Thursday, November 15, 2012

daily herald the Brown

vol. cxxii, no. 106

INSIDE

Post-

Post-

queerplatonicism, pumpkins and drugs

Design firm helps U. assess campus needs By mariya bashkatova staff writer

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Philosophie Princeton professor discusses French Revolution Page 4

Fiscal gamble R.I. voters approve table games in Lincoln casino today

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tomorrow

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since 1891

Thursday, November 15, 2012

The University’s planning department and Sasaki, a Boston-based design and planning firm, are currently in the information-gathering stage of a year-long effort to determine Brown’s planning needs.

Sasaki was hired by President Christina Paxson and Provost Mark Schlissel P’15 to work with the Committee on Reimagining the Brown Campus and Community, one of six groups created as part of a strategic planning process started under Paxson, said Russell Carey ’91, executive vice president for planning and policy and chair of the committee.

“What we wanted from Sasaki was the kind of planning that gives us a fine-grained assessment of what our academic needs are,” Paxson said. The data-driven approach of the design firm

was also impressive, she added.

“The goal of our study was to understand the president’s mission as she’s described it to the University, and to understand what that means in a physical planning sense,” said Ricardo Dumont, one of the Sasaki partners heading the project.

The planning committee and Sasaki are spending a semester gathering information and reviewing existing data about campus use, Carey said. By integrating information from the Brown community and the administration, as well as financial information from the University’s chief financial officer, Sasaki hopes to “link the physical planning side of the University to the academic mission and to the financial wherewithal of the University,” Dumont said.

Sasaki will be designing two programs, slated to be released in January or earlier, which will help the firm gather information / / Plan page 4

V EN D ING A P P RO VA L

RACHEL KAPLAN / HERALD

Coca-Cola was on hand at the Sharpe Refectory during lunch Wednesday, handing out prizes including frisbees, bottle openers and a mini-fridge.

Past State spokesman talks media, messaging In wake of Sandy, R.I. receives federal aid

By Gabrielle dee

contributing writer

Former State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley discussed the U.S. government’s relationship with the media at the Joukowsky Forum yesterday.

The event, “Presidents vs. The Press: How Messages are Managed Inside the White House and State Department,” drew a small, excitedly murmuring crowd to the Watson Institute for International Studies.

“Any administration successful at communicating is more likely to be supported and to be re-elected,” Crowley said. Though the government must withhold certain information from the public, the media is vital “to have a responsible government that is truly held accountable by its citizens,”

Crowley said.

But a bias still exists for the media outlets that civilians choose as their source of information. “All of a sudden, we as a society choose our politics, then we choose our media,” Crowley said, referring to the differing viewpoints of channels like MSNBC and FOX News. “You can have different points of view on what to do once you establish an identifiable set of facts,” he said.

Ted Widmer, assistant for special projects to President Christina Paxson and senior advisor to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, took the stage to describe the honor of being granted a seat on the Air Force One during his time as a speechwriter for former president Bill Clinton — only to have that seat promptly given to the first lady’s

hairdresser. “We were in a very strange world of status,” he said. “Around the time of a speech coming up, our status would magically rise.”

It is difficult to incorporate recorded history into a current president’s speech, Widmer said. “You get into this dance between idealism and realism,” he said. Though realism usually prevails, “you want some idealism to stay in the speech — you want to say that we are still trying,” he said.

“I do think (my) history background worked, because our values are embedded in our history,” Widmer said. The intensive research, multiple drafts and group discussions the speeches pass through made being a speechwriter “a bit like being an academic and a bit like being a journalist.”

Widmer stressed that his role in

the speeches was only one part of a larger picture.

“I always want to be careful to remind people that they are speeches by Bill Clinton,” he said. “There were a lot of cooks preparing this broth, but it was the president of the U.S. that gave the final approval.”

Following the presentations, audience members posed questions, including how the media makes the government more transparent to the public, whether to release information on weapons such as drones and the government’s position on WikiLeaks.

Despite the fine balance that the government must maintain between information leaks and transparency, media “is the one institution we have that is necessary to hold government to account,” Crowley said.

Trojan Condoms ranks U. second in sexual health

a-maze-ing

By Katharine Groetzinger Contributing Writer

sydney mondry / herald

In a lecture Wednesday night, Michael Stewart discussed methods to use Google and other search engines to discover content in unexpected places.

When it comes to sexual health, Brown likes it on top.

Trojan Condoms released their annual Sexual Health Report Card last week, ranking Brown at the number two spot, up from fourth last year and fifth in 2010.

University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign was ranked first, ascending from second place last year following a big jump from 64th place in 2010.

Brown took the win in the Ivy League, with Columbia falling from the top of last year’s list to third, trailed by Princeton in fourth and the University of Wisconsin at Madison in fifth.

Nearby Providence College, as well as Brigham Young University and the U.S. Air Force Academy took the three botttom spots in the rankings, respectively.

The survey is sponsored by Trojan

Condoms and conducted by Sperling’s BestPlaces. Analysts collected data regarding the availability of sexual health services and resources at 141 schools, starting with the largest schools in the country and drawing schools from each U.S. sports conference. “By choosing the largest schools, the schools in our study count for over one-third of the students enrolled in four-year colleges in the United States,” said Bert Sperling, lead analyst at Sperling’s BestPlaces.

Schools were ranked on a scale of one to 10 in 11 categories regarding the availability of sexual health information, services and resources such as forms of contraception and sexually transmitted infections testing.

Health center representatives from each school were asked to fill out a survey with questions regarding the categories listed, and the rest of the data — / / Sex page 2 such as health

By Emily Boney Contributing writer

When Hurricane Sandy ripped through New England Oct. 28 and 29, Rhode Island was left with close to $5.6 million of damages, the majority of which was concentrated in Newport, Bristol, Washington and Kent Counties.

According to the National Grid, around 2,600 residents lost power that Monday morning, primarily in Bristol County, and many homes and businesses were destroyed. Sandy also damaged roads, sea walls and government buildings.

Gov. Lincoln Chafee ’75 P’14 has requested and received aid from the federal government to begin cleanup efforts in four counties, but he may request more as new information about damages continues to be reported.

Immediately following the storm, Chafee requested $3 million for emergency highway repairs in the state. He stated in a press release that President Obama was “swift” to deliver the necessary funds. “Some of our most important infrastructure — including sea walls — was damaged in the storm,” he said. “This federal funding will help us take quick action to begin these projects and put Rhode Islanders to work.”

The emergency funding was “only the first step in the difficult process” of recovering from the hurricane, said Victor Mendez, the federal highway administrator, in a press release.

Current damage assessments have driven the cost up to nearly $5.6 mil/ / Sandy page 5 lion, but Rep.

city & state

2 campus news c alendar Today

NOv. 15

6 P.m.

ToMORROW

Nov. 16

4:30 p.m.

Women in STEM Panel

CareerLAB

Barus and Holley, Room 190 8 p.m.

What Would Marx Do?

Brown Opera: The Red Cloth

Wilson Hall, Room 203

The Underground

menu SHARPE REFECTORY

VERNEy-WOOLLEY DINING HALL

LUNCH Cheese Ravioli with Pink Vodka Sauce, Chicken Broccoli Pasta Alfredo, Yellow Beans with Onions and Tomatoes

Ham and Bean Soup, Turkey Cutlet, Swiss Broccoli Pasta, Grilled Cajun Chicken, Ham and Bean Soup

DINNER Lentil Croquettes, Raw Vegetable Platter, Hummus, Texas BBQ Brisket, Sweet and White Potato Au Gratin

Lecturer reinterprets French Revolution By sophie yan contributing writer

Meet the Media: New York Times 7 p.m.

the brown daily herald Thursday, November 15, 2012

Pot Roast Jardiniere, Baked Manacotti with Meatless Sauce, Baked Sweet Potatoes, Spinach Stuffed Tomatoes

Sudoku

Jonathan Israel, a professor of modern European history at Princeton, embarked on a bold attempt to reinterpret the French Revolution for an attentive audience of students, faculty and community members in MacMillan 115 Wednesday afternoon. The lecture, entitled “Democratic Republicanism and the Making of the French Revolution,” was the 32nd William F. Church Memorial Lecture, a series of lectures begun in 1980 by the widow of a former University professor that has featured eminent speakers in the field of history from institutions all over the world.

In his one-hour lecture, Israel, one of the foremost experts in the history of the Enlightenment, explained his reinterpretation of the French Revolution, a pivotal period of time in French history, as an upheaval caused not primarily by socioeconomic or nationalist factors, but

/ / Sex page 1

RELEASE DATE– Thursday, November 15, 2012

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11/15/12

center hours and services — was collected from the schools’ health center websites and through comprehensive web searches that look for other related groups and services available at schools.

The survey used to include student input collected through Facebook, back “when Facebook was used primarily by students,” Sperling said. His team no longer contacts students, but he is still confident the survey’s results mirror students’ experiences. “We found that the student opinions closely mirrored the results of our research of each school’s online resources and responses from the student health centers,” he said.

Two of the categories in the calculation carry more weight than others.

The category of “website organization, accessibility and comprehensiveness” counts double. “If we can’t find (information) from our offices, of course, students won’t be able to find it from their dorm rooms when they need it,” Sperling explained. Condom availability, cited by Sperling as one of the most important components of sexual health, also counts double. These are a few “tweaks” in the scoring that Sperling cited as making the survey more reflective of overall sexual health services at schools.

What is not taken into account by the quantitative methods employed by the survey, is the atmosphere of openness regarding sex and sexual health here at Brown, said Health Education Student Assistant Caroline Katzman ’13. “It is very sex-positive. There’s none

instead by a small group of intellectuals driven by radical ideology.

“You can’t understand anything about the revolution at all in terms of its political stages if you accept that all we’re looking at here is social groups in competition with each other,” Israel said.

He added that the French Revolution found its roots in a single overarching cause — not corruption of the monarchy, not dissent of the bourgeoisie, but philosophy. He described Maximilien Robespierre, Jean-Paul Marat and authoritarian populists as the radical, antidemocratic and almost fascist counterpart to the more moderate faction of the revolution, which he called “democratic republicans.” He presented the revolution as stemming almost entirely from the Enlightenment and the resulting philosophical changes that occurred in the intellectual world in the 18th century, tying both events to issues such as women’s rights and slave emancipation.

“This is the central drama — the

Enlightenment and the revolutionary eruption that followed on from the Enlightenment,” he said.

Israel also spoke of the democratic republican revolution as a well-intended intellectual movement until it was ruined by Robespierre and authoritarian populists, who captured power in a coup. After this upheaval, the ideals of the Enlightenment were reversed, he said, and all progress was lost. Israel called this phenomenon the counterEnlightenment, the flip side of all that was good about the initial revolution and its democratic roots.

The lecture was concluded by a short question-and-answer period and a reception.

“The speech was really engaging,” said Alex Homer ’13, noting that his history professor recommended that he attend Israel’s lecture. “His perspective on the French Revolution is what you would want to expect from it — black and white.”

of that ‘Just say no’ stuff. It’s a lot more about saying yes, actively consenting,” she said.

Naomi Ninneman, a health educator at Health Services, while pleased

by Brown’s high ranking, also said she senses a discrepancy between the survey and what she perceives to be the case at Brown. In the category of “Lecture/outreach programs and student peer groups for sexual health education” Brown scored a six out of 10.

“We do a fair number of outreach programs, and we support student groups,” Ninneman said. She cited supplementary and student-run programs such as Sexual Health Awareness Group, Sexual Assault Peer Education, FemSex, MSex and Sexual Health and Empowerment Council as strengths in Brown’s sexual health program.

SHAG implemented a texting service this semester that enables students to access sexual health and relationship advice straight from their phones.

Students can text questions to a SHAG hotline number and can expect a response within 24 hours. “We can’t see their name or their phone number,” Ninneman said.

Another outreach program new this year is free, anonymous HIV testing.

While testing has always been free and confidential, this is the first time it will be offered anonymously and with no appointment necessary. Testing is offered in this capacity on three dates throughout this semester, at the LGBTQ Center. The next of these testing dates is today from 1-3 p.m.

Bita Shooshani, coordinator of sexual assault prevention and advocacy,

said she was pleased to hear Brown scored a perfect 10 out of 10 in the category of “sexual assault programs, resources or services.” She pointed to the importance of Brown’s 24-hour sexual assault hotline. “What we offer on this campus, not every campus offers,” she said, stressing that the hotline is operated by Psychological Services staff. Referring to her own job title, she said, “Not every campus has (this) position.”

Brown also excels in LGBTQ support and advocacy, said Queer Alliance Web Chair Lauren Childress ’14.5, though this is not a category in the Trojan survey. Though Health Services doesn’t offer any LGBTQ-specific programs, Childress said “health services is pretty non-heteronormative in general, and it’s great.” She cited peer-to-peer education through SHEEC and SHAG as a main source of sexual health information for queer students on campus.

In the past, Health Services has partnered with the LGBTQ Center to put on World AIDS Day events, and Shooshani has put on programs regarding same-sex relationship violence.

While these efforts are “off to a great start,” Childress said, “Brown’s groups could be doing more to be inclusive of the LGBTQ community.”

Sperling said LGBTQ-specific elements of sexual health at schools “might be a very worthwhile thing to look at in the future as an additional category.” His team will meet to review the outcome of the survey and to plan for next year’s survey sometime in the near future.

The survey “provides a great window for students into how their school stacks up to others,” he said. He sees it as a service to the students and the schools it reviews, citing cases in which students have taken the survey to their schools’ administrations to prove a need for better sexual health provisions on campus.

Ninneman said the survey helps to highlight the topic of sexual health on campus and to get people talking about related issues, adding that Health Services is developing new ways to connect with students, citing the texting service and a greater presence on social media.

“We look very much to student input and needs and not so much to the Trojan survey,” she said.

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the brown daily herald Thursday, November 15, 2012

/ / Digital page 8 cussed the idea of a “New New Sentence,” which “states that there will be a collage of information between idea A and idea B,” instead of simpler causal relations.

The potential deviation from the text is the distinguishing characteristic between digital text and non-digital text, and technology helps reorganize that text more easily.

“Reading becomes a creative act,” Stewart said.

In the brief question-and-answer session that followed, Stewart was asked if he thought the digital platform would ever fully replace books.

“Absolutely not,” Stewart said, adding that reading traditional books creates a physical engagement with texts that cannot be replaced. “Did horses disappear when we got cars?”

There is a reason that electronic texts exist, Stewart said. Online books are easier to read than going through stacks, and they are much cheaper as well, he said.

Stewart said the work he presented will become part of a book analyzing the world of digital nonfiction. It will most likely be published next year.

The audience left the lecture with a taste of how digital nonfiction can apply to day-to-day lives.

“I actually work a lot with Google, so the lecture only helped my way of thinking about the nonfiction world in an educational sense,” said Celine Katzman ’15.

“The talk was a great way to think about searching for facts on Google.

It brought to light factors that I have never thought about,” said Shreena Thakore ’16.

UCS categorizes more new student groups

By Katherine Cusumano Senior Staff Writer

The Undergraduate Council of Students continued efforts to categorize new student groups at its general body meeting last night. Brown for Therapeutic Riding, which provides equestrian therapy to the disabled, was accepted as a Category S group, and the Brown Political Forum was recognized as a Category I group after being rejected last week. Brown Barsaat, a performance group, was also recognized as a Category I group.

The Student Activities committee initially thought Brown for Therapeutic Riding was just an extension of the equestrian team, said Alexander Kaplan ’14, chair of the committee and a Herald contributing writer. After meeting with the group’s representative, it became clear that it was actually an “outreach program” in which volunteers work with the emotionally and physically disabled and help guide horses, he said.

The Brown Political Forum was initially rejected because it was seen as too similar to the Janus Forum, Kaplan said. But the group appealed the rejection — though the Janus Forum formerly had a branch that “filled the same niche,” it was dissolved last year, said UCS Treasurer Sam Gilman ’15, who is also Steering Committee Director for the Janus Forum.

The Brown Political Forum is an outlet for discussion that involves members of both the Brown Democrats and Brown Republicans, but it is not necessarily limited to politics, Kaplan said.

He described the group’s representative

Benjamin Resnick ’15 as a “very passionate” leader who has helped develop a “strong following” for his group.

“Having a place where people debate ideological issues is probably a convenient thing to have,” said Holly Hunt ’13, a general body member.

The next group on the agenda was Brown Barsaat, a South Asian fusion a cappella performance group, which recently received significant attention. The group desired categorization to cover travel costs for East Coast competitions, said Jon Vu ’15.

After completing the student group categorization agenda, UCS moved to committee updates.

The Academic and Administrative Affairs Committee is working with the Office of the Dean of the College to overhaul the Advising Sidekick website, which will include internship and academic portfolio modules, said ManyaJean Gitter ’13, the committee’s chair.

Abby Braiman ’15, chair of the Committee for Admissions and Student Services, said her committee is working with the Brown Card Office to raise awareness about the new Brown Cards given to first-years this semester.

The office aims to publicize the changes and encourage upperclassmen to switch their cards to the new format, which no longer includes the thin vending stripe.

The DPS-UCS Facebook challenge launched yesterday, and its aim is to “make students more aware of safety issues on campus,” said Afia Kwakwa ’14, chair of the Campus Life committee.

Kyra Mungia ’13, chair of the Communications committee, said she met

DAVE DECKEY / HERALD

At the Undergraduate Council of Students meeting Wednesday, student groups like Brown Barsaat received new categorizations. with the Rhode Island School of Design President Anthony White ’13 said Student Alliance — the RISD student he is collaborating with the financial government — in an attempt to organize aid committee — one of six committees projects involving both groups. The first formed to examine Paxson’s long-term fireside chat with President Christina strategic initiatives — to plan a forum Paxson will occur next Tuesday, she said. for community discussion of financial UCS also appointed Marisabel Agos- aid. to ’13 as representative to the Brown Secretary Stacy Bartlett ’14 conUniversity Community Council. cluded the meeting by requesting that Vice President Brandon Tomasso ’13 members participate in the UCS initiasaid he met with Richard Bova, senior tives fund, which will use leftover money associate dean of residential life and din- from the Undergraduate Finance Board ing services, to discuss the creation of a as a seed fund for Category I student taskforce that would address methods groups. The exact sum has not yet been to deal with lounge destruction. finalized, Bartlett said.

4 city & state / / Plan page 1 about campus use, Dumont said.

The smartphone app My Campus will ask students, faculty and staff questions about where they spend their time, such as “Where do you socialize? Where do you eat? What are the best places for studying? Where do you live?” Dumont said.

Using the app, members of the Brown community can write in answers and insert pushpins on a 3-D map of campus. The entire process will take about 15 minutes and will allow the firm to correlate and analyze information about space use and movement through campus, Dumont said. Sasaki has used similar programs at other universities in the past and received a large response, he added.

The second program will ask faculty, graduate students and postdoctorates where they work, with whom they collabore with and which departments should neighbor each other, in order

to map “faculty adjacencies,” Dumont said. This information will then be mapped on a 3-D galaxy diagram and superimposed on a map of campus to see if space is being used effectively.

The next phase of the project will include testing the information on community members to see if it matches their perceptions. Through a series of forums, students will be called upon to outline their hopes for the University and share what they consider to be its guiding tenets, Dumont said.

In April or May, the planning committee and Sasaki will present the information they gather to the Corporation, Carey said. Ultimately, Sasaki hopes to pinpoint the key principles that define Brown as an institution, which will then help guide the University through the next decade or more of planning, Dumont said.

Examples of projects aided by previous University planning efforts in the last 10 years include the renovation of Metcalf Hall and the creation of the

Walk between Waterman and Angell streets, Carey said. Previously, the space now occupied by the Walk was a series of adjacent alleyways and parking lots, and information gathered by the planning committee established that many students used the space as a shortcut.

“Part of orienting the Walk was to take advantage of where people were walking anyway and make better use of it, make it safer, make it brighter, make it more green and have the potential to then organize academic buildings like the (Perry and Marty Granoff Center for Creative Arts) around that,” he said.

The current project hopes to address issues like Brown’s continuing plans for the Knowledge District, which is already home to the Alpert Medical School, the building for Continuing Education and others, Carey said. In all, there are about a thousand members of the Brown community working in the district, he said.

“Planning can adapt and change and answer those new questions on the horizon,” Dumont said.

Taubman Center for Public Policy

Master’s Program { Information session tonight Meet Taubman Center alumni, current students and faculty.

Find out how the Taubman Center’s Master of Public Affairs and Master of Public Policy degrees will prepare you for a dynamic career in public policy and public affairs.

Thursday, November 15, 2012 6:30–7:30 p.m.

Taubman Center for Public Policy and American Institutions 67 George Street www.brown.edu/taubman-center 401-863-2201

the brown daily herald Thursday, November 15, 2012

Table games approved for Twin River Casino

By Sona Mkrttchian Senior Staff Writer

In addition to casting their votes for local and national politicians last week, Rhode Island residents responded to seven statewide ballot questions on Election Day. Questions one and two, which received the most political attention and were the subject of inflammatory television advertisements, asked voters to determine whether table games — such as blackjack and poker — should be allowed in the state’s two casinos, the Newport Grand and Twin River Casino.

In order for the measures to be approved, the policies required voter majorities both in the state and in the municipalities where the facilities are located — Newport and Lincoln, respectively. State support was strong for passage of both measures, but while Lincoln residents overwhelmingly approved the measure for Twin River, Newport residents voted against table games at their local casino by an 8 percent margin.

Prior to the election, supporters of the measures campaigned on the economic benefits that table games would bring to the state. Combined profits from both casinos currently raise approximately $300 million in revenue each year for Rhode Island, making gambling the state’s third-largest industry.

Twin River expects to bring in a

minimum of $18 million in additional revenue with the introduction of table games, said Patti Doyle, a representative for the casino. The games will be integrated by July 2013, she added.

The casino also expects to create 350 new jobs for Rhode Island, where the unemployment rate remains one of the nation’s highest at more than 10 percent. Open positions currently include table-game dealers, food and beverage personnel and security workers, Doyle said.

Twin River held a career fair yesterday that drew thousands of interested applicants, officially beginning the recruitment process for both experienced and novice dealers. While they are already accepting applications, Doyle said the casino will not begin the formal hiring process until 2013.

Lincoln will also earn increased tax revenue from Twin River. The City Council now expects approximately $800,000 in tax revenue from the casino each year, said Keith Macksoud, council president. Macksound said revenue collected from Twin River will be shifted into a “restricted capital improvement account,” which is used to finance improvements to town infrastructure and fund development. The council previously used the account’s funds to recuperate local recreational fields and school buildings, and future plans include improvements to the public / / Casino page 5 library and

city & state 5

the brown daily herald Thursday, November 15, 2012

/ / Casino page 4

/ / Sandy page 1

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police department headquarters, he added.

“We’re able to do these capital improvements that a lot of the surrounding towns and cites are not able to afford, all without raising taxes,” Macksoud said.

Jean Marie Napolitano, a councilwoman from Newport, said the city was expected to gain approximately $1 million in revenue from the addition of table games. But now that the measure has failed, the council will have to devise alternate means for raising funds, most likely through a tax increase for residents.

“Obviously I was disappointed,” Napolitano said. “I don’t know what to expect now in terms of the economy.”

Newport businesses rely heavily on tourism, and many local owners were afraid of the effects increased gambling might have on the tourism industry, Napolitano added. Rumors that gambling would be introduced on the Newport waterfront really affected business owners and residents who are worried about maintaining profits, she said.

“They were afraid that we’d be taken over by organized crime, by prostitution and pickpockets,” she said. “For all the angst that people have, I live close to the facility, and I have never had any problems with it.”

Representatives from the Newport Grand could not be reached for comment.

Both the Newport Grand and Twin River will face increased regional competition when Massachusetts finishes construction on a series of new facilities that will also incorporate table games.

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission estimates three new regional casinos and a slots parlor will be completed by 2014.

Doyle said Massachusetts residents currently comprise about half of Twin River’s customers, and both casinos already face competition from large facilities in Connecticut that target Rhode Island residents. Connecticut’s Mohegan Sun, the second-largest casino in the United States, is offering special discounts and packages for visitors from the Ocean State this weekend.

“We have to be prepared for some attrition,” Doyle said. “This gave us an important tool to remain competitive.”

Jim Langevin, D-R.I., said there are more to consider before the state can arrive at a final tally. “State disaster system teams are still working very close together in terms of calculating the cost of the damage and recovery,” Langevin said.

The aid was first requested for Newport, Bristol and Washington counties, which were hit hardest by the storm.

Chafee announced Nov. 10 that a fourth county, Kent, would also receive federal assistance. In addition to repairing infrastructure, the aid targets those who were forced from their homes or to shut down their business.

“It’s going to be a long road,” Langevin said. “There was significant damage in the South County area.”

But Langevin said small businesses hit hardest in the area hope to reopen soon. “It’s amazing how resilient they are. There is great optimism,” he said.

During the hurricane, there was an impressive response from local residents and emergency staff, who continue to work on repairs in its aftermath. “First responders, from day one, were doing everything they could to make sure people were safe,” Langevin said.

Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency Director Theresa Murray thanked government staff in a press release for their tireless efforts to calculate damages so the state could receive federal aid quickly. “Our goal is to get as much assistance for Rhode Island as possible,” she said.

Langevin said the storm highlighted the need to draw more attention to global climate change, which many meteorologists are pointing to as the cause of Hurricane Sandy. “These types of storms are going to be more severe and more frequent until we deal with climate change,” he said. “Representing a coastal community, this has me worried, and we need to redouble our efforts.”

Rhode Island also experienced significant change in landscapes near the ocean, with beaches washed out and coastal highways damaged. “A lot of erosion has taken place ... We’re still calculating structural damage to see where people can rebuild,” Langevin said. “There will be some long-term relocations as a result.”

Doherty’s national party leadership, failure to court important demographic groups and poor campaign structure combined to prevent him from bringing more voters to his side of the aisle.

The Republican presidential primaries pushed Mitt Romney far to the right, Affigne noted, making the differences between Democrats and Republicans very clear. “The national Republican Party created a tone in the first district that suggested to voters that the Republican Party — if it were brought to power — would probably enact laws which most of the first district voters would disagree with,” he added.

MacKay echoed this theme on Morning Edition. “If the Republican Party is going to become the party of white, male, southern resentment, they’re going to have a very difficult time in New England,” he said.

Republican unwillingness to court Latino voters — one of the most solid Democratic voting blocs — hurt conservative candidates on both state and na-

Fly by Night | Adam Kopp

tional levels, Affigne said. “If you look at voting results, Cicilline’s largest margins were in the three communities that have the largest Latino populations,” he said.

“Doherty made very little effort to reach out to Latinos at all, and you cannot walk away from 12 percent of the electorate and expect to win the election,” Affigne said.

Affigne also criticized Doherty for presenting a negative campaign without a specific optimistic vision. “Doherty’s ground game and electoral strategy were not up to the task,” he said.

Doherty needed to argue the possible benefits of having a Republican in Congress instead of only emphasizing the negatives of Cicilline’s re-election, Affigne said. For example, he could have argued that “with Republicans in leadership, a Republican (representative) might have more influence than a Democrat would,” or that “his experience in law enforcement would make him a more thoughtful candidate,” Affigne said.

“If you don’t have an advertising strategy that creates a positive backdrop

comic

for the campaign, its difficult to get out the vote,” Affigne said. “Cicilline had grassroots support and got out the vote, because his campaign resonated more persuasively.”

MacKay said Rhode Island Republicans need to select better candidates if they want to become a statewide party.

None of the candidates — Republican Senate candidate Barry Hinckley Jr., Republican congressional candidate Michael Riley and Doherty — had served in elected office before running in this cycle. Their Democratic counterparts invariably had held lower office before stepping up to the statewide level, he noted.

“The state legislature is like the farm team for people who run statewide … and (they) have to build the party up from the grassroots, which is very difficult when (they) have these real fissures between the liberals and the conservatives and the moderates,” MacKay said.

“There are only 12 Republicans in the state. You put them all in one room, the problem is they all hate each other,” he added facetiously.

6 editorial & letter Editorial

the brown daily herald Thursday, November 15, 2012

Editorial cartoon b y a n g e l i a wa n g

The art of cross-registration Have you ever been walking across the Main Green and seen someone wearing paint-splattered jeans and an artistically torn sweater and thought to yourself, “Brown hipster or RISD student?” Though Brown boasts its fair share of hipsters, it is also home, at least during class hours, to a large number of RISD students taking advantage of their ability to cross-register for Brown courses. Of course, Brown students are also able to sign up for RISD courses, so our artsy brethren are probably counting just as many Brown sweatshirts down the hill as we are noticing RISD students whacking us in the shins with their portfolio carrying cases — right?

In fact, evidence suggests otherwise. According to a recent Herald article, the number of Brown students taking RISD courses has declined, while the number of RISD students enrolled in Brown classes has risen (“More RISD students enroll in Brown courses,” Nov. 13). This seems to be a long-term trend.

As Herald coverage in 2004 and 2007 indicates, RISD has consistently had both a higher absolute number and percentage of the total student body cross-registered (“Despite uphill battle, Brown and RISD students make cross-registration work,” Oct. 7, 2004 and “Signing up down College Hill,” Jan. 20, 2007). We do not by any means oppose RISD students registering for Brown courses, but this information indicates Brown students are getting the shorter end of the stick.

The major discrepancy between the RISD and Brown cross-registration policies lies in the process. For RISD students, this entails getting the proposed course approved by a liberal arts advisor and completing minimal paperwork. Brown’s Banner registration website is simple and easy to navigate, but to cross-register at RISD, Brown students need written permission from the course’s professor and from registrars at both schools. Then they must meet with an employee in the registrar’s office to figure out whether a special petition to the Committee on Academic Standing is needed for them to take the course for credit. Lydia Gidwitz ’08 told The Herald in 2007 that RISD professors are often hard to reach, and the course website is difficult to understand. It is frankly dismaying that one process is so much more complicated than the other.

Unfortunately, there are several scheduling differences between Brown and RISD that affect the cross-registration process but cannot be helped. Space in liberal arts lecture classes at Brown is rarely limited, but spots in RISD studio classes are notoriously scarce. Furthermore, these studio art classes take up five hour blocks in a class day, while Brown classes span at most one or two hours.

There is, though, one large scheduling problem we believe could be solved with no great effort from University officials: the academic calendar. RISD students are not greatly inconvenienced by Brown’s one week earlier start date, but Brown students are often importuned by the fact that our dorms close earlier than when RISD classes end in the spring semester. This is not helped by the fact that the late end date of RISD’s winter term means the spring schedules never match up between the two schools, which in turn makes overall cross-registration numbers drop significantly. These dates have consistently been a problem for the past eight years at least, and it is time the administrations worked together to address them.

Back in 2004, RISD Registrar Steven Berenback told The Herald, “Whether this (cross-registration statistics) is a trend or not is anyone’s guess.” More than eight years later, it is apparent that higher cross-registration at RISD is, unfortunately, a clear pattern. Academic and artistic exchange between the two schools is laudable, but it is being implemented in a frustratingly lopsided fashion. Something — whether it is scheduling adjustments or registration reforms — needs to be done about the difficulty of cross-registering at Brown relative to RISD. While we love our neighbors down the hill, we want a fair share of the pie, too.

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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Stop calling each other racist To the Editor: I was disappointed to open The Herald yesterday to find a letter in which yet again a Brown student called another Brown student racist. On occasion, such an accusation is logically sound, but even when it is, name-calling isn’t going to convince anybody to come to your side. It won’t

strengthen your argument, nor will it make you super popular because (and I think I speak for most Brown students on this), we are all incredibly sick of hearing accusations of racism. So can we please stop calling each other racist now?

Daniel Milstein ’13.5

Correc tions An article in yesterday’s Herald (“Science & Research Roundup,” Nov. 14) incorrectly identified the sport in Peter Kriz’s study. In fact, Kriz’s research looked at injuries in field hockey, not lacrosse. The Herald regrets the error.

An article in Wednesday’s Herald (“‘Carol’ brings Christmas cheer,” Nov. 14) incorrectly referred to the actor playing Ebenezer Scrooge as Tyler Crowe. In fact, the actor’s name is Timothy Crowe. The Herald regrets the error.

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opinions 7

the brown daily herald Thursday, November 15, 2012

Suffrage and ownership

By David Black Guest Columnist

As an alum, my engagement with the opinions page has been limited. But this week, Oliver Hudson ’14 argued for an unpopular view — only taxpayers should vote (“Universal suffrage is immoral,” Nov. 13). My Facebook feed was full of angry students decrying the classism embodied in Hudson’s claim.

While I share the distaste for the conclusion, that’s only half of what Hudson offers.

No matter how much we dislike it, if Hudson’s argument is sound, we must accept the conclusion. In this column, I will show where the argument fails by using Hudson’s own premise to support the opposite conclusion.

Hudson’s reasoning leads us not to restrict suffrage to those who pay income taxes, but to expand it even to non-citizens. Hudson is committed to what we can call “multiversal suffrage.”

I take it that this conclusion is as absurd as Hudson’s own. But it will allow us to get a better grip on what is wrong with his premise. Here, I think, is Hudson’s argument: First, only those who own a share of the country or its resources should be allowed to help decide what is done in it, i.e. vote. Second, only taxpayers own a share of the country. Therefore, only taxpayers should be allowed to vote.

Hudson supports the first premise by

analogy with corporations — “If you own stock in a company, your shareholder’s vote is in proportion to your ownership of the company.” This is the weaker premise — there seem to be clear disanalogies between companies and nations. But, I want to show that even on his assumptions, his argument supports a different conclusion.

So the issue is “who owns the country?” or “who owns the country’s resources?” The best way to answer this question is to look at ownership itself. What does it take to

you can use, you must leave enough and as good for everyone else, and you must mix your labor with the thing you want to own.

It is hard to understand how to apply the first two conditions to a country. Though we know how natural resources can spoil or be depleted, the ownership of either a country or its fiscal resources is at issue. We are giving Hudson as much as we can, so let’s say that the rich fulfill the first two conditions.

That assumption cuts both ways though — if the rich can’t use up the country, neither can

Hudson’s reasoning leads us not to restrict suffrage to the taxpayers, but to expand it even to non-citizens.

Hudson is committed to what we can call “multiversal suffrage.” own something? A popular answer is John Locke’s. On his theory of property, many people own a share of the country or its resources.

Again, we use a rights-based theory of property because it is the most friendly to Hudson’s conclusion. The main competitor to a rights theory is a consequentialist one.

And despite Hudson’s bluster, it is apparent that handing over the country to the richest folk around does not get the consequentialist stamp of approval.

In “The Second Treatise of Government,” Locke offers three conditions for coming to own something. You can’t take more than

the poor.

Then comes the true heart of the issue — the third condition. What does it take to mix labor with something? Here is a natural proposal: You mix your labor with a thing when it becomes what it is by virtue of your actions. If you start to grow crops on some land, the land and crops are yours because you turned them into a farm. Some counterexamples might spring to mind, but it turns out they are easily avoided.

Whose actions make this country what it is? Well, what is a country beyond the people living there and their social structure? In that case, we all own a piece of the country be-

cause we all own ourselves.

Whose actions generate the wealth in the treasury? This is a lesson we learned months ago, from our president’s “You didn’t build that” speech. No one of us did the work, we all did.

Moreover, we’ve all had a part to play in filling its coffers by being alive — someone at some point spends money on you, and that money goes into the economy and, far enough downstream, into the government.

And that happened in part because of one of your actions, living.

This reasoning naturally extends to many non-citizens and foreigners. We are forced to conclude that if Hudson’s first premise is true, children and many non-citizens should be allowed to vote since we all own and have labored to own a piece of this country — ourselves at the least.

Let’s wrap up — we saw that Hudson’s first premise can be used to support two incompatible and crazy conclusions. It is easy to get suckered in by its simplicity, but morality has a much richer texture than that. Simple, straightforward principles ignore how complicated our lives are — especially when it comes to doing the right thing.

In the end, Hudson provides us with a valuable lesson: If you think morality is easy, you’re going to do some awful things.

David Black ’12 is pursuing a PhD in philosophy at Rutgers University. He supports radical paternalism and anti-democracy. You can reach him at david.black@rutgers.edu.

Universal suffrage is definitely moral

By Bennett Ferris and Gabe Schwartz Guest Columnists In the column “Universal suffrage is immoral” by Oliver Hudson ’14, Hudson proposes a system in which, “the weight of a person’s vote should be proportional to the fraction of total revenue he contributes to the government.” We think this is a bad idea.

Hudson’s system would induce a great number of harms. His proposed voting system disenfranchises poor voters. What are the consequences of this? Here are a few examples, of many: 1. Because the wealthy don’t need them, many effective safety net programs, such as Medicaid, eventually get defunded.

2. With a higher percentage of business owners voting, as opposed to consumers, corporate regulations and consumer protections are likely to be washed away, despite the fact that clean air and clean water are in the interests of all citizens, no matter their income bracket.

3. Other costly programs such as education would see funding decrease too. If I’m rich, and I’ll definitely be able to pay my children’s tuition, what do I care if anyone else needs a Pell Grant?

By eliminating mechanisms of upward mobility, and, importantly, eliminating the 47 percent’s ability to regain them, Hudson’s system consigns the poor to deeper and deeper poverty. Ironically, this

would negatively impact the people Hudson is trying to help. By lowering the disposable income of the 47 percent, Hudson’s plan would eliminate the liquidity needed for them to purchase goods and services lots of people in the 53 percent provide.

Let’s address the one benefit Hudson can claim for all of these harms: the elimination of the deficit. Hudson says this would be more likely to occur because people are more careful when they’re spending their own money. That

cal grounding of Hudson’s proposal. Hudson characterizes the government counting the votes of the 47 percent as “controlling how your neighbor or friend spends his or her money.” Even if you’re giving his money to charity, Hudson says, it is still morally wrong to spend it because it isn’t yours. Here’s the difference: Unlike your neighbors, you actually consent — especially if you’re rich and can move — into living in a country, and thus consent into paying the costs in exchange for its protections.

Our socioeconomic starting point isn’t a meritocracy.

Why would you reward people for what is essentially a genetic coin flip?

would make sense, if you ignored the last 20 years of American political history, in which rich people repeatedly voted for revenue cuts and budgetary increases.

More perniciously still, after the implementation of Hudson’s system, rich people would call for still greater tax cuts.

When money equals voting power, there would be a perverse system in place for people to hold as much capital as possible to hold more voting sway.

We also take issue with the philosophi-

Moreover, that rich people are rich in the first place is morally arbitrary. True, some start off poor and work their way up. But most of these people leaned heavily on the kind of social programs Hudson’s system would eliminate to get there.

Additionally, there are already systems in place on which our country spends money that disproportionately help rich people. Good luck getting rich without government enforcement of corporate law, not to mention the millions the govern-

ment hurls into getting China to appreciate its currency, or the government brokering lucrative and preferential trade agreements like NAFTA that enable the companies rich people own to trade.

But let’s ignore these lucky few for a moment, because, among the rich — or even the middle class — the Andrew Carnegies are far outnumbered by the Donald Trumps. Most rich people achieve success not through hard work alone, but by inheriting a certain amount of capital from their parents and applying and investing that in smart ways. But the reason those parents had money in the first place has to do with the paternalistic voting practices of the past. The reason my parents have more money than the average black family is because, for generations, my white ancestors had the right to self-determination, tipping the economic scales in their favor. Our socioeconomic starting point isn’t a meritocracy. Why would you reward people for what is essentially a genetic coin flip?

Unlike the corporate voting model Hudson would emulate, our democracy doesn’t exist to secure and protect its profits, but to protect the rights of its citizens — not for the 53 percent or for the 99 percent, but for all of us. Democracy works.

Let’s stick with it.

Bennett Ferris ’13 and Gabe Schwartz ’13 are 100 percent committed to hearing you out if you disagree with them. They can be reached at bennett_ferris@brown.edu and gabriel_schwartz@brown.edu.

daily herald city & state the Brown

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Firefighters approve pension settlement with city

By Morgan Johnson Senior STaff Writer

After months of negotiations and legal challenges between public safety workers and city officials, both active and retired firefighters voted last week in favor of a tentative settlement to two lawsuits filed by firefighters unions. The cases addressed Medicare enrollment and cost-of-living adjustments, which were suspended by the state’s sweeping pension reform law of 2011.

City officials, leaders of public safety unions and professional negotiators came to the agreement last May. So far, all groups except for the police union have voted on and accepted their respective settlements.

But the union’s affirmative vote was not indicative of complete satisfaction with the terms of the agreement, according to Paul Doughty, president of Local 779 of the International Association of Firefighters. The arrangement was “by no means a victory” for his members, Doughty said. The active members approved the deal by 70 percent — 10 percent lower than the percentage of retirees who supported it in June.

State law mandates a suspension of cost-of-living adjustments for public employees until the pension system is

at least 70 percent funded. But state employee pensions take into consideration payments into Social Security, while city firefighters rely solely on Medicare and pension payments when they retire.

The terms in the new agreement will suspend COLA payments for 10 years — from the first day of 2013 through the last day of 2022. At that time, a maximum 3 percent COLA will be reinstated and compounded annually, even if the pension system is underfunded at that time. But retirees with pensions exceeding 150 percent of the average state income or exceeding the salary of active employees in the same position and rank will not return to receiving COLA payments at this time.

Retirees with pensions under $100,000 will receive a guaranteed $1,500 stipend in 2017 and possibly another stipend in 2020, contingent on municipal savings through the implementation of a self-insured dental plan.

The language of the settlement cedes priority to the terms of existing and future collective bargaining agreements should they conflict, but it mandates that COLA payments must be equal to or less than 3 percent.

Spouses or beneficiaries of officers killed in the line of duty are exempt from these suspensions, and they will

Dave Deckey / Herald

The Providence firefighter’s union voted in favor of a settlement with the city in regard to their pension payments, but union president Paul Doughty still expressed some dissatisfaction with the new terms. continue to receive COLA payments at their current rate.

The average pension for retired firefighters in Providence is $48,142 per year, over $10,000 more than the average police officer and $30,000 more than the average municipal employee, according to city public records from 2011. Part of that gap is due to higher COLA payments for firefighters at 6

percent annually, which the new settlement bans.

The agreement will save the city approximately $18.5 million next fiscal year and reduce the unfunded liability of the city’s pension system by up to $170 million, according to a press release from Providence Mayor Angel Taveras’ office. The Medicare provisions that require retirees to enroll in the program

at age 65 are projected to save an additional $40 million over the next 10 years.

“I am hopeful that our police will act quickly and join our firefighters, retirees and municipal employees, so we can move Providence forward and focus on the important work of creating jobs, expanding educational opportunities and improving public safety,” Taveras said in a press release.

GOP shortfalls clear path for Cicilline ’83 Lecturer traverses the

digital writing universe

By Adam toobin Senior staff writer

In the months preceding last week’s elections, analysts across Rhode Island argued that Rep. David Cicilline ’83, DR.I., was in danger of losing his seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. But once the votes were tallied last Tuesday night, results showed the incumbent defeated his Republican opponent Brendan Doherty 52.9 to 40.8 percent. Though Rhode Islanders typically elect Democrats to national offices, the final 12-point difference contrasts sharply with polls taken prior to the election that showed a split electorate.

“It’s very difficult to unseat an incumbent,” said Tony Affigne, professor of political science at Providence College. Traditionally, an incumbent can only be defeated either during their first reelection campaign or in one much farther down the line, when he or she has become detached from the district, he said. In Tuesday’s election, Cicilline was “most vulnerable — he won by 12 points,” he added.

“He survived the first dangerous curve,” Affigne said.

Cicilline spent much of the last year fending off challenges — first from Democrat Anthony Gemma in the primaries and later from Doherty.

Both challengers cited Cicilline’s statement during his second term as mayor of Providence that the city was in “excellent” fiscal condition as an example of the incumbent’s untrustworthiness.

His successor, Mayor Angel Taveras, announced in March 2011 that the city was facing a “category five” financial crisis with a structural deficit of $110 million.

Affigne said Cicilline may have suffered from the legacy of his statements, but he also missed a chance to tie the city’s fiscal condition to Republican economic policy. “The deterioration of the

By Jasmine bala Contributing Writer

Sam Kase / Herald

Though polls predicted a close race, Rep. David Cicilline ’83, D-R.I., defeated Republican challenger Brendan Doherty by more than 12 points. city’s fiscal condition began during the Bush years, when the state and Republican Governor Donald Carcieri withdrew support from cities and towns,” he said.

“He could have deflected the responsibility for the city’s condition — and rightly so — on to the very Republican Party he was running against.”

Despite across-the-board victories for the Democrats in Rhode Island — they added four seats to their majority in the General Assembly — Republicans have not been defeated for good in the first congressional district, Affigne said. He pointed to former representative Ronald Machtley, who served in the early 1990s, as proof that the district can elect a Republican. The district may be heavily Democratic, but if Republicans can convince the equally large indepen-

dent bloc to vote for them, they can win any state election, he added.

The most obvious obstacle to Rhode Island Republican candidates this cycle was the state’s commitment to the national Democratic Party and its presidential nominee, President Obama, said Rhode Island Public Radio political analyst Scott MacKay on Morning Edition.

“The fact of this race always was people in Rhode Island agreed with him on the issues more than they agreed with Brendan Doherty,” he said.

In a state where people are going to vote for Obama, MacKay said, Democrats did a very good job of asking, “If you’re going to vote to give the president another four years, why would you then vote to thwart everything he wants to do?” / / Cicilline page 5

In his lecture Wednesday night, Michael Stewart, lecturer in English, differentiated between the “labyrinth” and the “maze” methods of exploring content on the Internet.

The Internet had been expected to revolutionize the way users collect information, drawing them through unknown corners to obtain information in a satisfying way, much as traveling through a labyrinth can be a meaningful, often religious, experience. But most people today limit their explorations to a predetermined set of websites to get information efficiently, as one would strive to escape a maze as quickly as possible.

Google is the main thoroughfare in this maze, Stewart told an audience of about 20 people at Smith-Buonanno Hall, and it requires users to specify search terms before maneuvering through the web.

“It’s a maze where you try to find something, but the walls keep coming up.” Stewart said.

Stewart’s lecture, “Digital Nonfiction: Exploring the Possibilities,” began by exploring some Google search techniques, keeping in mind that searches have to be specific to yield useful results.

Knowing how to use a search engine more efficiently can “create smaller universes for you to move in,” which allows users to better locate helpful results.

In an Internet universe composed of almost 30 percent of “searching” through sites like Google, users must be able to distinguish between the relevance of different keywords in their searches. The use of operators like “AND” and “OR” can add clarity to the regular search tool, thereby “creating filters within a filter,”

he said.

“A simple search takes about five seconds, depending on where you are, but people tend to not follow the suggested methods,” Stewart said, pointing to the search button on the big screen.

The act of searching can also provide insight into the collective psyche of the society, he said.

Stewart then moved from the search-focused portion of the “Internet universe” to discuss the field of digital writing, which incorporates technology that can include images, light and shifting text.

Stewart warned that the current implementation of such tools in nonfiction works have yielded disappointing results.

“As most of you may have noticed, digital writing is terrible,” Stewart said, adding that many practitioners have focused on creating new technology instead of exploring the gravity of the textual search.

A writer must understand the readers’ way of reading to use the digital medium effectively, he said. Movement that happens digitally is not always born into the writer’s intention, he added.

“Reading becomes a creative task: an act of curation,” Stewart said. Writers, and in this case, “searchers,” do not always know the reader’s way of “playing in the labyrinth.” Stewart stressed that writers must adjust their work to respond to readers with the same amount of playfulness readers bring to the medium.

“The big part is about conversation.”

Stewart said, adding that a story should employ structure that creates a conversational form with the reader. “There is great digital form which does not work on this, but I think it moves against its own gravity.”

He also dis/ / Digital page 3