Thursday, November 6, 2008 by The Brown Daily Herald

The Brown Daily Herald T hursday, N ovember 6, 2008

Volume CXLIII, No. 107

Since 1866, Daily Since 1891

Volunteers now flush with free time

Much work ahead, say race scholars

By Jenna Stark Senior Staff Writer

By Debbie Lehmann Staff Writer

After late nights and long days spent talking to strangers to support her yearlong addiction, Ariel Werner ’09 has finally entered “detox” — election detox, that is. As the votes were tallied Tuesday and President-elect Barack Obama spoke to thousands at Chicago’s Grant Park, some Brown students waved

a neighborhood south of Greensboro. “New Hampshire seemed pretty locked up, while North Carolina was one of the neglected states,” Werner said. “So we decided to come down here and help.” A Brown alum who is the deputy field organizer for the region was able to “plug (Werner) into a position of responsibility,” she said, adding that her previous experience as the student coordinator of the Rhode Island Right to Vote Campaign helped her acquire her job. “I hold down the fort at one of the campaign offices,” Werner said. “We have a number of volunteers from Greensboro, High Point and out of town. I’m basically managing these

For Professor of Africana Studies Tricia Rose PhD’93, Barack Obama’s election Tuesday as the nation’s first black president is just the beginning of a larger story. “That curtain went down, but now the curtain has to go back up,” Rose said Wednesday. “And what will happen in the second act? That’s not a given.” For Rose and other Brown professors who study racial inequality, policy and politics, Obama’s victory was not just historic but also steeped in significance. His election is “momentous” and “remarkable,” they said — “a turning point.” But Tuesday’s vote by no means represents an end to racial inequality in America, they stressed. Professor of Economics Glenn Loury, a prominent scholar on racial inequality and social policy, said he was struck and inspired by Obama’s success. Lour y was skeptical when Obama’s campaign first launched, he said. In remarks aired last night on the BBC, he explained it had not seemed possible that “the deep structure of American power would permit the ascent of this son of Africa to its pinnacle.” In that sense, the election re-

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FEATURE goodbye to the grueling months of electoral campaigning. Student campaigners like Werner said they plan to unwind after intensive campaigning by returning to their previous activities, while still remaining involved in political issues. A political science concentrator, Werner said her decision to volunteer for the Obama campaign was a “natural extension” of her normal activities. “In 2005, when I first got to Brown, I worked on the local Rhode Island elections,” she said. Werner began campaigning for Obama at the end of August of last year. She first worked in New Hampshire, campaigning there on weekends and even spending a week canvassing in January before the primaries. But Werner said it was difficult to balance her political life and her normal activities. “The detox will mostly be going back to school, work, my thesis — all the things I’ve had a very difficult time concentrating on while

Isabel Gottlieb / Herald

Brown students canvassing for Democrats in New Hampshire in the weekend leading up to Election Day. working on the campaign,” she said. “I might start working on the local elections.” Ellis Rochelson ’09, a Herald sports columnist, was also busy campaigning for Obama for much of the past year, canvassing in New Hampshire as of last November and making calls to Ohio during the last few weeks before the presidential election as part of the get-out-the-vote campaign. Rochelson, a theatre arts concentrator and pre-med student, said he felt “spread thin” trying to keep up with his academics and extracurricular activities, such as his improvisation and a cappella groups, while campaigning. “It will be good after the campaign to see my friends a little more who haven’t been involved in the campaign and be able to focus on my extracur-

Programmers could beat the preregistration system By Melissa Shube Senior Staf f Writer

mber

Did you wake up early to register for classes? It may not be necessary if you’ve got some programming skills. Two years after the implementation of Banner, the University has found a new threat to the system — a few students are writing programs to automatically register for classes with limited enrollment. In an e-mail sent to the student body, Associate Registrar Lisa Mather reminded students that the use of automated registration systems is considered a violation of University policy. Seniors began pre-registering Tuesday, and juniors star ted Wednesday. Sophomores start today. Registrar Michael Pesta said his office first noticed this issue last year when two students attempted to make changes to their registration — which include adding or dropping courses and changing

VO LU ME

grade options — and exceeded Banner’s limit on the number of times students can submit changes. Pesta said the limit is over 1,000. “Instead of manually clicking ‘submit changes’ several times in a row to try to get into a course, the students in question created a program to do this automatically,” Mather wrote in an e-mail to The Herald. Both students came separately into the Office of the Registrar to complain that they were unable to register online. For the second incident, the Registrar asked Computing and Information Services to look at the logs for the student’s Banner activity, and found that the number of changes attributed to the student’s ID would be nearly impossible to do without a computer’s assistance. The student denied the charge. Pesta said these programs, which could run for days if a spot does not

Postkicks it with some real voters and ponders presidential palates

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ricular improv group that I care a lot about,” said Rochelson, a member of long-form improvisational comedy troupe Starla and Sons. Still, Rochelson was quick to add that he has enjoyed being a part of the Obama campaign. “It’s stressful and I want to tear my hair out at every poll I see, but it’s exciting and fun,” he said. Rochelson said he plans to stay involved in the political process even after the elections are over. “I want to find more local initiatives,” he said, adding that the presidential contest may feel like “American Idol,” but that there are other, smaller ways to “make a difference.” Last Friday, Werner drove to Greensboro, N.C., in order to campaign through Election Day. She ran a staging location in High Point, N.C.,

Experts discuss Asia, an Obama presidency By Lauren Fedor Contributing Writer

On the day after a historic presidential election, more than 50 students gathered in the Sidney Frank Hall for Life Sciences to hear two leading foreign policy experts discuss the challenges President-elect Barack Obama will face in the months and years ahead. In a lecture entitled “The Next American Foreign Policy,” Douglas Paal ’69 of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and Jonathan Pollack of the Naval War College discussed the United States’ past, present and future roles in global affairs. As part of the Strait Talk Symposium — an ongoing, weeklong dialogue about the relationships among the United States, China and Taiwan — the two panelists placed particular

Strait talk about asia Douglas Paal and Jonathan Pollack discuss issues in Asia that Obama will have to tackle

OPINIONS

Min Wu / Herald

Douglas Paal and Jonathan Pollack spoke about the future of U.S.-East Asian relations.

emphasis on the United States’ interactions with East Asia. Paal, vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the former director of the American Institute in Taiwan, stressed the importance of viewing the United States’ current East Asian interactions within a historical context. For more than half an hour, he provided an overview of the last three decades of the United States’ involvement with Taiwan. Tracing American foreign

election day benefits Adam Cambier ’09 is glad that the elections have given Tina Fey the credit she deserves

195 Angell Street, Providence, Rhode Island

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policy from the Nixon era to today, Paal spoke of the “lasting impact” of various White House administrations. He said that while Obama will face “policy challenges,” he will most likely follow President Bush’s agenda in Taiwan. “President Bush has not done a bad job in Asia,” said Paal, who also served as a special assistant to President George H.W. Bush. Obama inherits a “promising outcontinued on page 5

fencers skewer a win The fencing team performs well at the first tournament of the season at Smith

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We a t h e r

Vagina Dentata | Soojean Kim

TODAY

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Menu Sharpe Refectory

Verney-Woolley Dining Hall

Lunch — Cajun Fetuccini, Hot Turkey Sandwich with Sauce, Mandarin Blend Vegetables, Beef Tacos

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Dinner — Mexican Cornbread Casserole, Honey-Dipped Chicken, Vegan BBQ Navy Beans

Dinner — Savory Chicken Stew, Jamaican Jerk Tempeh, Herb Rice, Indian Curry Stir Fry

Brown Meets RISD | Miguel Llorente

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Governor to hold economic forum today downtown In light of the current economic situation and high unemployment rate in Rhode Island, Gov. Donald Carcieri ’65 is holding an economic forum at the Rhode Island Convention Center this afternoon to figure out solutions to the problem. The forum looks to set priorities and make specific plans to deal with the current crisis, according to an Oct. 23 press release. “I have asked our state’s top business and labor leaders, policy makers and academics to work with my office to identify the root cause for Rhode Island’s historical pattern of being the first to feel a national recession and the last to pull out from economic downturns,” Carcieri said in the release. “We need to better understand what is broken if we are to fix the problem.” University of Rhode Island economics professor Leonard Lardaro, who will not be at the forum but will speak in the morning, said he is not convinced as to the potential effectiveness of this forum. Rhode Island needs to pass legislation to solve this crisis, he said, and this forum might delay that process. “We need the legislature to convene an emergency session to deal with this crisis,” Lardaro said. “We can’t wait anymore.” Matt Jerzyk ’99, editor of progressive political blog Rhode Island’s Future, held a similar view. He said the governor has failed to take accountability for the issues and adequately deal with them thus far, and is not confident this forum will rectify that. He said it was “certainly a day late and a dollar short.” Jerzyk said the government needs to bring business leaders and experts around a table and create a strategic long term plan for the economy. “We have various ideas that have independently been existing in our economy for the last 20 years,” he said. “We have never developed a strategic plan that looks five or 10 years out and has specific things we want to achieve.” But, he said while this forum seems to be on the right path, Carcieri has not yet shown the leadership that makes Jerzyk believe the forum will be successful. “I’m not so optimistic at this point, considering his lack of leadership thus far,” Jerzyk added. Justin Katz, the creator and administrator of the conservative blog Anchor Rising, said the forum is a good idea but will probably not lead to much action. “While these things can be worthwhile, in Rhode Island they tend to be exercises in futility. You get a bunch of different opinions, everyone chats for a while, has brunch,” Katz said. “Nothing really comes from it.” Rhode Island needs to cut taxes and invest in improving infrastructure to make the state more attractive to commerce, Katz said. But, he added, neither the administration nor Rhode Islanders seem adequately concerned and ready to act towards solving the problem. The governor is also holding a meeting Friday morning to discuss and plan resolutions for small business owners. — Franklin Kanin

Mayor unveils plan for a green Providence By Simon van Zuylen-Wood Senior Staff Writer

Mayor David Cicilline ’83 last week presented his plan for Greenprint Providence, a long-term environmental plan that will “position Providence at the leading edge of a green economy poised for explosive growth,” according to a press release. The broad initiative, which has been in the works for a year, aims to render eight areas of city planning more environmentally and economically efficient. Greenprint is not a piece of legislation, but a collection of existing or planned environmental initiatives which City Councilman Seth Yurdin, D-Ward 1, said was a way of centralizing the city’s “comprehensive commitment to environmental issues.” In the last few years, the city has already installed low-wattage CFL lights in city hall, and LED lights in traffic lights and exit signs, among other minor energy-saving measures. The city is also planning to install wind turbines within three years,

and is looking into the development of a hydroelectric generator at the Scituate Reservoir, from where Providence’s water supply originates. Chris Wilhite, director of Rhode Island’s Sierra Club chapter and a Greenprint contributor, said developing energy in-state is the most important step in increasing Providence’s economic and environmental efficiency. “The longer we stay stuck on imported fossil fuels, the worse our economy’s going to get,” Wilhite said. “Rhode Island doesn’t have fossil fuels, so by continuing to stay stuck on the old energy sources of the past, we are not going to have a competitive advantage to other regions.” Through investing in clean energy, the city has projected it has already saved over a million dollars from March 2007 to May 2008 — 11.7 percent of the city’s energy budget for this period. Under Greenprint, at least 20 percent of Providence’s energy will come from renewable sources by 2010.

In addition to energy initiatives, Greenprint will develop green buildings, public spaces, transit and transportation, recycling and waste management, purchasing (appliances, supplies) and water consumption. Specifically, the city has already invested in tree-planting, added bicycle lanes and created incentives for businesses and private citizens to recycle more, in an effort to raise the recycling rate to 35 percent by 2012. Director of Public Works John Nickelson said that though he was encouraged by recently added bike lanes on Blackstone Boulevard and in Olneyville, increasing the use of alternate transit options like bikes, RIPTA buses and carpools is still “a long-term thing — a big hurdle to get by.” Several proponents of Greenprint, including City Councilman Cliff Wood, D-Dist. 2, praised the plan for its connection to already existing Providence initiatives. continued on page 6

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Thursday, November 6, 2008

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Off election mode, students Programmers could get around Banner now trying to look forward continued from page 1

continued from page 1 volunteers, looking at the turf and dispatching people to hit that turf to make sure that this section of High Point is covered.” Werner called her week in North Carolina a “professional vacation,” adding that she campaigned with a number of Brown alums, including her boyfriend. Werner said campaigning is “incredibly exciting,” but added that the work has its ups and downs. “It’s craze and sleeplessness,” she said. Brown students who supported John McCain were not actively campaigning recently, Sean Quigley ’10, president of the Brown Republicans and a Herald opinions columnist, wrote The Herald in an e-mail. “We all just provide moral support, as it were,” he wrote. Still, some McCain supporters did campaign for the presidential candidate during the primary season. Bryan Smith ’10 campaigned for McCain in Washington, D.C., over winter break and in Rhode Island during the primaries. Smith said he did not campaign in the weeks immediately before the election because of “time constraints” and because he did not think his efforts would have much of an impact. “Campaigning in Rhode Island, Massachusetts or Connecticut for John McCain isn’t going to have an effect,”

he said. Overall, now that the campaign season has ended, students said they had a difficult time visualizing how their lives would change after the election. “After every election night there’s like this black hole,” said Laura Tsunoda ’10, a member of Brown Students for Barack Obama, which organized campaigning in New Hampshire. If the election hadn’t gone as planned, Tsunoda said she would “watch a lot of West Wing,” adding that a smooth election would allow her to refocus on other forms of civic engagement. Tsunoda, a public policy concentrator, said her experiences campaigning were time consuming but positive. “There’s a sense of doing something larger than yourself,” she said. Rochelson said, results aside, the experience of campaigning has changed his perspective on America. “Regardless of what happens, my faith in this country has been strengthened by this process and people’s enthusiasm,” he said. “It’s had a lasting, solidifying effect on my patriotism and my confidence that I can make a difference.” “When I feel like I’m being stretched too thin,” he said. “I remember that I don’t want to wake up on November 5th wishing I had done something more.”

open up, could “drag the performance of the system down.” “We felt it wasn’t right for some students to gain that advantage and to risk the functionality of the system,” he said. Professor of Computer Science Steve Reiss said that this type of program would be easy to create. “Whatever you do manually, you can simulate from a program,” he said. During an interview with The Herald, Reiss proceeded to log on to Banner and investigate. “Java will do it. PHP will probably do it. Python will probably do it — most of the scripting languages will probably do it,” he said. “My guess is any reasonable programmer — anyone, say, out of sophomore class year — can write this thing in an hour or two.” There are things Banner can do to make the site more secure, but the use of automated registration programs cannot be prevented, Reiss said. “From a web server’s point of view, it cannot tell the difference from a user and a computer simulating that user.”

He also said that students could get around Banner’s activity limit by having a program that staggers registration attempts. Reiss said that there are fairer ways to set up course registration, ones in which “having a program like this won’t help you that much.” He suggested a system that allows everyone to register in a two-week period. At the end of these two weeks, random selection or a priority scheme will determine who will actually be enrolled in the course. “When people drop out (of classes), it should take people from a wait list,” he added. “Any software package would have had its issues,” Pesta said. “I think that Banner does the job.” Banner has an internal wait list system, Pesta said, but the wait list feature counts as one of student’s five registered courses. “We think it’s better for the departments to manage the wait lists, and that way it can be more judiciously done,” he said. The computer science students with whom the Herald spoke were not aware of anyone writing these

sorts of programs. “I haven’t heard of it, but I understand the concept behind it,” said Alex Unger ’11, a computer science concentrator and former Herald designer. Unger said that it was “unfair” for students to register in this way, and said it was “like you’re gaming the system.” He compared the programs to automated bidding on eBay, saying “it kind of defeats the purpose.” Molly Junck ’10, a computer science concentrator, said she could write a program to get through Banner, “maybe if I thought about it a lot.” Though she added “I don’t think I would go through the effort.” Attempts to use automatic registration programs to cheat the system will not go unpunished — offending students will lose their ability to register online for the rest of the semester and will have to register on paper in the Registrar’s office, Pesta said. “It’s our responsibility to protect the ability of the students to use the software in an appropriate way,” he said.

Loury: Much of U.S. relations ‘up for grabs’ continued from page 1 sults were humbling, said Loury, who is black and grew up on the South side of Chicago in the 1960s. “Something we never imagined happened, and now the system is open and malleable,” he said. “Reform now seems possible.” But many aspects of American race relations are still “up for grabs,” Loury said. “One in seven adult black men are in prison, and that didn’t vanish last night,” he said. “The ghettoes in Chicago and Detroit did not disappear last night. The fact that African-Americans are underrepresented in elite universities, law schools and scientific institutions didn’t change last night.” Still, Obama’s victor y ended

a period of political exclusion for African-Americans, said Rose, who is an expert on black culture and American cultural politics. The hate speech and outward actions that were once the “dominant American form of racism” have largely disappeared, she said. But structural racial oppression still exists in areas such as criminal justice, housing and education, she added, and those issues are just a few Obama will be expected to address. “I’m excited about the possibilities, but I have some caveats,” Rose said. “We must face the reality of structural forms of inequality in the present” and not settle for “symbolic equality.” Assistant Professor of Political Science Katrina Gamble, who studies racial politics, said she sees

Herald File Photo

Professor of Economics Glenn Loury

opportunities to bolster political equality in the wake of Obama’s win. By changing expectations about African-American candidates, Gamble said, the 2008 presidential race could make officeholders more diverse. Conventional wisdom has held that black candidates could only win in places with high concentrations of black voters. Because of Obama’s victory, Gamble said, black candidates may seek higher offices and run in more areas. “This opens up a wealth of new political opportunities for candidates,” she said. Obama also turned out record numbers of black voters, Gamble said, but it is unclear whether that expanded involvement will prove formative or fleeting. Obama’s campaign was uniquely successful at mobilizing voters and generated unprecedented enthusiasm, she said. But with the historic first now passed, Gamble said she will be curious to see whether the expanded participation will carry over to future elections.

Thanks for reading.

C ampus n ews Thursday, November 6, 2008

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Report aims to debunk myths on Latinos By Emily Rosen Contributing Writer

Some people have misconceptions of Latinos’ level of civic commitment, according to a new Brown report. A team of researchers, including some Brown faculty members, recently released a report that presents counter-arguments to commonly held myths about the opinions and attitudes of the Latino community. Under the leadership of Evelyn Hu-Dehart, director of Brown’s Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America, the project, entitled “Myths vs. Reality: Results From the New England Latino Survey,” was an extension of the Latino National Survey. Conducted in 2005 and 2006 by a group of Latino political scientists, the survey, according to a University statement, was “a study of political and social attitudes of more than 8,600 Latino residents in the United States.” For the New England-focused report released Oct. 30, the Latino communities in Rhode Island, Connecticut and Massachusetts were surveyed. Using anonymous and bilingual telephone surveys to gather information about their target group, the team’s report offers information to refute a few of the commonly held

myths about Latinos. For example, the report uses interview results to debunk myths like “Latinos are not invested in the American Dream,” “Latinos do not want to learn English and insist on Spanish only,” “Latinos drain money from the U.S.” and “Latinos are not politically active.” A $150,000 grant from the Rhode Island Foundation funded this research. The data collected from the 1,200 New England Latinos surveyed helped the team develop the conclusions presented in their report. “This is a very unique thing for Brown,” said Cynthia Garcia Coll, professor of education and a researcher on the project.. In addition to faculty like Garcia Coll, Hu-Dehart’s team includes members from Providence College, Roger Williams University School of Law and the Rhode Island Latino Policy Institute. Garcia Coll said that this type of extensive collaboration is important as it offers many perspectives on the issue from several institutions that would not necessarily work together otherwise. The beginning of the report acknowledges that while “increased media coverage of immigration policy and demographic change within the United States has heightened

public attention to the Latino community as a whole,” generalizations about the Latino community have formed as a result. In a University press release, Hu-Dehart said “the information collected by this project will help overcome the current reliance on nationally based data that forces a standardization and homogenizing of Latino experiences, which is not reflective of reality,” adding that “this data provides scholars, government leaders and policy-makers with a much-needed baseline of data and understanding of this segment of the population.” Sharing this sentiment, Garcia Coll said “we chose data that could speak to each myth.” While the report primarily focuses on the Rhode Island Latino community, results were also gathered from Latinos in Massachusetts and Connecticut as well. Garcia Coll said that the Latino community is one “that really wants to create roots here.” She noted that at the same time, however, Latinos do not want to sacrifice their cultural identity. The complete report, which includes many graphs of survey results and conclusions drawn from the data, is available online.

Strait Talk sponsors chat on Obama, Asia continued from page 1 look” with China and a “relatively calm situation” in Taiwan, he said. Pollack seconded the sentiment, noting the “surprising legacy” of the Bush administration in Asia and the “unusually positive” current political and economic climate in Taiwan. Yet the situation is far from perfect. Pollack said that Obama must examine any “unresolved circumstances” and think “seriously about what the American interests are,” as China continues to accumulate political and economic power. In regards to relations with both China and Taiwan, Obama must work towards a more constructive cross-strait dialogue, both men said. But Paal conceded that the president-elect has a “long agenda” of other items that should be addressed first, both domestically and internationally. Dealing with China-Taiwan relations may be Obama’s “twentieth” order of business, Paal said. Aside from dealing with the current global

economic crisis, Obama must look at foreign policy in a “global context,” examining the United States’ relationships with Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran and Russia, he said. “Only after he looks at (those countries) can he turn to Asia,” Paal explained, “where the United States’ focus will most likely be on North Korea.” Nevertheless, Paal said that Obama devoted some attention to the current situation in Taiwan during his campaign. On March 22, Obama released a statement of congratulations to the then recently-elected president of Taiwan, Ma Ying-jeou P’08. In his letter, Obama said that the United States should “rebuild a relationship of trust and support for Taiwan’s democracy” and “reopen blocked channels of communication with Taiwan officials.” Obama also noted the importance of encouraging Taiwan and China “to build commercial, cultural and other ties” to ultimately move toward resolution of the two countries’ differences.

More recently, in October, Obama welcomed the Bush administration’s decision to sell $6 billion in military equipment to Taiwan. Paal said that he is confident in the abilities of the Obama administration to deal with diplomatic issues surrounding the United States, China and Taiwan. Paal cited many of Obama’s advisers as his close friends. “They understand the problems in East Asia,” he said. Now in its fourth year, Strait Talk is a weeklong, student-run symposium intended to promote dialogue and peace building in the Taiwan Strait. Founded in 2005 by a group of Brown undergraduate students, Strait Talk seeks to transform an “80-year-old conflict” by “connecting the right people in the right way.” The program brings together 15 student delegates from Taiwan, China and the United States as they discuss the dynamic relationships among the three countries. The symposium is primarily sponsored by the Watson Institute for International Studies.

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Members of the military vote Obama Mayor wants greener city By Tina Susman and Peter Spiegel Los Angeles T imes

Presidential exit polls showed that the economy was uppermost on the minds of most Americans. But when Baghdad-based Army Maj. Ian Howard cast his ballot, his top concern was whether this would be his last deployment to Iraq. So Howard, a lifelong Republican, threw his support to Barack Obama, who has advocated a swift withdrawal of U.S. forces. “I don’t want to come back here for another tour,” Howard said Wednesday. “Obama gives me confidence I won’t be back here in two, three or four years.” Experts who have researched voting trends within the military warn that there is little conclusive data on the political choices of activeduty service members, largely because their numbers are too small to show up in nationwide electoral surveys such as the Gallup Poll. But slivers of data — such as exit polling of military veterans and campaign contribution lists — suggest that support for Republican presidential candidates within the U.S. military has declined over the past eight years, enabling Obama to increase Democrats’ take of the military vote Tuesday. “The military, over time, tracks with civilian society,” said Peter D. Feaver, a political scientist at Duke University and author of a book on military voting. “You put it all together, and my best guess, my educated guess, is that Obama did better than (John) Kerry did — but he didn’t win the military demographic.” Without scientific polling — because the Pentagon, which frequently reports on troops’ views on housing and health care, shies away from partisan questions— researchers are left to rely on anecdotal and

voluntary surveys to get a sense of where the military vote is moving. In Tuesday’s election, 15 percent of all voters were military veterans, and 54 percent of them voted for Republican John McCain — a three-point decrease from President Bush’s take in 2004, according to the National Election Pool Exit Poll. In addition, campaign support for Democratic presidential candidates also increased during the justended election cycle. The Center for Responsive Politics, a non-partisan group that tracks political donations, said that through 2007, Democrats received 40 percent of the $804,000 in contributions from uniformed service members, up from18 percent in 2000. The center said that by the end of August 2008, Obama had received more money from military donors with overseas addresses — $74,650 compared with $16,600 for McCain — as well as from employees of the uniformed branches: $340,400 compared with $321,500. The most comprehensive survey of the military vote is done annually by the privately owned Military Times newspapers, which in a poll of 4,300 subscribers in September found overwhelming support for McCain, 68 percent, compared with 23 percent for Obama. But Feaver noted that the Military Times surveys tend to target older career officers, who are far more conservative than younger enlisted soldiers. It is a factor that seemed clear Wednesday in eastern Baghdad, where six of the seven soldiers at a base interviewed at random said they supported Obama. 1st Lt. James Talbott, an Alaskan who expressed concerns about McCain’s choice of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate, chose Obama, as did Sgt. Samuel Smith, who saw Obama as the candidate

who could best change America’s course. The seventh, Staff Sgt. Tracie Ward, wouldn’t say who she had favored, but she smiled brightly as the TV in the dining hall showed U.S. returns while troops here were sitting down to breakfast. Aaron Belkin, a University of California political science professor who studies military attitudes, said the willingness of U.S. troops in Baghdad to speak about their preferences for Obama was in itself a shift. “There is a longstanding norm among the troops that if you’re a liberal or a Democrat, you need to stay in the closet about that,” Belkin said. “The fact that you’re seeing service members openly discussing their support for Obama represents a significant change in military culture.” Although young enlistees appear to share voting patterns with their college-bound peers, Feaver said, the military as a whole still tends to skew toward the Republican Party. Army Maj. Olaf Shibusawa, a reservist who was in Iraq earlier this year but is back in the United States, said that even though he knew an Obama victory probably would mean fewer deployments and time away from home, he couldn’t shake the sense that McCain’s character is stronger. “John McCain has a much better idea of what the current situation is and what the consequences are if we leave too soon,” Shibusawa said. Army Capt. Steven McGregor, currently serving in Iraq, was also swayed by McCain’s wartime experience. “Obama,” he said, “is obsessed with an exit strategy and a timeline.” — Susman reported from Baghdad and Spiegel from Washington

Video game developer THQ plans cuts By Alex Pham Los Angeles T imes

LOS ANGELES — The video game industry’s rising tide has not lifted all boats. Activision Blizzard Inc. on Wednesday posted a doubling of quarterly revenue and predicted strong holiday sales. But THQ Inc., whose games have failed to connect with players recently, said it would slash 250 jobs, or 17 percent of its developers, as it cancels projects and closes five development studios across the country. The divergent repor ts from southern California’s two largest independent game publishers provide a snapshot of the industry as it attempts to navigate through tempestuous economic waters and into the crucial holiday season, when 40 percent of its sales typically occur. “The theme this year is caution,” said Ar vind Bhatia, senior vice president with Sterne, Agee & Leach, a brokerage firm in Boca Raton, Fla. Activision, which merged with Vivendi’s game business in July, posted third-quarter revenue of $711 million, up from $326 million a year earlier. The Santa Monica game publisher lost $108 million, or

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8 cents a share, largely due to onetime charges related to its merger, stock-based executive compensation and the shuttering of some projects within Vivendi’s game division. Without those expenses, it made $48 million, or 8 cents a share. The company also announced plans to spend as much as $1 billion to buy back its own shares. They jumped 10 percent to $12.08 in afterhours trading, after closing down 88 cents to $10.98 in the regular session. THQ, based in Calabasas, told a different story. Sales plunged 28 percent to $165 million in its fiscal second quarter, ended Sept. 30. It lost $115 million, or $1.73 a share, compared with a $7-million loss, or 11 cents a share, last year. THQ also lowered its fiscal year sales projection by $275 million, to between $875 million and $900 million, citing a strong U.S. dollar, the delay of two key games and the expected reluctance of parents feeling the economic pinch to splurge on games for their children this holiday. “It is a hit-driven business,” Bhatia said. “And THQ did not have enough hits.” Its shares tumbled 16 percent to $5.49 in after-hours trading. It had

ended unchanged at $6.55. Analysts project worldwide video game sales will grow 20 percent this year to about $50 billion, but not all companies will cash in. Although stores have increased the amount of shelf space devoted to games by 40 percent from last holiday, retailers are ordering fewer copies of games, opting to replenish their stock more frequently rather than be stuck with large batches of inventory at the end of the year, said Mike Griffith, head of Activision’s publishing business. “Publishers with top-selling titles will benefit disproportionately this year,” Griffith said in a conference call with analysts. That’s good news for Activision, which hired 500 workers in California this year to produce titles such as “Guitar Hero World Tour” and “Call of Duty: World at War,” but bad for THQ, which said it would announce additional cutbacks of its administrative staff in the weeks ahead. “There is a softness at retail, not just in the U.S. but globally,” THQ Chief Executive Brian Farrell said in an interview. “The big titles are still working. So we’re going to focus our energies on fewer titles, make them bigger and better.”

continued from page 3 “I think we’re taking into account environmental initiatives that not only stand alone but are also integrated into other initiatives,” Wood told The Herald. “We’re building schools. That’s an initiative, but that we’re building them with energy efficiency in mind. That’s perfect.” Wood, who has worked extensively on education reform, was a primary planner in the revival and reconstruction of the new environmentally friendly Nathan Bishop Middle School. Steven Hamburg, associate professor of environmental studies and a Greenprint contributor, said there were several important steps that both Providence and Brown should take immediately to save themselves — and the environment — some green. For example, Hamburg said that over-irrigation in Rhode Island could mean the difference between having ample water supply and a shortage, which he said may be

imminent. “The economy (is) struggling. Is it worth spending money putting in an irrigation system to have green lawns everywhere?” Hamburg said, who said he thinks Brown should only be irrigating high density lawns like the Main Green. Wilhite, who said many of Greenprint’s initiatives were “nothing new,” nonetheless praised Cicilline for drafting a plan with potentially far-reaching positive effects. “He is packaging it in a way that it’s all in one single plan — it’s a vision for Providence. He’s really the first leader in Rhode Island to put something like that together,” Wilhite said. Rhode Island is already considered one of the nation’s most environmentally friendly states, Wilhite said, but, he added, “we still have a lot of work to do.” “It’s great that people are changing their light bulbs ... but if we’re going turn the economy around and move towards the clean energy economy of the 21st century, we need bold leadership.”

McCain’s missteps and his link to Bush helped Obama By Bob Drogin and Maeve Reston Los Angeles T imes

WASHINGTON — On Sept. 21, six days after the stunning collapse of Lehman Bros. Holdings Inc., one of Wall Street’s largest and oldest investment banks, John McCain devoted a total of three sentences to voters’ economic worries in his only campaign event of the day, a speech at a National Guard convention in Baltimore. Three days later, the Republican presidential nominee pronounced the financial crisis so dire that he needed to suspend his campaign, cancel the first presidential debate and rush back to Washington to help forge a solution to a national emergency. McCain’s dramatic move not only failed. His baffling shifts in tactics and message backfired so badly he lost his lead in national polls and never recovered. Both sides now say Barack Obama essentially clinched his victor y in late September. “Images of the two candidates changed dramatically,” said David Axelrod, Obama’s chief strategist. “Obama came across as commanding and knowledgeable, cool, calm. McCain seemed a little bit unsettled, moving from pillar to post.” As dispirited Republicans sift through the wreckage of Tuesday’s polls, many argue that McCain was crippled by public anger at President Bush’s failures at home and abroad. McCain echoed the claim in his concession speech when he said he didn’t know what else he could have done to win. But if McCain was dealt a bad hand, experts say, he often played it poorly. In decision after decision, he and his aides created problems for themselves and failed to press the advantages they had. High among them was McCain’s inability to connect with Hispanic voters. McCain had hoped Hispanics would reward his efforts in Congress to help 12 million people get on the path to citizenship. But under pressure from his party’s

right wing, McCain had abandoned his own proposals during the spring GOP primaries and instead stressed increasing border security. The result: He won less than a third of Hispanics who voted, far fewer than President Bush four years ago. The difference helped doom McCain in Florida, New Mexico, Colorado and Nevada, all battleground states that Bush had won. Steve Schmidt, one of McCain’s top aides, blamed the Republican Party, not the candidate. The GOP “has done all that it can possibly do to antagonize Latino voters in this country,” he complained. He called it “one of the great ironies or tragedies” that McCain “wound up being punished by Hispanic voters furious at a party they view as hostile” by “taking it out on the candidate who was their best friend.” McCain’s choice of Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska as his running mate helped him with social conservatives. But her views and her performance in inter views alienated the independent and swing voters who he most needed, and she became a drag on the ticket. Palin’s aides blame McCain’s staff for constraining her on the stump and exacerbating her problems. They cited a daily struggle between staffers at headquarters and those on the plane, with little cohesion or communication. “I don’t know if you can honestly say things went wrong,” said a senior aide to Palin. “I just think they were probably mismanaged.” Exhibit No. 1: the decision to buy $150,000 in clothes and accessories for Palin during the Republican National Convention. Three fashion consultants showed up, the aide said, and “decided, `Well, we’re going to go out and dress you up.’ They were with us three times. By the third time, she did not like them. ... No one liked these women.” McCain’s aides, not surprisingly, blame forces outside their control.

W orld & n ation Thursday, November 6, 2008

Worldwide elation greets president-elect By Henry Chu Los Angeles T imes

LONDON — If histor y records a sudden surge in carbon emissions on Nov. 5, 2008, it may be due to the collective exhalation of relief and joy by the hundreds of millions — perhaps billions — of people around the globe who watched, waited and prayed for Barack Obama to be elected president of the United States. In country after country, elation at Obama’s win was palpable, the hunger for a change of American leadership as strong outside the United States as in it. And there was wonderment that, in the world’s most powerful democracy, a man with African roots and the middle name Hussein, an upstart fighter who took on political heavyweights, could go on to capture the highest office in the land. Suddenly, Americans accustomed to being criticized for speaking hyperbolically about their country found plenty of others doing it for them. “The new world,” the Times of London declared on its front page, beneath a huge smiling portrait of Obama. “One giant leap for mankind,” echoed the Sun, another British

newspaper. From the beginning, this race mesmerized observers far beyond U.S. shores. Two wars and two terms under President Bush left many around the world angry and spent. Although many have denounced U.S. power and unilateralism, some seemed intent on putting the countr y back on a pedestal as a source of admiration and aspiration, and they fixed on Obama as their hope. Polls consistently showed that, if the rest of the world could have voted in the U.S. election, the Illinois Democrat would have won not just by a landslide, but an avalanche. So as results came tumbling in on radios, TV screens and cell phones, many outside the United States saw it as their moment as much as America’s, and Obama’s victory as their own. “A lot of people told me they had tears in their eyes last night. I was one of them,” Randa Habib, a Jordanian writer and political analyst, said Wednesday. “I saw his speech. I was very moved. This is a lesson to us all, that blacks and whites in America can have such a shameful past between them, yet they come together and learn how to live together.”

The Middle East, she said, has always wanted to look to the United States as a beacon, despite differences over the Arab-Israeli conflict, the Iraq war and other issues. “There’s a feeling of hope that things will be right in America,” Habib said. “Obama can make you once again respect the U.S. for its values and democracy and all those things we had forgotten about over the last eight years.” No one yet knows what Obama’s foreign policy will look like, and the celebrator y mood over his win in many places was tempered by questions about his plans for U.S. troops in Iraq, his role in Middle East peace talks and his commitment to free trade, among other issues. But such doubts aside, legions of jubilant supporters set off firecrackers in El Salvador, danced in Liberia and drank shots in Japan. Good wishes went streaming Obama-ward from housewives in Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim nation, where Obama spent some of his early childhood, and from Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who also beat long odds to lead his country. continued on page 9

Emanuel offered chief of staff position By Peter Nicholas and Michael Muskal Los Angeles T imes

CHICAGO — President-elect Barack Obama on Wednesday asked Rahm Emanuel, a U.S. congressman from Chicago, to become his chief of staff as he began to create an administration that has promised to solve the country’s woes. A day after he became the first black to be elected president, Obama had a more prosaic morning, seeing his daughters off to school and going to a gym for a workout. But behind the scenes, the new administration was beginning to gear up. A Democratic official on Capitol Hill said that Emanuel was offered the White House chief of staff post, in effect the gatekeeper and hub of the president’s inner circle. Emanuel, one of the party’s most astute strategists, has not yet announced his decision, and a spokesman refused to comment. Before running for Congress, Emanuel was a political and policy adviser to President Clinton. Another Clinton adviser, former chief of staff John Podesta, is heading the transition team, joined by Valerie Jarrett, a campaign adviser, and Pete Rouse, an Obama Senate aide. Obama also was seeking to fill “in short order” his economic and Homeland Security teams, the Capitol Hill official said. “You campaign in poetry, but you govern in prose,” former New York Gov. Mario M. Cuomo often said. The quote was used by such politicians as New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton during the frantic Democratic nominating season this year. But the warning is especially timely for Obama, who won the presidency with a large electoral

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vote margin based on mobilizing millions of new donors and voters, and who pledged a revival of hope and a new politics. A day after as many as 200,000 people crowded a downtown Chicago park to celebrate Obama’s victory, euphoria was still in the air. Television was filled with inter views with voters, especially blacks who said they were thrilled by the historic win. Obama went to a downtown office building after his workout to make phone calls, some to staffers around the country who helped him secure the win. In Washington, President Bush pledged a smooth transition. “No matter how they cast their ballot, all Americans can be proud of the history that was made yesterday,” Bush said Wednesday in a statement from the Rose Garden. Noting that Obama’s election showcases “the triumph of the American stor y,” Bush added, “This moment is especially uplifting for a generation of Americans who witnessed the struggle for civil rights with their own eyes — and four decades later see (that) dream fulfilled.” The president also warned potential foes not to take advantage of an 11-week window from Tuesday’s election to Obama’s inauguration on Jan. 20. “The United States government will stay vigilant in meeting its

most important responsibility — protecting the American people,” he said, vowing to “continue to conduct the people’s business as long as this office remains in my trust” and to keep President-elect Obama “fully informed on important decisions.” With the transition under way, the counting of votes continued. With most U.S. precincts tallied, the popular vote was 52.3 percent for Obama and 46.4 percent for Republican John McCain. In the Electoral College, Obama was the projected winner of 349 votes to 147 for McCain with three states — North Carolina, Georgia and Missouri — still to be decided. In his victor y, Obama also captured states that are generally Republican such as Indiana and Virginia, which hadn’t supported a Democratic candidate in 44 years. Ohio and Florida, key to Bush’s twin victories, also went for Obama, as did Pennsylvania, where McCain and his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, spent much of the final days of the campaign. McCain had no public appearances Wednesday, but reporters besieged Palin in Phoenix. The political future of the telegenic Palin was very much on reporters’ minds, and she dodged questions about whether she would run in 2012.

California ballot initiatives follow unpredictable paths By Eric Bailey and Michael Rothfeld Los Angeles T imes

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — It was a good day for chickens and children’s hospitals, but not for alternative-fuel vehicles and Texas oilman T. Boone Pickens. A law-enforcement funding measure fell flat, but a proposition restricting parole was victorious. Voters may have banned samesex marriage, but they rejected a measure that would have required parents to be notified before a girl could obtain an abortion. And they turned down several big-ticket funding initiatives while backing the most expensive of them all, a nearly $10 billion bond to build a bullet train. With all but a few last results in Wednesday, the reliably quirky Golden State electorate proved that ballot-box lawmaking lives on here — with a schizophrenic flair. Was it the clutter of TV ads? The plethora of first-time voters? The phases of the moon? “This is just one of those times you say, hey, voters are unpredict-

able,” said Ken Khachigian, a Republican strategist. The outcome of Proposition 4, the parental notification measure that lost a tight race with 52 percent opposed, might have seemed preordained — it was the third time such a proposal had been on the statewide ballot since 2005. But this was the year of Proposition 8, the white-hot battle that instituted a new ban on same-sex marriage. Proposition 8 drew social conservatives to the polls and scored a victory, but failed to provide coattails for Proposition 4. Undeterred, boosters of parental notification say a fourth attempt at the ballot box is inevitable. “The only questions are exactly when, exactly where and exactly how,” said Don Sebastiani, a vintner and former state lawmaker who was one of the measure’s top backers. More than 53 percent of voters gave a nod to Proposition 9, the only winner among three initiatives related to the criminal justice system. Proposition 9 boosts crime continued on page 9

Alaska’s Stevens clings to lead as votes are counted By Richard Simon and Kim Murphy Los Angeles Times

WASHINGTON — Despite his conviction last month on corruption charges, Ted Stevens, the longestserving Republican senator, clung tenuously to his Alaska Senate seat on Wednesday as congressional Democrats exulted in their election gains elsewhere around the country. While the Democrats expanded their majorities in the House and the Senate, the outcome of a number of races could remain in doubt for several more weeks. The Georgia Senate race appeared headed for a December runoff, and the Oregon Senate race was too close to call. In Minnesota, GOP Sen. Norm Coleman eked out an apparent victory over Democrat Al Franken, but a recount is required because the margin was less than 0.5 percent. In the political drama unfolding in Alaska, Stevens — in perhaps Tuesday’s biggest surprise — narrowly led Democrat Mark Begich. If Stevens wins, he is likely to face

an effort by his Senate colleagues to expel him. That has generated speculation that the state’s newest political star, Gov. Sarah Palin, this year’s Republican vice presidential nominee, would seek to succeed Stevens, who is 84 and has been in the Senate since 1968. Democrats expanded their control in the 100-member Senate to at least 56 seats. They knocked off Republican Sens. Elizabeth Dole of North Carolina and John Sununu of New Hampshire while losing none of their own, but appeared to be falling short of the 60 seats they need to overcome Republican-led filibusters that could stymie their initiatives. In Minnesota, Coleman led Franken, who rose to fame as a performer and writer on “Saturday Night Live,” by 477 votes out of more than 2.46 million cast. In Georgia, Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss was falling just short of the 50 percent needed to avoid a Dec. 2 runoff against Democrat Jim Martin. In Oregon, Republican Sen. Gordon Smith held a

Herald eye exam

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Trudeau ’09: Sports explain California voters’ decisions unexpected Barack Obama’s candidacy continued from page 7

continued from page 12 dynasty always win the games that they should win. Sure, it wasn’t that impressive when the 1996-2000 Yankees beat up on the Devil Rays during the regular season, but a mark of any elite team is never allowing itself to let up and play down to the competition. It’s safe to say that Obama did not play down to a McCain/Palin ticket despite their poorly run campaign. Quite the opposite, Obama took absolutely nothing for granted. Even with the polls in his favor and simulations showing him winning over 95 percent of the time, his campaign worked tirelessly to ensure an Obama victory. If sports history is any indication — and as in most of life’s endeavors, it is — Barack Obama is basically Michael Jordan ... only instead of world class athleticism, a gambling

problem and Scottie Pippen, Obama has world class intellect, an association problem and Michelle. Maybe no one should be surprised that Obama is the new president-elect. If we had just paid attention to the history of Major League Baseball, for example, we could have seen this coming. Recall how Jackie Robinson helped break the color barrier in 1947 and promptly won the Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player awards. Duh! It’s so obvious — America is ready for a black (insert occupation) ... just as long as he is a million times more impressive and better at the thing he’s trying to be than anyone else.

Tom Trudeau ’09 wonders if “The Daily Show” will still be funny with Obama as president.

victims’ rights while reducing the number of parole hearings. Now it could face a different test — legal challenges from advocates for inmates. Opponents say the initiative — funded with $4.8 million from Broadcom co-founder Henr y Nicholas III, a billionaire who is under indictment on federal fraud, conspiracy and drug charges — will raise incarceration costs by keeping inmates longer behind bars. Backers counter that it will save the state money by cutting down on parole hearings. It requires the state parole board to deny parole to inmates serving possible life sentences for 15 years, three times the current maximum, unless there is “clear and convincing evidence” that a hearing should be held sooner. “These are prisoners who had the hope and the expectation ... they’d actually be able to rejoin

their families one day,” said Keith Wattley, an Oakland attorney. The initiative also conflicts with a federal court settlement reached by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s administration by taking away the right to a state-paid lawyer for every ex-convict who is accused of violating parole and facing a return to prison. Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley, who opposed the measure, said “huge chunks” of it ultimately might be ruled unconstitutional. Harriet Salarno, chairwoman of Crime Victims United, said she welcomes a requirement that prosecutors keep relatives notified as criminal cases develop. It also lets a limitless number of family members of victims speak uninterrupted at parole hearings. Relatives can also refuse to turn over evidence or cooperate with defense attorneys prior to trial. Meanwhile, 60 percent of voters said No to Proposition 5, which

promised treatment as an alternative to incarceration of nonviolent drug offenders. Another measure, Proposition 6, which called for nearly $1 billion in annual lawenforcement spending, was the ballot’s biggest flop. Nearly 70 percent voted against it. And voters in a state known as an environmentalist bastion turned down Proposition 7, a renewableenergy measure opposed by 65 percent. Proposition 10, the alternativefuel measure pushed by Pickens — a potential beneficiary as the founder of a natural gas business — was rejected by 60 percent. Two bond measures that engendered little heat before Election Day sailed to victory. Proposition 3, a $980 million bond to buff up children’s hospitals, captured nearly 55 percent of the vote. Proposition 12, $900 million in bonds for low-cost home and farm purchases by militar y veterans, grabbed more than 63 percent.

At Smith College’s ‘Big One,’ Obama’s election greeted by worldwide relief fencers do Brown proud continued from page 7

continued from page 12 within reach,” Bartholomew added of the team’s upcoming season. Apart from the NCAA Championships in March, the “Big One” is the only individual competition of the season with the round robin format. In this unique format, fencers are placed into pools based on previously established seedings. Round robin matches are “bouts of five,” meaning that the first fencer to deliver five touches to his opponent wins the match. After the round robin, fencers are reseeded based on their winning percentage and placed into an elimination bracket. Bouts during the elimination round are to 15, according to Phillips.

Expectations at the event were high, with Brown traditionally placing well in the tournament. Regardless of setbacks, the fencers and coach both seemed to concur that their showing at the tournament was a strong start. “It was definitely a strong performance,” Phillips said. “Most colleges expected us to finish where we finished, and we showed them that we’re still the best in the Northeast.” Though Brown returned with seven medals this year, as opposed to the 11 it grabbed last year, Tass commented that the team had obtained “excellent results.” “We took our fair share (of medals),” Tass said.

Sen. Stevens leads narrowly continued from page 7 slim lead over Democrat Jeff Merkley on Wednesday afternoon with more than 20 percent of the votesstill to be counted. Democrats were already contemplating changes. Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., is planning to challenge Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., for the chairmanship of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, a major battleground for climate-change legislation. Dingell, an auto industry ally, and Waxman have feuded over tougher regulation of vehicle emissions. “Some of the most important challenges we face — energy, climate change and health care — are under the jurisdiction of the commerce committee,” Waxman said Wednesday. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., plans to meet with Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., this week to discuss his future. Returned to the Senate two years ago as an independent after losing the Democratic primary, Lieberman caucuses with the Democrats and has helped them hold a slim majority, but some in the party have called for him to be stripped of his chairmanship of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee because of his strong support — including a speech at the Republican National Convention — of GOP presidential

candidate John McCain. House Democrats — who now hold 235 of the House’s 435 seats — picked up at least 19 seats, including an Alabama district that overwhelmingly voted for President Bush four years ago. “Last night was a great night,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Wednesday. “The American people spoke out loudly and clearly that they wanted a new direction for America. And they voted in large numbers for change.” But at least four Democratic incumbents were ousted, including first-term Rep. Tim Mahoney of Florida, who was caught up in an adultery scandal. In California, a hard-fought race for a district east of Sacramento hung in the balance. GOP State Sen. Tom McClintock led Democrat Charlie Brown by 451 votes, after more than 310,000 ballots had been counted. Tens of thousands of absentee votes remained to be tallied in the district, now represented by Republican John Doolittle, who decided to retire after coming under scrutiny for his ties to imprisoned lobbyist Jack Abramoff. In the Alaska contest, Stevens led Begich by about 3,300 votes, but more than 60,000 ballots remained uncounted. The outcome may not be known for 15 days, the time that state elections officials have to tally the official results.

“Your victory has demonstrated that no person anywhere in the world should not dare to dream of wanting to change the world for a better place,” said one letter addressed simply to “Senator Barack Obama, Chicago.” Its author: Nelson Mandela, the first black president of South Africa, writing to the first black president-to-be of the United States. Africa has embraced Obama as something of a native son, although it was his father who was born in Kenya, not Obama himself. Those inspired by Obama’s origins and accomplishments include French political activist Patrick Lozes, the son of an immigrant from the African nation of Benin. “This election is going to improve the image the U.S.A. has in our neighborhoods,” Lozes said of France’s heavily Muslim workingclass enclaves. “The American dream comes back to life.” Tens of thousands of Europeans turned out to catch a glimpse of Obama during his tour of the Continent over the summer. Many are counting on him to restore a more harmonious relationship between the United States and Europe after recent years of tension over the war in Iraq and matters such as climate change. A similar hope lives in Mexico,

where former Foreign Secretary Jorge Castaneda wrote in Wednesday’s newspaper Reforma: “Obama won, the map of the United States was transformed and for Mexico an extraordinary opportunity has opened ... because it will be infinitely simpler to be a neighbor, partner and friend of the United States with Obama.” In Italy, a right-wing senator, Maurizio Gasparri, provoked a nasty domestic spat when he suggested that Obama would be soft on terrorism and that “with Obama in the White House, perhaps alQaida is happier.” The Italian left immediately called on Gasparri to apologize to Americans for his comments. In China, where real democracy is unknown, an unofficial poll conducted by the of ficial New China News Agency found that 83 percent of respondents favored Obama over Republican John McCain. Russia’s leaders — who following Obama’s election lashed out at U.S. backing of Georgia in its armed conflict with Russia in August — probably also preferred McCain, said Alexander Konovalov, of the Institute for Strategic Assessment, in Moscow. “Traditionally, Republicans were better than Democrats for Russia, or for the Soviet Union in the past,” Konovalov said. “We always backed the Democrats, but agreements we could strike only

with the Republicans.” In countries ruled by unelected or autocratic regimes, people marveled at the resilience of American democracy, its capacity for change and its stamina through an endless election season. “Let me tell you that now I believe in American democracy,” said Mostafa Eqbali, 54, a merchant in the Iranian capital, Tehran. “Honestly, I did not think that Obama would be president. I thought that the invisible hands of the big trusts and cartels would not allow a black man to be president of the United States.” Iran’s nuclear ambitions will be one of the first foreign-policy challenges to face Obama after his inauguration, as well as what to do in neighboring Iraq. Some in Iraq’s ruling Shiite Muslim elite worry that Obama will push for a speedier withdrawal of U.S. troops than they would like, or challenge their decisions in ways the Bush administration did not. The continued fighting in Afghanistan, the worldwide financial meltdown and global warming will press for Obama’s attention as well. “These, though, are issues for another day. Today is for celebration, for happiness and for reflected human glor y,” said Britain’s Guardian newspaper. “Savor those words: President Barack Obama, America’s hope and, in no small way, ours too.”

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Staf f Editorial

Boldly green Fervent belief in political causes has become a trademark of Brown students through the last few decades, and the campus has long been a staging ground for students to air their political concerns. Protests begin or end on the Main Green, depending on their targets. Critical-mass Election Day-euphoria congeals on the Green into celebratory parades like those seen on Tuesday night. And, though somewhat less noisy, protest art installations on campus green spaces build student awareness in a way tableslips can only dream of. During A Day on College Hill in April, three separate art pieces on the Main Green and Lincoln Field commemorated lives lost in Sudan, Mexico and Burma. Each deployed dozens of similar small components (flags, coffins and lean-to homes, respectively) to demonstrate the enormity of its cause. The greens were essentially out of commission as spaces for pickup frisbee and football, but students were careful to respect the installations as meaningful statements. And though some of us grumbled, we enlightened Brown students recognized that sacrifices sometimes must be made to honor freedom of speech. Or do we flatter ourselves too much? At some of our peer schools, there appears to be a burgeoning, unsettling trend regarding the use of public green spaces for political statements: Protest art installations expressing unpopular opinions are not treated with the same respect that Brown students gave these traditionally liberal causes. When members of Harvard Right to Life staked 140 flags on a quad, representing, one student told The Herald, the “140 lives taken by abortion per hour,” others trampled and even biked across the flags — perhaps just indifferent to the installation, but likely as expressions of their opinions of a campus contrarian viewpoint. Members of the Cornell Coalition for Life experienced a similar outcome — though their signs depicting the stages of fetal development were impeded by administrators rather than students. The Cornell College of Engineering removed the signs because of an “unwritten policy” requiring installations on the Engineering Quad to be engineering-related. We worry that a bold pro-life statement exhibited on our Main Green would encounter similar resistance. If diversity and freedom of speech are serious goals of a university, it must take steps to protect this sort of installation. Drafting and implementing a set of rights and responsibilities, for students, faculty and administrators, regarding political use of campus public space — similar to those in place for protests and postering — would make a big difference. So long as they adhere to certain standards of decency, even the most controversial and contrarian points of view deserve the opportunity to be exhibited publicly. We shouldn’t wait for a controversy like those at Harvard and Cornell to arise. The University should act now to promote fair allocation of its greens for political installations. Maybe these new policies could even leave some room for frisbee.

A lex Y uly

T he B rown D aily H erald Editors-in-Chief Simmi Aujla Ross Frazier

Executive Editors Taylor Barnes Chris Gang

Senior Editors Irene Chen Lindsey Meyers

editorial Ben Hyman Hannah Levintova Matthew Varley Alex Roehrkasse Chaz Firestone Nandini Jayakrishna Scott Lowenstein Michael Bechek Isabel Gottlieb Franklin Kanin Michael Skocpol Ben Bernstein James Shapiro Benjy Asher Amy Ehrhart Megan McCahill Andrew Braca Han Cui Katie Wood

Arts & Culture Editor Arts & Culture Editor Higher Ed Editor Higher Ed Editor Features Editor Metro Editor Metro Editor News Editor News Editor News Editor News Editor Opinions Editor Opinions Editor Sports Editor Sports Editor Sports Editor Asst. Sports Editor Asst. Sports Editor Asst. Sports Editor

production Production & Design Editor Steve DeLucia Chaz Kelsh Asst. Design Editor Kathryn Delaney Copy Desk Chief Seth Motel Copy Desk Chief Adam Robbins Graphics Editor Greg Edmiston Web Editor

Business Darren Ball General Manager Mandeep Gill General Manager Shawn Reilly Office Manager Alex Hughes Sales Director Emilie Aries Communications Director Jon Spector Finance Director Claire Kiely Local & National Sales Manager Ellen DaSilva University Sales Manager Philip Maynard Local & Recruiter Sales Manager Katelyn Koh Asst. Finance Director photo Meara Sharma Min Wu Justin Coleman

Photo Editor Photo Editor Sports Photo Editor

post- magazine Matt Hill Rajiv Jayadevan Arthur Matuszewski Colleen Brogan Kelly McKowen Patrick Martin-Tuite Bob Short Monica Huang Kristen Olds

Managing Editor Managing Editor Features Editor Features Editor From the Hill Editor Film Editor Music Editor Layout Editor Layout Editor

Jessica Calihan, Julien Ouellet, Jessica Kirschner, Designers Ayelet Brinn, Rachel Starr, Simon Liebling, Younhun Kim, Copy Editors Mitra Anoushiravani, Sara Sunshine, Franklin Kanin, 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, Sydney Ember, Connie Zheng, Christian Martell, Alexandra Ulmer, Lauren Pischel, Samuel Byker, Anne Deggelman, Nicole Dungca, Olivia Hoffman, Cameron Lee, Debbie Lehmann, Sophia Li, Hannah Moser, Seth Motel, Kyla Wilkes, Juliana Friend, Sarah Husk, Jyotsna Mullur, Chris Duffy 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 Design Staff Jessica Calihan, 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 Photo Staff Alex DePaoli, Eunice Hong, Kim Perley, Quinn Savit 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 Web Developers Jihan Chao, Neal Poole

C o r r e ct i o n s Due to an editing error, an article in Tuesday’s Herald (“Haunted? Men’s hockey drops two on Halloween weekend,” Nov. 4) stated that Bobby Farnham ’12 decked Yale goalie Alec Richards for his first career goal. In fact, Farnham deked Richards. An article in Tuesday’s Herald (“The new UCS: twice the size, but twice the fun?,” Nov. 4) said students can only join the Undergraduate Council of Students if they attend the first meeting of the semester and collect 150 signatures. Students can join UCS if they attend two meetings and collect 150 signatures. The article also stated that if members miss more than three meetings, they will lose their voting rights. They will actually lose membership.

C O R R E C T I O N S P olicy The Brown Daily Herald is committed to providing the Brown University community with the most accurate information possible. Corrections may be submitted up to seven calendar days after publication. C ommentary P O L I C Y The staff editorial is the majority opinion of the editorial board of The Brown Daily Herald. The editorial viewpoint does not necessarily reflect the views of The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. Columns, letters and comics reflect the opinions of their authors only. L etters to the E ditor P olicy Send letters to letters@browndailyherald.com. Include a telephone number with all letters. The Herald reserves the right to edit all letters for length and cannot assure the publication of any letter. Please limit letters to 250 words. Under special circumstances writers may request anonymity, but no letter will be printed if the author’s identity is unknown to the editors. Announcements of events will not be printed. advertising P olicy The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. reserves the right to accept or decline any advertisement at its discretion.

O pinions Thursday, November 6, 2008

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Page 11

Give SDS a break SEAN QUIGLEY Opinions Columnist

Lay off Students for a Democratic Society. Yes, I understand that many in the Brown community dislike its presence, and especially its antics, on our campus. A brief search through The Herald’s archives will reveal many columns attacking SDS in one way or another. But I think that we run the risk of being distinctly illiberal if we offer blanket condemnations of its actions by declaring its members extremists, inappropriate in their methods or violators of the alleged right to be free from political expression. Does SDS engage in activities that are fully protected, either by the First Amendment or by Brown’s contractual obligation to uphold a free campus? Yes, with the slight hedge that certain of its activities cross the line into obstruction, a right explicitly not protected. But, even if SDS’s actions are protected, are they appropriate? This is precisely where most disagreement arises. Some put forth the rather tiresome truism that “honey attracts more flies than vinegar,” while others express outrage — how dare they?! — that SDS even takes issue with a certain event or idea. Has SDS honestly done anything so irredeemably “vinegar-esque”? In my mind, the vinegar in that idiom refers to extremists who, though right in their ideas, take their

actions beyond the level at which a nonviolent political society can be maintained. The actions of the radical abolitionist, John Brown, are often regarded as the canonical example of a man in the right whose use of violence besmirched his goals. Did the members of SDS kill anyone? Did they vandalize the homes of Corporation members and RIPTA board members, or the property of CIA recruiters?

views, and it adds a bit of spice to a world so ingloriously obsessed with comfort, convenience and regularity. Today, we live in an age of irony. People no longer use the term “living in sin” to describe previously reprehensible behavior, nor do they question fascistic controls over actions like smoking, that just 10 years ago were unrelated to a person’s character. My point is that SDS, however annoying its members

Its tactics seem fairly reasonable given its members’ views, and it adds a bit of spice to a world so ingloriously obsessed with comfort, convenience and regularity. No! They protested. They showed their disgust with the CIA, and with Brown’s facilitation of its presence on campus. They expressed vigorous disagreement with how RIPTA runs its operations. They attempted, rather creatively in my opinion, to enter into a meeting of the Corporation. To be sure, I find most of SDS’s goals and principles juvenile. Nonetheless, its tactics seem fairly reasonable given its members’

and overall approach may be, is little more than an heir to the long liberal tradition that has characterized the Anglo-American world for centuries, especially since the Reformation. It is doing nothing immoral. It is not advocating “dangerous” causes. Its tactics are not out of line. SDS members hold certain ideals close to their hearts, and whether they succeed or fail, they will be able to say that they did not

watch from the sidelines. Quite often, I might be opposing them on the plains of battle, but I would never be so dishonorable as to define their presence as illegitimate. Though I am sure that some will regard this as an instance of the pot calling the kettle black, it appears that many students need to be more open-minded. Undeniably, Brown has made tremendous strides in recent years toward cultivating a truly academic environment — the ancient Marxist creeds have been tempered with a healthy dose of ideas that promote a virile liberty. Yet, there is still much work to be done. We must re-internalize, as a people, the concept that disagreement is OK, and that the response to disagreement should not be to declare the other side’s views or actions as “beyond the pale.” The first step is to be strong enough, each of us, to exercise and tolerate substantive liberty. The right to vote, or procedural liberty in my opinion, is important in some respects, but rather trivial in the long run. True liberty exists in the public, not in the voting booth. The second step is to temper reactionary sentiments with warmhearted acceptance of the reality that, since each person is unique, many will ultimately disagree in some way. Finally, I advise those who disagree with groups such as SDS to play the political game, too. Why not storm in to one of their meetings?

Sean Quigley ’10 dreams of tarring and feathering University officials when they misbehave.

The aftermath BY Adam Cambier Opinions Columnist I’d like to do a little exercise with you. I’m writing this column on Saturday, Nov. 1, and you’re reading it on Nov. 6. Nov. 6 is a Thursday, and it comes two days after Tuesday, Nov. 4. I can say right now with some reasonable certainty that you know something I don’t know. You know whether Barack Obama or John McCain is the next president of the United States. You know whether or not the Democrats managed to pull off the unimaginable feat of building a filibuster-proof Senate majority and you know whether or not the rage that I’m sure is always boiling beneath Cindy McCain’s sweet exterior finally exploded, leading her to dismember and devour Bristol Palin live on stage. Since I can’t say with any confidence how the election turned out, it would be imprudent of me to write a column about what the world will look like given the election’s results. I can, however, share with you my completely nonpartisan list of things I will be looking forward to in Tuesday’s aftermath. More hilariously topical commercials from Cardi’s Furniture Warehouse. I’ve always been a fan of the three brothers behind Cardi’s. They appear together in all of their commercials, and two of my roommates independently reached the same conclusions about the brothers: one brother is the suave salesman, the second is the super-awkward brains of the operation and the third is the borderline mentally disabled one who’s just happy to be participating. My love for the three was cemented, however, after this summer’s blockbuster

movie “The Dark Knight.” Upon returning to Rhode Island for the semester, I was greeted with a commercial featuring one of the Cardi brothers dressed up in full makeup as the Joker. Leaning over someone seated in a recliner, he asked the following question with the Joker’s

and Tina Fey in general for a long, long time. Any show that features a grown woman threatening to slice someone open like a tauntaun automatically earns my undying affection, and “30 Rock” has done just that. Unfortunately, viewers haven’t caught on yet: despite two consecutive Emmy

I can’t say with any confidence how the election turned out ... I can, however, share with you my completely non-partisan list of things I will be looking forward to in the aftermath of this past Tuesday. trademark hiss: “Whyyyy sooo uncomfortable?” I fully expect that regardless of who wins the election, Cardi’s will rise to the occasion with a presidential commercial of their very own. “Hail to the Chaise,” anyone? People will finally start watching “30 Rock.” I’ve been a fan of “30 Rock” specifically

wins for Best Comedy, the show hasn’t really found its audience. Now that the election is over, though, that might change. Ever since she debuted her impression of Sarah Palin, Tina Fey has been America’s nerdiest sweetheart. She’s like crack, but since Fey has vowed to discontinue her Palin role after the election, we need a way to maintain the high. That way is to

watch NBC on Thursday at 9:30 p.m. after “The Office.” It’s win-win: I won’t have to worry about my favorite show being in danger of cancellation, and America gets to continue injecting Tina Fey directly into its veins. Getting to sleep in on Wednesday. It’s OK to admit it: you probably did not go to class yesterday morning. You were up all night with some dude named Wolf and a girl named Candy. Any other night, you’d be watching porn; on election night, however, you’re spending the evening with Wolf Blitzer and Candy Crowley. They’re possibly the two least erotic people on the planet, but the thought of spending all night with the two of them heating up my screen with expensive graphics and incisive commentary still sets my heart atwitter. From where I sit, there’s a lot to look forward to now that the election is over. Both candidates are fine choices. Barring some freak accident that results in Cynthia McKinney assuming the presidency, I think we’ll be in capable hands no matter what. Sure, you may know something I don’t know, but I don’t think it matters. Doomsday prognosticators on both sides might say that the world’s survival hinges on last night’s results, but I can say with certainty that the world will soldier on at least through the next election (since it’s not until then that the Mayan calendar predicts the arrival of the apocalypse). So let’s leave the election behind us and move on with our lives. Tonight, we should all kick back in our Cardi’s recliners, Thursday primetime TV flickering in the background, and relax.

Adam Cambier ’09 isn’t scared of Cindy McCain, honest.

S ports T hursday Page 12

Thursday, November 6, 2008

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Strong showing at ‘Big One’ for fencers

What can sports teach us about Obama? Everything

By Etienne Ma Contributing Writer

The fencing squad returned last Saturday from its opening tournament of the season, “The Big One,” also known as the New England Intercollegiate Fencing Conference Fall Invitational, at Smith College, with a convincing start to the season. Fielding a team of 21 fencers, Brown placed at least one fencer into the top 10 in the men’s and women’s foil and saber weapons classes. Men’s foil fencers Jonathan Yu ’11, Scott Phillips ’11 and Adam Pantel ’10 finished first, third and fifth respectively, while women’s foil fencer Francesca Bartholomew ’11 finished third and saber fencer Deborah Gorth ’09.5 also finished third. Despite registering 33 fencers, Brown was only able to bring 21 fencers to the tournament. Head Coach Atilio Tass attributed this to a combination of outside commitments, sicknesses, injuries and family situations that affected his

o r t s

i n

r i e f

Courtesy of Glenn Pantel

Fencers Adam Pantel ’10 , Peter Tyson ’12, Jonathan Yu ’11, Deborah Gorth ’09.5, Francesca Bartholomew ’11, Scott Phillips ’11 and Charlotte Rose ’09 proudly display their medals. team. Brown fencers for men’s foil and women’s saber were also in the unfortunate situation of being placed in the same half of the elimination bracket, with the possibility of knocking a fellow teammate out of contention. This happened in the case of Brown’s top finishers in men’s foil. Last year’s “Big One” foil champion, Pantel, established himself as the second overall tournament seed, demolishing his opposition

ing Association Champion Randy Alevi ’10 fell to eventual third-place finisher Gorth. Though third-place foil finisher Bartholomew did not have to face any of her teammates, she said she was nonetheless disappointed by her performance since she won the event last year. “I hope to do at least as well as last year, and I think that’s definitely continued on page 9

No. 2 taekwondo finds success at MIT

Cambridge tourney M. tennis finishes draws more than 300 competitors

fall season

The men’s tennis team finished up its fall season with a quarterfinal showing by Jimmy Crystal ’12 at Dartmouth’s Big Green Invitational in the top singles flight over the weekend. “Jimmy’s been playing great the last couple of weeks,” Head Coach Jay Harris said. “He didn’t play his best tennis of the fall (at the Big Green Invitational), but I was proud of the way he fought.” The fifth-seeded Crystal had a bye in the first round, then defeated Dartmouth’s number eight seed, Andrew Malizia, 6-2, 6-3 for what Harris called “a good, solid win.” In the quarterfinals, however, Crystal dropped a 6-3, 6-2 match to the tournament’s number one seed, Harvard’s Aba OmodeleLucien. According to Harris, OmodeleLucien is one of Harvard’s top players, and he said that he was excited Crystal “got a good taste of where that level is. He played a little nervous, but it was a good experience for him.” Jindra Chaloupka, of Saint Francis College of New York, ended up winning the overall title. The Bears will not compete again until next semester, and they plan to take advantage of the time off. “This is a really important part of the year for us,” Harris said. “This period of time will hopefully separate us from the other teams we face in the winter and spring.” — Erin Frauenhofer

in round robin play with an undefeated record of 5-0. Even so, he fell to teammate Phillips, 15-14, in the elimination rounds. Phillips’ leg cramped, forcing to call a medical time out during the match. He also came back from a 10-2 deficit to beat Pantel in a tight finish. Phillips then faced another teammate in Yu who became the eventual champion. In women’s saber, last year’s AllAmerican and Intercollegiate Fenc-

By Han Cui Assistant Sports Editor

You have seen taekwondo members around campus — it’s hard not to notice their 100-plus army in their red and white uniforms. But you might not know just how strong the club is. Brown is part of the Ivy Northeast Collegiate Taekwondo League and is ranked No. 2 in Division III this year. Two weeks ago on Oct. 25, the team sent 22 competitors to the MIT INCTL Tournament. Brown has been ranked top three in this tournament in the past eight years for the lower division — competitors who have not reached black belt ranking — and top three overall in six of the past eight years. The Bears finished secondplace overall with three individual medals — Nina Lauro ’11 took first place in women’s green belt while Randall Trang ’11 and Paul Jeng ’10 finished one-two in men’s blue belt forms. The MIT tournament was the first tournament of the season for INCTL. It draws over 300 competitors from northeast area schools ever y year. The tournament has two components, the poomse (form) and kyorugi (sparring). The form competition is made up of prearranged taekwondo moves that incorporate taekwondo blocks, kicks and strikes. Competitors are judged individually on their technique and understanding of the form. Sparring involves two competitors of the same gender, who have

similar belt ranking and weight. The three weight classes include light weight, middle weight and heavy weight. For lower divisions, there are two rounds of oneand-a-half to two minutes each, whereas in black belts, there are three rounds of two minutes each. Teams advance in the tournament if they win two of the three weight classes. All three of Brown’s medals came from the form competition. The Bears faced a disadvantage in the sparring competition because most of the members only qualified for light and middle weights, which means they need to win both classes in order for the team to advance. “We are ver y proud of ever yone who competed at MIT,” said assistant instructor Jackie Dwulet ’08. “We haven’t had as many sparring practices as in past years, but ever yone brought energy, enthusiasm, and spirit into the ring. The individual fights went very well, and we look for ward to adding to our forces and team standing as the new members begin sparring.” Besides Dwulet, the club has five more instructors, including master Sung S. Park ’96, co-head instructors Nguyen Van Anh ’09 and Nick Chung ’09, assistant instructors Dan Grollman GS and Bhuvic Patel ’11. As with any club, the Taekwondo club receives support from the Student Activities Office, but club president Angela Yang ’09 wrote in an e-mail to The Herald that “there are also endless frustrations in tr ying to secure space and time for practices.” “We practice in Leung (Gallery in Faunce House), and in order for us to fit everyone in the room, there are a lot of constraints. We hope that in the future

Brown can provide a facility for martial arts groups like ours a matted room with large enough space to suf ficiently meet our members’ needs. Right now, due to an alum’s generous donation, we have our own mats, and before and after each class we lay down and tear up the 140+ mats,” Yang wrote. In the meantime, the club will be busy preparing for its next tournament, the Lowell Invitational Tournament, taking place this Sunday in Lowell, Mass. “We are excited to see the new members compete this weekend in Lowell,” Dwulet said. “Some have experience and a lot are just natural athletes. The dedication we’ve seen so far this year from both new and old members is amazing.” The highlight for the club this year will be next semester when Brown hosts the Collegiate Nationals Tournament, which will bring over 400 taekwondo competitors from all over the nation. “We will be looking for volunteers to help out,” Yang said. The taekwondo club has been at Brown since the 1960s, and the club is expected to grow more “in the next couple years,” according to Dwulet. This sentiment is echoed by Yang who sees the value this martial art teaches the students. “I am ver y excited for what is to come for Brown taekwondo. I am particularly inspired by the energy and dedication of the new members that have joined our club and the continued strength in spirit of the club collectively,” she said. “This club has been such an important part of so many Brown students’ lives here because of the discipline and training it teaches in learning this sport.”

It’s a new day in America and change is abound. The once lowly Tampa Bay Rays took home the American League Pennant, the perennial powerhouse Indianapolis Colts are four games out of first place in the AFC South, and we may never again hear the Detroit Pistons’ announcer, John Tom Trudeau Mason, say Tru Story “CHAUNCEY, Bu-Bu-Bu-Billups!” Oh, and Virginia, North Carolina, Indiana, Ohio, Florida, Colorado, Iowa, Nevada and New Mexico helped make the new leader of the free world an African-American with a funny sounding name. Just two days removed from Barack Obama’s historic victory, it seems silly to be writing about sports. I’ll still be checking MLBtradeRumors.com several times a day to see how many millions the Yankees will offer CC Sabathia, but I don’t need to drag everyone else with me. With this in mind, and without trivializing what Obama accomplished and the implication that goes with his victory for the entire country, it’s time to draw some Barack sports comparisons. Face it, Obama has all the attributes of a successful sports dynasty. Spor ts dynasties require an unflappable leader, such as Tom Brady, Joe Torre and Joe Montana, and one uber-reliable sidekick, such as Bill Belichick, Derek Jeter and Jerry Rice. What about the Barack dynasty? His dynasty features a ridiculously cool and collected leader in Obama and a dependable sidekick in Michelle. Check. Sports dynasties last at least four years, but rarely exceed eight. Even the Yankees’ fabled dynasties in 1921-1928 and 1936-1943 maxed out at eight years. Similarly, the Barack dynasty will last four to eight years. Successful sports dynasties require good management so that the peripheral pieces don’t drag down the stars. There is no Shaq and Kobe without Jerry West building an unassuming, no-ego supporting cast of Robert Horry, Derek Fisher and Deaven George (just kidding about George. Sorry buddy, you totally almost dragged down the stars). The Barack dynasty was jump-started by hard working people behind the scenes who won’t receive any accolades despite their invaluable contributions, such as David Plouffe, David Axelrod and Ellis Rochelson ’09. Sports dynasties can’t succeed without passionate fans and significant home-field advantage that give an edge against tough competition. The Barack dynasty is marked by unparalleled enthusiasm for Obama and motivation to help him win, including that of passionate supporters, millions of driven volunteers and an unprecedented voter turnout around the country. Teams in the midst of a sports continued on page 9

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Published on Nov 6, 2008

The November 6, 2008 issue of the Brown Daily Herald

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