Monday, November 29, 2010

Daily Herald the Brown

vol. cxlv, no. 118 | Monday, November 29, 2010 | Serving the community daily since 1891

More rising juniors given M. soccer off-campus permission loses 2-0 in

stimulating

By Inni Youh Contributing Writer

Some students have recently been awarded off-campus permission for the academic year 2011–12.

Out of the 410 rising juniors who applied, 242 have been granted off-campus permission, said Senior Associate Dean of Residential and Dining Services Richard Bova.

Around the same time last year, only about 125–150 rising juniors had been granted permission, Bova said.

But the increase in the number of rising juniors granted off-campus permission does not necessarily mean that more juniors will end up

Courtesy of Jungmin Lee

The Hillel Gallery exhibits innovative pieces that are meant to be “accessible” and “overstimulating” in a digital world. See page 3.

living off campus next year than in previous years. Rather, the rise in number at this point in the year is the result of a change in Office of Residential Life policy.

Residential Council, a body of students that makes recommendations to ResLife, proposed a change to grant more rising juniors offcampus permission in advance in order to give students more time to make housing arrangements. In the past, fewer rising juniors were granted off-campus permission in the fall, and a large group, placed on a waitlist, were given off-campus permission on a rolling basis

By Jeffrey Handler Staff Writer

Due to rapid growth over the past decade, the Department of Community Health is in the process of splitting into four new departments, with the long-term goal of founding a school of public health.

The four new departments will be biostatistics, epidemiology, behavior and social science, and health services, policy, and practice, said Terrie Wetle, associate dean of medicine for public health and public policy.

“We’re going through… a formal University approval process which takes several steps,” including a vote from department faculty, presentations to all faculty, the Academic Priorities Committee and the Faculty Executive Committee, and approval from the Corporation, Wetle said.

The next step is a vote Monday by the Biomedical Faculty Council, she said. The Academic Priorities Committee will likely vote on the proposal early in the spring semester, wrote its chair, Provost David Kertzer ’69 P’95 P’98, in an e-mail to The Herald.

“Since 2004, we have had four sections within the department of community health, and those four sections are now evolving into departments,” Wetle said, adding that this growth is part of a strategic plan that has been in place since 2002.

Edward Wing, dean of medicine and biological sciences, wrote in an e-mail to The Herald that the goal of splitting into separate departments is

inside

continued on page 2

News.......1–2 Arts.........3–4 Sports........5 Editorial......6 Opinion.......7 Today..........8

www.browndailyherald.com

Jaimy Gordon MA’72 DA’75 won a National Book Award in fiction for her novel “Lord of Misrule.”

“There was a stunned silence for a while” after she was announced as a winner at the Nov. 17 ceremony, Gordon told The Herald. “I was shocked and very happy. I gathered myself together and walked up front. Things have been very different since then.”

The book was chosen from among five finalists by a panel of judges who are published fiction authors, according to the National Book Foundation website. The

winner of each of the National Book Award categories, such as poetry and nonfiction, receives $10,000 and a bronze sculpture.

The finalists “remind us of one of the great attributes of fiction: its power to keep surprising us,” said

ARTS & CULTURE Joanna Scott, one of the judges, in her speech at the award ceremony before presenting the fiction award. In her speech, Scott said the fiction judges considered “the mission of imaginative writing” when choosing a winner.

The small independent press McPherson and Company, created

By Alex Bell Senior Staff Writer

After an upset win last week to get to the final 16 NCAA teams, the No. 22 men’s soccer team fell Sunday 2-0 at No. 6 University of California at Berkeley, finishing its season at 12-4-4 overall.

SPORTS

by Bruce McPherson ’73, published the book. McPherson was also responsible for nominating “Lord of Misrule” for the award.

The victory “came as an utter surprise,” he told The Herald.

“Just to be a finalist was an extraordinary long shot. It was like being struck by lightning, a bolt out of the blue. It’s an anomaly for a small press to win such a major prize,” he said, adding that “it’s going to bring some changes, but I’m determined not to change our basic philosophy.”

The company specializes in publishing books that most other

Sunday’s game was marked by a roughly equal number of shots by the teams, but a red card for Brown stranded a player on the bench for most of the second part.

Golden Bear forward John Fitzpatrick scored the first goal in the 30th minute, and Cal’s second goal came early in the second half, when Cal for ward Davis Paul crossed into Brown’s box and managed to deflect the ball off a Brown player and into the goal.

At 63:52, defenseman Eric Robertson ’13 took a second yellow card, which benched him and left the team down one player for the remaining 26 minutes.

“Down 2-0 and down a man, we really pressed them, and the guys worked phenomenally hard,” Head Coach Pat Laughlin said. “Those who were at the game and didn’t know we were down a man wouldn’t have guessed it during that time period.”

continued on page 3

continued on page 5

continued on page 2

Department’s Alum ‘shocked’ to win Nat’l Book Award mitosis now underway

By Aparna Bansal Staff Writer

Sweet 16

Upset hopes put on ice, but m. hockey ties twice

By Ethan McCoy Sports Staff Writer

BOSTON — The men’s ice hockey team (3-2-3, 2-1-1 ECAC), fresh off a pair of conference wins over Cornell and Colgate, played strong this week to earn ties on the road against two of the premier teams in college hockey, No. 6 New Hampshire (7-2-4) and No.

SPORTS 2 Boston University (7-1-5). In both games, the Bears held third-period leads but were unable to close and had to settle for draws. But the team has proven to the college hockey world that it can hang with any opponent in the country.

“For us, we’re trying to build something special,” said Head Coach

Brendan Whittet ’94. “I thought our guys have played very, very hard in difficult conditions and difficult situations over the last four games. …We’re a young program, a program that’s trying to reclaim former pride and glor y and re-establish what Brown hockey is.”

The Bears held a third-period lead on Saturday, but could not survive a number of draining penalty kills and settled for a tie with the No. 2 team in the nation. Bruno played well while shorthanded, but playing tight defense a man down can tire players over the course of a game.

“I thought we played very well for stretches of the game,” Whittet said.

“Our problem came from the fact that we had to kill so many penalties, selfcontinued on page 5

Jonathan Bateman / Herald

Forward and captain Harry Zolnierczyk ’11 scored a goal in a tie with Boston University on Saturday, but he was later ejected from the game.

Humbug!

Investigation

Censorship

A visually appealing “Christmas Carol” opens at Trinity Rep

Corporation member’s firm is subpoenaed

Elizabeth Perez ‘13 calls for protection of individual rights

ARTS, 2

News, 2

Opinions, 7

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Page 2

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

C ampus N EWS

Growth in enrollment in the Community Health department

“Any junior on the waitlist will not be released until April.”

— Dean Richard Bova, on off-campus housing

Trinity’s ‘Carol’ spreads holiday spirit

By Amy Chen Staff Writer

Source: Terrie Wetle / Graphic by Julien Ouellet

U. hopes to establish school of public health continued from page 1 to increase efficiency and “prepare for the eventual goal of a School of Public Health.”

The Department of Community Health has recently experienced increases in undergraduate and graduate enrollments as well as faculty. The department is recruiting research faculty and faculty generally as part of the Plan for Academic Enrichment, “to continue to grow,” Wetle said.

“There’s a national and international growing interest in public health, with recognition that a majority of premature deaths are associated with health behaviors,” Wetle said. “We recognize that there are huge public health opportunities, and there’s been a growing interest in both undergraduate and graduate students in pursuing careers in public health, and so Brown had a very strong base upon which to build,”

including 10 research centers, Wetle added. The department currently receives $35.8 million per year in external funding, Wetle wrote in an e-mail to The Herald.

Under Wetle, the Program in Public Health has “hired new faculty, grown their research, and developed broad based relations across Rhode Island, our hospital partners and other groups,” Wing wrote.

Vincent Mor, professor of medical science and former chair of the department, said he has been behind the plan of splitting the Department of Community Health all along. “I helped write the plans,” he said, adding that he hopes that the Corporation approves the split this year.

“With 70 (full-time) faculty in the Department of Community Health, it’s just unwieldy. It’s too big. I was chair for a long time and it’s unmanageable,” Mor said.

sudoku

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Monday, November 29, 2010

Trinity Repertory Company’s 34th production of “A Christmas Carol,” directed by Michael Perlman ’05 MFA’10, proves to be a unique play of breathtaking artistic accomplishment.

The play opens to an exuberant crowd singing on Christmas Eve. It’s a contagiously effervescent and charming atmosphere filled with running, delightful children and dancing adults.

Of course, old Scrooge (Mauro Hantman) tries to shatter this lovely mood with his misery, bad temper,

selfishness and unfriendliness.

Scrooge refuses the kind offers of others, including his inherently jubilant and optimistic nephew Bob (Brandon Drea), who only wishes to have Scrooge join his family for a holiday celebration.

ARTS & CULTURE It is only through the lessons imparted by the three Christmas ghosts that Scrooge acknowledges his own problems and their effects on people. Through reflection on his past, realization of his present and concern for his potential future, the old stubborn one admits his wrongs

and faces the consequences of his actions.

Yet Scrooge’s negative interactions with people barely have any impact on the community. People’s love for their families, loved ones and caring friends binds them together in enduring, unblemished joyfulness for the holiday.

This year’s production is distinguished by its seemingly simple yet breathtaking set.

Grand surprises seize the audience at every turn, as swings with Christmas-ornamented branches appear from the sky and the ghost continued on page 4

news in brief

Trustee’s firm subpoenaed in ‘soft dollar’ investigations All eyes on Wall Street have turned to Steven Cohen P’08, who serves on the Corporation, the University’s highest governing body, as a member of the board of trustees.

The New York Times reported Nov. 22 that, as part of an insider trading investigation, FBI agents raided three large hedge funds. Two of them — Diamondback Capital Management and Level Global Investors — have ties to SAC Capital Advisors, a $12 billion hedge funds firm Cohen founded in 1992 and runs today.

Diamondback and Level Global Investors are managed by SAC alums, and Richard Schimel, co-founder of Diamondback, is married to Cohen’s sister, the Times article reported.

Another Times article on Nov. 23 reported that SAC received a subpoena from authorities Nov. 22. Two mutual funds, Wellington

Management and the Janus Capital Group, also received subpoenas on the same day.

The companies and Cohen have not been accused of wrongdoing, the Nov. 23 Times article reported.

A Nov. 27 Wall Street Journal article reported that these investigations are focused on what is known as “soft dollars” — a kind of commission which an investment manager gives to a third party for services that benefit the client. Soft dollars can go unreported.

By investigating the use of soft dollars, federal authorities may be able to understand the complicated relationships among many firms and corporations in order to expose possible illegal trading, the Journal reported.

— Fei Cai

ResLife policy result of stable enrollment continued from page 1 throughout the year.

“We decided to move them out as quickly as possible, and sit and rest, and wait for refinement of the enrollment number,” Bova said. “So any junior on the wait list will not be released until April.”

In April, when more accurate enrollment numbers for the following academic year become available, ResLife will be able to calculate how many rising juniors to release off the waiting list, based on the number of students the University can house

in dorms.

“We wanted to prevent students who were constantly in an anxious state,” said Natalie Basil, ResLife associate director. “We made this change so that students could have a better conversation with off-campus agencies and landlords.”

“We can’t always standardize because the number of seniors who apply fluctuates,” Basil said. ResLife was able to enact this change this year because the University has moved into a more stable enrollment pattern. “This year, we took a three-year average and made a best guess,” Basil said.

On average, 1,345 students lived off campus each of the past two years, Bova said. This number includes not only juniors and seniors, but also any commuting, married and Resumed Undergraduate Education students.

As the 242 students in the initial group make up their minds about living arrangements and the enrollment number is finalized, the 168 rising juniors still on the waitlist will be informed in April of their off-campus permission status.

The application process for rising juniors is closed, but rising seniors can apply through Dec. 15.

Arts & Culture The Brown Daily Herald

Alum’s ‘Lord of Misrule’ wins national award for fiction continued from page 1 publishers don’t, McPherson said.

He published Gordon’s first book, “Shamp of the City-Solo,” after he graduated from Brown, and found her to be an “extraordinary writer with a psychological acuity that is extraordinarily rare.”

“Her writing is one that surprises with its aftertaste as well as with its glories of immediacy,” he said.

“She was in the same class as me at Brown, and I remember thinking, here is the real thing. When will anybody notice?”

“All my books have found a gratifying amount of critical approval, but they certainly haven’t set the market on fire,” Gordon said. “I was afraid that the same thing would happen with this book, which would be a shame. When I first finished the complete draft of this book 10 years ago, I thought that, of all my books, this is the one with the most possibility of reaching a wide audience. It’s the most commercial book.”

Gordon added that McPherson was the one who pushed her to revise and finish the novel after publishers initially rejected it 10 years ago.

“I was happy to make him happy,” Gordon said. “He is extremely tolerant of my defects.”

The novel, Gordon’s fourth, was published Nov. 15, just days before the National Book Award ceremony.

“It is about one year of horseracing at a cheap, half-mile racetrack in the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia,” Gordon said. It is set in 1970, around the same time Gordon herself worked on a racetrack, exercising racehorses in West Virginia.

“It may be in my genes,” said Gordon, who comes from a family of horse riders on her maternal side.

“I loved being on the racetrack. I love animals. I love horses. I like racetrack people.”

In fact, her decision to attend Brown for graduate school instead

of the University of Iowa was partly due to the fact that there was a racetrack nearby. The other deciding factor was novelist John Hawkes, who was on the faculty at the time.

“I’m very proud to say I went to Brown when people ask me where I went to graduate school,” Gordon said. “As graduate programs go, this one has a very special character. It welcomes idiosyncrasies.”

At Brown, she interacted with students and faculty who were “powerful influences.” It is also where she met McPherson, then an undergraduate, with whom she worked at Hellcoal, a student-run literary press. Through Hellcoal, they published three books written by prisoners whom Gordon taught creative writing in Cranston.

“I’ve always had an interest in knowing what happens in American society from middle-middle to upper-middle class,” Gordon said.

She added that she enjoys “incorporating in (her) work voices of people without money and education, but with very interesting things to say.”

Gordon’s next project is “The Picnic,” written from the point of view of a Jewish woman, married to a German man, who, “in a magical way,” encounters Jews who vanished from her husband’s old town. Gordon said she too is a Jewish woman from the United States married to a German scholar and writer, and has spent a lot of time in Germany, thinking about the Holocaust and German history.

For now, she is also still getting used to her newfound fame.

“I’ve never had the telephone ringing all day long. It’s really kind of exciting to have people sending you articles from small towns, from newspapers you’ve never heard of, to realize your name is everywhere,” she said.

Gordon added that she is “very happy” that at least one of her books will be remembered and thought about for some time.

Monday, November 29, 2010 | Page 3

Hillel Gallery ‘s(t)imulates’ senses

By Kristina Fazzalaro Senior Staff Writer

“S(t)imulation,” an art exhibit now at the Hillel Gallery, forces viewers to search for a thread connecting a collage mural depicting exhibitionistic Facebook usage, a Venice nightscape and an abstract acrylic rock-candy composition of methamphetamine.

The answer is just as surprising as the artwork on display: In a digital age where one can access the whole world in a second, art has to be just as accessible and overstimulating.

The exhibit forces viewers’ senses to race into overdrive as each successive piece brings a new question under scrutiny.

Hillel Gallery Project Co-Chairs Jungmin Lee ’11 and Rhode Island School of Design sophomore Hannah Antalek assembled this mixedmedia show encapsulating the multifaceted innovations in contemporary art. Following a current trend, Lee said she and Antalek wanted to create an immersive environment in which viewers were engaged by the art and became participants in the pieces as well.

The resulting collection is meant to question the role of art in the digital age and stimulate students’ senses, Lee added.

RISD sophomore Benjamin

Kicic’s mixed media pictures dominate one wall of the gallery — crudely depicting Facebook statuses, photos and comments with Kicic’s additions and exaggerations. With such titles as “How to Train Your Woman,” “No Escape When I Shake It In Your Face” and “Party Status,” the pictures invite viewers to question how far is too far in the world of social networking. At what point does privacy cease to exist when voicing personal exploits and dramas in an online forum is commonplace?

How does such access skew perceptions and judgments of onlookers? “(Pre)vision,” a vivid oil painting by Jina Park ’11, invites viewers to stare into the depth of a multilayered iris that propels the eye from one splash of color to the next. Staring straight back into the viewers’ universe, “(Pre)vision” is more than just a pretty painting, as it touches on issues of converging societies and ideas as the spectator and the subject are tied together by their shared gaze.

Lauren Armstrong ’13 turns a traditional Venice nightscape on its head in “Venice Canal at Night.”

Missing are the gondolas and landmarks — in their place is a haunting scene of a darkened waterway, devoid of human interaction. This image of the city lingers in the mind

and opens new thoughts on an old city.

The gallery also includes works of wood, yarn and plaster interspersed with more traditional paintings and photos. The diversity of materials provides spectators with another opportunity to engage with the works, inspect them from new angles and develop ideas based on the materials themselves as well as the forms they take.

Timothy Simonds ’11 produced two works using tar and wood as his main tools. The resulting wall fixtures possess a simplistic beauty whose veracity is questioned by Simonds’ use of tar — the thick, opaque substance calls to mind unappealing, dark themes by its nature.

This seemingly disjointed collection actually brings together many timely questions for art and society in one space. It poses questions from new perspectives, turning over many preconceptions.

The great diversity of art is also due to the Hillel Gallery Project’s showcasing works by both Brown and RISD students.

By opening the door to pieces that appear divergent and clashing, “S(t)imulation” provides an opportunity for discussion on a multitude of topics not always possible in an art gallery.

Page 4

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

A rts &C ulture

Monday, November 29, 2010

“We are all part of a larger community.”

— Michael Perlman ’05 MFA’10, director of “A Christmas Carol”

Wintry wonder in Trinity Rep’s ‘Carol’ continued from page 2 Jacob Marley (Matt Clevy) flies threateningly and suddenly from a hidden door.

The significance of the lamps’ role in the set is belied by their simplicity — each flickering of lamplights responds with accuracy and rhythm to the music and the smooth transitional moments between illusion and reality. The lamps also coordinate perfectly with and emphasize the changing myriad colors of the

flurrying, glittering costumes and the set.

But the show is more than a pleasure to the eyes.

As Associate Artistic Director Tyler Dobrowsky said, the play “does what any great work of art should do — it entertains, while asking us to examine how we live and to determine what is ultimately important in our lives.”

“It’s about what’s important to us as humans connecting to other humans, and what our priorities should

be,” Perlman wrote in an e-mail to The Herald. He hopes that people who watch this play unfold glean a “sense that they have the ability to change what they don’t like about themselves and about the world.

That we are all part of a larger community, and that is what makes life worth living,” he added.

Scrooge’s stubborn obsession with materials and money isolates him from everyone around him. But reflections on his past and his relations with people reveal a man who Courtesy of Mark Turek

Trinity Rep’s production of “A Christmas Carol” incorporates dazzling winterthemed set pieces into a poignant story.

is deeply saddened and in need of love, a man who loses sight of not only the world but also who he truly is inside.

But it’s never too late — as long as one realizes one’s mistakes, there is always an opportunity to make remedies, as shown by the kind and forgiving people in Scrooge’s

community. The Christmas spirit of warm, tender kindness and appreciation gives him the opportunity of reflection and self-realization.

This play, with the combination of a marvelous set, a talented and enthusiastic cast and a beautiful classic story, thoroughly and perfectly embodies this pure Christmas spirit.

SportsWeekend The Brown Daily Herald

Monday, November 29, 2010 | Page 5

M. hockey nearly pulls off wins, but settles for ties continued from page 1 inflicted penalties that unfortunately taxed our depth, so we had guys that played a lot of minutes.”

Brown jumped out to a quick start, scoring two goals in the first three minutes of the game. At 1:25 into the first period, forward Jesse Fratkin ’11 Brown 5 found the back #6 UNH 5 of the net after he smacked home a loose Brown 4 #2 BU puck that had 4 been deflected into the air and batted down right in front of the net by a BU defender.

Only a minute and a half later, Brown doubled its lead on a spectacular unassisted goal by forward Harry Zolnierczyk ’11. The senior captain stole the puck from a Terrier defender and then beat the BU goalie between the legs on the break to give Brown the quick 2-0 advantage.

BU got on the board after defenseman Ben Rosen’s first career goal as a Terrier, but several tough saves

by Brown goalie Mike Clemente ’12, who had a season-high 38 saves, preserved Bruno’s lead after one period.

The Terriers tied up the game 4:48 into the second period. On a two-on-one, Clemente appeared to have made another great save to stop Joe Pereira’s shot, but the junior netminder never fully secured the puck and it trickled over the line for a goal. BU gained its first lead of the game at 9:26 into the period while on a two-man advantage after penalties to Bobby Farnham ’12 and Zolnierczyk, with the latter receiving a 10-minute major penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. Brown could only weather the attack for so long, and BU forward Alex Chiasson eventually corralled a deflection and beat Clemente for the score.

But the Bears were not fazed after falling behind the nation’s secondbest and responded with a powerplay goal by forward Jack Maclellan ’12 with six minutes remaining in the second period. Farnham did great work to set up Maclellan for an easy finish.

“A couple of their guys tried to jump up and we got (the puck) behind them,” Maclellan said. “Then it turned into a four-on-two … (Farnham) found me in front on a great look and I just shot it.”

Early in the third, the Bears regained the lead after forward David Brownschidle ’11 put back his own rebound on a great second effort.

Only a minute later, though, Brown lost its captain for the game after Zolnierczyk received his second 10-minute major when he was whistled for kneeing a BU player at mid-ice.

Brown was able to kill two penalties in the period, but the relentless BU attack wore down the defense and the Terriers found their equalizer with seven minutes remaining, as Wade Megan collected an errant shot alongside the net and snuck the puck past Clemente. In the remainder of the third period and in

overtime, Clemente made a number of strong saves and preserved the tie for the Bears.

“Overall, I thought both teams played well, both teams played hard,” said BU Head Coach Jack Parker, who has totaled over 800 wins in his 38 years as coach of the Terriers.

“We knew exactly what we were going to get from Brown. …They’ve been a cellar-dweller for a long time and all of a sudden are a really good team.”

On Tuesday night in Durham, N.H., the Bears looked as if they had secured an upset win over UNH, leading 5-3 with two minutes remaining in the game. But the Wildcats scored twice in only 11 seconds, stunning Brown and ending the game in a tie.

This week, the Bears have demonstrated that they can play with anyone in the country and now will have to build off their strong play as they resume ECAC conference play next weekend at home against Union College and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Whittet said he is excited to return to Meehan Auditorium after a month without a home game, but he added that playing on the road against strong teams is what the team needs to take the program to the next level.

“Sometimes it’s easier to play on the road, quite honestly, especially in these buildings and against these teams, because we have nothing to lose,” Whittet said. “We have expectations that we are going to perform to the highest level, because where BU is and where UNH is, that’s where we want our program to be. And we won’t stop until we get there.”

Courtesy of Zack Uribe

Sean Rosa ’12 and the men’s soccer team had 15 shots Sunday, but the team’s season ended in a 2-0 loss.

M. soccer bows out of tournament continued from page 1 Co-captain defender David Walls ’11 said he thought the team might have scored if it hadn’t been down the player.

“It just added to the task of overcoming a 2-0 deficit,” Walls said.

“Cal is an outstanding team today,” Laughlin continued after Sunday’s game. “We had many good chances and we really fought hard against them. The guys did everything possible to try to win,

but even though we had to play a man down for a good portion of the game, I thought that the players were outstanding and performed at the level they’ve played at all year.”

Though Brown managed 15 shots to Cal’s 13 — exceeding Cal’s corner kicks 8-2 — Cal goalie David Bingham made nine saves.

Thomas McNamara ’13 had three shots on goal, but none of them got past Bingham.

News that Bruno had made it to the NCAA Sweet 16 came last

week when the team defeated No. 9 University of Connecticut 7-6 in a penalty shootout after a 1-1 deadlock. This season was Bruno’s 25th appearance in the NCAA tournament, and its fifth in six years.

“It’s always dif ficult when the season ends,” Laughlin said.

“But I’m really proud of the team and I’m proud of the way they’ve played throughout the NCAA tournament.”

— Additional reporting by Ashley McDonnell

Editorial & Letters The Brown Daily Herald

Page 6 | Monday, November 29, 2010

ale x yuly

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e d i to r i a l

Loco 4 Loko A new wave of hysteria is sweeping the nation. The target this time: Four Loko and other caffeinated alcoholic beverages like it. According to a Web page set up by Brown Health Services, one Four Loko contains as much alcohol as a six-pack of beer and as much caffeine as four sodas. Unlike these other things, though, it costs about $3.

Some have expressed concern about drinks mixing alcohol and caffeine for quite some time, though the movement to ban them didn’t pick up steam until several highly publicized incidents of students blacking out and requiring hospitalization dramatized the drinks’ negative effects. Of course, plain alcohol causes this kind of behavior all across the nation every weekend, but the cheapness and novelty of drinks like Four Loko have conspired to create a new moral panic.

Several states, including Massachusetts, Michigan, New York and Washington have already banned the sale of drinks like Four Loko. Last week, the Food and Drug Administration proclaimed that such drinks “present a public health concern” and warned manufacturers that the federal government might begin seizing their products if they didn’t stop mixing caffeine and alcohol.

Two weeks ago, The Herald reported that Rhode Island would consider following these states’ lead when the General Assembly reconvenes in January.

Several key lawmakers, including state Sen. Rhoda Perry P’91, D-Providence, whose district includes Brown, remain undecided. We hope they decide not to add Rhode Island to the list of states that have taken hasty action against these drinks.

We are in no position to disagree with the FDA or the state liquor agencies about the potential dangers

of alcoholic energy drinks. When used improperly or to excess, they undoubtedly pose a “public health concern.” But so do cigarettes, mixed drinks, Big Macs, guns and countless other products that remain readily available.

Even if the goal is to prevent college students and others from abusing drinks like Four Loko, the effort is doomed to fail. As many have pointed out, both caffeine and alcohol are readily available to students, and singling out products like Four Loko won’t ensure they’re not mixed. Rather, as with other banned items, prohibition has popularized the practice and will force the use of even less safe, makeshift alternatives.

In the end, state-by-state bans on caffeinated energy drinks, or federal efforts to strong-arm the drinks’ manufacturers into fundamentally changing their product, are misguided. Every time a common product is suddenly swept from the shelves because some few abused it, the legitimacy of other laws prohibiting the use of potentially dangerous products is undermined.

The attack on Four Loko is but one front in the battle against youth intoxication. We support sensible efforts to cut back on the hospitalizations and deaths that result from irresponsible drinking, but heavy-handed prohibition is counterproductive and unwelcome. We would prefer to see a clear-headed solution to the problems that drinks like Four Loko have highlighted. But the drinks themselves are not the cause of these problems. Lawmakers should reject ill-conceived attempts to single them out.

Editorials are written by The Herald’s editorial page board.

Send comments to editorials@browndailyherald.com.

Alex Bell, Fei Cai, Brian Mastroianni, Suzannah Weiss, Night Editors Senior Staff Writers Ana Alvarez, Ashley Aydin, Rebecca Ballhaus, Alexander Bell, Nicole Boucher, Fei Cai, Kristina Fazzalaro, Sarah Mancone, Claire Peracchio, Lindor Qunaj, Mark Raymond, Luisa Robledo, Caitlin Trujillo Staff Writers Anne Artley, Anita Badejo, Aparna Bansal, Casey Bleho, Amy Chen, Jacob Comer, Sarah Forman, Miriam Furst, Jeffrey Handler, Thomas Jarus, Abby Kerson, Kristina Klara, Ben Kutner, Chip Lebovitz, Shefali Luthra, Leonardo Moauro, Amy Rasmussen, Emily Rosen, Bradley Silverman, Anne Simons, Katherine Sola, Kat Thornton, Alexandra Ulmer, Natalie Villacorta, Emma Wohl, Margaret Yi, Qian Yin Senior Sales Executives Katie Galvin, Liana Nisimova, Isha Gulati, Samantha Wong Sales Associates Roshni Assomull, Brady Caspar, Anna Cook, Siena deLisser, Begum Ersan, Tommy Fink, Ryan Fleming, Evan Gill, Debbie Lai, Jason Lee, Katie Lynch, Sean Maroongroge, Zahra Merchant, Edjola Ruci, Webber Xu Senior Finance Associates Jason Beckman, Mae Cadao, Adam Fern, Krystle Onibokun Finance Associates Lisa Berlin, Mahima Chawla, Mark Hu, Jason Lee, Justin Lee, Kevin Lynch, Jennifer Morgan, Sam Plotner, Nicholas Robbins, Dan Seder, Daniel Slutsky, Emily Zheng Design Staff Rebecca Ballhaus, Caleigh Forbes Web Staff Warren Jin, Claire Kwong, Adam Zethraeus Photo Staff Alex DePaoli, Emily Gilbert, Katie Green, Freddy Lu, Glenn Lutzky, Evan Thomas Copy Editors Corinne Cathcart, David Chung, Olivia Conetta, Carrie Craven, Max Ernst, Mrinal Kapoor, Abby Kerson, Juhee Kwon, Claire Luchette, Sahil Luthra, Shefali Luthra, Katie MacDougald, Rajan Mittal, Alexandra Nuttbrown, Elizabeth Orr, Raaj Parekh, Katrina Phillips, Amy Rasmussen, Carmen Shulman, Winnie Wang, Emma Wohl Editorial Page Board Members Anita Mathews, Melissa Shube, Gaurie Tilak

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Opinions The Brown Daily Herald

Monday, November 29, 2010 | Page 7

Corporate power trip

BY elizabeth perez Opinions Columnist The next time you find yourself purchasing a product using the convenient services of Amazon, consider whether it is discomforting for you, as the consumer, to know that they were recently the sellers of “The Pedophile’s Guide to Love and Pleasure.” Some may consider Amazon’s initial decision to protect the third party’s right to sell the e-book as a protection of individual rights, whereas others potentially may see it as a disgusting and upsetting decision to market a product that clearly necessitates complete censorship.

Despite the sensitive nature of the book’s subject, any actions of corporate censorship could entail censorship of potentially more disconcerting topics on a larger scale.

Behind every thriving corporation, there’s a self-created rulebook, and these companies at times are not subject to the rules of the government. These “strictly business” decisions aren’t always corporate moves in the eyes of the public, but they are decisions that could potentially jeopardize the rights of individuals.

Amazon defended its initial decision to circulate copies of the book in a statement made shortly after: “Amazon believes it is censorship not to sell certain books simply because we or others believe their message is objectionable. Amazon does not support or promote hatred or criminal acts, however, we do support the right of every individual to make their own purchasing decisions.”

Like many other provocative and offensive pieces, it is ultimately not an illegal act. Paintings that portray mass murders or

novels that deal with similar controversial themes do not receive as much outrage and disapproval as this book has. The seller has the freedom to distribute what it pleases as long as there are no explicitly illegal violations, whereas the buyers should have the freedom to decide what they desire to read.

By selling “The Pedophile’s Guide to Love and Pleasure,” Amazon was fundamentally protecting the first amendment right to freedom of speech.

Despite its initial statement, Amazon did

of this censorship. Amazon interchangeably shifts between the role of defender of individual rights and that of the corporate filter that promotes censorship.

Senator Al Franken recognizes a growing “Big Brother” threat of content regulation by companies. He argues, “Our free speech rights are under assault — not from the government but from corporations seeking to control the flow of information in America.”

Amazon is not the equivalent of Google — however, it is a corporate power that threat-

This search for “moral” justice has complicated product distribution for Amazon and jeopardized free speech rights for sellers. not hesitate to pull the item from its website to protect and generate sales after an explosion of threats to boycott the website. In the end, Amazon determined what was ethically right without regard to principles and individual rights — in the end it was most likely about revenue, profit loss and the monetary complications of lawsuits.

In an era when search engines provide convenient access to worldwide content and information, it is distressing to realize that a company-generated filter can possibly separate the public from lawful and unlimited content. In an effort to preserve corporate reputation, Amazon inadvertently deprived potential buyers and sellers of their rights. It made the decision to eliminate the circulation of this product, acknowledging the implications

ens to complicate what Senator Franken describes as “net neutrality.”

Amazon has joined the forces of content regulation at the expense of the seller’s right to freedom of speech. By restricting the sale of certain products, Amazon altered its initial stance to promote the equal sale of all legal products. It has unintentionally become an advocate for censorship, despite how trivial it may appear.

Amazon’s decision to cease distribution of the book could trigger more extensive control of product distribution and content regulation if it doesn’t actively prevent it. Considering the nature of the book’s subject, the company’s action may in fact be negligible.

However, it is still one large step further away from complete protection of individual

rights.

Amazon did not anticipate the possibility that its contradictory actions would create ample opportunity for organizations to promote further censorship. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals saw the public frenzy as an “ideal climate” to criticize the sale of two animal fighting books: “The Art of Cockfighting — A Handbook for Beginners and Old Timers” and “Dogs of Velvet and Steel.” The real question is whether Amazon will comply with these censorship demands yet again. It seems that this search for “moral” justice has complicated product distribution for Amazon and jeopardized free speech rights for sellers.

As the company confronts this growing public pressure to discontinue the sale of books that openly discuss controversial topics, Amazon may be unwillingly subjected to a coercive course toward censorship, but it has the resources and authority to fight against it. As the Los Angeles Times put it, Amazon can decide what it wishes to sell in the market without illegally violating any constitutional amendment. Because it is a corporation and not the government, its marketing decision is “a business decision, not a constitutional one.”

Amazon may not be a government institution, but it is still its responsibility to uphold a company standard that protects individual rights. These influential and powerful corporations should take a strong stance to protect individual rights, and keep it.

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

Chafee-Taveras partnership integral to R.I.’s future BY dan davidson Opinions Columnist Many political commentators, anticipating the newly divided U.S. Congress, are predicting record levels of discord and gridlock in 2011. In Rhode Island, however, we may find ourselves hearing a word rarely uttered in conjunction with stories about national politics: cooperation.

WRNI-AM reporter Ian Donnis speculated in a recent blog post that prospects are strong for a productive relationship between governor-elect Lincoln Chafee ’75 P’14 and mayor-elect Angel Taveras. Donnis noted that Taveras, like President Obama, declined to endorse fellow Democrat Frank Caprio in the governor’s race. And Taveras himself told Donnis, “I think we’re going to have a good relationship going forward, and I think the governor-elect understands that for the state of Rhode Island to be successful, the city of Providence needs to be successful.”

Indeed, the fate of Rhode Island is inextricably linked to that of Providence, where over 15 percent of the state’s population resides. Coordination between the governor and the mayor is a critical ingredient in the recipe for economic recovery and future expansion.

With the state desperate to grow business, a good place for the new governor and mayor to start their partnership is the emerging local food industry. Agriculture is one of the few sectors in the state’s economy growing in spite of the economic downturn. But

don’t let the Rhody Fresh milk around campus fool you — there is still a significant disconnect between Providence consumers and Rhode Island’s farmers, and there is plenty of space for this burgeoning industry to fill.

If Chafee and Taveras focus on supporting local foods, it will be to the benefit of Providence residents, who will get better and healthier food choices, and Rhode Island’s farmers, whose market will expand. The city and state could work together to convert unused land or buildings in Providence into industrial kitchens and lease them to local food

— it is holding the city back economically.

The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority is about to embark on a multi-year project to overhaul Providence’s trolley system.

If done properly, the new trolleys will help people get to work, transport visitors efficiently to the city’s attractions and spur economic development near routes. As is always the case with cash-strapped RIPTA, there are concerns about funding. Chafee must engage with Taveras and keep pressure on RIPTA to ensure that this project is successfully completed.

Coordination between the governor and the mayor is a critical ingredient in the recipe for economic recovery and future expansion. companies. These kitchens are often a crucial part of food production, but are in short supply. The city could also partner with the state to link unemployed Providence residents to farms in search of labor. A Rhode Island Agricultural Partnership survey last spring found that farmers listed a need for workers as a top concern.

Transportation is another area in which substantive cooperation between Chafee and Taveras will boost the state’s economy. Getting around our small city using the existing labyrinth of bus and trolley networks is far more difficult than it should be. Inefficient transit is more than just a hassle for students

Since cutting unnecessary expenditures should be a top priority for both the Chafee and Taveras administrations, a coordinated effort to revamp Rhode Island’s approach to public safety would be welcome. The state’s corrections budget has exploded over the last two decades, and any serious attempt to reduce spending in this area must focus on Providence. The city, after all, accounts for a sizeable chunk of the state’s crime. Furthermore, most offenders are released to Providence, and far more parolees and probationers live in the city than anywhere else in Rhode Island.

Chafee must work with Taveras to build

the resources that help keep people out of prison, like drug treatment clinics and extracurricular programs for youth. This will require investment in the city at the expense of Cranston’s Adult Correctional Institute, however, which will surely irk that municipality’s leadership as well as the powerful prison guards’ lobby. Chafee needs to articulate to the public how money invested in Providence instead of prisons can cut the state’s overall expenditures on the criminal justice system by reducing crime.

There is of course one issue more critical than any of these — Providence’s public schools. The problems and potential solutions are far beyond the scope of this column, but suffice it to say that for all of Chafee’s talk about quick steps toward economic recovery, Rhode Island’s struggle to compete will continue if education in its largest city doesn’t improve. It’s critical that Chafee put the state’s muscle behind the new mayor in his efforts to improve public schools.

I believe both of these men will make good leaders. But Rhode Island needs truly great leadership to turn around the local economy and lay the groundwork for lasting growth. If Chafee and Taveras forge a partnership that produces results for the city, and in turn the state, they may very well be remembered as great leaders.

Dan Davidson ’11.5 is a political science concentrator from Atlanta, Georgia.

He can be reached at daniel_davidson@brown.edu.

Today The Brown Daily Herald

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‘Christmas Carol’ back in season

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1 November 29

5:30 p.m.

ToMORROW

comics November 30

BB & Z | Cole Pruitt, Andrew Seiden and Valerie Hsiung

4 P.M.

Group Run with the Brown Running

Small Press Periodical Publishing,

Club, Sciences Library

McCormack Family Theater

7 p.m.

5:30 P.M. On the Air at Hillel — Merchak

“Passion, Poetry and Medicine,”

Negiah, Brown-RISD Hillel

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menu SHARPE REFECTORY

VERNEy-WOOLLEY DINING HALL LUNCH

Savory Chicken Stew, Parslied Rice, Vegan White Bean Casserole, Vegan Chinese Stir Fry, Coconut Cookies

Meat Tortellini with Sauce, Cheesy Zucchini Casserole, Coconut Cookies

Dot Comic | Eshan Mitra and Brendan Hainline

DINNER Beef Pot Pie, Baked Potatoes, Vegan Garden Chili, Vegan Chinese Stir Fry, Cappuccino Brownies

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Monday, November 29, 2010

c a l e n da r Today

to m o r r o w

Hillel Gallery features cutting-edge art

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

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to day

Chicken Broccoli Szechuan, Sweet and Sour Tofu, Chinese Fried Rice, Cappuccino Brownies

crossword Classic Deo | Daniel Perez

Classic Homefries | Yifan Luo

Classic Jellyfish Jellyfish | Adam Hunter Peck

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