Daily

Herald

the Brown

Friday, December 2, 2011

vol. cxlvi, no. 117

Since 1891

Guided by green, Brown tests uncharted waters Despite

advances, AIDS still poses threat

Expansion begets more expansion as U. funds its ambitions with online master’s programs, corporate-funded research and a growing presence in emerging overseas markets. By Mark Raymond and LINDOR Qunaj Senior Staff Writers

Before the 2008 economic downturn, the University had grand plans. President Simmons’ ambitious fundraising campaign was on track to surpass its goal of $1.4 billion. Administrators were eyeing a new home for the Alpert Medical School, construction of state-ofthe-art brain science laboratories, increases in financial aid and expansion of the University faculty. Then, in September 2009, the University announced the endowment’s $740 million fall, and planners forecasted $65 million in budget shortfalls over the next three

years. Still looking to build a new fitness center, establish itself as a research powerhouse and overhaul on-campus housing, University Hall weighed its options.

Mission drift?

By Eli Okun Contributing Writer

Elcock spoke extensively about what she sees as a great barrier to the end of the epidemic — the tension between science and social activism. She said the national AIDS strategy of 2009 represented the first “coordinated, systematic, integrated response from (the) government” to the AIDS epidemic. With this strategy came the creation of the White House’s Office of National AIDS Policy, which has brought together the “little pockets of money here and there” previously dedicated to AIDS funding. The current focus of the plan

When the first American diagnosis of AIDS catapulted it onto the national health scene 30 years ago, the disease was shrouded in mystery and stigma. Since then, major medical breakthroughs and heightened public awareness have made AIDS a more treatable and recognizable threat. But these advances can give students a false sense of security, University administrators said. For many on campus, yesterday’s commemoration of World AIDS Day was both a celebration of progress achieved and a reminder of work to come. Health Services has ramped up prevention efforts in recent years, now offering free mouth-swab HIV testing to all undergraduate and graduate students. In the 201011 school year, more than 1,000 students took HIV tests, said Edward Wheeler, director of Health Services. Last year, Health Services switched to an opt-out testing model, so any students who come in for a routine physical or gynecological exam are automatically offered the test. Administrators said campus prevention efforts focus on HIV, since students with the disease generally are not at Brown long enough to develop AIDS. Wheeler said the high testing numbers reflect drastic changes in

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Courtesy of PAUR

Part 4 of a 4-part series

President Ruth Simmons oversees University partnerships in Asia and elsewhere.

Further increases in tuition could alleviate some budgetary woes. But Brown has long been more reliant on undergraduate

tuition than its peers, and administrators acknowledged there was only so far that yearly sticker prices could increase. Fundraising rev-

enue, too, was approaching a glass ceiling. continued on page 12

Brothers Activist discusses politics of AIDS brought together by football By Katrina Phillips Senior Staff Writer

The holiday season has long been regarded as a time for family and togetherness. To most Americans, that means gathering around dinner tables and Scrabble boards with relatives of all ages, delighting in friendly chatter and warm apple

Football cider. But for linebackers Brad Herzlich ’14 and Mark Herzlich, “family time” often means something different. The Herzlich brothers are your prototypical football siblings. Though they both share many interests outside of football, they’re more likely to be watching film and critiquing each other’s play than playing Boggle by the fire. And they would not have it any other way. “It’s really fun in that he’s very helpful,” Brad said of his older brother. “He’s been very successful and has a lot of experience — and because of that, he can give me a lot of great feedback and help me improve my game.” Currently a member of the NFL’s

inside

continued on page 11

news........................2-4 Science........................5 Arts..........................6-7 D&C............................14 Opinions.................15 SPORTS......................16

Unzipping the tent

Happy 120th, Herald

Inside Occupy College Hill By ELIzabeth carr Senior Staff Writer

Two-and-a-half months after the Occupy movement first made headlines, the movement’s precise focus

Evan Thomas / Herald

Dec. 2, 1891: “This issue begins the career of The Brown Daily Herald. Whether it shall remain as one of the fixtures of Brown or die a natural death is up to the students themselves.”

Post- Holiday Guide Self-examines, decks the hall

Post-, Inside

remains an open question — even for members of Occupy College Hill.

D&C

Providence gets coal — find out why Diamonds & Coal, 14

weather

By azar kheraj Contributing Writer

“It’s always been a great time to talk about HIV,” Soraya Elcock, HIV/AIDS policy advocate and former vice president for policy and government affairs at Harlem United Community AIDS Center, told The Herald following the lecture she held to top off yesterday’s World AIDS Day events on campus. A small but highly interested crowd gathered in Smith-Buonanno Hall for Elcock’s funny and thought-provoking talk entitled, “Activism, Women and Innova-

tion,” in which she talked about the progress of AIDS awareness and this year’s AIDS Day theme, “Getting to Zero.” “We’re 30 years into the HIV/ AIDS epidemic, and we still don’t have a cure,” she said. Normally, Elcock added, Worlds AIDS Day drives her crazy because of the population’s tendency to get hyped for the cause for one day, after which “it flies off of everybody’s radar” almost immediately. The difference this year’s theme brings, she said, is that the science and hopefully the resources to end — if not cure — HIV/AIDS now exist.

When a national student walkout was called in solidarity with the Occupy movement Oct. 5 — just 17 days after protesters began their Occupation of New York’s Zuccotti Park — about 70 members of the Brown activist community assembled on the Main Green in search of their role within the movement. “There are these existing structures of people that are politically inclined to support Occupy Wall Street,” said Lily Goodspeed ’13, pointing to student groups like the International Socialist Organizacontinued on page 9

t o d ay

tomorrow

52 / 30

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2 Campus News

Mentor program extends to sophomores

calendar Today

December 2

7 P.m.

ToMORROW

December 3

4 p.m. Karaoke Night,

A Holiday Showcase,

Faunce Underground

Alumnae Hall Crystal Room

9 p.m.

9 p.m. Stand Up Winter Show,

Out of Bounds Winter Show,

MacMillan 117

MacMillan 117

menu SHARPE REFECTORY

VERNEy-WOOLLEY DINING HALL LUNCH Chicken Fingers, Baked Vegan Nuggets, Sticky Rice, Belgian Carrots, Butterscotch Cookies

BLT Sandwich, Rosemary Portobello Sub, Oni’on Rings, Mediterranean Orzo, Butterscotch Cookies DINNER Chicken Tikka, Vegetable Stuffed Peppers, Arabian Spinach, Pumpkin Cream Cheese Cake Roll

Korean Style Marinated Beef, Sweet and Sour Tofu, Pumpkin Cream Cheese Cake Roll

Sudoku

The Brown Daily Herald Friday, December 2, 2011

By Elizabeth Koh Contributing Writer

The University has extended the length of the African, Latino, Asian and Native American Mentoring Program from two to three semesters, according to a September update to the Plan for Academic Enrichment. The program, which connects students to mentors of color among staff, graduate students and alumni, will now provide support to sophomores as well as first-years. Starting in spring 2012, the program will serve students from the second semester of their freshman year to the end of their sophomore year. It previously began in the fall of freshman year and ended at the conclusion of spring semester. No other major changes have been made to the program, which recruited 36 students last year and plans to enroll 35 next semester.

“We figured the quality of the relationship could be enhanced if first-years could spend their first semester getting to know Brown,” said Shane Lloyd, interim program coordinator of the Third World Center. “The first few weeks of school are overwhelming,” Lloyd added. Waiting until the second semester would allow students to determine what they “want in a mentor relationship” and “what kind of support (they) need,” he said. Lloyd also cited various support systems available to firstyears, including Meiklejohns and first-year advisers, but noted those resources “don’t necessarily exist in their sophomore year.” Extending the program through the second semester of sophomore year, he said, would keep students “connected” to the advising system. Student response to the change has generally been positive, Lloyd said.

Founded in 1994, the program has a history of helping students adjust to college life. Loyola Rankin ’11.5, a Native American fifth-year student, called the mentoring program “supportive.” In her first year, Rankin was paired with a Navajo programmer for Banner, due to the dearth of Native American faculty and graduate students. “She was a wonderful woman,” Rankin said. “We got coffee the first time we met. It was amazing just hanging out with her.” Rankin noted that her mentor, as neither a faculty member nor a graduate student, was more detached from academic life. Still, she offered a “great support system,” Rankin said — even cooking food for her when she became homesick. “It was really helpful in that aspect,” Rankin said. “‘I don’t know anything about what you’re studying, but I can feed you.’ That was exactly what I needed.”

Library obtains rare Chinese text By Alison Silver Contributing Writer

Crossword

The University Library has acquired one of only 10 copies worldwide of the first Europeanprinted book on Chinese medicine, entitled “Les Secrets de la Medecine des Chinois.” An addition to the Library’s Special Collections, the book was purchased in connection with Brown’s Year of China celebration. “This is a groundbreaking work,” said Holly Snyder, curator of the History of Science collections, because it brings “East and West together.” Published in French in 1671 by Philippe Charvys, the book is a collection of anonymously translated Chinese texts about the theory and practice of acupuncture. “It is a demonstration of the expansion of what’s considered important medical knowledge in Europe,” Snyder said. The University purchased the book three weeks ago from Jonathan Hill, a rare book dealer

in New York who specializes in science history. The book will become one of the 3 million items in Special Collections and will be displayed in the History of Science collection at the John Hay Library, available for all students and faculty. “It’s a very rare book,” Snyder said. “Harvard and Yale don’t have it.” The National Library of Medicine is the nearest location that houses a copy. Snyder said she noticed a lack of material about Chinese medicine while working with students in Professor of History Harold Cook’s classes. The Library was interested in “plugging that hole with materials that could be utilized by students,” Snyder said. Though the University already had a substantial Chinese history collection, it did not have materials on Chinese scientific knowledge, except for astronomy. Acquiring this book allows for “geographic distribution to expand into areas that are not very well covered at this point,” said

Dominique Coulombe, acting director of John Hay Library. Snyder said Cook’s students have already expressed interest in using the book to compare Chinese and Greek medicine. “We do anticipate that it will be used for students for whatever quirky and interesting projects that we can’t always anticipate,” she said. The book is “in really good condition,” said Library Materials Conservator Rachel Lapkin. “It’s great paper. The binding is in one piece, it’s got a lot of flexibility.” The book is one of several acquisitions the Library has made for its Year of China initiative, including 19th century books on China’s tea industry and Commodore Perry’s travels in China and Japan. It joins similar items already held at the Library, including the Hay’s collection of manuscripts penned by former Secretary of State John Hay on Chinese-American relations and the George S. Champlin stamp collection containing the firstissued Chinese stamps.

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World Aids Day 3

The Brown Daily Herald Friday, December 2, 2011

Med school prioritizes HIV/AIDS research By Phoebe Draper Contributing Writer

Though Alpert Medical School may be small, the University’s Center for AIDS Research is a national leader in HIV/AIDS re-

Science

Sam Kase / Herald

Students raise awareness for World AIDS Day at a cupcake sale yesterday by Faunce Arch.

U. ups AIDS dialogue, testing continued from page 1 attitudes toward the disease over the past couple decades. “I just feel like the conversation is so much more comfortable, that we’re actually able to do more because it’s easier,” he said, crediting Health Services’ education resources with changing the campus discourse. “Twenty years ago, when we started testing, people were really worried about getting the test, even about having the test in their medical records.” Janet Cooper Nelson, University chaplain and former president of AIDS Project Rhode Island, attributed the changes to more open dialogue about sexual health and progress in the fight against AIDS. “We really can show death-to-life turnaround in about two weeks,” she said, noting the dramatic improvement in methods for treating the disease since she arrived at the University 20 years ago. But Cooper Nelson warned of the dangers of complacency. Students who have been educated about the disease often view it as removed from their own lives, she said. “If I followed you around on

a Friday night at a party, (I am) not so sure that sexual practices reflect education.” Better treatment options also mitigate students’ concern, said Naomi Ninneman, health educator at Health Services. “The perception can be that there’s almost a cure for it,” she said. “There’s a good and a bad in it not being scary.” Though HIV has been rare on College Hill, it has taken a toll on members of the Brown community, Wheeler said. He added that, to his knowledge, no students have died due to AIDS while at Brown. Cooper Nelson said she has attended many memorial services for alums who died of AIDS. “We’ve not been spared,” she said. “The Brown community has felt more than its share of tragedy.” For World AIDS Day, several student organizations joined forces to promote testing and awareness. But Jessica Mitter ’13, founder of GlobeMed at Brown University, a group working to establish a sexual health center for young girls in Nairobi, expressed frustration with the day’s low profile on campus. “It was kind of hard. We had to muster up support for the event

that wasn’t really there,” she said. “No one was talking about it.” Gabe Spellberg ’13.5, a volunteer at AIDS Project Rhode Island, said he thought the lack of engagement with the issue extended to students’ personal lives. “I don’t think it’s thought about very often,” he said. “It’s not something I think people worry about when they engage in sexual encounters.” Spellberg said he thought knowledge of an HIV diagnosis would shock the campus community and could lead to stigmatization out of fear. Many students expressed a lack of immediate concern about the disease. Joel Kang ’13 said the liberal atmosphere and widespread usage of safe sex practices makes students less worried about HIV. “I think the common perception is that it’s something that doesn’t exist on campus,” he said. At the same time, some students are impressed with campus efforts to draw attention to the issue, especially for World AIDS Day. “I feel I’m more aware of it here because Brown’s doing all of these things that make you more aware of it,” said Alexandra Effenberger GS.

AIDS talk examines women’s issues continued from page 1 will be on biomedical intervention — a combination of testing, treatment and preventative care — leaving out many of the more socially focused groups that work on counseling, education and general support. “A lot of groups are going to be disappearing” because the redirected funding will be drying up for them, she told The Herald. Elcock also discussed the late introduction of women’s issues to the discussion of HIV/AIDS. “I find it shocking that you have a public health crisis” in which women were not considered until a decade into the epidemic, she said. The addition of female advocates raised the question of “safe sex,” she said, adding that many groups advised that if condoms

were not fully effective in preventing the disease, women should abstain from sex until marriage in order to stop the spread of HIV and other sexually transmitted illnesses. The $21 million fed into this philosophy led to a second epidemic characterized by uninformed females who knew nothing about their own sexual organs. Elcock elaborated with a personal anecdote of an unsanctioned visit to an all girls’ Catholic school where sexual education was banned. Elcock said she spent the visit teaching the teenage girls how to apply a condom by mouth, a skill she said she had to acquire as part of an effort to make condom usage more “sexy.” “Don’t worry, I will not be demonstrating,” she added.

Among her anecdotes was a tale of being arrested three times in her activist efforts. “I really thought I was hardcore and bad until the third time, when I cried like a baby,” she said. After the talk, Elcock told The Herald she thought the small audience was sufficient due to members’ high level of engagement and the specific questions they asked. The fact that a strong majority of females comprised the audience could be a result of her focus on women’s issues and the origins of the politics behind the epidemic, Elcock said. The lecture rounded off a day of AIDS-related festivities that included red-ribbon cupcakes, informative sessions on applying condoms to wooden replicas of penises and free, anonymous HIV testing for students.

search for marginalized populations, such as women, adolescents and incarcerated individuals. “Even if we are a small medical school, we have a very strong HIV program,” said Susan Cu-Uvin, professor of medicine and of obstetrics and gynecology and director of the Global Health Initiative. With 34 million people infected with HIV worldwide, “we can’t simply close our eyes,” she said. The University’s center was the first to concentrate on HIV infection in women, said Charles Carpenter, professor of medicine. The center is also the “leading institution in dealing with HIV in the incarcerated population,” Cu-Uvin said. Partnered with Tufts University and Lifespan, the University hosts one of the 20 National Institutes of Health Centers for AIDS Research programs. Begun in 1998, the center has been especially active in the clinical research realm, said Curt Beckwith, associate professor of medicine. HIV/AIDS research at the University is a broad field that includes perspectives such as international global health, HIV prevention and the development of new medications. Brown researchers also concentrate on linkage to care programs for the marginalized populations of substance users and incarcerated individuals, Beckwith said. “It’s not just people sitting in a lab, holding a pipette,” said Lauren Levitz ’10, who now works at Providence EpiVax, Inc., a company working on the development of an HIV vaccine. The company was started in 1998 by Anne De Groot, a former professor of pediatrics and director of the former TB/ HIV research lab at the University. HIV research involves looking at the disease from an interdisciplinary standpoint, “spanning everything from the basic sciences all the way to the social sciences and humanities,” said Kartik Venkatesh ’06 PhD’11 MD’13. “This interdisciplinary framework certainly resonates with Brown’s educational and research philosophy,” he added. Undergraduates also conduct research and have been particularly involved in overseas program development. In 2008, several students helped establish the Hope Center Clinic, the first HIV clinic in a village setting in Mali. In 2009, Danielle Poole MA

’11.5 worked alongside De Groot to set up an HPV vaccine trial to “prime the population” for future HIV vaccine distribution to village adolescents, Poole said. Though it appears that research opportunities for undergraduates abound, Alexander Salter ’12 was unable to find an on-campus lab to do HIV/AIDS research. “I have definitely heard of researchers doing more epidemiological things, looking at population-based studies, but what we don’t have is research for active vaccine development for the basic sciences,” he said. The research center has focused on toward treating current HIV infections and preventing transmission. Much of this research is completed in the clinic by hospital faculty and involves widespread HIV testing and administering medication. The Miriam Immunology Clinic at Alpert Medical School services approximately 1,500 patients, according to Carpenter. Rhode Island has 100 to 200 new cases of HIV per year. “The point is not research for just research’s sake, but actually applying it to people in our care,” said Michelle Lally, associate professor of medicine, associate professor of health services, policy and practice and director of the Brown University AIDS Program. “We translate research into real efforts,” she said. Meanwhile, De Groot is developing an HIV vaccine through the Global AIDS Alliance Foundation and her company. Development of the HIV vaccine is a not-for-profit endeavor, and De Groot said that that vaccine development is a long and expensive process. “As soon as we have the money to get our vaccine ready, we will bring it to trial,” she said, adding that a vaccine trial costs between 100 and 300 million dollars. Back on campus, the research price tag is equally high. But the HIV/AIDS research program has weathered the funding crisis very well, Cu-Uvin said. “It’s getting harder and harder to get grants from the National Institutes of Health, but we have been very lucky,” she said. Federal funding for HIV/AIDS research at the University totaled $22.4 million for fiscal year 2010, marking the program’s fourteenth year of continuous federal funding, said Vicki Godleski, an administrator at the Center for AIDS Research. Researchers stand firm in their belief that HIV/AIDS research should be a priority for the University. “The University has always had a very strong social responsibility,” Cu-Uvin said. “I think Brown has always looked beyond its borders.”

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4 Campus News

The Brown Daily Herald Friday, December 2, 2011

Activists revamp feminist group By adam toobin Staff Writer

Two juniors and one sophomore, frustrated with the lack of activism-oriented feminist groups on campus, have taken over Feminists at Brown to empower campus feminists in a new way — by focusing on effecting change in the real world. The three women were inspired by the Occupy movement to look outside of Brown at the vast obstacles women still face, said Lily Goodspeed ’13, one of the new leaders. The leaders had wanted to start their own feminist group, but the Undergraduate Council of Students rejected their application, citing as its reason the University’s lack of resources to accommodate such a similar group. Goodspeed, Ana Alvarez ’13, a former Herald senior staff writer and Herald staff writer Sophia Seawell ’14 contacted the group’s then-leaders to ask if they could make the group more activismoriented. Though she expected the interaction to be awkward, Goodspeed found the old leaders busy with senior theses and more than willing to hand over the reins. Feminists At Brown has been known in recent years mainly for Tea and Feminism, a weekly event it hosts that encourages conversation about feminist issues. The meeting serves as “a casual discussion group for people who want to be involved but might not have the time,” said Julia Dahlin ’12, a former leader of the group. “They sat around and talked, which is good, but it wasn’t activism,” Seawell said. “Feminists at Brown has struggled because a lot of feminist issues are about sexual health, and (those issues) have their own groups,” Dahlin said. The group’s former leaders are excited about an infusion of new energy to reinvigorate the group, she added. The new leaders began brainstorming ideas with the group’s members to facilitate feminist activism on campus at their first meeting Nov. 21. Some members expressed interest in starting a feminist publication, and others suggested hosting a teach-in, similar to the one held for the Occupy movement, to educate the student body on feminism’s continued relevance. Alvarez is particularly excited about an idea to hold a party where attendees dress in drag to “(expletive) gender roles.” The party would also give the group

a chance to raise funds for other projects. The three women expressed their hope that the new incarnation of the group not have a formal leadership structure and will focus on specific projects. The leaders, who have borrowed the title of “facilitators” from the Occupy movement, said their job will be to advise and help finance the various ideas that members of the group wish to pursue. “Everyone in the group has their responsibility — this is ours,” Goodspeed said. She added that they will allow others to facilitate. The leaders had a variety of reasons for wanting to participate in the group. Goodspeed pointed to her mother as a driving force behind her feminist beliefs. Her mother “works really hard” at her job, but Goodspeed has “seen her be tortured by the fact that she feels like a bad mother for it,” she said. “Feminism is now maybe more important now than in the ’20s, or in the ’60s,” Goodspeed added. Back then, the goal was defined, she said, and now it is difficult to convince people that there is still a problem. Though the group intends to focus its work “aggressively outside of Brown,” the leaders have noticed a troubling ignorance about the word “feminism” itself on campus. Goodspeed said her male friends still have misconceptions about the word. For example, when the group put up posters with the quotation, “Feminism is the radical notion that women are people,” Goodspeed recounted that her male friends criticized her and said feminists should not be so abrasive if they want to be taken seriously. Even at Brown, there is still the notion that feminists burn their bras and do not shave, Alvarez said. “And so what if they did?” she added. Goodspeed cited the experiences of Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin in the 2008 presidential election as indicators of the cultural battle women still have to wage. Women should not have to sacrifice their femininity or use their sexuality for political gain, she said. Still, American women’s problems are minor compared to the troubles that exist for women around the world, Alvarez said, pointing to sex slavery, sex trafficking, genital mutilation and the use of rape as a form of war as issues that the group will target in its efforts.

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High School Pieces, started by Amie Darboe ’10, is an online magazine written by and for young women.

Alum launches web magazine By tonya riley Staff Writer

Tired of hearing the girls she mentored at the Wheeler School complain about being bored after school, Amie Darboe ’10 decided she wanted to give her students an outlet to express themselves. Near the time of her graduation, she took a leap and launched her own business venture — “High School Pieces,” an online magazine for young women written by young women. “There are a lot of websites out there that target high school-aged girls but are not written by them,” Darboe said. “I wanted to give the girls a chance to speak for themselves because I knew that they were intellectually capable of doing that.” The site has several different sections on issues including relationships and college. It also features pictures, songs and interviews with other high school bloggers. Darboe designed the website herself and first recruited writers through girls she had met at Wheeler, who referred friends interested in blogging. Now, the site has writers from across the country and globe, in-

cluding contributors from India and Malaysia. Darboe currently has a waitlist of interested writers, all of whom must go through an application process, she said. Emily Campbell, a high school senior from Leesburg, Va., started writing for the magazine after being recruited by Darboe, who had read her personal blog. Campbell said she enjoys the editorial freedom the site permits its writers and likes receiving feedback from her readers. “We just write about anything we really feel because we’re high school girls, and we want our readers to relate to us,” Campbell said. She also listed college as a big “stress-factor” for her readers. Working with high schoolers, who often have strong opinions, presents challenges, but the familial atmosphere and rewards of working with the girls make the job worthwhile, Darboe said. Darboe mentors the young women through the writing and editing process but also reaches out to her writers in other ways, such as tutoring one girl online for the SAT. Rory Finnegan, a high school sophomore from New Jersey, found “High School Pieces” while look-

ing for a “creative outlet outside of school” for her writing. Working for the site has inspired Finnegan to join her high school newspaper, she said. She described High School Pieces as a “laid-back” working atmosphere and “an inspirational place.” Darboe’s interest in media developed after taking film and popular culture classes in the American Studies department at Brown. Being a teaching assistant for ENGN 0900: “Management of Industrial and Nonprofit Organizations” also helped her prepare to work full-time as a young entrepreneur and gave her the confidence to start “High School Pieces” without prior business experience, she said. She credited the Brown alumni network for helping her with start-up funds and marketing advice. “High School Pieces” recently garnered the attention of larger media outlets and began promoting contests, such as a Princeton Review-sponsored competition to win a free SAT tutoring session, Darboe said. The site’s next step is to launch location-specific branches, including a Rhode Island section Darboe aims to unveil in January.

City shines red for AIDS By Michael Weinstein Contributing Writer

Rhode Island First Lady Stephanie Chafee P’14, local government officials, AIDS health professionals, poets, musicians and other activists literally painted the town red

city & state last night, as they gathered to celebrate the illumination of Providence buildings to raise awareness on World AIDS Day. This is the third year Providence has joined cities around the world to illuminate buildings in red as part of the AIDS awareness project of (RED), a nonprofit founded by Bono and Bobby Shriver that focuses on combating AIDS in Africa. Fifteen buildings in the city were glowing last night, likely the most of any city in the country, said John Pagliarini, Providence chief of staff. At the event, held at the Providence Biltmore Hotel, Chafee explained her goal to decrease the yearly incidence of AIDS in Rhode Island. She said currently a little over 100 people contract AIDS each year in the state. If new cases could

be reduced by 10 a year, there would be no new cases in Rhode Islandin a decade. Pagliarini urged the audience to “use today to commit to the goal of an AIDS-free generation.” This year, government officials and activists alike are focused on lowering the incidence of AIDS through prevention, not just the silver bullet of a vaccine, said Paul Loberti, chief administrator of the Office of HIV/AIDS and Viral Hepatitis at the Rhode Island Department of Health. “People are going to do what they are going to do,” Loberti said, adding that “the only prevention is protection.” In his recent survey of Brown students, Loberti found that while they were highly aware of how AIDS is transmitted, they still engage in unsafe, contradictory behavior. “I think it has a lot to do with the society and the fabric that we’ve woven here, that sex is taboo,” Loberti said. Loberti also stressed the importance of getting tested, echoing what Ray Joseph, prevention supervisor at AIDS Care Ocean State, said in his speech. “Tell a friend to tell a

friend to tell a friend to get tested,” Joseph said. The fight against AIDS is a personal one for some members of the Providence community. Debbie Blitz, who works in the mayor’s office and organizes the Providence ceremony each year, was inspired to join the cause when her son died of AIDS 17 years ago. This is the third year she has organized the ceremony and the 17th year that she is serving as co-chair of the AIDS Task Force of the Jewish Alliance. “I feel like I’m doing something that matters,” Blitz said. “I got a little teary, you know, but I do it because I can. It’s a great community of people, and the doctors are just amazing.” Providence City Hall, the Rhode Island State House, the Dunkin’ Donuts Center and the Biltmore were among the illuminated buildings. Providence poet Christopher Johnson, who began the night with a reading, eloquently summarized the overarching message of the ceremony’s speakers. “The only thing that should be feared is ignorance,” he said. “And the only thing that should be forgotten is fear.”

Science 5

The Brown Daily Herald Friday, December 2, 2011

Researchers study wrinkles to manufacture nanopipes By Anish Sarma Contributing Writer

An international collaboration led by Brown researchers recently discovered a new method to produce “nanopipes” — tiny fluid channels with potential applications in biology and energy. The pipes are constructed using the wrinkling characteristics of thin metal films, the researchers reported last week in Proceedings of the Royal Society A, a scientific journal. “Previously, people studied wrinkles extensively, but nobody worked on folding to make a pipe,” said Professor of Engineering Kyung-Suk Kim PhD’80 P’11, the corresponding author of the paper. While studying the natural phenomenon of wrinkling, the team of scientists unintentionally discovered the nanopipe fabrication method. During a sabbatical at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Kim initiated a collaboration between the nanoscale manufacturing facilities in Seoul and his lab at Brown. “Our interest was to make a general theory of folding,” Kim said. His team hoped to describe wrinkly surfaces like the human brain, which has evolved to maximize the

processing-intensive surface area of the cortex within the confines of a primate skull. Other examples of natural folding, such as geological formations and the wrinkling of human skin, were included in this vision of a general theory. Wrinkled surfaces also have potential engineering applications, such as increasing the reactive area of a catalytic converter in a car. Surprisingly, the wrinkled surfaces produced in the fabrication process appeared to have lost surface area. The team realized secondary-mode folds — wrinkles formed when wrinkles fold into one another — existed below the apparent surface. The enclosed spaces surrounded by the “lost” surface formed thousands of nanoscale channels in parallel to one another. This accidental discovery became a significant finding in its own right. “In this nanoworld, whoever can make a new structure can provide a new tool,” Kim said. Possible applications of nanopipe technology include cancer-selective biopsy needles, controlled self-cleaning adhesive surfaces and transport channels to improve the lifespan of a lithium battery, he said.

BSA to fund social innovation fellowship By Max Ernst Staff Writer

Brown Student Agencies has decided to reinvest the proceeds generated from student business ven-

Campus News tures to fund an additional C.V. Starr Social Entrepreneurship Fellowship, a summer grant awarded through the Swearer Center for Public Service to support socially responsible entrepreneurship. According to the center’s website, the fellowship gives 10 to 15 students up to $4,000 for individual fellows and $6,000 for groups to support innovative, student-run social initiatives. “This will be about entrepreneurs supporting entrepreneurs,” said Alan Harlam, director of social entrepreneurship at the Swearer Center. “It will be a really great partnership of students involved in business helping other students start a social initiative.” “C.V. Starr has a great structure already,” said Laura Ucik ’13, director of customer relations for BSA. “Funding a C.V. Starr grant was a group team decision, and it really aligns a lot with what BSA stands for.” BSA began looking for ways to support social entrepreneurs sev-

eral weeks ago. Three leaders of the organization met with Harlam and were “immediately excited” about the opportunity to invest in a Starr fellowship, Harlam said. “BSA wanted to see that the fruits of its labor could be reinvested to help other students start businesses,” he said. The fellowship, a 10-week summer opportunity, offers student participants financial support, guidance, mentoring and skill development workshops to advance their projects. The Starr fellows also have mandatory meetings from March until November to exchange feedback on their projects, Harlam said. After the summer, students may also apply for up to $7,000 in matching funds to continue their projects. Students apply for the fellowship with project proposals and are evaluated by a selection committee composed of five mentors. One student from BSA will serve on this selection committee, and the BSA board will view the applications, Ucik said. Though BSA will start by funding only one fellowship this year, it hopes to expand to supporting two next year, she added. “I think the intention is to continue this partnership,” Harlam said. “BSA is looking to see how it works this time.”

www.browndailyherald.com

Courtesy of Ryan Kaplan

The cross-shaped object represents a “net,” which, in biology, self-assembles into viruses and other 3-D objects.

Applying math to biology ‘nets’ success By Nic Cavell Contributing Writer

Imagine the Epcot Center at Disney World — a network of triangular elements curl together to form a silver sphere. Shaped in exactly the same way, viruses are self-assembled from two-dimensional “nets.” Scientists show how this folding process could be mimicked to develop new technologies, such as drug delivery systems, in a research paper to be published in the early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science this week. In the paper, Associate Professor of Applied Mathematics Govind Menon and a diverse crew of mathematicians and scientists present their findings on the most efficient of these self-assembling “nets,” which on the microscopic scale resemble “tiny machines.” Think of a cross-shaped piece of paper formed from exactly six squares, and then fold the piece of paper into a cube, suggested Ryan Kaplan ’12, a mathematics and computer science concentrator and one of the paper’s authors. Conceptually, the cross is the “net,” and the cube is the polyhedron, he explained. A cube is a relatively simple polyhedron: In addition to the cross shape, 10 other patterns of six squares will combine into a cube, for a total of 11 possible

“nets.” But when calculating the nets for more complicated solids like the dodecahedron and the icosahedron, possibilities undergo something Menon called a “combinatorial explosion”— the total nets for each of those solids is 43,380. The question then becomes how to cut through those combinatorial explosions with computer-coded algorithms to select the nets that “imitate biology as closely as possible” and reproduce naturally occurring viral structures, Menon said. Replicating viral structure could be one step toward harnessing the effectiveness of viruses’ targeted attack for, among other things, the delivery of cancer medicine. The drugs could be delivered to targeted sites “in containers the size of a dust mite,” eliminating the harmful side effects of less specific chemotherapy drugs, he said. The “success” of a net begins with the materials, Menon said. Metal hinges and panels on the nanoscale enable a net to assemble of its own accord. But some nets will “mess up,” folding in the wrong order or direction and ruining their potential as “containers,” said Drew Kunas ’12, an applied mathematics concentrator who also authored the paper. Bringing math into the picture allowed researchers to determine the specific spatial characteristics of a net — especially its

“compactness”— that led to the highest success rates of folding. In addition to metals, some synthetic materials have the capacity for self-assembly, according to the team’s collaborators from Johns Hopkins University, suggesting the relevance of the researchers’ findings to diverse fields, including electronics and artificial tissue building. “Two-dimensional circuit boards are a waste of space,” Kunas said. Following the trend in electronics toward smaller and smaller devices, self-assembling three-dimensional circuit boards could easily shrink the size of gadgets past what was previously thought possible, he said. “I have a colleague who wants to build artificial tissues,” Menon said. “It’s interesting to think, geometrically, how do you build a flat lung and fold it up?” Menon admitted that the full list of technological possibilities proposed by his colleagues are more than he or his students could possibly probe with advanced mathematics. But he remains excited about the frontiers opened by creating “mimics of biology” vetted by the efficiency of math and engineering, he said. “It sounds like science fiction, but it’s not. These are real possibilities,” he said, laughing.

6 Arts & Culture

The Brown Daily Herald Friday, December 2, 2011

A proposed etiology of the vampire mania By Suzannah Weiss Arts & Culture Columnist

Evan Thomas / Herald

Samantha (Sophie Netanel ’12) and her husband Gabriel (Brian Cross ’12) share a tender moment in “Dead City.”

Joyce adaptation explores emotion, loss By kristina fazzalaro Arts & Culture Editor

What does it mean to be truly touched? In our desensitized society — where we are constantly bombarded with Twitter updates, YouTube videos and overly revealing photographs — do we ever actually feel? “Dead City,” Sheila Callaghan’s modern riff on James Joyce’s “Ulysses,” explores this theme of connection, or the lack thereof, in its run at Leeds Theatre this weekend. Director Alexandra Keegan ’12 said she was interested in staging female narratives, as well as examining themes of female friendship and motherhood. “Dead City” was an apt choice for such an exploration. Set in New York City on June 16, 2004, the anniversary of the Dublin stroll Joyce’s characters embarked on a century earlier, the play follows the daily activities of Upper East Side resident Samantha Blossom (Sophie Netanel ’12) as she traverses the chameleonic streets of Manhattan. Haunted by the death of her stillborn son 22 years earlier and trapped in a tortured marriage, Samantha goes through the motions of her day largely in silence. The audience alone is privy to her cacophonous thoughts and emotions as they battle within her, burying her under an insurmountable weight of grief, confusion, lust, anger and love. Crash-landing into Samantha’s life is the volatile tour de force Jewel Jupiter (Emma Thorne ’12.5). Jewel, defined by her crass roommate Beatrice (Alejandra Rivera-Flavia ’13) as a “scholar, journalist, slut-du-jour — but not a poet” becomes Samantha’s often coincidental companion throughout the day. Samantha first runs into Jewel’s father, carpenter Jacob Jupiter (Jared Bellot ’12), at the funeral of a friend in Queens. She

then meets Jewel at an office in Midtown where the journalist is busy attempting to pitch a story on the clairvoyant capabilities of performer Patti Smith. They play hide-and-seek with each other through the Big Apple, shadowing one another at the New York Public Library on Fifth Avenue, the Strand Bookstore and a club. Jewel is suffering from her own loss — her mother died a year ago, leaving her with a drunkard father and a stack of bills to pay, not to mention a heavy emotional loss. Choosing to lose herself at the bottom of a bottle rather than confront her issues head-on, Jewel is as lost and emotionally bereft as Samantha is in a city that can lift its denizens up only to drop them back down again. New York City is front and center in the production. “This summer, we walked through the play in New York City,” Keegan said, a process that resulted in the creation of a photomap of the city, which the director provided to artistic designers and actors as a guide to the play. The use of sound effects contributed well to the sense of being transported to the city, but ultimately it is the actors who breathe life into the streets they traverse. Keegan said they stressed the physicality of each neighborhood during exercises, pointing out different ways people behave in each part of the city. The cast successfully transforms itself throughout the show, taking the audience on a tour of Manhattan. A New Yorker will be extra-sensitive to the humor and playfulness the production is able to convey in its depictions of the Upper East Side elite, Midtown money-grubbers and Village people. Netanel and Thorne shine in their prospective roles, creating a true relationship on stage that

draws the audience in closer. The depth of feelings they are each able to emote on their journey is impressive — a feat matched with ease by the supporting cast, all of whom play multiple roles. Bellot, in particular, is wonderfully entertaining. His transformations from New York Public Radio host — and simultaneously a part of Samantha’s conscience — to Jewel’s drunk, but caring, father to a rather colorful cab driver are hilarious and heartwarming in equal parts. Similarly, Rivera-Flavia kills her role as Nora, a slightly unhinged editor whose searing, fast-paced witticisms delight the audience. Brian Cross ’12 as Samantha’s straying and indifferent husband Gabriel manages to charm the audience just as he does the women he entertains while she is out. A crooner, Cross also hits some impressive high notes in the one musical number of the production. Cross has one of the most revealing monologues, bringing to the forefront issues that permeate the production. As he wonders at his inability to forge a connection with his wife — though he desires it — we are similarly distraught by his words. But this play is not all sadness and regret. It tells the story of a crumbling marriage and of several broken, conflicted hearts, yes, but it also provides hints of a healing future where hope and love can bridge even the greatest chasms of loss. “Dead City” continues its run tonight and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. in Leeds Theatre.

A tale of love and loss is successfully reimagined through stellar acting.

This is not another article about how the Twilight series corrupts young girls. What else, you ask, might a gender and sexuality studies concentrator have to say in reaction to Breaking Dawn’s release at the Providence Place Mall? That girls of all ages are already corrupted and turn to series like Twilight for consolation and resolution. Twilight was required reading for a Brown course a few years ago. Though I didn’t take ENGL0200: “On Vampires and Violent Vixens: Making the Monster through Discourses of Gender and Sexuality,” I find the books and movies rich in gendered and racial symbolism. Vampires symbolize the masculine in that they are cold, unfeeling slaves to their appetites, while werewolves, who connect to nature and morph with the moon, are associated with the feminine — though, of course, both a werewolf brand of machismo and a vampire brand of vixen exist. The slippage between vampires and men runs throughout the series. The vampires are bloodthirsty, literalizing the stereotype of men as seeking war, revenge and violence. Their victims are irresistible to them — the rhetoric of voracious male sexuality seen in discriminatory sexual assault defenses and in grandmotherly warnings to girls coming of age. They are told to keep their eyes open and their legs closed because men cannot control their physical urges and will hurt them. Is this not how our mothers would warn us about vampires if they existed? These folk ideas about the nature of men and women leave girls in an impossible place: They are taught to gear their lives toward attracting men and earning their approval, yet they are also told that men are up to no good and cannot be trusted. They are told not to “be a slut” or “put out” but are also taught that their bodies are the best way to get what they want, especially if what they want is a guy’s attention. Enter the Cullen family. Bella’s mixture of fear and desire toward Edward and his lifestyle reflects young women’s similar ambivalence toward the opposite sex. They want relationships, but they are afraid to trust men. These movies invite girls into a world where, by replacing men with vampires, these problems have easy solutions. Sure, they’re vampires, but they’re nice vampires! Sure, Edward gets caught up in the throes of passion and hurts Bella during their first sexual rendezvous, but he didn’t mean it — he’s a vampire! Even stalking — yes, it’s fair to call teleporting into someone’s room and watching her sleep stalking — takes on a morally acceptable air when the

stalker is using his vampire powers to do so. The use of creatures that are not human is a tactic employed in fiction to depict acts that would be wrong for humans to do as less disturbing. This exceptionalism allows for taboo topics such as war and rape — which many argue is symbolized by vampires’ violation of their victims’ skin — to be explored without any recoil reaction. I remember reading the first book in the series when I was 17 and impressionable. I loved that Bella had the courage to pursue Edward even though she knew what he was capable of, and that she tried to initiate sex even though he warned her that vampire sex is dangerous. She ignored the warning, including those of Edward himself, of what vampires (men) are like, and it worked out for her — if being threatened by several vampires and then becoming one yourself can be considered working out. I guess that’s a matter of opinion. In Breaking Dawn, Bella not only makes amends with the vampires but also gets to become part of their world. But first, she must suffer. This is also a reality of our society: Women are expected to suffer for men, and this suffering is romanticized. In the most recent movie, Bella plays out the worst of this ideal, nearly dying from an unwanted pregnancy. A bloody, bloody one, may I add. Blood carries many meanings: pain, sacrifice, impurity. The image of blood against pale skin, or more broadly red against white, is a trope in vampire fiction. Breaking Dawn begins with a beautiful wedding scene where everything is white but sprinkled with red roses. This is foreshadowing: In order to become a Cullen, Bella loses her purity — a virtue that girls are still too often taught to defend. But when she becomes a mother, she bleeds for her husband and child and even drinks blood to feed the vampire baby, taking on a Madonna-like peacefulness and self-sacrificing maternity. Ultimately, she is rewarded by becoming a white, bloodless vampire. While I agree with critics who say the Twilight series promotes the idea that women must suffer for men, I think it is doing more than that. It is reassuring its demographic, which has undoubtedly already received this message, that such situations have a happy ending. That is, as long as they devote themselves fully to their husband and fetus, who, in Breaking Dawn, is clearly not a fetus but a baby with thoughts that Edward can read, everything will end well. Yeah, this stuff is effed up. But it is also a really beautiful love story. There is a reason for the raving reviews. And I may or may not have cried. That is all.

Arts & Culture 7

The Brown Daily Herald Friday, December 2, 2011

News in brief

Chorus rings in holiday season Sayles Hall will ring with the voices of the Brown Chorus tonight as singers perform the Christmas portion of George Frideric Handel’s “Messiah” — the Hallelujah Chorus. The musicians include 50 singers and a 25-piece chamber orchestra consisting of faculty, undergraduates and alums, said Frederick Jodry, conductor of the Chorus and senior lecturer in music. Singer Sebastian Ruth ’97, founder of Community MusicWorks, is providing the orchestra. In addition to the Hallelujah Chorus, other joyous Christmas arias will be performed. A dozen student solos will be featured, and Jodry will lead the chorus and play the harpsichord in the style of Handel. The Chorus will use the concert’s proceeds to sponsor its trip to Cuba next spring. After President Obama relaxed restrictions on performing groups traveling to Cuba, the Chorus began planning its trip to the Caribbean, Jodry said. Currently, they have raised $95,000 and hope to raise an additional $5,000. — Mark Valdez

Visions celebrates release with open mic night By anna lilLkung Staff Writer

Music, poetry and kendo martial arts converged at Wednesday’s release party for Visions magazine, Brown and the Rhode Island School of Design’s Asian and Asian-American art and literary publication. The open mic event was casual and attracted a crowd of almost 100 mostly Asian and Asian-American students from Brown and RISD. Lee Kava ’11.5 kicked off the event with a song she had written, followed by a cover of James Morrison’s “If You Don’t Wanna Love Me.” With just a guitar and her soft voice, Kava filled Salomon 001 with a warm, welcoming atmosphere. The Christmas lights on the walls and projection of artwork and photos included in the new Visions issue added to the relaxed feeling. Chris Heo ’14 and Ingu Lee ’14, a particularly popular duo, performed two songs, one of them a mash-up of Green Day’s “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” and Oasis’ “Wonderwall.” Even though the two were slightly off-key at times, the mash-up was well-composed, and the two songs fit together nicely. Mila Chadayammuri’s ’13 and Elliot Creagor’s ’12 cover of “Easy” by half-Indian singer-songwriter

Norah Jones and her half-sister Anoushka Shankar was another stand-out performance. The duo electronically added an echo that gave the song an authentic Indian vibe. Chadayammuri also managed to be dynamic with her voice, varying its projection to great effect. Though most musical performances were good, there were a few too many acoustic covers of American pop songs. Christina Pan’s ’13 “Cannonball,” originally by Damien Rice, and Kristina Leung’s ’12 version of Rihanna’s “We Found Love” got the whole room singing but failed to add anything new to the night. Margi Kim’s ’13 Korean vocal performance was a particularly enjoyable variation in the program. She had a unique sound and stage presence that evoked a sentimental and personal experience. Her performance caught and held the audience’s interest through her second song, a cover of Christina Perri’s “Jar of Hearts.” Poetry reading added another dimension to the evening. After explaining the story behind his poem, Amritendu Ghosal, a Fulbright foreign language teaching assistant, read his original and moving “Girmitya.” His impressive presence and great intonation added to the strength of the already evocative work, which is included in Visions.

Courtesy of Alan Shan

Visions magazine held an open mic release party Wednesday night.

Ayoosh Pareek ’12, managing editor of Visions, also read his own poem, “Summer Romances.” His words, “Think about falling down spiral staircases. That’s how you make me feel,” were spoken with conviction and slight humor, making the poem a true delight. Another highlight of the open mic night was the contribution from Brown’s Kendo Club, which

provided an introduction to Japanese fencing. Not only did the audience learn the basic outfit, rules and vocabulary of kendo — literally meaning “way of the sword” in Japanese — but it also got to see two practitioners fight a captivating battle of mental and physical ingenuity. A member of the audience even got to try the fighting style at the end.

Feature 9

The Brown Daily Herald Friday, December 2, 2011

Seeking dialogue and awareness, Occupy College Hill settles in continued from page 1 tion. “That was possibly one of the most successful actions I’ve ever seen, especially considering that it was called the day before,” said Luke Lattanzi-Silveus ’14. “It was kind of like an experiment,” Goodspeed said. “When people actually came, there was a sense that we should create some sort of organization.” Joining together

One week later, the group held its first official General Assembly and began to debate the identity of Occupy College Hill. “It was very split in the first meeting, whether we should have an Occupy College Hill,” Goodspeed said. “At that point, Occupy Providence had started having General Assemblies.” Students were divided about the extent to which Occupy College Hill should be its own organization separate from Occupy Providence, Goodspeed said. The discussion weighed the national precedent of student activism on college campuses against the unwillingness of many students to further distance themselves from a community that already views them as privileged. Members of Occupy College Hill want the movement to include faculty, facilities workers and other members of the community — not just students, Lattanzi-Silveus said. Occupy College Hill decided to become a working group of Occupy Providence, advancing projects on College Hill but continuing to report back to Burnside Park, the site of the downtown Occupy encampment. “We were creating this organization with the permission, and kind of the blessing, of Occupy Providence, but it kept us from drifting off into our own bubble,” Goodspeed said. The movement’s focus shifted away from College Hill. “The main goal was, we want to funnel people from Brown and (the Rhode Island School of Design) to Occupy Providence,” Goodspeed said. Eventually, the group stopped holding regular general assemblies on the Main Green, and members instead gravitated to Burnside Park meetings. Even one of Occupy College Hill’s main actions — a One Night Stand where Occupiers camped out on the Main Green to greet the Corporation, the University’s highest governing body, before its Oct. 22 meeting — was held with the ultimate goal of bringing more students to the encampment downtown. Despite such efforts, LattanziSilveus said it has been a struggle to attract students to join the movement. “It’s been difficult to get people down there,” he said. “I’m not sure why that is. There seems to be a large amount of apathy and/or ignorance about what the Occupy movement is, whether they want to be involved in it.”

Apathy and ignorance may seem inconsistent with the University’s activist reputation. But the high level of student awareness might actually detract from support for the Occupy movement, Goodspeed suggested. “We at Brown are very analytical about our own progressiveness,” she said, adding that students may be unwilling to speak for repressed groups they do not themselves represent. “People were much more aware of how contradictory an Occupy movement would be for an Ivy League institution,” Goodspeed said. “By sheer fact of us being here, we can’t suppose what people are feeling across the country.” Organizing Occupy College Hill into a distinct movement focused on student concerns — like increasing tuition, rampant unemployment and Corporation accountability — would overcome these problems and is an idea that has been gaining traction within the group, Goodspeed said. Recruiting the 99 percent

Yesterday, Occupy College Hill held its first official General Assembly in weeks. Protests at other campuses, specifically University of California at Davis and Harvard, have thrust educational institutions to the forefront of the Occupy movement. College Hill Occupiers congregated on the Main Green to discuss the University’s place in the evolving college movement. “We’re regrouping after realizing that there is a growing Occupyyour-campus movement, and we want to be a part of that,” said Lindsay Goss GS. The campus protests bring a new element to the Occupy movement. Goss noted campus movements have focused on more specific demands, while the city Occupy movements seek to address broader societal issues. One of Occupy College Hill’s main grievances — one it shares with Occupy Harvard — is the University’s investment policies, which the group believes could be supporting corporations antithetical to the University’s ideals. “What it means to Occupy a campus is to address issues on that campus,” Goss said. In another step towards a campus-specific movement, Goss suggested the group change its name to Occupy Brown. The group originally assumed the name Occupy College Hill to include students at RISD, but Goss said mostly Brown students are involved. Despite the group’s limited engagement with RISD, members of Occupy College Hill have increasingly been working with other colleges in the Providence area, including Rhode Island College, the University of Rhode Island and Providence College. In meetings with students from other schools, members of Occupy College Hill have begun to address college-specific issues related to the

Thanks for reading!

movement — specifically, dwindling student involvement in Occupy during final exams and the prospect of keeping the movement alive while students are away for winter break. Members of Occupy College Hill are still considering the prospect of a long-term Occupation on campus. “The way things are going now, as time goes on, more campuses are going to be Occupied,” Goss said. “We should and will work toward an Occupation at Brown,” Lattanzi-Silveus said. But before an Occupation can happen, more students need to get involved. Occupier and Providence resident Mark Simmons underscored the importance of student involvement in the movement. “It’s your future,” said Simmons, who has served as a liaison between Occupy Providence and Occupy College Hill. “Your age group usually has the lowest voting record,” Simmons said. “Even if you don’t believe in the movement, find out what you do believe in and get involved.” “Occupy College Hill is a glorified larger version of the conversations you’re having with your friends around campus,” Goodspeed said. “Just talking about it is the first step, and it’s useless if we only have 25 people talking about it.”

Emily Gilbert / Herald

Lindsay Goss GS, above, said she hopes Occupy College Hill will focus on campus issues on its path to become a more distinct movement.

10 Science science in brief

Finding ways to find your veins Blood transfusions and intravenous starts are painful, as any patient can attest. Now these experiences may be slightly more enjoyable for children, thanks to research conducted by Bruce Becker, professor of emergency medicine, and Lauren Presant ’10. The researchers explored applications of VeinViewer ­— which makes a map of patients’ veins — for children. The machine, which has been in use for five years, uses near-infrared light to detect the iron in the hemoglobin of blood. It takes that information, processes it and creates a map of a patient’s veins, which it then projects onto the skin. Becker and Presant determined the device was able to locate many more veins than possible with the naked eye. For children especially, nurses typically feel the arm to find veins, sometimes requiring multiple painful needle insertions. “Starting this process is the hardest part. We don’t want to stick multiple times for (IVs),” Presant said. The device makes it “easier to find veins in order to put in an IV or to draw blood, especially in children, people of large size and people who have had many medical procedures and whose veins are in bad shape,” Becker said. — Sandra Yan

The Brown Daily Herald Friday, December 2, 2011

Dark matter may be lighter than expected By Aparaajit sriram Contributing Writer

Sometimes even theoretical physicists — scientists pushing the boundaries of modern science to new heights — make the fatal mistake of using the wet erase marker on the dry erase board. Though Assistant Professor of Physics Savvas Koushiappas was using the wrong marker, he was able to make a discovery that may change science completely. Koushiappas, along with Alex Gerringer-Sameth GS, published a paper in Physical Review Letters yesterday that offers a new lower limit for the mass of dark matter particles. Their conclusion that a dark matter particle must have a mass of at least 40 giga-electron volts rules out other existing theories that predict a mass less than that number or are based on the assumption of a lower mass. Dark matter theories have existed now for almost 30 years, Gerringer-Sameth said. These findings offer strong new evidence in support of some of these theories, while challenging others. But what is dark matter, anyway? It seems a concept reserved for abstract physicists, something the average person cannot understand. But according to GerringerSameth, it is much more entwined in our lives than people think. “If you open your hand, you’ve got about one dark matter particle in it at any given time — ­­ that’s how much dark matter there is around us here on earth,” he said. Dark matter is matter that we cannot see or feel but that accounts for about

23 percent of the universe. Matter we can see only accounts for about 4 percent. “We believe that we are living in a sea of dark matter particles, which passes right through us and through the earth all the time,” Gerringer-Sameth said. But how do we know dark matter exists if we cannot see or feel it? According to Gerringer-Sameth, astronomers seeking to measure the amount of matter in the universe tried two methods of doing so — summing the masses of all visible matter like stars and gas and using gravitational equations to estimate the amount of mass in the universe, based on the movements of universal bodies. But when scientists discovered there was a large discrepancy between the two calculations, some theorized that there was other matter exerting gravitational force that accounts for the difference. Koushiappas and GerringerSameth used a novel approach in tackling the question of the mass of dark matter. “Basically, we worked backward,” GerringerSameth said. They looked to seven dwarf galaxies­­­— which are known to contain large amounts of dark matter because of the unusual motion of their stars — and measured gamma-ray emissions resulting from the collision of dark matter particles and their anti-particles, a process known as annihilation. Using this gamma-ray data, the duo was able to determine the approximate rate of annihilation occurring in the dwarf galaxy and therefore determine bounds for the mass of the dark matter particles involved in these collisions.

Sam Rubinroit / Herald

Stephen Albrecht ‘13 contributed 17 points in the Bears’ win over URI.

Men’s basketball rebounds to defeat URI continued from page 16 compared to Bruno’s two and 10, respectively. But with one second remaining before halftime, McGonagill narrowed URI’s lead to two points by splitting the Rams’ defense and drilling a jump shot that was a harbinger of things to come. In the second half, the Bears seized control, going on a 10-2 run and eventually pulling ahead by nine points with 11:52 remaining. The pressure that gave Bruno such difficulty in the opening period seemed to subside — McGonagill finished the half without a single turnover. “Our biggest keys were to control the glass on the defensive end and handle their pressure, and I felt like we did a good job of that,” said Stephen Albrecht ’13. Though the Rams ultimately held a 46-32 advantage on the boards, Agel said the stat sheet hardly reflected reality. “We battled on the glass,” he said. “I’m sure we got dominated if you look at the numbers, but I’m not going to look at the numbers, because I thought we really held our own. They might have had 20 more than we did, but it

didn’t feel that way.” Forward Andrew McCarthy ’13 had a “phenomenal” game, Agel said. McCarthy earned a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds against URI’s much larger frontcourt . McGonagill led the team in scoring Wednesday night, finishing with 19 points on six of 14 shooting from the field and three of nine from beyond the arc. Albrecht strung together his third impressive performance in a row, scoring 12 of his 17 points in the second half. He knocked down several shots for the Bears at key moments — overall, he went six of 11 from the field and five of 10 from beyond the arc. Albrecht led the team in scoring in its prior two games, finishing with 22 points against Monmouth Nov. 22 and 23 points against Sacred Heart Nov. 27. “I love watching him play because he brings a little bit of an edge to us,” Agel said. “He gets excited when he gets it going, and we really need to play with that enthusiasm and that emotion.” The Bears return to action Saturday when they face Iowa on the road in a formidable Big Ten matchup.

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Sports Friday 11

The Brown Daily Herald Friday, December 2, 2011

Sheehan ’12 awaits NBA start continued from page 16 mediately clear when a big play happens and even someone who has seen a couple of games can tell you that Tyler Palko is a terrible quarterback. This whole NFL season has been me dating the summer fling. I’m having fun, and I will always remember these days with a smile, but I’ve seen the mixtape I made for her in the trash. She can tell me that she just isn’t that fond of Arcade Fire and Guster, but this makes it clear to me that this relationship isn’t going anywhere. But then, a miracle. The NBA season returns! Now, I would be lying if this means that I’m immediately transitioning to NBA mode and ignoring the rest of the football season. I’m going to be paying close attention when the New England Patriots receive a visit from the Indianapolis “this isn’t funny anymore, it’s just sad” Colts this week. But the presence of an NBA season at the end of the football season is like a reassuring pat on the shoulder and a comforting message from a friend that says, “The right one for you is out there somewhere.” Personally, the NBA established itself last year as serious

marriage potential. We had always been friendly and run in the same groups of people, but then there was that one night where we started talking about how fantastic Border Terriers are and how The Temper Trap is one of the most underrated bands of all time. Metaphorically speaking, that night would have been the entire NBA playoffs last year, capped off by the Miami Heat, representative of evil incarnate to 29/30ths of the NBA fan base, being outplayed by the Dallas Mavericks in a storybook ending for a franchise that badly needed a win. That cemented it. I was headover-heels in love, and I still am to this day. The lockout threatened to separate us, but like in all romantic comedies, the NBA and I found a way to overcome the obstacles to be together. Now we’re settling in for our first date this Christmas, and there are so many questions to be answered. Who will the Heat add in the offseason? Will Jeff Green learn the human emotion known as happiness? What will the Memphis Grizzlies be capable of now that Rudy Gay is back? Will Blake Griffin leap over a Kardashian for the dunk contest this year? Is the previous statement a sexual innuendo? Can the Mavs repeat facing

a possible future without Tyson Chandler? Can Kobe Bryant elevate his sneer from ‘constipated’ to ‘game face’? Will more than 50 percent of the emails I get this week be Los Angeles Lakers’ fans telling me I’m stupid? Can Carlos Boozer become the player the Chicago Bulls need him to be? How many inanimate objects will Kevin Garnett scream at this year? (“A SPORK?! IT STABS AND SCOOPS MY FOOD?! ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE!!”) Most importantly, who will win the NBA championship? We have some time before the hoops season starts, and I’m going to be watching pigskin the whole time. But the NBA season is back, and I can’t stop daydreaming about her. Thanks for reading this semester. Check back in January for more sports talk and have a happy holiday season. Sam Sheehan ’12 would like to apologize to the NHL for leading her on. He’d also like to swing by later and pick up his iPod and Friends DVDs. Talk sports with him at sam_sheehan@brown.edu or follow him on Twitter @SamSheehan.

A brotherly football bond continued from page 1 New York Giants, Mark graduated from Boston College in 2011 after racking up numerous prestigious awards, including Atlantic Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Year and All-American Team honors in 2008. But his successes have not made it easy for the younger Herzlich. “It can be tough because there is a lot of pressure,” Brad said. “When people see the name ‘Herzlich,’ they have certain expectations for me and that drives me, but that means I have to do so much more to make a name for myself.” That struggle to retain an identity started very early thanks to the brothers’ age gap. “I was a defensive end early on, but my brother’s success at linebacker influenced my middle school coaches to move me there,” Brad said. “I was reluctant at first because I wanted to do my own thing, but there was

a lot more glory, and it ended up being fun.” Still, Brad said he remains very committed to doing “his own thing.” “During recruiting, coaches would expect something I’m not since Mark and I have very different playing styles — and that was hard,” he said. “But here at Brown, people treated me like an individual and not Mark’s brother, and I really liked that.” The Herzlichs are no strangers to adversity. In May of 2009, Mark was diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer known as Ewing’s sarcoma. Despite being told he would likely never play football again, Mark refused to give up. He underwent chemotherapy soon after diagnosis and, on Sept. 29, 2009, was declared cancer-free. “I always saw a fight in my brother. He was never really discouraged,” Brad said. “Sure, he got down a bit, but he was never nega-

tive. I always thought he would come back and play football.” And play football he did. Mark returned to BC’s starting lineup in 2010 and, after going undrafted in the 2011 NFL draft, was picked up in free agency by the Giants.He went on to make the Giant’s 53man roster and, on Nov. 20, made his first start against the Philadelphia Eagles. “Cancer changed Mark in a lot of ways. He gained a new appreciation for life and sees value in things more easily,” Brad said. “He also sees that football is a way by which he can make a difference. He seeks to use his position as an NFL player to raise awareness for cancer and help people who are going through what he had to.” “It also brought us a lot closer,” Brad added. “We’ve always been close, but that really brought us together.” And with togetherness like that, who needs Scrabble?

Thompson ’12 on stereotypes, superstitions continued from page 16 are abroad currently, for second semester, so I think we’re going to be really deep. Do you feel more responsibility this year as captain than in previous years? The captains always have to run practice for our preseason, where the coaches aren’t allowed to participate. The other captain, Blake (Reinson ’14), and I had to come up with drills every day and basically act like the coaches for the first month and a half . That was one of the biggest challenges — having to effectively be the coach and have everyone listen to you and act like an adult. It’s been an awesome learning experience. How did you start playing squash? I started when I was in seventh grade. I didn’t really play a sport — nothing seriously. My dad suggested I try out squash. I went to the local club, and I started playing with my dad. I immediately loved it. I played every single day for the next two years. If I couldn’t find anyone to play with — since squash is easy to play by yourself — I spent most of that time playing alone. I’ve played most every day since then. Do you have a least favorite team to play against? Bates. Bates has the worst sports. Not every school acknowledges the standards of being polite fans. Do you have any pregame rituals or superstitions that you abide by? None of them are superstitious — they all make sense. I always eat a ton of pasta the night before. I’ll regrip my racket the night before

an important match. I pack three or four shirts. I sweat like crazy, so I’ll sweat through three or four shirts in a match. I’ve got a go-to Youtube clip of Jansher Khan. The way he plays — he manages to anticipate the ball so well, he doesn’t run. He just walks around the court. Something about watching him just calms me down. Do you have any pump-up songs? “You’re Gonna Go Far, Kid” by The Offspring “Hell Bent” by Kenna What is something most people don’t know about you? My whole life I’ve told everyone — including parents and doctors — that I’m lactose-intolerant, but really I just don’t like milk. What are your plans for next year? I’m going to be here. I’m in a program to get a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Science. … On the weekends I’m going to give the professional squash thing a shot, and by the time I graduate I’ll have an idea about whether that’s a feasible thing or not. What is your concentration? I want to get a B.A. in English and a B.S. in Applied Mathematics/ Economics. Are the stereotypes about squash true? The stereotypes of it being really gentlemanly and proper are true. The stereotypes about it being not tough are not true. It gets pretty physical and requires a ton of training and physical strength and putting yourself through — the same as any sport. It is proper but not girly.

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12 Mission Drift?

The Brown Daily Herald Friday, December 2, 2011

With its mind on its money, U. expands Grad School, research continued from page 1 “We weren’t going to find significant incremental revenue from any of our traditional sources,” said Rod Beresford, associate provost and professor of engineering. “We needed something new.” Brown has traditionally competed with fewer resources than its peers, and upping revenue has always been a priority. But the past few years have seen a focus on generating income from new sources, including online degree programs and corporations, with little apparent discussion as to the impact these new cash flows may have on Brown’s traditional emphases on liberal arts and the undergraduate experience. Though stock market rebounds prompted hope for quick recovery, it now appears the University faces a longer period of fiscal stagnation. The link between the economy, federal spending and University revenue is often difficult to untangle, but the current moment represents a turning point in Brown’s history. “What we understand going forward is that we are in for a very sustained period of low-to-no (economic) growth,” said President Ruth Simmons. “That has consequences for virtually every revenue stream that we rely on.” Under Simmons’ presidency, the institution has attempted to increase revenue while maintaining a steadfast focus on the undergraduate College. But as resources remain tight three years after the initial endowment crash, it remains to be seen if the University can balance the constant need for money with those qualities that make Brown unique. Leveraging the brand

For the Office of Continuing Education, the endowment’s crash in 2009 changed everything. Last spring, the office announced a series of blended master’s programs to be introduced in 2013. Part of each course is offered on campus, but the majority of instruction takes place online. Though the University had previously considered similar professional programs, the endowment’s dramatic decline provided the ultimate incentive for their launch. The University “would not be undertaking this project” were it not for that “precipitous event,” Beresford said. These programs will allow midcareer adults to earn master’s degrees in subjects including health care enterprise management, data security, information strategy and biotechnology innovation. When Brown’s need to expand its sources of revenue became clear, Karen Sibley knew her office would play a large role. As dean of continuing education, she has overseen the lucrative growth of the Summer@Brown programs for pre-college students, which have more than doubled their revenues in four years — from $1.95 million in 2007 to $4 million this summer. “It takes a crisis of financial proportions to make us think about (how) can we appropriately gener-

Graphs by Anna Migliaccio, Leor Shtull-Leber and Julia Shube / Herald

ate revenue,” Sibley said. “It would be inappropriate to identify (the new master’s programs) as being created just due to revenue,” but it was “not just high-minded principles” that prompted their creation, she said. The effort is in line with steps taken by other Ivies: Dartmouth recently introduced a blended master’s program for health care professions, and Harvard Extension School provides a way for students to earn undergraduate, graduate or professional degrees while taking a majority of their courses online. Online degree programs arecash cows for schools. Brown’s programs are likely to generate up to one-third their cost in net revenue, according to the provost’s report issued last spring. Harvard makes millions off a similar strategy through its extension school, granting degrees to students who do not pass through its rigorous admission processes. But Brown and Harvard face a very different calculus when weighing the benefits of increased revenue against the drawbacks of brand dilution. Harvard’s name is essentially untarnishable, while Brown is still striving to establish its reputation nationally and globally. In March, the University began a new executive masters program in Spain, offered in conjunction with the Madrid university Instituto Empresa. The program combines 20 to 30 hours of online courses with some on-campus instruction. Simmons called the master’s programs a “legitimate” enterprise, citing other such programs that preceded the financial crisis. But Jason Becker ’09 MA’10, who served as an undergrad on Brown’s Task Force on Undergraduate Education, which convened in 2007 to evaluate the success of Plan for Academic Enrichment, said he was “disturbed” by the initiative. He said he saw its purpose as “exclusively for making money.” Other prestigious universities, such as the London School of Economics, have been offering comparable programs for some time, and

it would be a disservice for Brown not to make strides in the arena of online education, said Matthew Gutmann P’14, vice president for international affairs. That being said, it needs to be done in a way that “makes sense for Brown,” he said. “People who are looking at this are saying it could be a disruptive change in education,” Beresford said. “But that’s never been Brown’s approach. Our approach has been to provide an extremely selective experience.” Programs will be no less intense than any other University course, Beresford said. Yet the instruction for these programs will not come from tenuretrack faculty. The University will hire adjunct instructors instead, and the programs will not be affiliated with existing academic departments. Tuition revenue from the programs for the University will go toward the general budget, Beresford said, and will not be funneled back into professional programs. “The point is to support the oncampus mission that Brown cares so much about,” he said. “It’s faculty, it’s undergraduate financial aid — it’s everything.” And the new professional master’s programs will serve as something of a testing ground for Brown’s involvement in online education. Undergraduates may one day have the option to take prerequisite courses online as a result of the experimental online offerings in the new programs, said Provost Mark Schlissel P’15. But it is yet unproven which force will be more powerful: the revenue funneled toward the budget from the professional programs or the potentially tarnished prestige of a Brown degree. A Brown diploma currently testifies that the graduate has studied in Providence under top-tier faculty. But that indication — like the University’s traditional undergraduate-focused mission — may become a relic. The engineering of expansion

Officially published in February 2004, the Plan for Academic Enrichment — Simmons’ blueprint for improving and expanding Brown — explicitly identifies the University’s relatively small research profile as an issue and outlines steps toward improvement. The “overall reputation as a research university, as measured by various national rankings, has not always been as strong as we would think appropriate” the report states. But establishing the University among the nation’s research pow-

erhouses comes at a high price.
“We cannot be a top-tier research institution without having strong PhD and master’s programs,” said Dean of the Graduate School Peter Weber P’12. “We recognize that for Brown to achieve its ambitions, we have to pay for it.” Faculty hiring was one of the key tenets of the PAE, but much of that growth has come in research-heavy disciplines, indicating a shift in focus as Brown struggles to compete with its larger Ivy League peers. The number of faculty in the life and medical sciences has increased more than 33 percent since the 2002-03 academic year, while faculty in the physical sciences has increased almost 19 percent, according to data from the Dean of the Faculty’s website. In comparison, faculty has grown 11.7 percent in the social sciences and 8.6 per-

cent in the humanities. This focus on research inevitably calls into question the role of the undergraduate on a campus increasingly focused on opportunities for graduate students. “As I understand it, our mission is not just teaching undergrads,” Weber said. “It’s teaching students.” Administrators stress the benefit to undergraduates of enriched graduate programs, citing expanded infrastructure and facilities and the mentorship graduate students can provide. But the growth in graduate programs has not come evenly. Yearly enrollment in master’s programs has increased nearly 150 percent since 2001, while yearly enrollment in PhD programs has grown by less than 18 percent over the same period. Most master’s students are selfsupported — the University does not guarantee their funding as it does for doctoral students. And master’s programs receive little University financial aid, making them a lucrative revenue source for the institution. Weber stressed that a growing demand for master’s programs, not just revenue, factored into expansion. But the University’s decision to respond to that demand speaks to its priorities going forward. Expanded program offerings assure the quality of the academic experience for years to come, Simmons said. “Unless we come up with new sources of revenue, we’re going to have to live with a lot less

than we currently have,” she said. “The safest course for the preservation of Brown is the largest possible range of revenue streams — so when one goes down, another can carry the weight.” “If we don’t do that, you’ll be writing to Brown in 15 years complaining,” Simmons said. Placing priorities

Despite administrative promises that expanded research and graduate programs benefit undergraduates, a prioritization of research programs still threatens to come at the expense of teaching and advising. Fewer than half of faculty members find teaching to be their most time-consuming task compared to research, grant writing, adviscontinued on page 13

Mission Drift? 13

The Brown Daily Herald Friday, December 2, 2011

Growing int’l presence key to raising new revenue

continued from page 12 ing and governance, according to a Herald faculty poll. More than half of faculty members in the sciences — 53.4 percent — listed research as the most time-consuming component of their job. Almost one-fifth of undergraduates are “somewhat dissatisfied” with their academic advising and another 6 percent are “very dissatisfied,” according to this semester’s Herald poll. When recruiting faculty, the University gauges each prospect’s willingness to teach undergraduates, Simmons said. “You often see that it gets down to the question of whether or not the person that you’re hiring actually is going to be focused on undergraduates in their teaching.” During a tenure decision, a junior faculty member’s dedication to teaching is examined again, she said. “I don’t know another university in the country — that is a top university — where people get turned away because of their teaching,” she said. But some faculty members worry recent revisions to the tenure process pressure faculty to emphasize research over teaching. The new tenure guidelines increase the number of external letters of support required, placing more importance on the impact of a professor’s scholarship in an academic field than on the quality of the candidate’s teaching and advising on campus. Corporations step in

Professors in the sciences spend much of their time applying for grants, and securing these grants has become increasingly competitive as researchers fight a downward trend in federal research dollars. The National Institutes of Health, for example, has given approximately the same level of awards since 2001, while applications for those awards have increased by more than 50 percent. Competition for funding poses a challenge for University administrators as well. Brown takes a significant cut of every federal grant a University researcher receives for facilities and administration costs. The funds represent a key avenue by which universities recover the costs of research administration and facilities upkeep. In part pegged to expansion of research facilities, the University’s

rate has increased from 55 percent in the 2006 fiscal year to its current level of 62 percent. Sponsored funding currently accounts for about 20 percent of University revenue. Administrators hoped President Obama’s stimulus funds would herald an uptick in stagnating federal research dollars, but instead they simply provided a momentary hold on long-term declines. Now, a general fear of this trend’s continuation — reflecting a thrifty climate in Washington and ongoing fiscal woes — has resulted in a shift of strategy. The University will increasingly look to private sources to supplement federal funds. “Corporate research is a pretty important part of the portfolio of research sponsorship at most top schools of engineering,” said Lawrence Larson, dean of engineering. “It’s something that we will be increasingly exploring in the coming years.” “We don’t do as well as many of our peers in getting corporate sponsorship,” said Beppie Huidekoper, executive vice president for finance and administration. “It’s just something we should do.” But if corporate sponsors overtake the federal government as the primary funders of research, academics may frame their studies differently to attract private money. Though administrators agree the University should and will increase corporate sponsorship, some are concerned about a resultant degradation of research integrity. The University is currently revising its conflict of interest policy to address these concerns. “The thing that we have to be very sure of is that we never compromise the quality or the independence of the research we do here,” Larson said. Patents may also become a significant revenue source for the University in the future. It takes only one exceptional patent to generate large sums for the University, Schlissel said. Under some corporate sponsorship frameworks, corporations negotiate to retain patent rights, leaving the University less able to benefit financially. But Brown has a policy to retain intellectual property rights. At most, a corporate sponsor would be offered access to the research findings prior to other corporations, said Clyde Briant, vice president for research. Though corporate sponsorship

of research will “grow tremendously,” Schlissel said the University will “insist when we receive research support that the faculty are free to publish their results.” But despite official administrative guidelines, researchers can still feel pressure from corporate sponsors. Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior Martin Keller stepped down as chair of the psychiatry department of the Med School in 2009, after his study was accused of misrepresenting a medication’s side effects. Keller’s research received funding from GlaxoSmithKline, the company selling the drug under study. The University has not publicly investigated Keller or responded to external accusations condemning Keller’s research. Opportunities abroad

Simmons and other top administrators visited India in 2010, one of many stops on the president’s

as a potential opportunity for revenue diversification. “We’re paying a lot more attention as an institution overall as to where we can make the best connections with foreign scholars and universities,” Gutmann said. A lot of the pressure to establish ties abroad comes from alums and potential fundraising sources, Simmons wrote in an email to The Herald in March. “Our presence in China will certainly grow, and demands from our alumni to have meaningful programs and relationships in China will continue,” she wrote. The current Year of China on campus is a “stepping stone” to help the University achieve its goals of a broader presence and increased fundraising in China, Chung-I Tan, professor of physics and director of the Year of China, told The Herald in March. In addition to improved philanthropic relationships, recruitment

more financial aid for international students, and the University hopes to increase the socioeconomic diversity of its international students going forward, Gutmann said. “Sometimes when this discussion comes up people think we’re just looking for money,” Gutmann said. “That’s not the case, in that we want to develop programs where there is a demand.” “Brown is a nonprofit for a reason,” he said. But while there is certainly a demand on campus for international engagement and discussion of global issues, it is less clear whether these specific initiatives are motivated by University scholarship or by alums and donors abroad. Past theme years of Africa, Latin America and India did not engage much of the student body, Tan said in March. And only around 20 people attended the University’s kick-off Year of China event in September.

of more international students — who do not receive need-blind financial aid as students from the United States do — presents a financial incentive. Just over 30 percent of international students are currently receiving financial aid, compared to 43 percent of the overall undergraduate student body. Revenue from international sources is a by-product of the University’s desire to establish its reputation abroad, Simmons said. “It’s imperative that Brown have a place in the international sphere.” Simmons has been pushing for

Recent initiatives call into question the University’s traditional undergraduate focus. As the University courts professional degrees and shifts its research scope, administrators continue to expound Brown’s unique qualities and stature in the academic community. Many of Brown’s peer institutions have long engaged in similar pursuits, and the University’s corporate research profile and international presence represent its attempts to compete in a difficult economic climate. But in recent years, competition has come to look more like imitation. The University’s prestige and ethics could be damaged by its forays into online education and corporate sponsorship of research without careful safeguards. With Simmons’ impending farewell in June, the University stands at a crossroads. It will remain to be seen whether the 19th president will look outward, toward revenue streams and U.S. News & World Report rankings, or within, toward the traditional undergraduate center of the institution, before deciding the most appropriate next steps for Brown in the coming decade and the dawning century.

Drifting from a mission

ongoing global tour. Her numerous trips in recent years aimed to forge ties and establish Brown’s brand internationally. The University has created advisory councils in China, India and Latin America and has aggressively targeted Asia as a potential source of fundraising support. The councils are comprised of high-profile alums and parents, Ronald Margolin, vice president for international advancement, told The Herald in September 2009. While not solely tied to revenue, the University’s increased focus on internationalization has been seen

14

The Brown Daily Herald Friday, December 2, 2011

diamonds & coal

Editorial cartoon

by lo r e n f u lto n

A diamond to the 1.1 percent of Herald poll respondents who have had six or more sexual partners this semester. And a cubic zirconium to the 1.2 percent of poll respondents who answered “not sure.” Ask your parents. Cubic zirconia to the 20 students and faculty who participated in a walkout Monday and demonstrated on the Main Green in protest of the pepper spraying of peaceful demonstrators by campus police at the University of California at Davis. In lieu of pepper spray, Department of Public Safety officers unleashed naked masturbators on the demonstrators. A diamond to Assistant Professor of Physics Savvas Koushiappas and Alex Gerringer-Sameth GS, who published a paper yesterday setting new parameters on the mass of dark matter particles. What’s more, they performed all their experiments on the dark matter in the Harkness washing machines. A cubic zirconium to University Chaplain Janet Cooper Nelson, who said “If I followed you around on a Friday night at a party, (I am) not so sure that sexual practices reflect education.” That’s because only 1.1 percent of students have taken SANS 0069: “Secrets of the Kama Sutra.” Coal to the city of Providence, which celebrated its 375th birthday last Tuesday. The Herald turns 120 years old today, but in newspaper years that’s 376! Take that. A cubic zirconium to the junior who said, “Occupy College Hill is a glorified version of the conversations you’re having with your friends around campus.” Apparently the goal of the Occupy movement is to build a more just and equitable bong. A diamond to Gov. Lincoln Chafee ’75 P’14, who asked the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to loosen its restrictions on marijuana use and distribution Wednesday. Chafee also announced that when he runs for reelection in 2014, the central plank of his platform will be bringing kegs back to campus. A diamond to former President Barnas Sears 1825, who wrote to the Corporation 150 years ago, “We are flooded by a class of young men of little solidity or earnestness of character, who resort to this college not so much for the sake of sound learning as for the sake of cheap honors. We are now literally receiving the refuse of other colleges.” The University’s mission may be drifting, but some things never change.

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letter to the editor Saferide reforms and the role of UCS To the Editor: On Nov. 7, 2011, an article was published entitled “Saferide rolls out service updates,” and there was subsequently an editorial commending the Transportation Office for its changes. The article described the extensive reforms and new services that the Transportation Office was offering to improve the Saferide program. Through no fault of the author, the article failed to mention that these reforms and improvements occurred as a result of numerous meetings that members of the Undergraduate Council of Students had with Transportation Office staff. In an effort to

ensure that the hard work of the UCS members was recognized, we reached out to our contact in the Transportation Office who submitted a request for a correction to the Brown Daily Herald. Because Herald policy states that corrections only exist for factual errors, this letter serves to proclaim that while many of the changes that the Transportation Office has implemented are not ideas directly from UCS, the role that UCS members played in relaying student dissatisfaction was pivotal in the Transportation Office’s decision to reform Saferide. Undergraduate Council of Students

quote of the day

“Our mission is not just teaching undergrads. It’s teaching students.” — Dean of the Graduate School Peter Weber P’12 See revenue on page 1.

CorrectionS A column in Wednesday’s Herald (“Emigrating to the Center,” Nov. 30) incorrectly stated the size of the national deficit in fiscal year 2011 to be $15 trillion. In fact, it is $1.56 trillion. The Herald regrets the error. An article in yesterday’s Herald (“UCS denounces UC Davis pepper spraying,” Dec. 1) incorrectly stated that the Undergraduate Finance Board signed a $70,000 contract with Media Technology Services this semester to allow Category III groups to use media services equipment without paying rental fees. In fact, UFB worked with administrators to extend a temporary agreement to waive the media services fee, causing the $70,000 previously spent annually by the UFB on media services for student activities to be permanently moved to Computing and Information Service’s budget. 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. C ommentary P O L I C Y The editorial is the majority opinion of the editorial page board of The Brown Daily Herald. The editorial viewpoint does not necessarily reflect the views of The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. Columns, letters and comics reflect the opinions of their authors only. L etters to the E ditor P olicy Send letters to letters@browndailyherald.com. Include a telephone number with all letters. The Herald reserves the right to edit all letters for length and clarity and cannot assure the publication of any letter. Please limit letters to 250 words. Under special circumstances writers may request anonymity, but no letter will be printed if the author’s identity is unknown to the editors. Announcements of events will not be printed. advertising P olicy The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. reserves the right to accept or decline any advertisement at its discretion.

Opinions 15

The Brown Daily Herald Friday, December 2, 2011

Divided we stand By jared moffat Opinions Columnist

Spurred by the radical discourse within the Tea Party and Occupy movements, more and more political debates I witness express themes of desperation and animosity. They are desperate in the sense that each participant perceives an urgent crisis. According to recent polls, three out of four registered voters think the country is on the wrong track. And worse, these debates are increasingly hostile, because each side refuses to re-think, or even re-articulate, their convictions about what is wrong and what ought to be done. Many of these exchanges culminate in a mutual feeling that the opposition represents a root cause of the current mess — “It’s idiots like these,” they conclude. These sorts of conversations are common between Republicans and Democrats — case in point: the Congressional supercommittee — but I get the impression that even within the left and right poles of the political spectrum, there is pugnacious disagreement about what policies would reinvigorate our economy and restore faith in the government. Dialogue can be immensely productive, but only if there are some beliefs that all parties endorse at the outset. My first contention is that the bitter arguments about the direction of the country result from a lack of a basic consensus on what I like to think of as political first principles. By political first principles, I mean explicit agreements about

how political debates should be resolved and adjudicated. Think of them like the contents of a social contract. The Constitution represents a system of political first principles, because it establishes a set of procedures that constrain political decision-making. The problem in this country, as I see it, is that even our most basic political institutions are themselves coming under heavy suspicion, perhaps rightly so, and this is making our political debates counter-productive. For instance, following the news that the supercommittee failed to devise a budget to reduce the national deficit, Brown’s website posted an interview with Wendy Schiller, associate professor of political science, in which she

of a nation meant to represent a clean break with the monarchical authoritarianism and religious oppression of the mother country. In addition to this shared historical context, the wealthy white men who wrote the Constitution also shared a congruous world view that was rooted in Enlightenment philosophical ideals and a Christian cultural tradition. There was of course disagreement among the founders, but to a large extent they were on the same page. This is what enabled them to settle on a social contract containing a robust set of political first principles. In the current post-modern era, any attempt to come up with a similarly unifying historical and ideological narrative or vision

The impossibility of a shared national consciousness currently precludes agreement on any robust political first principles, which in turn perpetuates an increasing sense of desperation and in-group animosity. remarks, “Congress cannot function anymore. … Congress now is an outdated, antiquated institution that absolutely has to be changed from the outside.” One can easily find similar rebukes of the executive and judicial branches. I think if we look even deeper, this lack of consensus on political first principles is a symptom of a more fundamental cultural crisis. That crisis is the lack of a unifying narrative of what our nation is and should be. This is a very broad and abstract claim, so let me try to clarify. The Constitution was born from a vision

for the United States is either laughably naive or depressingly hollow. American culture is anything but homogenous. In fact, American culture is just as disjointed and cosmopolitan as the planet itself. We have everything here: communists and libertarians, atheists and fundamentalists. Therefore, given that we value this non-conformity, the only solution is to forgo a common national narrative and create a set of political first principles that, instead of forcing us to come to substantial political agreements, promote cultural and political autonomy while preventing the domination of one group by another. That is,

we should not be aiming to bring 300 million citizens into political agreement. We should instead be interested in how we can keep the peace while allowing like-minded people to self-organize into their own communities. In summation, I believe that the impossibility of a shared national consciousness currently precludes agreement on any robust political first principles, which in turn perpetuates an increasing sense of desperation and in-group animosity. The only reasonable solution to preventing societal decay then is to simply agree to disagree. We must somehow allow ideologically similar people to form their own, more or less autonomous, political entities. Concrete implementations of this might be the separation of the country into two smaller nations, perhaps one conservative and one liberal. Or it could be a return to a more federalist form of government in which the individual states are thought of as policy laboratories, free to experiment with laws and institutions as they see fit. There is one significant problem with my proposal — modern economic globalization forces our political entities into awkward juxtapositions and competitions. This is the central obstacle to the sort of political revolution I am suggesting. As I see it, the hard problem 21st century leadership faces involves enabling diverse cultural and political institutions to thrive while maintaining stable economic relations. Jared Moffat ’13 is a philosophy concentrator from Jackson, Miss. He hopes someone will publish a response and plans to write a follow-up column to expand on the last point.

Scientists, do not help murder anyone By Daniel Moraff Opinions Columnist

Giving $50,000 minus some-odd dollars per year makes us all more or less responsible for things at Brown — what the University does for society, how it helps it and how it hurts it. So we should all be a little worried about the sciences because some scientists make terrible things happen. This is not a column about how making advanced weapons for use by the U.S. government is bad. It is bad, and I do not think the reasons why are that complicated. The U.S. wages unjust wars and uses extremely powerful and deadly munitions — for example, cluster bombs, which nearly every marginally human-rights-respecting country in the world thinks should be banned — to kill people, often 100 percent innocent people. Our military budget, six times larger than China’s or anyone else’s, is bloated and dumb and underscores the insanity of the American federal government. This is not particularly insightful or original, but it is true and it is important. Universities produce the steady stream of scientists, engineers, mathematicians and computer science concentrators that makes this war effort possible. Educated, brilliant scientists came up with hydrogen bombs, Agent Orange, mustard gas, cluster bombs, napalm, Predator drones and

armor-piercing bullets. Even more insidiously, they made it possible to spy on millions of people with unprecedented sophistication. The problem is that a bunch of really great engineers and other science, technology, engineering and math-inclined people are going to graduate from Brown and take secure, challenging and high-paying jobs. Far too often, that is going to mean General Dynamics or Northrop Grumman or some other defense contractor, which puts all of us, at best, in an ethical grey area. Science departments — particularly en-

tions of what they do. And I get it: They are science classes concerned with science. None of us are 12, and we are all presumably grown-ups who can think for ourselves and know enough to decide whether to spend our lives blowing up innocent Arabs. But — not to dump on technical schools, because technical schools are great — this is not a technical school. It is a liberal arts university where we are, in theory, concerned with more than learning a trade. According to our mission statement, we are all about “educating and preparing students to discharge

Universities produce the steady stream of scientists, engineers, mathematicians and computer science majors that makes this war effort possible.

gineering, just speaking from personal experience — do not do a great job of addressing this reality. In the first introductory engineering course, for example, a parade of speakers talks about the exciting developments in their particular engineering field, and for that part of class, you do not have to take notes. It’s great. But not once does the question of ethics in science get raised, not once are engineers encouraged to think about the broader implica-

the offices of life with usefulness and reputation.” Putting aside how stupidly worded the statement is, we need to take steps to make sure we deal with this goal. There are some things we can do. Components of course curricula should directly address ethical concerns. The Science and Society courses Brown offers are great. While I get that there is a massive time crunch, some of these questions should be incorporated into introductory sci-

ence classes. It is just as important to know what a force is doing as it is to know that it equals mass times acceleration. Some law schools help out with loan repayment when their graduates go on to lower-paying, more societally beneficial jobs. I think it would be great to see our undergraduate and graduate programs offer some kind of assistance along these lines to deter people from moving right into lucrative defense contractors. Finally, there is the question of what kind of research goes on at Brown. This is a tough one, because the records are not readily accessible and I am lazy and do not like research. But we have done nuclear research in the past, which is a bad thing. And some research definitely goes on here that has potential weapons applications. A formal anti-destruction policy for funded projects would be terrific. When you get right down to it, though, it is mostly on us. I think I am too young and too dumb to morally exhort anyone, but I guess STEM people who care about things should morally exhort themselves to think long and hard about how we impact society and what we can do as scientists to make the world a place with fewer explosions rather than more. The movement for ethics in the sciences is very important. We are one university and can only accomplish so much, but we can sure as hell try. Daniel Moraff is a mediocre engineer with an email address.

Daily Herald Sports Friday the Brown

Friday, December 2, 2011

Sheehan: love and basketball

Slacklining

Alum slackliners trick their way to the top By amy chen Contributing Writer

Slackliner Melissa Bowe ’11 had a productive November. She captured first place at the Gibbon Games East International Slacklining Competition in Boston and won first place at the online Queen of Slackline competition, beating out over 70 other female competitors. Accompanying Bowe was fellow classmate Kyle Cackett ’11 MS’12, who placed in the top eight in the men’s division at the Gibbons games and also participated in the King of Slacklining competition. Slacklining involves people doing tricks while walking across a one-inch, untaut rope suspended between two points. The Queen and King of Slacklining competitions were held online. Tricks were posted each week, and competitors were required to make videos of themselves performing each feat. Bowe was the last remaining female competitor who successfully completed every trick. In the Gibbon Games competition, Bowe beat out eight other

domestic and international female competitors, including then-women’s world champion Ellie Schulte. Cackett placed in the top eight of 24 male competitors. In selecting the best slackliner, judges looked at technique, difficulty and excitement level of each trick, said Hannah Varner ’14, current president of Brown’s slacklining club. Varner and other members of the slacklining club went to cheer on Bowe and Cackett. “The crowd was definitely very into it,” she said. “It was very neat to watch.” While at Brown, Bowe was an active participant in the club. “Mel was always inclusive of people,” Varner said. Bowe said she began learning the sport after seeing Cackett practicing on the Main Green. It took only a year for her to reach her current level, Varner said, and it was a “shocking realization to see how good she is compared to everyone else.” “Through the course of the semester, she has increased the difficulty of what she’s doing by so much,” she added. After such rapid improvement, Bowe has devoted herself to slack-

By Sam Sheehan Sports Columnist Courtesy of Max Monn

How are you feeling about the team’s prospects for the season? We’ve been doing well so far. We won two of our close matches — against Columbia and Bates. We get back two of our best players, who

This whole NFL season has felt a bit empty to me. Don’t get me wrong — it’s been incredibly entertaining and I’ve loved every minute of it. The problem is that I know how I’m going to feel about this season in a couple of months. The NFL is like a whirlwind summer romance. You spend 16 days together — maybe a couple more if things go pretty well — grinning like the infatuated idiot you are the whole time. Then, as quickly as she arrived, the summer fling disappears out of your life because the ice cream shop she works at is closing for the summer. You’re heartbroken and try to keep in contact through Facebook, but the bottom line is that the abbreviated time you had together is a blessing in disguise. You like her because she is fun, spontaneous and, most importantly, mysterious. But if you hang out with her for an extended period of time, the mystery disappears and you realize that you don’t have too much in common. Your conversations begin to fall flat. She hates your favorite movies and books, and she reveals that her cat’s name is “Husband.” The NFL season is the same way. It avoids the pitfalls of the MLB season by being spontaneous and always having an impact. You only have between 16 and 20 games and every single one is important. “Upsets” are much more common in football than in other sports, because we don’t have enough of a chance to analyze exactly how good a team is. The Baltimore Ravens can beat the Pittsburgh Steelers and lose to the Seattle Seahawks the following week. The Buffalo Bills can start the season 4-1 and have a win percentage under .500 six weeks later. The Cincinnati Bengals “upset” the Bills in Week Four, but we now know that they are the better team. Like the pretty girl from the summer, the season is also accessible and friendly. Football is an incredibly complex sport for players and fans who know the game well, but the general concept is pretty easy for newcomers to figure out. One side tries to get the ball to the other side of the field. The other team hits the person with the ball. It’s im-

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Melissa Bowe ’11 busts a move at the Gibbon Games competition in Boston.

lining, Varner said. Both Bowe and Cackett work for Gibbon part-time. Independently, they both travel and participate in slacklining events through the country. Bowe said she used to do gymnastics at Brown but eventually dropped it. After that, slacklining was “filling in the gaps” that gymnastics used to occupy. Cackett said he first started slacklining after seeing people practicing on the Main Green, and began watching YouTube videos to teach himself the sport. With a number of people interested in slacklining around campus, Cackett founded

Brown’s club in fall 2010. The club stands apart because it is one of the largest slacklining gatherings in the Northeast, Cackett said. “It’s unique in terms of how we organize it and how people come together to do it,” Varner said. “I don’t think a lot of places have groups that do it.” “Slacklining is like acrobatic work,” she added. “You can work to do very neat things. You can always want to do more twists and spins and flips, spirals and lots of tricks.” In the future, Bowe and Cackett plan to keep twisting and spinning their way to the top.

M. Basketball

Bears beat Rams for first time in decade By sam rubinroit Assistant Sports Editor

The men’s basketball team defeated URI for the first time in over a decade Wednesday night, 65-56. Though the matchup began with a question mark for the Bears (4-4), it ended with an exclamation point. Bruno entered the 153rd showdown between the two teams trailing 100-52 in the

standings, with its last victory dating back to the 2001-02 season. At the start of the game, URI (1-6) controlled the tempo, as the Bears were seemingly unable to handle the Rams’ stifling fullcourt pressure and gargantuan size in the paint. But their problems seemed to dissipate over the course of the game, and with two seconds remaining Dockery Walker ’14 slammed home an uncontested dunk to seal the Bears’

nine-point victory. “It’s just a signature win,” said Head Coach Jesse Agel. “We have some really good guys in our program, and they really had a chance to shine tonight. To beat URI, it just doesn’t happen, so I’m really happy for our guys.” “No question, it was disappointing,” said URI Head Coach Jim Baron. “It was the first time we’ve lost to Brown in 10 years. I told our guys coming in that this

was like a backyard brawl for the state, and you have to put two halves together.” The Rams dictated the pace in the opening half, deploying a full-court press that forced five turnovers from Bears point guard Sean McGonagill ’14. URI held a decisive rebounding advantage as well, pulling down eight offensive and 12 defensive boards continued on page 10

athlete of the week

Thompson ’12 leads squash under pressure By Adam toobin Staff Writer

The men’s squash team turned to its captain, Brad Thompson ’12, to seal the victory against Bates Nov. 19. The other players had split their matches 4-4, and Thompson found out midway through his match that winning depended solely on him. Thompson thrived under pressure and defeated his opponent 11-7. For his stellar play and composure in a do-or-die situation, The Herald has named Thompson Athlete of the Week. Courtesy of Brown Athletics

Co-captain Brad Thompson ’12 propelled the Bears to a 5-4 win over Bates.

The Herald: What is your most memorable squash experience at

Brown? Thompson: When I was a sophomore, we were playing Bowdoin at Bowdoin, and the score came down to four-all, and I was playing in the number one spot. I played really well, everything came together — even though it was the highest pressure situation I’ve been in — and so I won really easily.