Friday, November 18, 2011

Daily

Herald

the Brown

Friday, November 18, 2011

vol. cxlvi, no. 111

Since 1891

Forum to Comeback propels Bears to NCAA round two mix musical and civic education By sam wickham Sports Staff Writer

What happens when world-class musicians are brought together to discuss complex issues of civic en-

Arts & culture gagement and break down crosscultural barriers? The Music & Civil Society symposium, held tonight at Brown’s Cogut Center for the Humanities and Saturday at the Providence CityArts for Youth gallery, aims to provide an answer to this question.

The symposium is co-sponsored by the Cogut Center and Community MusicWorks, a nonprofit organization seeking to enhance musical education in the Providence community. It will feature 12 speakers from various academic and performance backgrounds for a series of dialogues and musical presentations centered on the impact of music in civil society. With presenters arriving from locations as varied as Venezuela, the Middle East and Germany, the gathering will address the role arts play in global communities, said Sebastian Ruth, founder and artistic director of Community MusicWorks. continued on page 7

M. Soccer Ivy League) scored three goals in the last 16 minutes to erase the Stags’ (12-5-1) two-goal lead in raw, wintry conditions. Stellar play from defender Dylan Remick ’13 and forward Sean Rosa ’12.5 helped spur Bruno on to the dramatic win and advance to the tournament’s second round.

“It was a very exciting first round of the NCAA,” said Head

inside

Students are more likely to perceive their family’s wealth as lower than that of the average Brown student’s, according to a November poll conducted by The Herald. While about one-quarter of students reported that their family’s wealth is about the same as the average, 43 percent said it is below the average and 24 percent said it is above the average.

Students on financial aid were 14 times more likely than students not receiving aid to think their family’s wealth is “much lower” than the wealth of the average Brown student’s. Thirty-six percent of students on financial aid said they thought their family’s wealth is much lower than the average student’s, compared to only 2 percent of students not

news....................2-3 City & State............4 Science...................5 arts .....................6-7 Opinions.............11 SPORTS..................12

Emily Gilbert / Herald The men’s soccer team celebrates its first-round NCAA tournament victory.

Watson begins search for director Protesters briefly Occupy City Hall

By Aparna Bansal Senior Staff Writer

The Watson Institute for International Studies began its search for a new permanent director last week.

In an October email to the faculty, Provost Mark Schlissel P’15 announced the eight members of the search committee, which assembled for the first time Nov. 9 to discuss advertising for the vacant position.

The committee is chaired by Susan Alcock, director of the Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World and a pro-

Students feel less wealthy than their peers

By Phoebe Draper Contributing Writer

continued on page 9

fessor of classics. Its membership reflects the wide variety of disciplines the institute spans, Schlissel said. The committee will also be working with Isaacson Miller, an external search firm, to help identify candidates. Though the firm will not be involved in interviewing candidates or making final decisions, it will gather background information, write to potential directors and present three finalists to the provost and President Ruth Simmons, Schlissel said.

Isaacson Miller was hired to help the committee locate candi-

dates with experience in diplomacy or NGO work. The institute has tended to focus on the theoretical aspects of international affairs, and it is important for students to learn from “practitioners” as well, Schlissel said. To that end, the search committee is seeking someone whose experience is not purely academic.

“For a position as important as Watson director, we thought it would be valuable to get professional help drumming up the robust pool of applicants,” he said. continued on page 3

My family’s level of wealth, compared to that of the average Brown student’s, is:

receiving financial aid.

These figures may come as a surprise, because “people don’t like to talk about their wealth,” said John Logan, professor of sociology.

Students agree. “There is a fear associated with talking about social class,” said Marie Ripa ’12, co-founder of Social Classmates, a weekly discussion group that focuses on social class issues. “It’s uncomfortable. The shame and guilt mechanisms behind wealth dictate whether people are going to have conversations about it.”

“Conversations about wealth are very much compartmentalized,” said Clay Thibodeaux ’12, the other cofounder of Social Classmates. “People might have thought about it but have a ‘hush’ in their mind,” he said. continued on page 2

Going Away

21

Sc i 87

Fr i

Science, 5

By elizabeth carr Senior Staff Writer

“City Hall is now Occupied,” declared Providence resident and Occupier Will Lambeck at the start of a special Occupy Providence General Assembly on the steps of the main entrance to the building last night.

Yesterday was declared a national day of action to celebrate the first two months of the Occupy movement. In Providence, Occupiers arrived at City Hall to support a City Council resolution that would endorse their occupation of Burnside Park.

“It’s been cold outside for too long, for too many,” Lambeck said, as protestors enjoyed the warmth of the indoors. Their presence in City Hall represented “taking back what’s rightfully ours,” he added.

During the General Assembly, the Occupiers overwhelmingly voted in favor of a proposal to attend the City Council meeting later that night. “They’re anticipating — and I would say (are) even excited for — our attendance today,” said Annie Rose London ’11.5, one of the meeting’s facilitators.

Following the assembly, the continued on page 4

Leor Shtull-Leber / Herald

Carter ’12 questions decision to not go abroad

Opinions, 11

D&C

Gail gets a diamond — find out why Diamonds & Coal, 10

weather

By mathias heller Staff Writer

A heroic comeback propelled the men’s soccer team to victory over No. 35 Fairfield University last night at Stevenson Field in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

The No. 29 Bears (11-4-3, 4-1-2

Coach Patrick Laughlin. “Fairfield gave us a lot of trouble in that first half, scored two goals, and we were down at halftime in a difficult place.

I think the guys did an unbelievable job to keep battling and fighting throughout the 90 minutes.”

The Bears got off to a roaring start in the first half, dominating possession in the first 10 minutes.

Bruno looked to go ahead in the eighth minute after Evan Coleman ’12 drove a volleyed shot across the box and past Fairfield keeper Michael O’Keefe. But the goal was called back due to an offside call, and the Bears were forced to keep searching for a breakthrough despite their commanding play.

Both teams had trouble adjusting to the slick field surface, as the

t o d ay

tomorrow

48 / 34

54 / 45

2 Campus News calendar Today

November 18

NOON

ToMORROW

November 19

The Brown Daily Herald Friday, November 18, 2011

Wealth not flaunted on campus continued from page 1

11:30 A.M.

Oxford/Cambridge Info Session,

Annual Entrepreneurship Forum,

J. Walter Wilson 502

Faculty Club

8 p.m.

8 p.m.

Fall Dance Concert,

Songs for Smiles: A Benefit Concert,

Ashamu Dance Studio

MacMillan 117

menu SHARPE REFECTORY

VERNEy-WOOLLEY DINING HALL LUNCH

Bulgur Stuffed Pepper, Cavatini, Red Potatoes with Shallots, Vegetarian Curry Stir Fry with Tofu

Chicken Fingers, Vegan Nuggets, Sticky Rice, Rice Krispie Treats, Nacho Bar

DINNER Bourbon BBQ Chicken, Baked Acorn Squash, Pasta with Fresh Basil Pesto, Coconut and Ginger Rice

Tilapia Provencale, Golden Corn and Rice Casserole, Orange Beef Pad Thai, Green Beans la Belle

Sudoku

Though social class disparities are largely “under the rug,” Ripa said class remains an issue on campus.

“Wealth is very apparent at Brown,” said Eddie Cleofe ’15. “Jewelry, technology, even just the bag (students) use to carry their books” are all signifiers of social class, he added.

“You just know someone is welloff based on the physical hints,” said Eric Bai ’15. “You look at how much stuff is in their room. You glance over their clothes.”

Bai added that Apple products are good indicators of wealth. “If they own every single Apple thing, you know they’re well-off.”

But some students said wealth is not often flaunted on campus.

“The great thing about Brown students is that they don’t show their wealth off, so it’s pretty hard to distinguish,” said Stelios Anagnostopoulos ’13.

Though self-segregation along class lines exists, relationships can

transcend class boundaries when two people share similar values and recognize what they have in common, Ripa said.

Ripa and Thibodeaux founded Social Classmates in 2010 as an intimate discussion group to examine taboos surrounding class. The group has garnered the most interest from first-generation college students, Ripa said. “The group attracts those who feel marginalized,” she said.

Despite the discussion opportunities provided by Social Classmates, students’ perceptions of wealth are often out of whack with real-world statistics. The term “1 percent” generally applies to individuals making over $1 million a year, Logan said, but students Bai and Anagnostopoulos estimated a more realistic statistic to include those earning $300,000 a year or more.

Such miscalculations may be attributed to what Ripa calls “a lack of socioeconomic diversity” among the student body.

“Brown isn’t representative of the whole country,” she said. “The per-

ception is that students are coming from wealthy backgrounds, especially because the price tag (for one semester’s tuition) is $50,000.”

Logan said the University must examine its larger role in society in addressing socioeconomic diversity on campus.

“It would be unfortunate if our primary role was to enhance the opportunities of the people who are already most advantaged,” he said.

Instead, “we could play a greater role in distributing opportunities to a wide range of people.”

Methodology

Written questionnaires were administered to 851 undergraduates Nov. 2-3 in the lobby of J. Walter Wilson and the Stephen Robert ‘62 Campus Center during the day and the Sciences Library at night. The poll has a 3.1 percent margin of error with 95 percent confidence. The margin of error is approximately 4.7 percent for students receiving financial aid and 4.2 percent for students not receiving financial aid.

British colonel defends Israel’s actions

By Eli Okun Contributing Writer

Crossword

Colonel Richard Kemp’s combat experience spans two continents, several wars and 30 years of service in the British army, but he is currently worried by a war of words taking place beyond the battlefield.

War crime accusations condemning Israel’s actions in the 2008-09 Gaza War stem from the “second front” that plays out continuously through television, newspapers and social media, he told roughly 70 students and community members in List 120 last night. The event was sponsored by Brown Students for Israel.

At the start of the 8 p.m. speech, which was part of the Independent Voices on the Middle East lecture series, Kemp assured the audience that his remarks were “objective.”

Drawing on a variety of historical references and his military experience, he depicted the Israeli military’s conduct as in keeping with international norms for treatment of civilians during wartime and argued that international outrage was largely due to widespread anti-Israel sentiment.

Kemp cited statistics he attributed to the Israeli government and Hamas to show that the ratio of Palestinian civilian to combatant deaths was

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about one-to-one, below the three-toone average for recent international conflicts. The war claimed roughly 1,400 Palestinian and fewer than 15 Israeli lives, though estimates vary.

Comparing Israeli actions in both the war and the 2010 Gaza flotilla raid to those of other western and Middle Eastern nations in similar situations, Kemp said Israeli military action has never disproportionately affected noncombatants. Though he acknowledged that the Israeli army, like all militaries, sometimes fails to meet its own standards for the humane treatment of civilians, “few other armies ever wrote higher ideals to live up to,” he said.

International reaction to Israel’s role in the war, largely negative outside of the United States, is predicated on media misrepresentations and strained diplomatic relations, he argued, adding that bodies like the United Nations Human Rights Council are often influenced by representatives from dictatorships in the Middle East.

In a question-and-answer session following the speech, one student asked about the causes of media distortions.

“In Arab countries, there is an institutionalized hatred for Israel as an entity,” Kemp responded. “Another reason is fear of Islamic terrorism. …

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Many people want to appease those who would attack us.”

But Kemp’s remarks were not universally accepted.

Outside the building, representatives from Brown Students for Justice in Palestine handed out slips before the speech citing an Amnesty International report that accused Israel of launching direct attacks on civilians. After the event, members of the group said they remained unconvinced, particularly by Kemp’s justification of Israeli actions.

“He’s glossing over its role as the oppressor and equating international condemnation with ethnic cleansing,” said Alysha Aziz ’12. “He had this mantra of three times less deaths … but it felt like in some ways that was just spitting on the faces of those who had died.”

“Personally, I think that no voice should be shut down, but I was expecting some more background knowledge and honesty,” said Eduarda Araujo ’15, another member of the group.

Harpo Jaeger ’14, co-leader of Puzzle Peace, a pro-Israel campus organization that seeks a two-state solution to the conflict, said he appreciated Kemp’s comparisons of Israel to other western nations because it was a new perspective on the issue.

But he said he found Kemp’s argument that anti-Israel sentiment stems from an appeasement of extreme Islamists “complete crap,” and that he believed the event did not live up to its billing. “I was disappointed that it was framed as an independent voice,” Jaeger said.

But Jennifer Sieber ’14, an intern for the Israel on Campus Coalition and the organizer of the speech, said the event was a valuable way to further campus dialogue on the issue, particularly through a reception following the speech that included various student leaders. She said Kemp substantiated her opinion on the issue with meaningful arguments.

“It didn’t change anything that I had thought,” Sieber added.

Campus News 3

The Brown Daily Herald Friday, November 18, 2011

Deferred admits take road less traveled

By David Chung Senior Staff Writer

Most accepted students have the option of taking a gap year before arriving on College Hill, but some are required. For the latter group, admission to Brown is offered on the condition that they take time off and enroll the subsequent year.

For the past five admission cycles, an average of 26 applicants per year received these offers of delayed admission, according to Dean of Admission Jim Miller ’73.

Over that period, 54 percent of applicants offered delayed admission matriculated — similar to the overall matriculation rate. The Office of Admission refers to the arrangement as “deferred admission.”

The number of deferred admission offers has ranged from 21 for the class of 2011 to 29 for the class of 2015, though Miller said the University may have up to 35 deferred admission spaces per year, depending on the applicant pool.

The University begins offering deferred admission to students on the waitlist after all spots in the entering class are filled, he said.

Deferred admission applicants account for about a quarter of the matriculants who take gap years, Miller said. Out of the about 40 to 60 gap year students each year, 10 to 15 are deferred admission applicants.

The practice began five years ago, Miller said, as the admit rate continued to plummet. The admission rate for the classes of 2006 to 2010 averaged 15.7 percent, but for the classes of 2011 to 2015, the figure dropped to 11.4 percent. A recordlow 8.9 percent of applicants were

admitted to the class of 2015.

“There were students we wanted to have but weren’t able to admit,” Miller said.

The Office of Admission offers deferred admission to a variety of students each year, Miller said, but it often considers students who strengthened their record over the course of their senior year in high school and might benefit from an extra year before college. Applicants with medical issues or those who had previously notified the office of gap year plans may also be given deferred admission offers, he said.

But Miller said Brown does not tend to offer deferred admission to candidates with family connections to the University.

According to a March 30, 2010 article in the Harvard Crimson, Harvard offers deferred admission to between 30 and 50 applicants each year. But over the years, some have charged that the “Z-list” — the term used by Harvard admissions for deferred admissions — is a legacy student list. Eighteen of 28 Z-listed students interviewed by the Crimson were legacies, with only a few receiving any form of financial aid. William Fitzsimmons, dean of admissions and financial aid at Harvard, told the Crimson Harvard Z-lists a high number of legacies because they are deemed more likely to accept the offer.

Marlyn McGrath, Harvard’s director of admissions, did not respond to a request for comment for this story.

In 2009, Conor Sullivan ’14 had been planning to go to Carnegie Mellon University until he received a deferred admission offer from Brown in late June. Because it had

been one of his top choices and the idea of a gap year appealed to him, he decided to accept the offer.

Sullivan, a San Jose, Calif., native, said because he had been notified of his admission during the summer, he was not able to plan out his year as well as he would have liked to. But he said he enjoyed his gap year regardless. Sullivan, who is not a legacy, worked at a movie theater, took a wilderness EMT course at Yosemite National Park and traveled around the country by himself.

Jonathan Ciriello ’15, a 2010 graduate of the Pingry School in New Jersey, said he had never considered taking a gap year until he was waitlisted and asked that May to take a year off before joining the class of 2015.

Ciriello, also not a legacy, said he had never heard of deferred admission and though his initial response to the offer was positive, he said the process was “definitely not the best on some level.” Given two weeks to decide, he visited campus twice and eventually accepted the offer because Brown had been his favorite school during the application process. At the time, Ciriello had committed to Tufts University, and though he said he would have chosen Brown over Tufts had all things been equal, the “deciding factor” was what he would do with his year off.

A biochemistry concentrator, Ciriello came to Providence for the year and did research in a biology lab within the Division of Biology and Medicine. He said he was unsure at the time if he would regret his decision, but ultimately concluded the gap-year experience was “definitely worth it.”

Muslim chaplain embarks on the Hajj

By MIchael Weinstein Contributing Writer

Brown Muslim Chaplain David Coolidge ’01 was one of roughly 2.5 million people to take part in the largest annual gathering in the world last week — the Hajj.

Coolidge joined Muslims from around the world to spend five days at a sacred mosque in Mecca for a religious pilgrimage that all Muslims are required to complete at least once in their life, if they are physically and financially able to do so.

Coolidge, who had already completed the Hajj in 2005, decided to go again after his wife asked him to accompany her.

“I didn’t want to just say, ‘Okay, I’ll just do it.’ I wanted it to be sincere,” Coolidge said. “I came to the idea that although she was the initial reason, I’m starting to feel like I am being called back to the sacred place.”

Coolidge and his wife visited Saudi Arabia for 15 days to pray and visit holy sites, including the five days of the Hajj ceremony.

“I’ve never had more of a global experience anywhere else in the world than on the Hajj,” Coolidge said. Almost every country in the world is represented, he said, adding that he was impressed by the cul-

tural and socioeconomic diversity of Hajj participants.

“I would be doing the rituals and be all stressed out, and then I’d look to my left, and there would be this skeleton of a man with a cane, hunched over and walking along, looking like he’s probably worked in the fields his whole life,” Coolidge said. “And I’m just like, ‘Man, I have nothing to complain about.’”

Though Coolidge was away from campus for more than two weeks, he did not take a break from his responsibilities as chaplain. He published updates on a Global Conversations blog and CNN iReport while he was abroad as a way to keep the Brown community informed about his trip.

“When I decided to go on this trip, I just felt a desire to share that with people so they could understand what I was doing and why I was doing it,” Coolidge said. “It seemed like a no-brainer — if Brown is a global institution, and the Hajj is a global institution, they should be in conversation with each other.”

Janet Cooper Nelson, University chaplain and director of the Office of the Chaplains and Religious Life, said she felt Coolidge was making his work useful to all students, a major part of a chaplain’s role.

“Many of you come from particular religious identities — a very broad spectrum of identities — so whether you are my identity or not doesn’t matter,” Cooper Nelson said of the importance of learning about diverse religious practices.

Coolidge spoke at the Interfaith Supper series before leaving, where he gave a brief presentation and answered students’ questions about his upcoming trip.

But the pilgrimage was more than just an educational opportunity — it was also a spiritual one.

Since this was his third time in Mecca, he was not distracted from prayer and critical thinking by the novelty of a foreign culture.

“If you’ve gone there, and it’s the third time, now you’re kind of over that fascination with the outward elements of things and you have to get deeper,” Coolidge said. “What I am thinking about is, ‘Why am I here? What am I really hoping to get out of this? Where is my heart in terms of my relationship with the global community that I’m seeing, and also with God, who is ideally the reason that I even come here in the first place?’”

Coolidge said his experience in Mecca reaffirmed his work at Brown. “I just want to do what I’m doing now but do it better.”

Tom Sullivan / Herald

The Watson Institute’s uncertain mission will likely be shaped by its next director.

Watson director search ‘not purely academic’ continued from page 1 Candidates will also be evaluated on their “leadership ability, managerial talent and clear interest and knowledge of international affairs and policy issues,” Putterman said. A director with policy background will help the institute bridge the gap between academic affairs and policy discussion, he said.

As in previous years, students will not be involved in the search process. “Watson is really a research institute,” Schlissel said.

“It’s not a department, major or concentration.”

Sumner Becker ’14, a potential international relations concentrator, said he was not sure what role students could play in the search process, but said “student voice is critical.” The institute could encourage more interactions between the academic ideas of students and faculty in the future, he said.

The institute is currently in the process of reevaluating its mission on campus after an external review conducted last year concluded that it needed to focus on fewer areas.

“Getting a new director will be a major step in getting it out of limbo,” said Deputy Provost Joseph Meisel, who will also be assisting the search committee.

Schlissel said the new director will be responsible for designing “Watson’s academic agenda in the years ahead,” but he expects it to continue its mission of “bringing to the Brown community outstanding scholars interested in teaching.”

The committee’s other members are Professor of Political Science Mark Blyth, Associate Professor of Political Science Melani Cammett, Professor of Economics Louis Putterman, Professor of Sociology and Environmental Studies J. Timmons Roberts, Chair of the East Asian Studies Department Kerry Smith as well as Watson Board members Lucinda Watson P’03 and Phillip Lader P’08 P’11.

The Watson Institute has been under the leadership of Interim Director Carolyn Dean since Michael Kennedy resigned as director at the end of the last academic year. The committee hopes to identify a new director by the end of the spring semester, Meisel said.

4 City & State

The Brown Daily Herald Friday, November 18, 2011

Controversial pension reform passes

By Morgan Johnson and Sona Mkrttchian Senior Staff Writer and Contributing Writer

The Rhode Island General Assembly approved hotly-contested pension reform legislation in separate sessions Thursday. The Rhode Island Retirement Security Act passed the state House of Representatives 57 to 15 and the Senate 34 to two.

Senate floor debates ended after an hour and 20 minutes with the introduction and passage of only one amendment to the bill. The House session started almost a full two hours before the Senate, but House representatives were still introducing amendments — 27 in total — to the bill after the Senate vote was complete. Of the proposed House amendments, only seven passed.

In a statement released after the bill’s passage in both chambers, Gov. Lincoln Chafee ’75 P’14 called the bill “a cause for encouragement, but not a cause for celebration,” because stabilizing the pension system comes at the cost of benefit reductions to state employees.

General Treasurer Gina Raimondo, who along with Chafee spearheaded the effort to pass pension reform, called the legislation’s passage “a great step forward as we continue to work to put our state on a secure path toward growth and prosperity,” in a statement.

The law immediately raises the state pension system’s funded ratio from 48 to 60 percent and reduces the system’s $7.3 billion unfunded liability by $3 billion. Three-quarters of these savings come from the bill’s limits on cost-of-living adjustments, which the pension payment increases tied to inflation. The legislation also lowers the total contributions by state and local employers from $689 million to $414 million, which will save taxpayers roughly

Corrine Szczesny / Herald

Over 100 people watched the pension reform vote after months of controversy.

$275 million in fiscal year 2013.

More than 100 teachers, firefighters and even Rhode Island Tea Party members turned out to witness the final House vote. When the bill was brought to the House floor yesterday, House Finance Committee Chair Helio Melo, D-East Providence, addressed the controversy it has generated.

“After all these months of listening, I am ready to talk about this,” Melo said. “The legislation before you is dramatic. The changes are big, and I do believe that it is necessary.”

The number of onlookers steadily dwindled as representatives introduced additional amendments to the bill, a process that lasted over four hours. The majority of spectators were vocal in their opposition to the bill.

Tensions ran high as spectators heckled Rep. Michael Marcello, D-Scituate and Cranston, after he praised state employees’ work ethic while stressing the necessity of pension reform.

Speaker of the House Gordon Fox, D-Providence, threatened to

have hecklers removed, though he acknowledged that the debate was “highly charged.” Security arrived shortly after to keep the audience in order. Spectators cheered when Rep. Robert Watson, D-East Greenwich and West Greenwich, spoke in favor of yearly increases to cost-of-living adjustments.

Legislators in both chambers voiced concern about language in the bill related to an increase in the retirement eligibility age to 67, arguing that the mandate would put considerable strain on teachers and public safety workers.

Representatives spoke emotionally about the bill. Many stood up to give personal appeals from constituents about the bill’s perceived inequalities. Watson fought hard for the right of retirees to collect annual cost-of-living adjustments, though his amendment ultimately did not pass. Others addressed the legislation’s treatment of part-time workers, Rhode Island Supreme Court justices and financial transparency.

State Sen. Harold Metts, D-Providence, said recreation centers in his South Providence neighborhood have suffered deep cuts due to the state’s severe budget crisis. He said pension reform would help preserve state-run programs that “kept him off the streets” growing up.

Many representatives threw their support behind the bill prior to the vote but said the legislation is a weak solution to the state’s pension problems.

“Unfortunately, I’ve got to pinch my nose and vote for this stinker,” said Rep. Dan Gordon, R-Portsmouth, Tiverton and Little Compton. “It’s the best we’ve got.”

Angel Mojarro / Herald

Occupy Providence protesters stormed a City Council meeting Thursday.

Pro-Occupy resolution draws crowd to City Hall continued from page 1 group marched upstairs to fill the meeting room, chanting, “We are the 99 percent.”

The council rushed to address the elephant in the room. Ward 10 City Councilman Luis Aponte introduced the resolution. “This is what democracy looks like,” he said, gesturing to the audience.

“They still believe in what America stands for.”

“These folks have gathered peacefully to express their first amendment rights to free speech,” Aponte added. “If we are to err, let us err on the side of more freedom and not less.”

City Councilmen Davian Sanchez and Seth Yurdin, who represent Wards 11 and 1 respectively, quickly spoke in support of the resolution.

“There’s a nagging sense that the system is broken,” Yurdin said,

emphasizing the Occupiers’ commitment “to reduce corporate influence over elections.”

Ward 15 City Councilwoman Sabina Matos, Ward 6 City Councilman Michael Correia and Ward 8 City Councilman Wilbur Jennings also expressed their support for the resolution.

“You’re keeping the place like it’s your own home,” Jennings addressed the Occupiers, referencing their encampment in Burnside Park. “My opinion is to leave you the hell alone.”

With six members of the City Council supporting the resolution, the meeting moved on to other issues. Upon realizing that the resolution would be voted on by a special committee at a later date, all but a few of the Occupiers left the meeting.

“We still have our stuff to do,” said Providence local and Occupier Mark Simmons.

Science 5

The Brown Daily Herald Friday, November 18, 2011

Prof’s study linked to child suicide U. remains silent in face of accusations

By Sahil Luthra Senior Staff Writer

Ten years after its publication, a study by Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior Martin Keller continues to generate concern in the medical community due to its alleged link to child suicide.

Last month, the global nonprofit Healthy Skepticism wrote to the University requesting support for its efforts to retract Keller’s article — commonly known as Study 329 — from the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

Healthy Skepticism expressed concern that the study, which identified the drug Paxil as an effective combatant of depression in children, “seriously misrepresented both the effectiveness and the safety” of the drug. The authors added that the study’s continued citation was harmful to children, since some children committed suicide after being prescribed Paxil.

The letter follows several ethical examinations of Study 329, including a BBC documentary, the book “Side Effects” by former Boston Globe reporter Alison Bass and an investigation by the Senate Finance Committee. Those inquiries led to allegations that the authors of the study — who had received funds from Paxil’s parent company GlaxoSmithKline — suppressed the findings on the drug’s connection to suicidal tendencies because they would adversely affect profits.

Keller, the lead author, was also accused of allowing the study to be ghostwritten by a GlaxoSmithKline affiliate. In June 2009, he stepped down as chair of the psychiatry department, citing personal reasons, but he retained his professorship.

Keller did not respond to multiple requests for comment for this story.

Citing confidentiality reasons, Dean of Medicine and Biological Sciences Edward Wing also de-

clined to comment.

But the University is harming itself by staying silent in the face of the accusations, said Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine Roy Poses ’73 MD’78. “There ought to be a public response. If these allegations are false or wrong, that ought to be made clear. If they’re true, then there ought to be some action.”

Following the October letter, President Ruth Simmons wrote to Healthy Skepticism that Wing would be in touch soon, said Jon Jureidini, one of the co-authors of the letter and a clinical professor at the University of Adelaide in Australia. Wing has not yet responded.

Though Jureidini said he is waiting for a response before he plans any future actions, he “won’t necessarily give up” if the University refuses to support retracting the study.

“I can’t imagine how you could review this case and not find misconduct,” Jureidini said. He added that the arrival of a new president at Brown could provide an opportunity to ask the University again.

University research policies state that when charges are brought against a researcher, the University must decide whether to pursue a formal investigation. If the investigation reveals misconduct, the researcher can face suspended privileges, and their papers may be withdrawn. If misconduct is not found, the University takes steps to restore the researcher’s reputation.

But even if University officials found evidence of misconduct, they would likely ignore them, since Keller’s research has provided a steady source of University funding, according to Paul Thacker, an investigator at the Project On Government Oversight. Thacker, who also participated in the Senate inquiry, said he does not think the University should continue to receive any federal funding if it does

not publicly address the Keller case.

Thacker added that the University has prioritized discussion of less important issues over the years, citing the Steering Committee on Slavery and Justice formed in 2003.

The University “spent all this time tearing themselves up about some sort of peripheral involvement in slavery,” he said. “Nobody is walking around today who is being harmed by slavery. There are people who are walking around today who are harmed by this study.”

Bass, who has continued to report on Study 329 following the publication of “Side Effects,” said though pinpointing specific examples would be difficult, “there’s no question there were adolescents and children who became suicidal and tried to kill themselves — and in some cases, succeeded in killing themselves — because the doctors were misled.”

Pointing to the accusations of ghostwriting, Bass added that there is a double standard in the University not taking action against Keller, because students who plagiarize face expulsion.

When she was working for the Boston Globe, Bass also authored an article about conflicts of interest in Keller’s research, examining payments Keller received from pharmaceutical companies.

Though the University revised its conflict of interest policies in 2009, those changes were simply “window dressing,” wrote Leemon McHenry, a co-author of Healthy Skepticism’s letter, in an email to The Herald. McHenry, a researcher at California State University, Northridge, speculated that in practice, the University would likely prioritize the wishes of companies like GlaxoSmithKline over its ethical standards.

The University held a forum Tuesday to hear faculty perspectives on its current conflict of interest policy.

Human enzyme keeps mice slim

By Caroline Flanagan Arts & Culture Staff Writer

A high-fat diet may not always pack on the pounds, suggests new research from the Warren Alpert Medical School. By successfully preventing weight gain in mice, researchers have shed light on obesity prevention in humans.

The study was released online last week and will be published in the January 2012 issue of Endocrinology, a science journal.

Even though the mice were on a high-fat diet, researchers were able to significantly reduce their weight gain by activating a human

enzyme called IKKbeta in their fatty tissue. The enzyme normally triggers immune responses, such as inflammation, following increases in the number of human fat cells.

Researchers were curious to see what would happen if they reversed the order of events by activating the enzyme prior to weight gain.

They found that in addition to reduced weight gain, the mice with the activated enzyme also had faster metabolisms. In these mice, insulin was more effective at lowering blood sugar than it was in the mice that had not been

treated.

The activated enzyme also inhibited resistance to insulin, another side effect of obesity.

The study has definite implications for helping people who suffer from conditions characterized by insulin resistance, such as Type 2 diabetes patients, said Haiyan Xu, assistant professor of medicine.

“For treating insulin resistance, it’s really going to work,” Xu said.

Scientists are already applying this research to humans, she said. Xu and her team are in the process of designing future research projects on Type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance.

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Glenn Lutzky / Herald

Professor John Stein led a discussion about media coverage of research that linked iPhones and love.

Students critique oversimplification of science By nicholas cavell Contributing Writer

Forget addiction, you might actually be in love with your iPhone — so long as you don’t submit that claim to the scientific method, Senior Lecturer in Neuroscience John Stein told students yesterday at “Debunking the Neurohype: What Neuroscience Can Actually Tell Us” in the Brown Bookstore. The talk was part of the Science Cafe Discussion Series sponsored by the Triple Helix.

As students filed into the event, Stein passed out copies of “You Love Your iPhone. Literally,” a Sept. 30 New York Times op-ed discussing results of functional magnetic resonance imaging of subjects’ brain activity, also called an fMRI test.

After they scanned the article, attendees were asked to employ “good science” to dissect the article, which Stein called an example of the media’s oversimplification of neuroscience’s power to explain human behavior.

Some students called the article “comical.” It is very problematic to conclude from subjects’ fMRI tests that they are in love with their iPhone, Stein said. These “tests illustrate changes in brain activity by showing changes in blood flow,” Stein reminded a crowd thick with neuroscience concentrators.

Blood flow and activity in the activated brain region, the insular cortex, only have about a 33 percent correlation with the feeling of love.

The rest of the time, that activity is associated with hate or disgust, Stein said. Students agreed that the conclusion that subjects were in love

with their iPhones is a gross oversimplification.

As love or lie detectors, fMRI machines “are not a diagnostic tool by any stretch,” Stein said, reiterating that the article in question was published as an op-ed. “There’s a reason why this isn’t in the Science Times,” he said.

Stein used a lull in the discussion to size up its participants. “Scientists are very good at picking things apart. We’re very critical people, and we want to be our own critics,” he said.

Stein said what was most problematic was presenting results in the unscientific fashion of “this is what we found, and this is the only conclusion there can be.”

“Good science” relies on precise methods to separate conclusions into three components ­— those closely supported by results, ones that are projected and those that are simply “interesting questions” to raise, he said.

“And the most interesting kinds of questions are the ones with very inconclusive answers,” Stein said.

“When it first came out, fMRI was critical,” Stein said after the talk.

But the tests only address one side of things, he said. The “motion” in the scientific community now is to find ways to combine the perspectives offered by fMRI and other tests, including electroencephalograms and single-cell recordings.

“It’s depressing to realize how little you know,” said Robin Martens ’14, a neuroscience concentrator, after the discussion. “It’s the Socratic thing — I’m more aware of my own ignorance,” he said.

6 Arts & Culture

The Brown Daily Herald Friday, November 18, 2011

Breaking the ice through self-mockery

By Suzannah Weiss Arts & Culture Columnist

I remember around this date four years ago, college touring seemed like one big contest over which school had the most a cappella groups. As my parents wondered what the word meant — “Acawhat?” — each tour guide would boast the number like a preschool teacher showing children the toys in the classroom.

Brown has the most a cappella groups per capita in the country, according to the University’s Intergalactic Community of A Cappella website, and hosted the northeast quarterfinals of the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella in 2010. The Brown Derbies, one of Brown’s 14 groups, competed on the Gospel Music Channel’s “America Sings” series this summer, while the Higher Keys were featured in the national compilation album “Voices Only.”

Not to mention that the first two floors of Salomon Center were jam-packed for this fall’s family weekend performances.

More Brown students regularly watch the popular television show

“Glee” than they would care to admit. Most of us have also probably watched “High School Musical,” movie adaptations of musicals, musical adaptations of movies and reality shows like “American Idol” and “America’s Got Talent.”

Though the Theatre — in all its pretentiously spelled glory — is reserved for an audience consisting of tourists and the elderly, we’re still getting our fix of theatrical musical performances.

And here’s my hypothesis as to why: Musicals can be amazing if they pull you into the story completely — but if not, they can be hard to watch. The whole experience is awkward. The way the actors emote is by nature larger than life, so when they address the audience, it is intimidating. Though you know they can probably only see the lights glaring back at them, they give the impression of intensely staring back at you, pleading you to engage. You get nervous for them, nervous for yourself — the relationship is reciprocal. They will respond to your response. It is impossible to watch unselfconsciously unless you become the characters in the musical for those few hours

of spectatorship.

But when you watch a cheesy spectacle from behind a screen, you don’t have this discomfort. Take “Glee,” for example. You are triply removed from the performers. You are watching from the view of the camera, which is usually watching an audience of peers or Mr. Schuester, who is in turn watching the glee club. You can rest assured that the glee club can’t see you. Paradoxically, this distance provides a safe space — your room — to establish a closeness with the characters that may have been more anxiety-provoking if you were in the same room.

Back to a cappella. Yes, the audience is invested in the performers more so than on film or television, but the singers know this and make a joke out of it. They have their own way of minimizing viewers’ discomfort: silliness. Rather than telling some intense, dramatic story, a cappella performances are meant to be lighthearted and fun. Often, they take place under a campus arch rather than in a large theater, and viewers are free to sing along or shout comments alluding to the sexiness of one or more members.

Because of the particularly collegiate nature of a cappella, there is also the sense of being an insider.

Everyone at least knows someone who knows someone in one of the campus groups. And everyone knows at least a song or two sung at every show. Because college students listen to such a great variety of music, music selections are unpredictable and exciting to discover. The most successful choices are on the fringes of the mainstream: songs a lot of people will know but still feel cool for knowing. There’s an exhilarating imaginary bonding moment when you realize you like the same songs as the group.

By directing occasional jokes toward the audience, a cappella members humbly invite but do not require spectators to engage, offering them the tremendous power to notice without being noticed.

The Bear Necessities’ suspenders, ARRR!!!’s — never mind, just the fact that ARRR!!! exists — and the Derbies’ recent decision to include a dancing dog in a performance contribute to this comfort. How can an audience member be embarrassed for people who present

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themselves as incapable of embarrassment, or feel obliged to affirm those who aren’t requesting their affirmation?

I contrast this type of presentation to conventional musical theater, but the comparison only works for the most dramatic and serious of musicals. Campus theater is usually more understated, and the supportive atmosphere of students watching their friends makes the experience more casual.

But even on-campus musicals like the Brownbrokers’ comical minimusical festivals seem to be catching on to the effectiveness of breaking the ice through self-mockery.

I commend these groups for providing pure entertainment that puts audiences at ease, but I’m also uncomfortable with too much comfort. Experiencing any kind of performance — theater, television, music, etc. — is an exercise in empathy. But when performers do all the work, viewers get away with staying in their seats or on their couches, still wearing their own shoes. There is a time to be lazy and a time to push your boundaries and take a leap of faith into the shoes of someone harder to relate to.

Arts & Culture 7

The Brown Daily Herald Friday, November 18, 2011

Comedy and kimonos in ‘Mikado’ Music and civic society merge at symposium By margaret Nickens Staff Writer

The 19th-century comedic writing pair Gilbert and Sullivan somehow make execution, broken hearts and an evil old lady funny in their opera “The Mikado.” The adaptation, directed by Chelsea Berry ’12, premieres tonight at 8 p.m. in Alumnae Hall.

The comedic opera quickly establishes the main dilemma — Yum-Yum (Gabriel Trilling ’12) and Nanki-Poo (Evan Strouss ’15) are in love, but due to convoluted complications they are unable to be together. Yum-Yum is engaged to Ko-Ko (Buck Greenwald ’15), the town’s high-executioner, and Nanki-Poo is actually the Mikado’s (Geraud Bablon ’14) son. He ran away when his father tried to force him to marry the old, ugly Katisha (Lizzie Stanton ’13).

The Mikado commands Ko-Ko to execute someone, so he strikes up a deal with the lovesick NankiPoo. Nanki-Poo can marry YumYum if he agrees to be executed in one month. Nanki-Poo agrees, and a series of ridiculously hilarious events ensue, exasperated by the arrival of the Mikado himself.

Berry said she petitioned to direct the show because she found it fun and historically significant.

“There was a Japanese culture craze sweeping through Victorian London at the time, and it really kind of captures that,” she said of the 1885 opera. “‘The Mikado’ is a great way for looking at the assumptions Victorians have about Japanese culture and Eastern culture.”

Gilbert reportedly wrote “The Mikado” after seeing a piece of Kabuki theater at the 1885 Japanese Exhibition in London. Berry said she used Gilbert’s original inspiration for the piece in making production decisions.

“We incorporated a lot of aesthetic elements of Japanese Kabuki theatre,” she said. “We have traditional kumadori makeup so the different kinds of colors and patterns of people’s makeup tell you what kind of character they are.”

The production’s set also reflects traditional Japanese culture, incorporating two Shinto gates and a number of red lanterns. The red gates are adorned with a Japanese character meaning “big.”

Scenic Designer John Aurelio ’14 said he used the character because it is a common component of Japanese architecture, though the original meaning is “negligible” to the production.

“I wanted my set to convey a meeting ground and intersection between the royalty of Japan … and the normal villagers,” he said.

The set design’s simplicity worked perfectly for the production. It gave the characters plenty of space to move around, which is important in such an over-thetop comedy. It also did not detract from the character’s beautifully intricate costumes. The kimonos were hand-made by Costume Designer Sarah Lewis ’12, who effectively revealed each character’s personality through her costume

continued from page 1

Rachel A. Kaplan / Herald The colorful comedic opera takes inspiration from Japanese Kabuki theater.

choices.

Pooh-Bah’s (Matthew Jaroszewicz ’12) kimono was one of the best, really capturing his obnoxious, pompous personality with the flashing costume.

“The idea was to get as many shiny fabrics as I could and put them into one costume,” Lewis said. “It’s supposed to be overthe-top.”

Jaroszewicz’s performance was also fantastic. His huge personality lit up the stage with his dramatic gestures and booming voice, and his skilled enunciation made his solos and duets some of the most enjoyable.

Despite Jaroszewicz’s strong voice, some of the other actors struggled with projection, especially during group songs. Occasionally, the orchestra overpowered the singers, and during the Act I and the Act II finales, when all the actors were on stage, the timing was slightly off. Though the actors were supposed to be singing in unison, some moved slightly quicker or slower through the songs than others. The combination of poor enunciation and off-beat singing made it difficult to discern the lyrics of these numbers.

Some of the supporting actors lacked emotion and confidence while singing, making their performances bland. As a result, the choreography looked sloppy and did not contribute much to the hilarity of the opera.

But during solos and duets, the projection issues were not as much of a problem, and many of the leading actors, including Strouss and Greenwald, had powerful and hilarious performances.

The dialogue did not suffer from the same projection issues as did the musical numbers, and throughout the play, the actors delivered their jokes with an appropriate balance of seriousness and ridiculousness. Occasionally, the performers

would break the fourth wall and address the audience, a hilarious addition to the play.

Though the performance struggled with a few group numbers, “The Mikado” had some very strong moments, including the musical numbers “I am so Proud” in Act I and “Here’s a How-dedo!” in Act II. The Mikado’s Act II entrance, where he was carried down the aisle to the stage, was also appropriately dramatic and very funny, especially as the actors started tripping over each other to show they were nervous about the Mikado’s arrival.

Cast members were very positive about the outcome of the dress rehearsal, though they agreed they need to work on some blocking and dialogue issues. Trilling also said more practice with the orchestra would be helpful.

“The Mikado” continues Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m.

“This is not only about artistic and musical experience,” Ruth said.

“The social experience that people can have through music can be transformative.”

The symposium is the culminating event in a three-year partnership with the Cogut Center, which began after the two organizations received a $300,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation in 2008, Ruth said. He added that the event’s organizers attracted the attention of prominent musicians by emphasizing the positive role arts education can play in a broader community across diverse cultures.

“We’ve got a phenomenal lineup,” he said.

Referencing the significant role music has played in the Occupy protests across the country, Ruth said it would be interesting for presenters to address this recent example of music’s role in civil society, but added he could not anticipate the specific content of the speakers’ discussions. But he cited Venezuela — where a newly established national network of orchestras has encouraged low-income youths to become more involved in their communities — as a model for the kind of civic engagement the symposium would address.

Michael Steinberg, director of the Cogut Center, professor of music and history and co-organizer of the symposium, said the speakers were selected on the basis of both their background in musical education and the work they have done in general cultural education through local and global initiatives. He described the lineup of presenters as individuals who fulfill this mission,

adding that the keynote speaker, Bard College President Leon Botstein, has worked to advance cultural education through programs in both the Middle East and at the Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestra.

“He’s been pioneering in all of these fields,” Steinberg said. He said the symposium’s fusion of the humanities and community service links perfectly with the University’s mission to build ties between academics and social engagement in Providence.

“Our education is always tied to the world,” Steinberg said. “When you play music with somebody else, you begin a path of communication and dialogue that breaks down a lot of barriers.”

Steinberg said all the speakers are known for using music as a tool of civic improvement. For example, Pamela Rosenberg, dean of fellows and programs at the American Academy in Berlin, has worked on increasing the role of music in early childhood education in Germany. Toshiko Mori, a professor of architecture at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design, is the creator of specially designed tents that bring acoustic concert spaces to impoverished areas in West Africa and elsewhere.

With such a talented panel, the symposium promises to have both entertaining musical performances and dialogues that provide food for thought. “I can’t think of a concert I’ve been more excited about,” Steinberg said.

The Music and Civil Society symposium will run Friday from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the Cogut Center and continue Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Providence CityArts.

8 Sports Friday

The Brown Daily Herald Friday, November 18, 2011

Injury almost stops Lowry ’12 in tracks continued from page 12 personally, it was the best race I’ve ever had.

Courtesy of Tod Holberton

Tod Holberton ‘14 and the squash team seek to improve on last year’s 8-10 record.

Squash looks to rise in rankings continued from page 12 ranked 9-16 compete for. This year, it wants to play in the Howe Cup against the top 8. Each match contributes to a team’s ranking, determining which trophy a squad plays for at the end of the year.

The men’s team is looking to hold on to its position in the second division, in competition for the Hoehn Cup. “We want to be top 12 and keep building for next year,” said co-captain Blake Reinson ’14.

But the squad has some challenges to overcome. After graduating two of its top three players last year, it has been difficult to replace them, according to leGassick. The first-years have been struggling to adjust to the varsity level, he added.

The men are currently ranked 12th, and competition is pretty even, so it will be difficult to fight off teams below them, Reinson said. He said Chris Holter ’13 and Alex Hsu ’13, two strong players, are studying abroad.

“We’ve just got to defend our ranking until they get home, then we’ll be good,” said co-captain Brad Thompson ’12.

But both captains are excited for the season, and know if the team maintains discipline throughout the year, they are bound to hold onto their 12th-place ranking.

Both squads are benefitting from a new assistant coach, Peter Avitable, who previously coached for a year at Connecticut College.

“It was last-minute, but he’s really awesome,” Thompson said.

What has been one of the biggest challenges you have had in your career as a runner?

After being injured freshman year, I wasn’t sure I was going to stay on the team. So actually, this time sophomore year, I was actually planning on quitting the team, just because when I came back from injury, I was not running very well. I was afraid to really invest myself in training because I didn’t want to get hurt again. Once I wasn’t training my hardest, I wasn’t racing well and when I wasn’t racing well, I wasn’t enjoying the sport, and so it wasn’t an easy time. But once I got over that, I’m really glad I stuck with it.

What is your fondest memory with the cross country team?

I guess going back to this past race. … It was a day where people didn’t have their perfect race, but … they really stuck with it and we had a good team performance as a result. It hasn’t always been like that — before our newest coach (Tim) Springfield, it used to be, if you were having a bad day, you just bombed. Once you were out of

the race, you just jogged it right in, but it wasn’t like that. And I think it showed how far we have come as a team since he’s been here.

How has running cross country impacted your life?

I guess running cross country has opened a lot of doors for me. It got me into Brown, which has been a great experience. It has taught me a lot about sticking through things when times get tough and it’s just been a great competitive outlet for me. I’m not the type of person that can just run for the sake of running. I run to compete.

When I go for a run, it’s training.

So, I think I just needed something competitive in my life. I’m really glad I have it.

Why did you pick Brown?

Brown was really the only school I wanted to go to. I really just loved the Open Curriculum.

When I was here on my visit, the team was just very eccentric. … I showed up to the track house and they had German travelers staying in the open room they usually give to recruits, and there was a gerbil on the loose. I pretty much knew that I was going to meet some pretty interesting people if I came here.

What is your concentration?

How did you pick it?

My concentration is geo-bio. I originally came in here as environmental science and thought I was going to do marine biology for a while, but eventually I really fell in love with the geology department. They have the best classes, the greatest advisors and I think I didn’t initially really know what geology was coming into Brown, but once I had some background I was like, ‘Wow, this is really cool.’

What other activities are you involved with outside of cross country?

I work in Jessica Whiteside’s lab. She does a lot of bio-geochemistry stuff surrounding mass extinction events. I’m doing my thesis on the End-Triassic extinction.

What’s your favorite thing about Providence?

Not the weather. I guess there are a lot of cool places to run around here. You have to find them, and luckily being on the team, traditions have been passed down in terms of running routes.

So we know where to go. There is a lot to explore, a lot of cool bike paths and trails and random neighborhoods.

Analyzing Packers’ chances at perfection continued from page 12 leans Saints earlier this year, which would seem to bode well for Tampa’s chances, as it was the Saints who came the closest to defeating the Pack of any team so far. But the Buccaneers have a relatively untalented offense and the Packers are at their weakest when high-octane, talented attacks exploit their suddenly mediocre defense. The Bucs can play solid defense, but Rodgers is too good to lose this game at home.

Danger Rating: As dangerous as making a sandwich.

Week 12: Detroit Lions

This will be the one of the toughest tests for the Packers, but they are probably well aware of that. I’m willing to bet this game is circled on the team calendar. Ford Field is a tough place for visitors to win, and a passing attack that features Calvin Johnson is a scary one. But if there is one thing the Packers have proven, it is that they play very well in domes and are no strangers to hostile crowd noise. This will be a close game, but given that the Packers will be gearing up for it, I think they should win.

Danger Rating: Choking on a hot

dog in a restaurant.

Danger Rating: A stalker who leaves poetry in your mailbox.

Week 13: New York Giants

As my own Patriots found out a week and a half ago, the Giants are not the team you want to face if you rely heavily on winning offensive shootouts. Depending on which version of Eli Manning shows up — the options are demigod or confused child — this game has plenty of potential to be a big letdown for the Packers. It’s going to come down to what the Packers’ defense can get done in terms of turnovers. After the trench warfare of the Lions game, this is going to be a tough one.

Danger Rating: Standing in a group of armed women and declaring that Ryan Gosling isn’t a good actor.

Week 15: Kansas City Chiefs

Hahahaha! ... Oh wait, you’re serious. Awkward.

Danger Rating: A box of soft kittens under a rainbow.

Week 16: Chicago Bears

The Bears are a tough team, but much like Tampa Bay, they just don’t match up well against the Packers.

Even though this is a home game, it’s extremely likely that the Pack will be resting starters, unless they are going for the undefeated season. The Bears will be looking for a playoff spot, and that’s going to make this a difficult game.

Danger Rating: Actually playing football with a bear.

Week 14: Oakland Raiders

Can the Raiders win a game on the road against the Packers?

Possibly. They’ve hung with some pretty good teams this year and even beaten a couple of them. It’s tough to write off a potential division champ, especially if Darren McFadden is healthy by then. But the odds of that happening are pretty slim. Don’t forget, Green Bay is a lot colder in December than Oakland is.

Week 17: Detroit Lions

This will be it. The Packers have likely clinched the division by now, and the Lions will probably also be trying to nab a wild card spot. Again, it comes down to whether or not the Packers are going to have their starters take the field. If they do play their starters, this will still be a really tough game and the Lions are going to fight tooth-and-nail to stay in the playoff picture.

Danger Rating: Putting out matches with gasoline.

Sam Sheehan ’12 is sorry about the poetry he left in your mailbox. Sorry, Mr. Gosling. Talk sports with him at sam_sheehan@brown.edu or follow him on Twitter @SamSheehan.

Sports Friday 9

The Brown Daily Herald Friday, November 18, 2011

Soccer advances to second round of tourney Reducing continued from page 1 falling wintry mix made it difficult for both teams to keep possession of the ball. O’Keefe kept his team in the game early by smothering multiple skidding shots to keep the game scoreless.

Bruno nearly got on the scoreboard again in the 27th minute when a cross from Austin Mandel ’12 found Kevin Gavey ’13 at the near post. Gavey nodded the ball towards the goal, but his effort skipped just outside of the post.

Despite Bruno’s early dominance, the Stags drew first blood in impressive fashion. Midfielder Jake Zuniga hammered a volley from 20 yards out that flew over Brown keeper Sam Kernan-Schloss’ ’13 head and into the top corner of the net, giving the Stags a 1-0 advantage.

Fairfield added another goal just eight minutes later. A looping header off a cross from the left floated over Kernen-Schloss’ head and into the side netting, giving the Stags a 2-0 lead going into halftime.

“We’ve played together now for two or three years, and so when they scored the second goal, we got together, and we knew we were okay,” said co-captain Ryan McDuff ’13. “We just had to keep putting pressure on them.”

Bruno continued to play confidently at the start of the second half but still could not find a way through the Stag defense. Rosa created a scoring chance at the near post in the 61st minute, dribbling by two defenders, but was foiled again by O’Keefe, who made an impressive eight saves on the night.

After incessant pressure on the Stags’ goal, Bruno finally broke

through via Rosa. A low ball into the box was laid off along the 18yard line, and Rosa struck it into the bottom corner of the net to get the Bears back into the game, 2-1.

“We knew that if we got one with at least a little time left, we’d have the belief,” Rosa said. “From the moment I hit it, I knew it was in. From there on, the crowd got back into it, we got back into it. … There was just a belief that we could do this.”

Rosa’s goal opened the floodgates, as Bruno notched another just 40 seconds later. T.J. Popolizio ’12 tapped home a rebound from another Rosa shot to level the score.

With five minutes left, Bruno scored the game-winner. The Stags’ defense headed the ball out of the box, but the clearance fell to Aidan Leonard ’14, who caught the ball

on the volley and sent it flying into the bottom left corner to complete the dramatic comeback and send Stevenson into an uproar.

“I think we’re a team with a lot of resolve,” McDuff said. “We had the faith that we could come together and pull one out of the bag.”

“Credit to Brown for the way they battled through the 90 minutes,” said Fairfield Head Coach Carl Rees. “On another day, we’d get out alive.”

The Bears move on to the second round and hit the road to play No. 11 St. John’s University Sunday at 5 p.m.

“We’ve been scrapping all season,” Laughlin said. “We were going to go out with a fight, and give everything we had in the second half, and see what came of it. For us, fortunately, the goals started flying in.”

Swimmers eager to defend new home pool continued from page 12 Hunter ’12.

“They’re really dedicated, motivated,” Hunter said. “They’ve been a lot of fun and a really good addition to the team.”

Meanwhile, the diving team added four first-years to their ranks who “are going to bring in a lot of points, especially the girls,” said diver Rebecca Tassell ’12. With this boost to the diving team, Diving Coach Channing Kimball said she hopes to send some divers to the NCAA Zone meet. Jonathan

Feldman ’12 was the only diver who went last year.

Kimball said she has added more trampoline and dry-board work during practices and began showing the teams more videos to push them to do harder dives to earn more points at dual meets.

In their first conference meet Saturday, the swimming and diving teams compete against Dartmouth, the team Tassell called one of the squads’ major opponents.

Tassell also said the team looks forward to the end-of-season completion of the swimming facilities.

Currently, the diving team must travel to the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth three times a week in order to practice threemeter dives. But the new facility will have both one-meter and threemeter diving boards, saving time and transportation costs.

Hunter said it will be good for the teams to have a place to call their home, something he hopes will improve team dynamics and attract more recruits.

“The Bubble was only supposed to last for two years,” Firth said.

“It’s been up for four. So it’s really

comics Chester Crabson | Tess Carroll

Fraternity of Evil | Eshan Mitra, Brendan Hainline and Hector Ramirez

The Unicomic | Eva Chen and Dan Sack

starting to deteriorate, and the new pool is going to be so nice.”

Though Peter Brown said he thinks the teams will welcome the new facilities, “it’s important to not get too caught up in the notion that just having a new facility is going to solve a lot of issues for you,” he said. “You still got to be smart about what you do. You still got to work hard.”

turnovers key for final win continued from page 12 On the other side of the ball, quarterback Kyle Newhall-Caballero ’11.5 has been an anchor for the team all season, throwing for an average 232.7 yards per game.

Last week against the Big Green (4-5, 3-3), Newhall-Caballero had 252 yards through the air and also threw a key interception in the end zone late in the game.

Such costly errors are what Estes hopes the team improves upon tomorrow, he said. “We just have to clean things up,” he said. “We shoot ourselves in the foot with penalties and mistakes.”

With a win tomorrow, the Bears would end their season with an 8-2 record and a second-place finish in the Ivy League. Only nine other Brown teams since 1955 have won over seven games in a season.

“An 8-2 season would be a very, very good job by this football team,” Estes said. “We just need to go out on a winning note.”

Kickoff is set for 12:30 p.m. at Columbia.

10

The Brown Daily Herald Friday, November 18, 2011

diamonds & Coal

Editorial cartoon

by lo r e n f u lto n

Coal to Harvard for restricting access to Occupy Harvard’s encampment to Harvard ID-holders and making the Cambridge, Mass., contingent “the most exclusive Occupation in the country.”

You are the 99 percent — of people who know exactly how to ruin a grassroots movement.

A diamond to Occupier Michael McCarthy, who said of people taking advantage of the Occupation’s free food, “People were going to show up expecting it, and they were either going to get violent or crawl into a tent.” Critics of The Herald are also prone to impulsive camping sprees.

A cubic zirconium to Joe Goldberg ’12 for trusting his bunny enough to “chill out in the room.” We love the trust. We’re sorry it “pooped all over.”

Coal to the second man arrested for public masturbation this week, making the number of people taken into custody for indecent exposure higher than that of humanities representatives on the Presidential Selection Campus Advisory Committee. If the masturbator had studied English, we see an easy solution to both problems.

A diamond to the University for finally getting rid of the Card Value Center machines. But with a functioning card system, what excuse will we have for not doing our laundry?

A diamond to the men’s soccer team for coming back from a two-goal deficit in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Who needs those 32 percent of recruited varsity athletes that quit their teams anyway?

Coal to Esther Choo, assistant professor of emergency medicine at the Alpert Medical School, who found that youth marijuana use has been steadily decreasing since the state medical marijuana bill passed in 2006. Unfortunately, she forgot about the founding of Anna Jones’ ’12 and Sarah Marion’s ’12.5 secret bakery.

A diamond to Gail, who said she’s “getting the college education (she) never had through the students” at Brown. We have nothing snarky to say — you’re just the cutest.

Letters, please! letters@browndailyherald.com

letter to the editor McCormick case not same as Penn State To the Editor: Michael Burch GS, in his opinions column (“On University Loyalty to Joe Paterno ’50,” Nov. 16), charges the University with self-serving reasons for its management of the William McCormick rape case. The essay is one-sided because the University cannot respond to his charges. A wish to protect the privacy of the woman involved prevents public comment. This is precisely the problem I have with Burch’s essay. Nowhere in his diatribe does he express any concern for what the woman involved has allegedly experienced, and that protection of the woman is the primary concern of the University.

Burch is not an objective observer since he is identified as a strong supporter of McCormick’s legal attack on the University. Unwittingly, the bias Burch demonstrates

is the primary reason University protection is necessary. The male-dominated, biased legal system too often ends up re-traumatizing a woman who has been raped.

Furthermore, the column injects the Pennsylvania State University cover-up to preserve institutional interests over the safety of young boys in an attempt to link this administrative failure with Brown’s actions to support the well-being of one of its female students who is allegedly a victim. This is complete sophistry.

But I do agree with one of Burch’s points: If McCormick is a rapist, the University’s attempt to protect the woman and remove him from campus appears to fall short of both protecting other women in society at large and encouraging his mental health treatment.

Tom Bale ’63

quote of the day

t h e b r ow n da i ly h e r a l d Editors-in-Chief

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”

you know they’re well-off.

See wealth on page 1.

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Correction An editorial in yesterday’s Herald (“Indifference during an identity crisis,” Nov. 17) incorrectly stated that there have been eight forums for undergraduates to voice their opinions on the presidential search. In fact, only one forum was held for undergraduate input. The Herald regrets the error.

C O R R E C T I O N S P olicy The Brown Daily Herald is committed to providing the Brown University community with the most accurate information possible. Corrections may be submitted up to seven calendar days after publication.

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Opinions 11

The Brown Daily Herald Friday, November 18, 2011

Faulty reasons for not studying abroad By sam carter Opinions Editor

According to an article in Tuesday’s Herald (“Study abroad participation drops,” Nov. 15), the number of students who studied abroad in the 2010-11 academic year was the lowest in a decade and represented a 7.4 percent decrease from the previous year. Though 414 students studied abroad last year in University programs, that number includes students from other colleges and universities who chose a Brown program for their experience in a foreign country.

Maybe 414 students taking advantage of the opportunity to study abroad is good enough. Kendall Brostuen, director of the Office of International Programs, said in the Herald piece that Brown continues to rank high among its peer institutions in terms of the percentage of students who study abroad. But matters of rank aside, there must be a reason for the decline in number of students who choose to study abroad.

The article suggests that the financial downturn might be responsible. While I do not mean to suggest that financial reasons will never play a role in making a decision about studying abroad, there are a couple things worth remembering. First, when studying abroad for academic credit, a student still has to pay Brown tuition. So

there’s no inherent increase in that respect, and, according to the website of the OIP, “all students eligible for financial aid (with few exceptions) may use their aid for an approved program of study abroad.”

Second, while there are room and board costs — not to mention travel expenses — there’s no guarantee that they’ll be more expensive than a given semester at Brown. For the same reasons that going off meal plan and living off-campus can prove cheaper than Brown’s on-campus alternatives, one could find cheaper options

semester. … I can go abroad at any time.”

This chain of reasoning is confused.

Going abroad does not mean abandoning the college experience. In most cases, if not all, students who study abroad — and it should be evident from the label we give the experience — are just having a college experience in another location, at another institution. If anything, it adds another dimension to the college experience by offering insight into how another institution and another country approaches higher education.

It would be foolish to deny that one can go abroad at any time. But it’s equally foolish to think that going abroad as a tourist is the same as studying abroad.

in another country. The inability to work legally in most countries where students study abroad is obviously an added difficulty, but perhaps the lost income can be made up in the summer. And if not, there’s always the possibility of embracing a truly bohemian lifestyle and living, a la Orwell, “down and out” in Paris and London.

The article also points out a troubling reason for not studying abroad unrelated to the financial downturn. One student, who didn’t seem to express any financial worries, said, “This is your only college experience. I don’t want to give up an entire

If the idea of “giving up” an entire semester is a concern — and we have to assume that we’re talking about giving up a semester here at Brown — one only has to view time abroad as a break from Brown, a chance to step back and find out what we appreciate most about our time at the University. And if we look at “giving up” in terms of missed opportunities for coursework at Brown, let’s remember that we have no core curriculum, which means that the only requirements are those imposed by our concentrations. No matter how onerous these requirements may seem, no con-

centration is so demanding that it prevents studying abroad, even though it might limit one’s choice of programs.

It would be foolish to deny that one can go abroad at any time. But it’s equally foolish to think that going abroad as a tourist is the same as studying abroad. The reasons are too numerous to list here, but just think about how differently one sees Rhode Island as a visitor — or even as a newly arrived first-year — than as a seasoned resident of College Hill.

But let’s say that the idea is actually living abroad at any time. Given the difficulties and byzantine bureaucratic processes associated with finding legal employment abroad, it’s unlikely that it will ever be as easy — and almost never easier — to live abroad than when you are a student with few day-to-day worries. Being a student abroad also means easy access to university communities, which are frequently vibrant both culturally and socially. There is no guarantee that finding similar opportunities while living abroad after college will be as effortless.

There are certainly good reasons to not study abroad, but it’s important to be wary of letting faulty reasons steer you away from spending a few months, or even a year, outside the country. A truly similar opportunity might never again present itself.

Sam Carter ’12 studied abroad in Barcelona but is in no way affiliated with the OIP. He can be reached at samuel_carter@brown.edu.

Without facts, can there be justice?

By jim tomes Guest Columnist

I have just become reacquainted with the William McCormick case and it troubles me as an alum and a father. The purpose of my column is neither to defend nor to disparage any of the parties involved, but to defend a basic tenet of a democratic society. Brown had to deal with a terrible situation and appears to have mishandled it. I have no idea what happened between the two first-year undergraduates in 2006, but it appears that the administration did not dig deep enough into the case to know, either.

From the actions the University did take, it appears either to have wrongfully pushed out a falsely accused student or to have allowed a rapist to leave the University with a clean transcript — his departure a supposedly voluntary act for medical reasons — possibly to prey again on another campus. Was this the just and prudent thing to do? What was the motivation for this choice? Whether it was the pressure of an outraged father — I would have done no less and maybe worse in his

shoes — or a desire for a quick and quiet ending, it was an unwise course of action.

The University has a duty to care for all of its students and when faced with a terrible situation, the best resolution is always to follow due process, which is the only way a just and open community can tackle troubling issues. It appears that the University did not do this.

Some will argue, as Tom Bale ’63 did in his letter to The Herald (“In defense

There will be no due process if you are accused of rape. The woman’s version of what happened will always be accepted over the man’s account.’”

I am troubled by this and this is the reason for my column. Every organization is capable of mistakes, but I truly hope that this is not the position of the administration and the reason it took the actions it did. Unjust methods will never conquer injustice. It only breeds resent-

Unjust methods will never conquer injustice. It only breeds resentment and detracts from the plight of the victims.

of U.’s handling of McCormick,” Nov. 14), that due process should be overlooked when addressing the issue of sexual violence against women and that the University acted correctly. To quote his letter, “The message to all males is: ‘You need to check your behavior carefully before you enter into a relationship with a woman.

ment and detracts from the plight of the victims.

I am extremely sensitive to the issue of violence against women. I am the father of a daughter who just turned 16. I truly fear nothing in life save something such as rape or worse happening to her. I also dealt with a friend when I was young who

was brutally raped by a stranger. Her car broke down and she was dragged into a van along the side of the road. She called me afterward and I took her to the hospital and helped report it to the sheriff. I do not for a second purport to be someone who understands what she went through.

Being male, I have never had to live with that fear of violence from the other gender, but I am not callous to the plight of women and what history has done to them.

But this can never be an excuse to deny due process, a basic tenet of a free society. It is through due process that we establish as many facts as we can. Facts are what allow us the opportunity to render the best possible judgment. Brown seems not to have allowed enough time to establish the facts. Had it taken the time to render a reasoned judgment, McCormick might have been vindicated and allowed to continue at Brown, or he might have been found guilty and received the proper punishment. That would have been the just and responsible thing to do.

I also have a son and expect that he will be cared for as well as my daughter.

Jim Tomes ’90 is a CEO who resides in San Diego with his wife Melinda ’89 and two children.

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Daily Herald Sports Friday the Brown

Friday, November 18, 2011

Sheehan: Leaders of the Pack

Football

Bears look to finish in second place By ashley mcdonnell Sports Editor

After an upsetting loss to Dartmouth last weekend, the football team is looking to end its season on a high note tomorrow with a victory on the road against a winless Columbia squad. Last week’s loss eliminated Bruno (7-2, 4-2 Ivy) from contention for the Ivy title, but the team can secure a second-place finish with a victory over the Lions (0-9, 0-6).

Though Columbia has been struggling, Head Coach Phil Estes said the Bears need to focus on their own performance and not take their opponents lightly if they want to close out the year with a win.

“We don’t make it about them.

It’s more about how we need to win this game,” Estes said. “They’re good enough to beat us, that’s for sure.”

Lions’ junior quarterback Sean Brackett is one of Columbia’s most dangerous weapons, according to

squash

Estes. As a first-year in the 2009 matchup, Brackett rushed for 171 yards and passed for 151 more in a 28-14 win over the Bears.

Against Cornell (4-5, 2-4) last weekend, Brackett threw for a career-high 409 yards and four touchdowns. He now has a total of 37 touchdown passes in his career, the second-highest in Columbia history. “He’s healthy and playing pretty well,” Estes said. “We’re going to have our hands full.”

Defensively, the Lions also pose a threat, Estes said, citing Columbia’s 18 sacks — the second-most in the league. Linebacker Josh Martin leads the Lions’ potent pass rush with seven sacks.

But Brown leads the Ivy League in scoring defense, allowing only 16.25 points per game. Outside linebacker Daniel Smithwick ’12 leads the Bears in both tackles (68) and interceptions (three).

Emily Gilbert / Herald

continued on page 9

Kyle Newhall-Caballero ‘11.5 seeks to lead the Bears to one last victory as he finishes his Brown career this weekend.

By sam sheehan Sports Columnist

swimming & diving

Squads set New swimmers, divers improve teams to squash rivals

By Margaret nickens Staff Writer

By louisa chafee Contributing Writer

The men’s and women’s squash teams are looking forward to a strong season, despite a number of players studying abroad this semester. But all of the players abroad will return for the second, tougher half of the season in January and February.

All five juniors on the women’s squad have gone to study elsewhere for a semester, but the team’s first-years will step up to fill the upperclassmen’s shoes.

“I’m very excited for the women’s season. I’m just hoping everyone stays healthy,” said Head Coach Stuart leGassick.

“We’ll have to do some rebonding of the team,” said women’s cocaptain Brooke Dalury ’12. She said she does not feel the missing junior class will affect the team’s performance — the players abroad have continued playing squash and kept in touch with the team back at Brown.

Even without a chunk of the squad around, “we’ve had a highenergy start to the season,” Dalury said.

The women’s team’s main goal for the season is to finally break into the top eight in the College Squash Association rankings. In the past few years, the squad has been ranked ninth and won the Kurtz Cup, the trophy that teams continued on page 8

In every sense of the word, the men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams are underdogs. They have the smallest roster in the Ivy League and lack permanent training facilities.

But with 23 incoming first-years and a new assistant coach, Temujin Gold, the teams are ready to improve on last year’s last place Ivy finish, Head Coach Peter Brown said.

Peter Brown said he has picked up the pace at practice, packing more into the two-hour workout and adding new exercises to dryland training.

“Especially heading into the new pool, we need to set higher standards, raise the bar,” he said. “We got to get the program to another level.”

Gold, who previously coached at Texas A&M University, is a valuable addition to the team, Peter Brown said. “(Gold) gets us to work hard, and he expects a lot out of us,” said co-captain Jamie Firth ’12. “But he’s fun in the way that he does it.”

Peter Brown said he hopes that by putting in the extra work all the swimmers can achieve personalbest times while simultaneously improving their standing among the Ivies.

Firth said the team is not as concerned about scores this year.

“We’re going into each meet trying to focus on the little things, like winning races at the finish or making little improvements and focusing on what we as a team can do,” she said.

In the upcoming season, Tommy Glenn ’14 and Briana Borgolini ’14 — who have both met Olympic Trials qualifying times, or cuts — will be expected to make significant contributions to the teams, Peter Brown said. The incoming first-years will also bring a lot to the pool, said co-captain James continued on page 9

We are over a 100 games into the NFL season, and I’m convinced it’s the strangest one I’ve ever seen. On the one hand, you have the Philadelphia Eagles, who are pre-season favorites and loaded with talent.

Despite having one of the best running backs, one of the most feared quarterbacks and what should be one of the strongest secondaries in football, they find themselves one loss away from being effectively eliminated from the playoffs. On the other hand, a Cincinnati Bengals team that seemed poised for an epic implosion finds itself rubbing elbows with the AFC’s elite and are likely to battle the New York Jets for the final wild card spot into the playoffs.

But the big storyline is the play of the Green Bay Packers and star quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Wisconsin’s own green and yellow juggernaut seems poised to record only the third undefeated regular season in NFL history, and Rodgers is on pace to shatter every major singleseason passing record. I’ve scoffed all year at the pundits and analysts who have been crowing about the Packers going undefeated, but with the team still having a perfect record with only seven weeks left, it’s time to actually put a counter on this thing. I’ll assess the dangers of the Packers’ road ahead as they look to go 16-0.

Week 11: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Bucs nipped the New Orcontinued on page 8

Athlete of the Week

Lowry ’12 ready to contend for NCAA title

By Neelkiran yalamarthy Contributing Writer

Last weekend, the men’s cross country squad finished fifth out of 33 teams competing at the NCAA Northeast Regional Championship meet in Buffalo, N.Y. Dan Lowry ’12, who has been consistently leading the team this season, finished third in the region. He will be moving on to the NCAA National Championship meet Monday, Nov. 21 in Terra Haute, Ind. For racing his way to the top of the region, The Herald has named Lowry Athlete of the Week.

The Herald: How did you get started in cross country?

Lowry: I ran track in middle school, did pretty well in the mile, and so I thought I would give cross country a try once I moved into high school, and I did well as a freshman. So then I just became a full-year runner, running cross country, indoor track and outdoor track. My coach didn’t really give me much of a choice.

What has been your favorite moment in running cross country?

I think this last race, actually. It was a great team moment. It was our best finish at regionals since I’ve been on the team, and, for me continued on page 8

Courtesy of Paul Grogan

Dan Lowry ‘12 passes the Ivy league champion from Dartmouth, Ethan Shaw.