Daily
the Brown
vol. cxlvi, no. 72
Herald
Friday, September 23, 2011
Adjunct lecturer dies while jogging
football
Ivy season kicks off tonight vs. Harvard By Ethan mccoy Sports Editor
By Lucy Feldman Senior Staff Writer
inside
continued on page 2
news....................2 Arts...................3-4 D&C..........................6 Opinions.............7 SPORTS..................8
Courtesy of Brian Ballweg
Co-captain Kyle Newhall-Caballero ’11.5 will head Bruno’s offense against Harvard.
One year ago, more than 17,360 fans came to Brown Stadium to witness the football team take down the Harvard Crimson 29-14 at the stadium’s first-ever night game. This year, the matchup moves 60 miles north to Cambridge, where the two sides are set to kick off their conference schedules under the lights at Harvard Stadium tonight. The Bears (1-0) enter the game fresh off a dramatic 21-20 win over Stony Brook University (0-3) last week, while the Crimson (0-1) look to bounce back from a season-opening defeat at the hands of Holy Cross (2-1). But according to quarterback Kyle Newhall-Caballero ’11.5, the records are meaningless. “Sure, we’re 1-0 and they’re 0-1, but in Ivy League standings, we’re both even right now,” Newhall-Ca-
ballero said. “If you miss a beat early on, there’s a chance you take a loss that you can’t recover from, and all of a sudden the Ivy League championship is out of reach for you.” Despite the 30-22 loss to the Crusaders, whom the Bears will host Oct. 8, Harvard boasts a talented team poised to again contend for the Ivy League crown. The offense is led by senior quarterback Collier Winters, who missed last year’s matchup due to a hip injury and may miss tonight’s game because of a hamstring injury suffered against Holy Cross last week. His status remains a game-time decision. In last year’s win, Brown’s defense was able to pressure and disrupt Harvard quarterback Andrew Hatch — a pure drop-back passer — but if the more mobile Collier plays, he will present a different type of chalcontinued on page 5
Alum awarded for protein research By Jonathan Staloff Contributing Writer
Arthur Horwich ’73 MD’75 will receive the prestigious Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award today for his work on the mechanism by which primary amino acids refold to form their full protein structure. Horwich, a professor of genetics at the Yale School of Medicine, will share the $250,000 prize with his colleague Franz-Ulrich Hartl of the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry in Germany. The award will be presented in New York. Horwich said his research was inspired by the work of Nobel
Laureate Christian Anfinsen, who discovered that amino acids will spontaneously refold themselves into proteins even after structural bonds are disrupted. But Horwich discovered that proteins do not in fact fold by themselves. Instead, they require a designated structure within the cell to help them do so. The subject of Horwich’s work was OTC, a protein responsible for removing ammonia from the blood. “Proteins are liable to having mishaps when trying to fold. These machines help them prevent that,” Horwich said. “The work of the last 15 years or so is working out the
mechanism. The next challenge is finding out why there are protein folding diseases like neurodegenerative diseases and can this discovery help prevent those conditions.” The Lasker Awards Program began in 1945. Since then, 80 award recipients have gone on to win Nobel Prizes — including 28 in the last 20 years. “The awards are really about showing the public that our investment in biomedical research is worthwhile,” said David Keegan, senior program director of the Albert Lasker Foundation. Horwich was the valedictorian of the medical school’s class of 1975, the first to graduate after the Uni-
versity reopened the school. “We were guinea pigs for a young medical school,” Horwich said. “Nobody knew the right direction for educating us, and they took such great care of us that we really got a spectacular education. … I can really owe it all my roots.” Horwich recounted “hanging out” at the Blue Room and spending nights at the Graduate Center Bar. “It really was a wonderful time,” he said. “I share this with everyone in the community who helped to work on this project. I really hope it leads to some advancements in clinical medicine,” he said.
Dali reimagines Jewish homeland By Marshall katheder Arts & Culture Staff Writer
Salvador Dali is celebrated for his ability to coalesce mechanical mastery with a warped, expressive
arts & culture sensibility. Many of his earlier surrealist paintings sought to confuse by tactically toying with anticipated forms through distorted, acute real-
The Visit
ism. The result for viewers is often goosebumps. This is not the Dali on display in the collection of prints currently exhibited at the Brown-RISD Hillel Gallery titled “Aliyah: The Rebirth of Israel.” Commissioned in 1967 and then auctioned in 1968 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Israel’s formation, this 25-piece mixed-media collection depicts the Jewish people’s return to their historic homeland. The exhibit
Evan Thomas / Herald
Maya Mason ’15 admires the work of Salvador Dali at “Aliyah: The Rebirth of Israel.”
features the complete set of colored lithographic reproductions signed by Dali — or, as he referred to himself, “the Divine Dali.”
D&C
Production Workshop mixes dark humor, drama
BCA gets a diamond — find out why
ARTS & Culture, 4
Diamonds & Coal, 6
weather
Adjunct Lecturer of Education Kolajo Afolabi ’03 died from an accidental head injury sustained during a morning jog yesterday. A passerby saw Afolabi fall at the corner of Washington and Greene streets and called an ambulance. Afolabi had left his wallet and phone at home, which delayed the process of identifying him. In the meantime, Bobby Van Druff, his partner of nearly five years and a planner for the Department of Facilities Management, launched a day-long search for Afolabi. He and other family members were informed late Thursday morning that Afolabi’s body had been identified. Mark Porter, chief of police and director of public safety, said the Department of Public Safety worked on the missing persons case with the Providence Police Department until DPS was informed that Afolabi’s body had been identified. Friends and colleagues remembered Afolabi as a bright, energetic presence. A fifth-year student at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, he had been enjoying his first weeks of teaching at Brown, said Professor of Education Kenneth Wong, chair of the department. “He was very warm, very passionate about his work,” he said. “He was a rising young scholar, and he had a very promising career ahead of him.” “Even that he got to teach for two weeks, he was experiencing his dream,” Van Druff said. He remembered his partner as “the fun guy at the party” and “the best dancer you ever met in your life.” In an email informing the Brown community of Afolabi’s death, Dean of the Faculty Kevin McLaughlin P’12 wrote, “He was known during his time as a student and since graduation for his warmth, humor and commitment to the Brown community.” Afolabi was already planning for his 10-year reunion in 2013, Van Druff said. “He loved Brown. He really did,” he said. The email noted that Afolabi had received the Taubman Center for Public Policy and American Institution’s Frederick Lippitt Prize as
Since 1891
David Blumenthal, current owner of the collection and a forcontinued on page 3
t o d ay
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The Brown Daily Herald Friday, September 23, 2011
Afolabi’s enthusiasm remembered continued from page 1
1 p.m. Intel Information Session,
Get Crafty at the Campus Center,
CareerLAB Library
The Underground
7 p.m.
2 p.m. Men’s Soccer Game,
Hindu Devotion,
Stevenson Field
Smith Buonanno 106
menu SHARPE REFECTORY
VERNEy-WOOLLEY DINING HALL LUNCH
Cavatini, Bulgar Stuffed Pepper, Baked Sweet Potatoes with Honey and Chives
Chicken Fingers, Vegan Nuggets, Rice Krispie Treats
DINNER Gnocchi with Arugula and Pesto, Bourbon BBQ Chicken, Chocolate Marshmallow Cake Roll
Filet of Sole and Lemon Roll-Ups, Orange Pad Thai, Green Beans la Belle
Sudoku
well as a scholarship and fellowship at Harvard. “He sent an email out to the class on Tuesday night. It’s mindboggling,” said Anna Samel ’12, a student in Afolabi’s Monday class, EDUC 1160: “Evaluating the Impact of Social Programs.” She said she was looking forward to taking a course from Afolabi because he
not explaining why, said Timothy Matthews GS. “He obviously worked very hard to prepare for his classes,” Matthews said. “For someone who’d lived in the Providence community and was so excited to come back to Brown — it’s just really, really sad.” Afolabi’s two courses in the Department of Education will be temporarily taught by Kevin Gee, lecturer in public policy.
Learning by giving: SOC 1870A By Tonya Riley Contributing Writer
Receiving $15,000 for a college class might sound like a laughable dream, but in SOC 1870A: “Investing in Social Change,” a course offered by the Department of Sociology in conjunction with the Swearer Center for Public Service, that is exactly what happens. There is, of course, a catch — students do not keep the $15,000, but instead work in teams of five to award the money in grants to one or more community organizations. After reading about a philanthropy-based class at another school, Martin Granoff P’93 approached the Office of the Dean of the College about funding a similar class at the University. They brought
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seemed enthusiastic and eager to help his students. “Going into class the next day, I can’t even imagine what that will be like. I wish we’d all had the opportunity to know him better.” Afolabi also taught a graduate seminar, EDUC 2350: “Economics of Education II,” Tuesdays and Thursdays. Students in the class received an email from the department canceling today’s class but
the idea to Roger Nozaki MAT’89, director of the Swearer Center for Public Service and associate dean of the College for community and global engagement, who then approached Associate Professor of Sociology Ann Dill about co-teaching the class. The first section of the class was taught in the fall of 2008. Last fall, a second donor, Winston Himsworth ’62, began providing additional funding, increasing the capital for each team and the number of available seats in the class from 12 to 18. While both teaching assistants and professors guide students through the philanthropic process, the course requires a significant degree of student initiative and teamwork. The students must draw from multiple perspectives to
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move beyond philanthropic theory to actual practice, Nozaki said. “We were always joking about how this class puts you in the position of a philanthropist and how you might not ever get to the situation again, or it could be 50 years until you have that kind of money to give away,” said Addie Thompson ’12.5, a student in the class last year and a teaching assistant for the current section. “But you also learn how to be a microphilanthropist, how giving away five dollars here and there can still make a difference.” The course attracts students from diverse backgrounds, including sociology, biology, mathematics and anthropology, Nozaki said. “The group is 18 incredible people that are passionate about this, they know a lot about philanthropy,” Thompson said. “Or, they know nothing about it and just have this willingness and eagerness to learn.” This past year there were 34 applicants for the 18 spots. In addition to assigned readings, the class also features a number of speakers, a majority of whom are Brown alums who work for Rhode Island or Providence nonprofits. Both professors bring with them a unique philanthropic background. Before coming to Brown, Nozaki worked in executive positions for the GE Foundation and the Hitachi Foundation. Dill’s research and teaching focuses on nonprofits, non-government agencies and community welfare. She plans to teach social work in Croatia next year. Dill has also taught SOC 1540: “Human Needs and Social Services,” a course in which students evaluate grant recipients. “The interesting question with non-profit work is when is a failure a failure. … If a project failed but still managed to help, say, 20 people, it’s difficult to define what success is,” said Tim Natividad ’12, who took both classes and is currently a teaching assistant for “Investing in Social Change.” While $15,000 may seem like a lot of money, such a high value is important — community programs must feel that potential grant money is large enough to apply, Dill said. “It’s been illuminating for me to go into these national-level conversations feeling that, on some level, our classroom conversations are ahead of these national leaders,” Nozaki said. “Everyone has had their lifechanging or career-changing class at Brown,” Natividad said. “This was mine.”
The Brown Daily Herald Friday, September 23, 2011
Arts & Culture 3
Whispers of unannounced art heard from streets By Suzannah Weiss Arts & Culture Columnist
These streets are speaking. Some of their words are gibberish. Others allude to inside jokes. Many tell you to go buy stuff or check out this band or that yard sale. Once in a while, they catch you off guard. Since we don’t generally walk looking down, it’s hard to catch the designs on the sidewalk. Most are mysterious arrows with cryptic messages like “N. Grid” and “6 Street Gas.” Though they were probably once used for construction projects, it’s hard to resist following them — just in case they’re actually a code for the portal to Hogwarts, or something. We also rarely notice art that doesn’t announce itself as such: the flower arrangements outside the Rock, the adorable Main Green Bruno statue currently embracing a blow-up guitar, the ring from the bell tower as students file out of classrooms. This especially applies to art that is not man-made: the George Street trees with eerily realistic eyes in their trunks or the patterns in the fur of East Side cats. If these things
don’t count as art because no creativity went into them, perhaps the missing ingredient is the creativity of the beholder. Though the line between art and environment is blurry, today’s focus is on the art around us that is intentional. Providence has a love-hate relationship with graffiti and street art. Despite occasional run-ins with the law, graffiti artists help give Providence the energy that inspires its residents to create. As to the issue of whether illegal alterations of public property should be tolerated, I’ll offer this analogy: Parents understandably yell at their children for scribbling on the walls in crayon. But if your kid were super talented and beautified some areas of the house that direly needed it, wouldn’t you thank them for a free paint job? The street art project of most epic proportions — the Wickenden Street underpass mural, created between 1997 and 2007 by several Brown alums and volunteers including Fox Point students — crumbled earlier in 2010 when the underpass was torn down. According to an article in the Providence
Religion, surrealism mix at Hillel exhibit continued from page 1 mer Brown professor specializing in Jewish mysticism, received the prints from his wife, Ursula. The gift was a commemoration of their first date, when they visited a Dali exhibit in New York City, he said at last night’s opening reception. While Dali raged against organized religion early in his career, this collection reflects a more developed approach to the subject, said Elliott King, an assistant professor of modern and contemporary art history at Rhodes College and noted Dali expert. King wore a dapper purplish suit to the reception and was slyly festooned with a melted clock watch — a nod to Dali’s most famous work, 1931’s “The Persistence of Memory.” “While (the collection) may appear like it was done very quickly in comparison to his earlier works that obscured realism, … it is distinguished in my mind because of the detail of the work,” King said. The prints, which will be on display at Hillel through Oct. 31, exist in a precarious place in Dali’s artistic landscape, King said. The Spanish Catholic artist is commonly purported to have been anti-Semitic, but King suggested this notion is not well-founded. “He encouraged Surrealists to look into the Hitler phenomenon and discuss it,” he said. One piece, “Plate 12,” appears alongside a text from Deuteronomy 30:20 that reads, “For it is thy life and the length of thy days.” The plate depicts a scribe copying the story of Jacob’s ladder from Genesis. “Dali associated Jacob’s ladder with many things — the doublehelix of DNA, part of what he liked
to call ‘the staircase of life,’” King said. This print is so precise that, while Dali did not speak a word of Hebrew, the representation of the calligraphy can be read by anyone who does. The exhibit contains many examples of Dali’s unrivaled aesthetic judgment and displays an interesting departure from the style commonly associated with the eccentric artist.
Phoenix, the mural was a hassle to keep up anyway. But now its former location looks like a wasteland. A few blocks east, on the wall leading to the entrance of Brickway on Wickenden, bold, comic-bookstyle illustrations of a diner scene pop out at passersby. Thayer Street’s offerings mostly consist of large bubble letters that are either unintelligible or irrelevant to anyone who doesn’t know the artist. But in Fones Alley, many hands have enhanced the dumpsters next to La Creperie. One contributor quotes Jack Kerouac: “My fault, my failure is not in the passions I have but in my lack of control of them.” A quote inscribed in a public setting deserves special attention — its presence means someone, somewhere thought it was the most important quote for everyone to see. A rock next to Pembroke’s Brown Street entrance reads a more lighthearted message, which may
just become Brown’s unofficial slogan: “Let’s play school!” “Postmodernism is bourgeois curd,” announces a decidedly postmodern telephone pole inscription on George Street. This street is also home to some neon pink phallic drawings and vibrant, mutant sea creatures swimming down the sidewalk — and possibly diving under the cement when no one’s looking. This survey wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the intimidating gaze of Andre the Giant, courtesy of RISD graduate Shepard Fairey. Situated on telephone polls and streetlamps around campus, these “OBEY” stickers lie adjacent to the very objects of their parody: advertisements. Some of these ads, however, rival Fairey’s signature design in arbitrariness, such as the Nice Slice stickers featuring snowmen on skateboards. According to the guys at Nice Slice, Fairey actually designed many of their promotional stickers, but not the
skateboarding snowmen. As far as stickers and fliers go, many seem to be there for no purpose other than amusement. “Sperm Men 2009” reads a sticker posted up and down Waterman Street, visually repeating its own words with a picture of several swimming sperm. A similarly repetitive sticker, reading “ducky,” features a picture of a duck. A sign on a streetlight reads “this way” with an arrow pointing upward, drawing the viewer’s attention to the impossibility of tilting one’s head up far enough to see the top of the pole clearly. The solitary word “flesh” adorns a sign on Prospect Street, perhaps ominously alluding to the famous human-skin-bound books in the nearby John Hay Library. These streets are speaking. You may not reply, but they have left you with something less tangible and more permanent than your footprints.
4 Arts & Culture
The Brown Daily Herald Friday, September 23, 2011
Iconic German tragicomedy amuses and disturbs at PW By caroline flanagan Arts & Culture Staff Writer
Production Workshop’s newest play, “The Visit,” is stunning in many senses of the word. The play, opening tonight, is not only visually impressive but also disorienting, swinging its audience from one emotion to another. A tragicomedy, “The Visit” — written by Friedrich Durrenmatt in 1956 and translated from German by Joel Agee — infuses dark humor with intense drama and ranges from delightfully absurd to disturbingly
horrific. “The Visit” holds a prominent position in German literature. Director Meredith Mosbacher ’11.5 said the Department of German Studies helped fund the play as a result. The Department of Music also contributed funds to the play because music concentrator Alex Yuly ’12, a former Herald graphics editor, composed the score. The play is set in the small, poor town of Guellen (“manure,” in German). Durrenmatt wrote the play so it could take place “anytime, anywhere,” Mosbacher said. It was her
directorial choice to set the play in “the liminal area between 1890 and 1920” in “a forgotten city in Europe that exists separately from the rest of the world,” she said. The people of Guellen are downtrodden but optimistic and express a strong sense of solidarity. The play begins as they excitedly prepare for the visit of a former resident, billionairess Claire Zachanassian (Lily Mathews ’12). The members of the town, particularly her former lover, Alfred Ill (Daniel Gonon ’12), fawn over her with the hope that she might donate some of her billions
to their poverty-stricken town. To their delight, Claire offers to donate one of her billions to Guellen and its residents, but she includes a condition for the donation that threatens to turn the simple, quiet town into a hotbed of deceit, fear, distrust and confusion. One of the most striking aspects of the play is the set. The stage is built to look like a subway platform, with the audience seated on what would be the platform while the action takes place on the tunnellike stage below them. The stage is divided into two sides: Claire’s imperious residence and Alfred’s general store. Both are constructed out of wooden crossbeams, in keeping with the train theme. Megan Estes ’12, the technical designer, came up with the idea for the set design and collaborated with Mosbacher to develop it. “I always saw this show as a train, but I never saw it set in a train station,” Mosbacher said. “Megan’s vision created opportunities that wouldn’t have been there otherwise. Ultimately I think it works really well with the show. … The train is an impetus for change in a stagnant town.” This set design has its challenges, as it reverses many of the rules associated with a traditional stage, but it also allows the audience to be more engaged with the actors. Viewers cannot help but feel involved in the action as actors continue to engage them during intermission, adding to the realism of the play. When the audience comes back from intermission, the actors are already on stage waiting for trains and talking to each other. The lighting also works well with the atmosphere. The designers used exposed lights to mimic the lighting in a train station. Every so often, especially in moments of high tension, the lights of a train appear
along with the rumbling sounds of its approach. Other than the sound of the trains, the play is quite quiet. The rare music heightens the drama. Yuly’s eerie score is used along with traditional music from the period and region. Mosbacher wanted to create a steampunk aesthetic, and the impressive costumes are the strongest indicator of this. At the play’s outset, the townspeople wear simple peasant garb. Claire and her entourage, on the other hand, wear colorful Victorian clothing. Claire’s over-the-top gowns always draw attention to her copper artificial leg — representing both the steampunk look and the characters’ potential for artificiality. As the play continues, the townspeople slowly alter their appearances to resemble Claire, reflecting their increasing wealth, Claire’s influence over them and their changing attitudes. The impressive cast of actors bring their characters to life — Mathews portrays a diabolical and hard-skinned billonairess while also revealing Claire’s vulnerability and loneliness. Gonon performs well as the tortured Ill, struggling to choose between himself and the well-being of the town he loves. Additional highlights in the cast include a hilarious performance by William Ruehle ’12 as three of Claire’s nine husbands and Madeleine Heil ’13 as the possibly insane mayor. “The Visit” provides a rewarding and enjoyable theater experience that is incredibly unique. It is uproariously funny at times but also forces its audience to think deeply about the disturbing and important themes it presents.
Sports Friday 5
The Brown Daily Herald Friday, September 23, 2011
Bears to tackle Harvard under the lights Basketball coaches look continued from page 1 lenge for Bruno’s defense. “(Winters) has no hesitation to take the ball down and run, and he’s fast,” said linebacker Matt O’Donnell ’12, who led the Bears’ defense with 9.5 tackles last week. “I think the biggest thing we have to do is, when they run the option play, get the ball out of his hands. Same thing when he’s throwing the ball. When we blitz, we need to make sure we hit him and he has to get rid of the ball, and make sure we don’t lose him and let him roll out and scramble.” O’Donnell also noted the Bears must improve their rush defense. In the matchup with Stony Brook, the defense surrendered 246 yards on the ground, albeit against a potent pair of experienced backs who eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark last season. “If they start running the football, then we can’t get them into predictable downs,” O’Donnell said. “Coach Estes has always told us that (Harvard Coach Tim Murphy) loves to ‘throw the ball to score and run the ball to win,’ so if we can keep them
out of sync, that’ll be the best thing for us.” On the other side of the ball, Harvard’s defense is an experienced unit that will try to thwart Brown’s high-powered passing attack led by Newhall-Caballero, whose 292 yards and 3 touchdowns against Stony Brook earned him Ivy League CoOffensive Player of the Week honors. “They’ve got a lot of experience, and they’re more disciplined than what we’ve seen up to this point,” Newhall-Caballero said. The Brown passing game looks to continue its success from last week, especially with the rapport between Newhall-Caballero and wide receiver Alex Tounkara-Kone ’11.5. Tounkara-Kone picked up right where he left off from last season, catching seven passes for 149 yards, including two long touchdowns of 38 and 46 yards. “He’s fast, he’s athletic, and he’s really long,” Newhall-Caballero said. “He’s a big target and makes the job easy for me. He makes matchup problems for almost anybody — there aren’t any 6-foot-4 corners out there.”
While Harvard has won nine of the last 11 meetings with Brown, the Bears will look to feed off the energy that propelled them to last year’s victory. In Harvard’s four previous night games since 2007, attendance has hovered around 20,000 at Harvard Stadium. Though a host of Harvard fans will replace last year’s raucous Brown home crowd, Newhall-Caballero and O’Donnell both said they are hoping for a strong Brunonian contingent to make the short trip north and channel last year’s energy. But whatever the atmosphere or crowd presence, the team is hungry to start the conference schedule on a high note. “We’re all ready to go,” NewhallCaballero said. “We felt ourselves out last week. We didn’t play great, but we did a lot of things well and we know what we have to improve on.” Another factor to watch will be rain in the forecast. With its artificial turf, Harvard’s field will not offer the prospect of a mud bowl, but a slick football could throw an unforeseen wrinkle into the game. Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m.
back to move forward continued from page 8 thinking, and I decided that if the opportunity came up to get into coaching, I would jump at it, because it is so competitive to get into the business.” Agel said he is embracing Schneider’s relative inexperience, allowing the new coach to connect with both the current players and potential recruits. “He loves basketball, and he loves being around the guys,” Agel said. “He’s highly motivated, and I really feel like he has a chance to become a very good coach.” But Schneider said he is still making the transition from being on the court to watching from the sideline “This time last year, I was in Portugal knocking down my first couple jump shots of the season, and today I have 100 guys to call and talk to,” he said. “When you’re a player, your mentality is different. ... You don’t realize what your coaches are doing the second practice is over until the next day.” For Schneider, memories from his
playing days — like the upset over Syracuse — motivate him as a coach. “It’s that moment that you want to carry with you for the rest of your life,” he said. “Now, as you’re in that chair and wearing a tie instead of having sneakers on, you want to get back to that feeling. You have that memory, and it’s something that you ultimately want to achieve at this level.” But the Bears face an uphill battle if they are to become a potential bracket-buster. Schneider is not alone in his first year, as Bruno boasts a roster that features seven new names and no returning seniors. Agel said he is constantly reminded of the historic game he was a part of, but for now his focus is on building a team that can make some noise of its own. “I’m sure a day doesn’t go by that somebody doesn’t bring it up, and it’s been six years,” he said. “It’s a wonderful moment, and it’s something that we want to recreate here. We’re building our program to a level where we can first get into the tournament, and then compete in it.”
Sheehan ’12 puts Saints, Packers, Rams on top Water continued from page 8
— the horrifically dismal Carolina Panthers. Now the Panthers are still quite bad, but the emergence of Cam Newton as a relatively impressive NFL quarterback makes it impossible to declare them hopeless. This was highlighted last week when they jumped out to an early lead on the defending champion Green Bay Packers before remembering that they are the Panthers and they aren’t allowed to actually win. Josh Freeman leads a Tampa Bay Buccaneers squad that can win any given Sunday and I like the bounceback New Orleans Saints as the division champs. Only the Atlanta Falcons appear to have gotten worse, though their narrow defeat of the Eagles last Sunday proves that they, too, are not a team to be ignored. The Saints will finish 12-4 while the Bucs will match last season’s mark at 10-6. The Falcons will finish a disappointing 9-7 and the Panthers will bring up the rear at 5-11. Champs: Saints, Wild Card: Buc-
caneers
NFC North
Living in a house full of Packer fans, I have to endure a lot of talk about the current champs. They scream “Go, Pack, go!” at me through the bathroom door as I shower and worship a can of Keystone Light that Aaron Rodgers signed as though it were a religious totem. The excitement is understandable. The Pack barely squeaked into the playoffs last year before getting red hot and decimating each opponent with the tactical calculation of a Terminator. The Packers offense is still one of the best in football, and I see them winning the division and the conference with a 13-3 record. But they should beware of the new and improved Detroit Lions, who are making some noise and looking to break into the playoffs. I think this defensive line and the healthy Matthew Stafford are going to get the Lions to an impressive 11-5 and a well-deserved playoff spot. What about the Chicago Bears,
you ask? Yeah, about that. They’ll be 7-9. Oh, come on, Chicago! Don’t give me the “we were in the conference championships last year!” You know exactly what I’m talking about. Despite Adrian Peterson’s best efforts, the Minnesota Vikings will finish a dismal 4-12. Donovan McNabb will also break Brett Favre’s all-time record for “saddest starts by a clearly washed-up quarterback who used to be good.” The good news is that the record will stay in Minnesota. Champs: Packers, Wild Card: Lions
2-14 season. The San Francisco 49ers look better than they did last year, but that’s like saying, “Charlie Sheen looks more sober than he did last spring!” The Niners are heading for a 6-10 season. This division is going to come down to the Arizona Cardinals and the St. Louis Rams and it will be won by whoever sucks less at the end of the season. I think it’s the Rams. They finish 8-8 and just nip the 7-9 Cardinals. Champs: Rams
NFC West
Sam Sheehan ’12 encourages all readers to pitch in and support their local NFC West Disaster Relief charity. Every bit counts. Talk sports with him at sam_sheehan@brown.edu or follow him on Twitter @SamSheehan.
Ugh. Do I really have to do this division? The NFC West is more depressing than an animal shelter. The Seattle Seahawks actually paid Tavaris Jackson for his services as a quarterback. They are going to get exactly what they paid for with a
polo team turns to techno continued from page 8 But on the other hand, it’s pretty cool traveling to different places. O.K., I have to ask: I have noticed that the water polo team is very taken with techno. What’s the deal? First of all, I kind of influenced them because I’m European and then a few guys are also big fans of techno. We really like to play it at some of our parties. What’s wrong with some techno?
comics Cabernet Voltaire | Abe Pressman
Fraternity of Evil | Eshan Mitra, Brendan Hainline and Hector Ramirez
6
The Brown Daily Herald Friday, September 23, 2011
Diamonds & Coal
Editorial comic b y lo r e n f u lto n
A cubic zirconium to Frances Mantak ’88, director of health education, who told The Herald, “Brown has a good, long-standing history of supporting students in their sobriety.” Too bad Dave Binder has a better, longer-standing history of supporting students in their inebriation. Coal to Professor of Engineering Huajian Gao, whose research on cells’ interactions with nanomaterials was published Sunday and who told The Herald, “We cannot eat a lollipop longer than us.” We suggest you conduct some research on the Main Green April 20. A diamond to the Brown Concert Agency, which arranged for Saturday’s Fall Concert to be free for all students. We knew the value of Real Estate in Providence was low, but we didn’t know it was that low. Coal to international students, to whom the academic code had to be explained this semester after they were found guilty of a disproportionate number of reported violations. And that’s not even counting Buxton’s noise violations. A diamond to Psychological Services, which has seen an increase in student demand over the past five years ago. Psych! Coal. Coal to Central Falls Police Chief Joseph Moran III, who told The Herald, “Normally when you do a study, you try to find out about a place before you rip it apart.” Well, except in the Department of Godzilla Studies. A diamond to Alex Morse ’11, who won the preliminary election for mayor of his hometown by a single vote Tuesday. Come November’s general election, we look forward to voting for you on MyCourses. Coal to Professor of Africana Studies Chinua Achebe, who reportedly only attended two sessions of a spring 2010 course for which he was listed as the instructor. You’re not a student, and this isn’t Russian Lit.
quote of the day
“The interesting question in non-profit work is
— Tim Natividad ‘12
Coal to SOC 1870A: “Investing in Social Change,” in which students spend the semester giving away $15,000. If students want to throw away thousands of dollars of someone else’s money, they should do it the old-fashioned way: by using their tuition to take Russian Lit. A cubic zirconium to Joseph Crisco III, professor of orthopedics at the Alpert Medical School, who conducted a three-year study investigating ways to make football safer. May we suggest getting rid of the parts where large men attack each other? Coal to Elliott King, assistant professor of modern and contemporary art history at Rhodes College, who said last night at the Brown-RISD Hillel’s exhibition of Salvador Dali’s art that Dali “encouraged Surrealists to look into the Hitler phenomenon and discuss it.” It was really more of a genocide than a “phenomenon.”
”
when is a failure a failure.
See Giving on page 2.
Corrections An article in Thursday’s paper (“UCS elects eight to new posts,” Sept. 22) incorrectly stated that Alex Quoyeser ’15 was elected as appointments chair. In fact, Alex Drechsler ’15 was elected to the position. The Herald regrets the error. A headline in last Friday’s paper (“Season begins under Friday night lights,” Sept. 16) misstated the day the season began. In fact, the season began on a Saturday. The Herald regrets the error.
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Opinions 7
The Brown Daily Herald Friday, September 23, 2011
Are we humans, dancers or both? By Lucia Seda Opinions Columnist Every fall, students of all class years join in the fun during shopping period and attend the Activities Fair at the Olney-Margolies Athletic Center. It’s close to impossible not to be dazzled by the myriad of student organizations that, stretched out along the indoor track, seem to open up new possibilities for getting involved outside the classroom. That Thursday night, advertising and lobbying skills are on display, backed up by the latest technology — picture sleek Macbook Pros playing YouTube videos of dance and a cappella performances, live tutorials of dance moves, flamboyant costumes and outlandish props. You’re certainly tempted to try out new things because, if all these opportunities are just one Brown email address away, then why not write down your name on the listserv and give it a go? You then make your way to one of the dance group tables and listen closely to the usual spiel: Auditions are fun — you should give it a shot. Bring your friends. Get pumped. But when you get to T.F. Green Auditorium, you find yourself filling out a double-sided form, answering questions about your previous dance experience and attaching a number to your shirt — just as if you were presenting yourself at the auditions for the New York City Ballet. The fun part of this affair fades away when you see that you must compete
against fellow students and try to outperform them. After the first hour or so, the first cut-off comes. Then after the threehour-long try-out, you get to go home and rest. The next day at midnight, you make your way to Wayland Arch and wait excitedly as one member of the dance group posts the results on the bulletin board. Or you compulsively refresh your Brown Gmail page and pray you’re not the unlucky recipient of that consolatory postmidnight email acknowledging your par-
fessional dance companies. They mimic the so-called “real” ones and some of their iconic trademarks, namely the tradition of hosting excessively long auditions as well as the use of official paraphernalia in the form of personalized dancewear. Yet unlike these professional companies, the majority of dance groups at Brown are run by students. And precisely because of this they should be more careful when they’re put to the task of evaluating the performances of their peers.
It’s hard to reconcile a want for new dancers and a need for experienced ones. But being imprecise about the process is equally dangerous.
ticipation and encouraging you to try out again next semester. In an effort to be accommodating and welcoming to interested students of all levels, dance auditions are deliberately ambiguous. At the Activities Fair, it’s all about selling the product — that is, the possibility of a spot in the company — for the biggest turnout. Once you’re on the dance floor, though, the reality is different. There are 10 spots for almost 100 students and decisions must be made. And then you wonder: What are they really looking for? It so happens that many dance groups at Brown present themselves as quasi-pro-
Though it is not always the case, campus dance groups should give seasoned dancers an arena for perfecting their technique and enhancing their practice. At the same time, they should act as a platform for newbies who wish to explore the means of expression that dance can offer them. They should not, however, advertise themselves as professional companies when in fact they are student-run groups. What I’ve repeatedly seen in many dance auditions is that, unfortunately, you can never be sure if your skills, your potential or even your motivation were given due consideration. As a former member of a
dance group myself, I sometimes question the arbitrary grounds on which some of these admissions and rejections are made. It’s hard to reconcile a want for new dancers and a need for experienced ones. But being imprecise about the process is equally dangerous, especially for those students who are genuinely interested in becoming part of the dance community here at Brown. It’s easy to reject someone who has the skills but lacks the persona if you’re never clear on which aspect bears more weight. For better or for worse, being open with these matters also gives you license to choose whomever you prefer — and justify it. I do not mean to say that dance groups at Brown should abide by a strict template in their search for future members. On the contrary, I strongly believe that dance groups should strive to become more inclusive and extend an opportunity to those students who want to try something new once in college. What I’m inviting them to do is to reconsider their admission process and to spell out their criteria clearly, as motivation alone is rarely enough for a student to make it into a team. A competitive spirit is a powerful driving force, yet relaxing the sternness that is so particular — and oftentimes poisonous — to many professional dance companies would be a refreshing flight from the routine. It might be too much to ask at first, but after all, we all hope to dance in the long run. Lucia Seda ’12 did not audition for any dance groups this fall. She can be reached at Lucia_Seda@brown.edu.
How is ROTC dangerous? By Adam cook Guest Columnist After reading the recent column by Julian Park ’12 (“ROTC expansion threatens the integrity of our community,” Sept. 19) I was baffled as to the specific point for which he was trying to argue. Park assumes from the start that the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps is harmful to Brown, and by the end of his article all he has done is repeated his premise and included several inflammatory arguments that do not back up his conclusion. Let’s start with Park’s first sentence. “The Brown Committee on ROTC’s recommendation that the University seek an expanded relationship with the U.S. military must be seen for what it really is: a recommendation to fundamentally jeopardize the openness and safety of the Brown community.” Park attempts to support his argument that this action affects the openness of Brown, but never elaborates on his claim that safety will be “fundamentally jeopardized.” I am curious as to how this recommendation compromises the safety of students at Brown. Does Park imagine that ROTC cadets will suddenly start carrying weapons on campus and engage in the occasional shootout? But why speculate when we can actually answer the question, “How dangerous is
a ROTC cadet to his fellow student?” According to the U.S. Department of Education, from 2006 to 2009 there were 86 murders at four-year universities in the United States. Unfortunately, this is too many for me to research, but I took a look at all the murders where more than one person was killed. And presumably that is what Park is worried about: mass shootings. I discovered that there was a ROTC student
Open Curriculum, and, as with many of his claims, this one is also unsupported. It is up to each student to choose to participate in ROTC. How does this choice, freely made, close off the curriculum? As any premed student will tell you, they have to take certain courses such as English, physics and organic chemistry no matter what their concentration may be. Should we be outraged by this as well?
Does Park imagine that ROTC cadets will suddenly start carrying weapons on campus and engage in the occasional shootout?
involved in the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting, one of the deadliest shootings in U.S. history. Air Force ROTC cadet Matthew La Porte died trying to stop the shooter, Seung-Hui Cho. Clearly, the ROTC program “fundamentally jeopardized” the safety of Virginia Tech. Park informs us that Naval ROTC scholarships would require students to take certain courses. To my knowledge, this is correct. But Park goes on to claim that these requirements undermine the
Also, the last I checked, Brown concentrations have requirements too. The Open Curriculum is about giving you choice. You cannot escape requirements. Many others do not consider their concentration requirements to be a burden, but instead a wonderful opportunity, freely chosen. Park also states that these ROTC scholarships would be preferentially granted to students with technical concentrations such as math, engineering and the sciences. Park does not actually expand upon
this comment, but its inclusion leads me to believe that he is critical of this practice. Like many of Park’s opinions, I am confused as to the basis of his criticism. Aren’t most scholarships given to some subset of students who possess a desired quality or trait? The National Merit Scholarship Program gives scholarships to those who score high on the PSATs, the Alliance for Young Artists and Writers gives scholarships to gifted writers and the NAACP gives scholarships to promising black students. Each of these programs is targeted at a specific group, so why should ROTC not target their scholarships? Last but not least, let’s look at Park’s byline. “Julian Park ’12 also opposed ROTC on the grounds that it promotes overt militarism” — OK, fine — “in an already too covertly militarized university.” Brown University is covertly militarized? If so, then it is pretty damn covert. Maybe the CIA could learn a few lessons. But seriously, look at almost any other university in the U.S., and I am sure that you will find a student body that is more supportive of the U.S. military. Right now, Brown has only a few ROTC participants, compared to 22 at Princeton and 76 at Cornell last year. But maybe just one is too much for Park. Adam Cook ’13 is currently barricading his room against the insurgent Brown militia and can be contacted at adam_cook@brown.edu.
Daily Herald Sports Friday the Brown
Friday, September 23, 2011
An NFC preview, not about the Sox
athlete of the week
Stefanovic ’13 a ‘beast’ on offense By Madeleine wenstrup Sports Staff Writer
It was a killer weekend for the men’s water polo team. The Bears (6-4) swept the North/South Challenge held at the United States Naval Academy with four wins, defeating Johns Hopkins University, No. 16 Bucknell University, Mercyhurst College and George Washington University. Leading the attack was center Svetozar Stefanovic ’13, who netted 20 goals and six assists over the weekend. On Wednesday, the Collegiate Water Polo Association named Stefanovic the CWPA Northern Division Player of the Week for his offensive and defensive execution. For his excellent performance over the weekend and his CWPA honor, The Herald has named him Athlete of the Week. The Herald: So your name is a bit of a mouthful — what do your teammates and friends call you? Stefanovic: They usually call me Sveta, sometimes it’s “The Beast.” O.K., Sveta. You are from Serbia, right? How did you get into water polo?
(Water polo) is pretty big there. It’s one of the national sports. We are actually the world champions now — we are really good at water polo. I’ve loved swimming ever since I was a little kid and swimming as a sport is really boring compared to water polo, so I just started playing water polo. I was probably eight years old when I started playing. What is one thing you miss about Serbia and one thing you like about Providence? Well, I usually only miss my parents and my friends, which is pretty expected, but I just love Brown. I would never leave Brown. I would stay here for 10 more years if I could. There is nothing I miss in particular, but maybe the food sometimes. That’s what I tell everyone who asks me that, because the Ratty food isn’t too good. Serbian food is lots of meat, barbecue, tons of home cooking — I miss my mom’s food a lot. What is your concentration? Economics and International Relations. What are your other hobbies or
Volleyball
By Sam Sheehan Sports Columnist
Emily Gilbert / Herald
Svetozar Stefanovic ‘13 netted 20 goals, six assists and eight steals last weekend.
interests besides water polo? Water polo is pretty time-consuming, so I don’t have time for a lot of different clubs. I joined the Brown Investment Group. I am in a fraternity, Sigma Chi. That’s a fun experience — since I’m foreign I never actually had been familiar with the concept. What is your most anticipated game this season? The final game of the Northeastern Championships. It’s hopefully in November. There are three games — it’s the main tournament for the East Coast and the winner plays in the NCAA Final Four tournament. We
have to qualify for the final game, so we have to win the first two games to play the final game, but I am expecting to qualify. So that is definitely my most anticipated game. Is it hard for you guys to not have any home games? Yeah, first of all it’s hard to travel almost every weekend because after you come back you have to catch up with school, which can be pretty hard. We are all really excited to play here, and have home games here next year, because we will have a pool. Of course, it’s always better to have fans. continued on page 5
Basketball
Brought together by Bears split historic shot invitational title aSchneider, Agel, Sorrentine By Sam sheehan Sports Staff Writer
On the familiar floor of the Pizzitola Center, the volleyball team split the 2011 Brown Invitational championship title last weekend with University of Maryland Eastern Shore. The Bears (4-7) took two of three matches, dropping a heartbreaker to UMES (5-5) but besting in-state rival Bryant University (5-9) as well as Fordham University (3-9). “This weekend we showed ourselves how great of team we can be when we all work together,” said libero and co-captain Annika Gliottone ’12. “I think the biggest thing for us — over the course of preseason and these past few tournaments — has been getting used to playing with each other.” In the first match, the Bears jumped out to an early two-set lead against Fordham in front of a raucous home crowd, as outside hitters Maddie Lord ’15 and Emma Pastore ’14 led a vicious offense with 20 and 18 kills, respectively. Bruno rebounded from dropping the third set 27-25 and clinched the match with a comeback 25-21 win in the fourth set. Setter Alexandra Rieckhoff ’14 posted a season-high 58 assists in the match. Rieckhoff and Lord were selected for the all-tournament team. Bruno’s fortunes took a turn for the worse in the second match against UMES. The Bears took the
first two sets of the first-to-three match but could not put the Hawks away in the third set. Led by the offensive prowess of Saitaua Iosia and Maline Vaitai, the Hawks came roaring back, winning the final three sets by scores of 25-23, 25-16 and 15-11. The Bears did not make the same mistake twice, dominating the Bulldogs and sweeping the match in straight sets. “Winning in three against Bryant was a big step for us as a team,” Gliottone said. “Our offense put the ball away at crucial times, and our defense kept the balls from hitting the floor. We had a lot of positive energy out on the court, which enabled us to communicate better with each other.” The most dramatic plays of the match came in the third set, as Bryant rallied to tie the score at 24-all. But the Bears got big plays out of Lord and middle blocker Taylor Bantle ’15, both of whom notched kills on the final two points to clinch the set and match. Lord and Bantle “have a positive attitude and willingness to learn new things,” Gliottone said. “They work really hard in practice, and it pays off in the matches.” Rieckhoff tallied another 27 assists in the match, while Gliottone chipped in 23 digs. The Bears are back in action Saturday as they travel to Yale for a 4 p.m. game.
reunited at Brown By Sam Rubinroit Assistant Sports Editor
“Oh my goodness! Sorrentine hit that one from the parking lot!” That was the call from CBS’s Gus Johnson after T.J. Sorrentine hit a 28-foot three-pointer with 1:06 left in overtime of the first round of the 2005 NCAA tournament. The shot clinched 13th-ranked Vermont’s upset victory over the heavily favored No. 4 Syracuse Orange, a team that featured NBA-bound forward Hakim Warrick. “I don’t remember much from the game itself,” said Sorrentine, now entering his third year as assistant basketball coach for the Bears. “I do remember the locker room. It was the best locker room I’ve ever been in. Just the excitement and thrill of being with those guys, who I was so close to, and we had a great time for that half hour.” Jesse Agel and Ryan Schneider shared the same bench as they watched Sorrentine sink one of the most memorable shots in the history of Vermont basketball. Schneider, who was a freshman for the Catamounts, was suited up, whereas Agel, then assistant coach, simply wore a suit. “There were a lot of things going on at the time, but there’s a lot ... that
comes flooding back,” Agel said. “Just the elation of the great win, and the excitement of continuing to play in the greatest tournament that college sports has.” Six years later, the three have been reunited through Brown basketball, with Agel entering his fourth year as head coach. Sorrentine came on board after a stint playing professionally, which included stops in Slovenia, Portugal, Italy and the NBA Summer League. The two are joined this season by Schneider, who will be making his coaching debut with the Bears after being named an assistant coach by Agel earlier this month. Agel helped Schneider get his start in his college days as well, recruiting him to Vermont and coaching him for a year before Schneider transferred to Marist College. After graduating from Marist in 2009 with more than 1,000 points and 500 rebounds to his name, Schneider played professionally in Portugal from 2009 to 2011, averaging 15.3 points and 7.3 rebounds, before deciding to return to the states to pursue a career in coaching. “I was at a crossroads,” Schneider said. “I just got done playing professionally, and I was trying to figure out what was next. I spent a lot of time continued on page 5
I’d like to start things off by letting everyone know that this week’s column is about football. That means I will in no way talk about baseball. I won’t talk about how the New York Yankees clinched the American League East with scrap-heap pitchers like Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia. I won’t talk about how it makes no sense that a team with Ivan Nova as their number two pitcher thoroughly outplayed a team with three bona fide aces. I certainly won’t talk about John Lackey, the Boston Red Sox pitcher who might as well change his name to John “Expletive Deleted” Lackey, because that’s what we all call him. I won’t talk about the Sox pitching staff seemingly getting together and deciding, “You know what? Losing sounds fun! Let’s just give up five runs over four innings every night and see what happens!” Last but not least, I will definitely not talk about the Red Sox throwing away so many games down the stretch that they are in danger of defining the idea of the late-season collapse. Excuse me for a second. (I take a baseball bat and systematically destroy everything in my room, screaming, “This isn’t how it was supposed to be! Not like this!” I collapse and cry for several hours before standing up and continuing this column.) So — football! An NFC preview: NFC East
After two weeks of football, it’s the Washington Redskins that find themselves atop the NFC East, led by Tim Hightower and Rex Grossman. But I don’t expect them to stay there, mostly because they are led by Tim Hightower and Rex Grossman. The hobbled New York Giants look to face a down year after losing an astounding number of players to season-ending injuries before they even took the field. Tony Romo’s gutsy decision to play with a cracked rib and punctured lung saved the Dallas Cowboys in overtime last week and the Philadelphia Eagle’s championship chances are as dependent on Michael Vick as I am on similes. Long story short? This division is up for grabs. I think we are going see the Redskins slide to 7-9 and the Giants hobble to 6-10. The championship will be decided in week 16 when the Eagles head to Dallas. I think the Eagles will win the road game and the division. 11-5 for the Eagles and 10-6 for the Cowboys. Champs: Eagles NFC South
The toughest division in football had just one weak link last year continued on page 5