daily herald the Brown
vol. cxxii, no. 83
INSIDE
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Tweet @Brown U. ranked 25th college in social media
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Mash up Badmaash dance co. brings South Asian flare to stage Page 5
Pet these pages John Carter Library hosts rare Mexican book ‘petting today
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tomorrow
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wednesday, october 10, 2012
U. celebrates discovery of Higgs boson particle By Elizabeth Koh Senior Staff Writer
Triggered by this July’s discovery of a Higgs boson-like particle, five University professors provided insight into their involvement in one of particle physics’ most momentous achievements during the “Discovery of a Higgs boson” event Tuesday night. Students, faculty and members of the public filled Salomon 101 for the event, which was hosted by the physics department and included opening remarks from President Christina Paxson. Physicists at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) announced July 4 that they had found evidence strongly suggesting the existence of the Higgs boson, a hypothetical particle that would explain how fundamental particles like quarks and leptons obtain mass. Such a discovery would
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unify the Standard Model of particle physics, which explains how the basic forces and particles of the universe fit together. “Big science is just that — it’s big,” Paxson said in her opening remarks. “It requires the collected efforts of a large amount of people.” Paxson said the recent discovery of the Higgs-like particle taught her about both the nature of science and the Brown community. She stressed the value of supporting long-term research without immediate payoffs and praised the internationally collaborative effort of the Higgs boson search. In her July 5 email congratulating the Physics department on the CERN discovery, Paxson asked recipients to forward her thanks to the graduate students and postdoctoral students in the professors’ labs. One of the recipients, she said, emailed her back with a “gentle reprimand” that she had not included the undergraduate students working in the professors’ / / Higgs page 5
since 1891
Courtesy of rafael gonzalez
A student abroad with Brown in Spain helped to uncover and identify cadavers in mass graves from the Spanish Civil War. See page 3.
Affirmative action case draws nearly 100 amicus briefs Whitehouse By Kate Nussenbaum Senior Staff Writer
The U.S. Supreme Court will begin hearing arguments today in Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin to determine whether the university’s use of race as a factor in its admissions process violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Along with other Ivy League schools and four other highly selective universities, Brown submitted a joint amicus brief to the court this summer in support of the University of Texas’ use of affirmative action. “This decision is so important it can affect the welfare of other institutions,” said Beverly Ledbetter, vice president and general counsel for the University. “We have a vested interest.” Abigail Fisher sued the University of Texas in 2008 after she was denied
admission to the school. The University of Texas system automatically grants admission to all Texas students who graduate in the top 10 percent of their class. This process fills 70 to 80 percent of admission slots. The remaining spaces are then filled through a more holistic and subjective process similar to Brown’s admissions system. Fisher did not graduate in the top 10 percent of her class and so did not gain automatic admission to the university. Fisher’s statement to the court argues that she was denied admission despite having better academic credentials than many minority candidates whom the university ultimately accepted. Past precedent Three other Supreme Court cases have thus far established what types of affirmative action policies are constitu-
tional for public universities, Ledbetter said. The first major affirmative action case, Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, occurred in 1978. The court ruled that though diversity was a “legitimate interest” that permitted the use of affirmative action in some circumstances, strict quotas for different races were unconstitutional, Ledbetter said. In 2003, the court convened again to determine the appropriate place of race in the admissions process, this time as it related to the University of Michigan’s law school in the Grutter v. Bollinger case and as it related to the University of Michigan’s undergraduate school in the Gratz v. Bollinger case. While Michigan’s undergraduate school used a specific point system that gave applicants of minority races an extra 20 points out of the 100 they needed
to gain admission, the law school used a less-defined process based more on the qualities of individuals. The court ruled that the undergraduate admissions process was unconstitutional, but the law school’s was permissible under the law. Considering race on an individual basis as part of a holistic admissions process was different from the quota system ruled unconstitutional in the Bakke case, the court found. “It’s a very complicated situation, but it reaffirmed that yes, diversity is a compelling interest for universities and the nation,” Ledbetter said.
By rachel margolis
At the end of 2011, Cohea was looking for a way to connect generations of students in honor of Brown’s upcoming 250th anniversary celebrations set to launch in 2014. He was walking down the steps of Sayles Hall when inspiration struck. “It kind of hit me that these are the same steps that have always been here, that have been here since Sayles was constructed,” he said. “And then I wondered — since it was new to me — if Brown students themselves had ever really thought about that.” As an experienced photojournalist, he knew just the medium to bring the past into focus alongside the present. He took the idea to juxtapose archival photos with contemporary shots to John Murphy, who had recently been named Brown’s social media specialist. “I remember one of the first meetings Mike and I had,” Murphy recalled. “He said, ‘I have this really cool idea of / / Photos page 2 using the ar-
‘A vested interest’ The brief the University submitted encourages the court to uphold the decision it made in the Grutter case. It “says to the court that this is an issue important enough to us that we will weigh in on it,” / / Court page 4
Past, present collide in U. social media project Contributing Writer
As Arianna Kazez ’15 and Izaak Baker ’15 strode out of Hope College last month, they nearly collided with three members of the class of 1888, who had just strolled through a gate that no longer exists. Kazez was armed with an umbrella and rain boots, but George Brown 1888, Eli Whitney Blake, Jr. 1888 and Francis Brownell 1888, who were reading on their way to class, did not seem to notice the rain. Sporting bowler hats and pocket watches, their attire contrasted with the modern students’ skirt and jeans. Clearly some wrinkle in time or radical change in fashion was at play. Or so it appears in a recent photograph composed by Mike Cohea, visual communications specialist for Public Affairs and University Relations, for his album, “Brown: Then, Now and Forever.”
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Mike cohea / brown university
Photojournalist Mike Cohea’s album “Brown: Then, Now and Forever,” connects generations of students by juxtaposing past and present photos.
outlines key election issues By Shefali Luthra News editor
The November election represents a nationwide referendum on the best way to fix the economy and the importance of social entitlement programs, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., said at Tuesday night’s Brown Democrats meeting. Whitehouse described the choice as one between supporting the middle class or cutting taxes for the wealthy. The other major component of the election, he said, is protecting Medicare, Social Security and Pell Grants. Safeguarding such programs “is more than just a social contract,” Whitehouse said. “It’s good for our country.” Whitehouse, who was elected in 2006, is currently running for reelection against Republican challenger Barry Hinckley, Jr. “I think it’s very important Rhode Island has a strong voice, and a strong voice who will stand with the seniors and the small businesses and the environment of Rhode Island,” Whitehouse told The Herald. “And I think I can be that voice. And I would very much like to be that voice.” If re-elected to Congress, Whitehouse said he would fight to pass the Buffett Rule — which would require those who earn at least $1 million per year to pay a minimum 30 percent tax rate — as well as the DISCLOSE Act, a measure that would require major campaign donors to disclose their names. / / Whitehouse page 3
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