Wednesday, November 7, 2012

daily herald the Brown

vol. cxxii, no. 100

wednesday, november 7, 2012

since 1891

FOUR MORE YEARS FOR OBAMA

By Elizabeth Carr City & State Editor

President Obama strung together key swing state victories in Tuesday’s election to win a second term as president of the United States, bringing to a close over a year of turbulent campaigning.

Going into the election, polls showed a dead heat between Republican challenger Mitt Romney and Obama, though sources including the New York Times predicted the incumbent’s victory.

The presidential election outcome is “iffy” and “pretty unknown,” said Jessica Mitter ’13 early in the night at the Special Events Committee’s on-campus watch party. “It seems kind of like a toss-up in many states,” she said. “I’m kind of nervous.”

The popular vote closely reflected national polls. Obama received 50 per-

cent of the overall vote, and Romney received 48 percent. Some pundits were concerned that Romney would win the popular vote, thus symbolically undermining Obama’s electoral college victory — an outcome that would recall the contested 2000 presidential election in which Democrat Al Gore won the popular vote but ultimately lost to Republican George W. Bush.

Swinging left Obama started the night strong with victories in two of nine swing states — New Hampshire and Wisconsin, Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan’s home state.

Taylor Daily ’13, president of Brown Students for Obama, said it was rewarding to see the group’s efforts canvassing in the nearby state pay off through Obama’s / / Obama page 5 win.

Henry Wilson / columbia daily spectator

In his victory speech early this morning, President Obama renewed his calls for unity among Americans. “I have never been more hopeful about America,” Obama said. “And I ask you to sustain that hope.”

R.I. voters split on On Election Day, voters brave lines casino expansions

By Tonya Riley

Senior Staff Writer

By mathias heller senior staff writer

Rhode Island voters approved Question One by a margin of 71 percent to 29 percent at press time, backing a ballot measure that will pave the way for state-operated casino gaming at the Twin River casino in Lincoln. Question Two, a referendum on state-operated casino gaming at the Newport Grand casino in Newport, failed after the town’s voters struck down the ballot question, despite the fact that it won 67 percent of the statewide vote. Questions One and Two required majority support both statewide and from voters in the municipalities where the proposed casino expansions were set to occur.

At press time, 97 percent of precincts

had reported their results.

With the approval of Question One, the Twin River casino can now introduce new forms of gambling that were previously illegal at the site, including table games like poker and blackjack.

The ballot measure’s supporters included Gov. Lincoln Chafee ’75 P’14 and House Majority Leader Nicholas Mattiello, DCranston, who both touted expanded casino gaming as an effective revenueraiser for Rhode Island. Gambling is the third-largest source of revenue for the state.

Opponents of the two ballot measures have argued that state-operated casino gaming would damage family stability and increase public health costs linked to individuals’ gambling addictions. / / Ballot page 4 Rhode

Rhode Island voter identification laws implemented this year faced their first major test Tuesday as voters turned out across the state to cast their ballots in the general election. The ID laws require voters to present some sort of identification, such as a license or utility bill, at their local polling place.

In Providence, long lines seemed to be the main concern for most voters.

Lines at Hope High School in the morning wrapped around the gym and went out into the hall. The wait was approximately 20 minutes at 4:30 p.m., but a poll worker told The Herald he expected it to get longer between 5 and 6:30 p.m as people got off from work.

Providence resident and Rhode Island College Professor Quenby Hughes / / Lines page 4 said the ID

Emily Gilbert / Herald

Salomon Center housed a polling station yesterday afternoon that allowed students registered to vote in Rhode Island to vote on campus.

Dems Cicilline and Whitehouse re-elected

INSIDE Page 2

School approved Faculty vote in favor of a school of public health

By Adam Toobin Senior Staff Writer

Page 6

Senate races Dems retain senate control with key wins in MA and VA

Page 12

Space cadet Geology professor elucidates asteroid weathering pattern today

tomorrow

tom sullivan / herald

44 / 37

42 / 35

Students spilled onto the Main Green to celebrate President Obama’s re-election last night.

Democrat Rep. David Cicilline ’83, DR.I., won his re-election bid in Rhode Island’s first congressional district, overcoming an aggressive challenge from former Colonel of the Rhode Island State Police Brendan Doherty. The race received national attention for its close polling numbers leading up to election night that indicated the possibility of a Republican victory in a historically Democratic district. Despite the polls showing a tight race, Cicilline won the race by a 10-point margin over Doherty as of press time.

Democrats Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., and Rep. James Langevin, the incumbent representative for Rhode Island’s second congressional district, also secured their re-elections early in the night. The two Democrats defeated their Republican opponents by large margins, putting an end to

speculation that the GOP could pull off a major upset in Rhode Island this year. Whitehouse led Republican Barry Hinckley 65 percent to 35 percent, and Langevin garnered 55.5 percent of second district votes compared to Republican Michael Riley’s 35.2 percent at press time.

Cicilline Cicilline’s victory marks a major turnaround from his 14.8 percent approval rating in February.

Throughout the campaign, Cicilline’s opponents accused the Democrat of lying about Providence’s fiscal health while he was mayor of the city in 2010; Providence Mayor Angel Taveras announced the city had a $110 million structural deficit when he succeeded Cicilline. This controversy formed the basis for Doherty’s challenge to Cicilline.

In September, Cicilline overcame a divisive / / Democrats page 7

2 campus news c alendar Today

Nov. 7

12 P.m.

ToMORROW

NOv. 8

12 p.m.

Free Korean Bibimbap

The Underground

Main Green 7 p.m.

Global Health Lecture Series

Campus Center Movie: Zombieland

BioMed 291

Petteruti Lounge, 201

menu SHARPE REFECTORY

VERNEy-WOOLLEY DINING HALL

LUNCH Chicken Artichoke Pasta Medley, Hot Roast Beef on French Bread, Sweet & Sour Tofu, Sweet Potato Fries

Roasted Corn Chowder with Bacon, Linguini, Steak Fries, Broccoli Quiche, Frosted Cupcakes

DINNER Vegan Curried Veggies,Teriyaki Salmon, Veggie Egg Rolls, Naan Bread, Miso Soup, Fried Tofu

Faculty approves public health school

By Kate DeSimone senior staff writer

Pumpkins on Display 5 p.m.

the brown daily herald wednesday, november 7, 2012

Baked Chicken Parmesan, Cajun Corn and Tomatoes, Squash Rolls, Tofu Parmesan, Peach Cobbler

Sudoku

Crossword

The faculty unanimously approved a motion to create a school of public health Tuesday night. The Corporation will vote on the proposal at its February meeting.

The motion’s passage was met with enthusiastic applause, marking continued progress towards the school’s creation, a process that began in 2000.

Terrie Fox Wetle, associate dean of medicine for public health and public policy, presented the motion, which she said had already been approved by Provost Mark Schlissel P’15, former president Ruth Simmons, President Christina Paxson and multiple faculty committees. The proposal was not discussed further, which Paxson attributed to the fact that the faculty had already extensively done so. If approved in February, the school will be on track to receive accreditation by the national Council on Education for Public Health in 2015, The Herald reported in October.

Dean of the Faculty Kevin McLaughlin P’12 announced that VIVO, a new online database for faculty research profiles that will be used in annual salary reviews, will go live in a few weeks. Faculty members will receive an email Dec. 3 with instructions on how to revise their VIVO profiles, which will already include their most recent Curriculum Vitaes, before making them public.

McLaughlin said VIVO will more effectively publicize faculty members’ achievements, and its integration with annual salary reviews will be an incentive to keep its information current. The old research website will remain online until February,

McLaughlin said. VIVO will also comprise new tools that could allow faculty members to search keywords and access research information from other institutions in the VIVO database.

Several faculty members voiced concern that some of the information they provide in their CVs to their departments is not information they would want to be available in a public domain. University librarian Harriette Hemmasi, who is overseeing the transition to VIVO, said she is aware of those concerns. VIVO is open-source software, Hemmasi said, so the University could customize it to create a private field for faculty members to enter such information without making it public.

Schlissel gave an update on the discussions of the University Resources Committee, a body composed of administrators, faculty members, students and staff, which makes budget recommendations to the president in its January report.

The URC’s current discussions involve making incremental budget increases to various departments and initiatives, including operational costs for the Perry and Marty Granoff Center for the Creative Arts and mentoring programs for junior faculty members, Schlissel said.

In addition, there has been a request for additional officers in the Department of Public Safety, motivated by a recent “uptick” in robberies on College Hill, Schlissel said.

The URC has not yet begun what Schlissel called its most difficult discussions: tuition increases and the pool for faculty and staff salary increases. Though the percentage of net revenue coming from tuition has

remained fairly constant near 35 percent, the University is still much more dependent on undergraduate tuition, particularly when compared to its peers. Additionally, returns on its endowment represent a much smaller portion of Brown’s budget — 15 percent — than many of its competitors.

The budget has been stable in that all of its main components have been increasing at similar rates, but the question arises of “how much further we can push tuition,” Schlissel said.

Paxson also referenced financial concerns in her update on her meeting with the Corporation last month.

While she said she wants her administration’s strategic planning process to be “expansive and bold,” the University is seeing plateaus in two significant revenue sources: its endowment and federal funding. Returns from the University’s endowment were at 1 percent last year. Paxson said she remains optimistic about Brown’s finances, adding that these concerns are not “an immediate crisis” but will be important considerations in the University’s long-term planning.

Both Paxson and Schlissel voiced praise of Ed Wing, dean of the medicine and biological sciences, who on Monday announced his decision to step down as dean at the end of the academic year. Schlissel said Paxson asked him to chair the search process to replace Wing, which he said will begin in earnest at the beginning of 2013.

The faculty also unanimously passed a motion to revise the Faculty Rules and Regulations. The change increases the faculty membership of the FEC to 10, establishing a position reserved for a lecturer or senior lecturer.

U. ranks first for 2012 undergrad Fulbrights

By Will Fesperman COntributing Writer

Brown ranked third among research universities in the number of Fulbright grants awarded this year, according to a report published Oct. 28 by the Chronicle of Higher Education. Twenty-seven recent alums from the classes of 2012 and 2011 and two graduate students received the scholarship out of Brown’s 85 applicants. Brown also had the highest number of undergraduate applicants this year — 25 total — to receive Fulbrights, beating out the University of Michigan and Harvard, which were ranked first and second in total grants

awarded, respectively.

The third place ranking marks an improvement from last year, when Brown fell 14 spots to 17th after two consecutive years of ranking third.

Sixteen of the grant recipients are completing English Teaching Assistantships, while the other 13 will be conducting independent research in their chosen fields, which include creative writing, ecology and public health. The Fulbright winners are currently working in 22 different countries, including Bangladesh, Denmark, Senegal and Brazil.

The University strongly encourages graduating seniors to apply for Ful-

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brights, providing guidance throughout the application process, said Linda Dunleavy, associate dean of the College for fellowships.

The Fulbright Program requires that every participating school have a Fulbright adviser and a campus interview committee to vet students’ applications before they are submitted in October.

But Brown offers even more resources for applicants. Each is assigned an “interviewer-mentor” for individual guidance, Dunleavy said. Sarah Denaci ’12, who won a grant to translate an Argentinian novelist’s work into English, said Brown’s advising system was “excellent.”

“I (went) through about nine drafts of my project proposal, each one improved by the advice that Dean Dunleavy and the fellows (gave),” Denaci said.

The Office of the Dean of the College also offers Fulbright essay writing workshops in the summer and early fall.

The character of Brown’s student body also plays a role in their Fulbright success, Dunleavy said. Brown’s open curriculum and flexible leave-taking process attract students “who are willing to take a year off after college, who are adventurous,” she said. Denaci said Brown students overall “genuinely want to learn more about other countries and cultures.”

the brown daily herald wednesday, november 7, 2012

Lecturer to join Faculty Executive Committee

By Alexandra Macfarlane News Editor

The Faculty Executive Committee will be expanded to include either a full-time lecturer or senior lecturer, following a faculty vote approving the proposal Tuesday night. The FEC, which manages faculty governance, will now include 10 members instead of the previous nine.

The proposal came out of a meeting between the FEC and lecturers last spring that was held in an attempt to address concerns of underrepresentation and lack of support for lecturers, according to recent FEC meeting minutes. This was the first time such a group had met with lecturers as a constituency, according to the FEC minutes.

Administrators wanted to address general policy related to the lectureship position at Brown, said Kevin McLaughlin P’12, dean of the faculty, and Mary Louise Gill, chair of the FEC and professor of philosophy.

The main concerns addressed during the meeting were lecturers’ exclusion from the University retirement policy and the lack of determined criteria to promote lecturers to higher positions, according to the FEC minutes.

After discussion and a survey conducted among lecturers, the FEC put forth a proposal to represent lecturers in the committee, and “voted unanimously to include one lecturer/ senior lecturer in its membership,” the minutes reported. Faculty members approved the proposal in their meeting Tuesday.

The proposal “seems like a very reasonable policy,” McLaughlin said, adding that many lecturers feel “neglected and unrepresented.”

“There is no question that lecturers and senior lecturers play a very important role in teaching at Brown,” said Rajiv Vohra P’07, professor of economics and former dean of the faculty. But Vohra said he is “not sure that increasing the size of the FEC is the right answer.”

“Adding a position and reserving it for senior lecturers seems a bit odd to me,” he said.

The key difference between lec-

turers and tenured and tenure-track professors “is that the lecturer and senior lecturer track is heavily teachingoriented” with less of an emphasis on research or scholarship, McLaughlin said.

“I don’t see this as a question of equity because different jobs come with different expectations,” Vohra said.

“I think it’s a great decision,” said Carol DeBoer-Langworthy, a lecturer in English. “It’s very nice to see affirmation of our value as teachers and scholars,” she said.

DeBoer-Langworthy said she is happy to be a lecturer because she doesn’t feel like she has to please anyone. “The field is so wide that that gives us a lot of freedom,” she said of the nonfiction writing program.

Lecturers serve terms of up to three years and senior lecturers serve up to six years. Departments can create lectureships when there is a specific need for a pedagogic specialist, McLaughlin said, adding that departments should present a plan for the whole department when proposing a new lectureship.

Lecturers and senior lecturers are “exempt from some of the status and caste rules that afflict the tenure system,” DeBoer-Langworthy said, adding that McLaughlin “has been remarkably strong as an advocate” for lecturers.

Lecturers have “an emphasis on pedagogy, on teaching,” said Kate Schapira MFA’06, a lecturer in English. “For me, that’s good,” she said, adding that she considers herself a writer and not a scholar.

Though she is not expected to conduct research as part of her position, “I feel very supported by the department in independent writing endeavors so far,” she said.

Each department creates lectureships for different reasons, but lecturers have concerns as a group about their ability to make a difference in their departments, Gill said, adding that she is very much in favor of the faculty decision. This change will help alleviate those concerns, she said.

— With additional reporting by Kate DeSimone

www.browndailyherald.com

campus news 3 Ombudsperson may shift to full-time role

By Kiki Barnes Contributing Writer

Following the hiring of ombudsperson Ruth Rosenberg last semester, the Faculty Executive Committee has begun discussing whether to expand the part-time position to a full-time one, according to recent meeting minutes.

The ombudsperson position was a “victim of the financial crisis,” said Harold Roth, member of the FEC and professor of religious studies. Roth chaired the committee that hired Rosenberg, who filled the position after a two-year vacancy.

If the position were made full-time, the Ombuds Office funds would move from the president’s special account to the University budget, Roth said. When Rosenberg was hired, then-President Simmons provided funds for the office for three years, he said.

“The Ombuds Office has had more visits in the last six months, including over the summer, than the last ombudsperson had in one year,” Rosenberg said, adding that she was unsure whether her workload has been affected by the fact that there had not been an ombudsperson for so long.

In 2008, University ombudsperson Flora Keshgegian declined an offer to make her position permanent. Soon after that, the University implemented a hiring freeze that put the search for a new ombudsperson on hold until last semester, The Herald reported at the time.

But a series of conflicts between faculty members and departments prompted the University to resume the search for an ombudsperson, Roth said.

“People felt unfairly treated in the tenure process, and there were problems within departments,” Roth said.

Expanding the ombudsperson position could lead to broadening the office’s constituency to students.

The Ombuds Office could offer valuable conflict resolution management and training to students, Rosenberg said.

“The constituency would have to be proposed and discussed further,” Roth said, adding that undergrads have many other outlets for conflict management like deans of student life.

“The committee seems in favor of expanding it,” Roth said. “But right now there are too many factors to know for sure.”

All other Ivy League institutions have full-time ombuds offices that serve their entire campuses with the exception of Yale, which rejected a proposal to create a college ombudsperson position last year.

The Ombuds Office at Brown currently provides assistance only to faculty and postdocs who have concerns about their work or problems affecting their work, such as issues with tenure, maternity leave and departmental conflicts, Rosenberg said.

“The important thing about an ombudsperson is that it’s confidential, neutral, independent and informal,” she

Courtesy Of Brown Alumni Magazine

The Ombuds Office supports faculty with work-related concerns. said. “It’s nice to have a place where you can go to just talk through your issues.

There are very few places on campus where that can happen.”

“Problems among faculty and departments are many, varied and very time-consuming. (An ombudsperson) is an invaluable position to have,” Roth said, adding that the Ombuds Office could potentially save the University from lawsuits.

“It’s great to have an impartial third party to help with the communication process,” Roth said. “An ombudsperson can resolve problems before they become unresolvable.”

4 election 2012 / / Ballot page 1

/ / Lines page 1

Island also approved other ballot measures, including Question Three, which releases state funds valuing up to $50 million for infrastructure improvements to Rhode Island College, by a margin of 66 percent to 34 percent. With Rhode Island’s budget shortfall, the ballot measure’s supporters had advocated its passage as a way to supplement funding for renovations to the college’s nursing and life sciences building.

By a margin of 77 percent to 23 percent, voters also approved Question Four, which allocates up to $94 million for the construction of a new veterans’ home and upgrades for existing veterans’ centers.

The center will receive federal funding that will offset the initial cost by 65 percent and is projected to be completed by 2023, according to the Department of Human Services.

Question Five, which allocates $20 million to state programs for reducing water pollution and improving drinking water quality, also received majority support from Rhode Island voters by a margin of 74 percent to 26 percent. The state government will kick off both programs in 2013 with the goal of completing them by 2017.

Voters approved Question Six, a measure allocating $20 million to protect water quality in the Narragansett Bay, preserve open space and improve recreational facilities, by a margin of 70 percent to 30 percent.

Question Seven also won approval by a wide margin of 62 percent to 38 percent.

The measure allocates $25 million for affordable housing and housing-related renovations throughout the state.

laws did not seem to affect efficiency during primary voting, but she added that the general election this time around was “a different scene.”

Summit Commons, where the driveway was lined with canvassers, had lines out the door in the evening with post-work voters braving the cold to cast their ballots.

Providence resident Ben Walker said he had been waiting about 15 minutes and that lines were moving, “but slowly.”

One poll worker at Hope High School, who wished to remain anonymous, told The Herald that the new ID laws had decreased efficiency in voting because of the extra step.

Herman Vandenburgh, professor emeritus of the department of pathology and laboratory medicine, was at Hope High School voting with his wife.

He suggested that a “national, Social Security picture ID would be a good idea” in response to voter ID laws.

Voter Scott Sperling did not find out about the voter ID law until he was searching for his polling place yesterday.

“If it causes disparity in people’s ability to vote, then it’s a problem,” he said, adding that he believes when photo IDs are required in 2014, it could create a gap between upper-and lower-class voters.

At William D’Abate Elementary School in the West Side, lines were not an issue. Poll moderator Diane Hardy said they had only seen about 70 voters through the afternoon and that they had not had any issues with the new identification laws.

The Providence Journal reported

the brown daily herald wednesday, november 7, 2012

Emily Gilbert / Herald

Incumbent representative Jim Langevin, D-R.I., beat out opponent Michael Riley for the District 2 House seat. that 30 minutes before polls were set to close at Juanita Sanchez Complex, 600 voters were still in line and the Providence Board of Canvassers then decided to double the number of poll workers. The last voter, who had been waiting several hours to vote, cast his ballot just after 9 p.m., they reported.

The Board of Canvassers and the Mayor’s Office were not available for comment at press time. Police were also brought in to manage the scene, the Journal reported.

Steven Brown, executive director of the Rhode Island American Civil Liberties Union, said they received numerous complaints from across the state throughout the day. Apart from complaints about long lines and broken machines, he said some voters were

unaware of their right to fill out provisional ballots if they were not carrying a form of identification.

He said voters at Nathan Bishop Middle School and Summit Commons in Providence both reported long lines.

At one point in the day, three voting machines in Mount Pleasant were broken, he said.

Steven Brown attributed the chaos to a combination of the new ID laws and shorter voting hours. Rhode Island polling places closed at 8 p.m.

“It’s almost as if elected officials were asking for this kind of chaos,” he said.

In West Warwick and South Kingstown, election day got off to a slow start due to a problem with ballot delivery that delayed early morning voters.

Poll workers at Elks Lodge opened sealed boxes of ballots to discover that they had been sent Woonsocket ballots, according to Ray Lambert, chairman of the board of canvassers in West Warwick.

The Rhode Island Board of Elections sent correct ballots within the hour, and Lambert said the poll workers were not told what caused the mix-up.

On campus, voting at Salomon Hall was generally calm with lines moving quickly, though some students cited

confusion about day-of registration and said they did not realize they had to go to the Dunkin’ Donuts Center to register.

Most voters The Herald spoke with were aware of the ID requirement before entering the polling place, though many said they did not know photo IDs would be required in 2014.

Gabe Gonzalez ’12.5 registered to vote in Rhode Island after working on a local campaign two years ago. He said he had meant to change his registration to his native Florida but missed the deadline. He expressed concern that his out-of-state ID would not be accepted, but he did not have any issues voting.

A poll worker who identified herself as Susan said she was not forced to turn away any voters because of the ID requirement, adding that she had not observed any significant changes in efficiency.

At all of the polling places The Herald visited, both general signs and lists of acceptable forms of ID were posted in English and Spanish.

— With additional reporting by Molly Schulson, Katie Cusumano, Morgan Johnson, Maddie Berg, Gabrielle Dee and Maddie Medina

the brown daily herald wednesday, november 7, 2012

/ / Obama page 1 News sources began to call the race for Obama after projecting his victory in Ohio. Both campaigns poured considerable resources into the MidWestern swing state, which has historically been a consistent predictor of presidents’ victories and carries 18 electoral votes. The state is also home to a large population of Independent voters.

Though nine states were considered swing states, a number of analysts named Ohio as the state that would decide the election. “It was kind of clear in the last few days that Ohio was going to be a deciding factor regardless of how Florida went,” said Thomas Fink ’13, who voted absentee for Romney in Florida, another swing state.

Obama rounded out the night by sweeping four more swing states — Colorado, Iowa, Nevada and Virginia.

North Carolina was the only swing state Romney carried. Florida was too close to call at press time.

Post-election analysis suggested that Minnesota, thought to be a Democratic stronghold, would have had a chance to swing Republican if Romney had chosen to target it more heavily, a point New York Times political analyst Nate Silver raised in an article a week before the election.

Lil’ Rhody goes blue “It’s a great day for Democrats,” said state Sen. Juan Pichardo, D-Providence.

“For the nation, the real change is happening and is going to continue to happen.”

Jake Brodsky ’16 predicted the outcome early in the night. “I’d like to think that Obama is going to win,” he said at the SPEC watch party. “I have a gut feeling.”

Rhode Island, a traditionally liberal state, gave its four electoral votes to the Democrat incumbent with 63.1 percent of the vote at press time.

“I really like Barack Obama, and I think he’s doing great things for the country,” said Katie McManus of Providence at the Rhode Island Democrats event.

“I don’t think anybody could have dug us out of the hole that we were in in four years,” she added, but said Obama has been moving the country toward progress. “I really dislike the direction that the Republican National Committee wants to move us in,” she said.

The right retreat Romney, who reportedly did not prepare a concession speech in advance, postponed admitting his loss to his supporters until an hour and a half after NBC first called the race for his

opponent.

“This is a time of great challenges for America,” he told his supporters in his concession speech. “We can’t risk political posturing and partisan bickering,” he said, encouraging politicians to reach across the aisle and “put the people before the politics.”

Republicans appeared reluctant to accept Obama’s victory. “This election is a total sham and a travesty. We are not a democracy!” Donald Trump tweeted last night. The former Republican candidate for the nomination suggested Republicans, who retained control of the House of Representatives, should refuse to work with Obama unless he agreed to repeal his signature health care legislation.

‘The best is yet to come’ “The rest of the United States has finally caught up with Rhode Island,” said Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., in his address at the Rhode Island Democrats event held at the Providence Biltmore Hotel last night. “Now the challenge … is to move forward and come together to build a better, stronger United States of America.”

“We’ve seen some really great policies go through, and I really hope he can improve upon them in the second term,” Daily said of Obama’s victory.

When Obama took the stage for his victory speech, he emphasized the importance of moving forward after the election. “The best is yet to come,” he said.

Obama said he looked forward to working with Romney in the coming months to shape future policy and resolve some of the contention between the two parties.

“Democracy in a nation of 300 million can be noisy and messy and complicated,” he said. “When we go through tough times, when we make big decisions, that necessarily stirs up passions, it stirs up controversy.”

But Obama noted that such debates “are a part of our liberty,” something for which people in other nations are currently fighting, referencing the recent uprisings in Northern Africa and the Arab Peninsula. The democratic spirit and patriotism exhibited in politics and government are what makes America great, he added.

“I believe we can seize this future together,” Obama concluded. “We remain more than a collection of red states and blue states. We remain the United States of America.” ­— With additional reporting by Sona Mkrttchian, Phoebe Draper, Kate Nussenbaum and Caroline Flanagan

election 2012 5

Magdalena kala / Harvard Crimson

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and his wife, Ann, wave to supporters as Romney conceded defeat at a rally in Boston last night.

6 election 2012

the brown daily herald wednesday, november 7, 2012

Dems keep control of Senate, Warren wins in Mass.

By Shefali Luthra News Editor

Republicans retained control of the U.S. House of Representatives while Democrats held onto the U.S. Senate in Tuesday’s national election. In Massachusetts, Democrat Elizabeth Warren unseated Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass., while Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine defeated Republican George Allen to hold onto a Democratic Senate seat.

Below is a breakdown of several key contested Senate races.

Connecticut Senate Rep. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., defeated Republican Linda McMahon with 53 percent of the vote as of press time, filling an open Senate seat in Connecticut. The seat was previously held by Independent Joe Lieberman.

McMahon, former chief of World Wrestling Entertainment, spent more than $40 million of her personal fortune to finance the race. In 2010, she unsuccessfully ran for the Senate seat now occupied by Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn. In that race, McMahon spent $50 million of her own money.

Murphy has traditionally voted along Democratic party lines while in Congress.

He was endorsed by President Obama and narrowly led in polls heading into Tuesday’s contest.

Obama won the state’s seven electoral college votes.

Indiana Senate Rep. Joe Donnelly, D-Ind., won the state’s open Senate seat, defeating Republican State Treasurer Richard Mourdock and adding a Democratic Congressional seat. Donnelly received 49 percent of the vote as of press time.

Mourdock, a Tea Party favorite, defeated incumbent Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., in the state’s primary earlier this year. Despite the state’s conservative leanings, Mourdock polled behind Donnelly in the race’s final days, a change attributed in part to statements he made about abortion and rape in an Oct. 23 debate.

Mourdock, who said pregnancy caused by rape is “something that God intended to happen,” drew criticism from

Republican candidates, including Mitt Romney, who had previously endorsed him.

Romney won Indiana’s 11 electoral college votes.

Maine Senate Former Maine Gov. Angus King, an Independent, defeated Republican Charlie Summers and Democrat Cynthia Dill in the race to replace Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine.

King led the polls heading into Tuesday’s electoral contest and received 55 percent of the vote as of press time.

Snowe, a moderate Republican, announced her intentions to step down last spring, citing growing partisanship in Congress.

A former Democrat, King has not explicitly committed to voting with either major party, though Democrats widely expect him to caucus with them.

Massachusetts Senate In this year’s most expensive Senate race, Harvard law professor Elizabeth Warren defeated Sen. Scott Brown, RMass., for the seat formerly occupied by Democrat Ted Kennedy. As of press time, Warren received 53 percent of the vote.

The race, in which more than $70 million was spent, is also the most expensive in Massachusetts’ history and was expected to draw a record turnout.

Scott Brown, who trailed in polls leading up to the election, won the traditionally liberal seat in a special election following Kennedy’s death in 2010. Warren shot to national prominence after helping create the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in 2011.

Obama reportedly considered Warren to head the bureau but did not believe she would be approved by Republican legislators.

Obama won the state’s 11 electoral college votes.

Missouri Senate Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., defeated Republican challenger Rep. Todd Akin, R-Mo., in a race that attracted national attention after statements Akin made about abortion rights.

As of press time, McCaskill received

zein khleif / Herald

Students filled the Leung Gallery and spilled into Petteruti Lounge at SPEC’s election party. While election results were projected onto large screens, students chowed down on apple pie and other All-American favorites. about 52 percent of the vote compared to about 42 percent for Akin.

Akin held a substantial lead over McCaskill in early polls. But this summer, after Akin commented on abortion and the status of “legitimate rape,” the race’s dynamics shifted with McCaskill polling ahead for the remainder of the contest.

Following those comments, Akin was repeatedly called upon by his own party to remove himself from the contest.

Missouri remains strongly conservative, with Romney winning the state’s 10 electoral college votes.

Montana Senate Sen. John Tester, D-Mont., led against Rep. Denny Rehberg, R-Mont., but the race was too close to call as of press time.

Heading into the race, Rehberg held a slight lead over Tester, whose 2006 victory was an anomaly in a typically conservative state.

Tester distanced himself from Obama throughout the campaign, positioning himself as an independent Democrat.

Mitt Romney won Montana, which has 3 electoral college votes.

Nevada Senate Incumbent Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., defeated challenger Rep. Shelley Berkley,

D-Nev., 46 percent to 45 percent, CNN projected early this morning.

Heller, who polled ahead of Berkley heading into the race, was called on to fill the seat earlier this year, after former Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., was forced to resign.

The contest attracted national attention after the New York Times reported that Berkley had led an effort to maintain funding for a kidney transplant program that also benefited her husband’s medical practice. Following the story, the House’s Committee on Ethics launched an official inquiry into the matter.

Obama won the swing state, receiving six electoral votes.

Wisconsin Senate Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., will be the nation’s first openly gay senator and Wisconsin’s first female senator after defeating former Republican governor Tommy Thompson, receiving 51 percent of the vote as of press time.

Wisconsin had been heavily contested by both parties following a failed attempt to recall Republican Gov. Scott Walker.

The seat had been held by a Democrat since 1957, most recently by Herb Kohl, who will retire after four terms. Entering the election, Baldwin held a slight lead in the polls over Thompson, who attracted

criticism for statements he made about cutting Medicare and Medicaid.

Baldwin was endorsed by former President Bill Clinton, while former President George H.W. Bush endorsed Thompson.

In the presidential contest, Obama won Wisconsin, which carries 10 electoral votes.

Virginia Senate Former Democratic Gov. Tim Kaine defeated Republican George Allen to fill a vacant Virginia Senate seat. As of press time, Kaine had received about 52 percent of the vote.

The candidates, who remained neckand-neck until election day, vied to fill a spot being vacated by Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va. Kaine, who previously headed the Democratic National Committee, ran as a moderate Democrat.

Allen previously ran for the seat in 2006, but he lost to Webb after calling an Indian American Democratic worker a “macaca.” The incident was seen as derailing both Allen’s Senate bid and any White House ambitions he might have had.

Virginia, a swing state in the presidential election, cast 13 electoral votes for Romney.

House Speaker Fox retains seat

Greg Jordan-Detamore / Herald

President Obama reached the 270 electoral vote threshold yesterday to secure re-election.

browndailyherald.com

Check out our website for video coverage of reactions to the election results!

House Speaker Gordon Fox, D-Providence, defeated his Independent opponent Mark Binder in a 57.1 to 42.4 percent victory to represent District 4 in the State House. Fox received 3,328 votes, and Binder received 2,472 votes as of press time.

Though a sitting Rhode Island House Speaker had not lost reelection since 1906, the campaign season was challenging for Fox. He received negative publicity after supporting 38 Studios, Curt Schilling’s video game company, filed for bankruptcy and cost the state millions of dollars. Fox also lost support after failing to pass any legislation supporting marriage equality.

“In recent years, he’s grown somewhat distant from his constituency even as his power has grown,” Providence College Political Science Professor Tony Affigne ’76 PhD’92 told The Herald in October. Binder has cited this disconnect as his reason for challenging Fox. Binder also criticized Fox for his failed initiative to bring a vote to the floor for marriage equality — though Fox has promised to do so — as well as Fox’s failure to pass a bill reforming payday lending.

“I have been a proud Democrat my whole life and always support the Democratic philosophy,” Fox wrote in a statement released Monday. “That is why I work so hard on the issues that matter most to the voters of District 4: education, jobs and the economy, marriage equality and women’s reproductive rights.”

Senate President M. Teresa Paiva Weed, D-Jamestown and Newport, defeated Republican contender Geoffrey William Cook for the Senate District 13 seat. Weed received 7,063 votes while Cook received 2,957.

— Chad Simon

election 2012 7

the brown daily herald wednesday, november 7, 2012

Students track results at SPEC event

By Amy Rasmussen City & State editor

The Leung Gallery in the Stephen Robert ’62 Campus Center normally inspires a strict code of silence — even heavy footsteps can draw angry glares during a midterms week. But on election night, the space pulsed with excited anticipation as it played host to the Special Event Committee’s ReSPECt the Exec event.

Lines of patriotically clad students snaked out the door and event officials were forced to turn people away as the room threatened to exceed fire code limits.

Those in attendance were treated to a slew of all-American favorites — macaroni and cheese, apple pie and patriotic popsicles were all among the offerings. But the event drew students as much for the sense of community it offered as the election night delicacies.

Students pumped fists and erupted in gleeful cheers as the results were an-

nounced through the night. The large number of first-time voters made for a particularly high-energy environment.

“It’s nice to have my first election experience in college be with a bunch of other people who are really excited about it,” said Paul Martin ’16.

But the event’s atmosphere, though officially non-partisan, was not pleasing to all of its attendees.

Republican Pranay Bose ’16 said he had to leave early out of frustration. Watching the results come in at the event was “better than watching in my room by myself,” he said. But “the smugness was a little too much.”

Food supplies eventually ran short, but most students remained on the edge of their seats and fixed to the screens.

“I’m pro-Obama. I’m optimistic,” said Eliana Greenberg ’13. “But I’m not going to sleep until I can feel confident.”

“I’m here soaking up the atmosphere,” said Myron Lam ’15, an international student. “It’s actually closer

than I thought it would be. I might leave and come back near the results.”

Students hailing from critical swing states had a lot to be nervous about.

“It’s incredibly close and incredibly stressful,” said Stacy Bartlett ’14, an Ohio resident. “Apparently, it’s unbearable to watch TV or listen to the radio or anything like that (back home).”

But as networks began to project an Obama victory at approximately 11:30 p.m. last night, students poured onto the Main Green from all sides in a rush of impromptu merry-making, seizing the moment as one of pure celebration.

Screaming, embracing and streaking students alike came together to celebrate the news. Chants of “four more years” echoed through the biting night air, and the Brown Derbies burst out in patriotic song at Wayland Arch. ­— With additional reporting by Caroline Flanagan, Phoebe Draper and Tom Sullivan

Maggie Hassan ‘80 P’15 claims New Hampshire governor seat Democrat Maggie Hassan ’80 P’15 won the governorship of New Hampshire last night with 54 percent of the vote, defeating her Republican opponent Ovide Lamontagne, who garnered 43 percent.

With her victory, Hassan will join Republican Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal ’91.5, Independent Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee ’75 P’14 and Democrat Delaware Gov. Jack Markell ’82 as University alums in gubernatorial office.

Hassan, a former New Hampshire state senate majority leader, had been locked in a close race throughout the fall with Lamontagne, an attorney. The most recent polls, according to Public Policy Polling, showed Hassan holding only a small lead. But on election day, Hassan outdistanced her opponent by a double-digit margin.

Social issues, such as abortion rights and same-sex marriage, were central to the race. New Hampshire is one of six states that has legalized same-sex marriage. Hassan, an abortion rights supporter who also backs same-sex marriage, had attacked Lamontagne, who opposes abortion rights and same-sex marriage, as too conservative on these issues. Lamontagne supports civil unions but said he would not allow any more same-sex marriages to be certified if elected.

According to exit polls cited by the Boston Globe, Hassan led among independents, who accounted for approximately 40 percent of voters at the New Hampshire polls yesterday. Hassan also led among other key demographic groups, including women and voters with family incomes less than $50,000.

In Delaware, Markell easily won reelection to a second term, defeating his Republican opponent, Jeffrey Cragg, by a margin of more than 40 percent. Markell was first elected governor in 2008.

Markell, who served as chair of the Democratic Governors Association in the 2010 election cycle, had maintained a consistent lead in polls throughout the race. Cragg also lagged in fundraising throughout the cycle, according to the Delaware Online.

— Mathias Heller

/ / Democrats page 1 primary challenge from Anthony Gemma, who accused the Cicilline campaign of voter fraud. Earlier this week, Doherty announced his campaign would send 75 attorneys to polling places across the state to combat voter fraud.

The contest between Cicilline and Doherty was marked by vitriol and mudslinging, as both campaigns relied heavily on negative television advertisements and name-calling.

“I think Doherty had to face tough odds in a Democratic district, but I also think if he had been a little more forthcoming about what he planned to do as a Congressman, he might have won a few more Democrat votes,” said Associate Professor of Political Science Wendy Schiller, adding that candidates typically garner limited support when their campaigns are “predominantly negative.”

Cicilline’s campaign tried to tie Doherty to the leadership of the Republican Party, equating a vote for Doherty to a vote for presidential contender

Mitt Romney and his vice presidential running mate, Paul Ryan. Opposing the Republican presidential nominee’s proposal to partially privatize Medicare became a central part of Cicilline’s platform.

Cicilline likely received a boost of support on the coattails of President Obama’s re-election campaign, but even in the last week, polls showed Cicilline and Doherty neck-and-neck. An Oct. 30 WPRI poll found that the candidates were in a statistical tie.

On election night, Cicilline credited his success to the Latino community, women and young voters. Student groups at Rhode Island’s colleges and universities also lent their support to the candidate in large numbers.

Cicilline told The Herald he aims to “fight for issues that are important for young people” in his next term. His areas of focus will include preserving Pell grants, increasing accessibility and affordability of higher education and creating jobs in Rhode Island for new graduates, he said.

Whitehouse

Sheldon Whitehouse maintained a 20-point lead over challenger Barry Hinckley throughout the campaign.

This will be Whitehouse’s second term in the Senate.

Whitehouse promised to protect federal funding for higher education, Medicare and Social Security during his victory speech Tuesday. He said improving the economy and lowering the unemployment rate remain his main priorities.

Whitehouse told The Herald that he hopes to use this term to improve federal policies so that young people have “a country they are proud of, that looks out for their interests.”

Langevin Langevin’s defeat of Riley guarantees his sixth term in Congress. He will return to the House of Representatives alongside Cicilline as the congressman for Rhode Island’s second district.

“I am grateful to Rhode Islanders for their support and for again putting their trust in me to fight for them,” Langevin said in his victory speech Tuesday. “I will never take it for granted.”

Emily Gilbert / Herald

David Cicilline ‘83, D-R.I., beat opponent Brendan Doherty for the District 1 House seat. This marks Cicilline’s second victory in a congressional election.

Three states vote for same-sex marriage

By Elizabeth Koh Senior Staff Writer

Yesterday saw more than a race for the presidency between President Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney — citizens across the country also voted on contentious issues in their respective states.

Same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage appeared on state ballots in Maryland, Maine, Washington and Minnesota. Maryland approved proequality Question 6 by a 52 to 48 percent margin as of press time, upholding the Civil Marriages Protection Act passed earlier this year. Maine and Washington voters followed suit, with a 54 percent majority in Maine voting against a rejected 2009 referendum that would have barred same-sex marriage. Washington residents voted 52 to 48 percent to approve a law legalizing same-sex marriage passed earlier this year.

Minnesota voters faced a state constitutional amendment to bar same-sex couples from marrying and voted 50 to 49 percent to reject the amendment.

Before the election’s results, six states and the District of Columbia allowed same-sex marriage, with 39 states actively banning it by amendments or statutes.

Marijuana Marijuana legalization was also a multi-state issue. Massachusetts, Arkansas, Washington, Oregon, Colorado and Montana raised the legalization issue in ballot measures.

Massachusetts voters approved legalizing marijuana for medical purposes by a margin of 63 to 37 percent at press time. Arkansas was the first southern state to propose legalizing the drug, a proposition that was narrowly defeated by 52 percent of voters. Oregon voters also rejected legalization by voting against Measure 80, which would have sent sales taxes from marijuana sales to the state general fund and toward drug rehabilitation.

Washington and Colorado residents voted to legalize the drug, though both states would restrict use to people over the age of 21. Montana’s results indicated strong support for Initiative 124, which would restrict use of the drug, though only 39 percent of precincts were reporting as of press time.

Josh Grill ’14 said the issue of marijuana legalization around the country “is the most exciting part of this election for me.”

“There’s such a flagrantly obviously

right decision to be made, which really both sides of the aisle agree on,” he added.

Before the election, 17 states had legalized marijuana, though all restrict its use for medical purposes.

Florida ballot measures Florida included constitutional amendments regarding the use of public funds for religious organizations and abortion on its ballot. Both amendments, which failed, would have required 60 percent of voters to approve to pass.

Amendment 6, which proposed halting public funding for abortion, was narrowly defeated with about 45 percent of voters supporting it as of press time. The amendment would have excluded abortion from the right to privacy and worked to limit access to abortions for minors.

Amendment 8 also failed to pass, with 44 percent voter support as of press time. The amendment would have repealed Florida’s current ban against funding churches and other religious organizations with taxpayer money. It would have also stopped state and local governments from banning public participation in programs receiving services from religious organizations.

California ballot measures The California ballot this year also saw a handful of controversial propositions. Proposition 30 proposed tax increases on entities earning more than $250,000 a year to prevent $6 billion in budget cuts to education across the state. As of press time, the outcome of the proposition vote was too close to call.

In a televised interview with NBC, California Gov. Jerry Brown expressed hope that Proposition 30 would pass. “Given the exit polls and given what we know, we think it looks pretty good,” he said.

Proposition 34 was rejected by voters, 54.1 to 45.9 percent. The proposition would have repealed the death penalty in favor of life sentences without the possibility of parole. California resident Kellie Roddy ’15 said she voted by absentee ballot for Proposition 34 due to the cost of the death penalty process.

Roddy also said she voted for Proposition 37, which would have required food with modified genetic material to be labeled for consumers. The proposition failed 55 to 45 percent.

“I like the consumer to be able to have a choice,” she said. “I know a lot of people are saying you are just giving the food a stigma.”

— With additional reporting by Phoebe Draper

8 feature

the brown daily herald wednesday, november 7, 2012

Faculty alums drawn back by spirit of Brown By monica perez contributing writer

What if you love your alma mater so much that you never want to leave?

Brown alums who work at Brown often have a bittersweet experience.

On the one hand, they are in a familiar place and are better able to relate to the students with whom they work.

On the other, their role is vastly different from when they were students.

Undoubtedly, the University has changed in the years since these professors, deans and administrators

graduated — including changes in the curriculum, administration and demographic makeup of the student body. But some experiences are common to all Brown students, and alums from across decades who still interact daily with the Brown community offered their insight.

Activist ambitions David Kertzer ’69, professor of anthropology and former provost, remembers life at Brown as drastically different than it is today. Male students faced the reality of potentially

being drafted for the Vietnam War. Women were confined to Pembroke campus, and mandatory chapel hours were a norm in Kertzer’s schedule.

By the end of his four years, Kertzer had witnessed the University’s switch to the open curriculum and the early discussions of the Pembroke College merger, which was formalized in 1971.

Despite these changes, Kertzer said “the feel of the campus is very similar.” The layout of the central campus is the same and the activist spirit of Brown students still exists today, he said. Though the issues are not the same, students are equally outspoken about issues such as LGBTQ rights and ethnic diversity as his classmates were about civil rights for African-Americans and the Vietnam War, he said.

Carol Cohen ’83, associate dean of the College for first-year and sophomore studies, echoed this view. For members of her generation, protests, sit-ins and arrests for civil disobedience were more common than they are today. But with the influence of the Internet and tools such as email that facilitate a new kind of self-expression, such physical displays of activism are not as prominent, she said.

‘Every day is my day at Brown’ While the nature of student activism and the co-ed makeup of the University are new for Kertzer and Cohen, some experiences transcend generations of Brown students — for instance, eating lunch in the Sharpe Refectory and listening to an organ concert in Sayles Hall.

Many alums agreed that the struggles facing students today are similar to what they faced.

“I know what they’re going through academically and socially, especially as a student-athlete,” said Mike Martin ’04, now head basketball coach. As a star basketball play-

er during his undergraduate years, Martin said he can sympathize when his athletes struggle to balance their academic and athletic commitments.

As a dean, Cohen uses her undergraduate experience at Brown, both good and bad, to guide her advising to students. “I had a very real life at Brown,” she said. “It was a complicated, rich and good time.”

Another associate dean of the college, Besenia Rodriguez ’00, was very involved with the Latino community during her undergrad years. She and her group of friends volunteered and tutored for a Providence-based organization called “Progreso Latino” offcampus. But on campus, there were fewer opportunities to be involved and less of a support network for minority students at the time.

Rodriguez and her friends struggled together and would “take care of each other” as Latino minority students, she said.

Ethnic studies was not a concentration during Rodriguez’s undergrad years, and there were fewer Latino student initiatives, she said. Today, Latino students have more opportunities for support, she added.

When Rodriguez and her friends reminisce about their times as undergrads, she said she jokingly responds that “every day is my day at Brown.”

A sense of attachment Russell Carey ’91 MA ’06, senior vice president for corporation affairs and governance, said in hindsight, he wishes he could have gotten off campus more.

While Carey said it is more common now for students to study or do research abroad, in the late 1980s and early ’90s, his peers were mainly focused on academics on campus. He is glad that students today integrate a more international scope to their education, he said.

Several alums said that their expe-

riences at Brown positively influenced their decision to take a job here.

“I love that I get to wake up every day and drive to work at my alma mater,” Martin said.

Carey said attending Brown has instilled a sense of attachment in him.

“I’ve never thought of Brown as the place that I work. I think of it as the place that I live,” he said.

Technologically deprived Since technology is so central to the current student’s experience, it is difficult for many alum administrators to imagine a college life without it.

Carey said he remembers when he first learned about the concept of email. Today, he said he can’t imagine doing his job without it.

Rodriguez recalled that it was difficult to stay in contact with her parents, only talking to them a few times a semester, whereas students can be in contact with family almost constantly today. While she said this makes the transition to college easier, it can lead to a lessened sense of independence, as students may not make decisions on their own as often.

“My parents didn’t even know what I concentrated in until my graduation,” she said with a laugh.

Martin said the Internet was not fully in use at the University until his junior year. But its implementation has allowed for increased resources and a greater sense of cohesiveness among the student body, he said.

Alums agreed that despite the time between their undergrad and professional years at Brown, it still remains a familiar place. Kertzer said Brown prides itself on the notion that its values and core beliefs have crossed generations.

Despite differences in each alums’ experiences, perhaps this notion is what brought them all back to Brown.

“It was the timelessness of Brown that drew me back,” Rodriguez said.

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feature 9

the brown daily herald wednesday, november 7, 2012

Down the hill, JWU students train in culinary creation

By Alexa Pugh Senior staff writer

Living in a dorm at Brown, friends might occasionally offer you an Oreo or an extra oatmeal raisin cookie from Josiah’s. But it’s not often you’ll pass someone walking down the hall with a freshly made batch of gourmet chocolate eclairs to share. At Johnson and Wales University, the student experience is shaped around food, and cooking isn’t just a hobby or a chore — it’s serious business.

Culinary school is a place where rivalry thrives. At JWU, the pastry program is the most cutthroat, according to sources participating in the program.

“Pastry people are not that nice in general,” Emily O’Toole, a junior in the program, was quick to admit. Each student is responsible for executing his or her own product, and the pressure to produce the most impeccably crafted edibles possible is intense. The fiercely competitive environment that results is a rude awakening for those who expected nothing but sugarplums and cupcake sprinkles, she said.

“There’s definitely a lot of backstabbing and throwing people under the bus,” she added.

Rachel Owh, a sophomore pastry student, said she once had a classmate hit her in the leg and claim it was an accident. “If you’re doing well, they don’t like it,” she said.

But both Owh and O’Toole said the dog-eat-dog drama is only one aspect of life as a pastry student. Owh said she is happy to be in the program and is grateful to be learning from professors who are so respected in their field.

“Ever since I was in third grade I really wanted to study pastry,” she said.

“I like how it affects people and how people are able to be really happy when they have something that tastes good or looks good.”

Trading liberal for culinary arts Annie Wu ’12.5, co-creator of the Ratty Gourmet blog, met Owh through the Reformed University Fellowship and knows other JWU students through Brown Taekwondo. She also worked with a few JWU students who interned at the Brown Bakeshop, which produces baked goods for Brown Dining Services.

Though she chose to take a more traditional academic route, Wu loves pastry and said she often envies the experience of her JWU friends.

“Lab for them means cooking or baking where lab for me means pipetting,” she said, adding that she would like to see a comparable cross-registration system with JWU to the one Brown has with the Rhode Island School of Design. But culinary classes at JWU would be non-transferrable due to the lack of comparable courses at Brown, wrote Kathleen McSharry, associate dean of the college for writing and curriculum, in an email to The Herald.

The nature of culinary school and the lack of overlap with academic institutions like Brown means that students often face a choice between academics and culinary arts. While students could theoretically concentrate in something like food anthropology through the independent concentration program at Brown, culinary school allows students to channel their passions in a more direct, hands-on way, Wu said.

For Owh, the choice to follow her

passion to JWU was easy. But there are plenty of prospective students who struggle with the decision to forgo more traditional paths to attend culinary school, she said. Both Brown and JWU have high tuition, but at JWU it can seem like a steep entrance fee for a career with a limited earning potential and significant job risk. JWU students who open their own eateries will enter a market in which three out of five restaurants fail within the first three years, according to an article in Bloomberg Businessweek. It also estimated that the average JWU graduate has only a $307,500 30-year net return on their investment, compared to a $1,211,000 return for the average Brown graduate, according to another Bloomberg article.

Despite these statistics, Owh said the choice for her will always lie with a love of food. “Some people just try to play it safe” by taking a more traditional academic route, she said. “I respect that, but that’s not how I play.”

Top chefs For some famous alums, JWU has been a ticket to success. Graduates include well-known television chef personalities such as Lorena Garcia, Chris Consentino, Michelle Bernstein, Tyler Florence and Emeril Lagasse, as well as a host of other respected chefs that haven’t appeared on television. Sean Brock, who graduated from JWU in 2000, recently made waves with his South Carolina restaurant Husk, which Bon Appetit named the best new restaurant in the United States. Brock sources all of the food for his Southern-cuisine menu from below the Mason-Dixon line, and his work led the magazine to announce he “has become a torchbearer for an honest style of home cooking that many of us never truly tasted until now.”

But the cheerful guise of celebre-chef culture can be deceiving — the reality of the job is anything but glamorous.

“It’s not your normal nine-to-five job. It’s long hours, being tired, working with people who are going to yell at you and kick your ass,” said Kevin Chen, a fourth-year student in the culinary arts program.

Chen spent two years studying design at the University of Texas at Dallas before he decided to take the leap into the culinary program at JWU. He took up cooking as a hobby at UT after deciding he “didn’t want to eat frozen burritos every other day like my roommates did,” he said. As his dissatisfaction with his life at UT grew, so did the elaborateness of the dishes he undertook, he said. By the time he knew he wanted to leave, he said he was curing his own meats in his apartment’s refrigerator. Chen got the final inspiration he needed when a friend started taking classes at the Dallas branch of Le Cordon Bleu. “I was fed up with myself for not taking that chance,” he said.

Maillard and mustard Chen joined classmates in getting straight to work prepping for a culinary career. Students start taking courses in their major during their first term and have limited room for electives. The trimester system rotates academic classes with culinary labs and an internship in students’ sophomore year. Under JWU’s new core, all students are required to have knowledge of the intricate scientific processes behind their cooking.

Chloe Marshall, a junior in the culi-

nary nutrition program, said she is glad for the chance to learn about the processes behind how food interacts with the human body, enhancing and even healing it. JWU’s heavily science-based program is preparing her for a career in sports dietetics, she said.

She and O’Toole, her roommate, also remarked that they felt underchallenged by some of the introductory academic classes and prefer time spent in the culinary lab, O’Toole said.

But Marshall and O’Toole agreed that one of the best things about going to culinary school is the potential to geek out with classmates who share their interests. Living in a JWU dorm is like a constant potluck, with people bringing back things they’ve made in

class for their hall-mates to share, Marshall said. “It’s a unique opportunity. …

People will be walking down the hall with trays of eclairs,” she said. Life is just better when you can have nerdy conversations about the maillard reaction, O’Toole said.

Wu said she enjoys the chance to talk about food and baking with her friends from JWU. But for students not as interested in food, a lack of interest in those conversations leads to a divide between JWU and schools like RISD and Brown, O’Toole said. “I just don’t think our conversations are ones (Brown students) would enjoy having,” she said.

Though Chen said most of his friends are students at Brown and RISD,

comic Join the Club | Simon Henriques

his case is somewhat of an anomaly.

O’Toole said other JWU students joke about making it a goal to have a RISD friend. “People will be like, wait, you have a RISD friend? Can we share?” she said. When it comes to Brown, assumptions about the snobbery found at Ivy League schools can be a barrier, O’Toole and Marshall agreed, though they added that neither has experienced it first hand. “It’s just like two different universes,” Marshall said.

Still, Wu said programs like the Brown Sustainable Food Initiative, clubs like Brown’s Culinary Palette and the popularity of market shares suggest a shared interest in food. The rise of foodie culture has also found its way up the hill, she said.

10 editorial & letter Editorial

Let’s get serious about sexual assault Rape on college campuses has re-emerged as a topic of national conversation since Angie Epifano published a gut-wrenching op-ed in the Amherst Student Oct. 17. The column details her experience of being raped by a fellow Amherst College student and her decision to withdraw from the college after denials, victim-blaming and discouragement from administrators.

“I eventually reported my rapist,” Epifano wrote, after being forcibly admitted by the college to a psychiatric ward. “He graduated with honors.

I will not graduate from Amherst,” she wrote. Following her revelation, a host of other students who claimed they had been sexually assaulted came forward with similar accounts of poor treatment by administration officials.

Last year, Yale came under investigation by the Department of Education for possible Title IX violations and “failing to eliminate a hostile sexual environment” created in part by Yale fraternities. A survey on sexual assault cases across six campuses in Illinois and Indiana found that of 171 reported cases since 2005, only 12 resulted in arrests and four in conviction. The generally accepted estimation is that only 10 to 20 percent of rape cases on campuses are reported. And consider that a National Public Radio investigation concluded that men found responsible for sexual assault are almost never expelled and that the victim, ostensibly a female, drops out far more often.

Brown has long been lauded for being progressive in matters of sex education — the Consent Day Fair on the Main Green always has hundreds of attendees, and many campus advocacy groups encourage awareness of sexual assault. But the University has been criticized multiple times for its internal handling of rape cases. Take, for example, the infamous 2006 rape accusation resulting in the expulsion of William McCormick III from Brown with extremely questionable due process. University officials have never given any kind of explanation for the conduct of the investigation.

It is often difficult to prove rape, especially in a court of public opinion, where discourse can deteriorate into victim-blaming, stereotypical assumptions and debates over the nature of evidence. Forensic evidence is not the main factor in the internal University judicial system, where the case rests largely on testimony and character witnesses. This often leads to “he-said, she-said” situations that can end unsatisfactorily for all parties. What is clear from the McCormick case, developments at Amherst, accusations of misconduct at Yale and myriad other cases reported across America is that universities are failing to address the realities of sexual assault on their campuses.

Epifano’s claims indicate that though institutional structures may exist for handling sexual assault, they are meaningless without a culture of understanding and willingness to pursue justice. Presenting freshmen with one lecture on sexual assault during orientation week is not enough. Providing resources for students in need without guaranteeing respectful treatment in light of their traumatic experience is not enough. A judicial process that treats neither the accusers nor accused with due process is not enough. We implore Brown and peer institutions to engage in a more transparent judicial process.

In the wake of the column, Amherst President Carolyn Martin released a statement detailing her administration’s commitment to improve support for sexual assault survivors and redesign the “policies, procedures and practices” of its disciplinary process. This should be a wake-up call to universities across the country. Sexual assault is a difficult crime to report, prosecute and address on both an individual and societal level. This does not mean it should be ignored in favor of leaving those caught in its wake to suffer.

Editorials are written by The Herald’s editorial page board: its editors, Daniel Jeon and Annika Lichtenbaum, and its members, Georgia Angell, Sam Choi and Rachel Occhiogrosso. Send comments to editorials@browndailyherald.com.

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the brown daily herald wednesday, november 7, 2012

Editorial cartoon b y j acq u e l i n e f e i l e r

le t ter

Hypocrisy dominates political discourse To the Editor: I voted for Mitt Romney. Although this normally wouldn’t seem like such a significant statement for me, declaring it here feels more like a confession. To be honest, I wasn’t particularly thrilled with either candidate, but after some careful considering, I found I sided with some of Romney’s perspectives more than those of other candidates. Without getting into the details of my reasons — economic policies, interactions with Congress, handling of foreign affairs, etc. — the bottom line of the story is that I formed my opinion, acted on it and cast my ballot. Simple as that.

As a student at Brown, I love the fact that intellectual stimulation is everywhere, that people are confident in their thoughts and that there is a freedom of speech strongly protected in all areas of academic life. My problem is not with dissenting opinions, but rather the hypocritical attitude I see resulting from so many of them. You cannot advocate choice while telling me that mine is inherently wrong. You cannot call for freedom of religion while deeming a candidate unqualified because of the one they practice. You cannot tell me that you are against bigotry and marginalizing while simultaneously referring to all Republicans or conservatives as intellectually inferior. I

respect the fact that fellow students disagree with my political opinion, but I do not respect the influx of Facebook statuses that tell me I am a racist, homophobe or religious freak because of the bubble I filled in on a piece of paper. We are a society that prides itself in democracy, a school that boasts about its diversity and a student body that thrives in a “be who you want to be” culture. Despite this, we have professors casually slander the Republican Party on a daily basis and students sardonically vowing to move to Canada if their party loses. Ultimately, in the midst of advocating for the America we want, we are forgetting the Americans we are.

We are Muslim, we are Catholic, we are Jewish, we are straight, we are gay, we are conservative, we are liberal. We are men, we are women, we are artists, we are writers, we are mathematicians, we are firefighters. We are not opponents, we are not a hierarchy of morality or intellectualism, and we are not a country that contains a single correct opinion. I do not know how I will look back on my political opinions in the future. Perhaps I might recognize that my decision was wrong, or perhaps not. What I do know, however, is that the vote I made makes me no better or worse than anyone else. Simple as that.

Emily Toomey ’15

Correc tion An article in Tuesday’s Herald (“After five years, Wing to resign as dean in May,” Nov. 6) incorrectly stated the name of President and CEO of Care New England Dennis Keefe. The headline also stated that Wing would resign as dean in May. In fact, he will step down June 30. The Herald regrets the errors.

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the brown daily herald wednesday, november 7, 2012

Brown’s elitist problem Adam Asher Opinions Columnist

“Think like a parent. Consider the students.”

If you’ve walked in the vicinity of Pembroke Quad recently, you’ve likely seen these signs addressing the construction workers on site posted around the areas under renovation. They continue: “Please display the highest levels of respect for the Brown University students and their campus at all times. No swearing. No inappropriate comments. No smoking. Zero (!) tolerance for drugs and/or alcohol. Keep noise levels to a minimum. The success of this project is in your hands.”

I’m a bit conflicted about these signs. On the one hand, I find it somewhat amusing that all of a sudden the University administration seems to think we’re all delicate little snowflakes who can’t be exposed to the rough, adult world of cursing — “No swearing”? Really? And tobacco usage — it’s pretty remarkable that not a single Brown student smokes cigarettes, huh? My view is that you can either sponsor events like SexPowerGod for your student body or try to shelter it from anything deemed “inappropriate” — but you can’t have it both ways.

Then again, I’m offended by these signs for a different reason. The problem with posting signs telling construction workers

to behave themselves seems to imply that they don’t have that instinct on their own.

Yes, we’re all familiar with the trope of construction workers cat-calling women walking by on the street and drinking on the job. When this happens it’s absolutely unacceptable, but wouldn’t crew foremen and construction company owners be as aware of that as someone working in University Hall? Moreover, it’s not as if the average construction worker is completely un-

you’d want to avoid, at the very least.

So, fair enough. My issue, then, is less with the spirit of these signs than with their content. The initial “Think like a parent, consider the students” should be enough of a reminder to workers to check their behavior, assuming it even needs checking in the first place. Again, these aren’t little kids we’re talking about — they’re adults, many of whom probably have actual kids of their own to worry about. They know what think-

It’s simple stuff: If we want to stop being seen as elitist snobs, we have to stop acting like elitist snobs.

aware of the norms of acceptable behavior — presumably they are, after all, functional adults.

To be fair, I can understand what the University was trying to do in putting up these signs. Construction crews work in all sorts of environments, and one could argue they may be more used to acting in ways that are inappropriate in a place with prospective students strolling through. You can imagine what administrators were picturing — as a tour guide is telling her group how Smith-Buonnano used to be a women’s gymnasium, her spiel is cut short by the sounds of two ruffians hurling expletivefilled insults at each other. It’s a situation

ing like a parent means — they don’t need to be specifically told not to cat-call and use curse words. If anything, a sign that condescending would just make me want to be as much of an obnoxious lout as possible just to see what they were going to do about it.

Like it or not, we face some negative stereotypes. “Ivy League” and “Harvard-educated” have become sneering insults for many people, with connotations of elitism, snobbery and an overall know-it-all attitude. At a Jets game last year, a fan a few rows in front of me referred to Buffalo Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick as a “Harvard f**k.” As much as we love to hate on Harvard here on College Hill and think of our-

selves as the “chill Ivy,” people are talking just as much about us when they use language like that. For having the privilege of going to a school this fantastic, it’s a small price to pay, but it’s true nonetheless.

It’s fair to ask why we need to care what construction workers think of us. Furthermore, it’s worth asking if we should care what the public at large thinks of Brown.

If they’re not attending or donating to the school, why do we need to take their feelings into consideration? Strictly speaking, we don’t. But if there’s one thing the recent rise in crime around campus has shown us, it’s that Brown does not exist in a bubble.

We’re part of a larger Providence ecosystem, and we’ll reap what we sow. If we sow resentment, we’ll reap an increasingly unfriendly local public that sees Brown less as a center of jobs and education and more as a breeding ground for elitism and condescension.

Behaviors like putting up these signs — implying that we educated few need to inform the unwashed masses on acceptable behavior — just serves to reinforce the negative stereotypes that already exist about private universities and the people associated with them. It’s simple stuff: If we want to stop being seen as elitist snobs, we have to stop acting like elitist snobs.

Adam Asher ’15 can be reached at adam_asher@brown.edu, followed on Twitter (@asheradams), and hails from Westchester, the elitism capital of the Western Hemisphere.

Therapy is cool cara newlon Opinions Columnist

I was thrilled a couple of weeks ago to see that the most read article in The Herald was entitled “Why therapy is cool.” At last, I thought, somebody agrees with me!

Then I read the article.

Unfortunately, Cara Dorris’ ’15 column expressed only more ignorance in the face of mental illness. While purportedly condemning the stigmatization of mental illness, Dorris perpetuates common negative stereotypes about mental disorders and expresses herself with the witlessness of someone who did her research by watching Girls and other popular TV shows.

Dorris characterizes Brown students who seek therapy as vapid, neurotic creatures approaching therapy like “yoga or getting a massage or drinking Odwalla juice.” Much like harem pants or the latest adorable baby video on Youtube, seeking treatment for emotional pain is now apparently “trendy!” And when those who seek therapy speak openly about psychological treatment, Dorris condemns them as “devaluing” mental illness.

I don’t know any of these mythical students who yak on about their mental illness.

In my experience, students who attend therapy do so quietly, avoiding eye contact as they head to the fifth floor of J. Walter Wilson.

Students are often ashamed of going to therapy. They feel weak. Those who “joke” about it often are using humor as a defense mecha-

nism. I know I do.

As somebody who grew up with chronic depression and anxiety, I would love nothing more than peers who spoke about therapy as if it were just another visit to a general practitioner. As a kid, I would crack jokes about my obvious and pervasive anxiety to hide the reality of my hyperactive monkey-mind. My friends jokingly called me “The Captain of Starship Neurotica” — which hurt, but not as much as what I secretly believed to be true: I was probably crazy and inherently unlovable.

Imagine my relief to find people at Brown whose minds worked like mine, who not

logical Services have the equivalent of a mental cold. And when a Brown student feels sick, they go to Health Services. I don’t see the difference here.

Psych Services has its fair share of issues, but the counseling service they provide is invaluable. Dorris seems to think it ridiculous that 16 to 18 percent of the Brown student body have sought treatment for mental health issues. Actually, the number should be higher. A 2009 National Institute of Mental Health study reported that 30 percent of college students reported feeling “so depressed that it was difficult to function.” About 6 per-

Dorris’ therapy tirade is not only silly: It is irresponsible and dangerous.

only went to therapy but could talk and joke about it! I’ve come to the realization that depression, anxiety and all other mental illnesses should be treated as exactly what they are: illnesses. If a student gets any other illness, say the flu — or something more chronic, like diabetes — Dorris would never ridicule them for seeking medical attention or treatment. A depressed person does not decide to become depressed any more than a diabetic chooses to be ill. And like a diabetic, a sufferer of depression or any other mental illness must get treatment — therapy and perhaps medication.

Students seeking help in Brown Psycho-

cent of college students reported seriously considering suicide, and one percent reported attempting it in the previous year. Suicide is the third leading cause of death in people age 15 to 24.

In other words, Dorris’ therapy tirade is not only silly: It is irresponsible and dangerous.

With every sentence in her column, Dorris underscores the depth of her ignorance about mental illness. She asserts that therapy is never-ending “unless your therapist hangs himself Silverman-style, and the journey finally ends. Or you die.” Disregarding her insensitivity, this statement is completely mis-

informed: A qualified therapist can often bestow valuable coping mechanisms and strategies in under a year. Treatments like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy have been empirically proven to reduce symptoms of many mental illnesses — and they don’t take an eternity.

Despite her psychological illiteracy, Dorris loves to write about mental illness. Less than a month ago she wrote a piece about eating disorders (“What’s the skinny on Brown fat?” Oct. 14). Dorris began by noting the abhorrent lack of awareness about eating disorders at Brown — a real issue — but quickly degenerated into a lecture about the dangers of shunning food. She joked that writing about eating disorders made her want a “snack,” while offering no real solutions for a pervasive problem at Brown. She basically advised anorexics and bulimics to simply eat more cheeseburgers. Ironically, one of the main treatments for eating disorders is — you guessed it — therapy.

The cherry on top of Dorris’ offensive mess of an article is the assertion that “normal” people do not seek therapy. Therapy is only for us weirdos, I guess. Count me in as an abnormal, Dorris, as well as a fifth of the Brown population.

Uninformed, black-and-white articles are often among the most controversial and popular in The Herald. But when it comes to a subject as serious and nuanced as mental illness, do your research — or stick to writing snarky comments in diatribes about the Ratty.

Cara Newlon ’14.5 will be happy to laugh, joke and talk about her therapy at cara_newlon@brown.edu.

daily herald science & research the Brown

wednesday, november 7, 2012

Prof. finds unique weathering pattern on Vesta asteroid

By Sarah Sachs Contributing Writer

The asteroid Vesta weathers differently than any other researched moon or asteroid, according to a recent analysis

by Carle Pieters, professor of geological sciences, and other investigators for NASA’s Dawn Mission. The findings, published Nov. 1 in the journal Nature, shed light on the weathering process by which the surface of Vesta changes with exposure to the sun and other minerals.

Dawn was the first mission to capture high-resolution photos of the surface of Vesta, the second largest asteroid in the asteroid belt. According to the new findings, Vesta differs from other airless bodies like the Moon because it does not accumulate iron droplets as it ages. This accumulation is what makes the face of the Moon appear darker than Vesta.

Instead, Vesta undergoes a small-scale mixing of particles that does not involve iron coatings.

Pieters and her team predicted that Vesta might weather differently after observing telescopic images of the asteroid. Vesta’s bright colors are a “spectral fingerprint” that makes the asteroid unique, according to Lucy McFadden, co-investigator for the Dawn Mission and a scientist at the Goddard Flight Space Center. But for the past 60 years, why Vesta appeared different remained a mystery to scientists, McFadden said. Before Dawn, they “argued for decades” about why Vesta appeared immune to the type of space weathering that occurs on the moon, Pieters said.

But Dawn was the first opportunity to use high quality data to begin answering that question. The findings suggest that different types of processes occur on airless bodies.

The new research “expands our understanding of what we look for,” said David Blewett, an author of the paper who works in the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. Scientists had previously assumed that all surfaces weathered like the moon does. Pieters said she believes it is now worth revisiting the weathering of the moon and other asteroids because Dawn’s recent findings “give us new criteria” on how surfaces alter in space.

These findings will affect many other researchers in planetary science through a “ripple effect” because now many models of processes in space will have to take into consideration the different types of weathering, according to Beth Ellen Clark Joseph, a professor of physics at Ithaca College who was not involved in Pieter’s research.

“One of the most exciting things of a mission like Dawn is that you’re seeing the surface for the first time ever,” said Tom McCord, a co-investigator for the Dawn Mission and director at the Bear Fight Institute. Dawn’s images dazzled investigators with incredible amounts of new information, going from a “light in the telescope to an actual world you can imagine walking on,” Blewett said.

The Dawn spacecraft has left Vesta and is now moving towards Ceres, the largest asteroid in the belt. But scientists are not done with Vesta.

Data from a sophisticated instrument

Courtesy of Brown university

Vesta, the second largest asteroid in the asteroid belt, weathers differently from other airless bodies because it does not accumulate iron over time — the process responsible for the dark appearance of the Moon’s surface. like the Dawn spacecraft requires a good deal of processing before the conclusions are clear. Pieters’s paper is just the first step in analyzing all the new information on Vesta. “We’re not just sitting down twiddling our thumbs now,” Blewett explained,

“there’s analysis that will go on for a long time.” Scientists now have the challenge of using raw data to explain some of Vesta’s other phenomena. “It becomes sort of a detective investigation,” McCord said.

Though Pieters has more work

ahead of her, she praised the poetic aspects of space exploration. “Everything we learn about the other planets helps us understand what’s happening here as well.” Pieters concluded that this makes her discoveries “far away, but still close to home.”

Marine Biological Laboratory appoints first female director

Courtesy of Bachrach studios

As the new director of the MBL, Harvard professor Joan Ruderman hopes to increase the number of Brown students involved in the lab.

By Meher Ali Contributing Writer

Harvard biologist Joan Ruderman has been named the new president and director of the Marine Biological Laboratory, a world-renowned center for international research and education in biology, biomedicine

and environmental science located in Woods Hole, Mass. This is the first time a woman has led the institution, which was founded almost 125 years ago in part to educate women in biology.

The laboratory offers graduate students, post-docs and professors a range of advanced courses in every-

thing from molecular evolution to computational biology. It also hosts year-round research programs in several different fields, most notably in biophysics, neurobiology and cell and molecular developmental biology, and it home to one of the most renowned centers for studying ecosystems in the world. It is perhaps most famous for its visiting research program that allows scientists from around the world to collaborate and conduct research.

While labs are open year-round, visiting research usually takes place in the summer months when, as Ruderman put it, “the place just explodes.”

Since 2010, the laboratory has partnered with the University through a PhD program that pairs Brown graduate students with laboratory scientists who have joint appointments on the Brown faculty.

In her new position as the institute’s director, Ruderman pinpointed two important goals: to keep strengthening and building on successful existing programs in both research and education and to grow the BrownMBL partnership. Twenty MBL scientists and five Brown scientists currently hold joint appointments at Brown and MBL through the BrownMBL Partnership and Graduate Program, which presently enrolls 21 PhD students and has already graduated six. Ruderman hopes to increase the number of students substantially “so

there is a critical mass of students working here at the MBL.” To increase the number of students in the Brown-MBL Partnership and Graduate Program, expanding funding is a top priority, Ruderman said, along with developing more creative ways for Brown students to become involved at the center. Ruderman said she hopes to bring to the center an academic offering that she taught at Harvard Medical School: short, intensive courses called quarter courses and nano courses. Two quarter courses or six nano courses are worth one semester of credit, allowing students to take several over time and accumulate credit as they go along. These courses focus on particular topics — like gene therapy or stem cells — and provide thorough education with a manageable time commitment.

“Something like this will work very well for Brown students who might want to come to the MBL but not commit to a whole semester. ...

They allow for more flexibility and for faculty to develop courses on the leading edge of an emerging field,” Ruderman explained. While the Brown-MBL partnership is focused on opportunities for graduate students, there is a “Semester in Environmental Science” program for undergraduates, and they will be starting to offer January “boot camp style” courses for Brown undergraduates at the MBL as

well, she said.

Ruderman’s affiliation with the laboratory began almost four decades ago, when she was a student of the institution’s famous embryology course in 1974. “It changed my life,” Ruderman said of the intense, 10-week course in developmental biology.

“In it I discovered one of the experimental systems that I would spend many years working on — the eggs of the clam,” she said. After taking the course, Ruderman returned first to teach, and then co-direct it for several years. She also spent about 20 summers at the MLB conducting her own research and has served on the Board of Trustees since 1986.

“I’m personally interested in the MBL having a larger presence in various aspects of the environmental sciences,” she said. While the institute is already strong in the ecosystem arena, it is not conducting as much research at the cellular or developmental level. “This is a new emerging area that people have only begun to think about in the last 10 years or so,” Ruderman said. Understanding how exposure to certain environmental contaminants at an early stage of development might have consequences later in life is becoming a more high-profile question of much interest, and organizations like the National Institutes of Health have expressed interest in funding research in this area, she said.