional Responsibility, which could begin an investigation of the government legal team. In court Thursday morning, prosecutor Brenda Morris acknowledged that the information should have been provided earlier. “We admit we made a gross error, your honor,” Morris said. “... But there is no harm to the defendant.” Stevens’ defense attorneys repeatedly called for the court
to dismiss the indictment against their client or declare a mistrial. They accused government prosecutors of behavior that constituted either a pattern of negligence or intentional sabotage of the defense. “Our position is it’s broken and can’t be fixed, your honor,” said defense attorney Rober t Car y. “We’ve been in this trial for too long now on an uneven playing field.” Sullivan stressed that he remained “very disturbed” that government lawyers had blacked-out the statement from Allen when turning over evidence to the defense. “I want an answer,” the judge said to Morris. “How does the court have any confidence that the public integrity section has any integrity?” It was the second time this week that Sullivan has criticized prosecutors. On Monday, he said he was “flabbergasted” that the government had allowed a potentially important witness to return to Alaska even though he had been subpoenaed to testify. Defense attorneys said the witness could have helped their case. Sullivan of fered to give Stevens’ attorneys time to prepare the rest of their defense, or to give new opening statements emphasizing the information they had recently learned. Both offers were rejected, and the trial is scheduled to resume Monday.
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Lobbyists invade Congress over bailout By Lori Montgomery and Dan Eggen Washington Post
WASHINGTON — A tide of lobbyists representing corporate executives, small-business owners, farmers and retirees swamped Capitol Hill Thursday in hopes of pushing an emergency economic rescue plan through Congress, but the fate of the measure remained uncertain as the House prepared for a climactic vote at midday Friday. Leaders of both parties said they were optimistic that they would be able to marshal more support for the Bush administration’s $700 billion bailout than they mustered on Monday, when the House delivered a shocking defeat to the measure and sent the Dow Jones industrial average plummeting 778 points, or about 7 percent. The market’s gut-wrenching reaction offered lawmakers a glimpse of the consequences they could face if they don’t approve the bailout package. Since Monday, investors’ angst over the fate of the legislation has contributed to a gloomy week on Wall Street. The Dow fell more than 3 percent Thursday, with losses extending beyond the financial services industry to include agriculture, construction, and industrial stocks. Meanwhile, a series of indicators have shown the outlook for the economy to be bleak. Thursday, the Commerce Department reported that orders for manufactured goods dipped 4 percent in August, the largest decline since October 2006. And last week, new claims for unemployment benefits jumped to a seven-year high. Some analysts say the economy will not pick up until the middle of next year, even if the Bush administration succeeds on Capitol Hill Friday. And even if Congress approves the bailout, it may be too little, too late to unfreeze global credit markets. The package might not do much to help offset shrinking bank balance sheets or free up capital for non-financial companies, experts say. Alarmed by signs of deterioration in the markets, the Senate on Wednesday rushed to approve a version of the plan revised to appeal to skeptical lawmakers, adding an array of tax cuts and a temporary increase in the cap on federal insurance for bank deposits. Federal regulators have eased accounting rules that some lawmakers say have crippled local banks. And the White House has called in shock troops from a long list of business and consumer groups whose members are sending a message to lawmakers that the financial crisis is real and hitting Main Street hard. Thursday, as a trickle of lawmakers declared that they would switch their “no” votes to “yes,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said that she would not permit a repeat of
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Monday’s chaotic scene and that she would cancel today’s vote rather than watch the measure fail again. “We’re not going to take a bill to the floor that doesn’t have the votes,” Pelosi said. “I’m optimistic that we will take a bill to the floor.” President Bush Thursday urged House lawmakers to “get this bill passed,” warning that the financial crisis “has gone way beyond New York and Wall Street.” “This is an issue that’s affecting hardworking people. They’re worried about their savings, they’re worried about their jobs, they’re worried about their houses, they’re worried about their small businesses,” Bush said after meeting with a group of business leaders in the Old Executive Office Building. “The House of Representatives must listen to these voices and get this bill passed so we can get about the business of restoring confidence.” The president’s remarks were part of a concerted campaign by the White House and major business groups to gain approval for the administration’s proposal, which would authorize the Treasury Department to buy up the bad assets of faltering financial institutions in hopes of restoring investors’ confidence and unfreezing lending. Caught off-guard by the measure’s surprise defeat in the House, the groups are pressing to persuade lawmakers that government intervention is urgently needed to save retirement accounts and keep small businesses afloat. Over the past three days, groups as varied as AARP and the National Federation of Independent Business have organized campaigns showering hundreds of thousands of e-mails and phone calls on members of Congress to counter a wave of calls and e-mails that, before Monday’s vote, was overwhelmingly opposed to a bailout. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce also began running full-page newspaper ads highlighting what it described as a massive threat to the economy if the package is not passed. “We were clearly outgunned on Monday,” said the chamber’s chief lobbyist, R. Bruce Josten. “We lost, no doubt about it. I have no intention of losing again.” The Bush administration has met daily with the groups, dispatching Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and other members of the White House economic team to participate in gatherings and conference calls. Bush, meanwhile, personally contacted about three dozen House members — most Republicans — on Wednesday and Thursday, according to White House spokesman Tony Fratto, who declined to say how many votes the president picked up. “We feel somewhat optimistic that the bill has a good chance of passing,” Fratto said. By late Thursday, however, Democratic leaders were growing
increasingly skeptical that the GOP would deliver many converts. Monday’s vote was 228 to 205 — meaning House leaders need to sway at least a dozen votes to prevail. Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va., a top GOP vote counter, said the Senate’s decision to add a package of tax breaks worth $108 billion next year for businesses and families was attracting Republican votes. “I’m very encouraged by where we are,” he said. But only about a half-dozen Republican names were circulating as likely vote-switchers, including Reps. Zach Wamp, R-Tenn., John Shadegg, R-Ariz., Jim Ramstad, R-Minn., and Brian Bilbray, R-Calif. Bilbray said that he was encouraged by administration’s decision to ease accounting rules for financial firms but that he remained undecided. “I’m going to spend some quality time with the bill tonight,” he said. Several Republicans said they were contemplating withdrawing their support, including Rep. Spencer Bachus of Alabama, who was among the key negotiators on the bailout measure. Bachus Thursday joined a group of 23 Republicans who said they were angry that the Senate bill would extend four tax breaks that benefit special interests, including Puerto Rican rum makers and the manufacturers of children’s wooden arrows. “The pork barrel projects that were put in this bill ought to be a wake-up call to the public and all members of Congress,” Bachus said. Growth in support on the Democratic side appeared to hold more promise, according to one senior leadership aide. “Right now, it’s falling to us to get this done,” the aide said. Among Democrats who declared new support for the bill were Reps. John Lewis, D-Ga., and Emanuel Cleaver II, D-Mo., both members of the Congressional Black Caucus, and Shelley Berkley, D-Nev. Other possibilities were Reps. Jason Altmire, D-Pa., Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., and John Yarmuth, D-Ky. One key bloc is the so-called Blue Dog Democrats, mostly Southern conservatives who are sticklers for budget discipline. John Spragens, spokesman for Rep. Jim Cooper, DTenn., a leader of the group, said his boss would hold firm in support of the plan despite the addition of tax cuts that would greatly increase the budget deficit. Cooper doesn’t like the new bill more than “any other Blue Dog,” Spragens said. “But his bottom line is, there’s a bigger issue here.” Still, a handful of Blue Dogs were wavering, including Rep. Charlie Melancon, D-La., whose spokesman described him as “100 percent undecided.” Staff writers Shailagh Murray, Paul Kane and Anita Huslin contributed to this report.
With polls down, McCain retreats from Michigan By Maeve Reston, Dan Morain and Seema Mehta Los Angeles Times
LANSING, Mich. — With polls showing Barack Obama building a strong lead in Michigan, aides to John McCain’s campaign said Thursday that they were pulling their television ads in the state and moving their resources to Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Maine. The decision was another sign of McCain’s weakening position amid the nation’s economic turbulence, and it came as a surprise even to the Michigan’s Republican Party chairman who was notified in a morning phone call. For much of the summer, McCain’s advisers listed Michigan and its 17 electoral votes as one of their top targets for expanding the map beyond the states won by President Bush in 2004. But the McCain campaign’s hopes of picking up blue-collar voters in this struggling industrial state appear to be fading. Obama has shown a clear advantage over McCain on economic issues in recent polls. And that advantage might be particularly pronounced here where the state’s unemployment rate is the nation’s highest at 8.9 percent. Professor Ken Goldstein, of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who oversees a project that studies political advertising, said both sides started the summer running hard in Michigan, but polls soured for McCain after the Wall Street collapse. The economic trouble rocking much of the rest of the country now “has been going on in Michigan for four years” he said — a point Obama hammered as he campaigned here Thursday. “The playing field has tilted,” Goldstein said. “Taking Michigan off the map will obviously mean that McCain will have to win an inside straight — just about every state George W. Bush won. You can say all you want the race is competitive. If you’re pulling out of Michigan, it is big news.” On a conference call with reporters Thursday evening, McCain’s aides gave only a cursory explanation for retreating in Michigan — and noted that Obama too had scaled back his efforts to win red states such as Georgia and North Dakota. McCain senior adviser Greg Strimple said that since he joined the campaign in July, Michigan has “been the worst state of all the states that are in play. “It’s an obvious one, from my perspective, for it to come off the list,” Strimple said. But Obama campaign manager David Plouffe told reporters Thursday evening that the announcement was “a meaningful moment strategically in the campaign.” “Their narrow path got narrower,” Plouffe said, referring to the road to
the threshold of 270 electoral votes both campaigns must meet to win the election. Plouffe said he was pleased with the Obama campaign’s progress in key battleground states: “We’ve been playing a lot more offense than McCain has,” he said. Although McCain lost the Michigan primary to former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney this year, the Arizona senator demonstrated his appeal to Michiganders when he beat Bush here in 2000. And as recently as Tuesday, the campaign was making plans for a rally in Plymouth, Mich., next week. Michigan was McCain’s second stop on his post-convention tour, and he held his first town hall with running mate Sarah Palin in Grand Rapids two weeks ago. Underscoring the importance of Michigan, Obama held rallies Thursday in Grand Rapids and at Michigan State University in East Lansing, while his wife, Michelle, campaigned on the other side of the state. Spending on television by Obama and McCain and the Republican National Committee in Michigan has been virtually identical. Obama shelled out $3.19 million in the first 2 1/2 months of the general election campaign, to McCain’s $3.18 million, according to the University of Wisconsin ad project. In recent days, McCain and Obama have avoided partisanship while Congress worked on a $700-billion bailout of faltering financial companies. But Thursday, both candidates pivoted back on offense. In Michigan, Obama criticized McCain’s tax policies as tilted to the rich and said he would be a more effective advocate for Michigan’s struggling workers. “Nine straight months of job loss,” Obama said in Grand Rapids, referring to job numbers expected in a new report Friday, “yet just two weeks ago John McCain said the fundamentals of the economy were strong. I don’t know what yardstick Senator McCain uses, but where I come from there’s nothing more fundamental than a job. ... The fundamentals of the economy are not strong, and it’s time we had a president who understands that.” In Denver, McCain slammed Obama as a tax-raising, big-government liberal who would worsen the nation’s economic woes if elected president. “I have a clear record of working in a bipartisan fashion and putting my country first,” said McCain, citing his work on climate-change and campaign-finance legislation. “Senator Obama does not.” He chided Obama for voting to raise taxes, refusing to acknowledge the surge’s success in the Iraq war and for requesting nearly $1 billion in earmarks while in the Senate. — Staff writer Michael Finnegan contributed to this report.
Few blunders in VP debate, much to TV pundits’ surprise By Mary McNamara Los Angeles Times
The vice-presidential debate scheduled for Thursday night didn’t happen -at least not as envisioned by media watchers with their characteristic mix of glee and dread. Republican candidate Sarah Palin spoke in clear, concise sentences that mostly made sense, and if she didn’t answer all the questions posed to her, at least she didn’t tell the moderator that she would “have to get back to ya.” Neither did Democrat Joe Biden
ramble or froth, mention the fictional televised speeches of FDR or accidentally call the governor of Alaska ‘Lil’ Lady. If you think this is a hyperbolic description of expectations, then you didn’t catch David Gergen and his CNN colleagues claiming that what Palin had to prove was her basic competence, including a grasp of the English language. Meanwhile over at MSNBC, Newsweek’s Howard Fineman announced that Biden’s job was to get out there, answer the questions and get off the
stage “without making news.” And, in what was perhaps the most shocking aspect of the entire event, virtually every anchor or pundit agreed that Biden had to tread carefully so as not to seem too aggressive. If the bar had been placed any lower for this debate, they would have had to bury it. So how surprising was it really that neither candidate devolved into a Jerry Springer screaming fit or fell into a state of catatonia. In fact, both were in rare form, giving what might have been their best respective cam-
paign performances yet. Palin came in with a clear advantage, of course; when all you have to do is prove you can address issues in a coherent way it’s fairly easy to exceed expectations. She set her tone instantly by asking the senator at the handshake if it was OK to call him Joe. He said, “Yes, of course,” and from then on it was “Joe” and “Gov. Palin.” Indeed, with her “bless his/her hearts” and knowing sideline-laughs, Palin might have invented an entirely new rhetorical style — random folksi-
ness. Each bit of lighthearted “Sarahness” was followed by a Serious Face as she got down to the issues. Or at least issues that she was comfortable with. The most pointed difference between Biden’s performance and Palin’s is that he answered pretty much each question that was asked before returning to the topic of his choice. Palin pronounced early on that she wasn’t necessarily going to answer questions, which is to say not at all, but instead would address the American people directly.
Friday, October 3, 2008
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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
W. soccer knocks off Holy Cross, 4-1 Farnham: Athlete of the Week continued from page 12 throughout the first half, and despite the Crusader’s goal, Brown continued to dominate possession for the majority of the game. Just ten minutes before the end of the first half, Manners tied the match at 1-1. Manners found herself in the right position to put in a rebound off the foot of Cunningham. Neither team scored for the rest of the half, and the score remained tied as the teams headed into the locker room. After reflecting upon their first struggles in the first half during halftime, the Bears came back to the game ready to play. “We played simple soccer, played smarter,” Pincince said. “That’s been our forte all year.”
Brown’s goalkeeper, tri-captain Brenna Hogue ’10, kept Holy Cross from scoring in the second half. Hogue managed to stop three shots on goal throughout the rest of the game making two key stops for the Bears in the 59th and 72nd minutes of play. The last shot on goal for the Crusaders was the last real threat for the remainder of the game. Each team took ten shots in the second half, but the shots on goal for the entire game heavily favored the Bears, 10-4. The second-half scoring began in the 68th minute when Silvia Stone ’11 sent a pass to Lesbirel from 25 yards out, nailing the upper left corner of the goal. Fewer than two minutes later, Lesbirel connected again for a nearly identical goal off an assist
by Slater. “We had to pick up the intensity,” said Lesbirel. “Scoring became an easier thing when we stuck with our game plan.” Slater put away the final goal for the Bears with 14 minutes remaining, finishing off the Crusaders 4-1. Slater beat two defenders before launching her shot out of the reach of the Holy Cross goalkeeper for her first goal of the season. Brown improved its record to 4-3-2. After a string of six away games, the Bears are off to a great start winning the first of the three home games they have in the next week. The Bears will get another chance to defend their home field this Saturday at 7:00 p.m. against Columbia in the team’s first Ivy League home game.
Volleyball look to serve up Ivy success continued from page 12 Ivy League.” Short said that Yale is a skilled team with a height advantage over Brown, but that the Bears have a shot at winning if they keep their mistakes low and their morale high. “Our team chemistr y, I don’t think that can be matched. We believe in ourselves,” said Short. She said that the girls have been conditioning really hard and “can outlast” Yale on the court. Meyers commented, “Yale’s offense is slower than ours. So even though we’re smaller, we’ll be a lot faster.”
The Bears are on fire when they play to their potential, but occasionally—like in yesterday’s game—they look like a different, sloppier team. “We need to work on consistency on how we play our game, emotionally and mentally,” said Yess. “This season we’ve gotten into slumps when we kind of lose the momentum.” Shor t said that some of the players think too much and overanalyze, which can be harmful in this “read-and-react sport.” She also commented that some players are too hard on themselves after one bad play. “You have to learn to forgive yourself.”
As tough of an opponent as Yale is, the Bears cannot overlook the rest of the league. Another team to look out for is defending champion Princeton, who went 14-0 in conference play last season and lost only one starter. The Bears will be playing their Ivy League season opener against Yale tomorrow at 7 p.m. at the Pizzitola Sports Center. On kicking off conference play on home turf, Yess said, “It’s a comfor t. You’re in your home gym, in front of your friends, fans and family. You’re used to the arena, the lighting and the feel of the gym.”
continued from page 12 How do you, individually, keep the momentum going into this weekend against URI? I approach every game the same way because every game is a big game. I just focus on doing my job and doing it to the best of my abil-
ity because I’m just one part of the machine. I’ll study film and get good looks from our scout team in the week of practice. Buddy Farnham and the rest of the undefeated football team will be in action this Saturday at URI, in pursuit of the 93rd Governor’s Cup.
E ditorial & L etters Page 10
Friday, October 3, 2008
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
S t a ff E d i t o r i a l
Diamonds and coal A good-luck diamond to Megan Andelloux, former employee of the recently shuttered Miko Exoticwear, for her plans to open a “nonprofit feminist sex shop” near campus early next year. Until then, we’ll just spend all our time on Health Services’ new orgasm Web site. But coal to the store’s former manager, whose alleged mismanagement of funds led to its closing. While the store was certainly a safe, respectful place for all manner of sexual tendencies, couldn’t you indulge your mismanagement fetish somewhere else? Cubic zirconium to Miko’s owner. Though we appreciate your dedication to the store over the years, your decision to put all your time into your other business, Solid K9 Training, is perplexing. Is this really the only way you can get rid of all that dog collar and leash inventory? A diamond to the students pioneering Brown’s new mixed-gender dorm rooms, for proving that those at the forefront of socially progressive university policies can still be awkward. No matter what you do, “there’s always sexual tension.” Cubic zirconium to busy Brunonians, who according to the Trojan Sexual Health Report Card, know how to play it safe. Students at schools like Yale, however, which fell in the rankings, may look like friends but will surprise you if invited into your walled city. A diamond to the young lady who said she supports “transparency in female orgasm.” You’ll be pleased to know SDS is taking up your cause and will be having an Orgasm-In at the next Career Fair.
P ete fallon
Cubic Zirc-oh!-nium to the independent study project dedicated to female orgasm. Wouldn’t that be better as a GISP? Coal to Dining Services for calling the V-Dub its “guinea pig.” Oh, BDS, your willingness to experiment keeps us swiping in for more. And at the risk of flattering ourselves, a diamond to diamonds and coal on a theme. Finally, coal to the College Hill ‘Dependent, who will once again go down this weekend in kickball. You provide the cigarettes and fixies; we’ll provide the talent.
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Letters Students defend SDS protest at Career Fair To the Editor: In a recent column (“A senseless protest,” Sept. 29), Rachel Forman ’09 took it upon herself to disseminate a distorted view of SDS’s action against CIA and Raytheon recruiters at the Career Fair. We were not there to “whine about how there are not enough progressiveminded organizations represented” and we were not there because we doubted students’ abilities to make judgments. In fact, our purpose was to help students make more informed decisions about their careers. Students deserve to be aware of the consequences of their career choices and CIA recruiters have no interest in fully disclosing their organization’s role in political repression, torture and murder around the world. These aren’t “mistakes” that were made in the “past,” as Forman suggests; they form the CIA’s dominant mode of operation. The CIA and Raytheon are currently active participants, even leaders, in human rights abuses, murders of civilians and the undermining of democracy around the world. Forman also mentioned that our portrayal of the victims was “distasteful.” We would argue that it is far more distasteful that the CIA and Raytheon would try to recruit Brown students without conveying the true nature of their organizations. Moreover, the atrocities committed by the CIA and Raytheon render questions of taste irrelevant. When Brown invites the CIA and Raytheon to market themselves however they want, Brown isn’t being neutral. It is actively supporting and legitimating the lies that allow these organizations to continue to do business. Later in the article, Forman sought to dictate to SDS
what it is all about and what it should be doing. Before telling us how to act in the “spirit of our core values,” Forman should have taken the time to understand them. Participatory democracy is the idea that people should be informed and have control over decisions to the degree that they are affected by them, and that individuals are the only ones who can speak for themselves. This means that as SDS, we do not speak for the opinions of the entire student body when planning our actions. By the same token, Forman should not speak to what an Iraqi mother would want or presume to know what RIPTA riders would think of our actions. While we don’t presume to speak for the Brown community, over 800 people took our literature, and many thanked us for being there and offering information. We believe that by bringing this information to the Brown community, our action was a resounding success. And yes, we do want the CIA and Raytheon kicked off campus, which Forman alleges would infringe on a student’s right to fair information. But what happened to the rights of the people who are suffering political repression at the hands of Raytheon and the CIA? On a final note, if you had been in Sayles between 12:45 and 1:15, you would have seen seven SDS members scrubbing corn syrup off the floor of Sayles. How’s that for participatory democracy? Carly Devlin ’09 Alex Tye ‘10 Sophia Lambertsen ‘11 Vale Cofer-Shabica ‘09 Oct. 2
Steve DeLucia, Chaz Kelsh, Designers Seth Motel, Geoffrey Kyi, Rachel Isaacs, Copy Editors Joanna Wohlmuth, George Miller, Ben Hyman, Nandini Jayakrishna, Night Editors Senior Staff Writers Mitra Anoushiravani, Colin Chazen, Chaz Kelsh, Emmy Liss, Brian Mastroianni, George Miller, Melissa Shube, Anne Simons, Sara Sunshine, Gaurie Tilak, Caroline Sedano, Jenna Stark, Joanna Wohlmuth, Simon van Zuylen-Wood Staff Writers Zunaira Choudhary, Leslie Primack, Connie Zheng, Christian Martell, Alexandra Ulmer, Lauren Pischel, Samuel Byker, Anne Deggelman, Nicole Dungca, Olivia Hoffman, Cameron Lee, Debbie Lehmann, Sophia Li, Seth Motel, Marielle Segarra, Kyla Wilkes, Juliana Friend Sports Staff Writers Peter Cipparone, Nicole Stock Business Staff Maximilian Barrows, Thanases Plestis, Agathe Roncey, Allen McGonagill, Ben Xiong, Bonnie Kim, Cathy Li, Christiana Stephenson, Corey Schwartz, Evan Sumortin, Galen Cho, Han Lee, Haydar Taygun, Jackie Goldman, Jilyn Chao, Kathy Bui, Kelly Wess, Kenneth So, Lee Chau, Lyndse Yess, Margaret Watson, Matthew Burrows, Maura Lynch, Misha Desai, Stassia Chyzhykova, Webber Xu, William Schweitzer Design Staff Jessica Calihan, Amy Kendall, Joanna Lee, Rachel Isaacs, Angela Santin Ceballos, Marlee Bruning, Rachel Wexler, Maxwell Rosero, Katie Silverstein, Shara Azad, Jessica Kirschner, Jee Hyun Choi, Heeyoung Min, Andrea McWilliams, Anna Samel Photo Staff Alex DePaoli, Eunice Hong, Kim Perley, Quinn Savit, Justin Coleman Copy Editors Rafael Chaiken, Ellen Cushing, Younhun Kim, Frederic Lu, Lauren Fedor, Madeleine Rosenberg, Kelly Mallahan, Jennifer Kim, Tarah Knaresboro, Jordan Mainzer, Janine Lopez, Luis Solis, Ayelet Brinn, Rachel Starr, Riva Shah, Jason Yum, Simon Leibling, Rachel Isaacs
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O pinions Friday, October 3, 2008
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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
The book-free library ALVIN KERBER | Opinions Columnist One of the most important features of any university is the network of information it can provide to students. At Brown, a major component of this network is its libraries, which give students the resources to learn on their own. Brown clearly cares deeply about its library system; the Rock and the SciLi are among the largest buildings with the most student-friendly interiors among all those at Brown. The investment required is enormous, and Brown has a clear goal in mind for all of its libraries: to give students access to the stored information of generations. The way Brown presents this information, however, is deeply flawed. Ask yourself this: when was the last time you ventured out into the stacks at a Brown library to get a book? If you are like most students here, the answer is “never.” I spoke with one student circulation desk employee who informed me that about ten students each night checked out books from the main stacks. From a student body of thousands, and a book supply of hundreds of thousands, this total is pathetic. No administration official seems concerned about this situation. From a purely pragmatic perspective, the University appears to be completely wasting its money. Every day, hundreds of students use the Friedman Study Center, while only a few choose to work in the upper levels of the library – and very few of them even consider browsing the library stacks. A potential solution is clear: remove the stacks. Put all the books in reserve. This is far from an ideal response, and it further reduces the chances that students will broaden their educations at Brown. The actual problem is not that Brown’s decision to purchase and maintain very large libraries of books is foolish, but that no effort is ever made to disseminate these resources. The stacks are dark, imposing and in all the libraries, tucked far away from the study areas. Brown can easily improve the situation by simply calling attention to its vast book selection. Adding displays of new or especially interesting books would pique the curiosity of the many students who go to the libraries to study. Adding some sort of online recommendation system could help when sifting through the enormous number of books that
virtually no one has any interest in. Similarly, Brown could assist students by simply clearing out the glut in the library system. Out of all the books in Brown’s giant collection, a small subset is used frequently while a far larger number are virtually untouched. The facilities are already in place to track how often particular books are checked out. A system of shelves that made the popular books easily accessible – rather like the shelving center – would make browsing the library shelves a less trying ordeal. Above all, Brown should focus on making the shelves presentable. In the SciLi, for instance, the Friedman Center is friendly, carpeted, and well-lit. Walking out of the elevator into the stacks feels like exiting the Brown campus and entering a horror movie: the walls are bare stone, the aisles are narrow and dark, and air vents blow sudden cold gusts of wind from unexpected directions. Very few people could legitimately call the atmosphere in the book stacks comfortable. If Brown improved the furniture and illumination around the library stacks, all of the libraries would receive an increase in patronage. But, you say, college libraries don’t work like this. Students borrow books only by necessity, and they will not browse the stacks even if they are comfortable. This argument has some truth: most students at Brown are very busy, and many of those who aren’t might not want to spend their free time doing more reading. However, Brown does students no favors by making it difficult to browse for books and clunky and impractical to search for or request them. The widespread knowledge that can only be gained through reading about material totally unrelated to coursework is something that Brown cannot leave to libraries full of hidden books. If the University truly wishes students to gain a diverse education, it must encourage students to learn on their own initiative. By making their libraries more open and inviting, the school will encourage intellectual curiosity on a campus where academic choice is a top priority.
Alvin Kerber ’11 still fears that serial killer in the Rock basement.
Stop txtng plz lol SARAH ROSENTHAL | Opinions Columnist Text messaging is succinct. Text messaging is fun. Text messaging is discreet (sort of). Text messaging teaches you new and exciting ways to spell even the shortest words. Yes, text messaging has its place, but lately, it has been overstepping its boundaries. Here are seven reasons why texting is, in fact, a tool of Satan: 1) It’s rude to your friends. Nothing tells someone that you don’t want to talk to them like talking to someone else at the same time. If you were in the middle of a conversation with a friend and someone called you to chat, you would tell him to call you back later, and yet somehow it’s different for texting. Have you ever tried to talk to someone while they were texting? It’s like trying to … um … yeah … sorry, what were you saying? 2) It’s rude to your professors. I can’t even count how many people I’ve seen texting in the front row of a lecture. Not that hiding your sin is any better. Your professors are smart. They have Ph.D.s and they’re eminent in their fields. Do you sincerely believe that they don’t know what you’re doing when you glance under the desk every 15 seconds and wiggle your thumbs? They might have teenage kids who text under the dinner table. They may even do the same thing with their BlackBerries. If you want to talk to your friend about the guy you hooked up with last night, don’t come to class. 3) You don’t know with whom you are communicating. Admittedly, this could apply to any sort of electronic interaction, but when you are operating with a very small number of characters and a vernacular of banalities, it’s a lot easier to convince someone that you are not who you are. A few weeks ago, for instance, a friend of mine received a text message from a number with her hometown area code that she didn’t recognize. The person on the other end thought she was someone named Roger. She had an entire conversation with him where she found out his name, his new girlfriend’s name, his new girlfriend’s MySpace page, the name of a mutual friend, what he was planning on doing the next day and so on. Luckily, she was not interested in doing anything with this information, but in this age of decreased privacy, who needs one more risk?
4) It makes you walk into things. This one is pretty selfexplanatory. When you’re looking down and you should be looking up, you walk into things. 5) It gave rise to the nauseating Twitter. For those cavemen among you, Twitter is a service that allows you to broadcast everything you think to a list of people. Is there anything more narcissistic than being convinced that other people want to know what you’re thinking and doing (in 140 characters or fewer) at any hour of the day? And is there anything more pathetic than wanting to know what other people are thinking and doing at any hour of the day? 6) It makes you dumb. For whatever reason, you’re allowed to take liberties with spelling and grammar that were considered hopelessly immature when you used them over AIM in eighth grade. It also encourages the placement of “lol” at the end of every phrase, even when there is nothing particularly funny being said. Before we know it “Watsup lol?” will be replaced by “Im at da hozpital and in desperate need of a new organ, lolz.” 7) It can kill you. In a disturbing recent example investigators are trying to determine if text messaging caused the recent deadly commuter train crash in California. The engineer was known to text with teenager train enthusiasts while on the job, and one claimed to have received a text from him one minute before the crash. As any high schooler can tell you, texting among teenage drivers is widespread. This practice leads to tragedies like the 2007 car accident outside Rochester, N.Y., that killed five teenage girls because, authorities suspect, the driver was texting. I know this is a losing battle, since Americans now use their phones for texting more often than for calling. All the same, please remember that even though we are all accomplished 21st-century multi-taskers, there’s a limit to how much the brain can handle. When you’re looking down at your phone, trying to decipher the meaning of “omg im so adctd2txt ruf2t plz ans w nething lolz,” it is next to impossible to listen to a professor, talk to a friend or not walk into a stop sign. For your safety and my sanity, please try to remember this next time your phone beeps with joy.
Sarah Rosenthal ’11 wants you damn kids to get off her lawn.
In defense of a democratic society BY MAX SCHOENING Guest Columnist Rachel Forman’s ’09 column this past Monday (“A senseless protest,” Sept. 29) contains a calm, well reasoned and balanced argument against Students for a Democratic Society’s protest of Raytheon and the CIA’s presence at the career fair. It is this very posture of rationality and objectivity that I find to be most alarming — and that most legitimizes SDS’s protest tactics. Before attacking SDS, Forman dismissively mentions that the CIA has had “some dark moments” and writes them off as “unfortunate episodes in our national history,” as if they somehow represented trivial aberrations in a history of glowingly benevolent U.S. foreign policy. She goes on to argue that SDS’s condemnation of the CIA and Raytheon, a military contractor that made over $4 billion in profit in 2007, is a hokey evaluation of the organizations’ “karma.” The overriding tone of the column is that good-hearted, liberal Brown students always do the right thing and that SDS’ criticism of the CIA and Raytheon was overblown. She starts her column by saying: “I am insulted by Students for a Democratic Society’s assumption that I am not capable of making moral judgments on my own.” It is fine to oppose the message conveyed by protest. It is undemocratic to claim insult when people try to affect our opinions through public outcry. This sense of insult, shared by other Brown students in response to the protest, reflects a moral assurance that Brown students are already doing the right thing about U.S. military expansionism and the exorbitant profits reaped from it. The basic silence and complete lack of participation in activism surrounding the Iraq war on Brown’s campus indicates that we should not be so sure of ourselves. Let’s stop scapegoating SDS and start considering our own complicity in U.S. military aggression. Let’s work for our moral assurance rather than assuming we have earned it simply by bashing Sarah Palin and voting for Barack Obama. Forman, like other Brown students I have talked to, calls SDS’ physical representation of victims of CIA and U.S. military violence ‘distasteful.’ Eager to express annoyance with the sticky fake blood that distracted them from schmoozing with consulting firms, many students ignored what this fake blood represented: the real blood of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians, the blood of a U.S. soldier whose life is part of Raytheon’s profit scheme, the blood of a Chilean student tortured to death by the CIA sponsored military dictatorship. This blood is on our hands as U.S. citizens. The systematic disappearance of dead Iraqi and American bodies in public discourse and media representation is an essential mechanism employed to rationalize and normalize American military violence. Think about it. How many photographs of dead U.S. soldiers or Iraqi civilian bodies have you seen in the mainstream media? The Department of Defense prohibits the media coverage of returning U.S. soldier’s body bags, and its policy limiting embedded journalists’ movements with the troops has severely distorted the portrayal of the Iraq war. Compare the images of Vietnam to the images from Iraq, combine the disparity in media coverage with the absence of a military draft and Brown students’ overall indifference to the war makes more sense. With this in mind, SDS’s tactic of reasserting otherwise systematically hidden human bodies into public discourse about the CIA and military contracting companies is a crucial method for resisting the public’s rationalization of organized violence against large civilian populations. Forman’s irritated response to the presence of these bodies shows how successfully U.S. violence abroad has been made normal, albeit distasteful and inconvenient, for many Brown students. Her indignation belies a collective outrage against SDS’ violation of the coveted aesthetics of rational discourse. But what is this rational discourse, and how many dead corpses, systematically repressed from our vision, loom beneath its gleaming surfaces? I’m not arguing that Raytheon and the CIA are inherently evil organizations that should be prohibited from recruiting on campus — nor that SDS employed the most effective protest tactics. I’m saying that it’s good that there is a group on campus inciting debate about the U.S. empire and its human consequences.
Max Schoening ’09 is an international relations concentrator and is not affiliated with SDS.
S ports W eekend THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
Friday, October 3, 2008
After loss to URI, volleyball preps for Ivies
Bruno’s pal: Football force Buddy Farnham ’10
Page 12
By HEEYOUNG MIN Contributing Writer
After falling to URI yesterday in its last non-conference competition of the season, the volleyball team is ready to spike up its game tomorrow for the one that counts – the Ivy League season opener against Yale. The Bears (8-4) graduated four seniors from last year’s team, but this year’s young squad is more cohesive and hungr y and is aiming to win Brown’s fifth league title in the sport’s 30-year history in the conference. A review of the pre-season The Bears’ offense is — in Daft Punk’s words — “harder, better, faster, stronger.” Brown is leading the Ivy League in hitting percentage and kills, with middle hitter Danielle Vaughan ’11 and outside hitters L yndse Yess ’09 and Megan Toman ’11 ranked fifth, sixth and tenth, respectively, in hitting percentage. Last season, there wasn’t a single Bear on the list. “We’re terminating the ball,” said Head Coach Diane Shor t. “L yndse has improved a lot from last year. Just being a senior, she seems to be really comfortable playing on the court.” Describing volleyball as “a game of mistakes,” Shor t said that last season’s team suffered from excessive hitting errors. This season, the Bears are making fewer errors while running a faster, more effective offense. In ser vice, the Bears are aiming for more than just consistency. Short said that the team’s ser ves are tougher and better placed this season, with freshmen Annika Gliottone ’12 and Laurielle Hofer ’12 racking up a good share of the team’s aces. “Assistant Coach Scott Blanchard has been focusing on ser ving, so as an entire team we’ve been improving, and going
By Nicole Stock Sports Staff Writer
Buddy Farnham ’10 was named Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week last week for his impressive performance against Ivy rival Harvard. Farnham led the charge with two touchdown receptions and an onside kick recovery. His first touchdown of
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK the afternoon came when Brown was trailing 13-0. His reception helped jump-start the offense, which had a slow start. The second touchdown reception resulted in a 21-13 Brown lead. Overall, Farnham had catches for 78 yards and had punt and kickoff returns totaling 54 yards. For being a stable force on the offense this past weekend, Buddy Farnham has been named the Herald’s Athlete of the Week. The Herald got an exclusive interview with the unstoppable number 46. Herald File Photo
Volleyball lost to URI but will take on Yale for its Ivy opener. for the ace,” said captain and setter Natalie Meyers ’09. On the defensive front, Short said “We’re strong, but we can be stronger.” After graduating standout libero Captain Katie Lapinski ’08, who holds the Brown record for career digs-per-game average, the Bears seem to be somewhat recovering. Meyers also commented that the team’s offense is exceptionally strong this season, but that the defense could still use more work. She added that Gliottone is the go-to defensive player this season, garnering 133 digs entering the URI game, which is good for topten in digs in the conference. At the net, Short said that the blocking — headlined by Vaughan
— is solid but can also use improvement. A shot at the title? Meyers said that the team’s Ivy League opener against Yale – arguably the Bears’ strongest competition – is crucial. “It’s the first game, but we’re treating it as a championship weekend. If we split with them, we’ll still have a good shot. If we win both sets, it’ll be a great way to start off the season.” Yale is returning six starters and has added a 6-foot-1-inch outside hitter transfer from the University of California to its roster. Meyers says the Bulldogs’ new addition will be “dominating the continued on page 9
W. soccer excommunicates Holy Cross By Jason Wade Contributing Writer
When did you start playing football and why did you start playing? I started playing football when I was 9. I’m not really sure why I wanted to play, but it was probably because my dad played and I loved watching it on television. Do you have any superstitions? One superstition I have is going to the creperie with my roommates Trevan Samp (’10), Mark Callahan (’10) and Phil Samenuk (’10) every Friday night or Thursday nights, if we are traveling, to get a crepe. We started it our sophomore year and have done it every game since — except for the Penn game last year, which was the only game I didn’t score a touchdown — so we like to think that it works.
team and what makes them your favorite team? Growing up in Massachusetts, my favorite NFL team has always been the New England Patriots. What made you choose Brown to play Division I football? Choosing Brown was easy because my father and two uncles came here and played football, so it has always been a dream to follow in their footsteps and come to Brown and wear the family number 46. What does it mean to you to have had a great performance in such a big game on Saturday? It was an exciting game to play in and a great team effort. I was just glad I could have an impact on the outcome. What was it like beating Harvard after such a long drought? It was an unbelievable feeling to beat Harvard after such a long drought, and to start off the Ivy League season with a win was huge. The support from our students was great and it was enjoyable to see how happy it made everyone to beat Harvard. What are the expectations of the team after last weekend? Is the Ivy Championship a real possibility now that Harvard is out of the way? Every year, the main goal is to win an Ivy League Championship. We take each game one at a time, like building blocks, and work our way towards that goal. The Harvard win was fun, but it’s over and we put it in the past. We are now focused on URI and only URI. All we can do is take it one week at a time and attack each game with a great focus and play our hardest and everything will take care of itself.
Do you have a favorite NFL
S po r t s
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Brief
M. water polo wins in OT at Harvard
The women’s soccer team beat Holy Cross, 4-1, in its long-awaited return to Stevenson Field this Wednesday. After a six-game road trip, the Bears were eager to play on their home turf once again. The Bears fell behind, 1-0, in the first half, but Kiki Manners ’10 tied the score in the 35th minute of play. Her goal ignited an offense explosion later in the second half with two goals by Marybeth Lesbirel ’12 and another by Kellie Slater ’10. While the final score indicates a blowout, the first half of play was quite even. Brown was unable to string together its attacks. The team was not playing “as smart as they should have,” said Head Coach Phil Pincince. “The team was making poor decisions.” Holy Cross struck first, scoring off a rebound in the 20th minute. “We weren’t doing the little things,” said tri-captain Lindsay Cunningham ’09. From that point on Brown’s backfield out-played Holy Cross. The Bears controlled the ball
Herald File Photo
The men’s water polo team took down Harvard, 10-8, in overtime Wednesday night. The Bears came into the game with three straight wins, a streak that began with the Bears’ 14-6 victory over Harvard at the ECAC Championships. The game started off rocky for Brown, as Harvard took an early 3-1 lead in the first quarter. The teams traded goals in the second quarter, bringing the score to 5-3 in favor of the Crimson. But the Bears were able to keep their composure in the second half, outscoring Harvard, 4-2. Nico Fort ’09 kicked things off for the Bears’ offense in the second half with an early goal and the Bears’ defense continued to shut down the Crimson offense. Another goal from the Bears with two minutes to play in the third quarter knotted the score at 5-5. Both teams managed to score two goals each in the fourth quarter. Harvard pulled ahead with a minute left to play, and Brown fired back to even the score at 7-7 with 40 seconds left to play in regulation. In the first overtime period, the Bears drew an early ejection and found Mike Gartner ’09 inside for a goal. Fort put another one away with 20 seconds left in the first overtime period to put the Bears up by two goals. In the second and final period of overtime, Harvard scored on a penalty shot to bring the Crimson within one goal of the Bears. But Brown fired back yet again with a counterattack pass to Gartner down the center of the pool. Gartner put the ball away with two men on his back, sealing a 10-8 victory for the Bears. Gartner and Gordon Hood ’11 led the Bears in scoring with three goals each, while Fort, captain Grant LeBeau ’09 and Corey Schwartz ’11 each tallied two goals apiece. Kent Holland ’10 recorded six saves in the cage. The victory improves Brown’s record to 6-5 overall and 3-0 in league play. The Bears will have a week long break before hitting the road again to take on Fordham in Bronx, N.Y. on Oct. 10.
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The women’s soccer team took down Holy Cross Wednesday, 4-1, even after initially falling behind.
—Anne Deggelman