Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Daily

Herald

the Brown

vol. cxxii, no. 53

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Since 1891

At ADOCH, admits glimpse life in Brunonia Corporation

By Caroline Saine Staff Writer

Pathikrit Bhattacharyya / Herald

Prospective students check in at Sayles Hall for A Day on College Hill.

About 780 prospective students accepted to the class of 2016 arrived on campus Monday night to spend some time getting to know the University in the annual event A Day on College Hill.

High school seniors — hailing from as far as Australia and South Korea — had the chance to mingle with prospective classmates, interact with current students and briefly experience college life as part of the ADOCH program.

Several Ivy League universities were forced to schedule their admitted student events on the same day due to the timing of Passover and Easter, said Bora Lee ’13, ADOCH co-coordinator. Though Yale, Harvard and Penn each held similar events Monday, enrollment numbers for ADOCH did not suffer — approx-

imately 120 more students registered this year than last year.

“I went to ADOCH as a prefrosh, and it definitely impacted my decision to go to Brown,” Lee said. Lee and Co-Coordinator Rebekah Stein ’14 wanted to make the experience memorable for potential members of the class of 2016, she said.

After arriving on campus, prospective students were treated to a barbeque dinner on Pembroke Campus Monday night, giving them a chance to meet current students and get to know their potential classmates.

Later in the evening, they were led to the Main Green, where Dean of Admission Jim Miller ’73, Provost Mark Schlissel P’15, Lee and Stein welcomed the students to campus.

“We’re delighted you’re here,” Miller said. “We’ve read about you, we’ve written about you, we’ve argued

to do that every day,” he said.

“America’s a place where we all love our cars,” Dunn said. On the show, drivers get emotional when their cars are towed, and some channel their frustration into verbal abuse toward the officials. The show continued on page 3

continued on page 4

continued on page 3

By Kate DeSimone Staff Writer

inside

continued on page 5

news....................2-4 Science....................5 editorial.............10 Opinions..............11

people who ticket, tow and boot the cars of problem parkers. The show also films in Detroit and has previously filmed in Philadelphia.

Parking in Providence is unique because it’s “an older city — it wasn’t designed with automobiles in mind,” said Andrew Dunn, the series producer.

Nearly four in five students approve of Obama

By Lucas Morduchowicz Contributing Writer

The majority of students approve of how President Obama is handling his job, according to a poll conducted by The Herald March 12-14. A total of 78.8 percent of respondents expressed approval, with 16.5 percent expressing strong approval and 62.3 percent stating that they somewhat approved.

Only 12.8 percent disapproved, and 8.5 percent reported that they had no opinion. These strong approval ratings are consistent with previous student feedback. During midterm elections in 2010, 77.5 percent of students expressed approval of Obama’s work, and in 2008, 86.1 percent of students supported Obama for president over Republican presidential candidate John McCain.

In contrast to the high approval ratings on campus, Obama has a low national approval rating of 48 percent, according to this week’s

Endorsement The Herald endorses Brandon Tomasso ’13

Editorial, 6

Gallup poll.

“The reason (the Herald poll numbers) are as high as they are is that the Obama administration has worked hard to pursue policies that are of particular importance to people of our age group and people of our social and political persuasions,” said Shawn Patterson ’12, president of the Brown Democrats.

Specific examples of such policies include student loan reform, health care reform, anti-discrimination fair pay legislation and the repealing of “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell,” Patterson said.

Many students expressed that one or all of these issues were important factors in their continued approval of Obama.

“I approve of the job Obama is doing on social matters,” said Brice Gumpel ’14, adding that he thinks Obama’s popularity on campus also has to do with the high percentage

Do you approve or disapprove of the way President Obama is handling his job as president of the United States?

Strongly approve 16.5% Somewhat approve 62.3%

Strongly disapprove 3.2% Somewhat disapprove 9.6% No opinion 8.5%

Emily Polk / Herald

continued on page 2

Memoirs

Author shares advice and personal stories news, 8

weather

Fifty-one students presented their research projects in the form of a poster at yesterday’s Public Health Research Day, where Yale Professor Kelly Brownell discussed the growing obesity epidemic for the 13th annual Dr. and Mrs. Frederick W. Barnes Jr. Lecture. Roughly 150 students, faculty and staff members gathered in Andrews Dining Hall for the event.

“I was thrilled. We had more posters than ever,” said Terrie Wetle, associate dean of medicine for public health and public policy.

Awards were given in three categories. Yuanchao Zheng GS won first place in the doctoral and postdoctoral student category, Prajula Mulmi GS in the master’s student category and Blair McNamara ’12.5 in the undergraduate category.

The aim of McNamara’s project was to describe the prevalence of Hepatitis C infection among a group of drug-using inmates under the age of 28 at a Rhode Island prison.

Currently, Rhode Island prisons only screen those who admit a history of injection drug use for Hepatitis C, McNamara said. McNamara’s study showed that many people positive for Hepatitis C had

her, “Thanks a lot, you f— b­—!”

Bonnie Brown is on the receiving end of insults like this all the time, but they don’t bother her, she said.

As a parking enforcement officer with the Providence Police Department, she issues tickets for illegally parked cars, and said encountering angry drivers is just part of the job.

By David CHung News Editor

President Ruth Simmons will present eight honorary degrees on behalf of the University to influential individuals who are leaders in their fields during Commencement Weekend. The recipients were selected by the Board of Fellows of the Corporation, the University’s highest governing body, following recommendations from the Advisory Committee on Honorary Degrees, composed of faculty and students, which seeks candidate nominations from the University community.

The recipients this year come from a variety of fields, including science, politics and media. “You always try to go for a diverse array,” said Samuel Magaram ’12, one of two undergraduates on the advisory committee.

This year’s recipients include chemist Carolyn Bertozzi, awardwinning actress Viola Davis, Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., Pulitzer Prizewinner Marilynne Robinson ’66, musician Sebastian Ruth ’97, journalist Diane Sawyer, political theorist Gene Sharp and engineer Wei

Public health Show captures life of a city parking enforcer Parking enforcers like Bon“Parking Wars” is not another prof tackles nie Brown are the stars of “Park- drama-obsessed reality show ­— ining Wars,” an A&E series, which stead, it’s “a walk in the day of the Parking enforcement officer Bon- is featuring Providence’s ticketing lives of parking enforcers,” Dunn obesity nie Brown remembers walking crew for the first time this season. said. Parking enforcement is a tough down Thayer Street one day when The show, now in its sixth year, job that requires patience and scruepidemic a woman across the street yelled at portrays life on the streets for the tiny. “It takes a certain personality

By Kristina Klara Staff Writer

selects eight recipients for honorary degrees

t o d ay

tomorrow

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2 Campus News

Student support for Obama remains high

calendar Today

APRIL 18

8 P.m.

ToMORROW

The Brown Daily Herald Wednesday, April 18, 2012

APRIL 19

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2:30 p.m.

A Perfect Wedding

Reading by Poet C. K. Williams

Leeds Theater, Lyman Hall

McCormack Family Theater

8 p.m.

5 p.m.

112 Years of 20th Century Music

SPEC Day Carnival

Grant Recital Hall

Main Green

menu SHARPE REFECTORY

VERNEy-WOOLLEY DINING HALL LUNCH

Buffalo Chicken Wings, Vegan Nuggets with Dipping Sauce, Flame Grilled Veggie Patties

Sausage with Tortellini Soup, Vegetarian Corn Chowder, Chicken Fajitas, Mexican Succotash

DINNER Tofu Noodle Stir-Fry, Shrimp Stir Fry, Shrimp and Veggie Egg Roll, Pork Pot Sticker, Ice Cream Station

Chopped Sirloin Patty, Vegan Three Bean Casserole, General Tso Vegetable Stirfry, Fudge Bars

Sudoku

of Democrats who attend Brown.

Mario Vega ’14 also said students who come to Brown are disproportionately liberal.

“It has to do with selection bias,” Vega said. “Students who choose to come to Brown knowing it’s a leftleaning institution and have the money and grades to get here are more likely to be Democratic.” Vega cited health care reform and the withdrawal of troops from Iraq as reasons for his support.

But not all students express support for Obama’s policies. Many of the same policies that inspire support in students draw criticism from others.

“I don’t support Obama because I think his economic policies are

Daily

the Brown

misguided, and he tries to hand out too much free stuff to the poor,” said Melissa Conant ’14.

Wendy Schiller, associate professor of political science and public policy, suggested that Obama’s popularity at the University goes beyond policy positions. Students have a predisposition to support the Democratic Party rather than approving of actual policy choices made

by Obama, she said. “Most students look at Obama through the lens of partisanship,” she said.

Terrence George ’13, president of the Republican Club of Brown University, suggested a similar explanation.

“Students may not actually pay attention to what the president is doing,” George said. “They’re probably going to stay loyal to (Obama) no

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matter what.”

With the 2012 presidential election on the horizon, metrics such as approval ratings can be helpful indicators of what is to come. Most presidents who have successfully sought reelection have had national approval ratings above 50 percent prior to the race, and most incumbents who lost their bid for reelection had ratings below that, according to the Gallup website. But national approval ratings are not guaranteed predictors of the outcome of an election. George W. Bush had a 49 percent approval rating when he won reelection in 2004.

National Democratic approval ratings usually translate into slightly more votes because Democrats are more likely to get support from groups that are less polled, like people who do not speak English as their first language and the inner city poor, Patterson said.

Schiller also said national approval ratings are not always good indications of election results because they may not compare the person in question to opposing candidates.

Written questionnaires were administered to 1,530 undergraduates March 12-14 in the lobby of J. Walter Wilson and the Stephen Robert ’62 Campus Center during the day and the Sciences Library at night. The poll has a 2.2 percent margin of error with 95 percent confidence.

Find results of previous polls at thebdh.org/poll.

Campus News 3

The Brown Daily Herald Wednesday, April 18, 2012

College Hill parking triggers student frustration continued from page 1

“holds a mirror up” to the audience, Dunn said. “Most of us don’t realize what we’re like when we’re angry.”

“I’ve been called everything,” said Bonnie Brown, who has worked in parking enforcement for three years. “The first two weeks I was up here, I was in tears,” she said. “They park illegally, and I’m the asshole.”

But now, she shrugs off the trash talk, she said. “They don’t know if I’m a whore,” she quipped.

Bonnie Brown’s stretch is Thayer Street, covering Prospect to Hope streets and Waterman to Lloyd streets. She said she likes the freedom of being outside all day­— she walks a total of about 10 miles, as she once calculated on a pedometer.

In a new episode that premiered last Saturday night, Bonnie Brown battled a rebellious parker while many familiar Thayer Street sights appeared in the background, such as the CVS mural and Pleasant Surprise’s front window.

On average, Bonnie Brown gives

out about 60 tickets a day during the week and 80 on Fridays. She said there are three cars she gives a ticket to every single day. Though she does not know who the owners are, she knows their plate numbers by heart and said she thinks they probably work for the University.

“Parking is very difficult all year round” on College Hill, Bonnie Brown said. Since many spaces are two-hour parking only, “it’s just like musical cars”­­— every two hours people move their cars to another spot. “Brown employees know the game. … If you work for Brown, you’re good at parking,” she said.

“It’s definitely really difficult to find parking around campus,” said Caitlin Brisson ’12. Dealing with time-limited parking spaces is a hassle, she said, because “you have to move your car or you get ticketed pretty immediately.” Finding parking around campus in the middle of the day is especially difficult because the area is so busy. Brisson said there have been times when she searched for a parking space for 20 minutes before finally finding one.

Brisson, who lives close to Thayer Street, said she often sees Bonnie Brown patrolling and cars parking at her house have received tickets for being on the sidewalk or being parked at night. Though Brisson said she doesn’t watch “Parking Wars,” she and her housemates looked up the show online after seeing Bonnie Brown with “a pack of film people” around campus several times.

Bonnie Brown said the “Parking Wars” film crew spent about four weeks last year following her around her post. Filming the show was more difficult than she expected, she said, because she is not used to stopping to explain out loud the violation for every ticket she issues.

“I don’t want to stand there and get chewed out” by drivers, she said.

“I hit and run and get out of there.”

Dunn said filming the show has changed the way he sees the streets.

Many people assume that if they park illegally for just a few minutes, it is unlikely that any danger will come of it. But parking enforcers have seen everything, Dunn said.

Once, while the film crew was working, “a blind man literally walked into a car” parked on the sidewalk, he said.

One thing he has noticed that “amazes” him is that “more people park for two minutes to go to ATMs in Providence than I’ve seen anywhere else,” he said. He has seen people park illegally, walk right past a parking enforcer and come back from the ATM with a $30 ticket, which he calls “the most expensive ATM fee ever.”

Sergeant Paul Zienowicz, commanding officer of the traffic bureau of the Providence Police Department, said it is “not the case” that parking is difficult to find in Providence.

But he added, “people don’t like to be inconvenienced” — often drivers will choose to double-park than to park half a block away from a store they are hoping to get in and out of quickly.

Though irritated car owners sometimes claim enforcers don’t have real jobs, Zienowicz and Dunn disagreed. Dunn pointed out that

Bonnie Brown keeps traffic flowing on Thayer Street while still allowing trucks to supply its businesses.

“Without that, I don’t know what would happen” to activity on Thayer Street, Dunn said.

Since Brisson has had her car on College Hill for a few years, she said she has learned “to navigate parking better,” but added that the ability to find parking “definitely varies every day.” She said she knows many people who have cars on campus, and that the overall consensus is that “there is a lack of student parking at Brown.”

Other students echoed Brisson’s outlook on parking on College Hill.

Dmitry Vagner ’12 said he knows several people who have gotten parking tickets, both from Providence’s and from the University’s parking enforcement, and said the parking situation causes “lots of strife.” Michelle Graff ’13 said she might bring a car to campus this summer and is already nervous about finding parking. “I think it might be a disaster to park,” she said.

Admins urge prefrosh to trust their guts in decision process continued from page 1 about you,” he said, congratulating the students for standing out among 29,000 applicants for the class of 2016.

Miller advised prospective students to stand on the Main Green for a visceral experience of Brown and to trust their hearts and stomachs — not their brains — when making their ultimate college decision.

“We fully expect the class of 2016 to be the single best class in the history of Brown,” Miller said, eliciting cheers from the audience.

Schlissel echoed those sentiments, urging prospective students to rely on their gut reactions to the campus and community when considering Brown.

He championed the campus atmosphere as distinctive to Brown.

“I can honestly say I’ve never seen a place where the students are happier,” he said.

Schlissel also cited the University’s student body, faculty, location and open curriculum as reasons for attending. “You’ll learn how to learn,” he said, emphasizing that students at Brown are given both the freedom and the responsibility to craft their educational experience.

Prospective students reiterated these factors as incentives for choosing Brown. Jasmine Perez from New York City said she was attracted to the open curriculum and the vibrancy of the student body. “Everybody is really passionate about what they do,” she said. Though she still plans to visit Penn, Perez said she is confident she will choose Brown, where she knows she will “have time to enjoy college.”

Hailing from Los Angeles, Calif., Giancarlo Hidalgo said he is excited about attending college on the East Coast. “It’s nice to be somewhere you can experience all four seasons,” he said. Hidalgo said he decided on Brown mere seconds after the Main Green welcome. “I had a mini-heart attack,” he said of the experience.

Max Weinreich attends the Bronx

High School of Science in New York City and is deciding between Brown, Yale and Stanford. “Everything has been really well presented,” he said of the ADOCH experience. “Especially the opening remarks.” Weinreich passed up the first day of Bulldog Days — Yale’s admitted students event — to spend Monday night getting a feel for Brown.

Emily Corsini did not travel far for ADOCH — she lives in North Providence, about a 15-minute drive away, she said. Corsini has visited campus a number of times already with her mother, who is a Brown alum. Corsini said she is debating between Brown and Boston University, where she is interested in the undergraduate program in film and television.

“I absolutely fell in love with Brown,” said Frankie Troncoso, who travelled from South Brunswick, N.J. for ADOCH — his first time visiting Brown. Though he was also considering Cornell and George Washington University, Troncoso said ADOCH has convinced him to enroll at Brown in the fall to study political science and theater.

After the Main Green welcome, prospective students were given the chance to attend a talent show, a dessert social and various arch sings featuring a cappella groups Monday evening, before choosing from several events including a Salsa Club workshop or comedy show later that night.

Prospective students attended classes and special seminars Tuesday aimed at introducing the high school seniors to the Brown experience.

Lee and Stein said the ADOCH committee made some adjustments to this year’s program to more actively engage prospective students.

“We’ve added some things to spice up the Main Green welcome,” Lee said, adding that ADOCH mailboxes were set up across campus, where students could pick up a camera and take photos with Brown landmarks.

The committee also made chang-

es to the Late Night Dessert Social, where prospective students mingled, sampled ice cream and cupcakes and previewed Brown student groups that were stationed throughout Faunce.

“We tried to target student groups

that wouldn’t — in the past — have been as well represented,” Lee said.

Brown Juggling, BOLT and Brown Conversation were featured in an effort to showcase student groups that “don’t necessarily perform things,”

Lee said.

Lee said ADOCH aims to introduce prospective students to the student body. “Brown students are just so great. That’s one thing we excel in,” she said.

4 Campus News

The Brown Daily Herald Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Honorary degree recipients include congressman, actor continued from page 1 Yang PhD ’85.

Bertozzi, a professor of chemistry and molecular and cell biology at the University of California at Berkeley, is renowned for advancing bioorthogonal chemistry. A number of her inventions in bioorthogonal chemistry have been used in diagnostics and therapeutic applications, according to the press release.

Davis has appeared in more than 20 films and a variety of other productions during her 15 years as a professional actress. She was

recently nominated for an Academy Award for her role as Aibileen Clark in the 2011 film “The Help.”

Davis grew up attending public schools in the Central Falls area and graduated from Rhode Island College in 1988.

Lewis will be honored for his lifelong commitment to human rights, demonstrated by his bravery during the civil rights movement and his current ethical leadership in Washington, according to the press release. Lewis participated in protests against segregation, serving as the chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating

Committee and helping to organize the August 1963 March on Washington. Lewis was elected to his current position in Congress in November 1986.

Robinson has written three wellreceived novels since her time at Brown. “Housekeeping,” Robinson’s first novel, published in 1980, was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize and was named one of the books of the century by the New York Times. Robinson won the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award for her second novel, “Gilead,” published in 2004.

Ruth, a violist and violinist,

is being awarded for his involvement in the Providence community through music. Ruth established the nonprofit organization Community MusicWorks in the West End of Providence upon graduating from Brown. Community MusicWorks offers musical instruction to community members for free and seeks to use music to enrich the community, according to the press release. The organization was awarded the 2010 National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award from First Lady Michelle Obama, and Ruth won the MacArthur “Genius Award” two years ago.

Sawyer is a renowned broadcast journalist and anchor for “World News” on ABC. She has been honored for her journalism with numerous awards ­— duPonts, Peabodys, Emmys and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Investigative Reporters and Editors, Inc. — and entered the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1997.

Sharp has explored the use of nonviolence in bringing about so-

cial change. Sharp is a graduate of Ohio State University, where he earned undergraduate honors in political science, debate and sociology in 1941 and a master’s in sociology in 1951. Sharp conducted research on nonviolent action in New York City, resulting in his first book which was published in 1960.

Yang, engineer and president of Zhejiang University in China, will be recognized for his research and his service in education. Hailing from Beijing, Yang received a bachelor’s of science in 1976 from Northwestern Polytechnic University and a master’s of science from Tsinghua University in 1981 before coming to Brown.

The University has awarded honorary degrees to notable individuals for almost 250 years, wrote Mark Nickel, senior editor for public affairs and University relations, in an email to The Herald.

Past honorees include the first three U.S. presidents, as well as more recent figures such as Julia Child in 2000 and Nelson Mandela in 2010.

Science 5

The Brown Daily Herald Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Students present research, prof addresses obesity continued from page 1 never been screened before.

The poster session was followed

by Brownell’s lecture, titled “Changing the American Diet: Do We Have the Guts?” Brownell, professor of psychology, epidemiology and public health and director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale, discussed different ways to treat and prevent obesity.

Efforts to combat obesity have thus far centered around the individual and providing the education and motivation necessary for people to adopt healthier lifestyles,

Brownell said. Medication and operations have also been tried, he added.

But these efforts, which have continued for 40 years, have proved a “failed experiment,” since rates of obesity have continued to climb, Brownell said.

Brownell said other public health issues have been addressed by creating “optimal defaults” — circumstances that push people toward living healthier and safer lives.

“You can teach people to brush and floss or you can put fluoride in the water. You can teach people to drive slowly on the highways or you

can put airbags in cars.” Brownell said.

Currently, “disastrous defaults” exist for food, including too much access, large portions and food marketing, Brownell said. He showed pictures of chocolate-covered bacon and deep-fried butter from food stands at the Indiana State Fair.

Food and addiction may prove a “potential game-changer” in the way government and society recognize the obesity problem, Brownell

said.

He cited many studies suggesting that sugar and “palatable foods” may act on the brain in the same way as drugs of abuse. There is some evidence of craving, withdrawal and possible development of tolerance when sugar was tested in animal models, Brownell said.

He proposed a tax on sugarsweetened beverages, calling them the single greatest source of added sugar in the diet. Brownell pro-

comics

jected that if each ounce of sugarsweetened beverages were taxed one penny, consumption would decrease by 10 to 23 percent, and he calculated that $150 billion would be raised over a 10-year period.

Brownell concluded by emphasizing the importance of change agents — such as the press and solid scientific evidence — in the prevention of obesity.

“I hope you can all take part in the food fight,” he said.

Chester Crabson | Tessa Carroll

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

6 Editorial & Letter Editorial cartoon Editorial Tomasso ’13 for UCS vice president Yesterday, we endorsed Anthony White ’13 for president of the Undergraduate Council of Students due to his combination of extensive experience and an innovative platform. Today, we are pleased to endorse Brandon Tomasso ’13 for vice president.

Tomasso was a member of UCS for two years before taking a hiatus this year, and his time off has given him an important outsider perspective on UCS’s role in the undergraduate body. Tomasso does have strong stances on important issues — prioritizing financial aid “at all costs,” as well as student group funding — but his creativity and passion are what impressed us most. He has proposed intriguing ways for UCS to solicit responses and conduct outreach, such as a more accessible polling device, and has offered a better sense of the flaws within UCS than his opponent.

But it is important to note that this was not an easy decision. We were also impressed with Tomasso’s opponent, Michael Schneider ’13, who has had extensive UCS experience as chair of the Campus Life Committee. Schneider has done good work during his UCS tenure, including co-authoring a housing statement that helped jumpstart large-scale renovations on campus. That said, we simply did not think that he matched Tomasso in enthusiasm or creativity. These are also the characteristics that we believe make Tomasso a more suitable vice president for White — both candidates advocated a grassroots approach to making changes, such as the Brown Band playing outside of University Hall or chalk campaigns on the sidewalk.

Zak Fischer ’13 is running unopposed for Undergraduate Finance Board Chair, and though he does not have any competition from which we might otherwise choose, we still endorse him wholeheartedly.

Fischer has identified UFB’s major challenge — that student groups need more funding. According to him, there are two ways to do this. One short-term fix is to increase the student activities fee, but this increases undergraduate tuition. The second is to lobby the administration to prioritize the Student Activities Endowment, a struggling fund that, if bolstered, would reduce tuition by roughly $200 per student and would successfully fund student groups.

Fischer understands that getting the administration to focus on the endowment is of the utmost importance. As such, he plans to run through the past half decade of budgets to make a convincing case to Brown officials. We are extremely pleased that Fischer — a licensed actuary — is taking a forceful and mathematical approach to the problem and that he recognizes that the endowment is vital for long-term success of student groups.

We should note that we are concerned about the long-term future of UFB. Fischer mentioned that the group is still undermanned, and through bureaucratic oversight — for which UFB should be held accountable — the group did not produce a viable candidate for vicechair. Student activities are an incredibly important part of Brown, which the administration and alumni donors often do not notice. It is imperative that UFB work on recruitment and that interested students join the organization in the interest of the future of student groups.

Editorials are written by The Herald’s editorial page board. Send comments to editorials@browndailyherald.com.

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Correction An article in Tuesday’s Herald (“U. selects senior orators for commencement,” April 17) incorrectly stated that Leor Shtull-Leber ‘12 worked with the Hasbro Children’s Hospital. In fact, she interned at Hasbro, Inc., a toy and board game company. The Herald regrets the error.

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Opinions 7

The Brown Daily Herald Wednesday, April 18, 2012

The trouble with troubleshooting

By Adam Bouche Opinions Columnist At Brown, our environment is in constant flux. Just as each student we meet stimulates a shift in — or a shattering of — our personal perspectives, the projects undertaken by our deep-pocketed University continually reshape the world in which we interact. As with our own changes, some roll by relatively undetected, while others are impossible to ignore. A new electric sign does not elicit a glance, but it is hard to miss fences blocking what I thought was the sidewalk. Whatever the reasoning behind the roadblocks, we often assume that it is justified. Why would the leaders of the University place Brown’s fate in irresponsible hands? We rest assured that the sidewalk will soon be replaced by something better, something even more useful — as crazy as that sounds.

But sometimes, the additions that pop up defy all logic. It seems that improvements are often concentrated in areas where no problems have been previously perceived. A few weeks ago, I stood gawking at the new upholstery and furniture in one of the Sharpe Refectory caves. I could not believe that this was how the University chose to spend its money given that our dining situation has bigger issues. Why not boost already-admirable attempts at sustainability or improve the taste of food? Though the renovation may have been undertaken with our happi-

ness in mind, I believe that a popular vote on how to use that money would have led us down a different path.

And to those who dig the Ratty’s new flair, think about the Blue Room. I love the food, but this otherwise beautiful establishment simply does not work. When it’s busy, lines criss-cross and burst out the door, and the chaos is so profound that any hope of thwarting thievery is quickly quashed. Navigating efficiently is a nightmare for both staff and students — a fact that visitors miss as

ed that unless one wanted to steal and pick locks, little was offered for creative amateurs.

Single-section, low-enrollment, concentrator-restricted art classes almost make sure of it. When I finally saw one of our workshops, unoccupied space confirmed the senselessness of it all. Then Granoff opened, and classrooms were to be utilized for cutting-edge, interdisciplinary work in arts and multimedia. Remaining spaces turned into galleries, and rooms remain bare. When several classrooms per building are unoc-

The Corporation’s job is to impress donors and applicants, a necessity if we are to maintain a healthy endowment and a competitive student body. It does not monitor student concerns, so in the process, our interests and ideas can be inadvertently overlooked. they marvel at vibrant colors and the sleek modern style flowing through the interior. Is it any coincidence tours start here?

But to me, the Granoff Center for the Creative Arts typifies the conflict of interest between builders and every-day users. At first, I was ecstatic to hear that a new creative arts center was in the works. My biggest complaint about Brown was the lack of resources available to non-VISA-concentrating student artists. Nearly every college I visited had a craft room or some other edifice in which any student could use arts equipment and materials for a nominal fee.

However, explorations at Brown indicat-

cupied at any given time, how useful is the addition of more empty space? After donor earmarks were accounted for, nothing was added to benefit Brown’s average student. It is questionable whether this building does anything for the majority of students that will never have class inside of it.

Overall, when campus progress does not address long-standing student complaints, we can feel as though we have been overlooked in an attempt to make Brown more appealing to the public, parents and prospective students.

Yet in reality, our dissatisfaction results from nothing more than a conflict of inter-

ests. The Corporation’s job is to impress donors and applicants, a necessity if we are to maintain a healthy endowment and a competitive student body. It does not monitor student concerns, so in the process, our interests and ideas can be inadvertently overlooked.

This divide between the University and the student body can only be bridged by effort on both sides. The University and its constituent departments must attempt to distribute campus-wide surveys and consider more than the “official opinion” of the Undergraduate Council of Students when making decisions. Just as in Congress, the views of our “representatives” often do not reflect the opinions of the student body as a whole. Furthermore, students must participate when administration asks for our advice. Attend UCS meetings if you can.

Spread awareness when you stumble upon the inefficient or unjust. Fill out surveys. We must have both sides of the story in order to know what works and what doesn’t.

For example, I have a hard time believing that the person who cuts Keeney Quadrangle into three will be remembered fondly by current students, especially when its current layout already does much to foster community and inspire interaction. However, if someone put up some thin exit signs that lay flat against the wall, that man or woman just might be hailed as a genius.

Adam Bouche ’14 is not afraid to tell you what he thinks. He can be reached at adam_bouche@brown.edu.

Rethinking individualism and religion

By Ben Marcus Guest Columnist As a Brown student abroad, I don’t often hear about opinions columns in The Herald. So when a piece by Cara Dorris ’15 (“Is religion the scariest word?” April 10) blew up my inbox and Facebook feed, I took notice. Friends seemed outraged about the characterization of spirituality as a manifestation of individualism, and they took personal affront to Dorris’ connection between spirituality, depression and hookup culture. My co-coordinators in Multi-Faith Council were concerned about the portrayal of our organization.

Having read the article for myself, I feel compelled to respond, not just to Dorris but also to those responses I’ve seen posted by my peers regarding her arguments. In truth, Dorris and her detractors have some valid points, though they draw fallacious conclusions.

Dorris argues that our generation increasingly identifies as SBNR — “spiritual but not religious.” This is true. She also connects this trend with society’s emphasis on the individual and personalization. Many notable scholars would agree. In their book, “Habits of the Heart,” religious studies scholars Robert Bellah and Richard Madsen, among others, popularized the term “Sheilaism” to describe individualist, syncretic belief systems.

One of the subjects of their book, Sheila Larson, characterizes her faith as “Sheilaism … her own little voice.” According to Bellah and Madsen, Sheilaism is “a perfectly natural ex-

pression of current American religious life.”

So, Dorris’ argument has a kernel of truth.

Our society does privilege the individual and private experience, and this does have an incontrovertible effect on faith and religious institutions. However, Dorris’ assertion that the SBNR trend leads to depression and hookup culture is dangerous.

To begin, Dorris makes specious and disrespectful claims that those who would identify as spiritual are most likely to be the ones under the influence at Josiah’s or in the beds of strangers. Those who would identify as SBNR represent a wide swath of society

a church pew. In the early 20th century, psychologist and philosopher William James wrote “The Varieties of Religious Experience,” which examined and reaffirmed the value of a variety of spiritual experiences.

Countless articles and books published since have shown that spiritual experiences outside the “church” or any normative religious space can have a positive, enduring impact.

That certain people who identify as SBNR do not adhere to a moral system does not make SBNR as a faith identity any less valid. Few people would discount religion entirely just because some self-identified religious people

Someone’s faith commitment to a particular tradition does not and should not prohibit them from learning about other religious traditions or working with other religious communities. who hold a range of beliefs regarding drugs, alcohol and hooking up. Besides the obvious judgment claim by Dorris regarding the aforementioned activities — which would be interesting and useful to parse, though there isn’t enough room here — she is wrong in assuming the drunk kid in Jo’s is more likely to be spiritual rather than religious. As countless studies have shown, self-identifying as religious — as Dorris would define it — does not necessarily correlate with more puritanical lifestyle choices.

Furthermore, Dorris implies that those who would identify as SBNR are unfaithful and shallow, and she denigrates spiritual moments experienced in any setting except

commit atrocities in the name of religion.

Dorris also seems to say that a Christian who, for example, practices yoga or attends Passover Seders is somehow less Christian.

This may be her most dangerous, intolerant and religiously illiterate point. Someone’s faith commitment to a particular tradition does not and should not prohibit them from learning about other religious traditions or working with other religious communities.

While Dorris seems to believe that interfaith engagement seeks to relativize all faiths and world views or divorce people from their closest convictions, in fact it oftentimes more firmly grounds people in their own faiths or systems of belief.

Some people do create syncretic belief systems that draw on various religious traditions, and while those in religious institutions may not like it, I find it hard to say that those systems of belief, consciously chosen and arrived at through experience, exploration and reflection, are any less valid than more dogmatic or institutional forms of religion.

Towards the end of her argument, Dorris draws a connection between depression and a lack of religious commitment. This is ridiculous. America is very strongly religious, especially for a “modern” country, and especially in comparison to other “modern” countries — I would refer Dorris to “Religious America, Secular Europe?” by Berger, Davie and Fokas. Whether or not Americans are religious enough is the wrong question. I would point Dorris toward a societal obsession with materialism or the current egregious economic disparity as much better starting points.

Finally, I would like to draw attention to a factual error. The Multi-Faith Council does not try to box people into a religious commitment. I, as a co-facilitator of MFC, do not have a specific faith commitment. My mother is Catholic and my father is Jewish, and I love working with religious communities to promote religious literacy and interfaith dialogue. I invite Dorris, and all my fellow students, to visit MFC or sign up for the Religious Literacy Project. We could all benefit from some more religious understanding.

Ben Marcus ’13 is a religious studies concentrator at Cambridge University for the semester. He can be reached at benjamin_marcus@brown.edu

Daily Herald Campus News the Brown

Memorial concert features renowned saxophonist By sarah shrader Contributing Writer

Music performed by the Brown Jazz Band accompanied by worldrenowned saxophonist Rick Margitza filled Salomon 101 Saturday night for the fourteenth annual concert in memory of Daniel Milano ’93, a former Jazz Band member.

The audience, which included students, parents and members of the community, looked lively as the 18 Jazz Band members took the stage.

After the band played a few pieces, the conductor Matthew McGarrell, senior lecturer in music, introduced Margitza. Margitza has established his fame as a saxophonist, recording with Miles Davis and Tony Williams, among others.

The band prepared for the concert for a month, but only met Margitza for the first time Saturday night. Prior to the concert, the members seemed eager for this meeting. Jamie Fried ’14 said he was “ridiculously excited” to play with such a famous musician.

But he was “a little nervous” because they had not rehearsed with him until a few hours before the concert began, and the band would have a lot to figure out in that time.

The lack of rehearsal was unnoticeable. The band expertly played four of Margitza’s compositions along with some other charts. Fried also debuted his latest composition “Sketches of Something.”

“Jamie has premiered a few of his compositions with the band before, and they’re always incredible,” said Dan Rome ’13, a member of the band. “I hope the audience will appreciate his immense level of talent both behind the kit and as a composer.”

Three of the charts by Margitza required two flutists — an instrument previously played by only one band member, Jeff Herman ’12. Rome had to learn the flute in three weeks with the help of Herman and managed to give an impressive performance.

The concert closed with a bang, as the band and Margitza played “Brace Yourself,” a high-energy arrangement that highlighted the musicians’ skills.

“It’s great to see that Brown students have an opportunity to perform with professional musicians. The level of the skill in the Jazz Band is consistently impressive, and the original composition from Jamie Fried was fantastic,” said Caroline Seyler ’15, an audience member, after the show.

Memoirist offers advice to aspiring writers By tonya riley Staff Writer

“If there’s any one enemy to humans creating or making love — or bouncing a basketball for that matter — it’s self-consciousness,” said author Andre Dubus to a crowd of about 25 people yesterday at a reading from his latest release, “Townie: A Memoir.”

The reading and book signing, which were held at 4 p.m. in the English department building, were mostly attended by nonfiction writing students.

In her introduction of Dubus, Marie Myung-Ok Lee, lecturer at the Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America, told the audience she heard about Dubus’ memoir while it was still a work in progress during a 2009 conference and was immediately enthralled by the material.

“This is a memoir that has all the good elements of a memoir,” she said.

“It’s also one of those times where someone has the consummate talent to pull it off.”

The section Dubus read wove in brief anecdotes of his siblings and his aimless boyhood shaped by boredom and poverty.

After witnessing the assault of his younger brother, Dubus said he spent his late teens getting in bar fights with men whom he perceived were hurting women or weaker men. He said he wrote his first story the day before training for a Golden Gloves competition in Lowell, Mass. Dubus realized writing made him feel more alive than any drug he had ever taken and helped him quell his anger, he said.

But Dubus waited until after he was 50 years old to try writing a mem-

oir that recounted his youth.

He said the scandal of James Frey’s faked memoir “A Million Little Pieces” initially scared him away from the genre.

“That’s unethical to me,” he said.

“The contract when you see the title ‘memoir’ between the reader and the writer is that it’s factually accurate, at least through the emotions of the writer.”

After deciding to make his memoir address the life of a bullied child dealing with poverty and an absent father, he let the story shape the arch of the narrative, he said.

Dubus warned writers against creating a strict outline before beginning to write. “You send a message to your subconscious that you don’t trust it,” he explained.

Dubus also said memoirs allow writers to skip questioning the actions in a story and spend more time asking, “What’s it like?’”

“I wanted it to read like a novel,” Dubus said.

Dubus, a New England native, played up his loud Massachusetts accent both for the entertainment of the audience and to portray the characters in his tale of growing up in a poor town in Merrimack Valley. He told the audience members, who asked insightful questions about his writing process, that they were “wicked smart.”

Citing Faulkner as an influence, Dubus said that curiosity makes the best writing, not necessarily raw talent. He told the audience to focus on writing with the greatest depth possible, which he promised would transcend issues of cliches or publishing trends.

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Experts clash on euro crisis By hannah abelow Senior Staff Writer

Renowned academics, businessmen, journalists and politicians from around the world gathered on campus yesterday to exchange ideas, concerns and analyses of the euro crisis in a conference entitled “The Failure of the Euro? Causes and Consequences for Europe and Beyond.” Co-sponsored by the Watson Institute for International Studies and the William R. Rhodes Center for International Economics and Finance, the conference consisted of five panels and a keynote speaker.

Professor of Political Science Mark Blyth, who organized the conference, emphasized that its unusual structure and departure from pure academia set it apart from most academic conferences.

“Very few academics get on board with people who do policy or people who do financial markets to talk about an issue that is very contemporary,” he told The Herald.

“It’s what the Watson Institute is for,” Blyth added. “It’s a place that has a policy relevance angle but is based in the University.”

Professor of Economics Ross Levine, who assisted Blyth in organizing the conference, said the conversation is vital because the crisis affects the global economy, not just Europe. “While many of the U.S. newspapers are focused on the presidential elections right now, developments in Europe are a big deal for the U.S. and other countries around the world,” Levine told The Herald. “There are disagreements among the European powers about how to proceed and fears that what’s going on will cause a depression in Europe with reverberations in the U.S. and elsewhere.”

“We have to wonder — why did this happen and what can be done,” Levine added.

After a morning dominated by three distinct interdisciplinary panels, Martin Wolf, associate editor and chief economic commentator for the Financial Times, gave the keynote address to a crowded auditorium of conference attendees and students.

“We’re very lucky to have him,” Blyth told The Herald of Wolf.

“Right from the start, when the financial crisis kicked off, he’s been a voice of reason emanating from the Financial Times.”

“Even if you disagree with some of his conclusions or some of his analysis, he’s always someone to contend with,” Blyth added.

In his speech, Wolf outlined seven points to summarize his view on the potential for the euro to survive.

Calling himself a “euro”-skeptic, he began by saying that the creation of the euro was a “bad idea” in the first place. He warned conference participants against the dangers of being “too brave,” advising that it is “far better not to be heroic in economic policy.” That said, he went on to advocate against dismantling the euro system. Foreseeing serious problems in any attempt to do so, he likened the euro to an “economic omelet.”

Rachel Kaplan / Herald

Financial Times economist Martin Wolf gave the euro’s survival 50-50 odds.

“Unmaking omelets is really quite hard to do,” he added.

Wolf spent the bulk of his speech giving technical explanations of what he believes the Euro Zone needs to achieve, why understanding the crisis will be the basis for success and what the crisis actually entails. He offered a brief blueprint of “how the Euro Zone needs to be reformed,” expressing concerns about “ideological, political and economic obstacles.”

“Will it survive? I’d give it 5050,” Wolf concluded.

Wolf added that he might be “shot from all sides” after giving his opinion, a reference to the wide range of diverging and conflicting perspectives presented in various panels throughout the day — including Professor-at-Large Romano Prodi, the former prime minister of Italy who was one of the key architects of the euro.

During the first panel, three prominent economists — Stephen Kinsella, economics lecturer at University of Limerick, Simon Tilford, chief economist at the Center for European Reform, and Amar Bhide, professor at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University — explained the origins of the crisis from three different angles.

The day’s second panel juxtaposed the opinions and experiences of members of the private sector, politicians and representatives of the media. Douglas Borthwick, managing director and head of trading at Faros Trading, James Kiernan ’74 from Cornerstone Capital, Alfred Gusenbauer, former chancellor of Austria and professor emeritus, David Brancaccio from American Public Media and Bethany McLean, a contributing editor at Vanity Fair, discussed reactions to the crisis in the media and in the markets.

Borthwick, a trader, broke the mold by offering an optimistic take on a crisis seen by many as unsolvable.

“He’s by far the most positive person (in his analysis of) the euro,” Blyth told The Herald. “Everyone is saying, ‘The sky is falling,’ and he’s saying, ‘I’ll sell you an umbrella.’”

Borthwick attributed the varying opinions among panelists to the different sectors from which

participants hailed, specifically pointing to economists’ desire for media attention.

“Fear sells. … An economist out there who just wrote a book wants press,” Borthwick told The Herald. They’re “so wrapped up in ‘fear sells’ that no one is learning about solutions.”

Discussing his unorthodox vantage point, he explained that “empathy isn’t taught in a trading course.” A trader “sees an opportunity and sees the way to take it,” he said.

An afternoon panel tackling the complex question of “what else could have been done” included Prodi and Gusenbauer, as well as Morgan Despres from Banque de France and several academics.

Blyth told The Herald Prodi and Gusenbauer were part of the original inspirational for the conference.

“Here’s a guy who used to run Italy, and here’s a guy who used to run Austria,” Blyth said. “Maybe we should talk to them about what’s going on in Europe.”

Experts on another panel compared the current crisis to previous ones to give it historical context and perspective, and during the final panel of the day respected scholars questioned whether Europe will be able to “survive the euro.”

Though the lack of consensus was often evident, panelists and respondents agreed that the format and structure of the conference were effective.

Borthwick said he appreciated the uncommon decision to include members of the media in the conference. “For the media, it’s a great event because they get more than they do from a headline from the (Wall Street) Journal,” he told The Herald.

Wolf said he was impressed by the “imaginative structure” of the conference. “It’s been a wide range of opinions, lots of expertise. I’ve enjoyed it,” he added.

Wolf also commented on the conferences’ limitations. “You can learn from different people and that shapes your thinking, helps future writing,” Wolf said. “It may very slowly influence things, but no one conference really changes things in a profound way. Certainly not one on the euro in the United States.”