daily herald the Brown
vol. cxxii, no. 75
INSIDE
Thursday, September 27, 2012
M I S S P RINT
Post
Post-
gets naked, watches Parks and Rec, keeps bees
Econ department adds new math requirements By julie yue contributing writer
Page 5
Going once Defunct 38 Studios to hold auctions to pay off debts Page 8
Aiming high T.F. Green Airport seeks to update infrastructure today
tomorrow Thanin Kovitchindachai / Herald
50 / 69
53 / 63
Elizabeth Costa ’14 swipes her card to print in Barus and Holley. Engineering students no longer receive free printing as of this semester. See page 2
since 1891
The economics department has expanded its concentration requirements to include additional calculus and econometrics classes, boosting the concentration’s number of required courses from 10 to 11. The changes will affect economics concentrators in the class of 2016 and beyond. The requirements had previously included one semester of calculus, to be taken in the mathematics department, and nine courses in the economics department, including one introductory econometrics class. The new requirements have made it necessary for students to complete 11 courses, including two econometrics courses among the 10 total economics classes and one calculus course. Placement procedures have also
changed to require students who test out of ECON 0110: “Principles of Economics” through Advanced Placement exams to replace the introductory course with a more advanced one. Reasons provided for the expanded curriculum varied, but professors in the department attributed the changes to ongoing advances in the field. Roberto Serrano, professor of economics and chair of the department, said the discipline has become “more technical” and has experienced an increased “emphasis on empirical analysis.” In an age where individuals have access to more information than ever before, students must be prepared to understand, analyze and “critically assess” available data, said Assistant Professor of Economics and Public Policy Anna Aizer, who teaches the / / Econ page 3 new ECON
UCS discusses dorm renovations, maintenance Salmonella outbreak prompts recall By Katherine Cusumano Senior Staff Writer
Ongoing housing renovations will include updates to Keeney Quadrangle, Andrews Dining Hall and other residential halls, Margaret Klawunn, vice president for campus life and student services, said at the general body meeting of the Undergraduate Council of Students Wednesday night. Klawunn spoke about housing updates and the University’s plans for the upcoming year during the meeting. The goal of the current housing renovations is to create more welcoming living spaces, Klawunn said.
Further Keeney Quad renovations will include updates to Arnold Lounge, bathrooms and hallways, and elevators will be installed next summer. Miller and Metcalf Halls will also undergo renovation. The large, rarely occupied Andrews Dining Hall will evolve into a common space that will include food service, a study area and potentially even a fire pit, Klawunn said. The Office of Campus Life is working to improve the housing lottery experience for sophomores to ensure that it is not as “melodramatic” and stressful as it has been historically, she said. / / UCS page 5 Sopho-
By Maxine Joselow contributing writer
TOM SULLIVAN / HERALD
Margaret Klawunn, vice president for campus life and student services, discussed housing changes with UCS members Wednesday night.
ROTC looks to increase campus involvement By Andy Jones Contributing Writer
LYDIA YAMAGUCHI / HERALD
Efforts to return the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps to Brown were unsuccessful, but the University is seeking other ways to let students serve.
In light of fluctuations in the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps and student veteran enrollment numbers in recent years, University administrators said they are looking for new ways to increase the visibility of opportunities to serve for current and prospective students. The Office of Student Veterans and Commissioning Programs plays the primary role in this advocacy. The office, established in spring 2012 at the Corporation’s instruction, focuses on supporting students who are involved or would like to become involved with the military. The office is also charged with facilitating student participation in ROTC at other schools in Rhode Island. The University originally banned ROTC on campus in 1972 during the Vietnam War. Since then, there have been several unsuccessful attempts to revive the program. Most recently, af-
ter a push by a group of students to reinstate ROTC, former President Ruth Simmons recommended in October 2011 that the University maintain its ROTC ban on campus. Students are able to participate in nearby ROTC programs through cross-institutional partnerships. Army ROTC is available at Providence College and Bryant University, and the closest Navy and Air Force ROTC programs are in the Boston area. Though there are currently no Brown students participating in Navy and Air Force ROTC, the number of students enrolled in Army ROTC has ranged from one to eight in the past few years, according to ROTC records. Six student veterans currently attend the University. Former Herald senior staff writer Izzy Rattner ’15, a student coordinator for the office’s commissioning programs and a current Army ROTC participant, completes a rigorous schedule that includes weekly classes at either / / ROTC page 2
The Rhode Island Department of Health released a notice Tuesday advising consumers to avoid certain cashew butter, tahini and roasted peanut products made by Sunland, Inc., following 29 related salmonella cases nationwide, including one in Rhode Island. Tuesday’s press release expanded on an earlier advisory warning against certain Sunland almond butter and peanut butter products. Sunland, a New Mexico company, voluntarily recalled the products after they were linked to salmonella cases in 19 states. The recall affected several retailers nationwide, including Trader Joe’s, which has a store in Warwick, R.I. The recalled products were sold under a variety of brands and had “Best If Used By” dates between May 1, 2013 and Sept. 24, 2013, according to the press release. Salmonella is a bacterial infection that causes fever, diarrhea and abdominal cramps. Health officials performed laboratory tests and investigations after people reported feeling sick, wrote Dara Chadwick, public information officer for the Rhode Island Department of Health, in an email to The Herald. The Office of Food Protection, the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention “continue to work closely” to deal with the salmonella outbreak, Chadwick wrote. / / Recall page 3 Most peo-
2 campus news
School of Engineering cuts free printing
c alendar Today
Sept. 27
6 P.m.
ToMORROW
sept. 28
3:15 p.m. Brown-India Initiative Inauguration
Granoff Center
List Art 120 10 p.m.
Yermedea RAW
Pancakes for Poverty
Leeds Theatre, Lyman Hall
Jameson Hall: Keeney Quad
menu SHARPE REFECTORY
VERNEy-WOOLLEY DINING HALL
LUNCH Eggplant Parmesan Grinder, Grilled Turkey Burger, Mediterranean Bar, Vegan Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies
Prior to this semester, engineering concentrators were granted exclusive access to printing in Barus and Holley free of charge. But a new rule instituted at the beginning of this semester revoked that right. Free printing was eliminated to make the engineering department more “environmentally friendly,” said Dean of the School of Engineering
Some engineering students are finding it difficult to adjust to the policy change, which now provides them the $30 of printing funds for Pawprints that all students receive. As of Sept. 26, there were almost 150 signatures on an online petition of engineering students unhappy with the loss of credits. Alternative solutions anonymously suggested in the petition include the increased digitization of class material and the distribution of printed packets by
Chicken Caesar Salad Wrap, Eggplant Parmesan Grinder, Zucchini and Summer Squash, Mediterranean Bar
DINNER Chicken Fajitas, Vegetarian Tacos, Lima Beans, BBQ Corn, Caprese Salad, Caesar Salad, Carrot Cake
By Chad Simon Contributing Writer
Ibero American Film Festival 8 p.m.
the brown daily herald Thursday, September 27, 2012
Tequila Lime Chicken, Butternut Squash Formato, Lemon Butter Broccoli, Tomato Basil Infused Rice
“It was a poor choice to have such a drastic change from free printing to no printing in such a short time without notifying us.” Selena Buzinky ’15 Engineering concentrator
Sudoku
Crossword
Lawrence Larson. “Back in 2008, (former president) Ruth Simmons charged the engineering department for its carbon footprint impact,” Larson said. He added that 6,000 pounds of paper, or about 15 pounds of paper per engineering student, produced 30 tons of carbon during the 2011-12 academic year alone. In 2008, as part of the University’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Goals, Simmons called for a 42 percent reduction of its carbon footprint below 2007 levels by 2020.
professors. “I would like the dean of engineering to fix this,” said Selena Buzinky ’15. “It was a poor choice to have such a drastic change from free printing to no printing in such a short time without notifying us.” Other students admitted that they had taken advantage of the free printing policy in the past. “I have used engineering privileges for printing non-engineering related subjects,” said Richard Park ’15. “I even know engineers who have printed entire books unrelated to en-
/ / ROTC page 1
ly attributed the recent difficulty in recruiting to reductions in military funding nationwide as two wars draw to a close. He said the office is working to expand visibility and availability of information about student participation in ROTC programs. ROTC members and leaders appear at the activities fair, the resource fair, A Day on College Hill and several other schoolwide events to distribute information about the program. Gresh added that students should have an opportunity to learn about ROTC options before deciding if they would like to participate. By evaluating their opportunities and choosing their own paths, Gresh said, students are following the “Brown philosophy.” While a large portion of its mission is dedicated to working with students in ROTC, the new office also devotes its efforts to supporting students who served in the U.S. military before
Bryant or Providence College that cover topics such as land navigation, leadership and platoon movements. While at Bryant, Rattner and his peers practice platoon movements in the woods. Rattner said his participation in ROTC has given him a sense of focus in his life goals, as he plans to serve in the military after graduation. Major Tucker Shosh, a leader of the Providence College Patriot Battalion and an assistant professor of military science, said ROTC’s participants benefit from its “holistic approach to the individual.” Students gain valuable characteristics like leadership and discipline through the program, Shosh said, also adding that the Providence College program has a “great relationship with Brown.” Ricky Gresh, senior director for student engagement at Brown, part-
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gineering.” A solution could involve hiring a “computer attendant to regulate what is being printed to make sure everything being printed is applicable to engineering,” Park added. David Mycue, director of information technology for the School of Engineering, said the department’s concern lies “with meeting CIS provisions in compliance with Brown’s Brown is Green Initiative.” In an email to engineering undergraduate students sent Sept. 20, Mycue wrote that discussions regarding transitioning to Pawprints “only developed in mid-summer.” In the email, which was the first official announcement of the change, he apologized for the late notice. “The communication to students for this change had not been what it should,” Mycue wrote. Mycue also wrote about the services offered by the department to ease the students’ transition, including help with the initial configuration of PawPrints. Other engineering faculty and staff also said they hope an agreement could be reached between the school and its students. “We’re committed to working with students and making any changes to the policy as the year goes on,” said Gordon Morton, manager of communications for the School of Engineering. Larson echoed the sentiment and said faculty and staff are “very anxious to work with students to reach a compromise that will make everyone happy.”
coming to Brown. Personnel in the office provide “advice, advocacy and support” to student veterans, Gresh said. David Salsone ’12.5, president of the Student Veterans Society, said that though the number of student veterans attending the University has risen significantly in recent years, he is still not satisfied with the number of veterans on campus. “Our numbers have almost doubled since last year when we only had about four vets,” Salsone said. “But our current number is still nominal compared to the total student population.” Ideally, Brown’s enrollment of veterans would be proportional to the number of veterans in the entire country, Salsone said. Veterans make up exactly .75 percent of the United States population, according to the 2010 Census. An identical ratio at the University would suggest an enrollment of about 45 veterans. Salsone said he hopes for increased efforts by the administration to recruit veterans to Brown. Gestures such as sending informational packets, as well as personal, handwritten letters, to prospective student veterans could have a remarkable impact on the number of veterans applying to Brown, Salsone said. Though Salsone does not expect any dramatic changes in veteran enrollment in the near future, he said he believes everyone could benefit if the campus further embraced military culture. “The military trains its men and women to excel and succeed,” he said. “This frame of mind can apply to all Brown students.”
the brown daily herald Thursday, September 27, 2012
/ /Econ page 1 1629: “Applied Research Methods for Economists,” one of the options for the newly required second econometrics class. The changes had been under discussion for several years, said Director of Undergraduate Studies Louis Putterman, and the additions were due to an “accumulation of factors.” He cited faculty complaints that some students’ lack of preparation in calculus inhibited their understanding of microeconomic models, as well as feedback from recent graduates who felt that “a number of courses had
still have the same number of courses that we used to have,” Serrano added. Putterman said the department wanted to “negotiate a compromise” to make Brown “a little less laid-back than before but not trying to catch up to the most structured.” For the department, it was still a priority for the requirements to remain open enough that students could continue to take advantage of the University’s liberal education, he said. Faculty members said the new math and econometrics requirements would better prepare students both for more advanced economics courses and for their eventual careers. David
“The more comfortable they are with the math, the more comfortable they’ll be with the economics.”
Anna Aizer Assistant Professor of Economics and Public Policy
been dumbed down.” Faculty members and graduates alike said they also felt the curriculum was not rigorous enough and that the relatively small number of requirements led some students to tack on economics as a second concentration. Compared to other universities, Brown does not have fewer requirements for an economics degree, but its math and statistics course requirements were “on the lower end,” Serrano said. “Harvard and Williams
Glick PhD’18, an economics graduate student and currently an ECON 1110: “Microeconomics” teaching assistant, said calculus is “essential” in required economics classes where students have to “understand the effect of one variable on another.” A stronger mathematics foundation will allow students to delve deeper into more advanced seminars, Aizer said, because professors of seminars on topics such as health or growth economics will no lon-
campus news 3 ger have to take up valuable time in the beginning of the term teaching econometrics. “The more comfortable they are with the math, the more comfortable they’ll be with the economics,” she added. Current economics concentrators expressed mixed responses to the new changes to the curriculum. Philip Trammell ’15 said the department “used to require next to nothing.” He urged the department to go even further, comparing Brown to the University of Chicago, where “economics is almost like physics” and requires significant math and statistics coursework. The new changes could “push some people into (the Business, Entrepreneurship and Organization concentration) and leave the economics degree for people who are more interested in economics,” Trammell said. Justina Lee ’15, a double concentrator in visual arts and economics, expressed the opposite opinion. “I’m really glad I’m not a freshman this year,” she said, since the new changes to the concentration will not apply to her. Lee said she chose economics partly because the relatively small number of classes will allow her to complete a second concentration. Some first-years did not seem concerned about the new requirements. “It doesn’t seem too drastic of a change,” said Elise Rivas ’16, adding that the new requirements would be “more comprehensive and more applicable to a career.”
/ /Recall page 1 ple infected with salmonella show symptoms 12 to 72 hours after exposure, recover within four to seven days and do not need treatment, according to the Department of Health. “Anyone who has eaten any of the products on the recall list and experiences any … symptoms should contact their doctor,” Chadwick wrote. Students can stay up to date on
of the items in question and destroyed them,” Anderson said. Signs throughout the store inform customers of the recall, and customers can return recalled products, Anderson said. Esme Ricciardi ’15 is a Trader Joe’s customer who had not heard of the recall. She said she bought a 16-ounce jar of the Trader Joe’s peanut butter in June — she finished the jar, but did not experience any symptoms. The recall will not affect her de-
“Anyone who has eaten any of the products on the recall list and experiences any ... symptoms should contact their doctor.”
Dara Chadwick Rhode Island Department of Health Public Information Officer
health advisories like the one about Sunland products by checking the Rhode Island Department of Health’s website, Facebook or Twitter, Chadwick wrote. Paul Anderson, a store manager for the Warwick Trader Joe’s, is also dealing with the outbreak. Trader Joe’s Valencia Creamy Salted Peanut Butter was one of the recalled products, but no samples have tested positive for salmonella, according to Friday’s press release. “Before the recall went into effect, we immediately pulled all
cision to shop at Trader Joe’s in the future, Ricciardi said. “I mean, bad things happen to peanut butter. … The fact that they recalled it at all is nice,” she added. Frances Brittingham ’14 is also a frequent shopper at Trader Joe’s. Brittingham said she has shopped at the Trader Joe’s in Warwick once since school started, and plans on going back once a month, despite the recall. “I may even buy the peanut butter next time I’m there. … Everyone has recalls,” Brittingham said.
4 city & state
the brown daily herald Thursday, September 27, 2012
Recounts confirm election results Providence establishes education nonprofit By sona mkrttchian Senior staff Writer
The Rhode Island Board of Elections administered seven recounts Sept. 17 in response to candidate requests following the state primaries earlier this month. All recounts upheld primary results. Five races for seats in the General Assembly — from districts 32, 40, 58, 65 and 17 — were reviewed. Democratic primaries for the North Providence Town Council and Pawtucket Ward Committee were also reevaluated. In accordance with Board of Elections regulations, eligible candidates seeking recounts were required to submit written requests by 4 p.m. the day following the election. State of Rhode Island General Laws outline that only candidates who lost with a “two hundred or less vote difference” are eligible for recounts. Requests are differentiated into two categories, said Robert Kando, executive director of the Board of Elections. In a race where the losing candidate was “trailing” by a certain percent-
age — a close vote margin that varies between races depending upon the number of candidates — the losing candidate may request a re-tabulation. If and when a re-tabulation is determined necessary and is scheduled, sealed paper ballots are transported from the precinct of the election to the Board of Elections, where a complete recount is administered in front of the candidates. The ballots are fed into the tally machines, and the results from this process are final, Kando said. Four races were formally re-tabulated this election cycle, including the highly-contested General Assembly race in District 58 between incumbent Rep. William San Bento, Jr., DPawtucket and North Providence, and Carlos Tobon. The race was tabulated on election night as a win for San Bento with a margin of only three votes. The recount administered by the Board of Elections verified San Bento’s victory but determined an even narrower margin of only one vote. Commissioners at the Board of Elections denied a request for a manual recount from Tobon’s campaign
Sept. 19. State law only allows for one recount per race, Kando said. The Board determined there was not enough evidence in support of voter fraud or malice to justify an appeal. In races where the margin does not meet the “close vote” requirement and does not exceed five percent of the total votes cast, candidates can request a “re-reading of the memory packs,” Kando said. Elections in Rhode Island use optical scan machines to tabulate paper ballots and record votes. Memory packs hold the aggregate results from each of these machines. “The votes are going through a memory pack at each location,” Kando said. “We plug (memory packs) into a machine and verify the numbers.” Two General Assembly races and a race for the Pawtucket Ward Committee qualified for memory-pack reviews this cycle. The results maintained election night counts. Though the board allows recounts, the “accuracy (of the elections) is almost always verified,” Kando said.
By Whiting Tennis Contributing Writer
Legislative leaders announced this summer a $100,000 budget appropriation to fund the nation’s first partnership between labor and education management officials. The initiative United Providence, or UP!, which was incorporated as a 501(c)(3) organization, has created a unique collabora-
grants from other organizations, most notably $100,000 from the Rhode Island Foundation. The project — aimed at all levels of K-12 education — will target Carl G. Lauro Elementary School, Gilbert Stuart Middle School and Dr. Jorge Alvarez High School, all of which are located in Providence’s West End. UP! was conceived in response to a 2010 Rhode Island Department
“Teachers are going to have so much control. ... It’s a new day in Providence.”
Denise Jenkins Rhode Island Foundation Grant Program Officer
tion between the Providence Teachers Union and the Providence Public School District designed specifically to improve the city’s lowest-performing schools. The funding will be combined with
of Education survey that identified Providence schools — including Lauro, Stuart and Alvarez — as among the lowest-achieving schools in Rhode Island. The schools were then given several options, “which included everything from shutting down altogether, to a process where they would hire mostly new staff,” said Elliot Krieger, spokesman for the education department. Though many underperforming schools elect to close their doors and reopen as charter schools, Susan Luci, superintendent of Providence Schools, collaborated with Steve Smith, president of the teachers union, to create a framework for the schools to be “jointly run by labor and school department administration,” Krieger said. UP! centers on the idea that strong labor relations are integral to student achievement. The grant funds will provide for “planning, consulting and design,” said Denise Jenkins, grant program officer at the Rhode Island Foundation. The foundation will likely give the schools more money to fund projects once UP! gets started, she said. At each school, a school leader, a union representative and a teacher will collaborate on the changes that will be made to help turn around the school, Jenkins said. They will not be required to consult the union or school committee before making decisions. Jenkins said she is hopeful that UP! will become a model for similar programs across the country. “Teachers are going to have so much control,” she said. “It’s a new day in Providence.”
city & state 5
the brown daily herald Thursday, September 27, 2012
/ / UCS page 1 more housing will be clustered near the center of campus in Hegeman, Hope College and Slater Hall. Fortyfive percent of sophomores will be housed in suites, apartments or single dorms, and 55 percent will receive double rooms. But students have already begun to damage the renovated dorms, Klawunn said, adding that 56 exit signs were broken in Keeney alone last weekend. “Has it always been that the exit signs are, like, free game?” asked Holly Hunt ’13, a general body member. Campus Life has a $56 million budget allocation for the ongoing renovations. Part of this budget will go toward annual updates meant to maintain the renovations. As a part of a deal made between the University and Providence last May, Olive Street, Brown Street and Benevolent Streets will be University property beginning in January. This will “tangibly add to the campus,” Klawunn said. Plans for the Student Advocate Program — a student-lawyer system for administrative and academic action related to codes of conduct — are already underway, said Abby Braiman ’15, chair of the admissions and student services committee. Braiman said she has met with Jonah Allen Ward, senior associate
dean for Student Life, and Beverly Ledbetter, vice president and general counsel, regarding the program. The Admissions and Student Services committee is in the process of setting up a training manual and the requisite infrastructure for the program, Braiman said. Klawunn added that the Student Advocacy Program will include a peer education dimension. UCS committee chairs presented their plans for the coming semester after Klawunn spoke. Afia Kwakwa ’14, chair of the campus life committee, said students can soon expect deeper bowls in the Sharpe Refectory, she said. Alexander Kaplan ’14, chair of the student activities committee and a Herald staff writer, said the Student Activities endowment looks “pretty bleak,” but his committee is continuing work to increase funding. Vice President Brandon Tomasso ’13 said UCS plans to hold raffles for intimate dinners at President Christina Paxson’s house. The concept came from a meeting between Tomasso, Paxson, and President Anthony White ’13 Friday. Tomasso said the initiative will allow students access and proximity to administrators without needing to go through UCS. Provost Mark Schlissel P’15 will speak at the council’s meeting next Wednesday.
Grant to aid R.I. suicide prevention By Sora Park Contributing Writer
Rhode Island is slated to receive $2.7 million in federal grants to improve suicide prevention programs for children, teens and young adults. The grants are being spread among four organizations — the Rhode Island Department for Children, Youth, and Family; the Rhode Island Youth Suicide Prevention Project; the Family Service of Rhode Island Children’s Treatment and Recovery Center and Brown University. “Many young people who commit suicide have a treatable mental illness but do not get the help they need,”
said Chip Unruh, press secretary for Reed. He added that these grants will go hand-in-hand with the re-authorization of the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act, a bipartisan effort that provides funding and grants to the 35 states that currently implement suicide prevention programs. A Rhode Island Health Department study conducted last year cited suicide as the third leading cause of death in Rhode Island among 15- to 24-year-olds. The study also found that approximately 9 percent of Rhode Island children between sixth and twelfth grade attempt suicide. The youth suicide rate in the state is estimated at 3.2 per 100,000, com-
“Youth suicide rates aren’t necessarily increasing in the state. It’s more of a national problem.”
Sarah Dinklage Rhode Island Student Assistance Services Director
said Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., when he announced the grants last Thursday. These federal funds will provide resources for prevention and outreach efforts for these at-risk youth before it is too late, he added. “It is part of a continuous effort to fight the problem of youth suicides,”
pared to 4.3 nationally, according to a 2005-10 study of suicide conducted by the Rhode Island Child Death Review Team. “Youth suicide rates aren’t necessarily increasing in the state. It’s more of a national problem,” said Sarah Dinklage, executive director of the
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Rhode Island Student Assistance Services of the health department. The high national suicide rate could be attributed in part to the lackluster economy, she added. “But the primary reason why people commit suicide is untreated mental health problems, so it is important to have good access to treatment.” Dinklage oversees the Rhode Island Youth Suicide Prevention Project, which implements evidencebased suicide prevention programs in select public schools and communitybased organizations in six Rhode Island cities — Providence, Pawtucket, Central Falls, Woonsocket, Newport and West Warwick. The project received $480,000 of the $2.7 million grant. “We plan to use the money to enhance our programs and its resources and continue the initiative to train gatekeepers, school personnel and the staff of community-based organizations to help recognize the warning signs of suicide and step in to help at-risk youth,” Dinklage said. Anthony Spirito, professor of psychiatry and human behavior, and part of the team to receive the grant on Brown’s behalf, said the grant will be used “to test whether or not our treatment approach for suicidal adolescents is better than typical treatment and also beef up services and resources for at-risk youth.”
6 editorial & letter Editorial Deconstructing the dichotomy
Editorial cartoon b y a n g e l i a wa n g
This is the presidential election. Two sides, locked in battle over the social, economic and foreign policies, fighting to determine the future of our country. Two candidates, each with unique backgrounds, striving to appear charismatic, appealing and strong to gain the confidence of American citizens. Or at least, that’s how the campaign process is generally portrayed. And yet, this version leaves out the significant detail that there is an entire host of candidates running for the chance to sit in the Oval Office. While average voters know that other candidates and independent parties exist, their platforms, opinions and values remain a mystery for the most part. More cynically-minded voters often frame their election decision as choosing “the lesser of two evils,” while being actively apathetic towards the many independent party candidates available on the ballot. It doesn’t help that these third- or fourth-party candidates get almost no media attention and must instead rely on voters to actively research their policies. Take, for instance, Libertarian party nominee Gary Johnson. The Libertarian following is arguably the biggest and most popular outside of the familiar dichotomy of Democrats and Republicans, coming into the spotlight even more this election due to Ron Paul’s fairly strong candidacy. Johnson strikes a partisan balance by being fiscally conservative and socially progressive, with policies that include legalizing marijuana, facilitating rather than inhibiting immigration and cutting the Department of Education’s funding to allow decisions to be made on a local level. He advocates immediate troop withdrawal and cutting military spending by 43 percent, and he opposes the Patriot Act, something both Mitt Romney and Barack Obama have advocated extending. On many issues, like drug legalization and harm reduction, he offers an alternative platform not embraced by either of the two most popular candidates. Yet despite being the representative of the third largest political party in the United States, Johnson has received negligible coverage from the mainstream media, and many Americans would be hard-pressed to identify any of his policies. The same is true of other presidential candidates, like Jill Stein, the Green Party presidential nominee, who advocates breaking up banks like Bank of America, forgiving all existing student debt, passing federal marriage equality and focusing more national resources on clean energy. With media outlets ignoring the often-valid alternatives offered by these candidates in favor of discussing the most minor verbal gaffes Romney and Obama commit — it is difficult to see the election as anything other than a two-party race. Realistically, national support is divided so evenly between Republicans and Democrats that there is next to no chance of other parties gaining a significant foothold in the political process. But we should not collectively assume these are our only options. There are many reasons people give for not voting for independent candidates — in particular that it “wastes” a vote, because the candidates don’t stand a chance of winning, and it takes a vote away from the mainstream candidate the voter prefers. This prompts people to vote only for the two biggest parties, further minimizing the role of side parties — and so on, in a spiral that enforces the two-party race paradigm. Ultimately, it’s a personal decision to place your vote where you think it will have the most value and meaning. But we strongly urge readers, as the November election looms on the horizon, to remember that our political system was designed with more than two parties in mind. Editorials are written by The Herald’s editorial page board. Send comments to editorials@browndailyherald.com.
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the brown daily herald Thursday, September 27, 2012
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Cl arific ation An article in Wednesday’s Herald, (“Consumer behavior study provides marketing insight,” Sept. 25) only listed two authors and did not explicitly state that Robert St. Louis ’11.5 co-authored the study. Herald Design Editor Julia Shube ’14 was also an author.
An article in Wednesday’s Herald (“Students delay studies to serve,” Sept. 26) stated that soldiers alternate time guarding the Israeli border. In fact, soldiers are on-call for missions to guard the border. The article also quoted Alon Galor ’15 as saying, “They’re having an awful time for the most part” regarding soldiers’ sentiments toward military training. The quotation does not reflect soldiers’ attitudes toward their overall experience.
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opinions 7
the brown daily herald Thursday, September 27, 2012
The perils of gun ownership Jaclyn Katz Opinions Columnist This past summer James Holmes, a former graduate student in neuroscience at the University of Colorado, opened fire at a movie theatre in Aurora, Colo., murdering 12 people and wounding 58. Two months before this horrific tragedy, Holmes purchased a Glock 40 pistol at Gander Mountain, a store that sells guns and ammunition. He also bought 6,000 rounds of ammunition online and even body armor from eBay. All of Holmes’s purchases were legal. The shooting has brought the debate on gun laws back to the forefront of domestic politics and “is likely to renew pressure on lawmakers to pass legislation to prevent attacks like this in the future,” wrote CBS News reporter Brian Montopoli. The Aurora shooting undoubtedly highlights the dangers of gun ownership, yet what the national conversation on gun control often excludes is the fact that simply possessing a gun is a danger in and of itself. Gun rights advocates claim that people have the right to own arms for their defense. But owning a gun in the home sometimes proves more pernicious than protective — how does a person defend himself from his own armed hands? Keeping a gun at home increases one’s risk for suicide. While someone’s moti-
vation for owning weaponry could be to protect his family from harm, gun ownership can turn a “transient crisis into a permanent tragedy,” according to the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. The Brady Campaign highlights alarming statistics about the perils of gun ownership, such as that keeping a firearm at home increases the risk of suicide by a factor of three to five. For those who believe owning a gun for defense purposes is a wise safety pre-
that own guns, half do not lock up their weapons, including 40 percent of households with kids under age 18, according to the Brady Campaign . In short, it is possible that without an accessible gun, tragedy could be avoided or delayed, and people could obtain the help they need. These numbers underscore the fact that we must discuss not only why gun possession threatens the security of our communities, but also why those who choose to possess guns put
How does a person defend himself from his own armed hands?
caution, the Brady Campaign’s numbers indicate otherwise. A gun in the home is 11 times more likely to be used in a completed or attempted suicide than to be employed to injure or kill in self-defense. And of these attempted suicides with a gun, more than 90 percent are fatal. In comparison, only three percent of suicide attempts with drugs or cutting result in death. Furthermore, “almost 50 percent of youth suicides are committed with guns.” Of the 33 percent of U.S. households
themselves and their families at risk. Of course, these statistics might not hold much significance for those who seek protection against violence in their everyday lives. For example, Chicago resident Otis McDonald sued for the right to own a handgun in order to protect himself from the gangs and drug dealers in his neighborhood. In 2010 the Supreme Court ruled in McDonald v. City of Chicago that the Second Amendment guarantees individuals the right to possess a
handgun. For McDonald, handguns may afford him protection against the violence in his neighborhood. I can understand and empathize with this viewpoint. McDonald simply sought peace of mind — does he not deserve that? Yet individual gun ownership is only a temporary answer to the large problems, such as drug and gang violence, facing McDonald’s community. Fighting guns with more guns will not the lower homicide rate or halt violence, and allowing individuals to possess weapons is not to be taken lightly. According to the Brady Campaign, 17,352 residents committed suicide with a firearm in 2007. How many would be alive today had a weapon not been within reach? Perhaps there is something inherently unnatural in owning certain types of lethal weaponry, or the burden is too much for some folks to handle in certain psychological or emotional states. The national conversation on gun control needs to bring the issues surrounding individual gun ownership to the forefront. If possessing a gun in the home endangers its owners more than it protects them, then it is time to reexamine our right to keep and bear arms and focus on our right to security within our own homes. Jaclyn Katz ’14 is a political science concentrator and can be reached at jaclyn_katz@brown.edu.
Hiking tuition and blowing money on sparkly things By Daniel Moraff Opinions Columnist
Our new fitness center plus aquatics center plus “varsity strength and conditioning center” is, as promised, a very fancy gym. The stationary bikes are spiffy, video-gameequipped and might as well be plated with gold. There are shiny new treadmills with shiny new TVs. Assistant Director of Athletics and Physical Education Matthew Tsimikas called it a “state-of-the-art fitness center,” with a pool that “allows for diving, water polo and swimming simultaneously. It’s that long.” It would, he said, be “a leader within the League.” The Nelson Fitness Center is an absurd, swanky temple to athletics, a $46 million pile of unnecessary excess in an era of skyrocketing tuition. Defenders often give a flimsy excuse — all of it, they say, is funded by alumni donations. But that’s a weak dodge. Five years ago, administrators specifically set out to raise $50 million from alums for a really big gym. The Corporation is not a helpless pawn of alumni donors — they directly target fundraising efforts to line up with their misplaced priorities. In this case, the priority was a leagueleading gym that saves us from the horror of non-simultaneous water sports. This is not to single out the athletes. It’s the whole system. Last year, the University’s wise rulers decided to drop a cool $67 million on a campus-wide effort to renovate pretty much every dorm. The buildings were not too old,
they were not falling apart. But, as Vice President for Campus Life and Student Services Margaret Klawunn said, “We want the whole thing to look sparkling” (“Campus housing to be renovated, transformed,” Feb. 13). The old Keeney Quadrangle, whatever its disadvantages, was serviceable. First-years lived through the tragedy of slightly mediocre dorms. And now? The kitchens have only the newest, fanciest stovetops. The lounges sport the flattest televisions and presumably, after next summer’s bathroom renovations, the bathrooms will house the most aesthetically pleasing urinals. Discomfort and incon-
be a palace, that our dorms should be luxurious, that we should have all the fanciest knickknacks and tchotchkes. Our University should be a gleaming ode to living the good life. Undergrads should feel pampered, even as their tuitions soar ever higher. We should build and build and build until we have the glossiest, prettiest brochures in the Ivy League. At the same time, the Corporation continues to jack up tuition and fees. They tout increased financial aid, but for undergrads the cost of attendance is rising at a 67 percent faster rate than University scholarships. This has
The most sickening part of all this is that even as they sparklify the campus, the Corporation continues to use financial aid as some kind of perverse fig leaf.
venience will be eliminated from our lives, for the low, low price of $67 million. The rest of the housing plan seems motivated more by boredom than anything else — a bizarre case of corporate ADD. Every single freshman dorm will be renovated. The Gate, fresh off of two major renovations over the past five years, will be replaced by the new Andrews Dining Hall. The Keeney Courtyard will be rebuilt for some reason. The Corporation’s building fetish has this underlying philosophy — that Brown should
obvious consequences — it becomes harder or even impossible for students to pay for this place. No matter how much Brown blithely throws around phrases like “100 percent of demonstrated need,” good people decide not to go here because it’s financially unworkable, or because other schools offer better aid packages. Given the situation, should we really be going on a building spree? Couldn’t we make do with regular dorms? Couldn’t the swimmers, divers and water polo aficionados get together and make some kind of schedule?
Should athletes really be getting their laundry done for free by university employees? That is not a joke. That happens. The most sickening part of all this is that even as they sparklify the campus, the Corporation continues to use financial aid as some kind of perverse fig leaf. Whenever anyone calls for them to spend more money in line with the University’s mission — say, to pay University workers fair wages, or to continue to provide childcare services to faculty and staff — calls of “financial aid!” go up even as administrators pick out top-of-theline treadmills and toilets. It’s incredibly dishonest. The point isn’t that Brown should let its infrastructure crumble or that we should all live like ascetic monks. The point is that the priorities of the Corporation are completely out of whack. They are committed to an endless cycle of unnecessary gleaming renovations and tuition hikes. Maybe the Brown community as a whole is okay with this. Maybe fancy new things really are central to the Brown experience. Or maybe the University is governed by an unaccountable, unelected board that imposes its will upon faculty, staff and students who supposedly believe in democracy. This calls for a healthy and long-overdue skepticism of the Corporation and its motives. Students, faculty and staff have the power to build the university we want, but we have to fight for it, and we have to care. Daniel Moraff ’14 is psyched they’re fixing the hellhole that was Morris-Champlin and can be reached at daniel_moraff@brown.edu.
daily herald City & State the Brown
Thursday, September 27, 2012
T.F. Green infrastructure development plan exceeds budget By Sam Heft-Luthy Contributing Writer
T.F. Green Airport is re-evaluating a five-year, $125 million development plan after a cost analysis revealed the price tag would exceed initial estimates by $40 million. The Rhode Island Airport Corporation had originally planned to make
been scrapped, Frazier said T.F. Green expects to go ahead with the runway and safety improvements. Frazier said the corporation hopes that by improving its infrastructure, the airport can attract new airlines and increase business. “We have the shortest primary runway in the Northeast for a regional airport,” Frazier said. “It’s important to maintain competitive parity on infra-
“It’s important to maintain competitive parity on infrastructure.”
Peter Frazier Interim President and CEO of Rhode Island Airport Corporation
several infrastructure improvements to the small Warwick regional airport, including lengthening the main runway, moving a road that currently sits parallel to the terminal and improving safety measures on the secondary runway, said Peter Frazier, interim president and CEO of the Airport Corporation. Though the plan to move the road has
structure.” “It would be cool,” said Caryn Cobb ’15, who flies out in and out of T.F. Green when she returns home to Norfolk, Va. Cobb said she always flies Southwest Airlines and would not be interested in more airlines serving the airport, but she noted that increased efficiency and more options for flight
times would be welcome improvements. But some students who fly through Providence frequently worry that scaling up the airport’s size might result in larger crowds and increased delays at security. Cobb said it might be good for the airport to expand but acknowledged that more people could mean more delays at the security line. “I don’t think it would be that bad, though. T.F. Green is a relatively accessible airport,” she said. Though the two improvement projects will overlap in 2016, Frazier said, the airport will be working with its airline providers to develop a schedule that would minimize any delays. Delta Airlines spokesperson Anthony Black said while he could not speak to the specifics of T.F. Green’s case, an airport’s operating airlines are major players in the decisions being made in most development plans. “It’s a collaborative effort between the airport and the airlines operating there to ensure that the best ideas are brought forward and are put to a vote to determine what project will come forward,” he said. The safety improvement in ques-
Raimondo hailed for state pension reform By Morgan Johnson senior staff writer
Since Rhode Island successfully passed pension reform last year, the state has drawn significant attention from national news outlets and nonprofit organizations that see Rhode Island as an exemplary model for states with underfunded pension systems. A 2010 report compiled by the Pew Center on the States, a national public policy think tank, projected the nation’s total unfunded liability — the gap between state-guaranteed pension benefits and the funds available to pay for them — at $1.38 trillion. Though states vary considerably in their unfunded liabilities, this means the average public employee pension plan is about 78 percent funded. The minimum funding ratio categorized as healthy is 80 percent, and plans funded below this percentage require immediate attention. The vast majority of national coverage concerning Rhode Island pension reform has focused on the efforts of State Treasurer Gina Raimondo, who devoted much of her first term to addressing and implementing legislative action to fix the state’s pension system. “Once I started to talk about the problem and put the facts out there, it wasn’t very hard to get people to focus,” Raimondo said on the National Public Radio program “Talk of the Nation” Sept. 24. In May 2011, Raimondo released a document entitled “Truth in Numbers,” detailing Rhode Island’s pension system, which had an unfunded liability ratio of 48 percent. Raimondo said pension benefits could realistically disappear within the following decade without cutting benefit or raising public employee payments. She added that without pension reform, cuts to public programs would have been
“Retirement costs are crowding out both spending on needed public services but also the ability to hire more public employees and to give raises to those already in the system.”
David Draine Senior researcher for the Pew Center on the States
inevitable — the 10 percent of tax revenue paid into the pension system in 2011 would have doubled within a year and continued to grow. “During pension reform, my mantra was, ‘This is math, not politics,’” Raimondo said. While the reform requires sacrifice from retirees, active employees, new hires and taxpayers, its passage ultimately serves in the best interest of all parties, Raimondo said. The pension system before the reform bill was “deeply unfair” to vested public school teachers, she added. “Because we came together … we now have a system which is stronger and is fundamentally fixed for decades to come,” Raimondo said. Raimondo is currently a defendant in four lawsuits filed June 22 by a coalition of several public employee unions, a judicial action union leaders advocated and policy makers anticipated prior to the bill’s passage last November. “Treasury will work diligently to defend the important work done by the General Assembly,” Raimondo said in her reaction statement to the lawsuits, the hearings of which will be held Oct. 30. The unions’ suits argue that the state violated the contract rights, right to due process and takings clause of the state constitution. David Draine, senior researcher for the Pew Center on the States, said he supports Raimondo’s initiative.
“Retirement costs are crowding out both spending on needed public services but also the ability to hire more public employees and to give raises to those already in the system,” he said. Raimondo’s reforms have also attracted positive attention from the nonprofit American Legislative Exchange Council, a high-profile, fiscally conservative organization. The group’s annual “Rich State, Poor State” report singled out Rhode Island as the “biggest pension reform success last year.” The authors of the report — all of whom are right-wing economists — praised the state legislature for its “monumental” bipartisan bill but said the removal of language concerning municipal pension reform was a cause for disappointment. Providence voters appear to be in consensus with the report, according to a survey conducted this month by Brown’s Taubman Center for Public Policy. Nearly 60.1 percent of survey respondents supported Raimondo’s “equal burden” plan, 48.5 percent approved of eliminating cost-of-living adjustments, and 67.3 percent believed Providence’s municipal pension system should adopt the state employees’ 401(k) style plan. The survey’s release coincides with the Taubman Center’s upcoming Thomas J. Anton/Frederick Lippitt Urban Affairs Conference Oct. 25, an annual event that will address municipal pension reform this year.
tion involves a crosswind runway — the runway used when the prevailing wind is in an abnormal direction — that runs perpendicular to the main runway and is used about one-third as frequently. The plan is to install an engineered material arresting system made of concrete blocks intended to stop an out-of-control plane. “If you overrun the end of the runway, (the blocks) crush, and it slows the
After the engineers began running a more rigorous analysis, the final figure — $110 million — blew past those guidelines, Frazier said. After sending the design back to the engineers, the airport has a new plan that meets the federal standards and will cost only about $40 million, Frazier said. The design is currently going through the approval process, and Frazier estimated that construction
“I don’t think it would be that bad, though. T.F. Green is a relatively accessible airport.”
Caryn Cobb ‘15
plane down,” Frazier said. The first stage of the corporation’s process for development planning involved an environmental impact analysis and preliminary cost estimate. The original estimate for the arresting system in that stage was about $70 million, said Frazier, which was “at the high end” of federal standards for determining whether a planned safety improvement would be an efficient use of resources.
will begin in late 2015. The second stage of development, which will start in 2016 and be finished by the end of the next year, will extend T.F. Green’s primary runway from 7,166 feet to 8,700 feet. “It (will be) this incredible chess game of balancing when runways are closed,” Frazier said, adding that the airport does not “anticipate any disruption in service.”
38 Studios to auction off assets to public By Sophie Flynn
contributing writer
Assets from the failed 38 Studios, Curt Schilling’s dissolved video game development company, will be auctioned off in October in an effort to decrease the $102 million in bond payments that must now be paid for by Rhode Island citizens. The company was forced to declare Chapter 7 bankruptcy in June, only two years after receiving a $75 million loan from the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation. Two live auctions will take place — one in Timonium, Md. on Oct. 16, and one in Providence on Oct. 23. Both auctions are open to the public and will be held in the 38 Studios facilities. Profits will go toward paying bondholders. Everything from high-end desktop computers to the company’s refrigerators will be auctioned, said Richard Land, the attorney who was named receiver of the property by the Providence Superior Court. Other items to be auctioned include notebook computers, computerized
drawing panels, hundreds of peripherals used for video game development, video games, collectible cards and furniture. The most valuable items available include the high-tech server equipment and computers, Land said. This is “not run-of-the-mill computer equipment,” he added. Games that were under development when 38 Studios closed down will not be available at the auctions — instead, there will be a separate process for interested companies to buy such projects. Land said he hopes to have hundreds of buyers in attendance. “It’s a very significant auction in terms of number of items we’re going to have and public interest in it,” he said. Buyers in the video game industry are expected to make up a good portion of the crowd, given the nature of available products, Land added. Though he is optimistic about the auctions making significant profits, Land said the gains will not greatly reduce the total outstanding bond payments, since “the scope of debt is huge.”
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