Thursday, April 29, 2010

Daily Herald the Brown

vol. cxlv, no. 58 | Thursday, April 29, 2010 | Serving the community daily since 1891

Brown faces dilemma with assault accusations

Journalist Rohde ’90 will give baccalaureate address

I wish !

By Claire Peracchio Senior Staff Writer

For David Rohde ’90, addressing the class of 2010 during Brown’s 242nd Commencement marks another step in a journey that has taken him from Providence to Pakistan and back again. Rohde, who will also receive an honorary degree, is slated to deliver this year’s baccalaureate address on May 30, according to a University press release issued Wednesday. Nobel laureate and former President of South Africa Nelson Mandela will also receive an honorary degree. Mandela will accept his degree in absentia, with the charge d’affaires at the South African embassy receiving the honor in his place, according to the press release. “I think it’s quite unusual to reach out to someone who cannot come to accept the degree,” said University Chaplain Janet Cooper Nelson, who organizes and hosts the Baccalaureate event. She said she believes the University wants to “send that very deep

By Ben Schreckinger Metro Editor

After a federal judge expressed apprehension earlier this month over the University’s decision to handle a rape allegation internally without notifying law enforcement, representatives from a students’ rights organization and a sexual assault victims’ advocacy group have both criticized universities’ practices in handling rape cases. Both a current and a former University employee have questioned Brown’s ability to investigate and adjudicate rape cases. But universities are in a difficult position. According to guidelines set forth by the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, Title IX mandates that in cases of sexual misconduct, universities take “prompt and effective action calculated to end the harassment, prevent its recurrence, and, as appropriate, remedy its effects.” An ad hoc University committee charged with reviewing Brown’s disciplinary system issued a report in 1997 refuting the argument that the University was not suited to hear sexual misconduct cases and stating that declining to do so would “send a chilling message that there are a range of actions for which the University may not hold the perpetrator accountable.” And a policy requiring administrators to notify the police of rape continued on page 2

Nick Sinnott-Armstrong / Herald

Some fairy tales come true while others turn sour in Production Workshop’s musical, “Into the Woods.”

voted to expel the program from College Hill. Now, some students

By Talia Kagan Senior Staf f Writer

At Brown today, bared navels are a more common sight then naval officers — but that wasn’t always the case. Brown was once home to a Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps, but 40 years ago the faculty

NEWS ANALYSIS want to bring it back, though they’re facing opposition. In 1969, amid fierce dissatisfaction with American involvement in Vietnam, the Faculty Execu-

By Nicole Boucher Senior Staff Writer

Emmy Liss / Herald file photo

inside

Now that renovation projects are well underway, the University will have a chance to focus on expanding and renovating dorms, as with Minden in 2007-08.

www.browndailyherald.com

continued on page 7

‘Reserve’-ing judgment for ROTC Fall term tive Committee voted to phase out ROTC, a militar y program that commissions students as officers in the U.S. military and trains them during their university years. By 1972, the Brown ROTC program — once headquartered

The administration will be focusing more energy on new residence halls now that several major construction projects have gotten underway, said Dick Spies, executive vice president for planning and senior adviser to the President. “As some of the early priorities move along, and we get the budget back in balance,” Spies said, “then you can begin to focus” on projects such as expanding dorm options. Now that the ground has been broken on the new Alpert Medical School building and plans to begin building the Katherine Moran Coleman Aquatics Center have been approved, Spies said, the focus can

might stay longer By Rebecca Ballhaus Staff Writer

shift to projects in their early stages of planning. The University originally began looking into expanding dorm options on campus in 2006 and 2007, said Margaret Klawunn, vice president for campus life and student services. “We had a lot of conversations with students” about what would be needed to keep upperclassmen on campus, she said. “What we found in 2007 is you need apartments and suites to make students stay in Brown housing,” she said, adding that as of now, “when we look at our inventory, we find more traditional residential life.” A 2003 report which outlined construction goals to support the Plan for Academic Enrichment

The College Curriculum Council met last month to discuss changes to the academic calendar that might permanently start the school year the Wednesday before Labor Day in order to make the fall and spring semesters the same length. The spring semester is currently four days longer than the fall semester. The motion was initially to start the academic years of 2010–11 and 2013–14 earlier because Rosh Hashanah falls during the first week of September in both those years. But when the Council met to discuss this proposal in May 2009, faculty members asked whether the University should consider making every fall semester begin before Labor Day. The question of starting the 2013–14 academic year before Labor Day has been dropped from the motion in order to give the Council an opportunity to consider the permanent change. The council did pass a motion to move the fall 2010 semester up. It will begin on Wednesday, Sept. 1, five

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U. in planning stages of new dorm projects

News.....1–8 Metro.....9–11 Sports..14–16 Editorial....22 Opinion.....23 Today........24

bow and thank you” even if a recipient is not well enough to come. Rohde, an author and two-time Pulitzer Prize–winning New York Times reporter, graduated from Brown in 1990 with a degree in history. He survived almost a year of captivity under Taliban combatants before escaping back to the U.S. in June 2009. His November visit to the University marked his first public speech, just four months after escaping captivity. Rohde earned Pulitzer prizes for his 1996 coverage of the Srebrenica massacre in Bosnia and as part of a New York Times team of reporters covering Afghanistan and Pakistan in 2009. Rohde was captured twice in his career, once in Bosnia and again in Pakistan. He has also penned a novel about his experience in captivity — “A Rope and A Prayer: The Story of a Kidnapping” — that will be published in fall 2010, according to the press release. Joining Rohde and Mandela as honorary degree recipients is a distin-

Sports, 12

Arts, 15

Learning the Plays Brown grad lives the NFL life as a rookie playing for the Indianapolis Colts

Crafty ’Lums Rhode Island School of Design hosts Alumni Spring Art Sale 195 Angell Street, Providence, Rhode Island

editor’s note This is the last Herald of the semester. We will publish one issue in July and one issue during orientation. We will resume daily publication on September 1. Check browndailyherald.com and blogdailyherald.com for updates. herald@browndailyherald.com

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Thursday, April 29, 2010

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Lee ’12 wins runoff for UFB vice chair ‘Building Brown’ through the summer and beyond By Nicole Boucher Senior Staf f Writer

Jason Lee ’12 will ser ve as vice chair of the Undergraduate Finance Board after defeating Tyler Rosenbaum ’11 in a runoff election, the elections board announced Wednesday afternoon. Lee garnered 58.2 percent of the 455 votes cast to win. “I’m really grateful for winning,

and I’m thankful to everyone who supported me,” Lee said. Lee originally received 49.1 percent of the vote in the first election held last week, UCS President Clay Wertheimer wrote in an e-mail to The Herald, less than 1 percent away from the amount needed to win a simple majority. All election results were ratified at the Undergraduate Council of Students general body meeting

Wednesday night. “This has been the smoothest election in the last four years,” Wertheimer said. Members of the Student Labor Alliance also gave a presentation at the meeting, calling for UCS support next year for establishing a protocol to deal with holding events at venues where employcontinued on page 11

By Jessica Liss Staf f Writer

This summer, the University will make substantial progress on a number of capital projects, while smaller projects, such as residence hall renovations, will also be completed during the coming months. “The financing has been

put together, the planning has been done and we are ready to do the construction,” said Richard Spies, executive vice president for planning and senior adviser to President Ruth Simmons The Stephen Robert ’62 Campus Center in Faunce House will be continued on page 4

Trying sexual assault cases a gray area for universities continued from page 1 allegations could discourage reporting of sexual assault, an already underreported crime, according to a February report by the Center for Public Integrity. Brown itself has had a controversial history of mishandling and allegedly mishandling sexual assault allegations, including William McCormick III’s current lawsuit against the University for its conduct concerning a 2006 rape accusation against him — which prompted Rhode Island District Federal Court Judge William Smith’s concern about lack of police notification. Pitfalls of trying cases internally Citing the failure of universities to provide proper protection to victims or, conversely, to afford the accused due process, representatives from both the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network and the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education

have said that sexual assault investigations should be handled by the police rather than universities. “Universities and colleges are not equipped to handle allegations of rape and sexual assault,” said Elizabeth Crothers, communications manager for the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network. “Overwhelmingly, victims are not well served by these internal processes,” Crothers said. College administrators are “most likely not trained in the intricacies of this crime” and too often treat sexual misconduct “like an overdue library book,” she said. But Crothers said her organization does not have a stance on changing the law to require universities to report alleged sex crimes when they become aware of them. She called the issue “complicated” and said the decision to report a sex crime to the police is “always up to the victim.” “We encourage victims to report to the police” and “to get forensic

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rape kits done,” she said. But “a rape kit is a very lengthy, invasive procedure” and, again, “it’s really up to the victim and the victim alone,” she said. Both Crothers and Azhar Majeed, associate director of legal and public advocacy for the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, said that universities do not do a better job protecting victims’ identities than police and the courts. “You can carry out a prosecution without revealing the identity of the accuser,” Majeed said. Majeed said universities are not equipped to handle difficult “he-said-she-said allegations” with “very serious repercussions both for the alleged victim and the accused individual.” Law enforcement has the “necessary expertise and background” while university officials do not, he said. According to Majeed, universities frequently do not provide full due process to the accused, and often operate with a less rigorous standard of evidence than the legal system, which requires accusations to be proved beyond a reasonable doubt. He called the McCormick case “bizarre” and said it represents “an extreme example” of a university treating an accused student “without any due regard for his rights.” “The University and its officers have acted appropriately in this matter,” Vice President for Public Affairs and University Relations Marisa Quinn wrote in an e-mail to The Herald April 12. “As in all instances, the University respects and maintains the confidentiality of student and employee records.” Quinn did not comment for this article. A controversial history McCormick’s case is not the first to bring criticism to Brown for its handling of sexual misconduct allegations. In 1996, a special late-semester edition of The Herald revealed the suspension of Adam Lack — who was then a member of the class of 1997 but did not graduate until years later — for sexual misconduct. A picture of Lack with his name ran on the front page. The alleged victim, Sarah Klein ’99, said she was intoxicated and could not remember if she had given Lack consent to engage in

sexual intercourse. Lack claimed that Klein had initiated intercourse, engaged in lucid conversation and given him her phone number the next day, and that he did not know she was intoxicated. Associate Professor of Music David Josephson suspected Lack had been treated unfairly and became both his adviser and public advocate, helping to attract media attention to the case. That attention included a disorderly on-campus confrontation between ABC’s John Stossell — who was filming an episode of “20/20” — and Klein’s supporters over the definition of rape. Josephson said there was a “regime of fear” on campus surrounding the issue of sexual assault that discouraged anyone from advocating on behalf of accused students. He pointed to the spring 1997 issue of the campus publication “Issues,” in which Vice President for Campus Life and Student Services Margaret Klawunn, then director of the Sarah Doyle Women’s Center, said that men advocating for Lack “are afraid that they have already been or will be the next Adam Lack. Many men see themselves as potentially in that situation or have already been in that situation. This case has become a magnet for men who have skeletons in the closet.” Since then, Klawunn has worked in and overseen the Office of Student Life, which is responsible for dealing with allegations of sexual misconduct on campus. Klawunn, who is named as a defendant in McCormick’s lawsuit, agreed to an interview with The Herald, but later cancelled it. She did not respond to questions then sent to her in an e-mail. Lack — who died in 2008 in a car accident — was eventually exonerated by the University and went on to file a lawsuit against Brown and his accuser. The suit resulted in a settlement, the terms of which are undisclosed. A 1997 University news release about the settlement states “Brown University regrets that its disciplinary system was unable to resolve the dispute between the parties satisfactorily.” Josephson said he expected that a university would not insist that the settlement’s terms be secret and that it would issue a public apology. Instead, Brown “sounded like a bloody corporation,” he said.

Not long after the Lack case hit, in the fall of 1996, Brown again drew criticism for its handling of a sexual assault allegation. The University Disciplinary Committee declined to hear a female student’s complaint of sexual assault against a male student, citing the complexity of the evidence. The male student, her ex-boyfriend, was a relative of Jordan’s royal family whose father had donated money to the University. The UDC’s decision led to an investigation by the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. According to a 1997 University press release, the investigation was later dropped at the request of the parties. McCormick to the present The ad hoc committee to review Brown’s disciplinary procedures was convened in the aftermath of these two cases, though according to Josephson, the University never acknowledged a relationship between the Lack case and the committee’s creation. The committee’s findings reaffirmed the UDC’s right to decline to hear a case, sought to “distinguish the UDC from courts of law” and made several procedural recommendations, including instituting a consistent standard of a “preponderance of evidence” needed for conviction. Josephson — who believes allegations of student misconduct that rise to the level of a crime should be handled by police — called the recommendations “Band-Aids on a severely wounded animal.” Josephson said he thought that the Office of Student Life would begin to handle sexual assault cases differently after Lack’s episode, but he said McCormick’s experience “stinks of the Adam Lack case.” In the fall of 2006, Josephson was briefly involved with McCormick’s disciplinary proceedings at the request of Michael Burch GS, a former assistant wrestling coach who acted as McCormick’s adviser in the disciplinary process. In September 2006, Josephson wrote a letter that was forwarded to University administrators involved in McCormick’s case stating that there had been “no equal treatment” of McCormick and his accuser because he had been removed from campus while she had not been. He wrote that McCormick suffered a “punicontinued on page 7

Thursday, April 29, 2010

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

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Some admins double-up to fill gaps Senior lecturer expands digital Sanskrit library

By Sarah Forman Senior Staf f Writer

Just like the card-swiping, Badmaash-dancing, triple-concentrating students on campus, several duallyappointed University executives tr y to juggle multiple roles and responsibilities by taking on additional administrative positions. Dual appointments are “quite common on an interim basis,” said Toni Tinberg, director of employment ser vices for the Human Resources Department. When one of the staff members an administrator oversees leaves the University, the administrator will often fill the empty position in addition to their regular duties until a replacement can be found, she said. Such is the case for Roger Nozaki MAT’89, associate dean of the College and director of the Swearer Center for Public Service, who took on an additional role as acting director of the Career Development Center in September after Barbara Peoples retired from her role as interim director. “We were already in the search for a permanent director” when Peoples retired, Nozaki said. Because he already oversaw the CDC as associate dean of the college, it was decided that Nozaki would fill the empty position temporarily until they could “get the absolutely best person for the job,” he said. The search for a permanent director is still in progress, said Dean of the College Katherine Bergeron, adding that she hoped

By Margaret Yi Contributing Writer

Max Monn / Herald

Matthew Gutmann is serving as both director of the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies and vice president for international affairs.

it would end soon. Similarly, Matthew Gutmann has remained the director of the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, even though he became vice president for international affairs in September. Brown is one of only 18 institutions nationwide to receive a Federal Title VI grant for its Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, and it had to reapply for the grant this year, Gutmann

said. “It just didn’t make sense to have somebody completely new come in and do that,” Gutmann said, because the 400-page application is “a monster.” A new director of the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies will relieve Gutmann in July, he said. “Usually these are cases where continued on page 7

For more than three millennia, Sanskrit served as the primary written language of major Indian literary works, but since 2002, Peter Scharf, senior lecturer in Classics, has revolutionized the way people can access the language today. Scharf is expanding his digital Sanskrit library to include an additional 100 original classical works and 163 manuscripts of major Indian literature, he said. The revamped Sanskrit library Web site — set to be unveiled some time in the next few weeks — builds upon the current online Sanskrit library that Scharf and his colleagues constructed. In addition to digitizing at least a hundred more Sanskrit texts, Scharf is working on new linguistic software and integrating lexical sources. He received funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities in coordinating the project. Scharf sought to provide the public with the tools to accurately translate and analyze Sanskrit texts. Unlike with the English language, most digital mediums did not possess the necessar y software to process Sanskrit. To address this problem, Schar f and his colleagues developed a variety of encoding and computational phonology and morphology techniques to digitize original Sanskrit transcripts, Scharf said. He

also noted that digitizing Sanskrit texts has greatly facilitated the way students do research on Sanskrit literature. “We don’t just want to duplicate or imitate the print media in making Sanskrit available on the web. We want to take advantage of the things that the … digital medium can do that print media could not do,” Scharf said. The current Sanskrit Library also provides links to online Sanskrit dictionaries, such as MonierWilliams, Apte and Macdonnel. The Web site further features extensive grammatical resources and analyzers. The group is trying to “build these kinds of tools that allow someone to bring linguistic analysis to bear on texts in an environment where it’s easy to use all these tools for the benefit of the normal reading public,” Scharf said. This past winter, Scharf said, he also traveled to India to give several presentations regarding his research and the library. Scharf spoke at the International Conference on Natural Language Processing at the University of Hyderabad, the Indian Institute of Technology and gave various other talks in Kalady and Madras. Scharf also said he hopes that the University’s Year of India program will shed more light on Sanskrit and Indian literature, and added that “Brown could become an important center of Indological research.”

Service and schoolwork combine in new program By Goda Thangada Senior Staf f Writer

Community ser vice is a part of many Brown students’ extracurricular experience, but new programs — such as the Engaged Scholars Initiative — at the Swearer Center for Public Service support service learning in courses and research. The center is particular about using the term “engaged scholars” instead of “ser vice learning,” said Roger Nozaki MAT’89, associate dean of the college and the center’s director.

“The language of service learning does not fly with faculty,” said Kerrissa Heffernan, director of faculty engagement at the center. “We have to talk about it in language that makes sense to them.” “Just the term feels like it’s something different, foreign or not rigorous,” Nozaki said. Though individual faculty members have taken initiative to incorporate community projects into their courses and research, Nozaki said the new program can add to the visibility of such individual initiatives. “If you Google ‘ser vice learning,’ you’re

not going to get a lot on Brown,” he said. Not ever y student or professor is an “engaged scholar” and not ever yone should be, Nozaki said. “I don’t see our job as convincing people to do this,” he said. “I don’t think that’s a realistic goal.” For some professors, engaged scholarship “doesn’t fit with their teaching style” and “could be a big disaster,” Heffernan said. While the Swearer Center provides resources such as funding, professors like Phil Brown, professor of sociology, actively promote

engaged scholarship among their peers. Brown said he would tour several University departments to describe engaged scholarship and dispel misconceptions. Brown, who teaches a freshman seminar on environmental justice, received funding from the Engaged Scholars Initiative to teach a nineweek course on environmental justice to local high school students. Though public outreach is required of any professor who receives a grant from the National Science Foundation, ser vice is otherwise an obligation for the Uni-

versity, Brown said. “Brown gives a lot to Providence, and this is part of the thing it has to give.” Many faculty are driven by “a moral sense that we really have to make science and scholarship and academic abilities available to as wide a range of people as possible,” he said. There is a tendency in academia for scholars to think of the local community as a test subject, Brown said. When faculty think about linking service to learning, it must take the form of a partnership because continued on page 4

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

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C ampus N EWS

Students, profs explore service learning opportunities continued from page 3

“the community is privy to things we just don’t know,” he said. While Brown incorporates service learning into his first-year seminar, he said he is aware of the difficulties students might have. “You don’t just say ‘go out and find the community group and do work with them,’ ” he said. Building relationships with the community takes years and students need guidance to maintain the trust, so engaged scholarship works best in smaller courses and with the aid of teaching assistants, he said. Heffernan said the type of courses she envisions aren’t those that include a token service component. In a strong course, the professor must ensure that the “experience

in the community helps people understand the theor y itself,” she said, and so not all ser vice learning courses necessarily require students to volunteer. “It’s more likely they’re in the community doing investigation,” Heffernan said. The problem with actually performing ser vice as par t of a course is its temporar y nature, she said. If Brown students lead a workshop for a semester with local children for a course, it’s important to ask, “is it a good thing for those kids when Brown students disappear?” But some students, like Leo Eisenstein ’10, strive to find ways to continue projects begun during a ser vice learning course. Eisenstein, a concentrator in geology

and Latin, said he enrolled in Visiting Lecturer in Literar y Arts Rick Benjamin’s course, LITR 0310A: “Poetr y and Community Ser vice,” because of its reputation. “It was clear to me that I wanted to continue to do that work after Rick’s class,” said Eisenstein, who led workshops for middle school children last spring as part of the course. At the end of the semester, he joined Space in Prison for the Arts and Creative Expression — a Swearer Center program in which students work with prison inmates on creative work — which he said is similar to the work he did in the course. The course, which carries a mandator y S/NC grade option, is also a workshop in which students write and share their own poetr y.

“Poems are meant to be shared,” Eisenstein said. There is need and demand for such courses and ser vice-related research at the University, Eisenstein said. “It’s an important exercise for experts to put their work in a context that’s understandable for someone who does not have the same expertise.” But when there’s demand for a course that’s not offered at Brown, students create their own courses as a Group Independent Study Project. Allen Kramer ’13 and Evan Schwartz ’13 are taking a course this semester at the Making Connections Leadership Institute in downtown Providence alongside community members. “I want to learn to work with people who are dif ferent from

me,” Kramer said. “I also want to learn the same things that they’re learning.” Kramer said he recognized students may not have chosen to be in Providence if it weren’t for Brown. “People shouldn’t think they’re getting stuck with Providence,” he said. “This place really exemplifies a lot of what’s going on in the countr y.” “One of the problems with service learning is that as younger college students, we don’t really have skills to offer,” Schwartz said. “You’ll take up more time than you’re worth.” “There’s not one model of what this should be,” Nozaki said, “We have to think with more variety about what the approaches could be.”

Renovations, major projects slated for U. buildings and dorms continued from page 2 completed before students return to campus in August, said Stephen Maiorisi, vice president for Facilities Management. The $20.8 million space is slated to include a dining facility, an official University

information center, the Student Activities Office and student organizations, as well as meeting areas and lounges, according to Paul Dietel, director of project management. The University broke ground Tuesday on the $45 million Medical Education Building, the new home

for the Alpert Medical School in the Jewelr y District, to be completed by August 2011, Maiorisi said. After a number of adaptations to the plan, the athletics complex will undergo significant changes as work on the Aquatics and Fitness Center commences. With an

operating budget of $46.6 million, the facility, which should be done by January 2011, is part of the new athletic quadrangle, Dietel said. With the establishment of the Department of Cognitive, Linguistic and Psychological Sciences in July 2010, the merged department will relocate to the Metcalf Chemistr y and Research Laborator y. “We were looking at a new building, but ultimately it made more sense to use underutilized space,” Maiorisi said. The $42 million structure should be complete by Januar y 2011, Dietel said. Final authorization, though expected, is still needed at the Corporation meeting in May, Maiorisi added. In addition, construction on the Creative Arts Center, a $40 million project that will include spaces such as a recital hall with about 200 seats, three production studios, an electronics and multimedia lab, as well as a galler y, will continue and be completed by December, according to Dietel. While the building’s skeleton has gone up, the glass, mechanical and electrical infrastructure will be installed over the summer, Maiorisi said, and with “more intense” ef forts, there will be a focus on ensuring the building is weather-tight. The Creative Arts Center Green is part of the fourth phase of the Walk, a passage connecting the Main Green and Pembroke Campus scheduled to be done when the building opens in December 2010. The prior three phases of the of the Walk — including the Sidney Frank Hall Passage, the space between Waterman Street and Angell Street Green and Pembroke Hall Front Green — are already finished, according to Facility Management’s Web site. Upcoming construction is not limited to key capital projects — the University undertakes over a total of 80 assignments each summer, Dietel said.

For example, he noted that both a data center upgrade and new communications center for public safety located in the Watson Center for Information Technology are currently in progress and will be finished by July 2010. Several dorm renovations will also take place, though part of the three-year plan announced in 2008 “was put on hold because of the economy,” said Thomas Forsberg, associate director of housing and residential life. Generally, “what we’re doing here is more of a cosmetic” job, Forsberg said. All four New Pembroke buildings will receive face-lifts — the University plans on doing painting and flooring work in bedrooms, lounges, kitchens and corridors as well as improvements in bathrooms, Forsberg explained. Additionally, new flooring will be installed alongside a fresh paint job in Vartan Gregorian Quad Building B, he said. Dietel said these two dorm projects have a combined total budget of $2 million and in addition to these initiatives, “we are trying to see if we can do anything with furniture connected to these, but that has not been finalized or funded yet,” Forsberg added. Another task is the replacement of the Minden Hall elevator, which has not been working well since the building opened as a student residence in 2001, according to Forsberg. This will cost another $2 million, Dietel said. Ultimately, the constructions under way “are all critically important parts of the Plan For Academic Enrichment to support the faculty and students in a way we have been tr ying to do for sometime,” Spies said. And Maiorisi said, at this point in the game, even amidst the immense building activity taking place on campus “we’re looking at the next phase of planning, the next capital plans.”

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C ampus N EWS news in brief

Simmons to be awarded foreign policy prize President Ruth Simmons will be awarded a medal from the Foreign Policy Association at its annual dinner May 20 in New York City, according to Robert Nolan, a spokesperson for the association. Past recipients of the medal, which Nolan said “recognizes individuals who demonstrate responsible internationalism and work to expand public knowledge of international affairs,” include several leaders of foreign nations as well as U.S. officials such as former Secretary of State Colin Powell, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and former President Bill Clinton. Nolan said the association decided to award Simmons the medal to recognize her role in founding the Brown International Advanced Research Institutes, a series of summer workshops led by world-renowned speakers in various fields, according to Brown’s Web site. “I am pleased that they recognize the innovative power of the BIARI program,” Simmons wrote in an e-mail to The Herald. “Our faculty should be getting the medal for their outstanding work on this and other international education initiatives.” Stanford President John Hennessy will also receive a medal at the ceremony, according to Nolan. — Alex Bell

U. wants seniors to stay on campus continued from page 1

suggested expanding the Graduate Center and Wriston Quadrangle residence spaces, but Klawunn said the 2007 findings showed that this type of growth would not attract the target upperclassmen. The most recent update to the Plan for Academic Enrichment, in July, aimed to increase the number of students living on campus from 80 to 90 percent through new dorm initiatives when funding became available. But in light of the recent financial crisis, inadequate funding for such projects has pushed back the actual implementation, Spies said. “We’ve come through a difficult year,” he said, adding that the University is now “stabilizing” and in “a better place to start thinking about” these initiatives. Klawunn said it is time for the committees involved in the planning process — the Corporation Committee on Campus Life and the Corporation Committee on Facilities and Design

— to examine the “residential picture” that would best fit the campus today. “We are thinking of inviting these two groups to take a tour of residence halls in May,” in order to assess campus need for new space, she said. By planning and evaluating in the summer, she added, the committees may be able to assemble “preliminary ideas in the fall.” Klawunn added there must be a balance between expansion and renovation projects. These projects generally occur over the summer, with the New Pembroke buildings and the Minden Hall elevators slated to be updated in coming months. With the space made available by new dorms, Klawunn said, longer-term renovation projects of existing residence halls would be possible without displacing anyone. These longer-range renewal projects are unfeasible as of now because current dorms are at full capacity. Spies said the administration has already been receptive to new dorm proposals and is providing added mo-

tivation when evaluating the need for new dorms. “I envision a big dorm project,” President Ruth Simmons said at the Undergraduate Council of Students general body meeting March 24. She also mentioned the new dorms planning process during her State of Brown address March 18. “You don’t know when the moment will come to move from planning and innovation to implementation,” Spies said, so the involved groups must “be prepared for the opportunity to argue for the resources” when it does arise. These projects “are always dependent on unpredictable things,” Spies said, adding that unexpected sources of funding such as a donor contributing specifically to a dorm project could greatly shape when new dorm projects can actually be implemented. The plans must be in place when the opportunity comes, Spies said. “This has a good head of steam to get to the next level,” he added.

Forty years after ROTC’s eviction, attitudes soften on campus continued from page 1 just off the Main Green in Lyman Hall — was abolished. Brown students interested in ROTC can currently join the Providence College battalion, but in recent years, only a handful have done so. Last week, Students For ROTC held its first two public events, a dinner hosting Brown ROTC alums and a panel discussion with military officers. The group, founded last spring by Keith Dellagrotta ’10, has circulated a petition, which currently has 200 signatures, calling for ROTC support. The group itself only has about six active members, he said. This is not the first time that there has been talk of bringing ROTC back to College Hill since its expulsion. Over the years, there have been student groups, including one that was active in 2007, letters to the editor printed in The Herald and reconsideration by a University committee. But what makes now different? Why might a campus that once held rallies and sit-ins protesting the military now consider a growing relationship with ROTC? The return of ROTC to Brown is unlikely at this point — according to retired U.S. Army LTC Paul Dulchinos, it may not currently make sense for the military to invest money and personnel when the PC battalion is so close and there is so little student demand. But certain factors, including the possible future reformation of “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” and a shift in attitude, point to the changed nature of a debate over ROTC at Brown. For one, Brown is not alone. Groups at Harvard and Columbia have also been working to re-establish support for the program. A recent Boston Globe article described this as the “thawing” of elite university administrators’ opposition

to ROTC. Bringing ROTC back to Brown’s campus “hasn’t been part of the conversation so far,” said Dean of the College Katherine Bergeron. But, she said, “I think it would be fruitful for us to look into ways of recognizing in some fashion the work that students do in the ROTC program (at PC).” The form that such recognition would take hasn’t been decided yet, but more convenient transportation to PC and the possibility for academic credit for ROTC courses are two considerations, according to Bergeron. Support for students in ROTC isn’t new, she said. The University has a dean who oversees ROTC cadets and maintains a Web site with the program information. Top administrators, including President Ruth Simmons, were in attendance at last year’s commissioning ceremony, a visible sign of University support. Bergeron said she did see a shift in attitudes toward the military, and particularly noted the increased attendance at this year’s Veteran’s Day ceremonies. This shift might affect contemporary campus views on the ROTC program, she said. “This isn’t 1969,” she added. Turbulent times It’s true. This isn’t 1969. Popular criticism of today’s military often seizes upon the current “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy, which prohibits openly gay people from serving in the military — a debate that hadn’t even begun before ROTC left campus. In 1969, when ROTC protests had reached their fever pitch, the military draft was looming for male students. In the official 1969 vote calling for the phase-out, the faculty cited problems with awarding academic course credit for arguably less rigorous ROTC classes and granting

faculty status to military officers. Though that was true — “a really good supplementar y argument” — the major thrust to expel the military presence from College Hill

instead grew out of students’ and faculty’s increased dissatisfaction with the Vietnam War, according to Professor Emeritus of History and Slavic Studies Abbott Gleason,

who began teaching at Brown one year earlier. “That was a repudiation of Americontinued on page 6

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Calendar may change to make semesters more even continued from page 1 days before Labor Day. “In principle, we’re in favor of regularizing teaching days,” said Dean of the College Katherine Bergeron. “We made the decision not to bring the question around to the faculty yet to have more time to discuss.” Bergeron said she intends to discuss the issue with the Undergraduate Council of Students at the end of this year. “We have to see what it feels like to start earlier next year,” she said. She also advocated for a “campus-wide discussion” of the issue. Faculty members consulted have had a variety of opinions, Bergeron said. “When it was brought up that fall semester is shorter than spring semester, a lot of the faculty members on the council very suddenly realized that ‘oh, that was the problem!’ ” she said. “I think that having unequal semesters is really very awkward for a couple of reasons,” said Professor of Mathematics Thomas Banchoff, who gave the speech proposing the calendar change at the council’s meeting. “I teach a lot of beginning students and I think that freshmen have a particularly difficult time with their first semester at Brown when it’s so compressed.” Banchoff has taught a linear algebra class during both fall and spring semesters. He called spring a “much nicer semester, simply because you can time things a little better.” Banchoff also pointed out the un-

evenness of vacation time between the two semesters. Students get a week off at the end of March, but other than a few long weekends, the only vacation they receive in the fall is Thanksgiving. “If you teach on a Tuesday-Thursday schedule, there’s exactly one day off between the beginning of September and the end of December — Thanksgiving Day,” Banchoff said. “It’s asymmetric and that’s very unhelpful.” Banchoff recommended that Brown give students a week’s vacation sometime in the end of October, as many other schools — like Penn State and Notre Dame — do. “I think that having a vacation period in the middle of the semester is very important,” he said. Not all professors have had such a reaction, however. “I thought it was the other way around,” said Associate Professor of Chemistry Christoph Rose-Petruck, who teaches CHEM 0330: “Equilibrium, Rate and Structure” in both the fall and the spring. “I don’t know whether there’s really a big difference. I don’t mind basically either way.” University Registrar Michael Pesta said the Council would consider moving the semester earlier when it meets in the fall, but that any changes would most likely begin in 2012–13, not in 2011–12. Pesta added that the Council will look at the difference in the length of the reading periods each semester. Currently, the spring reading period is twelve days long, while in the fall it only lasts for five days. Pesta said

Kim Perley / Herald File Photo

The fall semester this year will start Sept. 1, five days before Labor Day. Administrators are considering making permanent changes to the calendar to make the fall semester longer — currently, it is four days shorter than the spring semester.

the Council might consider finding a balance between the two and give students a week both semesters. Perhaps unsurprisingly, students found the idea of a longer fall reading period more appealing than beginning the semester early. “People shouldn’t be spending August in school anywhere in the first world,” said Alex Verdolini ’11. “Fall classes

do seem more rushed, but it doesn’t bother me.” Mimi Dwyer ’13 said she hadn’t noticed that the fall semester was shorter, but found the fall reading period “really hectic,” she said. “I think the four days in the fall are negligible,” said Mike Johnson ’13, “but a longer reading period would be nice.”

Johnson added that a fall break would “not really have such an impact.” “I would rather have a longer reading period,” he added. “It’s a funny thing how you don’t think about a calendar but just accept it,” Bergeron said. “Ultimately, we’re doing due diligence and looking into it. Let’s see what it feels like.”

Brown participation in PC ROTC low continued from page 5 can foreign policy,” he said. The phase-out left open the possibility for ROTC to return, provided that seven conditions — including, for example, that ROTC courses “not carry credit” at Brown and that the awarding of degrees not be based on ROTC participation — were met. Following further negotiations with the military, these conditions proved incompatible with U.S. military regulations and the program was fully abolished. After 55 years of ROTC at Brown, 1972 was the last.

Thanks for reading!

Travelin’ down the hill In the late 1980s, around 15 Brown students participated in the PC ROTC unit. Today, there is just one: Joy Joung ’11. The number of Brown participants in ROTC has been relatively low for several years, according to Dulchinos, who served as professor of military science for the PC ROTC Battalion from 2005 to 2008. But just one cadet is a particularly low presence, he said. Joung drives her roommate’s car to PC for her 6:30 a.m. physical training session five days a week, and on Wednesdays she returns for an afternoon of militar y labs and classes. On these class days,

she wears her uniform, which can provoke unusually long stares, she said. Students sometimes ask “what is this?” or “are you in a play?” she said, adding that the most common response to her cadet status is simple curiosity. The most common criticism of the military that she hears is from students opposing the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy, she said. But as some military officers at the panel pointed out, that policy was decided by civilian politicians, not the military, she said. Joung, an ROTC scholarship recipient, is required to fulfill eight years of duty, four of them active. She hopes to work in military intelligence, using her knowledge of Russian and Korean, though she won’t know her future military career path until she takes an evaluation exam next summer. But this exam won’t determine everything — 40 percent of a cadet’s final evaluation score is determined by their college grade point average, she said. “They stress school,” Joung said, adding that she was surprised with how flexible the program was to accommodate both her academic schedule and her varsity hockey commitment. But it is still a difficult balance, she said, adding that greater institutional support in the form of transportation or course

credit might convince more people to consider ROTC. “You’re a college student first and a cadet second,” she said. Opening opportunities… That may be, but several speakers at last week’s dinner said they found their ROTC participation to be a defining experience at Brown. Alums and military officers spoke glowingly of the leadership and personal experience they gained, calling their units a “second home” or their “family.” Beyond the military’s positive effects on Brown students, the officers and veterans made another case for ROTC — the positive effect of Brown students on the military. “Restoration of ROTC may actually liberalize the narrow view that characterizes (the military),” said Clarke Ryder ’61 at the dinner. Officers at the panel were also quick to remind the audience of the military’s need for top-tier students. During his time as a professor of military science for the PC battalion, U.S. Army LTC Steven McGonagle commissioned about 100 cadets, but only two ever made it to the elite Ranger regiment — and both were Brown students, he said. One of those two students, Scott continued on page 8

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Quinn Savit / Herald file photo

Two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist David Rohde ’90, pictured at his talk at Brown in November, will deliver the baccalaureate address for the graduating class May 30.

Freeman, Richards to receive degrees continued from page 1 guished roster of seven other prominent statesman, scholars and public figures. These include actor Morgan Freeman, computer science innovator Barbara Liskov, Iranian novelist Shahrnush Parsipur, Planned Parenthood chief Cecile Richards ’80, India scholar Romila Thapur and Professor Emeritus of History Gordon Wood. Many of the degree recipients in attendance will take part in forums and other events on May 29, the press release said. No recipient will speak at the Commencement ceremony, since it is Brown tradition to feature two

graduating seniors as speakers. “I’m guessing that (Rohde’s) speech to the class will be focused on themes that he has talked about quite a bit since then, as in the place of journalism, the freedom of the press and keeping the world’s voice visible,” Cooper Nelson said. She said she has not yet received the title of his speech. The baccalaureate speech harkens back to a 13th century tradition of presenting the “laurels of oration” to graduating seniors, according to Cooper Nelson. “Mr. Rohde’s speech is the gift we’re giving to the undergraduates,”

Administrators take on multiple positions continued from page 3 it’s for a transitional phase,” said Provost David Ker tzer ’69 P’95 P’98, who oversees Gutmann. “You don’t normally want to do that.” Dual appointments can arise when logistical problems and timing issues prevent the University from immediately hiring the best outside candidates, he said. For example, Steven Lubar, director of the John Nicholas Brown Center for Public Humanities and Cultural Heritage, will maintain his current responsibilities when he comes on as director of the Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology in July, Kertzer said. Not only is Lubar “one of the nation’s most prominent museums specialists,” Kertzer said, but it also would have been difficult to recruit high-level candidates from outside Brown to the position. The museum is currently in “a transitional period” as the University plans to move it from Bristol to Providence. As a result, the muse-

um is closed except for the satellite location in Manning Hall, Kertzer said, making it less of a draw for potential job applicants. The University does not ask individuals such as Lubar, Gutmann and Nozaki to accept dual appointments in order to spend less money, Bergeron said. “It’s never done as a cost-saving measure,” she said. Kertzer said that dual appointments “would be less expensive” because the University does not have to pay an additional salar y, but added that financial concerns are “not the main reason” for dual appointments. “I’m not saying money is not a factor,” said Vice President for Human Resources Karen Davis. She explained that because of the Voluntar y Staff Retirement Incentive program and economic concerns, Brown has more open positions but less money to fill them. But “more often than not, these roles aren’t set up to save money,” she said.

she said. Baccalaureate speakers and honorary degree recipients are selected by a committee of corporation members and faculty, Cooper Nelson said. Anyone can nominate individuals for selection.

tive process” before a hearing had taken place. According to Brown’s non-academic disciplinary procedures, a student is “assumed not responsible of any alleged violations unless he/she is so found through the appropriate disciplinary hearing.” In another September 2006 email, Josephson criticized a decision by the Office of Student Life not to allow a pair of boxer shorts allegedly worn by the female student at the time she said she was raped by McCormick to be admitted as evidence, but to allow witnesses to make references to the boxer shorts in testimony. The Herald is withholding the name of the female student because she may have been the victim of a sex crime. Burch said he had requested the shorts from the University in order to have them tested, but the request had been denied. The University’s non-academic disciplinary procedures do not include a policy on the use of forensic evidence in disciplinary matters. Last fall, Burch resigned his position as assistant wrestling coach.

He said he decided to leave the program due to the University’s handling of the McCormick case as well as a subsequent case in which he advised another student accused of rape by the daughter of a University alum and fundraiser. In his letter of resignation, Burch wrote of the McCormick case, “All levels of the Brown University administration neglected their basic responsibilities, trading in service to students for the protection of the University’s image and their own job security.” In March, the Office of Student Life recommended changes to the University’s sexual misconduct policy that would separate offenses into two categories. One would encompass behavior that “involves non-consensual physical contact of a sexual nature” and the other behavior that “includes one or more of the following: penetration, violent physical force or injury.” Conviction for the latter would generally result in expulsion, according to the recommendations. It also recommended the creation of an “Office for Student Conduct” that would deal with both academic and non-academic violations.

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Students and ROTC alums weigh in on program’s value continued from page 6

Quigley ’05, joined the ROTC program after the September 11 attacks because it “was the most practical option to contribute and prepare for serving in a military and for a nation at war,” he wrote in an e-mail to The Herald. His Brown education made him a “more well-rounded and competent officer,” he wrote. At the dinner, NROTC alum Jack Nixon ’64 spoke heatedly about the experience he gained from the military, calling it the “most important” work experience of his life. “At least I had a choice,” he said. Alums and officers also said their ROTC scholarship gave them the freedom to attend a college they couldn’t otherwise afford. Or closing doors? But “it is not a debt-free education,” according to naval veteran Sean Dinces GS, who said the cost is your military service. “You do have to repay them. And that’s not choice.” Dinces graduated from a naval

academy in 2004, and served four years as a naval officer before being discharged in 2008. During his time in the military, Dinces was disturbed by the “xenophobic, homophobic and sexist” military culture that he encountered, he said. After his discharge, Dinces began working for a volunteer organization as a counselor for military personnel seeking to leave the military, including conscientious objectors and people like him who are disturbed by the discriminatory realities of military culture, he said. These realities are a large part of why Dinces believes ROTC should not return to the Brown campus. He also does not agree that the military culture is likely to be changed from within, and noted personal counseling experience with individuals who found themselves unable to reconcile personal philosophy with the military institution. Other students opposed to the program worry about the influence and control the military might exercise over Brown itself if it has the power to award credit. Is that something the University might fear

News tips?

from a growing relationship with the military? “No,” Bergeron said. There is no organized group opposing the Brown support for ROTC, but at the panel last week, one graduate student circulated a flier making the argument against ROTC on campus. And those opposed say they will mobilize against University movement to bring the program back. Beyond Brown Some consider what Brown support of ROTC might signify beyond College Hill. “To invite ROTC back now would be to make a political statement for continued military presence” in the Middle East, said Professor Gleason. On the other hand, the prominence of Brown ROTC alums in the military ranks would bring greater recognition of University excellence, military officers said. And the reality is that a handful of Brown students are joining these ranks even now without much University support for the PC pro-

herald@browndailyherald.com

gram. Four of the six active members of Students for ROTC are graduating this year. Dellagrotta will be going to medical school on a health professional scholarship from the airforce. After medical school and residency, he will serve four years of active duty. He said he hopes his student group continues to work to bring ROTC back to Brown after he leaves, and believes that other students feel the same way he does. In fact, it was the student support for ROTC demonstrated by last semester’s Herald poll that provided motivation to plan the two events, he said. The poll found that 41.3 percent of students said they would support the reinstatement of ROTC, 24.9 percent said they’d oppose it and 33.8 percent said they didn’t know. This might be an indication of the campus’s changing attitude towards the military. But in the end, it is not always the plurality opinion that effects change. In fact, when the Curriculum Committee initially examined the question of ROTC at Brown, the ma-

jority favored it remain on campus in a modified form. It was the student who wrote the minority opinion that called for its complete removal who ultimately won out. That student was Provost David Kertzer ’69 P’95 P’98. “He was a radical,” said Gleason. At that time, “campus dynamics were highly charged” in a way students today would have a hard time understanding, Kertzer said. Along with the times, Kertzer has shifted his views. Today, he is more receptive to consideration of University support for ROTC. But he would still require the University retain control over military faculty hiring and ensure academic intellectual freedom for students in the military science program if it were brought back on campus, he said. Still, “the argument that the university should facilitate students who are interested in participating in a ROTC program is a pretty strong argument,” he said. What would his former self say? “I don’t think my 22 year-old self would be that happy,” he said.

corrections A headline in Wednesday’s Herald (“Two football players drafted from College Hill to the NFL,” April 28) incorrectly stated that two players were drafted to the NFL. In fact, only David Howard ’09.5 was drafted. Bobby Sewall ’10 signed a free-agent contract after the draft. An article in Wednesday’s Herald, (“Faculty continue heated tenure debate,”April 28) misattributed two quotations to Michel-Andre Bossy, professor of comparative literature and French studies. The quotations should have been attributed to Edward Ahearn, also a professor of comparative literature and French studies, who was seated beside Bossy at the faculty meeting. The Herald regrets the errors.

Metro The Brown Daily Herald

“Eggs are where it’s at.” — Julian Forge, owner of Julian’s Thursday, April 29, 2010 | Page 9

Brunch on Broadway, with fresh flavors and flair A long road By Roberto Ferdman Staff Writer

Outside, crowds have begun to gather in anticipation, and inside, ovens and stoves are nearly warm enough to welcome the hundreds of orders they will field that day. A full staff has spent the past hour cracking eggs and readying potatoes, and the aroma of fresh drip coffee now seeps through the locked doors. It is Saturday morning on Broadway Street, and brunch is about to begin.

REVIEW Locals will flock to Federal Hill’s budding street for the weekend meal, and most will have only two places in mind: Julian’s and Nicks on Broadway. Though they’re a quick stroll from one another, each offers its own unique twist on the weekend dining experience. The aesthetic Julian’s is decorated head to toe, with scarcely a crack left untouched. “It’s a floor-to-ceiling kind of place,” said Julian Forge, its owner and founder. “I just tried to hit every corner.” But the decorations at Julian’s begin before one enters the door. Red canvas awnings hang over its entrance and the windows are dotted with flyers advertising poetry readings, art shows and open-mic nights. Once inside, the walls range from solid bright red to exposed brick, all cluttered with alternative art, and customers are seated around intricately decorated tables. “I wanted there to be lots going on,” Forge said. From the lengthy specials menu that sits at the bar’s edge, to the range of wall hangings and scattered trinkets, the restaurant overflows with visual information. But a sense of balance was equally as important to Forge. A swerving bar forms the division between kitchen and restaurant. “I designed

Roberto Ferdman / Herald

Nicks on Broadway serves creative and traditional weekend brunch.

it after a yin yang,” he said. “Half kitchen, half restaurant.” In stark contrast to Julian’s complicated aesthetic, Nicks on Broadway welcomes its patrons to a modest facade made of brick and glass. “I was going for an urban, contemporary environment,” said Derek Wagner, its owner and operator. “There’s no art, the tables are bare, and there are lots of clean, open spaces. I want people to focus on the food.” And much like at Julian’s, the food is prepared in plain view of its customers. Only a long, red, granite bar guards the kitchen. “That’s part of the charm,” Wagner said. “It makes the whole experience more intimate.” But the interior is truly brought to life with an abundance of red tile, stainless steel and dark wood. Every-

thing from the flow of the space to the white, pristine china that Wagner chose drives home its crisp modern ambiance. “I was conscious of everything, from the silverware to the lighting,” he said. The product of Wagner’s careful work is a neat arrangement of shapes and colors, a minimalistic Miro to Julian’s busy Pollock. The brunch Preparation begins long before the crowds of hungry patrons line up for their weekend fix. “We don’t open until 7 a.m. on Saturday, but there are days and days of preparation that go into our weekends,” Wagner said. At Julian’s, it is no different. “It’s the same type of deal here,” he said. Hours before their doors open,

both kitchens are fully staffed. Chefs and sous-chefs warm the ovens and ready the food, and waiters prepare the tables for the swarms of eager customers that file in each day. “Most of the staff get here before six and start turning everything on and setting everything up,” Wagner said. But once the crowds have begun to shuffle in, preparation becomes an afterthought and the food takes center stage. At Julian’s, the hard menu offers many offshoots of traditional brunch and breakfast plates such as The Desperado, eggs benedict made with avocado and fresh salsa; The Sweet Potato, Broccoli and Swiss Hash, a twist on the American beef-based dish; and The Pesto-fu, a pesto tofu scramble of kale, caramelized onions, oyster mushrooms, shredded carrot and roasted brussels sprouts. But the menu also includes separate sections for simpler egg dishes and omelets. “Eggs are where it’s at,” Forge said of breakfast. “It’s where it all begins.” Down the street, Nicks on Broadway offers a similarly eclectic range of choices. On the same page one can find Brioche French Toast, vanilla battered and thick cut with Fitzhugh Family Vermont maple; Tofu and Seasonal Vegetables, sauteed with garlic, herbs and lemon; Grilled Yellow-fin Tuna; and The Special, two eggs any style, home-fried potatoes and toast. But the hard menus at Julian’s and Nicks on Broadway are complemented with extensive specials menus. “It’s the specials that allow our chefs to be creative every day,” Forge said. And perhaps it is the emphasis on creative cuisine that really brings the two restaurants to the forefront of weekend daytime dining. “I try to make things that are wellrespected from a culinary perspective, but also interesting and fresh,” continued on page 11

to Nov. in R.I. contests By Bradley Silverman Staff Writer

When Patrick Kennedy was first elected to Congress in 1994, his victory marked a rare bright note in an otherwise dismal year for the Democratic Party. Democrats had lost eight seats in the Senate and 54 in the House of Representatives, relinquishing control of both chambers for the first time since the Eisenhower administration. Despite the Kennedy victory, Rhode Island Republicans had an unusually strong showing in a traditionally blue state. The party maintained control of Sen. John Chafee’s U.S. Senate seat, took control of the governor’s office and won two of the other three statewide offices. In addition, John’s son Lincoln Chafee ’75 won his bid for reelection as mayor of Warwick. Five years later, he was appointed to his late father’s Senate seat. With many political observers predicting a repeat of the 1994 midterms at the national level, several familiar faces from that chapter in Rhode Island’s political history are again at the center of the action in the current election cycle. Today Lincoln Chafee is running for governor, four years after being unseated by Sheldon Whitehouse as part of a Democratic tidal wave and three years after leaving the Republican party. Kennedy — who has since held the House seat continuously — announced his decision not to seek reelection in February, setting off a highly-contested race to replace him that has the potential to alter the political make-up of the state. In 1995, Kennedy’s youth and famous name made him stand out continued on page 10

On a rainy day, final push for census in Central Falls By Crystal Vance Guerra Contributing Writer

A rainy Saturday morning did not stop the Rhode Island Latino Complete Count Committee from going out, door to door, on April 17 to encourage Central Falls residents to fill out the census forms. “It was the last chance, the last day, to fill out the census,” said Marta Martinez, the Latina partnership specialist for the U.S. Census Bureau in Rhode Island who called the event “a community effort.” The organizers came from various community organizations including Progreso Latino, Fuerza Laboral and the International Institute. Students from Providence College and Brown also participated. The “Census Marathon” took

place at Jenks Park in Central Falls, one of the Census Bureau’s “hardto-count” cities. In the 2000 census, only 47 percent of the city participated, compared to Rhode Island’s 79 percent return rate, according to Census Bureau data. This year’s census slogan, “¡Si no nos cuentan, no contamos!” — If they don’t count us, we don’t count! — expresses the opinion of many community organizers in Central Falls. The low census return rate in 2000, said Martinez, meant that the federal government underestimated the level of need in Central Falls. Census results determine the distribution of $400 billion in federal aid — money that funds programs for children and the elderly as well as infrastructure projects, accord-

ing to census data. This is especially important for Central Falls, which is the most densely populated and the poorest city in Rhode Island. With a population of almost 19,000, Central Falls’ poverty rate is almost double that of Rhode Island. Twenty-nine percent of individuals live below the poverty line. Volunteers met Saturday in the Progreso Latino building to gather census forms and census “swag” — hats, bags and pencils — before canvassing the one-square-mile community, wrote participant Blanca Begert ’12 in an e-mail to The Herald. Progreso Latino, a Central Falls community organization, has been aiding the Census 2010 campaign since this winter, said Mario Bueno, executive director of the organization.

The Complete Count campaign in Rhode Island, Begert wrote, “is one of hundreds or thousands of Complete Count Committees across the country.” Their campaign began last April and culminated on Saturday with the Census Marathon. “The census overall,” Bueno said, “put a lot of attention to the message and got it out.” Martinez also pointed to this confusion about race as well as concerns about immigration status as the two most frequently cited reasons why residents had not filled out the forms. “Most of the people who live in Central Falls,” said Martinez, “are very recent immigrants. They’re not used to being categorized by race.” Most Latinos do not identify themselves racially as either white or

black, and when pressured to choose one, “most people want to be white,” Martinez said. The committee suggested that those who identify as Latino check the “some other race” box and write in their nationality, said Martinez. “I am Mexican in origin,” said Martinez explaining her support for the suggested response, “and I consider myself neither black nor white.” The primacy of nationality also caused confusion with the question of ethnicity. “People aren’t used to it … all of a sudden going from Puerto Rican, Guatemalan (or) Colombian to Hispanic,” said Martinez. Language was another area of continued on page 11

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“Every Kennedy you’ve ever heard of descended upon Rhode Island.” — Political analyst Jennifer Duffy, on Patrick Kennedy’s first House election

Familiar names come back into play for Nov. election scene continued from page 9

among the freshman class of legislators. Sixteen years later, Kennedy — his image tarnished by personal problems and sinking approval ratings — is retiring, sparking a fierce battle in which Republicans are hoping to retake his seat. Journalists, pundits and politicos have made so many comparisons between the 1994 midterms and the upcoming 2010 elections, mostly on the basis of an expected Democratic thumping, that they have become something of a cliche. Is history really repeating itself? Should Rhode Island Republicans get ready to party like it’s 1994? In a number of ways, the factors at work then seem to be in play once again — but not in always in the same way. ‘It wasn’t fun for him anymore’ 1994 might have been a bad year to be a Democrat, but it was a pretty good time to be a Kennedy. On Nov. 8, 1994, as Democrats across America fell to Republicans, Patrick Kennedy of Rhode Island’s First Congressional District was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, joining his father, Sen. Ted Kennedy, and cousin, Rep. Joseph Kennedy, both of Massachusetts. It was not an easy fight for father or son. Ted Kennedy overcame a tougher-than-usual reelection challenge, and Patrick Kennedy faced his first high-profile political test in Rhode Island, running against Republican Kevin Vigilante, a physician who had never before run for office. Vigilante “ran a good campaign,” said Wendy Schiller, associate professor of political science. “It wasn’t easy.” But Kennedy had a strong asset. Trading on the affection that voters in Rhode Island, the most Catholic state in the union, had for the fabled New England political dynasty, Patrick Kennedy embraced his famous surname. He also held deep Rhode Island roots — he graduated from Providence College in 1991 and was elected to the Rhode Island House of Representatives in 1988. “He targeted the voters who

remembered Camelot, and who remembered John F. Kennedy (P’83) as the first Catholic president,” said Jennifer Duffy, a Rhode Island native and senior editor for the Cook Political Report. He also invited relatives to campaign for him. “Ever y Kennedy you’ve ever heard of descended upon Rhode Island,” Duffy said. He pulled it off in the end, winning 54 percent of the vote. Over the following years, Kennedy’s high profile and the challenges of his position began to take a toll. He struggled with alcoholism and addiction to prescription drugs. He was involved in two auto accidents, and since 2006 he has checked himself into substance abuse rehabilitation facilities twice, according to the Providence Journal. Kennedy, a Roman Catholic, also rammed heads on occasion with Providence Bishop Thomas Tobin over Kennedy’s support for abortion rights. Last year, Kennedy accused Tobin of instructing him not to take communion and of telling priests not to administer it to Kennedy over the congressman’s political stances. Last year, while the congressman was speaking at Brown during a health care forum, perennial political candidate Chris Young threw an anti-abortion video at Kennedy before being removed by security. This year, Kennedy appeared vulnerable to a Republican challenge: John Loughlin, a Republican state senator, entered the race against him and was pulling in donations from Republicans across the country eager to unseat a Kennedy. Kennedy shocked the political world in February by announcing he would not seek reelection, throwing the race for his seat into turmoil and sparking speculation as to why he decided to throw in the towel. Schiller said she does not think he was worried about defeat. “Kennedy was exhausted,” she said. “He worked incredibly hard. He had personal difficulties. It wasn’t fun for him at all anymore.” The death of his father also played a role in his decision, she said, sharing an anecdote about how Patrick would watch the State of the

Union with his father and cousin when each served in Congress. “This year, he sat alone,” Schiller said. With Kennedy out of the race, Mayor David Cicilline ’83 and former party chairman William Lynch are vying for the Democratic nomination for his seat. Schiller said she believes that Kennedy would have won the race had he stayed in it, and that his departure increases the odds of a Republican takeover. But Patrick Kennedy’s departure also deprived Loughlin of his signature issue — Patrick Kennedy. The race is now as much about Loughlin as it is the other candidates, Duffy said. Cara Cromwell, Loughlin’s campaign manager, said that this is what her candidate prefers. “Ultimately this race is about John, not Patrick Kennedy,” she told The Herald earlier this month. For her part, Schiller said she does not think Kennedy’s political career has permanently ended. “I think he’ll be back — maybe not as a candidate — but he’ll do something in public service.” Two unlikely candidates Neither gubernatorial candidate should have made it as far as they did. When state Sen. Myrth York, a Democrat, and Republican Lincoln Almond, a former U.S. Attorney, faced off in the 1994 election, both had come from behind to defeat their respective parties’ establishment candidates. But in a year of extraordinary voter dissatisfaction with the status quo, it was sometimes better to be an outsider than to be seen as part of the system. “Voters were angry,” said Duffy. “They wanted to tr y something new.” York, who represented the 2nd Senate District, had toppled incumbent Gov. Bruce Sundlun in the Democratic primary, winning every single city and town in the state, according to data from the Rhode Island Board of Elections. Schiller said that though Sundlun was not strongly disliked, “voters wanted a change.”

Chris Bennett / Herald file photo

Former Sen. Lincoln Chafee ’75 is back on the campaign trail. He currently is leading in polls for November’s gubernatorial election.

She also said Sundlun was caught off guard by York’s challenge, having never taken her seriously as a threat until it was too late. In the end, York beat Sundlun with roughly 57 percent of the vote to Sundlun’s 27 percent, according to the Rhode Island Board of Elections. On the Republican side, Lincoln Almond was the heavy underdog against First District Rep. Ronald Machtley, who had the support of most of the state party, including Sen. John Chafee P’75 and his son, Lincoln Chafee ’75. Though the younger Chafee supported Machtley, he was impressed by a speech Almond gave at a gathering of state Republicans, crediting his stump with helping him win over skeptics. “Almond got a standing ovation — he gave a good pitch,” Chafee said. The general election was close, with Almond edging out York by less than 14,000 votes out of 361,377 cast. Robert Healey, an independent candidate who today is running for lieutenant governor, received around 33,000 votes. Duffy credited Almond’s victory to his law-and-order image as a former prosecutor, saying that voters felt comfortable with his resume. She also believes that local factors played more of a role in the race than did national trends, and noted that Republican governors are hardly unusual in Rhode Island, having occupied the office for 22 of the past 26 years. Schiller said that in Rhode Island, voters often elect Republican governors to put a check on the Democratcontrolled General Assembly. The Chafee saga In Warwick, Lincoln Chafee, the first Republican mayor in 30 years, was elected to a second two-year term in 1994. Because the city had more registered Democrats than Republicans, Lincoln Chafee said he was too busy with his own reelection

bid to campaign much for his father or for Almond. John Chafee was reelected easily that year, after playing a major part in the Senate debate over President Bill Clinton’s health care reform proposal. One of the most prominent Republican negotiators, John Chafee offered his own plan and worked with Democrats on efforts to reach a compromise, though it ultimately fell apart. When the elder Chafee died in 1999, Lincoln Almond, heeding the advice of Senate Republicans, appointed Lincoln Chafee, who had already announced his campaign, to the seat. Chafee defeated 2nd District congressman Robert Weygand in 2000 for a full six-year term. In the Senate, Chafee was an odd Republican. A moderate like his father before him, he voted with Democrats against many tenets of the modern-day Republican platform, including the war in Iraq, abortion restrictions and elimination of the estate tax, and in favor of environmental regulations and gun control. His moderate-to-liberal voting record was not enough to save him from defeat in 2006, when Sheldon Whitehouse argued that a vote for Chafee was a vote for Republican control of Congress. Chafee lost with 46 percent of the vote, according to election data, even as exit polls on Election Day gave him a 63 percent approval rating. Since then, Chafee has left the Republican Party, endorsed Barack Obama for president and launched an independent bid for governor. Every poll so far has showed him ahead of his rivals, Republican John Robitaille and Democrats Attorney General Patrick Lynch ’87 and Treasurer Frank Caprio. After controlling the governor’s office for 16 years, Republicans have so far been unable to put forward a continued on page 11

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M etro

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Language, accessibility hurt census return in Central Falls continued from page 9

focus for the Marathon’s organizers and volunteers. This year’s census was made available in six different languages. But these efforts did not always reach the communities in need. “Some hadn’t even heard of it,”

Begert wrote. “One family hadn’t filled out the form because the parents didn’t speak English. Once we gave them the Spanish form, they could fill it out and give it back to us.” Language accessibility is especially relevant in Central Falls, where 67 percent of residents speak a lan-

Looking to the past to forecast R.I.’s future continued from page 10 viable candidate. Neither Robitaille nor former state representative Victor Moffitt, who is also seeking the GOP nod, are considered strong candidates, with most polls showing the Republican candidate coming in third. “It’s not going to be a good year for Republicans in Rhode Island in the governor’s race,” Duffy said. “There will not be a Republican governor in January.” Looking ahead to November Duffy said that one advantage Democrats have today that they didn’t in 1994 is foresight. “It was hard to see the tidal wave coming,” she said. “No Democrat is asleep today.” Duffy said that other than trying to fire up their base, Democrats have limited options to stem their losses in the fall. “Midterms are never about the out party, so it almost doesn’t matter what they do,” she said. Schiller sounded slightly more optimistic for Democrats, speculating that the zenith of anger over

health care reform may have passed, and questioning whether Republicans have peaked too soon. In 1994, Schiller said, Democrats accomplished little with their large majorities and were seen as ineffective. This time, she said, they have more substantial achievements to tout. “They need to be extremely clear about the benefits of legislation they have enacted,” she said. “Democrats are inherently worse at simplifying their message than Republicans.” Passing health care could be the biggest difference for Democrats between today and 1994, said Chafee, who identified a high degree of partisanship as the biggest similarity between now and then. Schiller cautioned that Republicans should work with Democrats a few times between now and November lest they be seen as deliberately obstructionist. Surprises may still come, she said. “Nobody predicted 1994.” Whatever may come this November, one thing is certain: If this election is at all like 1994, its impact will continue to reverberate in Rhode Island for years to come.

Three-year bachelor’s degree gains popularity By Larry Gordon Los Angeles T imes

LOS ANGELES — Kayla Bortolazzo is about to finish college in just three years, a rare accomplishment that some educators around the country hope to make more common. A resident of Redding, Calif., Bortolazzo is enrolled in a special program at Southern Oregon University that waives some introduc-

WORLD & NATION tory classes for academically gifted students and gives them first dibs at course registration. So in the fall, the 20-year-old English education major will head to graduate school and then, she hopes, a teaching career — with a year’s worth of unspent tuition dollars still in her family’s pocket. Bortolazzo said she knows that finishing college in three years won’t work for most students and that

many are not rushing to graduate into a depressed economy. But she recommends a fast track “to anybody who is really motivated, feels they have the time to commit to it and really wants to get out in the job market.” Students like Bortolazzo are drawing attention these days as families look to reduce tuition bills and colleges try to stretch limited budgets and classroom space. About a dozen, mostly small, U.S. colleges and universities now offer formal routes to earning a degree in three years instead of the usual four or five. And many others, including the University of California, are studying ways to start such an option. “It’s really indefensible in the current environment for universities not to be exploring more efficient use of their facilities and how to save students time and money,” said Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., a continued on page 13

guage other than English at home, compared to less than 18 percent nationally, according to census data from 2000. State education data for the 2007-08 school year shows that 70 percent of students in the Central Falls school district are Latino. Concerns surrounding immigration are another reason for low

response rates, Martinez said. Although the census does not ask about immigration status, the committee focused on targeting fears about documentation during their campaign. One of the committee’s goals is to “actively oppose negative messages and campaigns that set out to frighten undocumented individuals,” accord-

ing to its Web site. Martinez believes changes to the 2000 census have yielded the desired response rates. The return rates so far, said Martinez, are 79 percent for all of Rhode Island, and 59 percent for Central Falls. “I’m very grateful,” said Martinez, “gratefully surprised.”

Dishing up a delicious brunch continued from page 9 Wagner said of his special’s menu. Experimental dishes at Nicks on Broadway have included Pate and Eggs, Oysters and Caviar and Pork Belly. “They are things people don’t normally see on a brunch menu,” Wagner said. “The food is always a constant source of inspiration.” And both said of their evolving menus that there is still much more to come. A mutual respect Fifteen years ago when Julian’s first opened, Broadway Street was far from the trendy area it has become. “Half of the houses were still boarded up,” Forge said. But that was part of its lure. “I figured, if I fixed the front streets, the back

streets would follow.” And seven years later, Nicks on Broadway followed suit, opening just across the street. But unlike most competing businesses, the two began what has become a highly supportive relationship. “It has always been so important to have Julian’s blessing,” Wagner said. “After work I used to walk over (to Julian’s) and have a beer.” Today, both restaurants have cemented themselves as foundational pieces of the increasingly hip Broadway Street, but neither has relinquished its perpetual goal of improvement. Forge recently bought a double-decker bus he is in the process of converting into a “Julian’s on wheels.” “The second floor will be

the kitchen, and the first floor will be the restaurant,” he said. “I want to be able to hit all the Providence hotspots.” And Wagner is currently finishing an expansion that will include a full bar and a patio. “I really think me and Derek are the trendsetters in the business,” Forge said. But neither are worried about outgrowing each other’s company. Though Nicks on Broadway no longer sits across the street from Julian’s, Wagner and Forge are proud of their lasting friendship. “We’d borrow sugar from each other if we needed to,” Wagner said. The appreciation is mutual. “Yup, that’s exactly the type of relationship that we have,” Julian responded.

SLA asks for boycott at meeting continued from page 2 ees have called for a boycott due to labor disputes and failed contract negotiation. The call comes after this year’s Gala had to be moved from the Westin Hotel downtown to an oncampus venue after employees called for a boycott because of contract negotiations.

SLA called for these labor disputes to be included in escape clauses within contracts, with language stipulating the ability to get out of a contract without financial penalty. SLA is also looking into a resolution passed in November 2005 by the American Association of University Professors that advised members to not cross

picket lines in order to hold their conferences, according to SLA member Haley Kossek ’13. Kossek said SLA is calling for a similar “protocol that student groups not cross a picket line” because “crossing a picket line is not a neutral act.” These discussions will continue into the fall, and Kossek urged UCS support.

Thanks for reading!

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

s potlight

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Amid diversity, students find common ground In a poll conducted earlier this semester, The Herald asked, “How important or unimportant is religion in your life?” With no explanation as to whether the question referred to religious identity or practice, interpretation of the question was left entirely to the respondents. “Somewhat unimportant” drew 17.2 percent of responses, and a third of those polled responded “ver y unimportant.” But 26.2 percent responded with “somewhat important,” and 18.1 percent called religion “very important” in their lives. Though several religious groups on campus enjoy a vibrant presence, University Chaplain Janet Cooper Nelson said it seems like there is “an effort to flatten the conversation into very narrow camps.” Religion, Cooper Nelson said, is a unique topic in that people with little experience or background feel comfortable articulating very strong opinions. Though she has experienced a great deal of “group ignorance,” Cooper Nelson said individually she finds people are often wellinformed. Cooper Nelson said she did not want students to leave the University “religiously illiterate,”

How important or unimportant is religion in your life?

By Brigitta Greene Metro Editor

Don’t know/ no answer 5.0%

Somewhat unimportant 17.2%

Very unimportant 33.5%

Very important 18.1% Somewhat important 26.2%

Katie Wilson / Herald

but that students “often at very young ages become each other’s teachers about religion.” In today’s Spotlight, The Herald takes a look at a sampling of

Thinking freely and radically

groups whose names might not be well-known, but that nonetheless unite students in common ground. — Hannah Moser

Every other Tuesday evening, members of Brown Freethought assemble at 5:30 on the third floor of Wilson Hall, united by a common interest in skepticism and rationalism. Perhaps it comes as a surprise, then, that at a school like Brown, the room is never full. At most, 10 students attend each regular meeting, said Jared Lafer ’11, Herald opinions columnist. Lafer is the vice president of Freethought, a student group founded three years with the goal of “promoting and defending reason, science and freedom of inquiry,” according to its Web site. “We’re an atheist group that is also a skeptical group,” said Herald Opinions Columnist David Sheffield ’11, the group’s president. But if you compare the size of the group to that of various religious groups on campus, Freethought is remarkably small, Lafer said. “As far as people who are passionate go, it seems that (religious groups) have the majority.” Though Brown is considered to have a very secular student body, there seems to be a lack of discussion about issues of rationality, atheism, humanism and skepticism on campus, he said. Rachel Cohn ’10, a Multi-Faith Council coordinator, agreed. “Brown has a very supportive structure and great people,” she said, but the “general vibe” is that religion and secularity is a personal investigation. “It’s only on your own time,” she said. “There is a lack of conversation.”

She said the Office of the Chaplains and Religious Life is underutilized by the student body. “People don’t know the chaplain is a resource in general,” and can help talk through complex questions, whether they be religious or not, she said. In terms of atheism or agnosticism at Brown, “it’s a conversation that’s not engaged, it’s not that they’re dominating the conversation,” she said. Agnostic groups tend to be more popular in areas like the “Bible belt” with strong religious presence, Sheffield said. He said Freethought has moved more toward skepticism because it is easier to advocate on campus. “Atheism doesn’t spur people’s passion as much as religion does,” Lafer said. Last semester, the group held a discussion with the Inter-Faith Council. Though Lafer said he found the experience interesting, much religion-oriented discussion “tends to talk more about personal experience,” whereas Freethought is focused on the “deeper, more fundamental questions.” Each week’s meeting features a different topic of discussion — anything from philosophy to current events — and conversations last upwards of an hour, Lafer said. “Sometimes we really go off.” In the future, the group plans to open greater outreach, publicity and advocacy work. Plans for next semester include encouraging the Brown Bookstore to stop selling homeopathic medicine such as Airborne and Zycam, Sheffield said.

With Zen group, focusing on breathing By Brigitta Greene Metro Editor

There is no “correct” style to sit on the Zafu. The plump meditation cushion ­— filled with buckwheat or kapok fiber ­— can be firm or soft. It can placed directly on the floor or on a zabuton — a stuffed floor mat to cushion the knees and the ankles. Legs can be cross-legged or folded directly beneath. With three harsh snaps of the Chukpi, the meditation begins. Zach Schlosser ’10.5, one of three leaders of Brown’s Zen Group, settles into his breath. “It’s a sense of finally, finally resting,” he said. “Of finally, finally being okay. Of finally, finally not needing to get anywhere or do anything.”

The Zen Group was founded in the early 70s when Korean Zen Master Seung Sahn began practicing in Providence. The group holds four open meditations each week in Manning Chapel. On Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday afternoons, the sessions are about an hour long. Twenty minutes of sitting meditation is followed by 10 minutes of walking, another 20 minutes of sitting and then a brief reading. Monday evening’s sessions include an initial half-hour of chanting. The experience of meditation is different for ever yone, Schlosser said, but it is about “attention being right here, right now.” Through meditation, personal conflict and stress come to the surface, he said.

The other BDH blogdailyherald.com

“There is a deepening sense of already being fine, of already being perfect, of already being okay.” And though Zen meditation is one path towards this peace, it “doesn’t have to be done sitting on a cushion.” While students often clear their minds at the gym or on the tennis court, the Zen Group “just created a space to explore and to create dialogue,” he said. “It’s not a linear thing,” said Adam Yarnell ’10. Though some days it can be incredibly gratifying, “some days it’s really frustrating.” Zen meditation is a Buddhist tradition, but the Brown Zen Group is practice-oriented. The group brings in teachers to lead meditations and give lectures, and holds one day-long retreat each year.

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Thursday, April 29, 2010

Exploring Hindu culture and identity

A place to talk and understand

S potlight BY Clare de Boer Staf f Writer

“I see many Hindus on campus, but ver y few actually come for Hindu Student Association” meetings, said Swami Yogatmananda, chaplain of Hinduism at Brown. Only four or five students regularly attend the Monday evening meetings, he said. Yogatmananda said students’ minimal par ticipation in the association may be the result of Hindu integration in the greater American culture. He added that the presence of the South Asian Students Association also decreases the need for Hindu students

to af filiate themselves with the association. “Most of the Hindu students here are really Americans ... and are quite familiar with their surroundings,” he said, adding that they have less need to seek out the association’s cultural ser vices. The South Asian Students Association “is more for cultural programs,” Yogatmananda said. “We focus more on religious aspects,” Though some pujas, or prayers, have been attended by non-Hindus, most students in the association practice the religious and spiritual values of Hinduism, Yogatmananda said.

He said students come to meetings to “discuss their problems” and learn more about practicing Hinduism. The Hindu Student Association “discusses many intellectually impor tant questions about Hinduism,” he said. Some common questions surround what Hindu identity is, as well as how one practices the religion in the United States. He also said most students ask about the connection between the caste system and Hindu religion. Yogatmananda said that the association has a curriculum to address “impor tant features of Hindu religion.”

Educators disagree on three-year degrees continued from page 11 former U.S. Education Department secretary who is a strong advocate of three-year degrees. Even if they make up a minority of college populations, he said, “some well-prepared students can do their work in three years, and colleges should create a track for them.” Not everyone agrees. Some educators worry that academic quality could suffer in three-year programs,

which usually waive some requirements or push students to take very heavy course loads. Others say that most college students just need the extra year to grow up — and to explore. Daniel Hurley of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities said it is misguided to focus on three-year degrees when most college students struggle to graduate in five or even six years. Many such students are under-pre-

pared academically, have financial problems or can’t enroll in oversubscribed classes, he said. Hurley, the association’s director of state relations and policy analysis, also said it was unrealistic to assume that most students start with the fixed major and career choices that a three-year degree requires. “Many students change majors, and thank God we did. Otherwise we would be miserable and underemployed,” he said.

BY Clare de Boer Staf f Writer

The Muslim Students Association offers a ritual, intellectual and social experience to approximately 150 Muslim students, faculty, and staff, as well as around 150 non-Muslims over the course of the academic year, according to Robert Coolidge, the Muslim chaplain for the University. Coolidge said there are many different aspects to the association, “and people choose to participate in whatever they are interested in or get benefit from.” “The Muslim Students Association is not a formalized institution,” said Osman Chaudhr y ’11, but a “really nice place to talk about faith.” For non-Muslims, the organization provides opportunities for the Brown community to get to know more about Islam and meet Muslims “in the flesh,” said Coolidge. People of many faiths attend the association’s festivities and

rituals including the breaking of fast during the holy month of Ramadan, he said. “Quite a few people are involved and come to events,” Chaudhr y said. Events this semester have included screenings of “Jihad for Love” and “Scar y Arabs and Sexy Hijabis,” which addressed the portrayal of Muslims in the media. “Its ver y nice to meet people who come from similar religious backgrounds as you, as America is not the most hospitable for Muslims,” Chaudhr y added. For Muslims on campus, the association offers congregational worship in the form of Friday prayer, said Coolidge, as well as the study of the Quran. The Muslim Students Association has been a “source of suppor t,” and “made me feel welcome,” Chaudhr y said. “Through dialogue, I have challenged my own beliefs,” he said. “The Muslim Students Association is a really nice place to talk about faith.”

www.browndailyherald.com

SportsThursday The Brown Daily Herald

Thursday, April 29, 2010 | Page 14

Former hoops star MacDonald ’08 back in the community BY Ben Noble Staf f Writer

Mark MacDonald ’08 always knew he wanted to give back. But after trying out for a professional basketball team in Europe and then spending a year as a media consultant, he realized he did not want to wait to start his mission. MacDonald, who was captain of the men’s basketball team his senior year at Brown, is working at Up2Us as a yearlong volunteer with AmeriCorps VISTA, a government-sponsored service program that matches civilians wanting to serve with nonprofits. Up2Us is a New York-based coalition of over 400 sports-based youth development organizations nationwide.

“I was always thinking about ways to give back,” he said. “This was an opportunity where I could combine sports, service and business experience.” As outreach associate at Up2Us, MacDonald organizes regional conferences around the countr y at which leaders of youth sports groups can meet each other and learn how to expand and improve their programs. “It’s really helpful to have these conferences because a lot of the groups we work with have never networked before,” he said. MacDonald is also tasked with a variety of marketing and advocacy efforts, including using social media to spread the word about the importance of youth sports.

“Even in underserved communities, every kid deserves to be on a team and have a chance to play,” he said. “Inner-city kids are struggling with so many issues, but playing sports after school helps them build self confidence.” MacDonald’s selflessness is nothing new. As a teenager, he earned the “Junior Class Award for overall excellence in character, scholarship, athletics and service to others” at Lexington High School in Lexington, Mass., where he was a standout varsity athlete in three sports. He also understood and appreciated the power of athletics from a young age, he said. “I come from a single-parent household, and sports has been a big part of my life,” he said. “My

team has always been like my family.” MacDonald played forward all four years at Brown and cites thenHead Coach Craig Robinson as a major influence and mentor. “He taught me that every practice is a teaching opportunity,” MacDonald said. “I really grew so much as a person under him.” Upon graduating with a degree in political science, MacDonald traveled to Belgium and played in trials for the EuroBasket professional league. But he injured himself before he could sign a contract and returned to the U.S. to work as a consultant at the Fenton Group, a public relations firm in Providence. After a couple years, MacDonald decided he wanted to focus on serving underprivileged communities and began exploring various AmeriCorps VISTA programs. He said he was drawn to Up2Us because of the possibility of combining his passions for sports and service. “I really liked what this program stood for,” he said. “It was a pretty easy decision.” Up2Us, meanwhile, was looking for someone with experience in both communications and sports, according to Director of Member Services Nick Beckman. “I remember reading Mark’s application and thinking to myself, ‘This guy is too good to be true,’ ” Beckman wrote in an e-mail to The Herald. “Mark, who grew up playing basketball, experienced first hand what Up2Us is all about: getting kids involved in sports so they can learn teamwork, leadership, discipline, perseverance and achieve on the field and in the classroom,” Beckman wrote. “And he’s more than made good on that application.” MacDonald, who joined Up2Us in September, has six months left. He said consulting is a possible next step when his program ends. But he said the business world would only be temporary, and he would like to come back to sports in the future, just like Robinson did. Robinson, who played basketball at Princeton under legendary coach Pete Carril, spent a decade as a bond trader on Wall Street before turning to coaching. Although Robinson left Brown for

Oregon State University in 2008, he still keeps in touch with MacDonald, who saw him in New York last Monday. Robinson, who is the brother of First Lady Michelle Obama, was in town for an interview with Time magazine. MacDonald was also in for a special treat: a chance to watch the live taping of his old coach on the Colbert Report. MacDonald said he has found a lot of similarities between playing basketball and working at Up2Us. “A lot of the people I work with are athletes,” he explained. “Like being part of a team, we rely on each other and work together for a common goal.” Jesse Agel, Brown’s current head coach and a former assistant under Robinson, had nothing but praise for MacDonald. “He was an intense competitor, but more importantly, he was a great teammate,” Agel said. “He was keenly aware of helping his young teammates out, and he always came with a great attitude.” “He was exactly what you want in a captain,” he added. Matthew Muller y ’10 played with MacDonald for two years at Brown. “Mark always has other people’s interests at heart,” Mullery said. “I get the sense that he gets a great deal of fulfillment in what he’s doing right now.” He said MacDonald joined this year’s graduating players and their families for dinner on senior night. “He is a real class act and a great role model for the younger guys to look up to,” Mullery said. MacDonald said no matter what he does next, service will continue to be an integral part of his life. “If you have the resources to give back to your country, you should because there are so many people in need,” MacDonald said. “I think he has the intelligence and charisma and skill set to exceed in any job at any company or organization,” Beckman wrote. “He really sees the big picture,” Agel added. “It was an honor to have a coached a kid who just had a great perspective.” “For him now to go out and try to make the world a better place, that’s not a surprise at all.”

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Thursday, April 29, 2010

S ports T hursday

Around the Bend: Bruno falls twice to Big Green Can’t-miss matchups BASEBALL

BY Chan Hee Chu Spor ts Staf f Writer

By Han Cui Assistant Spor ts Editor

As reading period kicks off, Brown students are getting ready for final exams and papers. However, the spring sports teams will continue competing until the summer. Here is a look at their upcoming competitions: Baseball will face off against Yale in its last series of the season. The Bears will host the Bulldogs in the first two games of the series, starting at 1 p.m. Friday. They will then travel to Yale to play the second doubleheader Saturday, beginning at 1 p.m. Softball has a similar schedule, as the team plays a four-game series against Yale, with the first two games at home Friday starting at 2 p.m. and the last two away Saturday beginning at 12:30 p.m. Men’s lacrosse will host Dartmouth Saturday for a 1 p.m. game. The Bears will compete in the Ivy League Tournament if they end the season as one of the top four teams in the conference. Princeton currently stands alone atop the rankings with a 4-1 record but is closely followed by Yale, Cornell and Brown, who all hold a 3-2 record. Women’s lacrosse will look for a win against Duke on May 9 at 11 a.m. in order to finish the season with a winning record. Men’s crew will race at Princeton on Saturday to finish its regular season. The Bears (4-0, 2-0 ECAC) will enter the Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges Sprints at Worcester, Mass., on

May 16. This Eastern College Athletic Conference event will also determine the Ivy League champion. Women’s crew will host Yale this Saturday at 11 a.m. The Bears will then prepare for the Eastern Association of Women’s Rowing Colleges Sprints in Camden, N.J., scheduled to kick off on May 16. Men’s and women’s track and field have a busy end-ofthe-year schedule with competitions on ever y weekend until the end of May. They will compete at the Princeton Elite Meet this Saturday. And on May 8 and 9, the Bears will return to Princeton to compete at the Ivy League Heptagonal Championship. The following weekend, Bruno will once again be at Princeton to compete at the ECAC/Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletics of America Championships May 14–16. Women’s water polo will play in the first round of the Eastern Championships in College Park, Md., Friday at 4 p.m against Indiana. The Bears earned a spot to compete at Easterns after they defeated Harvard, 14-10, earlier in the season. The women are the sixth seed out of eight teams. Last year, the team was the fifth seed and finished in fourth place. Equestrian will travel to Lexington, Ky., to compete in the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association Nationals May 6–9. The Bears will tr y to improve from their 10th-place finish last season.

Desperately needing a win to keep pace with Dartmouth in the Ivy League standings, the baseball team hosted the Big Green Tuesday and Wednesday. The games were originally scheduled for Sunday but had to be postponed due to rain. Despite jumping out to an early 1-0 lead Tuesday, the Bears lost the game, 8-4. On Wednesday, the Big Green scored early and often to take a 10-3 lead heading into the bottom of the seventh. But the Bears’ bats came alive late to make the game close before succumbing, 13-10, to Dartmouth. Dartmouth 8, Brown 4 On Tuesday, Matt Kimball ’11 matched up against Big Green pitcher Kyle Hendricks — a 39th-round draft pick out of high school. Kimball lasted 6 1/3 innings, giving up eight runs, six earned, on eight hits while striking out six. The Bears scored a run off Hendricks in each of the first four innings, including a home run over the right field fence by Pete Greskoff ’11 in the third. Those four runs were all the Bears could muster against Hendricks and the Dartmouth bullpen. First baseman Cody Slaughter ’13 led the Bears offensively, going 3-3 with a RBI. Josh Feit ’11 chipped in two hits and two runs. Dartmouth 13, Brown 10 After losing the day before, the Bears needed a win in Wednesday’s game to get back into a tie for the Rolfe Division lead. Rather than re-

Jonathan Bateman / Herald

Ryan Zrenda ’11 scored two home runs in Wednesday’s game against Dartmouth.

lying on one starter to carry them for the majority of the game, the Bears chose to empty their bullpen with hopes of securing a win. But the bullpen was ineffective. “I thought Brad Kottman (’13) pitched well and so did John Murphy (’12) at the end,” said Head Coach Marek Drabinski. “But ever yone else was either walking people or giving up hits.” Eight Brown pitchers combined to give up 13 runs on 13 hits. And whenever the Bears scored, the Big Green answered back. Dartmouth was helped out by an unusually wild outing by the Brown staff, as they walked a total of nine batters and hit an additional three. The Bears also committed two errors in the game, giving them a total of 11 in only four meetings with Dartmouth. “I thought our hitting was a little

better than them,” Drabinski said. “But our pitching and defense really let us down. It’s disappointing that 40 games into the season guys are still doing the same things wrong they did at the beginning.” The Bears blasted five home runs in the loss, including two by Ryan Zrenda ’11. Feit had another strong game, going 4-6 with a home run. Matt Colantonio ’11 also chipped in with three hits, including a home run, and three RBI. With the losses to Dartmouth, the Bears will seek to rebound by welcoming in the Yale Bulldogs for a pair of doubleheaders on Friday and Saturday. In addition to having a strong showing against Yale, the Bears need Harvard to at least split against Dartmouth this weekend to have a chance to play for the Ivy League Championship.

IVY LEAGUE SPORTS BRIEF

Cornell taps Virginia Tech assistant for bball head coaching job BY ANDREW BRACA Assistant Spor ts Editor

Cornell has named Bill Courtney its head men’s basketball coach, the school announced Friday in a press release. Courtney, who spent 15 years as an assistant coach, helped Virginia Tech to the NIT quarterfinals this past season. “Courtney has been part of teams that have made eight postseason appearances (three NCAA, four NIT, one CBI), won at least a share of four conference titles (Mid-American, Colonial and ACC) and posted 15 winning seasons with eight years of 18 wins or more,” according to the press release. Prior to his single season at Virginia Tech, Courtney spent three years at Virginia. He spent eight seasons at George Mason and re-

cruited many of the players that led the Patriots to the 2006 NCAA Final Four, though he left prior to that season to spend a year at Providence College. Courtney’s hiring comes less than three weeks after Steve Donahue accepted the head coaching position at Boston College. Courtney will have a major rebuilding process ahead of him, as the Big Red will lose nine seniors to graduation, including four starters. Five Ivy Leaguers get NFL contracts Three other Ivy League football players joined draftee David Howard ’09.5 and signee Bobby Sewall ’10, both with the Tennessee Titans, in latching on with NFL teams. Penn linebacker and long snapper Jake Lewko, the Co-Ivy League

Player of the Year and an AFCA AllAmerican, also signed a free-agent contract with Tennessee. Cornell wide receiver Br yan Walters signed a free-agent contract with the San Diego Chargers. The second team All-Ivy selection finished second in the Ivy League in receiving yards per game, behind only Buddy Farnham ’10. Harvard left tackle James Williams, a three-time All-American, signed a free agent contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Williams joins four Harvard alums on NFL rosters, including Baltimore Ravens center Matt Birk, Buffalo Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, Green Bay Packers quarterback Chris Pizzotti and Oakland Raiders defensive tackle Desmond Bryant. Ivy Quick Hits

— The Ivy League women’s lacrosse tournament will be held this weekend at Franklin Field in Philadelphia. On Friday, No. 2 seed Dartmouth (11-2, 5-2) will square off against Cornell (6-7, 4-3) at 4 p.m. and No. 1 seed Penn (12-3, 7-0) will face Princeton (6-9, 4-3) at 7 p.m. The championship game will be played Sunday. — On the eve of Saturday’s battle with Brown for a spot in the Ivy League men’s lacrosse tournament, Dartmouth attackman Ari Sussman earned Turfer New England Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association Player of the Week honors for tallying 13 points in wins over Vermont and Penn. — Cornell goalie Ben Scrivens, a Hobey Baker Award finalist and a first-team All-American selection, signed a free-agent contract with the

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NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs. — Earlier this month, forward Colin Greening signed with the Ottawa Senators, the team that drafted him in 2005, and defenseman Brendon Nash signed a free agent contract with the Montreal Canadiens. — Columbia’s archers found success at the East Regional Intercollegiate Archery Championships. The recurve team of Sarah Chai, Alexandra Garyn and Sara Goshorn took the gold medal on Saturday. The following day, Chai won an individual gold medal in the event.

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

S ports T hursday

Thursday, April 29, 2010

“It’s football 90 percent of your life.” — Colin Cloherty ’09, on his time in the NFL

Tight end Colin Cloherty ’09 has a ‘crazy ride’ as an NFL rookie Colts player offers vision of life in the big leagues By Dan Alexander Spor ts Editor

It was 6:28 a.m. Tight end Colin Cloherty ’09 was walking into the Cleveland Browns weight room for a lift that was to begin in two minutes when his phone rang. A Browns representative told him he wouldn’t need to work out today. He had been cut. Cloherty had until 11 a.m. to be out of his hotel room, where he had been living instead of an apartment. When you’re an NFL rookie with a week-to-week contract, life is just too unpredictable to put down a monthlong lease. Cloherty immediately rang up his agent and told him to start making calls. The agent contacted the Indianapolis Colts, the team with which he started the season. “Indy was kind of delaying, saying ‘Well, we might take him. We might not take him,’ ” Cloherty said. “So I went to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and kind of hung out for a while.” Eventually, he had seen all of the Elvis memorabilia he needed to see, and Cloherty got into his car — which held everything he owned — and started driving toward home in Bethesda, Md. But midway through the drive, Cloherty’s phone rang. It was the Colts, and they wanted him in Indianapolis. “So I hung a right,” Cloherty said, “and went out to Indianapolis — ran over a deer on the way — and got into Indianapolis late, late Monday night and then spent the rest of the season in Indianapolis.” So much for the glamorous life of the NFL. “I was thinking Cowboys of the 1990s, you know, parties and everybody knows who you are and media all over the place,” Cloherty said. “And that’s really not how it is. It’s football 90 percent of your life — from when you wake up to when you go to sleep. And then maybe once every other week or something, you get to go out with some of the guys and hang out on a Monday night.” Last weekend, four Brown football players — David Howard ’09.5, Bobby Sewall ’10, Buddy Farnham ’10 and James Develin ’10 — earned their shots at making it to the NFL. One year ago, Cloherty was where they are now — trying to finish up final exams, go to rookie minicamps, graduate from Brown and secure a spot on an NFL roster, all within a few weeks. Though each NFL career is different, Cloherty’s experience offers some hint of what the latest group of Bears trying to suit up for an NFL team will face in the

next year. Manning: ‘Who’s this guy running the wrong route?’ During rookie minicamp, Cloherty had his first interaction with Colts quarterback Peyton Manning. Cloherty was running routes on one side of the field while Manning was practicing on the other. “I was supposed to run five yards straight and then cut in,” Cloherty said. “And I ran six yards instead of five and cut in. And (Manning) started yelling at me from across the field. You know, ‘If they wanted it to be a six, they would have said at six. And it’s supposed to be at five. You won’t be around here long if you can’t count to five.’ … That was just kind of the start of catching hell for not knowing the offense as well as you should when you’re a rookie.” Cloherty said Manning turned out to be “definitely a nice guy,” but whenever Cloherty made another mistake, Manning always reminded Cloherty of his new nickname, “Ivy.” “He would always use it in the worst circumstances, like, ‘Who’s this guy running the wrong route and ruining my read on the play? Is that you, Ivy?’ ” Cloherty said with a laugh. “And I was like, ‘Yup.’ And he was like, ‘Yeah, that Brown diploma isn’t what it once was, huh?’ And I’m like, ‘Uh. I guess not.’ ” Out of necessity, Cloherty eventually learned the plays so that they were second nature. In the Colts offense, Manning may change the play three or four times at the line of scrimmage based on how defense lines up. That takes away any time to think about what the play is. Everyone just has to know it. “The playbook is — I don’t know if it’s as hard or as thick as an orgo chemistry book, but there’s definitely a lot of info you have to know,” Cloherty said. “But after four years at an Ivy League school, you know what study habits work and what doesn’t and how many hours you need to put into something to know it.” ‘Pack your bags’ Cloherty stayed on the Colts practice squad, which he said was “kind of like redshirting in college.” In addition to the 53-man active roster on each team, eight people are on the practice squad. The practice squad players don’t get to suit up for games, they get paid less and they’re always teetering on the edge of unemployment. When Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney got injured in September against the Dolphins, the team needed to make room for another defensive end on the roster. Cloherty was cut the Monday after the injury. “The first thing I did when I got cut was come to Brown Homecoming,” Cloherty said. “It was good to

Ashley Hess / Herald file photo

A former star tight end for the Bears, Colin Cloherty ’09 finished his first NFL season last year. His memorable year included a trip to the Super Bowl and a scolding from Peyton Manning.

be back.” He was without a squad for two weeks, but then Cleveland called and said, “Pack your bags, you’re coming,” according to Cloherty. But they never called back. The next week, Cleveland called again and said, “This time it’s for real.” But they told him to pack for one week. “They didn’t give me a playbook. It was kind of obvious that I wasn’t going to be there for very long. They were just paying me to practice as opposed to trying to develop me into something more.” Cloherty stuck around for three weeks before being cut at 6:28 that Monday morning. When he got back to Indianapolis, Cloherty remained on the practice squad until the final week of the season. On the last play of practice on Thursday before the Week 17 game versus the Buffalo Bills, one of the tight ends ahead of Cloherty on the depth chart got hurt, so Cloherty was activated on the roster. Since the Colts had already clinched a playoff berth, they rested their starters, so Cloherty got to play just shy of 40 snaps. He even got the ball thrown his way on one play. “I knew I was going to get hit right afterwards and as soon as I caught it, I just tried to hold on really tight,” Cloherty said. “I got tackled pretty quick and it was like a two-

yard catch on 3rd and 14, so I got up and had to come off the field looking upset. … And inside, I’m doing a little celebration, really excited.” He stayed on the active roster throughout the playoffs but never got to play again. He did, however, get to be on a team that made it to the Super Bowl. He said “electricity was in the air” the night of the Super Bowl, but it short-circuited for the Colts in the fourth quarter, and especially in the locker room afterwards. “You could hear a pin drop,” Cloherty said. “There was no one upset or yelling. Everyone just knew we just lost the biggest game of our lives.” ‘Right place at the right time’ Cloherty signed a three-year $930,000 contract when he got pulled up to the active roster. Nothing is ever guaranteed in the NFL, but he said the Colts are keeping him around until at least the start of next season. For now, the tight end from Brown who signed a free-agent contract a year ago seems to have found his place in the NFL. Brown Head Coach Phil Estes has seen a number of his players over the years try to make the leap to the NFL, and he understands how unpredictable the process is. Paul Raymond ’08 has bounced around to four different teams in the last

two years and is currently a free agent. “Is (Raymond) good enough to make it? Yeah, he’s absolutely good enough,” Estes said. “He just had to find the right fit. So he went from the Jets to Detroit — he went to a couple of different places to try to hook on, and it may not have worked for Paul. But certainly Colin was in the right place at the right time.” Joe Leslie, Cloherty’s former tight ends coach at Brown, agreed that making it on an NFL roster requires “a little bit of luck and just getting a chance to show what they can do.” If Howard, Sewall, Farnham and Develin “get a chance to get on somebody’s radar, they all can do things that will make you step up and take notice. A lot of it is having an opportunity and just making the most of the opportunity,” Leslie told The Herald in February. Cloherty hasn’t had a linear path to the NFL. He never knows when he’ll have to pack his car again and check out of his hotel. And his career is always at the whim of an injury — his or someone else’s. “I definitely have had a different road than what you see on TV,” he said. “But you know, it doesn’t really matter what your path is once you’re there. It’s, can you play or not? It’s definitely a different experience from what I was expecting. But on the whole, I’ve enjoyed it. It’s been a crazy ride.”

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Arts & Culture The Brown Daily Herald

Folk festival aims to recreate the magic By Luisa Robledo Staff Writer

The sounds of acoustic guitars, harmonicas and soft melodies will fill the air by Lincoln Field on Saturday. Featuring 16 performers, including both bands and solo artists, the second annual Brown Folk Festival is bound to be a day of good music on College Hill. “We’re excited for a day of live music,” said Avi Kenny ’11, one of the festival co-coordinators. “A lot of different styles will be featured in the festival.” The day’s activities will include several instructional workshops encouraging the audience to have a more personal experience with folk music and dances, according to a press release from Kenny. The day will end with a threehour contra-dance performance in Sayles Hall. “We hope people get really into it,” Kenny said. “It will be interesting to see how the different musical communities interact with each other.” Associate Dean of Biological Sciences Marjorie Thompson, a renowned finger-style guitarist, will perform an acoustic guitar set and said she is looking forward to playing for students. “They are used to hearing me lecture about kidneys and other stuff,” said Thompson, who has

played in dozens of shows across the country. “This will be a nice change for them.” Thompson said Saturday’s festival will be the first time she has been invited to play on campus. “I’m very glad to be recognized at my home, Brown University,” she said. “Most of the time I play for people my age,” she said. “I hope that students will be able to relate to my songs about death and dying.” Joshua Garcia ’11, winner of the festival’s student band competition, will play guitar and harmonica and sing his own pieces. “I’m really excited,” Garcia said. “It will be pretty cool to play around campus.” The piece that won Garcia his place among the 15 other performers is called “A Pocket Full of Gold,” which he said is about money and “buying things.” “Providence has some sort of home-like feel to it,” Garcia said. “It is very conducive to writing folk music.” Pirate-themed a cappella group ARRR!!! and student band Last Good Tooth, one of the opening acts for Spring Weekend, will also be performing. The concert will start at 11 a.m. and last for 10 hours. “We hope this is the beginning of a long Brown tradition that becomes bigger and grows over the years,” Kenny said.

Thursday, April 29, 2010 | Page 17

Kim Perley / Herald file photo

This Saturday’s RISD Alumni Spring Art Sale will feature about 170 artists.

Spring awakens artistic talents By Anita Badejo Staff Writer

Silk scarves, glass bead jewelry, furniture, paintings and hairy “Nightmare Snatcher” journals are just a few of the many items to be featured and sold in the Rhode Island School of Design’s annual Alumni Spring Art Sale on Saturday. The spring sale is one of three main sales featuring alums’ work that RISD hosts each year, the other two being in October and December, said Alan Tracy, event coordinator for Career Services at RISD. Accord-

ing to Tracy, the first October sale was hosted by the school 22 years ago and the addition of the spring show came a few years later. “It’s come a long way,” Tracy said, adding that the sale has gone from originally featuring only a “couple dozen artists” to about 170 participants this year. The school had to turn down approximately 60 artists that would have liked to be featured, according to Tracy. “It really can’t get any bigger,” he said. Shoppers will see that the sale, which will take place outdoors on Benefit Street from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

and include food and live jazz music from the Alex Snydman Evolution Trio, is “all over the place” in terms of the items sold, Tracy said. While some items may be priced at as high as hundreds of dollars, Tracy said the price of many will be “very achievable” for attendees. Though most artists featured in Saturday’s sale are from New England, Pennsylvania and Delaware — including 75 to 80 from Rhode Island — there will also be artists from a diverse range of states, such continued on page 18

Fairy tales come true (with songs too) in PW play By Amy Chen Staff Writer

Entwining a collection of beloved fairy tale stories, “Into the Woods,” a musical showing at T. F. Green Hall this weekend directed by Alexandra Keegan ’12, is an invitation to an exciting fantastical realm woven with symbolic real-life elements. Blending the characters of the baker and his wife with the tales of Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk, Little Red Riding Hood and Rapunzel, the two-and-a-half-hour musical portrays the characters’ pursuits for objects and people they most desire. In act one, narrator Brian Cross ’12 introduces the desires of the characters. Central to the musical is the story of the baker, amiably played by Ben Freeman ’13 and his wife, portrayed alluringly by Katelyn Miles ’11, who must fulfill the wish of the Witch, played with ardent fervor by Emma Price ’10. The Witch has cast a curse on the baker and his wife’s house, and requires them to collect four objects in the woods before they can have the child they have long desired.

Into the woods they go, encountering other fairy tale characters in search of the things they want. For example, Cinderella, played lovingly by Leah Cogan ’13, longs deeply for her Prince, whom Ned Riseley ’12 portrays with charm. Rapunzel, played with delight by Sami Horneff ’12, longs for someone to take her away from the lonely tower where she is secluded. The mood of the musical shifts from gaiety to sorrow as troubles arise and a giant descends from the sky in the second act. Plunged into chaos, blame and frustration, the characters all face problems of trust and morality, re-evaluations of what happiness means to them and the dire consequences of their own actions. Most of the performance takes place on one central elevated platform. With the platform, the steps and the background covered in ear th-colored cloth as well as branches and leaves to mimic the woods, the set easily absorbs the audience into the story. Indeed, the audiences are themselves a part of the musical experience and the stage, where actors

enter and exit often without warning and seemingly from nowhere. From each aisle to every corner, the actors seek to place the audience in the woods, to have them feel just as disoriented and engaged as the characters in the story. Permeating throughout are themes of family, friendship and community. For example, Jack, played with deliberately subtle humor by Kyle Dacuyan ’11, frustrates his mother, played equally humorously by Allison Schneider ’10, with his slow-wittedness. There is the loving yet sometimes tense relationship between the baker and his wife, as well as the bond of friendship formed between Little Red Riding Hood, played with delight and absolute cuteness by Nora Rothman ’13, and Jack. Despite incessant, sometimes even reckless pursuits to fulfill their wishes, and despite the sorrows these quests bring, the characters nevertheless imbue the story with a great sense of humor that throws the audience into gusts of giggles. Jack’s slow response to his surroundings and his sudden, exciting gestures of shock at the offer

of magical beans, the absurd vanity of Cinderella’s stepsisters — portrayed with ridiculous humor by Sarah Brandon ’13 and Hannah Sisk ’13 — and Little Red Riding Hood’s loud, obnoxious tantrum that rocks the stage to trembles provide delight and happiness that further coalesce the audience’s emotional experience with that of the characters. Musically directed by David Brown ’12, the story is further ingrained into the audience’s memory by the speed, complexity and dynamism of the music. It is no surprise that Brown has taken on this musical, whose creator gave a lecture in Salomon earlier in the semester. “Stephen Sondheim is the greatest American musical composer and lyricist,” Brown said. “He has such a great gift of words. His music is so complex. Its complexity really appeals to me.” A powerful piece is “Last Midnight,” a solo by the Witch. “In this song, she has this emotional arc,” Brown observed. “It’s about letting out all those feelings.” “The music is so catchy. You walk away whistling,” added Brady Waibel ’12, who, with great humor, plays

Rapunzel’s sweet and dreamy Prince and Cinderella’s father. Waibel, along with Cinderella’s arrogant Prince, sing the distinguished and memorable song “Agony.” Characterized by slow rhythm and emotional uptake, the song fluidly expresses these two characters’ heart-wrenching desperation for the women they desire. “It’s about loving something you can’t have,” Waibel said. Waibel hopes the audience sees and becomes aware of the closeness that develops between characters. The stor y also has important underlying meanings relevant to real-life experiences. “I hope (audience members) see parallels in their lives. Even though situations are fantastical, they have real-life elements,” Waibel said. Price said she hopes “the audience will feel comforted and appreciate what’s in their lives,” and will be inspired and empowered to fulfill their share of social responsibilities. To Brandon, the play’s realistic element is the lack of absolute good continued on page 18

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

A rts &C ulture

Thursday, April 29, 2010

“Wouldn’t it be more beneficial to write down your nightmares than your dreams?” — RISD alum Sarah Evans

Alums excited to show works at RISD art sale continued from page 17

Nick Sinnott-Armstrong / Herald

“Into the Woods,” playing this weekend in T. F. Green Hall, combines the mystical and the emotional.

Despite heavy plot, ‘Woods’ is a fairy tale continued from page 17 or evil in a character, such as the Witch, who brings a love that is not expected. “It brings out the gray areas,” Brandon said. To Keegan, what is so magical about the musical is this exact element of humanity. In the end, characters each shed their fairy tale

quests and come together to form a community, a bond that is both fantastical and profoundly human, she said. Keegan also relates the musical to the Brown community. “It touches things we do when we are in college,” she said. She likened the relationship between Little Red and Jack to new friendships that students

form as freshmen. The musical has a childhood sentiment of “I just want to be your friend,” Keegan said, adding that it is “beautiful” how the characters have “grown so much throughout the show.” Despite the seeming intricacy and complexity of the story, “it is fun. It’s a fairy tale,” she said.

as New Orleans, California, Virginia, Florida and Illinois. “You can meet most of the artists when you come to the sale,” Tracy said, because the vast majority prefer to show their work themselves. For Yuh Okano, who earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts in textile design from RISD in 1991, this year will be her eighth participating in the show. Okano, whose work includes scarves made from silk, wool and polyester as well as jewelry sold in stores such as Anthropologie, divides her time each year between Japan and Brooklyn, N.Y. She cited RISD’s uniqueness as an institution as part of her motivation to participate each year. “Of course RISD is the best art school and all of us inspire each other to create (our) own originality,” she wrote in an email to The Herald, adding that the school possesses a “special power to bring more wonderful people from all over to this sale. It is very important to feel I am among this community.” Okano wrote that the sale is also a “good opportunity to understand” what shoppers like to buy. Sarah Evans, a Delaware-based artist who graduated from RISD in 2006 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in illustration, expressed a similar appreciation for her fellow alums in an e-mail to The Herald. “It’s very inspiring” to see what other alums have been working on after their time at RISD, she wrote. Although it is Evans’ first time participating in a RISD show as an alum, the various sales the school

hosts each year actually led her to her current artistic path — making “Nightmare Snatcher” journals. “The Nightmare Snatchers actually started as an assignment for my entrepreneur class,” she wrote. “We were asked to make a product, anything we wanted” that could be replicated for the annual student sale, she wrote. The idea for the project came to her when she stumbled upon a dream journal in a bookstore and thought, “Wouldn’t it be more beneficial to write down your nightmares than your dreams?,” she wrote. “I made Nightmare Snatchers and sold them in the student show. They did so well that I pursued the idea and started selling (them) online and to stores around the country.” The journals, which are made to look like monsters, come complete with fur, eyes and teeth. Each contains the “Nightmare Snatcher spell” written by Evans’ father, she wrote. Evans is excited for the upcoming show, she wrote. “I love how crowded it gets, to be honest. It’s pretty much guaranteed to be full of shoppers and visitors, which is always good for a seller at any show,” she wrote. According to Tracy, the event is expected to receive at least 2,500 visitors based on past turnouts. Even after managing numerous sales, Tracy said he is “still totally excited” about this one. Okano’s e-mail conveyed a similar enthusiasm. “There is no other great show with great people who appreciate artistic quality like (the) RISD sale,” she wrote.

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

THURSDAY, APRIL 29, 2010

W ORLD & N ATION

Obama OKs first U.S. offshore wind farm By Renee Schoof McClatchy Newspapers

Patrick Farrell / Miami Herald

Camillo Ricordi, pictured in front of a slide of human insulin-producing cells, is working on embryonic stem cell research.

Adult stem cell research stirs hopes for disease cures By Fred Tasker McClatchy Newspapers

MIAMI — A year after President Barack Obama eased restrictions on research into embr yonic stem cells and pledged billions in new stimulus money for it, researchers are almost giddy with enthusiasm about progress in the field. They’re confident stem cells will treat — maybe someday cure — hear t disease, diabetes, spinal cord injur y and other disorders. But the excitement is not generated by stem cells har vested from human embr yos. Instead, researchers are coming to believe they can get results almost as good from adult stem cells taken from the patient’s own bone marrow or belly fat, and even full-fledged adult cells from muscle tissue or skin. “Adult stem cells have more flexibility than we thought,” says Dr. Joshua Hare, director of the Interdisciplinar y Stem Cell Institute at the University of Miami Medical School. “The embr yonic stem cell might not be the most valuable property in actual therapy. When you’re treating a heart attack, you might do better with an adult stem cell.” Already at the UM Medical School, adult stem cells have been injected around a patient’s heart to help heal a heart attack, and adult cells are being applied around injured spinal cords in hopes of restoring movement. Another new development exciting researchers is the “induced pluripotent adult stem cell.” Scientists at Har vard and in Japan took cells from the skin on a patient’s arm and genetically reprogrammed them to be almost as flexible as embr yonic stem cells — without destroying an embryo. They hope to use them someday to build up entire human organs, cell by cell. “This is really exciting,” says Dr. Kenneth Zuckerman, a senior researcher at Moffett Cancer Center in Tampa. “If you need a liver transplant, you can make a liver

out of cells from your own body. The same with a heart. It might replace embr yonic stem cells in some ways.” Some adult stem cell experiments could get FDA approval for general use within five years; others are expected to take 10 years or longer. Using adult cells avoids the controversy of destroying embryos. And, coming from the patient’s own body, they avoid the risk of rejection. The excitement doesn’t mean researchers are losing respect for the value of human embr yonic stem cells. “The embryotic stem cell is the prototype, the ultimate stem cell,” Hare says. “It has the greatest capacity to become any other type of tissue. It’s essential to work with both kinds of stem cells.” “Embr yonic stem cells remain central to our plan,” says Dr. Camillo Ricordi, who is studying both adult and embr yonic stem cells as director of UM’s Diabetes Research Institute. “Ever ything we’ve applied to other kinds of cells we learned first by studying embr yonic stem cells.” But the process of approving new lines of embryonic stem cells is complex, and is going slowly. The first new line created since Obama’s ruling was approved only in December. Only 50 lines have been approved so far, with 300 more still awaiting action. The NIH has awarded $143 million for the research to universities including Johns Hopkins, Stanford, University of Michigan, UCLA, Har vard and others. Harvard has 70 principal investigators studying embryonic stem cells in treating blood disorders, cancer, diabetes and diseases of the hear t, kidney and ner vous system. One researcher who has received some of the new cell lines approved by the Obama administration is Paul J. Simmons at the University of Texas. He plans to use them first in test tubes, then in lab animals and someday in hu-

mans to create blood cells, also to help fight leukemia. But he says: “Most embr yonic stem cell research is still ver y basic. My human tests could be years away.” In Januar y, the FDA approved the first clinical trial using human embr yonic stem cells in human patients. Geron Corp., a California biopharmaceutical firm, plans to inject the cells around the severed spinal cords of 10 paralyzed human patients to see if they can repair them. But the trial hasn’t reached the human stage. It was suspended in October over safety concerns in pre-clinical testing in lab animals. The company hopes to resume the trial later this year. At UM’s Stem Cell Institute, researchers are using both human embr yonic stem cells and adult stem cells in studying how to repair the heart after a heart attack. The embr yonic stem cells are used in basic lab research in test tubes but not in humans, says Ian McNiece, the institute’s director of experimental and cell-based therapies. Hare, McNiece and colleagues are conducting a clinical trial using adult stem cells to treat 53 human heart attack patients. They extracted adult “mesenchymal” stem cells from the patients’ bone marrow, purified and multiplied them, then injected them into veins in the patients’ arms and legs. The stem cells migrated to the heart, drawn by chemical signals put out by the heart’s damaged tissue. The stem cells appeared to become hear t cells, helping to repair the damaged organ. In early results, the mended hearts pumped blood more strongly and had fewer dangerous arrhythmias. At UM’s Diabetes Research Institute, Ricordi and colleagues are using both embr yonic stem cells and adult stem cells to seek a cure for diabetes. In a trial with lab rodents, embr yonic stem cells were har-

vested from a human donor, reprogrammed into pancreatic cells and transplanted into the pancreas of a diabetic mouse — with some success. “We’ve shown we can reverse diabetes in rodents. We’ve had them off insulin for a month. In California, researchers have had them of f it for a year,” Ricordi says. In another trial, with human patients, adult pancreatic islet-cell clusters containing insulin-producing beta cells were harvested from a cadaver’s pancreas and injected into the patients’ pancreas. “We dramatically reduced insulin requirements and got better control of glucose levels,” Ricordi says. At the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, researchers are working not with stem cells, but with full-fledged adult cells called Schwann Cells. They are extracting the cells from muscles in the patient’s arms or legs, injecting them around the injured spine and tr ying to induce them to turn into myelin, a sheath that wraps around the spinal cord and protects it. In an earlier trial, the method restored the ability of lab rats to walk, albeit imperfectly. The Miami Project has no current plans to apply for embr yonic stem cells, said Pantelis Tsoulfas, a neurologist at the project. Given the advances in both embr yonic and adult stem cell research, researchers debate which will be more important in fighting disease. “If I had to bet which will be the most important in the long run, it would be adult cells from the patient’s own body,” Ricordi says. Says Simmons: “There’s a whole array of diseases that afflict humans. Some will be amenable to therapy with adult stem cells. Other more complicated procedures will probably be based on embr yonic stem cells. “You need different horses for different courses.”

WASHINGTON — Interior Secretary Ken Salazar on Wednesday approved the nation’s first offshore wind farm, the 130-turbine Cape Wind project off Cape Cod, Mass., and said that the power of strong winds over the Atlantic Ocean would be an important part of the U.S. drive to reduce dependence on fossil fuels. European countries have been building offshore wind farms for 20 years, and China is building its first, off Shanghai. Other U.S. states along the Atlantic Coast and the Great Lakes also are looking into building wind farms to produce large amounts of electricity. The Cape Wind project, however, has been hung up for nine years as opponents — landowners, two Native American tribes and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation — objected to its cost and its impact on views. Although Cape Wind’s fate is not related to other proposed U.S. offshore wind farms, many wind energy supporters hailed the decision as a good sign for the future of renewable energy development. The Interior Department set new rules for offshore wind last year and said it was working to streamline the permit process. The decision on Cape Wind comes a month after the Obama administration approved more offshore oil and gas drilling. At a press conference, Salazar was asked about an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico from a deepwater rig that exploded last week. Salazar said the Interior Department was watching the spill carefully. He added that “my own view” is that the country needed to move away from fossil fuels. “Our overdependence on fossil fuels has created a problem we have in this country which has endangered our national security and at the same time has created the challenge we have with responding to the warming of the planet,” Salazar said. “We will continue to use fossil fuels, yes, in an appropriate way, but we need to transition to a clean energy future,” he said. Salazar also said the United States is no longer leading in renewable energy technology. “We don’t want to be second,” he said, and so the government also would support efforts to get other offshore wind projects built. Offshore wind farms have been proposed in proposed off Rehoboth Beach, Del.; Boston; Atlantic Beach, Atlantic City and Avalon in New Jersey; in North Carolina’s Eastern Pamlico Sound; in Lake Erie off Cleveland; off Block Island and Sakonnet in Rhode Island; and off continued on page 21

THURSDAY, APRIL 29, 2010

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Page 21

W ORLD & N ATION

College disciplines prof U.S. deportees lend a helping hand in Haiti after racial incident By Elinor J. Brecher McClatchy Newspapers

By Matt Krupnick Contra Costa T imes

MORAGA, Calif. — Saint Mary’s College of California has punished a singing instructor, who is the brother of a college trustee, for his choice to use a song that uses racist terms in a voice class last month. College leaders said Monday the incident called into question Louis Lebherz’s future at the school. The musician already has been forced to apologize to the class and to complete diversity training, said Beth Dobkin, the college’s provost. Lebherz, an artist in residence at Saint Mary’s, had been asked to teach classes this year, Dobkin said. His choice to use the original version of the show tune “Old Man River,” which refers to slaves and AfricanAmericans in derogatory terms, will affect his employment, she said. “It already has, but I can’t tell you to what extent,” Dobkin said. “We’re continuing to discuss our future relationship with him.” Lebherz did not respond to messages left on his home and mobile phones Monday. His brother, Saint Mary’s trustee Philip Lebherz, also did not respond to a phone message. In a letter written to the AfricanAmerican student who raised the complaint, Lebherz apologized for his choice of the original score. The offensive language was taken out of

later versions of the song. “I sincerely wish to apologize to you for my insensitivity in having a student sing a song which called attention to the racial problems that were and are a serious problem for our nation, and also for our own institution,” Lebherz wrote to senior E.J. Youngblood. The incident came at a particularly fragile time for the Catholic school. Administrators have tried to make the college a more welcoming place for minorities since 2008, when regional accreditors criticized the school for having shoddy race relations and a lack of diversity. Accreditors earlier this year commended the college for improvements, but students this month protested several areas of weakness, including a lack of tolerance among employees and a shortage of minority professors. Youngblood said he does not believe the college has responded strongly enough to his grievance. “I want him to be fired but, realistically, I know that’s not going to happen because his brother is on the board of trustees,” said Youngblood, who dropped Lebherz’s class after the March 4 incident. Dobkin said the college has followed its disciplinary rules to the letter and that she does not know of any contact related to the matter between Philip Lebherz and college officials.

Construction on wind farm to begin within a year continued from page 20 Galveston, Texas. The Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound said opponents would attempt to stop the wind farm in court. “We will not stand by and allow our treasured public lands to be marred forever by a corporate giveaway to private industrial energy developers,” the group’s president and CEO, Audra Parker, said in a statement. Plans for Cape Wind call for construction to begin within a year. Its 130 turbines would be placed in a grid pattern over a 25-square-mile area of Nantucket Sound. The closest turbine to land will be about five miles from Cape Cod. The turbines will supply a maximum of 468 megawatts of electricity, about the output of a medium-sized coal-fired electricity plant, or enough for about 200,000 homes in Massachusetts. The Interior Department said it would reduce carbon dioxide emissions by the equivalent of taking 175,000 cars off the road. The developer, Energy Management Inc., said the wind turbines would appear a half-inch above the horizon from the nearest beach. Salazar said the developer was

required to reduce the number of turbines from an original plan for 170, reconfigure their arrangement and paint them off-white to reduce their visibility. Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick and governors of five other Atlantic states wrote to Salazar arguing that if he blocked Cape Wind on the grounds of historic preservation, it would be difficult to get an offshore wind permit approved anywhere on the East Coast. Patrick said the cost of conventional electricity has gone up in recent years and that the wind project would benefit consumers because the costs wouldn’t fluctuate. Cape Wind has not yet signed a power purchase agreement, and so it’s not known how much its electricity will cost. “We hope that today’s decision on Cape Wind will help set in motion a series of actions leading to additional American offshore wind projects,” Michael Hirshfield, senior vice president of the conservation group Oceana, said in a statement. “It sends a clear signal to turbine manufacturers and suppor ting companies that the U.S. means business on clean energy and climate change.”

MILOT, Haiti — The Jan. 12 earthquake that took so much from so many in Haiti has given some South Florida deportees what they couldn’t find back home: a second chance. All came to the United States illegally as children then committed adult crimes that got them deported — which usually means a one-way ticket to oblivion. Instead, the young men here are helping save lives at the Americanrun Hopital Sacre Coeur in Milot, 12 miles southwest of Cap-Haitien. With 73 beds, it’s the largest private hospital in Northern Haiti, a region that escaped major damage. Leading the hospital’s team of 10 translators: Patrick Etienne, whose American life dead-ended on March 28, 1998, when U.S. marshals loaded him onto a Port-auPrince-bound plane in Orlando — in shackles and handcuffs. Etienne, now 33, had lived in Miami half his life. After a year behind bars for a burglary, he landed in the Western Hemisphere’s poorest nation, where even before Jan. 12, millions lacked the basic amenities that even destitute Americans take for granted: flush toilets and electricity. The tiny bungalow that Etienne shares with his wife and two children outside Milot has neither. But his job more than compensates. “Being a translator has changed my life in ways I never imagined,” he said. “I’ve always wanted to help my people. ... That kind of blinds the needs I have.” In normal times, the Sacre Coeur staff delivers babies and sets fractures, treats malaria and TB, teaches HIV prevention and good nutrition. There’s a blood bank, a dentist, a mobile clinic. But nothing has been normal since Jan. 14, when a helicopter swooped in with the first of 600 injured people from Port-au-Prince. To cope with the influx, administrators at the hospital, run by the Massachusetts-based Crudem Foundation, commandeered adjacent school dorms and erected tents in a courtyard. As foreign medical personnel rushed in, Etienne became a vital link between English-speaking practitioners and their Creolespeaking patients.

“In all of 2009, we sent 170 volunteers,” said Joni Paterson, Crudem’s director of administration and development. “In the first three months this year, it’s certainly been over 1,000.” Crudem hired Etienne last June. After the quake, he recruited several friends as volunteers. They did so well that they began earning $15 a day in mid-April. “They have definitely been critical to the operation,” said Paterson, who estimates 240 quake victims remain at the hospital. Beside conveying essential information in life-and-death situations, the translators offer “that personal touch and address concerns that patients have,” Paterson said. “They dropped straight from heaven.” The team includes Jimmy Louis, a Hollywood Hills High School track star in the 1990s; Patrick Louissaint, a doctor’s son; Wilfin Tennor, who installed skylights at Doral’s Dolphin Mall; and Alfred Desir, an Edison High School graduate. A typical shift might find them scrubbing for the OR, comforting a grieving family, or helping those being discharged pack for an 11-hour bus ride back to the capital. “The other day, I had to explain to a guy that the doctors had to cut his leg off,” Louis said. “He didn’t know about gangrene, so I had to convince him to trust the doctor.” Etienne seems to be everywhere at once: positioning a child on the X-ray table, pushing a wheelchair, finding supplies for a nurse, even showing a new mother how to change a diaper. “It’s chaos,” he said one day in March, scurrying across the 25-year-old hospital’s compound with a walkie-talkie that never stops. “When I’m here, there’s 20 of me.” Canadian nurse Emily Pastor, enlisting Etienne in a mattress hunt, proclaimed him “a cool dude. He does way more than he’s supposed to.” For Etienne, returning to the hospital at night and working on days off seems a minor sacrifice compared to those made by volunteers from places like St. Louis, Boston, and Jacksonville. “All these people come here on their own time,” Etienne said. “They work 20 hours a day for the least of these people, and they cry like it was family when somebody dies, so how can I not stay

around to keep things going?” He grew momentarily somber. “I got deported because I was selfish.” Etienne was 11 in 1987 when the aunts who raised him in CapHaitien sent him to his mother in Miami. But from eighth grade on, he was in and out of state care _ and in trouble with the law. “My first crime was a strongarm robbery at the end of 1989 or beginning of 1990,” he recalled. “Back then, I was out on the streets for almost six months. Mom said she didn’t have room for thieves and that’s how I ended up in state custody.” The crime that got him deported was a 1996 burglary in Miramar. His sentence completed, he was turned over to federal authorities “to be flown to Haiti.” Miami-Dade Public Defender Marie Osborne represented him as a juvenile and remains part of his life: “It broke my heart when he was deported.” Ramona Rung of Pembroke Pines felt the same when Jimmy Louis had to leave. The retired Opa locka Elementary School teacher and her husband became his foster parents when Louis was 11. They too remain close. In a 1995 Miami Herald story headlined “All-Around Athlete Overcoming Odds,” Louis said he hadn’t seen his mother in five years. He’d attended at least 10 elementary schools and had committed petty crimes. “Regardless of what has happened, I’m going to make it,” said Louis, then a 16-year-old sophomore on the junior-varsity football team, on the soccer team, an undefeated varsity wrestler who ran cross country and bowled. He graduated Hollywood Hills with above-average grades, Rung said, but was arrested at 18 and spent a year in jail on a false imprisonment charge. The case involved a teenage girl who claimed Louis had sex with her after someone put a date-rape drug in her drink. At 21, he was back in Haiti. Now he’s 32. Because of his athletic background, Louis has been doing physical therapy with some of the injured. “I was incredibly proud of him in Milot,” said Rung, who visited in early April. “As devastating as the whole thing is, this might be a plus for Jimmy.”

Does this bohter you? Come copy edit! herald@browndailyherald.com

Editorial & Letters The Brown Daily Herald

Page 22 | Thursday, April 29, 2010

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

‘Apartheid’ describes more than South Africa To the Editor: I would like to address Ethan Tobias ’12’s concerns (“No apartheid here,” April 16) about the term “apartheid” and the actions of the student group Brown Students for Justice in Palestine. While discussing BSJP’s use of the term apartheid in reference to Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, Tobias writes that “the image that the word ‘apartheid’ brings to mind is a harsh one.” The word “apartheid” evokes a strong emotional response, bringing up images of the institutionalized racism that existed in South African society before 1994. However, the weight of the term apartheid says nothing about whether or not it accurately characterizes the situation in the West Bank. The term apartheid is not exclusively South Africa’s, but is a general term “well defined by the U.N. in international law,” attests BSJP member and Herald columnist Simon Liebling ’12. Although part of BSJP’s aim is to directly compare South African Apartheid with the situation in Palestine, one of their core objectives

is to explain why they believe the U.N.’s definition of apartheid applies to Israel’s occupation of the West Bank. While they do often display signs and banners that some may find provocative, the group also tables regularly on the Main Green and organizes forums designed to allow the public to ask them questions and debate their positions. Tobias writes that those using the term apartheid “must make a clear and concise argument explaining why the word applies.” I am not a member of BSJP, but it is clear to me that BSJP does this, and is more than willing to discuss it with anyone who so desires. However, I feel that their actual points of debate are frequently passed over because of how individuals respond to the word apartheid. I do understand that people are not comfortable with the term, but I believe that discomfor t is not a good enough reason to reject BSJP’s argument outright.

Eric Axelman ’12 April 26

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

Managing Editor Chaz Kelsh

George Miller

Deputy Managing Editors Sophia Li Emmy Liss

editorial Anne Speyer Suzannah Weiss Brian Mastroianni Hannah Moser Brigitta Greene Ben Schreckinger Sydney Ember Nicole Friedman Dan Alexander Zack Bahr Andrew Braca Han Cui

Arts & Culture Editor Arts & Culture Editor Features Editor Features Editor Metro Editor Metro Editor News Editor News Editor Sports Editor Asst. Sports Editor Asst. Sports Editor Asst. Sports Editor

Graphics & Photos Graphics Editor Stephen Lichenstein Graphics Editor Alex Yuly Photo Editor Nick Sinnott-Armstrong Asst. Photo Editor Max Monn Sports Photo Editor Jonathan Bateman Production Copy Desk Chief Kelly Mallahan Design Editor Marlee Bruning Asst. Design Editor Anna Migliaccio Asst. Design Editor Julien Ouellet Web Editor Neal Poole Post- magazine Editor-in-Chief Marshall Katheder

Senior Editors Ellen Cushing Seth Motel Joanna Wohlmuth

Business General Managers Office Manager Shawn Reilly Claire Kiely Katie Koh Directors Sales Kelly Wess Finance Matthew Burrows Client Relations Margaret Watson Alumni Relations Christiana Stephenson Managers Local Sales Arjun Vaidya National Sales Marco deLeon University Sales Aditi Bhatia University Sales Jared Davis Recruiter Sales Trenten Nelson-Rivers Maximilian Barrows Business Operations Business Analytics Jilyn Chao Credit and Collections Danielle Marshak Special Projects Alexander Carrere Staff Kathy Bui Opinions Opinions Editor Michael Fitzpatrick Opinions Editor Alyssa Ratledge Editorial Page Board Matt Aks Editorial Page Editor William Martin Board member Melissa Shube Board member Gaurie Tilak Board member Jonathan Topaz Board member

Gili Kliger, Designer Nicole Boucher, Kelly Mallahan, Lindor Qunaj, Raaj Parekh, Copy Editors

RICHARD STEIN AND PAUL TRAN

e d i to r i a l

Sweating the small stuff The editorial page board has complained a lot this year. We’ve complained about everything from garbage cans on the Main Green to national politics. So, as another school year comes to an end, we’d like to wrap things up by doing what we do best. On December 16, 1964, The Herald’s editorial offered a list of petty grievances that “could be eliminated with one stroke of the bureaucratic pen.” Their list included some dated complaints, such as the presence of only one pencil sharpener in the Rockefeller Library and the lack of drainage on fraternity porches. We’re glad to see that many of these concerns have been addressed. However, as old annoyances are swept away, there are always new ones to replace them. As our last editorial of the year, we are pleased to bring you our own updated list of minor complaints: — The ice cream machine in the Ratty is taken away at around 7:15 each night, even though the serving lines are supposed to be open until 7:30. And the non-ice cream dessert offering usually runs out well before then. — There’s one bathroom stall in the Friedman Study Center, which isn’t nearly sufficient given the volume of people that use it. — Iced coffee is only available in the Blue Room three months of the year. The only ingredients are ice and coffee, both of which are available year-round, so why is their combination seasonal? — PAWPrints money can’t be used for photocopying. And while we’re on the topic, we’d be pretty surprised to find anyone who thinks the current allotted print money is enough for the entire year. — The toasters in the Ratty are too small, too slow

and too old. We usually have to put our English muffins in for three or four go-arounds before they even start to turn brown. — No on-campus dining location is open on Sunday morning before 10:30 a.m. This is particularly hard on students who go to church at 10 on Sundays. — Why aren’t there more machines for adding money to one’s vending strip? And why aren’t any of these machines located in laundry rooms? — There’s no oatmeal in the Ratty after breakfast. This one should be a no-brainer, since it would actually mean less work for the dining services workers if they didn’t take the oatmeal away at 11 a.m. — Department buildings could be a little more welcoming. A directory and a list of each professor’s office hours should be posted clearly near the entrance. — The menus in the Ratty aren’t always changed between lunch and dinner, even though it only takes a few minutes to switch the sheets of paper in the display stand. We’d also like to see menus posted outside the doors, so that students have more time to strategize about which line to join first. — Most professors don’t return final exams. If they’re expected to return all other exams, why aren’t they required to return the most important one? We know the administration has had its hands full this year with endowment losses and budget cuts. But it’s important to keep in mind that little things can sometimes make a big difference. Let’s get those bureaucratic pens going! Editorials are written by The Herald’s editorial page board. Send comments to editorials@browndailyherald.com.

Britta Greene, Talia Kagan, Brian Mastroianni, Hannah Moser, Caitlin Trujillo, Night Editors Senior Staff Writers Ana Alvarez, Ashley Aydin, Alexander Bell, Nicole Boucher, Alicia Chen, Kristina Fazzalaro, Sarah Forman, Talia Kagan, Sara Luxenberg, Sarah Mancone, Heeyoung Min, Claire Peracchio, Goda Thangada, Caitlin Trujillo Staff Writers Anna Andreeva, Anne Artley, Shara Azad, Anita Badejo, Rebecca Ballhaus, Casey Bleho, Fei Cai, Sofia Castello, Amy Chen, Claire de Boer, Roberto Ferdman, Brielle Friedman, Miriam Furst, Max Godnick, Anish Gonchigar, Thomas Jarus, Sarah Julian, Julia Kim, Jessica Liss, Anita Mathews, Ben Noble, Lindor Qunaj, Mark Raymond, Luisa Robledo, Emily Rosen, Bradley Silverman, Anne Simons, Qian Yin Senior Sales Executives Katie Galvin, Liana Nisimova, Isha Gulati, Samantha Wong Sales Associates Roshni Assomull, Brady Caspar, Anna Cook, Siena deLisser, Begum Ersan, Tommy Fink, Ryan Fleming, Evan Gill, Rajiv Iyengar, Debbie Lai, Jason Lee, Katie Lynch, Sean Maroongroge, Zahra Merchant, Edjola Ruci, Webber Xu Senior Finance Associates Jason Beckman, Lauren Bosso, Mae Cadao, Margot Grinberg, Sajjad Hasan, Adam Fern Finance Associates Lisa Berlin, Mahima Chawla, Mark Hu, Jason Lee, Nicholas Robbins, Daniel Slutsky, Emily Zheng Design Staff Caleigh Forbes, Jessica Kirschner, Gili Kliger, Leor Shtull-Leber, Katie Wilson Web Staff Andrew Chen, Warren Jin, Claire Kwong, Michael Marttila, Ethan Richman, Adam Zethraeus Photo Staff Qidong Chen, Janine Cheng, Alex DePaoli, Frederic Lu, Quinn Savit Copy Editors Nicole Boucher, Zoe Chaves, Greg Conyers, Claire Gianotti, Aida Haile-Mariam, Victoria Hartman, Tiffany Hsu, Christine Joyce, Mrinal Kapoor, Abby Kerson, Matthew Lim, Sara Luxenberg, Alexandra McFarlane, Joe Milner, Rajan Mittal, Lindor Qunaj, Kate-Lyn Scott, Carmen Shulman, Rebecca Specking, Dan Towne, Carolina Veltri

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Opinions The Brown Daily Herald

Thursday, April 29, 2010 | Page 23

Get out of line ETHAN TOBIAS Opinions Columnist Maybe it is the restlessness of springtime, but it feels like Brown students are constantly being forced to wait for things. After hours in line waiting for Spring Weekend tickets, hundreds of students were turned away emptyhanded. Their peers who already had tickets only needed to think back a couple weeks to the fiasco as the Brown Student Agencies Web site crashed during the ticket pre-sale. Just last week, first-years had to wait an extra day while locked out of Undergraduate Council of Students elections. The day before, juniors waited to pre-register while Banner crashed yet again. This waiting would not be so bad if it didn’t feel like it was becoming a standard part of life for our generation. While waiting for tickets for several hours won’t kill us, waiting as Congress painfully took 15 months to pass health-care reform that still will not be fully implemented for four more years can. And at least health-care reform was ultimately passed, which is more than can be said about many of the Democratic majority’s proposals. We have been waiting a long time for major change. Brown students overwhelmingly supported President Barack Obama’s campaign and his message of “change we can believe in,” yet most of Obama’s campaign promises have not been fully met. His pledge to close

the prison at Guantanamo Bay within his first year was tossed aside. His promise to end the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy is unfulfilled. Financial reform is struggling to get out of Senate committee over 18 months after Wall Street was bailed out by the taxpayers. And whatever happened to ending the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan? The dysfunction in Washington has become the symbol of our generation.

presidential hopeful Mitt Romney when he was governor of Massachusetts. Meanwhile, the Democratic Party has acted as fecklessly as ever, unable to keep its own members from jumping ship without resorting to bribing them with kickbacks to their home states. The question on Washington insiders’ minds has become not whether the Democrats will lose seats this November, but how many they will lose. I can only hope

The dysfunction in Washington has become the symbol of our generation. Rather than follow the vision of bipartisanship which was endorsed by the American people back in November 2008, Congress has been the focal point of a bitter debate based solely on opposing the other party. Rather than following the vision of bipartisanship which was endorsed by the American people back in November 2008, Congress has been the focal point of a bitter debate based solely on opposing the other party. Republicans have become the party of no — or, as Sarah Palin likes to say, the party of “hell no” — even while opposing policies which were once considered to be Republican ideas. Exhibit A: The Democratic health care reform bill was strangely reminiscent of the program implemented by Republican

that the Democrats find their spine and pass much needed financial reform, a policy that moves this country toward renewable energy and energy independence, and correct the injustices perpetrated in this country against gays and lesbians. The long wait for major policy change is going to get a whole lot longer for Brown students unless there is a drastic shift in this country within the next few months. A recent Pew Research Center poll shows that the number of respondents favoring fewer

government programs and opposing President Obama’s policies has been increasing in recent months. If these trends continue, Brown students — like all Americans — will have to wait many more years until the next Democratic supermajority can waste its power bickering with recalcitrant Republicans. It is time to stop waiting and start demanding action. With the summer almost upon us and the midterm elections this November, we must fight to ensure that we will not be left with the memory of empty promises. This means calling your representatives and demanding change, encouraging your family and friends to do likewise and even volunteering for a campaign. I can recall the energy and spirit of hope that pervaded Brown’s campus when Obama was elected. Yet, as we waited in the intervening months for any sign of significant change, it became easier just to be apathetic. When you are too busy waiting for all the little things, like registering for classes, voting in campus elections or buying concert tickets, it becomes difficult to have the patience necessary to fight for all the big things. We have gotten very good at waiting for things here at Brown; now is the moment to get out of line and make a difference. It is not too late to salvage the change we used to believe in.

Ethan Tobias ’12 is leaving the country for the fall semester and needs other people to take care of it while he’s gone. He can be reached at Ethan_Tobias@brown.edu.

The unexamined life is not worth living EMILY BRESLIN Opinions Columnist

As universities are trying to figure out how to juggle their decreasing endowments, they are cutting programs, and philosophy is among the cuts because of declining interest in the subject. There are two obvious and understandable practical reasons for this. Students are wary about choosing a concentration that does not directly lead to a job post-graduation, and liberal academia has embarked on a backlash against the canon of works by dead white men. Neither of these reasons ought to be sufficient to preclude students from choosing to take philosophy classes. I am used to facing charges of elitism when I tell people that I am a philosophy concentrator. “Philosophy? What are you going to do with that? You’re paying all this money for an Ivy League education and you’re squandering it on pointless inquiry. You’re lucky that you can afford to do that.” My question for them is: Can you afford not to? I am not saying that everyone should concentrate in philosophy, but can you afford not to contemplate ethical questions in your everyday life? Can you afford to live without asking any questions about meaning? It all comes down to the question of what is important. Being gainfully employed is important to me, but I am confident that the analytical skills I have acquired as a philosophy concentrator make me suitable for many posi-

tions. It is important to me that there is a space in which I can ask the questions I have had since I was little: In what sense are fictional characters real? What is time? Do I have free will, or is it already determined what I will do for the rest of my life? Questions like these form a constant thread for me, and to have a meaningful life, I need to be constantly thinking about them. I understand that other people may not have the same obsessive need to constantly analyze, but I do believe that everyone is forced to analyze sometimes.

relevant or important, we ought to somehow retroactively protest by not listening to what dead white men had to say. In a field like philosophy where people everywhere ask the same types of questions, though, it makes sense to turn to the people who wrote about them first (or at least the first documents that we have). I have difficulty saying that the philosophical thoughts of people today are somehow more important than the thoughts of people of the past, although this is apparently how scholars in many other fields feel.

I am not saying that everyone should concentrate in philosophy, but can you afford not to contemplate ethical questions in your every day life? To turn to the dead white man question, I cannot understand why people have such trouble with this category of author and thinker. We have come a long way in terms of how we define who gets to be a full person, to be sure. However, at a time when women and non-wealthy, non-white men were completely marginalized, the writing of white men represented the pinnacle of scholarship in all fields. Perhaps the hesitation about reading dead white men comes from being uncomfortable with this power structure; if other people did not have the ability to express themselves because their experiences were not considered

While I find both practical reasons for the decline of philosophy troubling, I am more concerned about the general lack of understanding about what the study of philosophy actually entails. Philosophers spend most of their time thinking, talking and writing about questions that everyone considers at one point or another. A recent article in the New York Times chronicled one philosophy professor’s expeditions into elementary school classrooms to discuss “environmental ethics, or ‘how we should treat natural objects.’ ” Even 8-year-olds benefit when they “consider how someone can maintain a belief in the face of contrary

evidence” and “whether there can be objective standards for evaluating works of art,” according to the article. I feel we need to ask these questions. All too frequently, we are required to memorize facts that we will forget about as soon as the project or exam is over. What do we have that sticks with us? People think that philosophy is frustrating because one is first required to figure out exactly what a philosopher means by her words and then decide for oneself what is wrong with the theory, because there is always something wrong. One cannot simply swallow all the claims made in an article or book and regurgitate them on a test. One must engage with the material. I understand that educational institutions are facing a financial crisis, and it would be unreasonable of me to advocate that funding for philosophy become a top priority. I realize that the intense study of philosophy is not for everyone. However, I do think that we ought to remember that, even when we are concerned with money, practicality and our future, philosophy has a place on our agendas, whether we realize it or not. As the second grade philosophy students realize, philosophical questions are for everyone. “We can say things about what we believe and stuff,” a girl named Autumn told the Times. “It’s what we feel and what we think.”

Emily Breslin ’10 is a philosophy concentrator from Harvard, Mass. She can be contacted at emily_breslin@ brown.edu

Today The Brown Daily Herald

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Digital Sanskrit library to expand

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tomorrow, april 30

6:30 P.M. — Susan Eaton Lecture: “Narrative for Complex Social Issues,” Brown-RISD Hillel

3:00 P.M. — How Did We Get Here? A Symposium on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, Salomon 003

7:00 P.M. — Palestine in Crisis: What We Can Learn from Gandhi, Barus and Holley 168

7:00 P.M. — The Badmaash Show, Vol IV: Tear it Up, Salomon 101

Verney-Woolley Dining Hall

Lunch — Chicken Milanese, Vegan Nuggets with Dipping Sauce, S’mores Bars

Lunch — Asian Sesame Chicken Salad, Crispy Thai Tofu, Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Dinner — Roast Pork Calypso, Tortellini Angellica, Pineapple Carrot Cake with Frosting

Dinner — Roast Turkey with Sauce, Jamaican Pork and Apricot Saute, Pineapple Carrot Cake with Frosting

Diamond to the end of the semester. Any mistakes in today’s paper will not be corrected for months. “Balls,” said Prez. Ruth Simons. Coal to a foam-covered, Cancun-tanned, Gala-dancing Class Board. It’s been quite a wild ride. We hear there’s an open spot on the board of Goldman Sachs, if you’re looking for greater leadership opportunities. Diamond to the 30,000-plus high school seniors who want to be among our ranks. Don’t be fooled by Snoop’s jersey, though — he will not be a part of the illustrious class of 2014. Though we enjoyed speculating as to your

Diamond to all the new buildings rising on and around campus. From Med Ed to the new athletics and aquatics center to the creative arts building — things are looking better and bigger. Like we felt about female orgasms, we’re excited about them coming. Coal to recurring mayoral candidate Chris Young. We would have thought about giving you a diamond for keeping our coverage entertaining, but we’re unsure when you’ll be allowed back on campus to pick it up. Two diamonds each to: Chuck, for all the donuts . . . Alice, for putting up with us messy college kids . . . Claire, Katie and all of B-Staff, for the cash and extra pages . . . Mom, for checking our Web site . . . Hippomanic, for misspelling your name all semester . . . Ricoh, for surviving . . . post-, for fattening us up on Thursdays . . . our wonderful writers, photographers, designers, copy editors, artists and Web people — and you, dear reader. See you in September!

comics Cabernet Voltaire | Abe Pressman

a c r o s s to b e a r ACROSS At Snoop’s Behest by Natan Last `12 1 Family jewels, or RISD’s hockey team 5 Psyched 10 Emulate a rugrat 15 “Barbie Girl” band 16 He “uses more exclamation points than any other major American writer,” as per an episode of “The Simpsons” 17 Site whose name, appropriately, is an anagram of “movie” 18 House “where they are just and loyal... and unafraid of toil” 20 Nixon speechwriter Ben 21 “Game Gonna Cost ___” (Chamillionaire song) 22 Penetrate slowly 24 “To ___ is human” 25 Body part lost by Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen 26 Have a bawl 29 Fear is the path to it, says Yoda 70 Electropop band 45 Hip hop producer 10 It’s across the 32 Actor Neeson Gotti whose name refers street from 34 Where Harry Potter 46 Derek, in to what drive-in SuperCuts goes? “American theaters were once 11 Bar mitzvahs, e.g. 36 Public Enemy’s History X” called 12 Explorer Vespucci “Miuzi Weighs a 74 Language from 13 “Amish Paradise” 47 Some roomieless ___” rooms which “polka” singer 37 Nas’s “Bridging the 49 What the derives 14 Actor Chaney ___” drug K2 was 75 “Here I go, once 19 “___ Femmes 38 He sought the supposed to be again with the ___, Savantes” Triforce of Power, 50 Nickame for the every week, I hope (Moliére play) and used it for evil New York Mets it’s from a female” 23 Supporter of 41 Inventor Tesla 51 First word of (Strongbad quote) atomic power 43 She draws on Dante’s “Inferno” 76 The girl in “Girl 25 Lin. ___ people after they’ve 54 Swallowed hard All The Bad Guys (MATH0520) passed out 58 “Yeeeaaah Want” 27 “The Mighty 45 Like intramural boooiii” 77 Economist Ludwig Boosh” character sports in the winter 59 “I love you,” to von ___ who says “It’s 48 Ruth lover, say José 78 Put out, as a fire attached to your 52 “___ Momo” (David 79 Start of a song rod, motherlicker!” 61 Blood-typing Byrne album) letters about a yellow 28 Former Oriole 53 Say “pretty please” 65 “I Saw ___” polkadot bikini ___ Powell 55 Go quickly (Ames Brothers 30 “Clue” weapon DOWN 56 Imperative verb in 1 Casual “no” tune) 31 Emissions org. Daddy Yankee’s 67 Years in Latin 33 Download, as 2 Sites for small “Gasolina” 68 Offerer of from someone schools? 57 Creator of the Television else’s iTunes 3 He “cannot die. religion Bokononism Studies Only the actors who 35 Letters on a 60 Gun lobby org. snowy owl, on the 69 Contented sighs play him!” 62 Actor Penn 71 Meg, to Chris internet 4 Word before walk or 63 Doctors Without 39 Zeus turned her 72 French for ride Borders, e.g.: Abbr. 5 Blow away “island” to stone 64 Show with recent 73 Zonday who 6 Emulate the iRobot 40 Kevin Lyttle MySpace casting sang “Chocolate album that’s Scooba calls Rain” written slang for 7 Sign in the title of 66 She initially called “fire” Cartman’s Christian Solutions and Dylan an “urban 42 Britney’s bygone Rock band archive can be hillbilly” beau, briefly 8 Screwed (up) found online at 68 Barack’s older 44 Title professor in 9 Outscore daughter a Nabokov novel blogdailyherald.com

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interest in the school, it never struck us that not enough “weed every day” would be an excuse not to enroll.

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Diamond to John Jenks 1838, the R.I. Hall curator who collapsed dead on the hall’s steps in 1894. You proved long before Spring Weekend that it was OK to black out on the Main Green.

Today, April 29

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Thursday, April 29, 2010

Diamonds and Coal. An institution of The Herald. At the end of every week, we gather our staff, scour through the paper and pull out our best tricks. We try to make you laugh, we work to make you smile and we attempt not to be too inappropriate.

c a l e n da r

to m o r r o w

Cloherty ’09 reflects on NFL time

t h e n e w s i n i m ag e s

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to day

Dot Comic | Eshan Mitra and Brendan Hainline

Fruitopia | Andy Kim

Hippomanic | Mat Becker