Thursday, September 24, 2009

Daily Herald the Brown

vol. cxliv, no. 71 | Thursday, September 24, 2009 | Serving the community daily since 1891

Endowment losses weigh on budget

A w w, sh u c ks

By Sydney Ember Senior Staf f Writer

By Brigitta Greene Senior Staff Writer

The University plans to reduce its annual draw on the endowment by 20 percent next year, Beppie Huidekoper, executive vice president for finance and administration, said at the first Brown University Community Council meeting of the semester yesterday. As it starts the budget-planning process for the fiscal year beginning in July 2010, the administration remains on track to reduce an anticipated $30 million in spending. Between July 1 of last year and June 30 of this year, the endowment lost $740 million — “a huge blow to Brown,” Huidekoper said. She added that the University is expecting zero net growth in its endowment this year. Payout from the endowment represents one of the University’s two main sources for revenue. The other, tuition, is expected to increase by only 1.4 percent this year, Huidekoper said. Such slow annual revenue increases will pose a significant challenge to overall University growth in the near future, she added. This past May, the University reduced projected revenue growth from 5 percent per year to 2 percent per year between July 2010 and June 2014. To keep pace with such projections, the University will have to contain its overall spending growth to 2 percent per year, reducing anticipated spending by a total of $95 million by June 2014. Of that $95 million, $35 million has already been eliminated through cuts to the current budget. The University will be looking to reduce an additional $30 million for the coming fiscal year, continued on page 3

Research dollars up for grabs, U. keys in

Kim Perley / Herald The annual corn shuck-off was held Wednesday on Wriston Quad.

Universities nationwide are in fierce competition this year to procure a share of scarce federal research funds, and Brown is taking aggressive steps to get its own piece of the pie and enhance its national profile as a top-tier institution. In the past two years, the University has taken assertive actions to bolster its appeal to national foundations and the federal government — including hiring a Washington-based political consulting firm, forming partnerships with other institutions and promoting its own multidisciplinar y research programs. And the measures appear to be working — the University announced Wednesday it had secured three new awards, including a $3 million National Science Foundation grant. Those successes bring Brown’s total share of federal stimulus money from the American

Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to nearly $20 million. “The stimulus funding was, of course, a boost coming in,” said Vice President for Research Clyde Briant. “Research is expanding. There’s no question about that.” The latest awards include nearly $2 million in funding for two stateof-the-art instruments — a hightech mass spectrometer and a transmission electron microscope — and another $2 million for a new “CAVE,” a three-dimensional, automatic virtual environment. Briant said the University is also attempting to strengthen its image as a research institution by more vigorously developing graduate programs and promoting key departments that best represent innovative research such as Brown’s new Institute for Brain Science. Increased national research stature would not only benefit the University and its researchers, but continued on page 2

Hope High, with difficult past, has yet another new face By Emma Berry Staf f Writer

In 2005, the Rhode Island Department of Education took control of an underperforming high school and divided it into three separate “learning communities.” Now Hope High’s three communities have become two, leaving students to adapt to a school that feels “different.” As of this year, Hope Leadership School no longer exists, and its students and faculty have been merged into Hope Arts School and Hope Information Technol-

ogy School. maining two principals — Scott Under the previous “triune” Sutherland of Arts and Arthur Petstructure, each school had its rosinelli of IT — shared responown administrative team and its sibility for Leadership. Together, own floor. The system — one of a the two principals came up with number of changes mandated by a the idea to merge the schools, 2002 state intervention Christina O’Reilly, order — was widely a spokesperson for METRO credited with improvethe district, told The ments in student performance at Herald when the change was anHope. After the reorganization, nounced in April. reading scores nearly tripled, acO’Reilly added that the consolicording to a February Providence dation would primarily be at the Journal article. “top level” of administration and When Leadership Principal would not affect the number of stuWayne Montague retired during dents or faculty at the school. the 2008-2009 school year, the reJohn Day, acting president of

Hope’s Parent-Teacher Organization, said “budget concerns” prompted the change. Running two schools rather than three requires “at least one less principal, one less vice principal,” and potentially other personnel, he said. Hope High School administrators and district spokespeople could not be reached for an interview. “I’ve been in the school quite a bit, and I don’t really see any changes,” Day said. “From what I’ve heard, no courses were recontinued on page 5

Flu cases spreading quickly, BUCC hears 234 potential cases reported, Wheeler says; vaccines on their way By Brigitta Greene Senior Staf f Writer

inside

The Brown University Community Council began its first meeting of the year with a round of jovial introductions before turning to its downbeat agenda yesterday — hearing about the campus H1N1 influenza situation and the Rhode Island legislature’s proposed student tax bill and getting an update on the University’s finances (see stor y above left).

News.....1-4 Metro......5-6 Spor ts...7-8 Editorial..10 Opinion...11 Today........12

www.browndailyherald.com

Edward Wheeler, director of health ser vices, led off with the news that a total of 234 cases of influenza-like illness have been reported on campus as of Wednesday afternoon. Wheeler told The Herald just last Thursday that the number of reported cases was at 78 — indicating that the disease may be spreading quickly. Although H1N1 vaccines will not be available until late October, Wheeler said, the University will begin of fering seasonal flu vac-

cines to all members of the campus community today. Instead of the traditional clinics for students, Health Ser vices will set up a vaccination station in Josiah’s that will be open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. Wheeler said the University hopes to more than double the average number of vaccinations this year — setting a goal of between 3,000 and 3,500 in an effort to contain what is expected to be a worsecontinued on page 3

Quinn Savit / Herald

President Ruth Simmons (left) and Provost David Kertzer ’69 P’95 P’98 (right) look on during yesterday’s meeting, held at Brown Hillel.

News, 3

Sports, 7

Opinions, 11

cybermaster Professor John Savage will advise the State Department on computer issues

home turf split The women’s volleyball team goes 2-1 at the Brown Invitational

forgive us our sins Michael Fitzpatrick ’12 says he and other atheists are sorry — for everything

195 Angell Street, Providence, Rhode Island

herald@browndailyherald.com

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

C ampus N EWS

Thursday, September 24, 2009

“Brown is an economic engine.” — Clyde Briant, vice president for research

Students for Israel meet with With research dollars up for grabs, U. homes in R.I. congressmen about Iran continued from page 1

By Alicia Dang Staff Writer

Members of Brown Students for Israel met with office representatives of two members of Congress and hand-delivered to them about 250 student letters in support of the proposed Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act of 2009 on Wednesday. The act would authorize the president to impose strict sanctions — including cutting off Iranian imports of gasoline — if Iran does not comply with American requests to negotiate on their nuclear programs. BSI initiated the campaign with a view toward “capitalizing on the moment when attention is paid to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s address to the United Nations General Assembly” on Wednesday, said Drew Harris ’11, president of BSI. The group also collaborated with student activists from Harvard, Brandeis University, Tufts University and Boston University for a coordinated petition effort on the same day. BSI prepared pre-written letters that were signed by students on campus. The letters were customized for Rep. Patrick Kennedy, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, Sen. Jack Reed and Rep. Jim Langevin — all Rhode Island Democrats — Harris said. Whitehouse is a co-sponsor of the Senate bill and Langevin and Kennedy are co-sponsors of the House bill. Student groups from the other schools carried out the campaign

with Massachusetts congressmen. In addition to hand-delivering the letters to the offices, the students attended meetings with Tony Simon, deputy state director for Whitehouse and Nancy Langrall, policy director for Reed, discussing the “urgency of the moment” in relation to the pending legislation and the prospects of a “successful economic sanction program” on Iran, said Harry Reis ’11, political affairs coordinator of BSI. The group also discussed “illiberal and undemocratic practices in the regime of Iran” and emphasized that “sanctions would only target the energy sector,” Harris said. For example, the sanctions would affect companies offering insurance for oil shipping, therefore having a “direct impact on the government” but not the people of Iran, he added. Another important objective of the campaign was to gain support from Reed. In a meeting with BSI in Washington, D.C., last May, Reis said, the senator “showed great concern” about the subject. “Our efforts on campus to collect letters from the Ratty and the Main Green were to demonstrate to our legislators the degree to which the Iranian nuclear crisis is of great and primary concerns to Brown students,” Reis said. BSI is planning an academic panel and other activities to promote more discussion and awareness of the Iran conflict on campus, Harris said.

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Editorial Phone: 401.351.3372 | Business Phone: 401.351.3260 Stephen DeLucia, President Michael Bechek, Vice President

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The Brown Daily Herald (USPS 067.740) is an independent newspaper serving the Brown University community daily since 1891. It is published Monday through Friday during the academic year, excluding vacations, once during Commencement, once during Orientation and once in July by The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. Single copy free for members of the community. POSTMASTER please send corrections to P.O. Box 2538, Providence, RI 02906. Periodicals postage paid at Providence, R.I. Offices are located at 195 Angell St., Providence, R.I. E-mail herald@browndailyherald.com. World Wide Web: http://www.browndailyherald.com. Subscription prices: $319 one year daily, $139 one semester daily. Copyright 2009 by The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. All rights reserved.

also the city of Providence, Briant said. By securing top grants, Brown will shape the surrounding area into an intellectual hot spot, attracting leaders in various research fields, he said. “Brown is an economic engine,” he said. According to Briant, the University gets about half of its research funding from the National Institutes of Health, with the remaining support coming from the NSF, the Department of Education, the Department of Defense, NASA and private foundations. “We think there is both a need and a desire for research in society and an opportunity for exciting federal funding,” Briant said. Brown has also recently established a number of partnerships with laboratories and institutions across the country with the goal of increasing the University’s national credibility. The University has teamed up with IBM, Draper Laborator y — a nonprofit engineering laborator y — and the Marine Biological Laborator y in Woods Hole, Mass., to pursue various research goals. The collaborative efforts also aid Brown in applying for research dollars. “These partnerships allow us to apply for grants (when) we wouldn’t normally be able to,” Briant said, though he added he knew of no further partnerships on Brown’s immediate horizon. Opportunity and competition Between 1998 and 2003, an enormous influx of federal funding for biomedical research doubled

the budget for the NIH. But after the spending drive — and the subsequent increase in the number of applicants for newly available grants — the budget “went flat,” said Tim Leshan, Brown’s director of government relations and community affairs. In March 2008, Brown and six other research institutions jointly released a report called, “A Broken Pipeline? Flat Funding of the NIH Puts a Generation of Science at Risk,” which highlighted the devastating consequences for researchers who were unable to secure research funding. But, he added, the stimulus funding has temporarily alleviated the pressure put on researchers by the dwindling amount of money available, making it imperative that the University capitalize on new research opportunities. “The stimulus has eased normal budgets,” Leshan said. Still, the resulting increase in demand for funds has actually decreased the likelihood that many less qualified, but still deser ving projects will receive at least some funding, he said. He said he estimated that just 3 percent of the nearly 22,000 applications for NIH funding would receive money, making it necessar y for Brown to redouble its ef for ts so it does not find itself shortchanged because of the inflated enthusiasm. “It just shows that there was sort of a pent-up demand for research funding,” Leshan said. One of the most important features of the stimulus plan is that it has rejuvenated research across the countr y, he said. But he said it was unclear what

will happen when the federal stimulus money runs out. “We’re advancing quite forcefully because funding for research has not been growing recently,” Leshan said. “People have talked about dropping off the cliff again.” One of the most recent tools in Brown’s arsenal for increasing its national research profile was the decision — reached in January — to hire the Washington-based political consultant Lewis-Burke Associates, which Briant said has significantly augmented the University’s awareness of available research opportunities. He said the University reached out to the firm to generate congressional support for Brown’s research funding after the stimulus bill was approved. “The number of things coming out was just over whelming,” Briant said. The company describes itself on its Web site as “a leading, fullser vice gover nment relations firm specializing in advocating for the public policy interests of institutions of higher education and other research and education organizations.” Members of the firm declined multiple requests for comment. “They’re there to help us for the funding agencies,” Leshan said, but he added it remained “up to Brown” to convince Congress and the federal government of the merits of the University’s various research plans. “Our congressional delegation has been incredibly supportive of our efforts,” he added, referring to Rhode Island’s representatives. “Funding agencies are seeing Brown as one of the leading research institutions.” Gearing up for grant-writing To prepare faculty for the arduous process of applying for the newly available money, the Office of the Vice President for Research, along with Lewis-Burke, hosted an online seminar in March to instruct faculty on the best ways to forge connections with funding agencies. Another obstacle is that research labs sometimes do not have enough money to hire lab technicians and assistants, leading professors to perform their labs’ administrative tasks when they could be spending their time seeking and writing proposals for new grants. “We’ve done a lot of things to help faculty be as compatible as possible” with the grantmaking agencies, Leshan said, adding that the University, with LewisBurke’s aid, also plans to begin bringing program of ficers from NIH to campus to meet with faculty members. In terms of increasing the University’s national profile, Briant was optimistic that more stimulus funding is on the way. “I think we’re at a very exciting time for us,” he said. “We’re really at a stage where we’re building ver y strongly.”

Thursday, September 24, 2009

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

C ampus N EWS

“Our computers are not safe. They’re hackable.” — Professor John Savage, on America’s cybersecurity situation

Prof to advise State Dept. on cybersecurity By Shara Azad Senior Staff Writer

Professor of Computer Science John Savage used to spend his days teaching classes and doing research. But for the next year, he’ll turn his attention from advising Brown students to advising federal officials on cyber security. As one of next year’s Jefferson Science Fellow for the U.S. Department of State, Savage will join an elite group of scientists advising the government on policy implementation. The 10 fellows will provide expertise on engineering and other sciences — computer science, specifically — to guide U.S. foreign and domestic policy. Savage is the first computer scientist and member of the Brown community to be accepted to the program. His work will focus on the threat hackers and other internet menaces pose to the State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research. Savage wrote in an e-mail to The Herald that he was “very excited” to be working at the State Department. President Obama has already identified computer security as a priority for his administration. In a speech last May, he said cyber security was “a matter of public safety and national security.” Savage agreed with the president on the importance of the issue. “Our computers are not safe. They’re hackable,” he said in a Sept. 21 statement from the University, explaining why he chose to accept the position. Becoming part of the Jefferson Science Fellows program — now in its sixth year — involves a rigorous application and screening process,

than-average flu season. Health Services has also developed an online “Flu-web” ser vice for faculty, students and staff to streamline communication, care and treatment. Through the service, students can report symptoms 24 hours a day and will be contacted by Health Services personnel, usually within 48 hours, Wheeler said. The ser vice will also communicate with a student’s professors to report illness and reduce the confusion of getting notes from deans and doctors. All routine appointments — such as physicals or yearly exams — have been put off so nurses and doctors can conser ve resources, and Health Services has hired two extra nurses, Wheeler said. Staff have also developed a triage protocol in the event of a sudden surge in reported illness, he said. Wheeler added that Health Ser vices has already identified a provisional list of “high-risk” students, including medical students

Budget-cut committees will have student members continued from page 1

Courtesy of Brown.edu

Professor of Computer Science John Savage has been selected to advise the U.S. State Department on cyber security issues.

Savage wrote in his e-mail. “I submitted an application that contained samples of my writing, was selected for interviews based on my application and letters of recommendation and then was interviewed by two panels of distinguished scientists, engineers and senior staff members of the State Department, including the Science and Technology Adviser to the Secretary of State, the person who made the final selections,” he wrote. Now that he is officially part of the program, Savage will soon begin to reap the benefits of his new position. He and the other Jefferson Fellows will soon have a formal presentation by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton — after they finish receiving their security clearances, he wrote.

Savage moved to Washington, D.C., with his wife in August and expects to return to Brown next year. Savage has long been at the cutting edge of his field. He was one of the founders of Brown’s Department of Computer Science in 1979, and he served as department chair from 1985 to 1991. “The Computer Science Department is delighted that John Savage has been selected for this prestigious appointment,” Roberto Tamassia, professor of computer science and current chair of the department, wrote in an e-mail to The Herald. “His expertise, leadership and vision will be a great asset for the State Department. Our government is fortunate to have such a prominent scientist as adviser to policy makers,” he added.

Student tax still a concern for U. continued from page 1

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and those with severe asthma, who will have first priority for receiving the vaccine. He said that there is little the University can do to limit the total number of flu cases, but that he is hoping for a “flatter and longer” trajector y rather than a sudden surge in illness. With a final salute of “Cover your cough!” Wheeler yielded the floor to a discussion of the proposed student tax bill, which is expected to be discussed by the State House of Representatives when the body resumes session at the end of October. The bill introduces a tax of $150 per student per semester on private universities — exempting students who are Rhode Island residents — as well as a “non-profit generating tax” which would allow the state to levy taxes on Brown’s properties. Though Governor Donald Carcieri ’65 has said he would veto the bill, the University is still “working closely with others on coordinated strategies to stop the

legislation,” said Marisa Quinn, vice president for public affairs and University relations. “If it were to pass, there would be a whole group of people battling in courts, who are looking into that now,” she said. “Let’s ensure we’re not putting up a toll booth on I-95.” Quinn emphasized the University’s continued efforts to be a positive force in the community and to take this opportunity to engage in further discussion of community development. The University has been active in recent years in the planning and development of the “knowledge economy” in Providence — the idea that through widespread University, city and community collaboration, the city of Providence could grow into an intellectual hub, fueled in part by the expansion of research and graduate studies within Brown. A state tax would work counter to this goal, Quinn argued, drawing University funds away from capital expansion.

and only after finalizing next year’s budget will administrators begin to tackle the final $30 million. But the University’s financial plan includes more than $100 million in budget increases for “critical priorities” including financial aid, compensation and research by 2014. Swallowing these costs while still committing to the $60 million in total reductions will pose a “significant challenge” and will involve continuing to raise new funds and make reductions in other areas, Huidekoper said. Because of the significant decrease in the endowment’s market value, the University would have to draw on it at a much higher rate to maintain current revenue streams. The administration met earlier this month with a subcommittee of the Corporation, which remained “extremely cautious,” recommending a 20 percent planned decrease in payout from the endowment in fiscal year 2011, Huidekoper said. Even at this reduced rate, the University will be drawing at an “unsustainable level,” she said. Facing the $30 million in reductions, the University will maintain its commitment to financial aid, faculty and graduate students — and will not be making “across the board cuts,” Huidekoper said. Both the University Resources Committee and the Organizational Review Committee will begin strategic planning in order to make budget recommendations to President Ruth Simmons before winter break. “This is obviously going to be another extremely difficult year,” Simmons said in her closing remarks at the meeting yesterday, which was held at Brown Hillel, because Leung Gallery in Faunce House is closed for construction. But she emphasized an unwavering commitment to Brown’s values. “A budget is a budget. An endowment is an endowment,” she said. “But there is also something called a mission of a University. We have to be careful that we aren’t so rigid as to lose the many things that are

important to this community.” Current deficit reduction targets for fiscal year 2011 include $14 million in cuts through “organizational review,” including position reductions, both through unfilled vacancies and job cuts. Last year, the University eliminated a total of 67 positions, 31 of which were vacancies left unfilled and 36 of which were staff layoffs. “We will expect there will be fewer budgeted positions next year,” Huidekoper said. In an effort to allow members of the campus community to participate in planning conversations, the ORC will establish 12 subgroups open to students, faculty and staff. These groups will begin to meet in two weeks and will develop specialized recommendations. Both the ORC and the URC — traditionally responsible for budgetary planning — will submit their proposals to Simmons before winter break. Simmons will finalize the budget recommendations, which will be presented to the Corporation at its February meeting for approval. Though Simmons always revises final budget recommendations, her role this year will be “significantly more challenging” with “repercussions much more significant,” Huidekoper said. At that point, “it’s all on her shoulders,” Huidekoper said. The University remains hopeful that — thanks to a series of fortunate events — the final $30 million in reductions may not be necessary. If endowment returns, net tuition increases, sponsored support or gifts in the next four years are higher than projected, that figure may decrease, Huidekoper said. Budgetary figures do not apply to the Division of Biology and Medicine or affiliates such as the Watson Institute for International Studies, both of which are self-endowed and prepare separate budgets. BioMed “has its own serious financial aid holes that it will have to meet,” Huidekoper said, though she added that it has seen notable success in winning federal stimulus funds and research awards.

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Thursday, September 24, 2009

C ampus N EWS

“Interesting text from an article on this page”

Student convicted in Fish Co. assault

Elections fill vacant UCS spots

By Joanna Wohlmuth Staf f Writer

blogdailyherald.com

David Howard ’09.5 was convicted of simple assault in District Court on Tuesday, according to the Providence Journal. Howard was accused of punching a patron while working as a bouncer at the Fish Company in April. Howard, a preseason AllAmerican and 2008 All-Ivy defensive lineman for Brown’s football team, received one year’s probation and was forced to pay court costs, the Journal reported. He was also ordered not to have con-

tact with the victim, Paul Lilley, of Southborough, Mass. Howard’s lawyer, Mark Smith, announced that an appeal will be filled in Superior Court, the Journal reported. According to a police report, Howard punched Lilley several times in the face after escorting him from the bar during a party for Bryant University students. Lilley and a witness identified Howard as the attacker. The bar was filled with Bryant students who had paid $20 for tickets that offered “all they could eat and drink,” attendees told the

police. Howard removed Lilley from the bar after he complained about being told to pay for drinks, according to the police report. Following a hearing with the Board of Licenses in August, Fish Co. agreed to shut its doors for three days as punishment for the altercation. The Journal reported in August that Jay Kern, the owner of Fish Co., told the board that he admitted to the facts in the police report, saying that the situation got out of control when many more patrons showed up than were expected.

— Person’s name, Person’s position

By Suzannah Weiss Senior Staff Writer

The Undergraduate Council of Students voted to fill open positions Wednesday night in the Crystal Room in Alumnae Hall. After collecting enough signatures from their classmates, candidates were able to briefly speak to a room full of veteran and first-time UCS members before the voting took place. Kening Tan ’12, running unopposed, was elected the new appointments chair. At-large representative Evan Holownia ’11 won the election for communications chair, and Alyaa Alkhadhar ’13 was elected to the position of secretary. The position of treasurer went to

Ralanda Nelson ’12. Nelson ran against Rachel Hunter ’12, who subsequently won the title of Ivy Council policy chair. Lily Tran ’10 was chosen for the position of alumni liaison. Her role will be fostering the support of Brown alumni, especially those who participated in UCS at Brown. David Rattner ’13, Michael Schneider ’13, Melea Atkins ’10, Lucy Wang ’11 and former UCS Vice President Michael MacCombie ’11 vied for the position of Corporation liaison, which went to Atkins, who also served as corporate liaison two years ago. The UCS-UFB liaison, who sits on the Undergraduate Finance Board and represents UCS’s interests, is former UFB member Salsabil Ahmed ’11.

Metro The Brown Daily Herald

“Now it’s like, what’s the point of having two schools?” — Kenya Sanchez, sophomore at Hope High School Thursday, September 24, 2009 | Page 5

metro in brief

RI residents may receive extended unemployment benefits Rhode Island is among 27 states that may receive extended unemployment benefits, thanks to a bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives Tuesday. The bill, passed by a vote of 331 to 83, applies to states with unemployment rates over 8.5 percent, and only to workers who become eligible for benefits before the end of the year. The 12.8 percent unemployment rate in Rhode Island is the third-highest in the nation. Rhode Island Reps. Patrick Kennedy and Jim Langevin, both Democrats, voted for the bill. Senator Jack Reed, D-R.I., introduced a companion bill Wednesday. The bill would affect 2,500 Rhode Islanders who would otherwise lose their benefits after this month and 4,500 more this year, according to a joint press release from Kennedy and Langevin. — George Miller

Governor and state workers’ unions spar over layoffs The stalemate between Gov. Donald Carcieri ’65 and state workers’ unions continued yesterday, as union leaders rejected the state’s most recent plan to ease its budget woes. The proposed solution combines unpaid days off and delayed raises. The plan — which aims to avoid layoffs and the 12 furlough days originally proposed by the governor — calls for eight furlough days this fiscal year and the delay of a 3 percent pay raise from July 2010 to January 2011. State employees would like to help the state save money, but could not agree to “diluted” language allowing Carcieri greater freedom in moving workers to different departments, said Michael Downey, president of Council 94 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the largest union representing state workers. The roughly two-dozen union presidents who met yesterday decided the agreement was not good enough to send back to their members, Downey said, adding that the main sticking point was the language regarding re-organization. The unions are open to more talks with the governor, but may move to arbitration next, Downey said. The governor’s office could not be reached for comment Wednesday. — George Miller

Kim Perley / Herald

Following the merger of the Leadership school with Hope High’s two other programs, students said changes would take some getting used to.

Students return to reconfigured Hope High continued from page 1 moved.” Instead, Leadership courses will be incorporated into the more content-driven curricula at Arts and IT, he said, adding that the Junior ROTC program, a major component of the Leadership school, would also continue and be open to all students. Day, whose son is a senior at Hope Arts, said Leadership students from the class of 2010 will remain in their specific courses and will still receive Leadership diplomas, a decision announced Sept. 16. “It was well-received by the kids,” Day said. “They all cheered.” But Kenya Sanchez, a sopho-

more at Hope who attended Leadership last year, said Hope “feels weird” now. “There used to be a Leadership floor, now it’s just a neutral floor ... What’s the point of having two schools?” Sanchez now attends Hope IT, where, she said, “everybody already has cliques. It feels like I’m a freshman again.” Sophomore Shanice Goncalves agreed, noting that the closure of Leadership has also required Hope to change its cafeteria schedule because students eat lunch with their particular school. Overall, the beginning of the school year has been “confusing,” she said. “I signed up for Leadership. I was already comfortable

being part of the Leadership community.” Goncalves now attends Hope Arts but said most of her friends from Leadership had been switched into the IT community. “I don’t see most of them anymore,” she said. Sophomore Vanessa Castro has attended Hope Arts for the last two years but said her social circle, too, has been affected by the closure. “I had a lot of friends in Leadership,” she said. “A lot of them switched schools,” transferring to Mount Pleasant High School. Sanchez remains ambivalent. “When I was in middle school ... I was all, ‘Yeah! Leadership!’ Now it’s like, ‘...yeah, IT?’ ... But it doesn’t bother me. I’m still at Hope.”

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M etro

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Thursday, September 24, 2009

“We haven’t received state funding in years.” — Shannon McDonald, ACORN Rhode Island

Gov. Carcieri ’65 takes aim at ACORN By Brigitta Greene Senior Staf f Writer

Rhode Island began a review Monday to ensure that no state payments are going to the state branch of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now or any of its affiliates, said Amy Kempe, press secretar y to Gov. Donald Carcieri ’65. ACORN, a national community organizing group, has fallen under widespread political criticism and scrutiny in the past few weeks after footage of some of its employees offering support to an undercover prostitute and pimp were made public on the Internet. ACORN has since sued the makers of the video, the Associated Press reported Wednesday. The House of Representatives voted last week to end all federal funding to the organization. On Friday, Carcieri ordered all state agencies to immediately stop payments to ACORN and requested a comprehensive review of state funds that may be going to affiliates

of the organization, Kempe said. “It is unconscionable for a single dime of taxpayer money to be spent to support an organization that is engaged in this type of activity,” Carcieri said in a statement on Saturday. ACORN is a community organization dedicated to aiding lowerand middle-class families with issues such as housing, education, safety and health care on a local level. But ACORN has been the target of attacks claiming Democratic favoritism and voter fraud for months — and is only now facing serious political repercussions. Amateur actors dressed as a prostitute and a pimp used hidden cameras to document their visits to ACORN offices, where they asked for advice on how to pursue their illegal activities. The videos were initially posted on the Web site biggovernment.com and have since become a YouTube hit. Shannon McDonald, who answered the phone at ACORN’s Rhode Island headquarters, said the organization was not depen-

dent on the local government. “We haven’t received state funding in years,” he said. The Rhode Island branch of ACORN has not been in conversation with the state since Carcieri’s announcement, Kempe said. In a statement on the organization’s Web site dated Sept. 17, ACORN CEO Bertha Lewis said she was “disappointed” that Congress had taken action to single out the organization. She said ACORN had been the victim of “a multiyear political assault stemming variously from the Bush White House, Fox News and other conser vative quarters.” “ACORN derives most of its income from its members and other supporters, so the decision will have little impact on overall operations,” she added in the statement. There is no indication as to how long a review of state payments may take, Kempe said, though she emphasized that any funding found to be reaching the organization will be immediately terminated.

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SportsThursday The Brown Daily Herald

Thursday, September 24, 2009 | Page 7

Volleyball finishes 2-1 at Brown Invitational By Elisabeth Avallone Sports Staff Writer

Jesse Morgan / Herald

Spencer McAndrews ’12 sets the ball at the Brown Invitational over the weekend. The Bears went 2-1.

No. 25 m. soccer, unbeaten, shuts out Rhody Rams By Katie Wood Assistant Spor ts Editor

The men’s soccer team (4-0-1) traveled 30 miles south to take on URI (2-4-0) Saturday night, pulling away early 5 Brown and cruising 0 URI to a 5-0 win. The offense was firing on all cylinders with five goals from four different players, and the defense continued its dominance, not allowing a single goal in the past four games of play. “The score says it all — it was our best performance from beginning to end,” said Austin Mandel ’12, the team’s leading scorer on the season with four goals. The No. 25 Bears came out of the gate with an offensive mindset that propelled the team to three first-half goals, maintaining a comfortable lead that allowed the team to relax and convert its chances. Dylan Remick ’13 scored his first collegiate goal on a corner kick from co-captain David Walls ’11 just 17 minutes into the game. Sean Rosa ’12 set up Evan Coleman ’12 for a goal just one minute later as he sent a shot low and to the right of the outstretched hands of Rhody’s Chris Pennock. Fifteen minutes later, Jon Okafor ’11 tallied his second goal of the season off of a pass from T.J. Thompson ’10, putting the Bears up 3-0 heading into halftime. “The second goal was right after the first, and then we scored the third — those were real big confidence boosters heading into the half,” Walls said. “We finished our chances on Saturday, whereas, in a couple of our other previous games, we created the chances, but couldn’t convert.” Six dif ferent Bears scored points for the team in the first half and, heading into the second

frame, the offensive onslaught continued to bur y Rhody in an even deeper hole. The Bears kept up the intensity on both sides of the ball as the Rams failed to record a shot on goal. “We’re a little small up front with our strikers, Mandel and Rosa, so we’ve had to readjust our style of play this year to be more patient and have precision passing,” Walls said. “We’re giving ourselves the oppor tunity to score by having such a well-rounded offense.” Just 12 minutes into the second half, Mandel began his offensive streak, scoring on a breakaway goal and following up that effort with another goal three minutes later with a hard shot to the left corner. Nick Elenz-Mar tin ’10 crossed the ball to Okafor, who headed the ball to Mandel for his fourth goal of the season. “Overall, our team chemistry is great,” Mandel said. “We’re passing well and getting everyone involved with our unselfish play.” Paul Grandstrand ’11 once again held his own in the net as he tallied his fourth shutout of the season behind a strong backfield that has continued to develop into a solid defensive force in the Ivy League. Consequently, the team’s defensive success does not star t with the backfield but extends to the rest of the team, Walls said. “We have a nice midfield that protects the defenders well,” he said. “It’s a whole team effort rather than just the back four taking all the credit.” The star ting four defensive backs have played nearly ever y minute of the five games thus far, and the consistency definitely shows in a group of defenders that replaced Rhett Bernstein ’09, Stephen Sawyer ’09 and the injured continued on page 8

Brown finished off this weekend’s Brown Invitational, 2-1, after a twomatch sweep of Holy Cross and a fiveset loss to Stony Brook. The Bears advanced to 3-6 on the season. Friday night resulted in a taxing split for the Bears as both matches were decided in a fifth set. Stony Brook came out strong in the Bears’ first match, winning the first two sets, 25-21 and 25-19. But the Bruno rallied back in the third, overcoming Stony Brook, 25-23, to pull within one set of the Seawolves. In what was indisputably the most exciting set of the weekend, the fourth set saw nine ties and four lead changes. Bruno narrowly defeated

Stony Brook 27-25 in a grueling battle to push the match into the fifth. The Seawolves, however, out-scored Brown 15-12 for the victory. “While I am happy with the overall outcome of this weekend, of course I would have liked to close out that fifth game against Stony Brook and have yet another win under our belts,” said Brianna Williamson ’11. “We need to keep working hard and improving.” Following the disappointing end to the Stony Brook match, the Bears were back in action less than an hour later in a back-and-forth battle against Holy Cross. After defeat in the first set 25-22, Brown captured the second set 25-19 and the third 25-14. With the Bears leading 2-1, continued on page 8

Page 8

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

S ports T HURSDAY

Thursday, September 24, 2009

“We are a very fresh team.” — David Walls ’11, men’s soccer co-captain

Volleyball team takes two from Holy Cross before losing continued from page 7 the Crusaders fought back in the fourth winning 25-19. The Bears rallied with an early 7-1 lead in the fifth to capture a 15-9 win for a final victory over Holy Cross, 3-2. Spencer McAndrews ’12, stepping into the setter position after an injury to a teammate, rounded out the evening with an impressive 89 assists, 16 digs, four kills and six blocks. Captain Moira Gallagher ’10 led the Bears with a personal seasonhigh 16 kills and 10 digs against Stony Brook, following up with another 10 kills and four digs against Holy Cross. Williamson combined for 25 kills and 27 digs as Carly Cotton ’13 totaled 24 digs in each match. Again the Bears were back in action the following day, taking their second victory against Holy Cross, 3-1. Williamson led Brown with a game-high 17 kills and 17 digs. Bruno came out strong in the first set, defeating the Crusaders 25-22, but was out-hit in the second, falling 25-20. Brown quickly retaliated with a decisive 25-13 victory in the third with a .300 hitting percentage compared to the Crusaders’ .029. Brown ended the match with a 25-21 fourth set victory, and finished 2-0 against Holy Cross. Again McAndrews had a great performance as setter, with a matchhigh 51 assists, six digs and four blocks. Megan Toman ’11 added to the Bears’ success with 15 kills and eight digs, as Cotton earned a matchhigh 18 digs. “We have had so many people step up time and time again, and I think that we’re doing a really fantastic job of supporting each other, as well as being confident in ourselves,” Gallagher said. “We’ve hit some bumps in the road, but we all have great attitudes and are finally coming together as a cohesive unit.” The Bears will compete Saturday at the Bryant Invitational as they take on Howard at 10 a.m. and Bryant at 4 p.m.

Undefeated m. soccer keeps on rolling continued from page 7

Jesse Morgan / Herald

Above, Carly Cotton (17) executes a bump. Middle, Jessica Gandy (8) prepares for the point. Bottom left, Danielle Vaughan (15) prepares to serve. Bottom right, the team huddles mid-match.

Ian Smith ’11. Ryan McDuf f ’13, Renick and Coleman “are doing what’s asked of them, and their play has been fantastic,” Walls said. “After losing so many quality players, the younger ones have come in and played well. For the first five games of the season, we can’t expect too much more out of them.” Grandstrand left Saturday night’s game in the final 25 minutes, as Jarrod Schlenker ’10 finished out the game in the net. Both sides of the ball have elevated their level of play and have continued to respond well to pressure situations, carrying themselves with a confidence far beyond their years. There are no stand-out players on the team this year, so the team does not have to rely on any one player to score all of the goals or make all the big plays. The scoring has been so well-rounded that the team has received offensive contributions from 10 different players, tallying a total of 28 points to their opponents’ four. “We are a ver y fresh team,” Walls said. “There is only a small margin from the weakest player to the strongest player. Ever yone on the bench can step up at a moment’s notice and produce out on the field for the team. We’ve spread it around this year — we’re in a nice position as a number of people are confident to score goals.” The game was featured as a Grassroot Soccer HIV/AIDS fundraising event where admission to the game was free with a donation. The event raised $2,000. The Bears will look to continue their all-around team effort into a trip to California this weekend as they take on UC Santa Clara (2-4-0) and UC San Francisco (2-3-0). Santa Clara is coming off of two tough losses against solid programs in the Pac-10, No. 5 California and Stanford. “Each game gets tougher and tougher,” Walls said. “It’s great to have the chance to go against some of the best teams in the country. We’re happy with where we’re at and the way we’ve been playing, but we’re not happy with just a little bit of success — we want more.” The Bears return to Providence for a bout with No. 19 Boston University next Wednesday at 7 p.m. before opening up Ivy League play at Columbia Oct. 3.

World & Nation The Brown Daily Herald

Thursday, September 24, 2009 | Page 9

Decision on McChrystal’s troop request not imminent By Karen DeYoung the Washington Post

WASHINGTON — Gen. Stanley McChrystal’s request for more troops and other resources to fund the expanded counterinsurgency campaign he has proposed in Afghanistan will arrive at the Defense Department by the end of this week but will not be immediately turned over to the White House, a Pentagon spokesman said Wednesday. “It is simply premature to consider additional resources until General McChrystal’s assessment has been fully reviewed and discussed by the president and his team,” spokesman Geoff Morrell said. President Obama’s national security team is still in the preliminary stages of considering the Aug. 30 assessment by McChrystal, the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, that the war will probably be lost unless more troops are sent there within the next year. Senior administration officials have said that McChrystal’s report is only one “input” the White House is considering in a more wide-ranging review of strategy, including a possible shift from counterinsurgency in Afghanistan toward stepped-up attacks against al-Qaida in Pakistan and elsewhere.

“There are many other considerations that we have to take into account,” Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said on PBS’s “The NewsHour With Jim Lehrer” on Monday. “There are other assessments from very expert military analysts who have worked in counterinsurgencies that are the exact opposite” of McChrystal’s. Asked about the experts Clinton was referring to, State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said she was making the “broader point” that an ongoing assessment will “involve a range of views — military, civilian and outsiders” and a “Red Team” to probe for weaknesses in official views. Karl Eikenberry, the U.S. ambassador in Kabul, is preparing a separate assessment of Afghanistan’s political future and the controversy surrounding the recent presidential election there. Although President Hamid Karzai has said he won, based on a tally by the country’s electoral commission, international monitors are investigating allegations of widespread fraud. Some administration officials have questioned whether the absence of a legitimate government in Afghanistan should lead to a full-scale reconsideration of the plan for major military and development efforts

Study finds injectable vaccines more effective By Thomas H. Maugh II Los Angeles T imes

Injectable vaccines containing inactivated viruses prevent about 50 percent more seasonal flu in healthy adults than the intranasal vaccine containing a weakened virus, according to a report published online Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine. “We have two effective vaccines,” said Dr. Arnold S. Monto of the University of Michigan, who led the study. “In children, I would prefer FluMist (intranasal vaccine) and in adults, injected, based on the data we have. However, an adult who does not want a shot should take FluMist.” He noted that it is not yet clear whether the findings will hold for the pandemic H1N1 influenza virus, commonly known as the swine flu. FluMist will be the first vaccine available for swine flu, with at least 3.4 million doses arriving around the beginning of October. Overall, FluMist, manufactured by MedImmune Corp. of Gaithersburg, Md., will account for about 42 million of the roughly 270 million doses of swine flu vaccine ordered by the federal government. Multiple studies have shown that the intranasal vaccine works better against seasonal flu in children. Three large head-to-head studies showed that those who received FluMist had 35 percent to 53 percent fewer cases of flu than those who received injectable vaccines. But the results in

adults have been inconsistent, with some studies showing FluMist to be better and others showing injectables to be superior. Researchers at the University of Michigan have spent several years studying the efficacy of the inactivated-virus vaccine, which was developed there by epidemiologist Hunein “John” Massaab. Earlier results suggested that the injectable vaccine was better, but they were not conclusive -- in part because the seasonal flu outbreaks of recent years have been mild. For the latest study, Monto and his colleagues enrolled 1,952 healthy adults in fall 2007. Half were given either FluMist or an injectable vaccine produced by Sanofi-Pasteur, and half were given a placebo. By the end of the January-April 2008 flu season, the injectable vaccine had protected 68 percent of recipients, while the intranasal vaccine had protected 36 percent. Many people believe that even when the vaccine does not prevent infection, it minimizes symptoms. The difference in response between adults and children may offer some hope for use of vaccines against swine flu, according to Monto. The intranasal vaccine must infect the nasal passages to produce a protective immune response. Adults who have been exposed to a variety of influenza viruses probably have more antibodies in their nasal passages than do children who have been exposed to few viruses.

that Obama outlined in March. Obama’s determination not to be rushed in deciding the way forward has led to frustration within the military, where many argue that McChrystal’s request — and trying to reverse the momentum gained by the Taliban this year — is both necessary and urgent. McChrystal, in an interview published on the New York Times Web site Wednesday, rejected reports of a rift between the military and administration civilians on the subject. Asked about rumors that he was considering resigning, which the Times said were being “whispered around the Pentagon,” he said, “I have not considered resigning at all.” While he warned against taking too long, McChrystal said that “a policy debate is warranted. We should not have any ambiguities, as a nation or a coalition.” Gen. David Petraeus, the head of U.S. Central Command, said Wednesday that both he and the Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, Adm. Mike Mullen, had endorsed “General McChrystal’s assessment” of the situation in Afghanistan. Petraeus spoke at a counterinsurgency conference in Washington. Morrell, in a briefing for reporters at the Pentagon, said administration discussions on Afghanistan

were awaiting the return of Obama and other senior officials from the U.N. General Assembly meeting in New York and the Group of 20 summit in Pittsburgh this week. “Once he gets back to town,” Morrell said of the president, “the discussions will resume in earnest ... but without rushing it.” McChrystal compiled his report in two parts: the assessment sent to Washington late last month and the separate request for additional resources that Defense Secretary Robert Gates suggested he withhold until he was asked for it. Morrell said Gates had not yet made up his mind whether he agreed that more troops should be deployed in addition to the 21,000 Obama has already approved. Total U.S. troop strength in Afghanistan is currently scheduled to reach 68,000 by the end of the year. Asked why it made sense for McChrystal to send a resource request based on a strategy that is still under review, Morrell said that any “adjustments” in the strategy may require “adjustments made in terms of what’s required to achieve the mission.” For the moment, he said, McChrystal “is operating under the assumption that his job is to defeat alQaida and use (counterinsurgency) to do it.”

Black church leaders to endorse health care plan By Peter Wallsten Los Angeles T imes

WASHINGTON -- For weeks, President Barack Obama has tried to combat claims that his health care overhaul would mean tax dollars going toward abortions. Thursday, his argument is to receive new support: A group of black church leaders who oppose abortion is set to endorse the president’s health plan. The clergy — led by Bishop Charles Blake, a Los Angeles minister who heads the massive Church of God in Christ — are scheduled to announce their support for the legislation in a news conference Thursday. And they will offer a full embrace of the government-run insurance option that white evangelical leaders and many Republicans have said opens the door to taxpayerfunded abortions. Legislation proposed by House Democrats would require public health care money to be in separate accounts so that only private funds could be used for abortions. Conservatives call that an “accounting scheme.” The black leaders on Thursday are expected to use careful language — echoing Obama’s abortion-funding pledge while cautioning the White House against breaking its promise. “In accord with our commit-

ment to Christian teaching, we wholeheartedly affirm the president’s position that medical costs related to the abortion of fetuses shall not be covered by health care plans funded by this initiative,” Blake will say Thursday, according to an advance copy of his remarks. A leading abortion opponent who has fought against Obama’s health care plan suggested Wednesday that the black ministers might not wind up in the White House’s camp. Douglas Johnson, legislative director for National Right to Life, said the clergy instead should be pressing for legislative amendments that ensure no government money goes toward abortions. “From what the pastors are saying, it sounds like what they want to do is what we want to do — which is to ensure that these new plans not cover elective abortions,” Johnson said. The predominantly black Church of God in Christ is one of the world’s largest Pentecostal denominations, with an estimated 6 million members. Its leadership, including Blake, has been heavily courted over the years by Republicans, such as former President George W. Bush, who viewed them as potential conservative allies because of their views on abortion, gay marriage and embryonic stem cell research.

Parkinson’s drug shows promise By Thomas H. Maugh II Los Angeles T imes

Using a new kind of clinical trial, researchers may have discovered the first drug that can delay the progression of Parkinson’s disease, a disabling and ultimately fatal neurological disorder. Several drugs are available that can mitigate the symptoms of Parkinson’s, but that ver y easing of the symptoms makes it extremely difficult to tell whether the drug is having any permanent effect on the disease itself. To get around that problem, Dr. C. Warren Olanow of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York and his colleagues used an unusual clinical trial design called a delayed-start trial. The idea of the trial is to start two groups of patients on a drug at different times. If the drug is actually delaying the progression of the disease, then the group that gets it later should not receive as great a benefit as those who received it first. Olanow and his colleagues at 129 medical centers in 14 countries studied 1,176 patients with early Parkinson’s disease who had not been given other forms of therapy. Half the patients were given the drug rasagiline (sold under the brand name Azilect by Teva Pharmaceutical Industries of Israel) and half a placebo. After nine months, the group that had been given placebo also was given rasagiline, while those who had received it initially continued to receive it. The team repor ted Wednesday in The New England Journal of Medicine that patients given a 1-milligram dose of the drug for the entire 18 months of the study showed less worsening of the disease in the first nine months. Their symptoms were improved as much as those in the second group during the second nine months of the study. In shor t, they were better off at the end of 18 months than the patients who had received Azilect for only nine months, suggesting that the drug had delayed the course of the disease. “If this can be confirmed, this would be the first drug determined to have a disease-modifying effect in Parkinson’s disease, and that is exciting news for the PD community,” Olanow said. But Olanow noted a complication of the study: Those who received a 2-milligram dose of the drug were, overall, no better after 18 months than those who had received the higher dose for only nine months. He speculated that the reduction of symptoms from the higher dose made it difficult to observe any effects on disease progression.

Editorial & Letters The Brown Daily Herald

Page 10 | Thursday, September 24, 2009

l e t t e r to t h e e d i to r

The truth about Fair Trade To the Editor:

We are writing in response to Will Wray’s ’10 recent column (“Fair by whose rules?” Sept. 17). It contains a number of inaccuracies which need to be corrected. More broadly, though, we want to thank Wray for starting a conversation about Fair Trade. The concept has lost a little vitality over the years, and it needs to be revisited. Fair Trade is far from perfect. In fact, forward-looking coffee companies like Blue State and New Harvest are working hard to develop directsourcing models that reward growers and foster relationships that go far beyond Fair Trade. But Fair Trade has its value, for growers and consumers, and it is important that we understand the facts: “Fair Trade” is not a company, but rather a certification which is administered by TransFair USA, a non-profit agency. TransFair does not sell coffee, but rather certifies that Fair Trade cooperatives get a minimum price for the coffee they produce. The assertion that “only about 10 percent of the premium” consumers pay reaches producers demonstrates a fundamental misunderstanding about how the international coffee market functions. The value of 99 percent of the coffee produced worldwide is determined by the New York “C” price, which changes. The Fair Trade price is fixed, currently at $1.51 per pound. For most of the early part of this decade, the C price was well below $1, and Fair Trade certification was a lifeline for a lot of growers. It was also a lifeline for good coffee. It is true, there is not a direct correlation between Fair Trade and quality,

but one thing is certain: When growers receive a price that is below their cost of production, quality absolutely will suffer. Growing, harvesting and processing coffee at origin is laborintensive, so it is vital for the people who do the work to be compensated at a level that makes it worth the trouble. The only Fair Trade “premium” received by TransFair is paid by roasters like New Harvest. This fee of 10 cents per pound of green coffee purchased is what funds all of TransFair’s marketing expenses. Ultimately, the problem with Fair Trade is not that its certifier has questionable practices. It does good things, but it is rigid. The inspection fee that cooperatives must pay in order to be certified is onerous, and limits Fair Trade status to very large cooperatives. The exclusion of independent farms and small cooperatives is problematic, especially for quality-focused artisan roasters and retailers. Fair Trade played a part in saving good coffee when the C price was disastrously low. For those of us in the artisan sector of the industry, we are grateful. But the search for great coffee is beyond Fair Trade, and that is why we are reaching out to independent farms and small cooperatives to create direct, small-scale relationships based on transparency and sound principles: We want to pay more for consistently spectacular coffee, because it’s the right thing to do and because you get what you pay for. Rik Kleinfeldt MA’90 New Harvest Coffee Roasters Alex Payson ’03.5 Blue State Coffee Sept. 23

t h e b r o w n d a i ly h e r a l d Editor-in-Chief Steve DeLucia

Managing Editors Michael Bechek Chaz Firestone

Deputy Managing Editors Nandini Jayakrishna Franklin Kanin Michael Skocpol

editorial Arts & Culture Editor Ben Hyman Rosalind Schonwald Arts & Culture Editor Features Editor Sophia Li Metro Editor George Miller Metro Editor Joanna Wohlmuth News Editor Seth Motel News Editor Jenna Stark Sports Editor Andrew Braca Asst. Sports Editor Han Cui Asst. Sports Editor Alex Mazerov Graphics & Photos Chris Jesu Lee Graphics Editor Stephen Lichenstein Graphics Editor Eunice Hong Photo Editor Kim Perley Photo Editor Jesse Morgan Sports Photo Editor production Ayelet Brinn Copy Desk Chief Rachel Isaacs Copy Desk Chief Marlee Bruning Design Editor Jessica Calihan Design Editor Anna Migliaccio Asst. Design Editor Julien Ouellet Asst. Design Editor Neal Poole Web Editor Post- magazine Arthur Matuszewski Editor-in-Chief Kelly McKowen Editor-in-Chief

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Opinions Editor Opinions Editor

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Jessica Calihan, Jessica Kirschner, Julien Ouellet, John Walsh, Designers Seth Motel, Adam Rodriguez, Copy Editors

evan donahue and erik stayton

e d i to r i a l

Far from the tree

The political firestorm surrounding the group known as ACORN came to a head last week when both the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives voted over whelmingly to cut off federal funding for the organization. ACORN (which stands for the Association of Community Organizers for Reform Now) faced criticism from across the political spectrum after employees in four different offices were secretly recorded giving tax advice on how to set up a brothel with child prostitutes to journalists posing as a pimp and a prostitute. ACORN has traditionally advocated for lowincome communities, encouraged voter registration and assisted the government in conducting the census. It also offers tax and foreclosure assistance to low-income individuals, and works on a variety of other social issues. The recent actions of the employees caught on tape are beyond reproach, and ACORN has since fired several of them. ACORN also stopped accepting new clients into its programs and on Tuesday announced that the former Attorney General of Massachusetts will conduct an independent investigation and audit. Since ACORN employees acted improperly at four separate offices, we understand the strong impulse to cut off federal funding to the entire organization. Nonetheless, the outcr y in the national political scene and national media does not tell the full stor y. The ACORN office in Providence was not among the four offices where the hidden camera footage was filmed. Since May, the local ACORN chapter has installed smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors and fire extinguishers in 400 homes. And last year, ACORN offered tax assistance to roughly 200 low-income Rhode Island residents. As a result, these residents received a net total of over $500,000 in tax rebates.

Given these facts, we are disappointed in Governor Donald Carcieri ’65 for going along with the prevailing national attitude and adopting a harsh stance towards ACORN. Last Friday, Carcieri ordered all state agencies to cease any payments to the Rhode Island chapter of ACORN and asked the state board of elections to investigate if ACORN has used taxpayer money illegally to support a political agenda. Mimi Ramos, Regional Head Organizer for ACORN Massachusetts and Rhode Island said that the organization does not receive any state funding in an e-mail to the board. Carcieri’s office, however, would not confirm this. The Rhode Island ACORN chapter is not the only local ACORN operation to fall prey to empty political posturing. In Louisiana, Governor Bobby Jindal ’91.5 issued a similar order barring state funds to ACORN, while the Louisiana State Division of Administration acknowledged that the state had no existing contracts with ACORN. It is unfortunate that Carcieri did not use this opportunity to distinguish the local ACORN chapter from the handful of employees at other ACORN chapters that have embarrassed the organization. We hope that the state will pick up the slack while ACORN curtails its ser vices. If Carcieri’s investigation does not reveal any wrongdoing, we hope the governor will publicly acknowledge that the Rhode Island ACORN chapter was not involved in any of the scandals surrounding other chapters. Organizations that receive taxpayer dollars should be subject to a high level of scrutiny. At the same time, an organization that helps low-income citizens should not be reduced to a political punching bag as soon as controversy erupts. Editorials are written by The Herald’s editorial page board. Send comments to editorials@browndailyherald.

Sydney Ember, Lauren Fedor, George Miller, Kyla Wilkes, Night Editors Senior Staff Writers Dan Alexander, Emma Berry, Mitra Anoushiravani, Ellen Cushing, Sydney Ember, Lauren Fedor, Nicole Friedman, Britta Greene, Sarah Husk, Brian Mastroianni, Hannah Moser, Ben Schreckinger, Anne Simons, Anne Speyer, Alex Ulmer, Suzannah Weiss, Kyla Wilkes Staff Writers Zunaira Choudhary, Chris Duffy, Nicole Dungca, Juliana Friend, Cameron Lee, Christian Martell, Heeyoung Min, Seth Motel, Jyotsna Mullur, Lauren Pischel, Leslie Primack, Anne Speyer, Alexandra Ulmer, Kyla Wilkes Senior Business Associates Max Barrows, Jackie Goldman, Margaret Watson, Ben Xiong Business Associates Diahndra Burman, Stassia Chyzhykova, Caroline Dean, Marco deLeon, Katherine Galvin, Bonnie Kim, Maura Lynch, Cathy Li, Allen McGonagill, Liana Nisimova, Thanases Plestis, Agathe Roncey, Corey Schwartz, William Schweitzer, Kenneth So, Evan Sumortin, Haydar Taygun, Anshu Vaish, Webber Xu, Lyndse Yess Design Staff Gili Kliger, Jessica Kirschner, John Walsh, Kate Wilson, Qian Yin Photo Staff Qidong Chen, Janine Cheng, Alex DePaoli, Frederic Lu, Quinn Savit, Min Wu Copy Editors Sara Chimene-Weiss, Sydney Ember, Lauren Fedor, Miranda Forman, Casey Gaham, Anna Jouravleva, Geoffrey Kyi, Frederic Lu, Jordan Mainzer, Kelly Mallahan, Madeleine Rosenberg

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Opinions The Brown Daily Herald

Thursday, September 24, 2009 | Page 11

The secret life of atheists at Brown BY MICHAEL FITZPATRICK Opinions Columnist In a recent column (“The secret life of Catholics at Brown”, Sept. 17), Herald columnist Kate Fritzsche ’10 lamented the poor treatment of Catholic students and Christians in general by their atheist peers within the Brown community. As a closed-minded, disrespectful, Bible-burning atheist, I’d like to apologize on behalf of my fellow nonbelievers for our offensive, intolerant behavior. In her column, Fritzsche claims that it’s always been cool to be non-religious at Brown. The fact of the matter is, it’s all an act — a performance, if you will. We pretend to be cool and sophisticated because we are subconsciously quite insecure. We’ve secretly wanted to be friends with Christians, but we’ve often found it difficult to express ourselves in a way that isn’t outright offensive to religious folk. So, if we ask you why you’re fasting for Ash Wednesday, we aren’t trying to ridicule you — we want to know if you’ll let us fast with you, because we know that all the cool kids are fasting these days. I will admit, these petty rationalizations are no excuse for our misconduct. We really do have a lot for which to apologize. For one, it isn’t fair for atheists to stereotype Christians when the stereotyping could just as easily go the other way around. Not all Christians are conservatives, but not all atheists are liberals. Some of us firmly believe in the virtues of the

free market system, but we are marginalized because “atheists don’t have beliefs.” I can’t tell you how many times I’ve cried myself to sleep over that fact. Other stereotypes are not as forgiving: atheists go out of their way to get attention because they need it; atheists actually do believe in God, but just really like flirting with damnation; atheists can recite passages from “The God Delusion” the same way Christians quote Scripture. Each one

have “Paradise Lost”, “Mere Christianity” and the Bible banned from the English department, all of the libraries and the shelves of the Brown bookstore. We’re very sorry for that. And speaking of classes, we would take more courses in religious studies if we could, but you know how nervous we get about taking humanities classes — without numerical data and objective analysis, the withered husks that are our souls may be exposed to

As a closed-minded, disrespectful, Bible-burning atheist, I’d like to apologize on behalf of my fellow nonbelievers for our offensive, intolerant behavior. of them is more bogus than the last. But when righteous, honorable men like former President George H. W. Bush and Charles “Chuck” Norris proclaim that atheists are unpatriotic, I still die a little on the inside. I also apologize for our irrational fear that Christian teachings will pollute our scholarly pursuits. This really is inexcusable. If Christian students are willing to study secular philosophy, evolution and physics, then atheist students should be willing to stomach a biblical reference or two in their English classes. It’s a shame that we lobbied to

the beauty that is the human spirit and we may be forced to confront the starkness of our godless existence. But it’s not just the academics department in which Brown University is obscenely biased against its religious students, especially its Christians. Come to think of it, Brown really doesn’t offer enough programs and student groups targeted specifically at Christian students to promote solidarity and celebrate their religious views. It just isn’t fair for Christians’ selection of student associations to be limited to Athletes in Action,

the Branch Christian Ministry, the Catholic Pastoral Council, Brown Christian Fellowship, College Hill for Christ, the Orthodox Christian Fellowship, the Reformed University Fellowship, the Unified Christian Body and the Brown Unitarian Universalist Undergraduate Group. On the other hand, atheists have an entire figurative buffet line of student organizations from which to choose: Brown Freethought, Brown Freethought, Brown Freethought and Brown Freethought, to name a few. If the University permitted us to start a chapter of the Agnostic and Atheist Student Association, well … that would just add insult to injury! Ultimately, Brown University is a privileged place for those of us who happen to be atheist. We have certainly thrived in our patch of fertile ground. But there has to be room on the quad for students of all religious backgrounds: atheists, Christians, Muslims, Jews and even Scientologists. After all, our motto is “In Deo Speramus” — despite the fact that some of us don’t exactly “speramus” in “Deo.” I suppose my point to the Christians is that, if you would be willing to forgive us, we’d love to have lunch with you at the Ratty sometime. If you save a seat for me, I’ll save a seat for God.

Michael Fitzpatrick ’12 swears that he does not burn Bibles. He can be contacted at michael_fitzpatrick@brown.edu

Much ado about nothing BY IVY CHANG Opinions Columnist Just as the “birther” craze has begun to die down, President Obama must face yet another sensationalist rumor ­— one that his detractors have taken up as a rallying cry. Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin and other conservatives caution that Obama is seeking to create “death panels” for government rationing of health care. Palin warns that our beloved grandparents and disabled children could be forced to face the panels and be evaluated “subjectively” on whether or not they deserve treatment. This rumor is understandably a source of protest for those who actually believe it. However, it is nothing but a misunderstanding of proposed funding for Medicare-covered end-of-life counseling. Patients who opt for counseling would be informed of their options concerning endof-life services, such as hospice care. These services simply allow patients to authorize living wills, which will sometimes ask doctors and families to cease treatment in certain conditions. Since Obama’s opponents have been trying to stir fears of government-enforced euthanasia since the election, the truth about end-of-life counseling is more than often pushed aside in favor of exaggeration. Conservatives criticize any health care bill that would include physician-assisted suicide, euthanasia or funding for family

planning. This summer’s counseling proposal seemed to be proof that Big Government was willing to do anything to cut health care costs. It is worth noting that the closest thing we have to an actual “death panel” was signed into law by former President George W. Bush as governor of Texas. The controversial Advance Directives Act, also known as the Texas Futile Care Law, gives hospitals authority over patients or their families in deciding when treatment has become “fu-

cedures for their patients as they get sicker. But by 2018, spending on health care is expected to nearly double, costing an unsustainable one-fifth of the GDP. We have more expensive health care than any other industrialized nation, and yet still place last in preventable death rankings. The problem — according to Dr. Elliott Fisher, a professor at Dartmouth Medical School, in a Sept. 12 Newsweek article — is not rationing of care but rather “unnecessary and unwanted care.” He added that people in the U.S.

Medicare cost-cutting is an undeniably prickly subject, but it can’t be avoided for much longer.

tile.” Ironically, Palin promoted advance directives as governor in a proclamation that is on the State of Alaska’s Web site. It’s quite obvious now, if it wasn’t before, that Palin either has a terrible memory, doesn’t write her own material or both. Medicare cost-cutting is an undeniably prickly subject, but it can’t be avoided for much longer. Medicare makes up over 20 percent of national health spending, and a third of that is spent on patients in end-oflife treatments. Medicare pays by service, and doctors naturally will order more pro-

are overtreated by about 30 percent. Massachusetts, which has mandated health insurance since 2006 as an experimental trial of sorts for universal health care, currently suffers from ballooning insurance premiums. This is due in part to increased hospital visits by the elderly and physician demand for expensive treatments. We should not let the government define “unnecessary” care, if the overwhelmingly negative response to Britain’s National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence is any indication.

But it is unfortunate that we are incapable of discussing end-of-life counseling without arousing irrational paranoia about “death panels.” A study in the Archives of Internal Medicine reveals that physician counseling sessions with patients reduce health care costs by up to 35 percent. Cost-cutting benefits aside, providing patients with information about their choices in every aspect of health care is an extremely important and often overlooked aspect of the doctor-patient relationship. Hospice care, as opposed to hospital stays, is sorely under-used. While 70 percent of people state a wish to die at home, about 50 percent spend their last days in hospitals undergoing life-sustaining treatment. Hospice care has been proven to increase quality of life and even prolong life. How can patients ensure that they can spend their last days comfortable and painfree according to their wishes, rather than continuing treatment? By writing out living wills, with the help of end-of-life counseling. As they near their final years, many people do not view death as something to be feared and avoided. It is important to remember, especially in arguments about health care, that patients should always be allowed the dignity of making informed choices.

Ivy Chang ’10 is a human biology concentrator from Los Angeles, California. She can be reached at ivy_chang@brown.edu.

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Brown University l September 24, 2009 l Volume 10 l Issue 14

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Tartuffe

Sept. 23- oct. 4. ● leeds

Keys, Triple Higher Jabberwocks, Threat Ursa Minors

c a l e n da r Today, September 24

friday, september 25

7 pm — Community Service Opportunities Fair, Sayles Hall

3 PM — Audition for “Doris to Darlene!” Stuart Theatre

8 pm — Brown University Theatre presents Tartuffe, Leeds Theatre

8 pm — “Katrina, Katrina” Fundraiser for New Orleans, Salomon 101

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Fri. 9:30 p.m. ● macmillian 117

Body Chemistry

Sat. 10 p.m- 2 a.m.. ● aePi

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Brown Taiwan Society Nightmarket

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Sayles ● 8 - 11 p.m.

Brown Dems Luncheon

menu Sharpe Refectory

Verney-Woolley Dining Hall

Lunch — Vegan Tofu Raviolis with Sauce, Grilled Ham and Swiss Sandwich, Savory Spinach

Lunch — Hot Roast Beef on French Bread, Baked Macaroni and Cheese, Summer Squash

Dinner — Butternut Squash Formato, Roast Turkey with Sauce, Stuffing

Dinner — Meatloaf with Mushroom Sauce, Tomato Quiche, Black and White Pudding Cake

comics Cabernet Voltaire | Abe Pressman

RELEASE DATE– Thursday, September 24, 2009

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

ACROSS 1 One with a code name, perhaps 4 Strokes on a green 9 Terrible 14 What the Mad Hatter served 15 Apple’s instant messaging software 16 No longer tied up 17 Uncooked 18 Barton of the Red Cross 19 Divided country 20 See 48-Down 23 Piano part 24 Bando of baseball 25 Airport waiter 28 Sheds feathers 32 Stereotypical eye patch wearer 34 Start of an order to an attack dog 37 Partner of woes 39 Fed. org. concerned with workplace woes 40 See 48-Down 44 Ill-advised 45 Pageant topper 46 Old draft org. 47 Clothes 50 Slow mover 52 Canada’s smallest prov. 53 Fashionable boot brand 55 Starbucks offering 59 See 48-Down 64 Descendant 66 Walking __: euphoric 67 Whatever 68 Fill with wonder 69 Three-card scam 70 Cocktail party bowlful 71 Chair craftsperson 72 Wrapped up 73 Va. clock setting DOWN 1 Vegas attraction, with “the” 2 Treaty subject 3 Went off course, at sea 4 Burglar 5 Golden State sch.

6 “All __ Jazz”: Fosse film 7 Empty truck’s weight 8 Wild guesses 9 Acid neutralizer 10 Fireside stack 11 Weather Channel offerings 12 Take advantage of 13 Grazing site 21 Golf legend Snead 22 Once around the track 26 Pal of Aramis 27 Nursery rhyme trio 29 Fond du __, Wisconsin 30 Horse’s gait 31 Big rigs 33 Louis XIV, to his subjects 34 Subway rider’s aid 35 Hot under the collar 36 Spanish dialect that’s now standard 38 Period of time 41 Greek X

42 Paleozoic __ 43 Fitted, as a suit 48 Ball carrier, and clue for 20-, 40and 59-Across 49 “Which came first?” item 51 Judge’s concern 54 Travelocity mascot 56 Stock market transaction 57 North African capital

58 Exodus locale 60 Seep 61 Any minute now, to a bard 62 “The Fountainhead” author 63 Baptism or bar mitzvah, e.g. 64 Anatomical pouch 65 Nashville awards gp.

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