Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Daily Herald the Brown

vol. cxlv, no. 109 | Wednesday, November 10, 2010 | Serving the community daily since 1891

Panel talks free speech in court

BUCC talks labor policy, undergraduate housing

By Emma Wohl Staff Writer

The Brown University Community Council met Tuesday evening to revisit the issue of holding University events at off-campus venues engaged in labor disputes, look at suggested improvements to undergraduate housing and hear a presentation on initiatives and planning for the Swearer Center for Public Service.

Members of the Student Labor Alliance brought forward a resolution urging the BUCC to “encourage the Brown community to take all appropriate measures to avoid holding any events at venues in the midst of a labor dispute.”

This was the first the BUCC heard of this issue since last April, after the annual gala was moved from the Westin Hotel at the last minute due to the hotel’s questionable labor practices, said SLA member Haley

Kossek ’13.

The resolution identified groups, such as the Brown Sports Foundation and the Inman Page Black Alumni Council, which had changed venues for their events to unionsupported hotels after SLA notified them of the labor disputes at the Westin. But the SLA sought to articulate a unified position because “it makes some sense to have some University policy” on the issue of labor disputes in off-campus venues, Kossek said.

Kathleen Sousa, manager of financial and administrative services for the Staff Advisory Council, said she agreed with the sentiment of the resolution but that the language needed “refinement.” She also said she had questions of practicality, most notably with a part of the resolution that suggested “adding labor disputes to the standard cancellation clause in contracts for off-campus

By Bradley Silverman Staff Writer

reachable, there is a doctor on call at Health Services that can be contacted through the advice hotline in case of emergencies, she said.

Dupont said the service receives about five calls per night on average, though some of these are “administrative” — students mistaking the hotline for the appointment-making function of the Health Services number.

Health Ser vices has been

Wendy Murphy could not believe the judge’s order. She was serving as an attorney for the plaintiff in a Nebraska rape case, and the judge had just given her client a number of words she could not use in the courtroom — including the word “rape.”

“The idea that a victim of violence in a criminal case cannot use the word ‘rape’ is absurd,” Murphy said.

Tuesday night, Murphy — an attorney specializing in representing crime victims, as well as a professor and occasional CNN commentator — participated in a panel discussion held in a half-full Salomon 001 on the role and the limits of speech within the courtroom. Few students were in the audience, which was mostly comprised of legal professionals, including Chief Justice Mary Lisi of the U.S. District Court in Rhode Island.

Titled “Judicial Privilege and Free Speech,” the panel also included Robert O’Neil, director of the University of Virginia’s Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression, and moderator Ross Cheit, associate professor of political science and public policy.

Murphy recounted how she filed a motion against the state judge in federal court and was met with skepticism that her suit could have any standing. The federal judge hearing

continued on page 3

continued on page 3

Emma Wohl / Herald

Students at Wednesday afternoon’s BUCC meeting urged the University and student groups to avoid holding events at venues with labor disputes.

events and meetings.”

The administration has been advised that “there will be no hotel” willing to agree to such a clause, she said.

Associate Professor of Africana Studies Corey Walker said he took issue with the resolution’s broadcontinued on page 2

Health Services outsources after-hours advice

By Rebecca Ballhaus Senior Staff Writer

When students call the Health Services number after hours, they are not connected to a staff member at Brown. Instead, students reach a medical advice service called Nurse Response, which has many locations all over the country.

Health Services has been using Nurse Response since last September, when the center stopped being open 24 hours every day. Though

it now closes at 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday, “we felt it was still very important for students to be able to get medical advice 24/7,” said Lynn Dupont, associate director of Health Services.

The change in hours arose following last fall’s organizational review process that analyzed cost savings in different departments.

The after-hours nursing care and in-patient unit were “a low-utilized service” that had been used “less and less” over the past five years

as students shifted to “more ambulatory care and the addition of full-service appointment hours both evenings and weekends,” Dupont said.

Students are automatically forwarded to the hotline when they call the Health Services number after hours. After they speak to a nurse with the service, the nurse sends a triage report to Health Services, and a Brown nurse follows up with the student the following morning, Dupont said. Though not directly

M. water polo falls in championship

By Garret Johnson Sports Staff Writer

Emily Gilbert / Herald

inside

Marcus Gartner ’12 and his teammates won two games in this weekend’s tournament at MIT, qualifying for the Eastern Division Championships.

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The third time was anything but the charm for the men’s water polo team (18-11), which dropped its third game this season against No. 14 St. Francis College (21-3), 14-7, on Sunday in the Collegiate Water Polo Association Northern Division Championship.

The loss followed a 12-6 win over Iona College (6-19) and a 9-6 victory over the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (12-10), who hosted the tournament.

Head Coach Felix Mercado was pleased with the first two games of the tournament, and the fact that his squad has now qualified for the CWPA Eastern Division Championships, held at Bucknell University from Nov. 18-21.

“I was happy on Saturday,” Mer-

cado said. “But it’s almost like the wheels fell off against St. Francis.”

Brown is far from the only team to be derailed by the Terriers. They have been steadily climbing in national rankings with nine consecutive wins and are favored to win the Eastern Championships.

The Bears would like nothing more than to stun St. Francis with an upset, but in order to even have a shot at taking down the East Coast powerhouse, Bruno will have to get past No. 15 Navy (22-6). The winner of that game will face either MIT or No. 17 Princeton (18-8) for a spot in the finals.

These upcoming foes are familiar to Bruno, who have won three games against MIT this season and lost one to both Navy and Princeton.

“The gauntlet starts with Navy,” Mercado said. “If we happen to pull

High score

No home

On your mark

Brown scores high in sustainability report, tying for first place

Swimmers and divers optimistic despite poor facilities

Indoor track and field teams get set for new season

news, 2

Sports, 5

SPORTS, 5

195 Angell Street, Providence, Rhode Island

two great games together, I’m hoping we’re looking at St. Francis.”

Walker Shockley ’14 will likely be a major factor in Brown’s success or failure in the upcoming tournaments.

The rookie goalkeeper has been seeing the bulk of the playing time in the net lately, including the games against Iona, MIT and St. Francis last weekend. Shockley made a total of 32 saves in the tournament.

“When you have a hot goalie, you’ve got to ride with him,” Mercado said. “He came off of a good showing in California, and has picked up momentum ever since.” Shockley, who last week was named CWPA Rookie of the Week and CWPA Defensive Player of the Week, cited his eight years of water polo “at a very competitive level” as one factor in his continued on page 3

Too P.C.?

Elizabeth Perez ’13: Is excessive P.C. a good thing?

Opinions, 7 herald@browndailyherald.com

Page 2

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

C ampus N EWS

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

“Sustainability is about a mindset more than anything else.”

— Ari Rubenstein ’11, executive director of emPower

BUCC resolutions meet controversy Brown earns highest mark for sustainability continued from page 1

ness. “If you’re asking the BUCC for a sentiment, a better way ... would be to say, ‘We support the Westin workers,’ ” he said.

Walker suggested that the resolution be reworked to focus specifically on the issue of labor practices at the Westin.

“The point is that there may be labor disputes at other venues where the University may want to hold events,” said SLA member Julian Park ’12.

“I would like to see something broadly addressing the issue,” added Beth Caldwell ’12, another member of the group.

A vote unanimously defeated the original resolution proposed by SLA. But the BUCC adopted Walker’s resolution, which expressed support for the boycott of the Westin, and agreed to give the issue further consideration.

Vice President for Campus Life and Student Ser vices Margaret Klawunn presented updates on planned improvements to undergraduate housing. The administration had started by looking into other universities’ systems, such as Harvard’s house system and the residential college model, before concluding that other systems were not right for Brown, she said.

But, she said, it was clear that

improvements must be made in undergraduate housing. In the perception of incoming students, “we don’t compare very well with our peers” in the area of student housing, she said. Among seniors, housing has consistently been one of the lowestranked factors in their on-campus experience, she added.

She detailed plans such as moving classrooms for first-year seminars and advising to the areas around freshman dorms.

Additionally, she discussed renovating several University housing buildings, such as 315 Thayer St. and Minden Hall, to expand capacity and create more suite-style living space.

Renovations to 315 Thayer St. are slated to begin this summer and be completed in summer 2012.

BUCC member Michael Stewart ’13 asked what the University was doing to make facilities more handicapped-accessible.

Klawunn responded that one of the aims of the renovations was adding features — such as ramps and elevators — to make buildings more accessible.

The University is committed to “preserving a range of options” for students looking for on-campus housing, she said.

Roger Nozaki, director of the Swearer Center, gave an update on the center’s initiatives and planning.

Recent developments have in-

cluded a series of seven fall training sessions for students involved in the community and the addition of a career adviser specifically focused on nonprofit careers — particularly relevant because 53 percent of the Class of 2010 went into jobs with nonprofits, Nozaki said.

“About 1,000 students” are involved in ser vice through the Swearer Center, he said. “It’s not just a one-shot thing,” he said, adding that these are “ongoing, day-to-day programs.”

In the future, the center is looking to expand its review process beyond the center’s programs to independent student-run organizations such as Project Health and Brown Refugee Youth Tutoring and Enrichment, he said.

During the time available for community members to present broad campus issues to the council, Park raised the issue of the upcoming search for a new provost, following the announcement that Provost David Kertzer ’69 P’95 P’98 will step down in June.

“It is absolutely crucial that the people most affected by that decision,” specifically students, be involved in that process and serve on the search committee, Park said.

Kertzer said the Undergraduate Council of Students and President Ruth Simmons would discuss this issue in their next meeting.

By Joseph Rosales Contributing Writer

Brown received high marks — and tied with two other schools for a firstplace ranking — from an institute dedicated to advancing sustainability for its efforts to be a green campus.

The Sustainable Endowments Institute released the fifth edition of its College Sustainablility Report Card last month. According to the institute’s website, the report card is an evaluation of the sustainability efforts in colleges and universities across the United States and Canada. The grading system revolves around nine different categories such as student involvement, climate change and energy, and investment priorities.

In the report, Brown received an “A” in each of nine categories. Dickinson College and the University of Minnesota also received perfect scores.

The report card’s assessment was made using surveys sent out by the institute to 52 committees on Brown’s campus, according to Chris Powell, Brown’s director of sustainable energy and environmental initiatives.

The University has shown a steady increase in its scores since the report card’s inception. In 2007, the first year the report card was released, Brown received an overall grade of “B,” according to the institute’s website. The increase in the University’s sustainability GPA in recent years has to do with the change in criteria from the surveys, Powell said. Recently, the institute

has given more credit to schools which have made actual progress with their environmental initiatives than to schools whose sustainable programs have not improved, he added.

Powell also credited both the University’s reduction goals and funds allocated to the goals for the high marks. “The more people that do that, the more the market is influenced, because the market responds,” Powell said.

Powell praised the increase in student involvement with climate and environmental issues on campus. Organizations are “much more organized and involved,” Powell said.

EmPower, one of Brown’s environmental groups, was one of the groups contacted by the institute, according to Ari Rubenstein ’11, executive director of emPower. The group’s many projects dedicated to increasing sustainability on campus were discussed in the surveys sent to the institute, Rubenstein said.

Though the high grades are a sign of forward progress, Rubenstein said he knows that there is still room for improvement.

“Sustainability is about a mindset more than anything else,” Rubenstein said. “Being an environmentalist does not have to mean being a tree-hugging hippie.”

Powell agreed, saying that it is one thing to make investments, but another to get people to adapt and do things differently.

“Do I think we’re perfect? No. We should always be assessing what we’re doing now,” Powell said.

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Wednesday, November 10, 2010

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

C ampus N EWS

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“They were able to provide good guidelines in times of stress.” — Zack Bodinger ’13, on the after-hours hotline

Health Services collaborates with medical advice hotline after hours continued from page 1 pleased so far with the service. “The medical advice has been consistently thorough and well advised,” Dupont said.

“With a new service, you’re always evaluating,” Dupont added. She said the only issues so far have been “logistical things, in terms of making sure they know what services we have, when we’re open.”

Nurse Response works with 13 schools across the country, said

Sherita Haigler, manager of client services for the company. Haigler said the service is careful to provide specific information to its nurses about each school. “We don’t take a cookie-cutter approach,” she said.

“Each school has their unique needs and we want to meet those unique needs.”

When schools sign contracts with Nurse Response, they fill out a questionnaire, including information about demographics, location and “everything we have to know about

Panel advocates for free speech in courtrooms continued from page 1 the case asked her why he should not throw her in jail for contempt, she said. A Nebraska state senator mockingly filed a lawsuit against God, arguing that if a rape victim can sue a judge, he could sue the Lord.

O’Neil said that the role of and stresses upon the court offered a fundamental paradox: While the courtroom is a “sacred” place, one that deserves special protections, the site of the room itself does not constrain judicial authority.

“It is only a physical space… the authority of a court transcends any physical locations,” he said.

He recalled viewing a famous photograph of Judge Sarah Hughes administering the oath of office to Lyndon B. Johnson aboard Air Force

One — a reminder that some things that happen under the authority of a judge do not take place in the courtrooms.

At the same time, O’Neil noted that certain limitations on courtroom speech on judges, attorneys, litigants and jurors do exist to facilitate the execution of justice and to protect the rights of all involved in the case.

O’Neil lamented the lack of legal scholarship on the issue, in particular on the subject of disruption and disturbance in the courtroom.

He cited one exception, Berner v. Delahanty, a case involving an attorney who wore a political button to a courtroom. The United States Court of Appeals ultimately found that “lawyers have no absolute right to wear (their political beliefs) on their sleeves” in the courtroom.

Bears recuperate after loss to powerhouse St. Francis continued from page 1 performance of late.

“I’m just working hard, doing my thing ,” Shockley said. “And it’s paying off.”

Shockley normally splits time with Max Lubin ’12. Mercado was quick to point out that Lubin would “be a

starter on almost every other team on the East Coast.” But the coach also said the coaching staff won’t hesitate to put Lubin back in net if Shockley’s performance wavers.

The Bears will have a full two weeks of practice before heading to Bucknell on Nov. 18, where they hope to claim the Eastern Division title.

the campus and the community around the campus,” Haigler said.

That information, updated annually, is then organized so “all staff interacting with students have it handy to review,” she added.

Zack Bodinger ’13 said he found the hotline helpful when he called about a medical concern. “They were very reassuring, and I really appreciated that they were able to provide good guidelines in times of stress,” he said.

Brynn Smith ’11 was a frequent

user of the old system — 24-hour on-site nurses available by phone — when she was a Residential Counselor two years ago. But when she called the after-hours number recently, she said the service proceeded to “reroute (her) seven times,” at which point she gave up.

Smith said in the future she would call the service again, but added that if she had a similar experience, she would be unlikely to continue calling.

Dupont said Health Services plans to execute a student survey about

the hotline, though she said from the feedback they have received, “a majority have been pleased.”

Health Services does not explicitly name the Nurse Response service on the website. But Dupont said the choice was not intentional. “We really didn’t discuss it,” she said. “It’s not deliberate — we want students to call if they need advice.”

She added, “It’s important for students to know that resource is there, and that we follow up with every student.”

SportsWednesday The Brown Daily Herald

Wednesday, November 10, 2010 | Page 4

season preview / w. basketball

Coach and squad looking ahead

By Madeleine Wenstrup Sports Staff Writer

Starting her 23rd year in the women’s basketball program, Head Coach Jean Marie Burr is fired up about the 2010-11 squad. Though the team has only been practicing for a few weeks, Burr says the commitment is already there.

“We have a really solid team,” Burr said. “They’re really excited and they’re working hard. They’ve broken some records on the track as well as in the weight room.”

The team finished last year with an 8-20 overall record and a 5-9 league record. The Bears

graduated three seniors last year, all of whom were four-year letter winners.

Though the squad has no seniors this year, Burr said she has no doubts about the leadership capabilities of the junior class.

“We have three juniors who have a lot of playing time under their belts,” Burr said. “I expect that they are really going to take that to the next level. They are great leaders.”

Their resumes are cer tainly impressive. Hannah Passafuime ’12, Aileen Daniels ’12 and Lindsay Steele ’12 are all Brown letter winners who made significant contributions to the 2009-10 season. Pas-

safuime and Daniels were named spring captains last season. Both players were high scorers on last year’s team ­— Passafuime averaged 9.3 points a game to finish as the leading scorer, and Daniels scored 7.1 per game to finish third.

The Bears will also look to their new freshmen to bring on the heat.

Six recruited members and one walk-on compose the freshman class. Burr explained how the new faces are already falling right into step.

“We like an up-tempo game, we love to play a pressure defense,” she said. “They are really playing hard and making that type of commitment defensively.”

Passafuime agreed that the new squad is already working well together.

“What gets me excited is that we are already flowing so well together right now,” she said.

It is important for Burr’s team dynamic that the freshmen participate in selecting captains.

“I like the first-years to be part of the chosen leadership,” Burr said. “Everyone gets to know each other, and then we vote.”

In a voting process that included both players and coaches, Passafuime and Daniels were re-elected

Jesse Morgan / Herald file photo

Guard Sheila Dixon ‘13 and her teammates start their season Friday.

as the winter season captains.

Co-captain Passafuime said she is ready to jump into the season, starting with the first game against Albany on Friday.

“The first two weeks of practice are hard because we aren’t playing games yet,” she said. “We just look forward to the first game so much.”

After Albany, the Bears return home to host Br yant University in their first home game of the season Nov. 23. The early season will see two major tournaments­— the Iona Thanksgiving Classic and the Brown Bear Basketball Classic, which will be held at the Pizzitola Center starting Dec. 1.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

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S ports W ednesday season preview / SWimming and diving

season preview / track and field

Despite lack of facilities, Indoor teams excited for start of season team hopeful for season

By James Blum Sports Staff Writer

By Ashley McDonnell Sports Staff Writer

The divers have to go off campus to train. The swimmers only have a temporary pool for practice. The men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams cannot have any home meets this season. But despite all these setbacks, both teams are going into the winter season with positive attitudes and with the hope that positive results will follow.

The team’s good attitude seems to stem in large part from the new diving coach, L. Channing Kimball.

Before coming to Brown, Kimball was the diving coach at Alma College in Michigan for three years.

During her own collegiate diving career at the University of Wyoming, she served as captain in her junior and senior year, and won the university’s swimming and diving most inspirational award in 2003.

She now has brought that inspiration to Brown.

“She’s exciting to be around,” said men’s tri-captain Conor Carlucci ’11. “It’s nice to always see a smiling face around.”

“She’s doing a great job at providing motivation and discipline,” said Head Coach Peter Brown.

In addition to Kimball’s leadership, Brown said he is depending on the captains to lead both teams and be the standout swimmers and divers this season.

“They provide the team with a good direction,” Brown said of the women’s captains, Natascha Mangan ’11, Kara Lindquist ’11, Kelley Wisinger ’11 and Allyson Schumacher ’12. “Once you have those good things in place, then you can

go somewhere from there.”

Brown also said he expects the freshmen to be “full-fledged team members.” However, he was reluctant to name any of the freshmen or other players specifically, because “it’s hard to single any of them out without talking about all of them.”

Brown’s reluctance emphasizes his belief in maintaining a team mentality, even though swimming and diving are individual sports.

“I think working together is really important,” Brown said. “You can always achieve to a certain level, especially individually, but when you work as a team, you can achieve things you couldn’t even imagine.”

Carlucci echoed his coach’s sentiments.

“We’re trying to focus on everyone getting faster individually, and that will lead to better team performances,” he said.

With better team performances comes the hope that both the men’s and women’s squads will be able to improve their overall records this year, especially their conference standings. Carlucci said the diving team is looking forward to its first Ivy League meet Nov. 20 against Dartmouth. The Princeton Invitational, Dec. 3–5, will provide a good measurement of how well the team is faring and what they need to improve, she added.

“We’re on the rise and only going to keep getting better,” Carlucci said.

The women’s team dives into its season Friday at Providence College starting at 5 p.m. A day later, the men kick off the year with an 11 a.m. meet, also at PC.

As the weather turns colder, signaling an end to the cross country season, the men’s and women’s indoor track teams are busily preparing for competition.

Director of men’s and women’s track and field Michelle Eisenreich is looking ahead to a successful year.

“We definitely want to improve on our finishes from last season,” Eisenreich said.

At the 2010 Ivy League Indoor Track and Field Championships, the men captured sixth place and the women finished fifth.

The squads will be assisted in achieving this goal by five coaches, three of whom will be in their first season with Brown track and field.

Coming from cross country, Tim Springfield will serve as an assistant coach for the distance runners. He previously coached at the University of St. Thomas, Division III, where he helped guide 14 middle and longdistance athletes to 45 All-American awards.

Specializing in sprints and hurdles, Assistant Coach Marc Mangiacotti comes to Brown from Wheaton College, also Division III. He coached eight NCAA National Champions and 53 All-Americans during his six seasons at Wheaton,

of which he was co-head coach for the final two seasons.

Rounding out the new arrivals is Reuben Jones, previously with Coastal Carolina University, who will be a jumps assistant coach. Under his tutelage, the Carolina women earned six individual titles at the 2010 Big South Indoor Championships.

“They are all extremely well-qualified and very successful coaches, and we will see the program grow under their leadership,” Eisenreich said. “Hopefully, we will see immediate returns, but we are guaranteed stronger programs down the line.”

In addition to new coaches, the squads also welcome a “very well-rounded recruiting class, with strong talent in all of it,” according to Eisenreich.

“We definitely have a lot of young talent… Look for some big things in track,” said distance runner Caitlin Clark ’11. “We are in a different place than we have been in past years ­— injury-free and physically and mentally prepared.”

Though the teams welcome new talent, several valuable athletes graduated. Both Duriel Hardy ’10, a winner in the 5-kilometer race at the 2010 Indoor Ivy League Heptagonal Championship, and Ariel Wright ’10, a fourth-place finisher in the 3k at the championships, will be missed.

Cross country co-captain Matt Duffy ’12 and sprinter Mike Mazerik ’11 are among several returning athletes who are expected to step into leadership roles, according to Eisenreich.

Perhaps the most notable returning member of the team is Craig Kinsley ’11. At the 2010 Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships, he threw 250 feet, three inches to become the national champion in javelin. He is only the third NCAA outdoor champion in school history.

“Personally, I would like to improve as much as possible and to make Team USA for the World Championships,” Kinsley said.

“Individually and team-wise, we’re healthy as a team right now. There’s a great shot at scoring in all the events.”

With all of the incoming and returning talent to the track teams, Eisenreich emphasized the importance of finding success at the conference championships.

“Anything before that is an opportunity to tune up and evaluate where everybody’s fitness and training is,” Eisenreich said.

The work put in now will help ensure the squads find themselves in top condition for the season-opening Alden Invitational in Providence on Dec. 4.

Editorial & Letters The Brown Daily Herald

Page 6 | Wednesday, November 10, 2010

sam rosenfeld

Letters, please! letters@browndailyherald.com t h e b r o w n d a i ly h e r a l d Editor-in-Chief

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e d i to r i a l

A good start Earlier this month, the Office of the Dean of the College unveiled Focal Point, a new concentration-mapping tool.

As usual, we’re glad to see the University continue to improve its Internet resources. We like the idea of a tool that allows students to explore different majors.

However, we think the current version of Focal Point could be developed even further to be a more practical resource for students deciding between majors.

Right now, the tool offers very broad information, such as a brief description of each department and a list of industries that alums have joined. This information may help students with a very vague idea of what they’d like to study, but most students may be looking for more detailed information about potential career paths.

The “Life After Brown” tool in particular has a lot of room for improvement. Currently, the tool is set up to list many of the industries as accessible to graduates of almost all majors. For example, 69 of the 78 majors listed on Focal Point show up when one selects the “Business/Consulting” category. While it’s helpful to know that students can enter a business profession with almost any major, more specific information would be useful. For example, students in either Commerce, Organizations and Entrepreneurship or Gender and Sexuality Studies have pursued careers in business.

But chances are that the proportion of Gender Studies students that enter business is smaller than the proportion of COE students, and it would make sense for an advisory tool like “Life After Brown” to reflect this important difference.

Another helpful addition would be to include firsthand accounts of people who have gone into a particular industry, similar to the type of survey the English department did in 2007, but across all concentrations.

In that survey, the department asked some of its recent graduates about their jobs and how they got them.

It then aggregated the responses and provided the helpful document for concentrators. A school-wide initiative like this would give students more specific insight into how skills from a certain concentration translate to the workplace.

We like that Focal Point provides links to concentration requirements for each department. However, these pages should be updated to provide even more guidance to students. For instance, most concentration pages do not currently provide a guide explaining the best time to take certain courses to make sure all prerequisites are satisfied in time to complete the major. This information is critical to guide students in making realistic choices about their concentration. It would also help students construct a rough schedule of future courses, which is necessary to declare most concentrations.

Lastly, we’d like to see Focal Point incorporate information about theses in each department. When deciding a major, it’s helpful for students to see what the format and expectations are for an honors thesis in that department. Focal Point would provide a good central location to post examples of theses from previous years so students know exactly what to expect when declaring a concentration. Some departments already have old theses posted on their websites, but many do not. Consolidating this information in one place would make it easier for students to access theses and would also ensure that all departments make them available to prospective concentrators.

We think Focal Point will make it much easier for students to explore potential concentrations. We hope the Dean of the College uses this opportunity to make the tool even stronger.

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, November 10, 2010 | Page 7

History: a history

BY Sarah Rosenthal Opinions Columnist Walking past the recent Sophomore Concentration Fair in Sayles Hall, I thought about what I would say to any potential history concentrators. Something along the lines of, “Want a concentration that will kick your ass every day of the week, will leave you pale and sickly from hours in the library and will either lead to unemployment or that inevitable graveyard of humanities concentrators, law school? Then history might be for you!”

As you might be able to tell, I have a love/hate relationship with my concentration. I imagine that this is the case for most Brown students. But being Brown students, we don’t do things unless we want to, and for me, it’s mostly love. So I was disheartened to read that fewer and fewer people are choosing to concentrate in history (“Number of history concentrators falls,” Nov. 1).

History professors blame the increased course requirements for concentrators in recent years, but I blame a number of unfair yet persistent myths about studying history.

Myth One: History is a dusty, shriveled topic taught by dusty, shriveled people. I have had the privilege of listening to and working with some of the most fascinating scholars imaginable, who have brought immense passion, intelligence and imagination to their work. For instance, when Nancy Jacobs teaches about South Africa, she is not just regurgitating facts and figures; she is

telling a story that is deeply relevant to our world, one in which she actually participated. Hearing her talk about how her parents would smuggle banned books into the country for her when she was doing post-graduate research there vividly brings alive the banal, everyday repressions of the apartheid regime.

Obviously, not everyone can tell stories about personal involvement with the history he or she teaches. (“I remember this time that Lucius Domitius Aurelianus and I got

and correct this imbalance. They speak up for those who were considered to have no history, or whose history was manufactured for them to fit a pernicious agenda, and help them refute the myths that were tools of their oppression in the past and continue to be detrimental to their everyday lives.

Besides, it only takes a cursory look around you to see how relevant history really is. There are parts of this country that are still fighting the Civil War. As I found out when I spent last semester in England, there

History concentrators are passionate about what we study for its own sake, because God knows those long days spent in the Rock are not going to make us much money or give us much social cred. soooo wasted after the defeat of the Goths at the Battle of Naissus — that was a night for the history books!”) That doesn’t make these contributions any less valuable, either to academic discourse or to the world at large.

Which leads me to Myth Two: history is pointless. As any good Brown student knows, Western academia has until recently been dominated by a homogenous racist imperialist hegemonic blah blah blah. Joking aside, it has been the project of many historians in the modern period to undermine

are parts of that country that are still fighting over the 500-year-old legacy of the English Reformation. I’m not one of those who thinks that you can divine the future from looking at the past, but pursuing the discipline allows you to see patterns that you otherwise might have missed.

Myth Three: History is a ton of work with no payoff. I won’t deny the first part of that statement. Taking a history class (a good one, that is — as in any discipline, there are some classes that are more rewarding than others) is the equivalent of removing your

brain from your cranium, stretching it out like taffy and then trying to shove it back in the same small space and use it again. In other words, it’s tiring.

But there’s also so much to love. After I described the various obscure honors thesis topics of the other concentrators in my section to a non-concentrator friend, she very sweetly observed, “You’re all just weirdos in your own way.” Like the lovable misfits on “Glee,” history concentrators are passionate about what we study for its own sake, because God knows those long days spent in the Rock are not going to make us much money or give us much social cred.

Perhaps most importantly, history gives us a sense of where we are. Brown, where 86 percent of students graduate within four years, necessarily has a short institutional memory. (Why, just the other day, I heard someone on the street refer to Store24 as “Tedeschi!” Tedeschi, I say!) Without the study of history, we’d all just be floating around with no idea of why things are the way they are, victims of fatuous connections, false assumptions and superficial conclusions that can be easily manipulated by the mendacious or power-hungry.

So put aside the sexiness of “Television Studies” or “Color Me Cool” and pre-register for a history class for Spring 2011. I promise, you won’t regret it.

Former Herald Opinions Editor Sarah Rosenthal’s ’11 column space has been bought and paid for by Big History.

Careful, let’s be politically correct now (or not) BY elizabeth perez Opinions Columnist “What do you call yourself?” CEO Jack Donaghey asks his Latin romantic interest Elisa, to which she replies, “A Puerto Rican.”

Dumbfounded, he retorts, “No, I know you can say that but what do I call you?” She insists once again, “A Puerto Rican.” Flabbergasted by the idea that the politically correct identification of a Puerto Rican is, in fact, a Puerto Rican, he responds, “Wow, that does not sound right.” The critically acclaimed comedy show “30 Rock” ridicules the pervasive stigma that surrounds race, and makes one actively question the way we have “collectively constructed and institutionalized” race through this constant need to be racially sensitive and politically correct, Caroline Howarth writes in the article, “Race as Stigma.” I have encountered similar but less ridiculous situations, except the only thing I’m capable of verbalizing is, “Seriously?”

From liberals to conservatives on campus, everyone can acknowledge the fact that Brown embraces and advocates its sense of political correctness and racial sensitivity.

Unsurprisingly, the acronym “P.C.” gained widespread attention in a cartoon strip published by Brown. In the wide spectrum of political correctness, Brown equally struggles to resolve the conflicts of the trivial and fleeting matters to the most pressing and controversial concerns. I applaud Brown’s efforts to climb several steps ahead in the giant ladder of political correctness, but several steps more could cause the whole ladder to collapse.

Brown is constantly redefining what it means to be politically correct and racially sensitive; the renaming of Columbus Day to Fall Weekend, as a Herald opinions column expressed, was an attempt “to appease Native American rights activists” (“Fall Weekend, reimagined,” Oct. 8, 2009). However, Brown alums and Mayor of Providence David Cicilline ’83 protested, “The decision to simply erase the celebration of an incredibly significant moment in world history and Italian-American culture for (the) sake of political correctness does just the opposite.” The ambiguous but “politically correct” naming did not completely satisfy either side, but it minimized the commotion.

say my mother is Honduran and my father is Puerto Rican. I enthusiastically joke that I fulfilled both the Caribbean and Central American racial quota. I am not devaluing my own merits or unconsciously being selfdeprecating; I am challenging the uncomfortable boundaries of race and trivializing the need to be politically correct.

We have more liberty to speak carelessly in an informal setting, but there are the unfortunate few who do realign or conceal their opinions in a formal one. It’s become an unconscious effort to preserve an artificial atmosphere of political correctness, where people can choose to censor controversial ideas or even ordinary comments. In

To some extent, this atmosphere of political correctness can be a tad bit excessive and detrimental when considering the discomfort it creates in informal and formal settings.

To some extent, this atmosphere of political correctness can be a tad bit excessive and detrimental when considering the discomfort it creates in informal and formal settings. When I’m asked, “Where are you from?” I will respond, “Los Angeles,” and I chuckle at the dissatisfied faces of the students who were actually curious about my racial background, but resisted the temptation to ask once again, in an effort to be racially sensitive. Occasionally, I get the serious but laughable question, “What’s more politically correct: Hispanic or Latino?”

When I reveal my ethnic background, I

the midst of protecting the prevailing idea, those who are satisfied with the so-called “just way of thinking” will only deprive the less-favored view of its validity.

To be told it’s unethical to say one thing, but it’s perfectly fine to say another, is a misleading way of teaching and learning. It’s disconcerting to realize that people willingly suppress a thought to remain politically correct or that they mask their own ideas under the sugarcoated conventionally accepted idea. The pervasiveness of political correctness is at times just borderline ridiculous.

Unfortunately, it can and will at times ulti-

mately create and enforce a generic guideline of how one should think and feel.

A school that strives to promote racial sensitivity and political correctness inadvertently creates unnecessary boundaries between the “majority” perspective and the “minority” perspective. The book “The Politically Correct University: Problems, Scope and Reforms,” defends the need to trivialize political correctness and to preserve intellectual diversity in the academic sphere.

In it, contributors William O’Donohue and Richard E. Redding claim, “Just as minority students may feel alienated in educational environments lacking minority professors or culturally sensitive course content, conservative students may feel alienated when few (often none) of their professors share or respect their views and when conservative perspectives are excluded from pedagogy.”

Creating a more politically correct atmosphere at the expense of those with perhaps the most unconventional views will inevitably minimize diversity. Being politically correct is gradually transforming into the way of thinking and acting. People are becoming excessively conscious of what they say and overly sensitive to foreign ideas. We should de-emphasize the need for political correctness so that the only concern is no longer what or who will be offended. Then we can strive to fully promote the guiltless liberty of self-expression once more.

Elizabeth Perez ’13 is an economics and international relations concentrator from Hollywood, Calif. She can be contacted at elizabeth_perez@brown.edu.

Today The Brown Daily Herald

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U. graded on sustainability

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4 November 10

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5 P.M.

ToMORROW

November 11

Bat & Gaz | Sofia Ortiz

Noon

Muslims in the West After 9/11,

Veterans Day Ceremony, Main Green

Watson McKinney Conference Room 5:30 P.M.

7 P.M.

Science Across Genders and

Debate: Burma Elections,

Cultures, Science Center

Petteruti Lounge

menu SHARPE REFECTORY

VERNEy-WOOLLEY DINING HALL LUNCH

Parmesan Herb Pizza on Wheat Crust, Dal Cali with Yogurt and Flat Bread

Italian Sausage & Peppers Sandwich, Hamburgers, Spicy Black Bean Burgers

Cabernet Voltaire | Abe Pressman

DINNER Cheese Quesadillas with Sour Cream and Salsa, Sustainable Salmon alla Griglia

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48 / 38

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

c a l e n da r Today

to m o r r o w

Women’s hoops optimistic for season

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

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to day

Apricot Beef with Noodles, Egg Drop and Chicken Soup, Vegan Spicy Black Eye Peas

crossword Dr. Bear | Mat Becker

Dot Comic | Eshan Mitra and Brendan

Classic Deo | Daniel Perez

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