Friday, October 2, 2009

Daily Herald the Brown

vol. cxliv, no. 77 | Friday, October 2, 2009 | Serving the community daily since 1891

Tuition surplus fast-tracks Faunce

By Brigitta Greene Senior Staf f Writer

Claire Huang / Herald

Students, workers and supporters rallied Thursday on the Main Green in support of dining services workers.

Ralliers turn out for BDS worker benefits

By Sydney Ember Senior Staf f Writer

With University Hall as their backdrop and repeated chants of “health care now,” nearly 200 students, Brown Dining Ser vices workers and local supporters rallied Thursday afternoon against proposed changes to the workers’ health care contribution requirements.

The protest, which also took

For wideout, URI rivalry is personal

By Dan alexander senior staf f writer

Star wide receiver Bobby Sewall ’10 used to root against Brown football. Growing up, he went to the annual games between Brown and

Sports the University of Rhode Island with his mom, a URI graduate, cheered for her alma mater and wondered if he could one day play in a game like that.

Now he has — three times. But he has zero wins against the Rams to show for it, and when the Bears host their rivals from Kingston this weekend, the game will be Sewall’s last chance to beat the team he used to root for.

“It would be nice to end that with a win,” he said.

inside

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News.....1-4 Ar ts.......5 Editorial....6 Opinion.....7 Today........8

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up the cause of national health care reform, came as contract negotiations begin between the University and the union representing BDS workers. The current contract is set to expire Oct. 12.

“Right now, all BDS workers have affordable health care, and Brown wants to change that,” said Roxana Rivera, chief negotiator and director of the local chapter of the Ser vice Employees Inter-

national Union, which represents all of the roughly 200 Dining Services workers.

Under the current contract, BDS workers each pay 6 percent of their health care premiums.

The University, concerned about rapidly rising costs, has proposed replacing the system with a “sliding scale,” which would have some workers pay greater premiums accontinued on page 4

A newly renovated Faunce House is on track to re-open by the time students arrive on campus next fall, earlier than originally planned, due to an unexpected surplus in net tuition income, administrators said.

Construction on the new Stephen Robert ’62 Campus Center in Faunce was previously slated for completion no earlier than December 2010.

The accelerated timetable was made possible by a surprise windfall — the University ended last year with a surplus of about $2 million in net tuition income because enrollment was higher than expected, according to Beppie Huidekoper, executive vice president for finance and administration.

The extra funds, a fiscal bright spot even as the University prepares to find $30 million in secondround budget cuts this fall, will cover the increased costs associated with speeding up the project, said Stephen Maiorisi, vice president for facilities management.

Administrators decided to allocate the surplus to a project that

would benefit the students who made it possible, Huidekoper said told the Brown University Community Council last week.

Officials said it is unclear exactly how much additional cost will be associated with the accelerated timetable, or how the University will make up any discrepancy between the tuition surplus and the ultimate added costs to the project.

Increased overtime compensation and fewer opportunities for competitive bidding will account for much of the extra cost, Maiorisi said.

In another time-saving measure, the University will depart slightly from its usual policy of finalizing all written plans before starting a project, and instead will begin construction on the interior space before finishing plans for some final details, such as layout and furnishing, Maiorisi said.

In accelerating the timeline, University planners made no major changes to the original design, he added.

The renovated campus center will include space for a Student Activities Of fice and increased continued on page 3

Night at the Derby: Jammers, skaters and sass

By Talia Kagan Staff Writer

SPOTLIGHT

Papa’s money and Mama’s sass weren’t enough to stop the radioactive, mutated sewer rats.

Put more conventionally: The previously undefeated Old Money Honeys lost to the league underdog, the Sakonnet Sewer Rats, at the Providence Roller Derby Championship Bout last Friday evening.

Sports teams don’t normally employ such colorful taglines, but women’s roller derby doesn’t quite fit the mold for run-of-the mill athletic competition. In Friday night’s game, a player was on the floor within 10 seconds — the night’s first casualty in the high-speed contact sport.

In roller derby, two teams skate around a track, and each team’s “jammer” attempts to score points by passing members of the other team.

“It’s kind of like a race, but it’s a race between a group of people, and they’re trying to knock you down,” said derby announcer Jeff “Reverend Almighty” O’Neill.

On Friday night, the two teams’ players whipped around the track at the Kennedy Plaza Bank of America City Center, shouldering each other and even colliding in front of an audience that included as many families with toddlers as it did punk rockers.

Only a decade ago, modern roller derby emerged from a punk, alternative subculture, but in recent years its popularity has grown — Rhode Island Monthly recently recognized the league with an award for “Best Role Model for Young Girls.” Roller derby’s longtime players expect Friday’s release of “Whip It,” a film starring Ellen Page as a novice roller girl, to bring the sport even more national attention.

Roller derby “went from just one league in Austin, Texas, in 2001 to, we think, over 400 leagues internationally,” said Juliana Gonzales, executive director of the Women’s continued on page 4

Talia Kagan / Herald

“Momma Lou Screw” keeps an eye on the proceedings at the Providence Roller Derby Championships, where even the referees get a little zany.

News, 3

Arts, 5

Opinions, 7

Faunce art Three alums vie to have their art work displayed in the new campus center

CAVE man Ben Nicholson ’11 heads to the CAVE for his Samuel Beckett response

Minor discord Susannah Kroeber ’11 argues that Brown should offer minor degrees

195 Angell Street, Providence, Rhode Island

herald@browndailyherald.com

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With $5.2m grant in hand, prof. to map Samoan genes Sara Luxenberg Contributing Writer

Professor of Community Health and Anthropology Stephen McGarvey has researched the intersection of genetics and lifestyle in Samoa and American Samoa for more than 30 years. Now, armed with a $5.2 million National Institutes of Health grant that will enable him to map 1 million sites on the genome, McGarvey is set to head back to the islands to conduct a more extensive study of Samoans’ health problems, including obesity, diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular disease.

Conditions such as obesity and diabetes “have a genetic level of influence,” McGarvey said. But these genetic influences “interact in ways we don’t exactly understand” with lifestyle choices such as diet, exercise, alcohol consumption and smoking, he added.

Samoa’s “genetic homogeneity” and socioeconomic diversity — some parts of the archipelago are rural while others have become more modernized — are ideal for these two areas of research, McGarvey said.

Because the rates of obesity and related problems are high in the Samoan population, McGarvey said he originally expected to find a specific genetic variation in his research subjects. But the variations he found exist among other world populations as well.

“The genotyping adds to what we already know,” McGarvey said of genetic susceptibility to weight-related conditions. “Even if you do live a moderate lifestyle, there may be some ge-

netic variations that increase your risk and you need to be careful.”

The Samoan people are becoming “increasingly aware of these health problems,” he said, and “people are very enthusiastic to participate” in the studies.

But the immediate future and timeline of the project might be in limbo in the wake of a deadly tsunami that hit the Samoas this week.

“We don’t know yet what the impact on the starting of the project will be,” McGarvey said, adding that he has been unable to communicate with the Samoan side of his research team to find out whether it is safe. “Life and limb is more important than science at this point.”

Though he will work with a team of American researchers, McGarvey said he will need the help of the local team supplied by the Samoan government.

As he only knows “the pleasantries” in Samoan, the locals will be essential for conducting interviews.

The five-year study funded by the new grant will go beyond McGarvey’s previous work, mainly because it will make use of “rapid advances in genomic technology,” McGarvey said.

In previous studies, he was only able to genotype 360 loci, or locations on the genome. Now his team hopes to genotype 1 million loci.

McGarvey said his lifestyle surveys will also be more thorough this time around.

For now, McGarvey will wait for the Samoan government’s approval to begin his research.

“I am a partner with the government of Samoa, so I will take my direction from them,” he said.

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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 each members of the community.

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Friday, October 2, 2009

“Life and limb is more important than science.”

— Stephen McGarvey, community health and anthropology professor

Designers converge for change

By Julia Kim Contributing Writer

Artists, academics and engineers from across disciplines will come together on College Hill this weekend to discuss the role of design in sparking social change.

Panelists from around the world will discuss creative solutions to sustainable agriculture, architecture in the developing world and the future of transportation at the second annual conference organized by Brown and Rhode Island School of Design students.

Titled “A Better World by Design,” the event was first organized last year by Steve Daniels ’10, Sharon Langevin ’09 GS and two RISD students from the class of 2009, Tino Chow and Mike Eng, as a “one-time event.”

“One of the things that really impressed me was the range of the people that were brought in,” said Kurt Teichert, a lecturer in environmental studies who attended part of last year’s conference. Teichert also praised the “broad concept of design” around which the event was structured.

Willem Van Lancker, a RISD senior and one of the chief organizers of this year’s conference, said society’s definition of design needs to be more holistic.

“The future of design does not lie in physical objects, but rather (in)

the experience and transformation of designing communities,” he said.

Christopher Bull, a senior research engineer and senior lecturer at Brown who moderated a panel at last year’s conference, said “numbers are up” in registration and there is a “different cast of characters” from last year’s conference, but the overarching idea remains the same. Bull will moderate a panel this year about “appropriate technology,” or how simple technology can improve the lives of the poor worldwide.

The speakers this weekend include architects, designers, engineers, CEOs, a former Brazilian governor and professors from RISD, Johns Hopkins University, Carnegie Mellon University and California College of Arts.

The keynote address will be delivered today at 2 p.m. by Jan Chipchase, former principal engineer of the Nokia Research Center. He is scheduled to talk about his research on the use of mobile technologies to connect people in an “ever-fragmented world.” The Finland-based Nokia Corporation is the world’s largest provider of mobile phones, a technology fast becoming central to development.

On Saturday, the conference will host a “one-hour design challenge,” in which participants will work together to generate a so-

lution to an important problem.

The event will be co-sponsored

by Core77, an industrial design blog.

Closing the conference will be RISD President John Maeda, a world-renowned graphic designer, artist and computer scientist who writes about simplicity and the digital age. Van Lancker said Maeda, in his first year as president, was a proponent of students’ activism and involvement in bringing about social change.

Though the highlights of the conference may be the international speakers and the wide array of disciplines represented, Van Lancker said “it hits at something much larger than that.” The real importance of the conference lies in the collaboration between the Brown, RISD and Providence communities, he said.

According to Ambika Roos ’11, a member of the conference’s organizing committee, the event was not only planned by Brown and RISD students, it was largely financed by money students raised themselves. “A lot of people talk about collaboration, but we’re really doing it,” Roos said.

Bull said he hoped the energy of last year’s conference would be matched by this weekend’s event.

“If we can meet or beat that level, it would be a huge success,” he said.

Governor’s Cup up for grabs on Sat. continued from page 1 Win or lose, he’s come along way. Sewall’s mom will sit on the Brown side of the stands on Saturday.

And, he said, she’s “got all of the Brown gear now.”

A rivalry that runs deep As if his childhood fandom weren’t enough, Sewall has another reason to want a win against the Rams on Saturday. Sewall, a Rhode Island native, was recruited by both Brown and URI. URI of fered him a full-ride scholarship, but Sewall chose Brown anyway. A quarterback in high school, Sewall was recruited

by Brown to play wide receiver. He said he wanted to be in a spread offense, where a receiver could make a real impact.

“At Brown, you can play topnotch football and get a top-notch education,” Sewall added.

James Perry, the team’s recruiting coordinator and quarterbacks coach, said almost ever y high school player recruited by Brown is also recruited by URI. “I think we both work hard to do well in recruiting in our own backyard,” Perr y said. “When there are Division I-caliber football players in the state, we’re both on them.”

It’s only once a year that the rivalry shifts from high schoolers’

living rooms to the playing field — kickoff is Saturday at 12:30.

“Even if you have a down season, but you beat Brown, it still is a sense of accomplishment,” said URI tight end Dave Wilson.

Playing against a pass-first offense and an aggressive defense, the Bears will face a team that, in many ways, looks similar to them.

“The biggest stat that sticks out in my mind ... is that they have created 17 fumbles,” said Head Coach Phil Estes, referring to URI’s defense. “They make a tackle — it’s a gang tackle and they’re trying to strip the football.”

Brown has forced and recovered three fumbles in its two games, and no one has forced a fumble against the Bears this season.

Both teams run a spread offense, and the quarterbacks may have tired arms by the end of the game. Kyle Newhall ’11 and URI quarterback Chris Paul-Etienne are both in their first year as starters.

In two outings, Newhall has thrown for four touchdowns, three interceptions and an average of 246 yards per game.

One of his favorite targets on Saturday should be Sewall, who scored all of Brown’s touchdowns last week against Har vard, two rushing and one receiving. Buddy Farnham ’10, who leads the Bears’

receiving corps with 18 catches and 156 yards, should also get plenty of touches.

In his first three games under center, Paul-Etienne, a transfer from Rutgers, has thrown for an average of 156.7 yards per game with three touchdowns and three interceptions for the Rams.

“We do run the ball,” Wilson said. “But our main threat on offense is through the air.”

Paul-Etienne throws to a number of different receivers. After three games, no one on the team has more than nine receptions, and 13 different Rams have at least one catch.

Against an offense that passes often, Brown’s secondary should be tested. In last week’s loss to Harvard, cornerback David Clement ’10 nearly shut down preseason All-American receiver Matt Luft.

Russell Leedy ’11 and A.J. Cruz ’13, who split time at the other corner, will likely see more balls thrown to their side.

It will be a former Brown defensive back, R.I. Gov. Donald Carcieri ’65, who will present the Governor’s Cup to the winning team at the end of the game.

“I’m sure Gov. Carcieri isn’t so happy that the last three years he has been handing the trophy, as a Brown grad, over to the URI coaches,” Estes said. “We’re going to do our best to make sure that thing comes back to Providence.”

Friday, October 2, 2009

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“The meaning shouldn’t hit you over the head.”

— Dave Cole ’00, finalist for Faunce art selection

Alum art to adorn new Faunce

By Jenna Steckel Contributing Writer

When Faunce House re-opens next fall after intensive renovations, students will have more than just comfy chairs and focaccia sandwiches to feast their senses on. The new Stephen Robert ’62 Campus Center in Faunce will become home to an original piece of art by a Brown alum.

Which alum — and what piece — will be decided by the University’s Public Art Committee, a group of faculty and alums that is responsible for bringing works of art for public display on campus.

Each new or renovated building on campus has 1 percent of its budget allotted for art, said Jo-Ann Conklin, a memberof the committee. The committee meets with the architect to discuss locations within the building to place pieces, compile lists of artists whose work would be appropriate for the space and consider the direction and placement of the work once chosen.

In selecting a piece for Faunce, Conklin said the committee feels that “because this was a student center, it would be great to have work by past students.” Faculty members nominated 20 former students, which the committee narrowed to a list of four, three of whom have agreed to submit proposals later this month.

The three finalists — Dave Cole ’00, Nina Katchadourian ’89 and Sarah Oppenheimer ’95 — are all contemporary artists who are considered innovative in both message and media.

“Brown has a smart, inquisitive student body,” Conklin said. “In order to make the art excite and be pertinent to them, the more contemporary the better.”

Regardless of which proposal the committee picks, the art greeting students each day in Faunce is unlikely to be considered traditional in either presentation or material. Cole is known for his giant knits — produced using such varied improvised knitting needles as loaded shotguns or electric utility poles maneuvered by John Deere excavators — and his commentary on American nationalism and militarism.

Katchadourian, whom Conklin described as “the most eclectic” of the three, said she lets the idea determine the medium she uses for each piece. Her work ranges from genealogical charts of grocery brand characters to subtle alterations of pre-existing natural settings.

Oppenheimer works within a building’s structure to recast the view a passerby is afforded, framing it with sculpted wooden panels.

Her work distorts perception and creates a view that becomes a second piece of art in itself, Conklin said.

But the circumstances of this particular commission are unique, those involved said.

“Often, a building hasn’t even

been built yet” when a request for a piece comes in, Katchadourian said. “Faunce is a building I know really, really well.”

Cole also recalled his time spent in Faunce during his years at Brown as memorable.

“I remember Faunce being a somewhat threadbare, aging place where I had a lot of amazing conversations with amazing people,” he said.

Katchadourian said that while the Van Wickle Gates are the more symbolic entrance to the campus, Faunce is “the practical, lived, actual entrance” as well as “the student hub of campus.”

Cole credited Brown with encouraging his interest in art, and said he is excited to have an opportunity to present the school with a piece that reflects its impact on his work.

“Brown made me a smarter artist,” Cole said. “The intellectual complexity that I find so important in my work, I trace back to Brown.

In order for me to feel good about my contribution to that environment, I would want it to be equally complex.”

Katchadourian, who both attended and taught art classes at Brown, also said the mindset she developed on College Hill continues to inform her work.

“Brown’s extremely interdisciplinary approach to things has always been a good fit for me and how I work as an artist,” she said. “I have an idea and figure out the best way to bring that idea to life. That seems to me to be a very Brown approach to things.”

In preparing her proposal, Katchadourian said, she has been re-reading journals she kept as a student. She said she was struck by her questions to herself in the

journal and began “feeling that it would be nice to have someone older and more experienced to offer guidance.” From this theme, she decided to craft a sound-based piece dealing with the theme of advice.

“It’s a fascinating medium,” she said. “People come to an art experience often expecting a visual experience,” but sound pieces “engage another sense.” The piece she will propose “is subtle in its physical presence. It’s not going to announce itself. Students will end up encountering the work in a rather intimate way, probably one-on-one.”

Cole said he has a tentative idea of what he will propose, but that it could still all change at the last second.

Creating something that will be permanent and encountered on a daily basis has proven to be its own challenge, both Cole and Katchadourian agreed.

“The most successful pieces of public art are accessible enough for the casual viewer but simultaneously sophisticated enough to bring something new to people who see it every day,” Cole said. “The meaning shouldn’t hit you over the head.

Rather, it should be the work of a lifetime to unpack its meaning.”

With an original piece of art engaging, watching over or whispering advice to them, Cole said he hopes students passing through the new Faunce House will encounter a space both comfortable and creatively charged.

“The most important moments of intellectual curiosity and development happen outside the classroom,” Cole said. “By creating a comfortable environment in the center of campus, it will do a lot to create those moments.”

Faunce renovations accelerated by surplus

Nicholas Sinnott-Armstrong / Herald

continued from page 1 meeting space for student organizations. Revamped spaces for the Blue Room Cafe, Leung Gallery and the Underground will be accessible through a new side entrance beneath a remodeled Faunce Arch.

Plans for the project were un-

veiled in the spring, and construction began during the summer.

Most of Faunce is closed and will remain so throughout the current academic year. The Blue Room Cafe has remained open, temporarily relocated to the basement space that formerly housed the University mail room.

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Rally for BDS workers draws 200 continued from page 1

cording to their salaries.

Protestors said Thursday that the University was attempting to make workers shoulder the burden of the depleted endowment.

“Who lost the money for our endowment? It probably has something to do with the people managing the money, not the people that they’re now trying to make pay for the money that was lost,” Lindsay Goss GS, a member of Brown’s International Socialist Organization, said at the rally. “We’re going to have to fight, we’re going to have to demand what we want from them.”

Despite the protesters’ objections to the University’s proposal, Joseph Sarno ’91, director of labor relations, told The Herald Thursday evening that the “sliding scale” provision is already in place for Brown’s non-union faculty and staff.

Sarno characterized the outcry against the sliding scale proposal as a product of misunderstanding, saying it was important to educate workers about the benefits of the proposed system.

Though the economy has soured since the last negotiation with BDS workers in 2006, compensating for endowment losses was not the University’s goal in

negotiations, Sarno said. Similar health care changes, he noted, were proposed three years ago.

“Whenever you negotiate a contract, the financial climate is a factor,” he said. “We’re all part of the same community, and we all want to work together.”

So far, he said, the negotiators have not formally discussed wage freezes or reducing benefits for senior BDS members.

Workers were skeptical of the University’s stance.

At Thursday’s rally, Claudia Rojas, lead food ser vice worker at the Faculty Club, stood on the steps of University Hall with her 14-year-old daughter.

She told the crowd about her struggle to support her parents, who suffer from diabetes, and her daughter, who has asthma. Often, she must forgo nights out at the movies and meals at restaurants because she must buy medication, she said.

“I like my job at Brown and get to meet a lot of people and take care of them, but I worr y about having to pay more for health care,” Rojas said. “It will force me to have to make difficult choices that no mother wants to make and that concern will only grow” if the proposals make their way into the renewed contract.

Like Rojas, many BDS work-

ers used their usual breaks from work to attend the rally, said Rocio Saenz, president of the union’s local chapter, prompting cheers from the audience.

Ward 1 City Councilman Seth Yurdin, a Democrat, also addressed the workers. “There was a time when health care was provided as benefits for all fulltime workers,” Yurdin said. “Now, we’re looking at steps back from that.”

Workers are forced to make the greatest sacrifice when they are asked to bear the brunt of health insurance costs, said Yurdin, whose ward includes Fox Point and most of Brown’s campus.

Brown’s Student Labor Alliance, Students for a Democratic Society and Real Food at Brown helped organize the rally, along with Rhode Island Jobs with Justice and local unions.

“What we want to show is basically a show of student support for this issue,” Baird Bream, said a spokesman for the Student Labor Alliance. The rally, he said, was meant to spark a dialogue about health care reform and address “an issue of basic human rights.”

“It’s about the right to be compensated and be supported in the job you take,” he said.

Friday, October 2, 2009

“Every girl likes to play dress-up.”

— Lisa Dabrow, rollerderby participant

Prov. Roller Derby: pizzazz on eight wheels continued from page 1 Flat Track Derby Association and skater for the Texas Roller Girls.

“When I started skating in 2002, I could reach out and touch all the roller derby skaters in the entire country,” she said.

WFTDA, as it is known, is a volunteer-run organization that standardizes local competitions. When it was founded in 2004, WFTDA comprised 30 leagues. That number that has more than doubled, and Gonzales predicts that in the next several years, it will have over 200.

The organization’s amateur, do-ityourself nature is an institutional core value, Gonzales said, and a reason why leagues must be democratically elected in order to join WFTDA. In addition, eligibility rules state that 67 percent of a league’s management and a majority of its owners must be skaters, “whether active, injured or retired,” according to WFTDA’s Web site.

Of the over 5,000 WFTDA skaters, roughly 200 take an active volunteer role in running the organization, Gonzales said. “Our motto is by the skaters, for the skaters,” she added.

Individual leagues vary dramatically, according to Gonzales, and range from teams that play in sports arenas in St. Paul, Minn., to ones that play in abandoned warehouses in Sacramento.

Superheroes on wheels The non-profit Providence league was founded in 2004 by Sarah “Doom” Kingan ’02 and has grown to include three at-home and two nationally competitive teams.

It is often the competitive, athletic aspect of roller derby that surprises casual spectators, said many Providence skaters.

Roller derby is the “most physically intense sport I’ve ever played in my life,” said Ellie Leonard Smith GS, who goes by “Bleeding Rainbow” in the skating world. Three to four times a week, teams practice hitting and dexterity drills, work on strategy and do strength exercises, she said.

Friends who learn about Smith’s derby-girl life often say, “Oh, that’s where your bruises come from,” Bleeding Rainbow said.

Beyond the physically grueling athletics, derby’s theatricality remains central to its quirky culture.

Teams and their individual skaters cultivate flashy, costumed personas.

For Friday’s championship bout, competitors donned pink, duct-taped skates and fuschia lace underwear worn over leggings. Even the referees jazzed up their outfits.

Old Money Honeys captain Sass E. McNasty, otherwise known as Lisa Dabrow, has never bouted without her glitter eyelashes, which she said she usually buys on sale after Halloween. (She is, after all, a “roller girl on a budget.”)

“Every girl likes to play dressup,” Dabrow said. “Think how much more fun soccer would be if

you got to wear false eyelashes and pigtails.”

The team’s outfits often spark debate and discussion among players.

“The Old Money Honeys used to wear all white,” Dabrow said. “Then we thought we looked fat in that.”

Even the words the players throw around communicate the sport’s playful spirit. “Jammers” and “pivots” are two types of positions, “bouts” refer to games and VIP seats are called WHIP seats — an acronym that stands for Wicked Hot Important People, according to PRD’s Web site.

PRD skater Joelle “Foxie Renard” Burdette went to an early screening of “Whip It” and found it to be an accurate but flashier representation of the world of roller derby.

“The camaraderie was one of the main things that showed through,” she said, adding that she “kind of teared up a bit” when she watched the trailer because it was so true to her own experience.

Foxie Renard, a member of PRD’s recruitment team, has been preparing for the influx of people who might be “casually curious” about the sport after the release of “Whip It.” Usually, fewer than half of all recruits stick around, in part because of the intense time commitment, Renard said.

As PRD’s executive director, Cate “Baby Fighterfly” Morin spends about 30-40 hours a week on roller derby-related activities — completely unpaid.

“Now that I know about it, I couldn’t imagine not being involved,” she said, adding that she has met her best friends through roller derby. “It’s almost like being a superhero.”

Renard said she expects interest to grow among younger skaters.

Several leagues currently partner with junior programs, and some take skaters as young as five years old, according to Gonzales, WFTDA’s executive director.

Friday night’s crowd included quite a few potential future roller girls. But the growing family presence doesn’t mean the matches have lost their edge.

Though Friday’s pre-show entertainment was a clown troupe, Chukles the Klown describes himself as an “evil, politically incorrect clown,” and punk rock bands often play league halftime shows.

Organizers try to balance the alternative spirit of roller derby’s origins and the families it now draws.

But despite its rising popularity, roller derby has held on to its unconventional roots.

“Everything has to be PG-13-rated,” said “Diamond” Dan White, one of PRD’s announcers. “It’s all about disguising dicks as candy canes,” he added, referring to the innuendo he often slips into his commentary.

White had another stereotype of the sport to address. “One of the (most common) misconceptions about roller derby is that all of them are lesbians,” he said.

“That’s not true,” he said. “Some of them are bi.”

Arts & Culture The Brown Daily Herald

Friday, October 2, 2009 | Page 5

Beckett brought to life in Students, artists connect behind the texts virtual reality art piece

By Kayleigh Butera Contributing Writer

By Rosalind Schonwald Arts & Culture Editor

At times, in the multimedia installation “To Begin,” there is just darkness. But sometimes the ever-present voice reading Samuel Beckett becomes a thunderous roar, and typeset words jump from the walls, swiveling through the air. Sometimes they burn.

An entry in this year’s Pixilerations Festival, “To Begin” was conceived by Ben Nicholson ’11 as a response to Beckett’s novel “How It Is.” The 50-minute piece was created specifically for the CAVE, an interactive virtual reality environment housed in the Center for Computation and Visualization at 180 George St. “How It Is” is narrated by a character crawling through endless mud, in some sort of purgatory, as he reminisces about his life.

“What the texts suggested, this is a simplified explanation, is an argument for solipsism — that everyone is alone and isolated to their own mind,” Nicholson said. Instead of accepting the depressing implications of the work, Nicholson felt the need to respond. “To Begin” is structured around excerpts from Beckett’s novel and Nicholson’s rebuttal to the book’s dark, egoistic side.

Though the CAVE was originally intended for displaying scientific diagrams and models, Nicholson said, the space has also become a tool for students in literary arts.

Novelist Robert Coover, visiting professor of literary arts and one of the founders of the Electronic Litera-

ture Organization, had been a “major proponent” of writing students’ using the CAVE, Nicholson said.

“When thinking about writing, pretty much our entire lives involve seeing it in a two-dimensional plane,” he explained.

To the naked eye, the CAVE actually does appear to be a series of two-dimensional planes. There are three white screens and a white floor.

In order to protect the floor surface, visitors to the CAVE — cave people, as it were — are not allowed to wear shoes.

When the space is activated, projected images appear on the screens.

Viewers wear specially designed glasses that render the images in three dimensions, but only one pair of glasses contains the magnetic indicator used to calculate the proper perspective. As a result, the images are distorted and not illusionistic for all but the viewer with the controller glasses.

To Nicholson, this made the CAVE the perfect site for his piece.

“The CAVE is a self-contained space meant for one person to have an experience. Anyone who’s looking on is really experiencing a distorted version of something that’s really meant to be seen by somebody else,” Nicholson said.

Nicholson was humble about offering his own rebuttal to Beckett.

“The piece doesn’t try to refuse what’s suggested in ‘How It Is,’ but it asks whether or not it could be something else,” Nicholson said. “I suppose I believe that there is, and I think most people do.”

Jen Bervin’s soft but steady voice fit perfectly in the intimate setting of the McCormack Family Theater in a reading Thursday that featured her and fellow poet Joshua Beckman.

Bervin read from her work “The Desert,” which combines visual art and poetry through a technique she calls erasure. In the limited-edition book — one of “The Desert’s” 40 copies is housed in the John Hay Library — Bervin sews over portions of John Van Dyke’s 1901 arthistorical text of the same name using blue thread. The words that remain make up Bervin’s poems.

In her reading, she called attention to the presence of the thread with respectful pauses.

Over 50 students and faculty gathered in the theater to hear the two poets. The reading, which was open to the public, was part of LITR 1200: “Writers on Writing,” a course in which students read contemporary literature and then have the opportunity to meet and interact with the authors.

Beckman followed Bervin, reading several poems from his book “Take It” and three of his newer poems in an animated, narrative style. He had the audience laughing at unexpectedly humorous poems that also held poignant observations.

After the readings, the poets took questions from the audience.

This direct interaction between students and authors is the goal of the “Writers on Writing” series, said Associate Professor of English Brian

Evenson, who teaches one section of the class and helped organize yesterday’s reading. Evenson, who also directs the literary arts program, said this communication is a “rare opportunity” that can enhance student writers’ experiences.

For Poppy Addison ’13, who said she had always wanted to ask authors about the meaning behind their words, “this was that perfect chance.”

Michael Frauenhofer ’11 called it a “new level of dialogue” and said the opportunity to ask questions

added to his experience of the poetry. Frauenhofer added that “Writers on Writing” has been one of his favorite courses at Brown.

Yesterday’s discussion between authors and students answered many of the students’ questions.

Writers, however, are not always ready to completely reveal their intentions. When asked how to make sense of a collection of poems, Beckman replied cryptically.

“There is a moment,” he said, “when the poem is the only thing telling you where you are.”

Editorial & Letters The Brown Daily Herald

Page 6 | Friday, October 2, 2009

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

Peer tutoring will be missed To the Editor: As an alumnus who participated in the tutoring services from both ends, I was saddened to read of the end of the peer tutoring program in Tuesday’s article (“Peer tutoring program axed, cited as ineffective,” Sept. 29). Although it is true that for many subjects and students small groups will be quite effective, this is not always the case. I can say unequivocally that I was able to succeed in Physics 8 and Physics 47 thanks to the help of my peer tutor. I hope that the students I tutored in Bio 50 could say the same. When it came to physics, it was imperative that I thought through the entire problem myself, not with the help of friends.

My tutor was able to guide me through the problems, while allowing me to find the process to the answers myself. From reading the article, it seems as though the same is true for CS 15. Working in a small group will hurt students, as some in the group will understand how to get their program to work and others won’t; in my experience peers tend to show what the answer is as opposed to helping their peers

work through the process.

In addition, not all students learn in the same way. Although group learning may be shown to be productive for most, it certainly cannot be applied to all. The peer tutoring program also always contained the option for small group tutoring if wanted. I ask Dean Bergeron: What was the demand for these small groups in the past?

It surely never seemed that demand was too high in the past.

Many courses have TAs who can facilitate small problem sessions, but cannot devote time to one-onone sessions. The math department even has a weekly workshop with graduate students available, but it can never keep up with demand.

The free availability of tutoring on campus was fabulous. It was also a point I would brag about during my three years as a tour guide that impressed many people on my tours. It is certainly a sad loss for the Brown community that the administration does not see it as effective and has decided to send it by the wayside.

James Kraemer ’08 Sept. 30

What to do?! Give The Herald’s new advice columnist a try. advice@browndailyherald.com t h e b r o w n d a i ly h e r a l d Editor-in-Chief Steve DeLucia

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ale x yuly

e d i to r i a l

Plagued The seasonal flu vaccine is generally a good idea for those who don’t enjoy fevers, runny noses, sore throats or extreme nausea. This year Brunonians should think of it as an obligation, to themselves and their peers.

While the seasonal flu vaccine does not prevent swine flu, it does make swine flu’s presence more apparent since the two viruses have a few common symptoms. Students who develop flu-like symptoms after getting vaccinated will know that they probably have swine flu and can take appropriate precautions. The University will also have a much easier time tracking and containing H1N1 if most students get a flu shot. For that reason, Health Services should e-mail students who have not yet received the seasonal flu shot and urge them to do so before the end of the month.

The University began of fering flu shots to students on Monday, and over 1,000 students have been vaccinated so far. Seasonal flu vaccines will be available until the end of October from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Jo’s. After that, students who want the vaccine will have to make an appointment.

The flu shot, like many preventative measures, will only be effective if students take advantage of it, which should ser ve as a reminder that students and administrators are jointly responsible for preventing the spread of H1N1. Both groups deser ve credit for the measures they have already taken.

The University has equipped libraries and other buildings with copious amounts of hand sanitizer, administrators have repeatedly encouraged sick students to avoid public places and over 300 students have reported an influenza-like illness to Health Services online. But the University

and its students should take additional steps.

Although most sick students are inclined to miss class, this may change over the next few weeks as midterms draw near. Review sessions are often critical to a student’s performance on exams. As a result, sick students who miss these classes will be penalized for their conscientiousness. Students who are equally sick but less principled have an incentive to attend review sessions, risking further infection.

The University could prevent the spread of H1N1 more effectively by making midterm review sessions accessible to absentee students in large lecture courses. If technology permits, midterm reviews should be recorded and uploaded for students whose exams are postponed due to illness.

Other wise, professors in large courses should be asked to hold additional review sessions for students who were sick the first time around.

Students also need to take responsibility.

Seasonal flu vaccines are a good first step. In addition, students should practice good hygiene and help out ailing roommates by delivering food and taking care of librar y printing. Those with a fever and a sore throat or cough should warn others, report their flu-like symptoms to Health Ser vices through www.brown.edu/fluweb and stay in their rooms until they recover.

None of these measures is failsafe, but taken together they can help slow the spread of the H1N1 by reading period when finals are administered and students can least afford to get sick.

Editorials are written by The Herald’s editorial page board. Send comments to editorials@ browndailyherald.com.

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Opinions The Brown Daily Herald

Friday, October 2, 2009 | Page 7

To test, or be tested

Jared Lafer Opinions Columnist Brown is the bubble on College Hill, a sanctuar y from the harsh realities of the world. But this supportive and welcoming veneer can often obscure us from the true purpose of college: Brown is one big testing ground.

Brown? A testing ground? Uh oh, will the exams be curved?

Yes, my comrades, Brown is a testing ground, and no, the exams won’t be curved.

You’ve probably been living a lie.

The testing ground’s infrastructure is provided and controlled by the University: policy, food, residences, support ser vices, maintenance staffs, police and so on. This creates a stable environment for the fouryear period of testing to commence.

We are then left to roam free (like lab rats) and the environment works its magic: we “test,” and are “tested.”

We “test” because college is meant to be a time of experimentation.

As the University provides and controls the infrastructure of the testing ground, students are left with few responsibilities.

Indeed, students aren’t necessarily responsible for anything but their physical wellbeing, academics and employment while at Brown, and even the latter could be volun-

tar y. In fact, we probably had more responsibilities before we came here.

This lack of obligation provides students with the freedom to “test” themselves.

Students can join a variety of groups and clubs, tr y out different jobs and areas of study. The opportunities are varied and immense.

This freedom to test is augmented by the fact that the air of experimentation on campus mitigates any serious consequences for our actions. For example, students can suddenly stop going to a group or club; they can quit their job, and rest assured that they can find

success or failure might not make a difference in the long run, successive successes or failures certainly add up. Having a particularly low GPA, despite Brown’s ridiculous views about calculating GPA, will not bode well when you’re applying to jobs. So we are “tested.”

That we test and are tested, however, creates some tension, as they are often in conflict. Frequently we are faced with a choice between fulfilling a boring concentration requirement to demonstrate competency and experimenting with a course in a completely foreign department; a sim-

Brown is a testing ground, and no, the exams won’t be curved.

another one; they can fail an exam or take a random course, and not worry about it ruining their lives — even NCs don’t show up on their external transcripts. Students are thus absolved of any real accountability, and can casually make and break commitments.

With this immunity it is certainly conceivable that one might be compelled to over-indulge “testing” at Brown, though I find that students are generally good about weighing future considerations — for good reason, since while an individual

pler example might be the choice we face between partying on a weekend and working.

To achieve the ideal college experience one would think we ought to strive to balance the two. I think that’s a good goal to have, but with a qualification.

In the real world, we will have responsibilities, and there will be serious consequences for our actions. We won’t be able to just quit our jobs without notice and then expect to find employment again the next

day, or fail at work and not worr y about being fired. Simply put, we won’t be able to afford to test in the real world.

On the other hand, we will be constantly tested. Ever y day we will be challenged by the ruthlessness of the world, and I have no doubt that our being tested in college will help us tackle those challenges. This is not only true because it forces us to get smarter, which makes us more qualified to face whatever lies ahead, but because it prepares us for the test-based real world environment.

The latter cannot be said for “testing.”

In fact, “testing” does quite the opposite: it lulls us into a false sense of irresponsibility and immunity, so that when we enter the real world we will have irreparably habituated the testing mindset.

Granted, testing certainly serves its purpose. The freedom and impunity it provides may motivate your development as a person, or generate new passions and interests. But that purpose should be lower down on the priority list than being tested, which is what’s relevant in the long run. So let us firmly root ourselves in the testing ground, and in that steadfastness endeavor to find balance.

Jared Lafer ’11 is a philosophy concentrator from Manhattan. He can be reached at jared_lafer@brown.edu

In defense of the Brown Republicans’ tableslips Keith DellaGrotta Guest Columnist Let us play a game. I want you to name the first notion that pops into your head after imagining Obama’s popular “hope” poster enveloped by fire. Words like “frustration” or “aversion” or simply “heat,” seem logical responses. If you said “lynching,” then congratulations! You and Meredith Curtis ’10 share similarly shallow, liberal thought processes.

She demonstrated her view in a recent letter to the editor (“Brown Republicans’ tableslips in poor taste,” Sept. 23), in which she writes about the horror that consumed her upon sight of the Brown Republican tableslips; evidently, only a racist could distribute the aforementioned images. As President of the Brown Republicans and designer of the allegedly outrageous tableslips, I can understand it pains liberals when individuals criticize Obama, their secular savior, but baseless racism charges are not the answer.

Indeed, Curtis’ claim is ludicrous. If she was not so quick to associate fire and a black man with the era of Jim Crow, she might understand the deeper and more relevant message of the Brown Republicans’ tableslips. With the trillions of dollars of debt that Obama has incurred, with overwhelming disapproval of the health care public option, with violence in Afghanistan escalating and with continuous discoveries of questionable morality and ethical lapses on the

part of presidential appointees, Obama’s agenda and hope truly are “up in flames.”

Moderate American voters realize this fact.

One needs to look no further than a recent CNN poll showing a majority of Independents disapprove of Obama’s performance as commanderin-chief thus far. I guess Democrats like Curtis are turning a blind eye which, come election time, could be a problem as Obama’s ascension to the White House can largely be attributed to the immense support of Independents at

that Wilson’s “you lie!” outburst was racist in its motivation shows her views to be non-credible.

Though I condemn Wilson’s action, how anyone can connect calling a person a liar to racism is beyond me.

Here is food for thought: could it be that liberals, who tend to hurl the majority of racist accusations, are incognizant of their own racism? Why are they unable to associate blacks with anything but slavery and segregation?

Curtis concludes her letter to the editor by

If liberals were not so quick to associate fire and a black man with the era of Jim Crow, they might understand the deeper and more relevant message of the Brown Republican tableslips.

the polls.

The Left lets no Obama critic walk free without the label of racist, and Curtis appears to endorse the witch-hunt. In a rambling tangent, she uses her mention of the Brown Republican tableslips as a platform to launch into a tirade about the infamous shout by Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C. during Obama’s Congressional address regarding healthcare reform. The fact that she supports Jimmy Carter’s allegation

noting that the Brown Republicans’ tableslips seemed to display a burning of Obama in effigy, and that doing so was somehow distasteful. She writes, “The Brown Republicans will only attract positive attention if they are more creative and thoughtful.” Though I have already elaborated on the meaning of the tableslips, I want to note that the act of burning political figures in effigy has been a common and acceptable means to display political discontent for hundreds of

years, and that it does not necessarily imply that the perpetrator wants to immolate the target.

Lewes, England has a famous tradition of burnings in effigy, and victims have included Osama Bin Laden and even George W. Bush, though I am sure no leftist Brown student found fault when tongues of fire licked Bush’s likeness.

Negative attention, if it continues from liberals unable to distinguish between honest political dissatisfaction and racism, does not bother me. In actuality, I wonder if they are the ones lacking insight and imagination.

When creating tableslips, or any form of advertisement for that matter, I look to satisfy two important standards: that the content grab audience attention and promote public awareness, and that the content issue no personal attacks. I would say I achieved my goals with the Brown Republican tableslips. Curtis’ almostimmediate response proves I had no trouble meeting the first benchmark.

And, with regard to attaining the second principle, a reasonable, discerning interpretation of the tableslips generates in the viewer the impression that Obama’s vision is disintegrating, not that Obama should be lynched. Indicating, as does Curtis, that tableslips meeting these criteria are “in poor taste” seems to me to be less than accurate.

Keith DellaGrotta ’10 is an economics and international relations concentrator from Londonderry, New Hampshire.

He can be reached at keith_dellagrotta@brown.edu.

What do you think? Leave a comment online!

Visit www.browndailyherald.com to comment on opinion and editorial content.

Today The Brown Daily Herald

5

Beckett in virtual reality

Defending those tableslips

7

to day

to m o r r o w

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70 / 57

Friday, October 2, 2009

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d i a m o n d s a n d c oa l

c a l e n da r Today, October 2

Saturday, October 3

4 pm — Panel Discussion: Arts, Culture & the Soul of a City, Rites and Reason Theater

1:30 PM — Providence Latin American Film Festival, MacMillan 117

6:30 pm — Jerusalema, African Students Association Movie, Wilson 102

8 pm — Brown University Theater Presents Tartuffe, Leeds Theater

Coal to Brown researchers who experimented on “tiny, soft-bodied worms” that might be our earliest bilateral ancestor. Have you learned nothing from the PETA organizers on the Main Green this week? Those tiny, flaccid, defenseless worms are our kin! And they’re soft-bodied!

A diamond to the alums who returned to Rhode Island to film a coming-of-age story about four high-school girls. We’re thinking High School Musical with a local flavor: Zac Efron asks the new girl out on an awkward Waterfire date, buys her a coffee milk and then waits with her at the bus station for two hours because of RIPTA budget cuts.

Coal to Tufts University, which recently forbade students to have sex when a roommate is present. Talk about a wet blanket.

menu Sharpe Refectory

Verney-Woolley Dining Hall

A diamond to the student who, enthused about his flu-shot experience, told The Herald: “It was very pleasant. I was in and out in less than a minute.” Swine flu is no joking matter, but come on: That’s what she said!!!

Lunch — Hot Pastrami Sandwich, Vegan Vegetable Couscous, French Green Beans with Tomatoes, Cupcakes

Lunch — Chicken Fingers, Rice Pilaf with Zucchini, Corn Cobbets

@the students in a graduate-level AmCiv class who expressed skepticism about having to “tweet” as part of their homework: we hear the world’s tinyurl-est violin #coal

Dinner — Paella with Mussels, Baked Macaroni and Cheese, Spinach Stuffed Tomatoes

A cubic zirconium to Deputy Dean of the College Stephen Lassonde, who kindly debunked “the misconception” that the Banner registration system solves “all problems.”

Thanks for the clarification, but we never really thought a system that lacks elementary search functionality would stand much of a chance against swine flu, budget cuts, or rush-hour Ivy Room falafel traffic.

Dinner — Cajun Baked Fish, Vegan Stir Fried Noodles with Tofu, Rice Piaf RELEASE DATE– Friday, October 2, 2009

crossword Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

ACROSS 1 List of options 5 “Get lost!”

10 Capricious notion 14 Informed about 15 Rod Stewart’s ex 16 Parade honoree 17 Sugar and spice product?

18 Turbine part 19 __-Z: classic Camaro 20 Grouch in the army?

23 Upright, for one 25 Campfire leftover 26 Tell stories 27 Small-time hood’s pottery?

31 Hardwood tree 33 Downing St. VIPs 34 Small island 35 Cheeky 36 Accident in a qualifying race?

39 Ford failures 42 “Bad” cholesterol, briefly 43 “The Gold Bug” author 46 Hedren of “The Birds” 47 Family insignia for designer Edith?

50 Clod chopper 51 ’70s-’80s Pakistani leader 53 Analyze grammatically 54 Jalopy used as a trade-in?

59 Evening, in ads 60 Concur 61 Singer Redding 64 River near Kassel, Germany 65 Like Chicago, so they say 66 Where the Jazz play 67 Belgrade native 68 Pair in the middle of dressing?

69 Very small DOWN 1 Morning container 2 Prefix with center

3 Old Viking descendants of northern France 4 Separate, as chain parts 5 Indian cover-up 6 Congeal, as blood 7 Pro __ 8 Arctic jacket 9 Martin and Magdalene 10 Spinning sound 11 Harbingers 12 Many O. Henry endings 13 Farce 21 Express’s opp.

22 Scorches 23 Very quietly, in music 24 Periodic table suffix 28 Old ColorTrak TVs 29 Cholesterolreducing grain 30 Repeating series 32 __-di-dah 35 Like worn tires 36 With it 37 “My Fair Lady” flower seller

38 Old vitamin bottle abbr.

39 Refinery gases 40 Carbon __ 41 Phantom 43 Italian jewelry designer Elsa 44 CIA predecessor 45 When the French fry?

47 Traditional Scottish dish 48 Yr.-end auditor

49 Inform on, slangily 52 Really impressed 55 Chef’s secret ingredient, perhaps 56 Fish-eating birds 57 Give up 58 Actor Fernando et al.

62 Author Fleming 63 Short at the poker table

A diamond to the co-chair of the Providence Rotary Street Painting Festival, who said the group was “extremely proud to be back on the street.” Unless the job market changes, this year’s seniors will be right there with you.

comics Dot Comic | Eshan Mitra and Brendan Hainline

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:

Hippomaniac | Mat Becker

xwordeditor@aol.com

10/02/09

Cabernet Voltaire | Abe Pressman

By Jack McInturff (c)2009 Tribune Media Services, Inc.

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10/02/09

STW | Jingta Huang