Daily Herald the Brown
vol. cxlv, no. 65 | Wednesday, September 8, 2010 | Serving the community daily since 1891
After years, Overcrowding causes unusual housing for some U. website gets facelift By Ana Alvarez Senior Staff Writer
By Sydney Ember News Editor
After months of planning and interface-tweaking, the University unveiled its revamped website Tuesday afternoon, culminating a redesign project that began in 2008. The new site — a collaborative effort between the Office of Public Affairs and University Relations and Computer Information Ser vices — features a more accessible home page that supports multimedia and can interface directly with social networking sites. The website went live at 2:30 p.m., replacing an old platform that had been in place since 2006, said Vice President for Public Affairs and University Relations Marisa Quinn, who led the redesign team. In addition to increased graphical content and more navigable links from the home page, the site also requires less staf f to maintain, she said. The website will feature updated depar tment sites, an improved admission page and a revised research site, which will launch in the coming months. The new site “showcases the University,” Quinn said, adding that the improved functionality means the site can generate more content while decreasing upkeep. continued on page 3
Finding suitable and comfortable housing for thousands of students is always a challenge for the Office of Residential Life, and this year was not an exception. An overflow of students in need of on-campus housing necessitated the use of temporary spaces and auxiliary housing this semester, according to Senior Associate Dean of Residential and Dining Services Richard Bova. The overflow happened because approximately 40 students, mostly upperclassmen, opted for several reasons to live on campus even though they had originally planned to live off campus, Bova said. Accommodating these students left little space for all of the
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Max Monn / Herald
Abhinay Reddy ’13, at home in his Keeney Quadrangle quad. He and his lottery group opted to take the room and avoid summer assignment.
M. soccer ties in first Ocean State Classic International scholars program ends BY Zack Bahr Sports Editor
For those of you not in attendance for the Monday matchup between Providence College and Brown, you missed out. In the championship game of the inaugural Ocean State Classic, the Friars tied the Bears at 0-0 and won the tournament in a penalty-kick shootout — that was after the prior 110 minutes of the game. Bruno, which advanced by defeating Bryant 4-0 in the first round
of play Friday, battled the Friars through 90 minutes of regulation and two 10-minute overtime periods. The game, which was recorded as a tie, needed to be decided for
SPORTS the sake of the trophy, so the game went to a penalty-kick shootout with five shots for each team. The lone blocked shot was off the foot of David Walls ’11; the Friars converted all of their opportunities. “It’s a nice precursor to hope-
By Kristina Klara Contributing Writer
Freddy Lu / Herald
inside
Firedancers performed Saturday on Andrews Terrace, wowing all and singing none.
www.browndailyherald.com
The Women Writers Project recently received a $200,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to further study the primary sources already available in the project’s database. Though the project — an ongoing Brown-based research project that aims to recover and digitize the works of early women writers — has been funded repeatedly by NEH grants in the past, the most recent grant will allow the University to collaborate with outside researchers. “This latest grant funds specific, focused parts of the project’s major mission,” said Julia Flanders, director of the Women Writers Project and member of the library’s Scholarly Technology Group. The project
By Julia Kim Staff Writer
will concentrate on the reception of the early texts written by women in the English language. Flanders said the new grant project will help answer questions such as“How did people read the texts at the time? How did people see women’s writing at the time? How was it viewed in public media?” Part of the money from the grant will be used to attract scholars from outside the Brown community to research how women writers were received at the turn of the 18th century. “We’re not so presumptuous to think we have a monopoly on the expertise of early women’s writing,” said John Melson, manager for the Women Writers Project. In addition to research, Flanders
A long-r unning program that brought scholars from developing nations to the Watson Institute for International Studies has officially ended this year due to a lack of funding. As The Herald reported last year, the Watson Institute Scholars of the Environment Program was in danger of ending as its funding ended last semester. Though efforts were made to acquire more funds, not enough was raised. Given Brown’s budget deficit and the cost of the program, the lack of funding for the program did not surprise several of the professors involved. “It’s not just here, it’s ever ywhere,” said Lynn Carlson, Geographic Information Science systems manager, of budgetar y cutbacks. Housing, living expenses and transportation were all provided for through the program, according to Associate Professor of History Nancy Jacobs, who directed a mid-career training program for the Watson Scholars last year. Scholars were also allowed to vagabond classes at Brown without paying any tuition. “It takes a lot of hard work to find funding for a program like that,” Jacobs said. “The program had benefits for both the Brown community and the scholars, but it cost a lot of
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Women Writers Project receives federal grant
OOH, AH
News.......1-3 Sports.....4-5 Editorial......6 Opinion.......7 Today..........8
fully where you want to be, either conference or national champions,” said PC Head Coach Chaka Daley. The Bears started out slow against their opponents’ high-octane pace and committed 19 penalties, including five offsides, and three yellow cards on the game. The Friars tallied 15 penalties and two yellow cards. “There were a lot of fouls in the game,” said Brown Head Coach Pat Laughlin. “Providence did a good
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On the blog
Smoky debate A Janus Forum conversation about marijuana ended with a pie in the face
Ahoy Pirates Sam Sheehan ’12 sure is one badly dressed Irish sports fan
Clean up your mess Deniz Ilgen ’13 thinks that campus trash shouldn’t make us look trashy
Blogdailyherald.com Big Boi hype, intellectual colleges and Mankiw thinks you should take econ
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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
C ampus N EWS
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
“It’s kind of an interesting situation having four guys in one room.”— Abhinay Reddy ’13
Crowding moves undergrads off campus, into lounges continued from page 1
Max Monn / Herald
Four boys, one room: not all that uncommon. Amid an on-campus housing crunch, more students found themselves in unusual situations.
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sophomores on summer assignment, the process for assigning housing to those who don’t receive a room in the housing lottery. In order to house all of these students, ResLife needed to use temporary spaces, like lounges and auxiliary housing. “It was a hectic first couple of weeks in August,” Bova said. But, he added, “it is important to take care of Brown students, and we got to do what we can to help,” even if this means putting some students in temporary spaces. ResLife guarantees the availability of on-campus housing for all undergraduates. Sara Rodriguez ’13 was put in a temporary space in West Andrews Hall with two other friends. The space, which was originally a lounge, has its own kitchen. “We are generally happy with it,” Rodriguez said. And even though they could move to a permanent space once ResLife offers them one, Rodriguez said they wouldn’t move out of their triple. “We have too many things in here already and we don’t have time,” Rodriguez said. But Mia Zachary ’13, who was put in summer assignment and was assigned a permanent triple in Keeney Quadrangle, said she wishes she could have been offered a temporary option. Bova said it is not uncommon to find students that prefer living in temporary lounge spaces. Many students, Bova said, like having ample space in their room and a kitchen nearby. “Even if people are in temp spaces, they are still huge spaces,” he said. While Bova said he “hate(s) to impact lounge space,” ResLife made sure that there was still at least one lounge and kitchen available for other students in the dorm. “I don’t like using temp space, but even then we are better than everyone else,” he said. “Brown does not triple up in double rooms.” Most of the people living in temporary spaces, Bova said, will be moved out “by the end of the semester or even winter break.” However, it isn’t only students in summer assignment that live in triples or quads. Abhinay Reddy ’13 and the rest of his housing group
decided to take a quad in Keeney during the housing lottery instead of entering summer assignment. Even though a quad is not the most desirable situation, Reddy said, his housing group is surprisingly pleased with the results. “It’s a nice open space so you can have people over,” Reddy said. “You find ways to make it work. It’s kind of an interesting situation having four guys in one room.” Summer assignment has not been bad news for everyone. Sophomores who were not put in temporary spaces, like Rodriguez, or permanent spaces, like Zachary, were placed in auxiliary housing — off-campus but nearby housing that Brown owns and offers students. Allen Kramer ’13 entered summer assignment with a group of six and was happy to be offered auxiliary housing. “We got the housing assignment a little under a month before school was starting that we were living in a townhouse,” Kramer wrote in an e-mail to The Herald. “We were all obviously ecstatic.” “We’ve been unbelievably happy because we really wanted an offcampus setting from the beginning anyways,” Kramer added. ResLife also offers auxiliary housing to juniors who have trouble find-
ing space on-campus. Such was the case with Zach Alterman ’12 and his suitemate Matt Weisberg ’12. After applying for off-campus housing and being denied permission, Weisberg and Alterman entered the lottery with four other friends. However, a mix-up with ResLife caused the group to be split up, leaving only Weisberg off-campus and the rest of his group in triples in Hegeman Hall with an unknown roommate taking Weisberg’s place. When ResLife realized their mistake, they offered the whole group auxiliary housing, the two students said. “ResLife basically said it was too late to switch their mistake and so we could either live with the random kid or move into a house,” Alterman said. “It was a pretty easy decision.” “I am happy with the way this all turned out, and am grateful to ResLife for my new amazing living situation,” Weisberg wrote in an email to The Herald, “but I also know that it took a lot of institutional nonsense and bureaucratic inefficiency to get us here.” “I find it amazing that at a school where people are being placed in dormitory kitchens from a shortage of housing that people who actively desire to vacate school property would be not be granted permission,” he added.
Nick Sinnott-Armstrong / Herald file photo
Richard Bova, senior associate dean for residential and dining services, oversees the placement of students in dorms across campus.
Katie Koh, Treasurer Chaz Kelsh, Secretary
The Brown Daily Herald (USPS 067.740) is an independent newspaper serving the Brown University community daily since 1891. It is published Monday through Friday during the academic year, excluding vacations, once during Commencement, once during Orientation and once in July by The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. Single copy free for each member of the community. POSTMASTER please send corrections to P.O. Box 2538, Providence, RI 02906. Periodicals postage paid at Providence, R.I. Offices are located at 195 Angell St., Providence, R.I. E-mail herald@browndailyherald.com. World Wide Web: http://www.browndailyherald.com. Subscription prices: $319 one year daily, $139 one semester daily. Copyright 2010 by The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. All rights reserved.
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C ampus N EWS NEH grant funds women writers project continued from page 1 said the grant will fund graduate student research assistants, who will identify and collect reception materials, along with the development of the infrastructure for storing and presenting the research material. Flanders said the idea for the grant was “a lucky result of ongoing conversations,” especially those she had with Sarah Bordac, head of outreach and instructional design at the John Hay Library. The grant-funded project begins in January. “Results will start to be visible within the first year or so, but the final project will be completed at the end of the grant,” which is three years from now, Flanders said. The results of the new project will be digitized and available to everyone, Flanders said. Both she and Melson said they hoped the texts would also be visible in company with Women Writers Online primary texts, which are only available by license. Flanders said she wanted the context to be studied “side by side” with the text. “Looking at the way this material was talked about and written about by readers could provide a context for those reading it,” Melson said. Brown has been a leader in the “general domain of digital humanities and specifically of creating these highquality digital humanities research materials,” Flanders said. “The mission of the project is to recover and republish works by early women writers in English, materials that under normal circumstances would be difficult to find for teaching and research.” The Women Writers Project has already digitized 322 texts written by women in English before 1850, Melson said.
In order to engage the community during the redesign project, designers and administrators distributed online sur veys and publicized decisions on a redesign blog. The final design merged the “positive elements” of the top two concepts determined by over 1,800 participants who chose between three designs, Quinn said. The redesign team held “extensive focus groups” to develop recommendations for improving the site’s functionality. The public affairs office and CIS collaborated with mStoner, Inc. — a public relations firm that specializes in nonprofits — to come up with a modernized, accessible site that more effectively represents the multimedia age, Quinn said. The University solicited information and proposals from potential consulting firms last fall, choosing mStoner from a field of 10 companies because it had experience working with higher education, Quinn said.
“There’s no such thing as enjoying the aroma of THC.” — Brian Judge ’11
Marijuana debate ends with pie in the face By Caitlin Trujillo Senior Staff Writer
The pie tin balanced in his hand, Anish Sarma ’12 stepped for ward and jammed the whipped cream into Brian Judge’s ’11 face. Onlookers cheered as Judge wiped the mess off, but he had acknowledged his chances from the beginning. “I can see I’m fighting an uphill battle here,” he said as some members of the audience — about 40 people congregated under Wayland Arch — jeered in jest as he stepped for ward to argue against legalizing marijuana in the Janus Forum’s first debate of the year. Moderating the student debate was Janus Forum Executive Director Andrea Matthews ’11. While Judge, the Janus Political Union director, represented the anti-legalization side of the debate, Sarma argued in favor of legalization. The walkway under Wayland Arch was divided in two by a long strip of duct tape that would later
ser ve as the audience’s measuring stick. Judge, a former Herald opinions columnist, emphasized that he did not think legalizing marijuana would lead to widespread drug addiction, increased violence or health crises. Instead, he said marijuana sapped people of their ambition and could possibly prevent individuals from reaching their true potential. As an example, he said he could only list a handful of well-known marijuana users who became successful — including Cheech and Chong and “maybe Richard Dawkins,” he said. “It’s not so much that it’s corrupting the youth,” Judge said, “but making us boring and lazy.” Thus, by indulging in the “petty pleasures” of marijuana, Judge said, “we do ourselves a great disser vice.” He added that the government has the ability and the authority to prohibit the harmful activity, and that smoking marijuana stands distinct from
drinking alcohol because the latter can be done without the intent of becoming drunk. “There’s no such thing as enjoying the aroma of THC,” Judge said. Sarma, for his part, conceded that marijuana use was not without its risks — there is a correlation between smoking marijuana and a slight risk increase in developing heart problems, and driving while high is dangerous. None of these reasons, though, support the complete abolition of marijuana as a recreational drug, Sarma said. “The issue is not legal, it’s cultural,” Sarma said. He suggested legalizing marijuana and then taxing and regulating it, such as with cigarettes, over continuing to waste time and money on prohibiting and criminalizing the drug. “We don’t have the resources to prosecute a crime no one really cares about,” Sarma said. As part of the debate, audience
members were encouraged to ask questions after Judge and Sarma finished speaking. The audience challenged each other’s points on many fronts, debating whether decriminalization could solve the problem of rampant violence as part of the drug trade, whether legalization and taxes would inflate marijuana prices, whether the “gateway drug” argument had any merit, and whether legalizing marijuana would cause drug organizations to reinvest in harder drugs. At the end of the discussion, Matthews called for everyone who supported legalization to stand on one side of the Arch and those who did not support it to stand on the other side. Only a handful of people declined to support legalization, and Sarma was given the pie-smashing honors. Ultimately, though, Sarma said, winning was not ever ything. The stakes were fun, but the final vote did not matter — the discourse, instead, prevailed.
Scholars program falls victim to budget deficit and cuts continued from page 1 money. Right now, I don’t know that Brown has the resources.” Steven Hamburg, an adjunct associate professor of environmental studies who cofounded the program in 2001, expressed a different opinion. “It could have easily been continued at a very modest investment,” he said. Since its founding in 2001, the program has brought roughly 75 scholars from more than 40 countries to Brown, according to Hamburg. In addition, in previous years, the program also supported Brown
U. closely involved in design of new website continued from page 1
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Though the University used mStoner to help generate ideas for the new platform, CIS ultimately built the site, allowing the University to maintain the interface internally without relying on outside input if the site ever encounters problems, she said. The creative team that worked on the redesign spent the immediate time before the launch ironing out “bugs and kinks,” she said, allowing the site to go up without any noticeable malfunctions. Quinn said the response she has received so far has been positive, though she anticipates getting more feedback at next week’s Brown University Community Council meeting. As for publicizing the updated site, the University plans to use its own social networking tools to announce the change and attract constructive comments. “We will certainly be letting people know via Facebook and Twitter,” she said.
students to conduct research in the Watson Scholars’ home countries. Though the program was “one of the most successful for providing funds for students studying abroad,” Brown hadn’t given the program priority to get additional funding nor was it willing to invest a “small amount” to continue the program, Hamburg said. The scholars represented an
enormous opportunity to internationalize the curriculum at almost no cost to Brown, he said. “Since Brown has a commitment to internationalizing, it’s silly to walk away from something that’s proven to be something effective.” In November, a conference hosted by the Luce Foundation, which funded the Watson Scholars program, will be held at Brown to
discuss ideas for new programs, Jacobs said. As to reviving the Watson Scholars program, both Jacobs and Hamburg said they were not hopeful. “Once you lose momentum and people know about it, it’s harder to start back up,” Hamburg said. “The program as it stood was really great while it lasted,” Jacobs said.
SportsWednesday The Brown Daily Herald
WEDNESDay, SEPTEMBER 8, 2010 | Page 4
The quiet murder of Pittsburgh baseball With the swish of a swing, followed closely by the crack of a bat, Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh erupts. Not your standard “Whoa! What a catch by that guy!” kind of cheer. Real cheers. The kind of euphoria you save for when a superhero saves the day. The kind of unbridled joy that comes from something reSam Sheehan Badly dressed ally special. An Irish sports fan undying affection reserved for those who have transcended the mortal plane. The source? A 5-foot-11-inch, 175-pound Puerto Rican man chugging his way to second base with a double. The date is Sept. 30, 1972, and it is the final regular season game for the Pittsburgh Pirates, who are hosting the New York Mets. It’s the bottom of the fourth, and the score is tied 0-0. No one is on base and it is the middle of a boring game that would not matter, so why are these people going so crazy? It is because their hero, Roberto Clemente, has just whacked his 3000th career hit. Clemente was more than just a National League and World Series MVP, a 15-time Major League Baseball All-Star or a man with four batting titles to his name. He was a man who fought his way through an impoverished youth and through racial tension in the clubhouse. A man whose humanitarian work for a devastating 1972 Nicaraguan earthquake is often swept under the rug of his baseball achievements. A man who overcame every challenge in his life to become not just one of the greatest baseball players of all time, but a shining example of all that someone could achieve with his life. Tragically, both that regularseason game — and hit — would be the last of his life. In the offseason, Clemente discovered that the aid shipments he was organizing for Nicaraguan earthquake victims were being diverted by corrupt government officials. He decided to accompany the next shipment to ensure that it reached the people. The
plane crashed after takeoff, taking Pittsburgh’s shining star with it. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame posthumously in 1973 — the only player to have his five-year Hall waiting period waived before induction. During the ceremony, he was remembered as a man who was extremely proud of his team. He once said, “When I put on my uniform, I feel I am the proudest man on earth.” Flash-forward 38 years. The Pirates’ 2009 season tied them for the longest streak of consecutive losing seasons in any North American professional sport. This 2010 season gave them sole possession of this dubious honor. What happened? Where is the ballclub that Clemente was so proud of? How has this team never had more than two All-Stars since 1990, when Barry Bonds played for them? What has killed baseball in Pittsburgh? Meet Robert Nutting. Outwardly, he appears to be your standard American billionaire. He purchased the team out of “family interest” in 2007 from 10-year owner Kevin McClatchey. Pirates fans rejoiced, happy to be rid of the bumbling McClatchey and the 10 years of losing seasons he brought with him. Did they finally have an owner that could make good decisions and revive the sport of baseball in Pittsburgh? Imagine this: You are with your sick grandfather who has been in the hospital for quite some time. You are fed up with his incompetent, long-term doctor, whom you fear is only making things worse. You complain to the chief of medicine, who assigns a new doctor to your grandfather’s case. The new doctor strolls in, shakes your hand, tells you that everything will be OK, picks up the pillow and begins smothering your grandpa. You are powerless to stop this. That is what this change in Pittsburgh ownership has been for the fans — watching their grandpa get smothered. Nutting’s reign has been nothing short of malignant and destructive. Using his general manager puppet, Neal Huntington, Nutting has shipped three of the five All-Stars he has had on his team for cash and
cheap, unpromising prospects. The Pirates are currently on pace for a 100-loss season, and they have yet to have a season with fewer than 90 losses since Nutting took over. The Pirates have somehow gone from bad to mind-bogglingly putrid. And yet, when the financial statements of the Pirates were leaked earlier this year to the sports blog Deadspin, fans discovered that the team banked nearly $30 million in profit during the 2007 and 2008 seasons. What? That’s right. By actively pursuing the lowest-cost — and worst — players, Nutting has slashed expenses so low that the team can actually make money despite its near-constant cellar-dwelling in the standings. The die-hard fans of Pittsburgh, driven by loyalty and memories of Clemente’s Pirates of old, steadfastly continue to go to games. Nutting disgustingly abuses this constant income, sitting on the ticket and merchandise profits instead of using the money to build a team that would reward the fans for their devotion. Even now, the Pirates’ fan base continues to erode under a justified cynicism, while those few loyal souls who continue to give their money to this team receive a giant slap in the face for their troubles. It’s here that we reach what is so offensive about this situation. The total transparency and boldness of Nutting’s decisions are a painful reminder to fans that professional sports are, at the end of the day, a business. A business where one can put out an inferior product and still make money. A business where one can cash in on the passion and positive memories of others and give nothing back but a $4 hot dog and a feeling of emptiness. A business where you can take $30 million from a city for absolutely nothing. It’s OK, though, Mr. Clemente. I’m sure you understand why Mr. Nutting is doing this. You both, after all, see a kind of value in a Pirates uniform. You saw the outfit that made you the proudest man in the world. He sees $119.95 plus tax. Sam Sheehan ’12 enjoys $4 hot dogs, but not feelings of emptiness.
Weekly preview Check out where Bruno is playing this week! Men’s Soccer — Brown takes on South Carolina (Friday, 7:30 p.m.) in the opening round of the Brown Soccer Classic. After a day’s rest, the men take on Hofstra (Sunday, 2:30 p.m.) Volleyball — The women take on Providence College at home today (7 p.m.), then travel to Baltimore for the UMBC Classic against Ohio State (Friday, 2 p.m.) , Towson (Friday, 7 p.m.) and UMBC (Saturday, 11 a.m.) Women’s Soccer — The Bears travel to Boston College today (7 p.m.), then come home for a match-up against Monmouth University (Saturday, 2 p.m.) Men’s Water Polo —The men travel to Lewisburg, Pa. for the Bucknell Invitation, where they will face Diablo Valley College (Friday, 7:30 p.m.), University of Toronto (Saturday, 11
a.m.), Bucknell (Saturday, 7:30 p.m.), Penn State Behrend (Sunday, 9:45 a.m.) and Navy (Sunday, 1:30 p.m.) Field Hockey — Bruno heads to New Jersey to compete against Monmouth (Saturday, 4 p.m.) Men’s and Women’s Cross Countr y — The squads open their season at the Boston College Invitational (Saturday, allday) Men’s Golf — The team travels to Annapolis, Md. for the Navy Invitational (Saturday and Sunday, all-day)
Jonathan Bateman / Herald
Goalkeeper Paul Grandstrand ’11 blocked five shots and remained in play for the whole game.
Inaugural state soccer tourney a success continued from page 1 job moving the ball around in the first half.” After halftime, Bruno came out with high intensity. With a 7-2 shot advantage in the second half, the Bears looked more like the NCAA National Tournament team of 2009. The run was aided by younger team members Ryan McDuff ’13, Dylan Remick ’13 and Eric Robertson ’13 — all three playing the full game. “The sophomores are getting a lot more in the rotation,” Laughlin said. “Some of them played last year, but this year, they’re just getting better.” Senior leadership was not missing, though. Goalkeeper Paul Grandstrand ’11 blocked five shots and made one of Bruno’s penaltykick shots after playing every minute of the marathon game. Though he normally focuses on
his goalkeeping, the senior said he feels comfortable taking penalty shots. “Coach asked who wanted to shoot, and I put my hand up,” Grandstrand said. “You got to have the confidence.” Taylor Gorman ’12 was the standout player from Friday night’s game against Bryant. He added two goals to those scored by teammates Jon Okafor ’11 and Sean Rosa ’12. Bryant took on the University of Rhode Island at 1 p.m. on Saturday in the consolation game. URI defeated Bryant 3-2, with the winning shot coming in less than two minutes before the end of regulation. The Bears will be back in action Friday night against the University of South Carolina in the Brown Soccer Classic, after Yale takes on Hofstra at 5 p.m. in the first game of the tournament. Bruno will start play at 7:30 p.m. on Stevenson Field.
World & Nation The Brown Daily Herald
Wednesday, September 8, 2010 | Page 5
Unemployment creates new role for community colleges By Kevin G. Hall McClatchy Newspapers
On this Labor Day weekend, the unemployment rate is anchored near 10 percent, and experts of all stripes are trying to figure out how to create more jobs. There’s consensus that community colleges help retrain workers for 21st centur y tasks and provide students the skills that employers increasingly seek, but funding for these vital institutions remains inadequate. Higher education policy in the nation’s capital focuses most on boosting four-year college graduation rates. However, not all jobs require a college degree, and community colleges increasingly have to choose between preparing students for the modern work force or teaching standard classroom courses toward four-year college education. Evidence of these conflicting priorities abounds at Anne Arundel Community College, near Mar yland’s capital, Annapolis. Enrollment there, already more than 55,000, is growing at an annual clip of 5 percent or more, as more high
school grads attend for two years in pursuit of an eventual four-year college degree. Joining them are students eagerly seeking practical job-training skills. Lynetta Flack, 58, takes a professional baking class. After retiring from a long career in the Army, she obtained a culinary degree and became a chef, but now she’s back for certification as a baker to make herself more marketable. “You can never learn too much,” she said. Richard Fowler, 30, is taking night classes. When the economy soured, he lost his job as a radar integration and test engineer at defense contractor Northrop Grumman. Now he seeks certification to land a job as a computer network engineer. “I’ve been to several job fairs, probably 10 in the last month or two. They don’t really say, ‘Hey, you don’t have the certification so I can’t hire you.’ They kind of allude to that,” he said. Community colleges traditionally provided vocational training and
prepared students for careers in food service or health care. Today, however, they’re just as likely to provide training for everything from computer-aided architectural design to cyber-security and computer programming. Employers increasingly count on these colleges to certify work skills. “In the past we heard employers much more interested in soft skills, teaching employees things like customer service or supervision,” said Laura Weidner, the dean of work force development at Anne Arundel. “Now, they want to know, ‘Where’s the certification in supervision or management?’ ” Enrollment in two-year study programs at community colleges nationwide was up 17 percent last year, said George Boggs, president of the American Association of Community Colleges. Over five years, enrollment is up 30 percent. However, as enrollment has risen, states haven’t provided enough money to keep pace. In fact, state funding of community colleges is on the downswing. In 1980, 16 states footed the bill for 60 percent or
Kevin G. Hall / MCT
Students listen to Chef Virginia Olson at a baking class at Anne Arundel Community College, where they are being trained for employment in hotels, restaurants and food manufacturing firms.
more of their community college budgets. Last year, none did. President Barack Obama’s American Graduation Initiative, launched in July 2009, seeks to boost community college graduation by 5 million students by 2020. One trend may help that goal be reached: Many states have enrollment caps for four-year public universities. That’s led to a surge in students trying to get two years at community colleges before transferring to a four-year school. It’s also muddied the mission of community colleges. Martha Smith, the president of Anne Arundel Community College, knows this struggle for funds all too well. “There’s been recognition, at the national level, of the importance of community colleges, even across administrations,” Smith said. She noted that President George W. Bush launched his communitybased job training grants at her college in 2006. “There has been awareness, and some dollars following that awareness of the need.” “Some dollars” is the telltale term. Dedicated state and federal funding remains inadequate; much of the funding comes from one-time-only federal, state and private grants. Chasing grants ties up manpower, as schools constantly seek their renewal. “Work force training is an unfunded mandate. There are no dedicated revenue streams for work force training programs,” Katsinas said. “The unfunded mission has been to build sustainable communities, which directly ties to surveying and upgrading the skills of the work force. I agree very much with the idea that a dedicated revenue stream for the community work force training is needed.” Obama’s American Graduation Initiative — announced at Macomb Community College in Michigan — envisioned $12 billion in new spending over a decade. Last year
only 5 percent of U.S. community college revenues came from the federal government, according to the American Association of Community Colleges. So far, however, politics has trumped policy when it comes to boosting federal funds for community colleges. Democrats in Congress last year tried to attach Obama’s proposed community college funding to the sweeping health care legislation. It was stripped out in the final push for passage, partly because of concerns over costs. Lawmakers settled on a less ambitious measure, authorizing $2 billion over four years for grants to community colleges through Labor Department programs to aid workers displaced by international trade. Team Obama hopes to revive his whole $12 billion program, in recognition that community colleges nationwide have such great needs. “They’re bursting at the seams and the resources they have available are half to a third per student of what most public four-year colleges get. There’s a huge mismatch between available resources and the need,” said Hal Plotkin, a senior Education Department adviser.
UC Irvine won’t lift ban on Muslim group
By Raja Abdulrahim Los Angeles Times
The suspension of a Muslim student group at the University of California, Irvine, was upheld Friday by university officials, but the recommended yearlong ban was cut in half, the Muslim group announced, meaning the group will be able to begin participating in campus activities in December. The Muslim Student Union was appealing the campus ban that was handed down earlier this summer after a protest by several students during a February speech by Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren. The union has maintained that it did not organize the protest, though many of its officers and members participated.
In maintaining the suspension, the university relied on that participation, which it said made the appearance of the student union’s endorsement for the protest difficult to overcome, said Reem Salahi, the group’s attorney. The group will be on probation until December 2012. The university has yet to comment. During a news conference Friday, Muslim Student Union representatives continued to maintain that the suspension amounts to collective punishment. Incoming union Vice President Hadeer Soliman said members have received hate mail and endured personal attacks as a result of the ban. Given what she described as a rising tide of anti-Muslim hate in the country, Soliman said the suspension sends “the wrong message at the wrong time.”
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Editorial & Letters The Brown Daily Herald
Page 6 | Wednesday, September 8, 2010
A le x Y uly
e d i to r i a l
Committing to respond
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 Emmy Liss Joanna Wohlmuth
editorial Anne Speyer Suzannah Weiss Sara Luxenberg Brian Mastroianni Brigitta Greene Ben Schreckinger Sydney Ember Zack Bahr Tony Bakshi Ashley McDonnell Erika Mueller
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When students returned to campus to begin the spring semester last January, an earthquake had just ravaged Haiti. While relief efforts in Haiti are far from complete, we now again find ourselves back at school with another major humanitarian crisis unfolding abroad. Pakistan’s prime minister said that flooding in the countr y had affected 20 million people as of mid-August, and U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said the destruction in Pakistan is unlike anything he had ever witnessed. The University’s response to the crisis in Haiti has been strong, and we hope that a similar outpouring of campus support for the people of Pakistan is forthcoming. Farrukh Malik ’11, president of the Pakistani Students Association, told the editorial page board that there will be benefit concerts coordinated with other student cultural and performance groups, craft sales and a lecture series about the social and political factors surrounding the disaster in Pakistan. He also noted that there will be differences in how campus response efforts approach the two crises in Haiti and Pakistan. Because the two disasters received disparate levels of domestic media coverage, public awareness of the situation in Pakistan must be improved, and fundraising events for Pakistan will be coupled with educational outreach. We applaud these efforts and encourage students to get involved. One of Brown’s greatest strengths is the initiative we take as an institution in addressing the needs of communities affected by calamitous events, whether natural or man-made, domestic or international. Though we are glad to see the steady repetition of ad hoc responses to crises, we believe that Brown must make a permanent commitment to disaster relief and humanitarian aid. Following the earthquake in Haiti, we called for
the creation of a center at Brown devoted to humanitarian crises. The proposed center would serve two related purposes. First, it would coordinate campus efforts to respond to disasters in other parts of the world. And second, it would facilitate academic study and field research on crisis response and relief. As we noted in January, Harvard and Johns Hopkins universities both already have centers with this sort of mission. Catastrophic events can strike in varying ways and require different responses, so we think a campus center for disaster relief is crucial. Such a center could provide resources to students organizing benefit events and facilitate cooperation between students, the administration and academic departments. In addition, a center at Brown could take responsibility for tracking the progress of relief efforts in affected regions, ensuring the University’s involvement will go beyond an initial emotional reaction. Relief work on campus could thus continue across years even after some student leaders have graduated, providing sustained support. By also emphasizing academic research and first-hand experience, this new center could also play a role in training the next generation of leaders who will manage crisis-response efforts on the ground in affected countries. We are all at risk of getting “disastered-out” and finding our desire to help spread too thin among places in need. It is our hope, however, that a new center can lead a committed, multifaceted approach to humanitarian aid and allow Brown to maximize its efficacy in aiding people around the world.
Editorials are written by The Herald’s editorial page board. Send comments to editorials@browndailyherald.com.
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Opinions The Brown Daily Herald
Wednesday, September 8, 2010 | Page 7
Brown: clean campus? BY DENIZ ILGEN Opinions Columnist As a naive, wide-eyed freshman moving into Keeney, I was extremely unprepared for the interesting events that were to come in my college experience. Upon arriving at Brown, I was impressed by its beauty and superb maintenance; the fall foliage of the trees seemed to perfectly complement the brick buildings, and I remember thinking that the actual school was so much prettier than the photos I had seen until then. After the first few days, though, my impression of the school changed slightly. While I didn’t expect the campus to eternally remain in a spotless, immaculate state, I also didn’t expect people to run through the hallways with a shopping cart on the fourth floor of Keeney. Most likely forgetting the basic skills of picking up after themselves that were once taught in elementary school, many students would unabashedly litter and leave it to the custodians to clean their messes up daily. A few weeks into the year, I realized the permanence of the situation. Every Sunday morning I could count on seeing smashed up “EXIT” signs on each floor. Every time I went to the lounges, the tables would be sticky from spilled beverages, and the presence of colossal piles of trash in the halls was never missed. Despite numerous emails from the peer counselors, students of-
ten seemed to disregard common courtesy and leave trash everywhere, thus bestowing additional work unto the custodians. As if cleaning the vomit stains off the toilets and unclogging chunks of hair from the shower drains wasn’t enough, students gave the janitorial staff the extra job of clearing out their giant bags of trash from the halls and bathrooms as well. The seeming lack of care for Brown’s environment does not only apply to the Keeney Quadrangle; it happens everywhere. The
to the point where they appear to be spewing white boxes rather than storing them, and empty beer cans coupled with broken glass become partially embedded into the soil of the grassy fields nearest the Ratty. Needless to say, I’m certain the photos in university brochures are not taken during Spring Weekend. The sad fact of the matter is that the extent of the horrible conditions to which I had become accustomed didn’t register in my brain until the second semester of my
Not only does leaving trash around decrease the aesthetic value of the campus, but it also makes someone’s job more difficult. minute the sun starts shining in the spring after a bitter mini-ice age better known as an east coast winter, people feel the need to dine outside and absorb UV rays. It is no coincidence that the Main Green, Lincoln Field, and Wriston Quadrangle suddenly become littered with takeout boxes during this time as well. Along with the warm weather comes the occurrence of outdoor festivities, which adds more garbage to the campus, this time in the form of alcoholic beverage containers. The black metal trash receptacles are filled
freshman year. I went to the bathroom one fine morning only to find that the shower curtains had been torn off their hooks and thrown out the window, and the soap dispenser had been completely ripped out of the wall and discarded as well. I was amazed; how could someone even find the brutality to do that, and for what reason? My best guess was that someone took her anger out on the bathroom facilities in a drunken fit of rage. Following this debacle were some intimidating e-mails from the peer counsel-
ors, explaining the severity of the situation as well as how it affected everyone living in the hall. Within two days, however, our angel of a custodian had replaced the shower curtains and supplied a substitute soap dispenser. Naturally, this resulted in an abrupt decrease in interest in the search for the bathroom abuser. I am doubtful that students would realize just how poorly they treat this established, reputable school’s campus if the bathrooms were not restored so quickly, but at least it would serve as a reminder of their influence on the school. I had figured that by this age people would be more aware of their surroundings and the impact they have on the environment; not only does leaving trash around decrease the aesthetic value of the campus, but it also makes someone’s job more difficult. We’ve all had those moments when we just throw some garbage away in the tiny trash cans in the bathroom because it’s too much of an effort to walk down four flights of stairs to the trash room. Nonetheless, the next time you want to take the easy route, do everyone a favor and think about the people who clean up your mess for you. I extend my sincerest thanks to the underappreciated janitorial staff at Brown.
Deniz Ilgen ’13 is a civil engineering concentrator from Los Gatos, CA. She can be contacted at deniz_ilgen@brown.edu.
Segal for Congress BY WILLIAM TOMASKO Opinions Columnist Tuesday, November 2 seems as if it will be a bleak election day for progressives. Democrats look likely to lose a substantial number of seats in Congress. In fact, Republicans could take control of both the House and the Senate. Still, by making the best choice in the September 14 primary, Rhode Island Democrats can create at least one source of optimism to look to in November. They can nominate the solidly, energetically progressive David Segal to fill the seat of retiring Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-RI. Segal is running in a competitive primary, and the Democratic winner will almost certainly win in November since the district is reliably liberal. Patrick Kennedy has easily held the seat since 1995. Choosing whom to support in a primary can be difficult because the competitors usually don’t have sweeping ideological differences. Instead, voters must judge candidate qualities like their qualifications, their potential for effectiveness and their political priorities. In these categories, Segal stands out. Since Segal is only 30 years old, one might assume he can’t be as experienced as his older rivals. One opponent, Bill Lynch, ran an ad mocking Segal for supposedly offering “change with no experience.” That’s an inaccurate criticism, since Segal served on Providence’s city council for four years and has been a state legislator since 2007. Segal first won office when he was just 22, demonstrating his impressive political drive.
Besides, Segal’s youth can benefit Rhode Island. He could keep his safely Democratic seat for many years, accumulate seniority and clout in the House, and become a powerful force for the state’s interests by chairing a committee or serving in the party’s leadership. Segal’s record as an officeholder demonstrates his effectiveness. In his first year as a state representative, the head of National Education Association Rhode Island heralded Segal’s legislative skill: “At a relatively
fered opinions on controversial issues such as decriminalizing marijuana. Segal’s extensive experience in government and record as a public thinker are compelling reasons to support him, but another important quality is his leadership on government reform. He has repeatedly supported the Rhode Island Fair Elections Act, a bill that would offer public financing to candidates for state office. He’s advised the coalition advocating for the bill ever since it was founded. I’m a member of Democracy
Voters must judge candidate qualities like their qualifications, their potential for effectiveness and their political priorities. In these categories, Segal stands out. young age, he has figured out how to work with the system … to actually get legislation passed. It seems it came to him so easily that you forget how hard it is to actually accomplish.” Segal will be prepared to deal with national issues. For the past year, he’s blogged for the Huffington Post on topics including Federal Reserve regulations, the need for more stimulus spending, education reform and the World Trade Organization. His posts are substantive, thoughtful and bold — and in today’s political culture, where public figures live in fear of their offhand comments becoming embarrassing YouTube videos, it’s admirable that Segal has enthusiastically of-
Matters, the campus component of the coalition, and I’ve seen Segal come to meetings and engage with students on strategy, demonstrating his passion for the subject. National campaign finance reform is a key cause of his campaign. He’s pledged to help rally support for a federal public financing bill. Although opponent David Cicilline ’83, current mayor of Providence, has also made clear his support for the bill, Segal’s record of advocacy suggests he’d be more proactive on the issue. In fact, Segal is only candidate for Kennedy’s seat who has refused to take corporate donations, demonstrating his commitment to the ideals of reform.
Furthermore, Segal introduced a bill in the spring to amend the U.S. Constitution and reverse the Supreme Court’s destructive ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission that corporations can spend unlimited sums of money on campaigns. As a member of Congress, he could continue advancing this cause with a higher profile. Segal’s strong stands have impressed national progressive activists, and he has even been endorsed by the House’s Progressive Caucus. At the beginning of September, the prominent blogger known as “Digby” wrote of him, “I know it’s hard to get excited about politics right now. But it would be foolish for us to fail to support a young, smart progressive with a proven track record.” Democrats are notably less enthusiastic than Republicans are this year. However, bold candidates such as Segal can help inspire progressives nationwide, and he is poised to offer strong, motivational liberal stands to Congress. Responding to the Tea Party enthusiasm that helped elect Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass., Segal wrote on the Huffington Post, “Many Democrats seem to be taking all the wrong lessons … They’re in retreat — even more risk-averse than usual, and refusing to take stands on (seemingly) controversial issues. But … Democrats need to show voters that we have some real fight.” As a House representative, Segal can offer that fight.
William Tomasko ’13 is an undecided concentrator from Washington, D.C. He can be reached at william_tomasko@brown.edu.
Today The Brown Daily Herald
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Pot leads to pie in student debate
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The case for Segal in the primaries
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
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menu Sharpe Refectory
Verney-Woolley Dining Hall
Lunch — Beef Tacos, Vegetarian Tacos, Spanish Rice, Refried Beans, Chocolate Krinkle Cookies
Lunch — Honey Mustard Chicken Sandwich, Pasta Bar, Tomato Quiche, Chocolate Krinkle Cookies
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Bat & Gaz | Sofia Ortiz
crossword Dot Comic | Eshan Mitra and Brendan Hainline
The Adventures of Team Vag | Wendy Kwartin
Cabernet Voltaire | Abe Pressman