Friday, January 31, 2014

THE

BROWN DAILY HERALD vol. cxlix, no. 8

since 1891

FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 2014

A moment of reflection: Religious identity at Brown UCS assesses For students on College Hill, religious belief and practice manifest in a variety of ways

candidates for search committee

Though he was not one of the 12 apostles, Paul converted and sought to spread salvation through the gospel of Jesus Christ to the first-century world.

“The Church is one,” Bodah says later. “At the human level, of course we disagree with each other. Already at the first or second generation, there were divisions.”

By EMMA JERZYK SENIOR STAFF WRITER

On Sunday, Father Henry Bodah, associate University chaplain for the Catholic community, is giving a sermon on a reading from Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians.

What it is to be faithful “Whatever arguments you’re having internally, … your religious identity is not really accessible by argument, and you might change your vantage of religion while you’re at university, but more likely you won’t change your identity while you’re here.” — Janet Cooper Nelson, University chaplain

FEATURE

Now I beg you, brothers, through the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfected together in the same mind and in the same judgment. For it has been reported to me concerning you, my brothers, ... that there are contentions among you.

Many students make the distinction between identifying as part of a religion culturally and following the religion’s doctrines. Vanessa Flores-Maldonado

Ten students apply for spot on committee, chance to help select U.’s next provost

By CAROLINE KELLY SENIOR STAFF WRITER ZEIN KHLEIF / HERALD

Many students navigate identities as well as opportunities for religious exploration and discovery when they arrive at Brown. ’14 calls herself culturally Catholic but atheist in belief. Raised Catholic, she chose to maintain her religious identity so she could continue participating in Catholic celebrations with her family

— even though she does not believe in God. Once students arrive at Brown, they may choose to develop their religious » See RELIGION, page 2

Brown alum composes Providence Poetry Slam Brown-Lavoie ’10.5, nationally-known spoken word artist, organizes poetry slam night

poets filled the intimate performance space.

Laura Brown-Lavoie ’10.5 organized and emceed Wednesday night’s slam. A prominent spoken word artist both in Providence and nationally, she competed in the final round of the National Poetry Slam in 2011 and in the Women of the World Poetry Slam in 2013.

As an undergraduate, BrownLavoie was involved with WORD!, the Brown-Rhode Island School of Deisgn spoken word group. She was also one of the first students selected — through a slam competition hosted by WORD! — to compete in

By EMMAJEAN HOLLEY SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Instead of the caged bird, it is the caged word that sings in slam poetry.

At least, this was the case at this week’s Providence Poetr y Slam Semifinals, where the raw, poignant emotion of nine competing

ARTS & CULTURE

the College Unions Poetry Slam Invitational, she said.

Brown-Lavoie said spoken word led her to slam, adding that the difference between the two is minor but often confused. Slam describes the competition during which spoken word is performed.

“Slam is just a really specific game that, in my mind, was invented to get people into a room and listen to poetry all night. Spoken word is a much bigger category of people expressing themselves out loud,” she said.

The Providence Poetry Slam took place at AS220, a nonprofit community arts center in downtown

Providence. The vibrant performance space appeared especially imaginative against the archetypal backdrop of its red velvet curtain — candy cane stripes of glitter paint, which scintillate in the soft incandescent lighting, transform black pillars from austere to whimsical. A broken analog clock rests on a ledge, the word “SPACE” scrawled across its face, the time stopped at 4:20.

In the minutes leading up to the slam, the atmosphere vibrates with a nervous, kinetic energy. Several of the upcoming poets frenetically prepare for the performance — some » See POETRY, page 3

Following the announcement of Provost Mark Schlissel’s P’15 departure — effective July 1 — the Undergraduate Council of Students received 10 applications from students hoping to be the undergraduate representative on the committee to select his successor, UCS leaders said.

After Schlissel was named the next president of the University of Michigan last week, President Christina Paxson asked UCS leaders to help identify an undergraduate to serve on the provost search committee, said Todd Harris ’14.5, UCS president.

Of the 10 students who applied for a spot on the committee by the application deadline at noon on Wednesday the UCS executive board called back five applicants for interviews Thursday night, and it will recommend three finalists to Paxson today, Harris said.

“We got 10, and we were expecting around that many, especially due to the short timeline,” he said.

Maahika Srinivasan ’15, chair of the UCS Academic and Administrative » See UCS SEARCH, page 4

M. ICE HOCKEY

Bruno set for two grueling weekend matchups 7-9-2, Colgate (13-9-3, 9-3-1) has not lost a game in its last seven, with six consecutive victories helping the team rocket up the national polls.

After the Raiders defeated the Bears 3-1 at Colgate Nov. 23, they dropped their next two home games to the University of Massachusetts (7-16-2).

The team has not lost since. Colgate’s recent success may be concerning for the Bears, but Bruno has reason for optimism. Of Colgate’s seven-game hot streak, only three matches have been true road games, two of which came against ECAC doormats Dartmouth (3-14-3, 2-10-1) and Harvard (5-11-3, 2-9-3). On the other hand, the third matchup was a tie against No. 1 Minnesota (18-2-4, Big Ten 7-0-1).

Colgate sophomore forwards Darcy Murphy and Tyson Spink lead the Raiders with 11 goals and 22 points, respectively. First-year goalie Charlie Finn has started 16 of the team’s 25 games. He has posted a .912 save percentage, just north of Bruno goalie Tyler Steel’s ’17

By ANDREW FLAX SENIOR STAFF WRITER

After going 1-1 against then-No. 10 Yale last weekend, the men’s ice hockey team is set to take on two more ranked teams at home this weekend — No. 18 Colgate and No. 11 Cornell.

The Bears (8-8-3, ECAC 5-6-1) had seemed to be on a hot streak before Saturday’s 6-0 loss: Heading into last weekend, the team had lost just one of its seven games since November. Bruno will look to regain the momentum of last Friday’s victory over Yale as the team heads into the weekend.

inside

Friday: Colgate at Brown The Raiders are perhaps the hottest team in college hockey. After starting

.906 mark. Finn locked down the Bears when the teams first played, notching 38 saves on 39 shots, while Mark Borkowski led the Raiders’ offensive charge, scoring a shorthanded goal and tallying an assist. Marco De Filippo ’14 started the game in goal and acquitted himself well, allowing only two goals on 28 shots ­— Colgate’s third came on an empty netter. If Finn fails to duplicate his brick wall performance and the Bears can outshoot the Raiders by eight again, Bruno will be in great shape, but it remains to be seen whether Colgate, hot on the heels of its sixth straight win, will look anything like the team Bruno faced in November.

Saturday: Cornell at Brown The Bears will have their hands full with a hot Cornell team (10-4-5, 6-3-4) that has lost just one of its past 12 games.

The Big Red clobbered the Bears 5-1 in Ithaca at the teams’ first matchup, but their record indicates they have been » See MEN’S HOCKEY, page 4

Sports

KATIE LIEBOWITZ / HERALD

Led by Dennis Robertson ’14, the men’s ice hockey squad could turn some heads with wins this weekend over No. 18 Colgate and No. 11 Cornell.

Commentary

The men’s basketball team takes on Ivy League foes Cornell and Columbia this weekend

Firn ’16: Manning has a chance to cement his legacy with a win in the Super Bowl this Sunday

Hillestad ’15: At an undemocratic university, student activism is futile

Lloyd: Raising the minimum wage does not improve living conditions for the poor

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weather

Hosting two nationally ranked opponents, Bears hope to bounce back from 6-0 loss

t o d ay

tomorrow

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2 university news

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 2014

Pulitzer-Prize winning author speaks at annual MLK Jr. lecture Focusing on King’s legacy and the civil rights era, Branch examines historical struggles

By MARCUS SUDAC STAFF WRITER

“The proper way to celebrate the King Day is to do something that takes you beyond the common boundaries of comfort,” said Pulitzer Prize-winning author Taylor Branch during the University’s 17th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Lecture Thursday.

Branch spoke about King’s legacy and the fight for political rights in the civil rights era during his talk in Salomon 101. “Dr. King reached deep into our legacy of citizenship and for me, that is the lesson,” said Branch, whose address entailed equal parts anecdote and reflection.

Branch is an author and speaker best known for his Pulitzer Prize-winning

» RELIGION, from page 1 lives in different ways. Over 60 percent of students participate in religious activities on campus, Cooper Nelson says. The Office of the Chaplains and Religious Life offers six different types of services regularly throughout the academic year, according to its website.

“Strengthening your faith is much more than ‘do this’ or ‘do that,’” says Aniqa Azim ’14, a Brown Muslim Students Association executive board member.

“Of course it’s been a spiritual journey,” she says of her Muslim identity during her years at Brown. “But for me it’s also been the community here.”

Brandon Taub ’15 keeps kosher and serves on the programming board at Brown/RISD Hillel and the Alpha Epsilon Pi executive board. “At least within the Jewish community, because that’s what I can speak to, there are lots of different places to get what you need,” he says.

“The Catholic community here is much more active than just Mass every Sunday,” Michael Petro ’17 says, citing various events and trips that the BrownRISD Catholic Community hosts.

Petro says he believes Pope Francis has guided the Catholic community back to foundational practices. “The big picture is good, but you have to be good at the little things, too,” he says.

Taking it all apart “Universities are places where everything is challenged. It could be your political beliefs, it could be your economic beliefs, it could be your religious beliefs.”

— Susan Harvey, chair of the department of religious studies

account of the civil rights era, “America in the King Years.” Branch has received numerous other awards and grants, including a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship — “the genius grant” — and, in 2008, a Dayton Literary Peace Prize Lifetime Achievement Award. Branch published another book about the civil rights era last year, “The King Years: Historic Moments in the Civil Rights Movement.”

During his lecture, “Myth and Miracles from the King Years,” Branch addressed his own involvement in the civil rights movement and the importance of King’s legacy as a paradigm for future activism.

Branch first spoke of his formative years in the segregated South, and his post-college experiences when he returned to join the movement for African-American voting rights.

Branch further reflected on African Americans’ activism in a time of partisan gridlock and political disagreement during the presidencies of John Kennedy

and Lyndon Johnson.

He drew connections between civil rights leaders and the Founding Fathers.

Each “confronted systems of subjugation and hierarchy and found ways to move the country,” he said.

The annual Martin Luther King Jr. Lecture is organized and sponsored by the Office of Institutional Diversity, the Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity and the Cogut Center for the Humanities. This year’s lecture marked the 50th anniversary of a sister-school relationship between Brown and Tougaloo College — a historically black, liberal arts school in Jackson, Miss. — and was streamed live to an audience of students at both schools.

Branch’s keynote lecture was preceded by a musical selection from the a cappella group Shades of Brown and an introduction from Provost Mark Schlissel P’15. Branch will participate in a panel discussion about King’s 1964 speeches in Berlin today at noon in Pembroke Hall.

Looking back at their years at Brown, many students speak about the communities they belong to and how they have shaped their beliefs.

When Azim came to Brown, she says, “I had to ask myself if this is something I was doing because of my family, my community, my mosque.” She ended up joining the Brown Muslim Students Association. Now in her last semester, she says, “I guess my big takeaway from my time at Brown — it’s that curiosity and questioning are valuable things.”

Taub says, “I think my biggest community has been Hillel in my three years at Brown, and it’s been really great.”

Lauren Rouse ’15, who will have been in the Air Force for a decade this year, also describes a complicated balance of religion and personal life at Brown. “I’ve seen a lot more of the behind-the-scenes of the strong reactions that religions get from the queer community, and I understand it a lot more than I used to,” she says. “So I think that’s important for me, both as a lesbian and as a Christian. And just as a person, in general, just knowing where people come from.”

Rouse now leads a Queer Alliance subgroup called Queer Faith, which is a safe space for students of faith and queer identity to discuss community issues.

For better or worse, this culture of questioning pervades the University.

“Having your ideas challenged is a good and healthy thing,” Harvey says. “It can be enlivening, exciting, invigorating.”

Yet for some students, these debates can be trying. Azim acknowledges that “fielding questions in class, or in social situations — that’s a hard experience for an 18-year-old.”

Cooper-Nelson says she thinks anxiety about questioning religion comes mainly from the Christian community.

“There’s this Protestant anxiety that I’m going to go to university and someone’s going to ask a question in class and I’ll ‘lose my faith,’” she says.

On the other hand, many Brown students identify as culturally — not religiously — Jewish, she says, and there is less anxiety about losing Jewish culture through doubt.

Harvey explains the visibility of Christian anxiety by noting that Christianity is the most common religion among Brown students. It may also arise, she says, “because Christian identity of a certain kind is a very contentious part of our American public political discussions — we bring that expectation.”

Where the problem lies “Everybody’s convinced that they’re a minority, and that they’re embattled.” — Father Henry Bodah Bodah, Harvey and Cooper Nelson all express some frustration with the confusion that can come from combining religion with academic life.

“I think there’s all different kinds of knowledge, like embodied knowledge that I get from different kind(s) of sports, … and there’s spiritual knowledge that we get from things like prayer,” Rouse says, pointing to the tension between religious understanding and scientific theories. “I often joke with my friends that I get more flak for being Christian here than I ever did for being gay in the military. People are just very confused by it. A lot of people in academia are confused by religious people who are also academics. In the military, no one’s confused by gay people.”

Many students said they do not feel antagonized by Brown’s environment.

“I don’t find that people here are put in a box based on their religion,” FloresMaldonado says.

“I don’t think I’ve ever experienced that,” Taub says of religion-based antagonism. “I think it’s because I’ve surrounded myself with people who are Jewish.”

In her native United Arab Emirates, Sana Siddiq ’16 says, “we don’t actually talk about religion all that much, … and I felt like it was actually pretty easy to do it here at Brown.” But she has heard

COURTESY OF J. BROUGH SCHAMP

Author Taylor Branch discussed Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy and role during the civil rights movement in a lecture Thursday.

Student religious practices When asked about their religious practices, just under two-thirds of undergraduates said they are religiously affiliated.

19% Atheist

19% Agnostic

62% Religiously affiliated 16% 12% 11% 7% 3% 2% 1%

CATHOLIC PROTESTANT JEWISH OTHER CHRISTIAN BUDDHIST HINDU MUSLIM

11% OTHER RELIGION

Source: Herald Fall 2013 Student Poll AVERY CRITS-CRISTOPH / HERALD

from others who “find it quite difficult to talk about religion, … and they find that there are stigmas attached if they do.”

Others say they don’t feel antagonized so much as judged for or reduced to their beliefs.

“I don’t like getting in arguments with people, because I think that causes division, and the Catholic Church isn’t about division,” Petro says. “Our very name comes from the Greek word for universal. … People start arguing with me, and I start saying, ‘No no no, I agree with you. Like, that’s not where I differ.’ ... Definitely people think, ‘Oh, he’s a right-wing Republican and he’s an idiot.’ Well, no, actually, I’m not either of those things. So please don’t stereotype me.”

“People make assumptions about what I believe, and they don’t know,” he adds. Catholics “have a two-thousand year history of theological nuance that can’t be summed into a couple of assumptions.”

But this pigeonholing is not necessarily particular to the University. “It’s just everyone in the world,” says Farzanah Ausaluth ’14. “There’s a degree of ignorance with certain things, where they’re just unaware of a different culture, a different religion, a different experience to your own. … I have my own set of stereotypes for things that I’m not exposed to.”

Putting it back together “We pick our friends, we pick our communities, we pick which types of questions and conversations we have.” — Aniqa Azim ’14 Across religions, Brown community

members emphasize the diversity of students within each of their communities.

In the Muslim Students Association, Azim explains, “you have to recognize the diversity of experiences. … It’s a lot of different beliefs, and a lot of people on different parts of their religious journey.”

“Whoever comes to our events, they want to be there, whether they’re exploring, whether they’re questioning, whether they’re looking for friends with the same belief systems, … it makes for not only good conversation, but good friends,” she adds. “And I think that’s what unites us.”

Siddiq appreciates the diversity within the Muslim community at Brown.

“There’s more freedom to consider yourself a proper practicing Muslim and ... still differ from the orthodox model quite a bit,” she says. “I feel like there’s more space to do that here.”

Taub also describes the diversity within the Jewish community, saying, “There are a lot of different groups specialized in different areas.”

Rouse recalls a dinner last year between the Queer Faith group and another Christian group on campus. “It was hard conversation, but it was good conversation,” she says. “There were no attacks or anything hostile. And that’s what we really want to do — we want to reach out in all directions and try to just get the conversation started without an agenda of proving someone right or wrong.”

Harvey says, “If we are what we claim to be, an open-minded and curious and intellectually rigorous culture, then religion is something that should be treated like anything else in that context. With respect, challenge, and liveliness.”

arts & culture 3

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 2014

Jewish Film Festival to spark cultural dialogue Hoping to spur debate over Jewish ‘identity,’ coordinators select awardwinning films

By DREW WILLIAMS SENIOR STAFF WRITER

RYAN WALSH / HERALD

The Providence Poetry Slam took place Wednesday night at AS220, a nonprofit community arts center in downtown Providence.The competition consisted of nine poets facing off over three elimination rounds.

» POETRY, from page 1 fill notebook pages with poems transcribed from memory while others mutter lines under their breath, eyes scrunched in concentration.

The semifinals consist of three elimination rounds, which reduce the nine initial competitors to five.

The remaining poets continue on to a second night of semifinals, which determines who will compete on the finals stage.

The averaged scores of five audience judges, excluding the highest and lowest, determine which competitors will be eliminated. After each poem, the judges raise dry-erase boards to indicate their scores and Brown-Lavoie announces the numbers from lowest to highest.

The stakes of the competition heighten as the night progresses — the audience grows steadily rowdier in response to the judges’ scores.

Applause and enthusiastic yelps of agreement accompany the high scores. Lower scores often incite a chorus of boos — punctuated by the occasional expletive — directed at the judges.

This interactive energy separates slam poetry from its written counterpart. It removes the buffer between the writer and the reader, thrusting the poem out of the traditional bounds of paper and ink and into the raw immediacy of the threedimensional world.

Brown-Lavoie said this immediacy is part of the reason why she fell in love with spoken word. “I’ve always loved writing, but I think I became a performer, because I found that it’s a

moment of really intense communion and connection with people,” she said.

“It’s an opportunity for instant gratification between the act of writing and the thrill of being understood.”

This makes spoken word particularly appealing to young people, she said, adding that she hopes it will spark an appreciation of poetry students might not find in the classroom.

“They grow up spending more time interfacing with YouTube and other digital media rather than books, so spoken word is a pretty awesome opportunity to make poetry part of peoples’ everyday lives,” she said.

Multiple Providence venues are seeking to do just that. AS220 hosts a poetry slam on the first and third Thursdays of every month. GoPoetry Live hosts a slam at Blue State every Tuesday night. New Urban Arts, a community studio space on Westminster Street, serves as a “hub of connection” between older and younger artists, Brown-Lavoie said, adding that there are many Brown and RISD students who mentor younger artists through the program.

The “democratic nature” of open mic is especially important in cultivating diverse perspectives and styles, Brown-Lavoie said, adding that she encourages Brown students to participate in open mic nights off College Hill.

Jesse Gumbiner ’15, a member of the team that made it to last year’s CUPSI semifinals, said the performance aspect of spoken word appealed to his acting instincts. “Rather than playing someone else, you’re playing yourself for others. You write something you feel a lot about, feel

very emotional about, and you get up onstage, essentially trying to not act but still, in a sense, performing,” he said.

In addition to memorizing the lines, the speaker must also attend to certain physical elements of performance, such as projection, stage presence and meter, he added.

“You’re trying to be completely in control of yourself while completely letting go of yourself,” he said, adding that the personal nature of poetry can make this detachment a considerable challenge.

“Performance poetry creates these opportunities for really different people with different backgrounds and different ways of experiencing the world to miraculously empathize with each other’s situations, to come out wiser,” Brown-Lavoie said.

“No person is more or less qualified as a poet than anyone else,” she said. “There’s no hierarchy of what counts as art.”

The ethos of community found in open mic may seem incompatible with the competitive element of a slam event like the AS220 semifinals.

But Gumbiner explained that this is only partially true.

“It’s a competition in terms of how you plan for it — having several backup poems just in case you need one for a certain mood or audience, structuring the steps so you get the best poem going at best time,” he said.

“But this is not to say we weren’t competing in a supportive environment.

When people are pouring their hearts out on stage, you’d better be clapping and cheering for them — and that’s the best part.”

Brown’s first Jewish Film Festival, complete with three award-winning movies, food and a forum for cultural, spiritual and academic discussion hits theaters near you — the Perry and Marty Granoff Center for the Creative Arts and Wilson Hall — next week.

Brown/RISD Hillel is sponsoring the free festival, which will feature a different film at 7 p.m. each night Monday through Wednesday next week.

The films “Footnote,” “Arranged” and “Live and Become” compose the three-day festival.

“We hope (the festival) will raise different questions on campus regarding Judaism and Jewish life,” said Laura Katz ’14, one of the three student coordinators.

The films are not connected thematically past a common Jewish cultural narrative. This was done on purpose, as each night is intended to spark its own conversation, Katz said.

“Footnote,” which will play Monday, “deals with familial issues in Judaism,” said David Sasson ’16, a student coordinator. “Arranged,” slated for Tuesday, touches on issues regarding “women’s roles in religious life,” while “Live and Become” confronts themes of “Jewish identity,” Sasson said.

Promoting the opportunity for debate on unique topics forms the backbone of the festival, said Alisa Kotler-Berkowitz, director of engagement at Hillel, adding that she hopes the refreshments following the film will facilitate discussion.

“Brown students learn from each other,” Kotler-Berkowitz said, adding that all the coordinators agreed speakers would not be necessary to promote conversation at the event.

All three films come from the last decade, a feature designed to add “relevance” and “broad appeal” to the event for the Brown community, Katz said.

Feedback has been “incredibly positive,” Kotler-Berkowitz said. The coordinators have received enthusiastic responses from the seven sponsors of the event and the broader community, including members of the Providence Jewish community and Hillel.

The goal is to turn the festival into an annual occurrence with possible additional screenings at the Rhode Island School of Design next year, Kotler-Berkowitz said. Future festivals would retain a similar structure with opportunities to explore more themes surrounding Jewish life, said Gabrielle Guadalupe ’15, a member of the coordinating group.

The coordinating group formed out of the Engagement Internship program at Hillel, where Guadalupe and Katz worked together last semester.

The internship requires students to come up with an initiative specifically related to Jewish life to share with the larger community, said KotlerBerkowitz.

For Katz, a fan of cinema, a film festival presented itself as a project worth undertaking, she said.

Once Sasson, who met Guadalupe on Taglit-Birthright Israel last summer, joined the group, they faced the task of choosing which films to show — the goal being to raise interest and promote discourse.

“They watched a lot of movies,” Kotler-Berkowitz said.

Thanks for reading!

4 sports friday

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 2014

M. BASKETBALL

Bears seek key Ivy wins in weekend’s home doubleheader Team prepares for quicktrigger Columbia offense by practicing defense in daily training sessions

After the men’s basketball team opened a three-game homestand with its first Ivy League win last weekend, Bruno hopes to carry the momentum into two crucial, early-season conference games at the Pizzitola Center — taking on Cornell Friday and Columbia Saturday.

The Big Red (1-15, Ivy 0-2) has struggled so far this season, picking up their lone win against Oberlin College (5-13, NCAC 2-9) in a non-conference matchup. The Lions (13-6, 2-0), on the other hand, have one of the best records in the Ivy League — just one season after finishing last in the conference.

“We’re feeling very confident,” said Dockery Walker ’15. “We strung together a bunch of good practices in a row, so we’re feeling good going into the weekend. Both teams have their strengths, but I think we have a really good chance of taking both games.”

The Bears (9-7, 1-1) were reminded in practices throughout the week of the importance of defensive toughness, a theme Head Coach Mike Martin ’04 has stressed since day one, Walker said.

“We need to stay solid and stick

to our defensive principles,” he said.

“Especially against Columbia’s offense, we need to remain disciplined. Our defensive strategy has gotten us this far, so we need to just stick with what has worked.”

Columbia runs a variation on the “Princeton offense,” a strategy that employs on-ball and off-ball screens, frequent backdoor cuts and quick ball movement to catch defenses in mismatches. Through this scheme, the Lions often look to get the ball inside before kicking it back out to threepoint shooters around the perimeter.

Columbia leads the conference with a 40.1 shooting percentage from deep.

“We didn’t play particularly well on the defensive end against American (University) earlier in the season,” said starting point guard Tavon Blackmon ’17. “We ran up and down trying to outscore them, rather than trying to stop them. Columbia and American have very similar offenses, so we need to learn from that game and give more effort defensively to win on Saturday.”

Offensively, the Bears have produced winning numbers all season, averaging 72.6 points per game — third best in the conference. At the helm, co-captain Sean McGonagill ’14 continues to add to his impressive basketball resume, averaging an Ivy League-best 19.2 points per game.

“Teams are going to try to take (McGonagill) out of every game — he’s the league’s leading scorer, and everyone is aware of that,” Blackmon said.

“All of our guys are ready to step up. ” “Guys have to make plays,” Walker said. “(McGonagill) is a great player.

It’s only a matter of time before teams start trying to play tougher defense on him. When he starts getting doubleteamed, it’s going to open up other players on the floor for scoring and assist opportunities.”

One area in which even McGonagill can improve is turnovers. The Bears rank seventh in the Ivy League with nearly 15 turnovers per game. Luckily for the squad, Cornell and Columbia are the two worst teams at creating takeaways.

“We need to have patience and make the easy play,” Blackmon said.

“We have a young team, so sometimes we try to do too much with the ball on offense.”

Walker added that the team should not take the Yale game as an indication that they can turn the ball over 13 times and still win games.

“Coach Martin spoke a lot about turnovers this past week,” Walker said. “He’s been telling us everyday to be mindful of our turnovers. If we have another game with that many turnovers, I’m not sure we will get the same result.”

If the Bears can limit their turnovers, stay disciplined on defense and get other players involved in scoring to take some of the pressure off McGonagill, the team should find success in their first meetings of the season against Cornell and Columbia.

» HOCKEY, from page 1

» PEYTON, from page 8

a different team on the road this year.

Cornell has taken care of business at home, beating No. 13 Yale (10-5-4, 5-43) and No. 15 Clarkson (15-9-2, 8-4-0) and losing just once, to No. 3 Quinnipiac (18-4-5, 8-2-3). But the Big Red is a paltry 5-3-3 on the road and at neutral sites, with no wins over ranked teams and some ugly losses and ties. Cornell fell to Boston University (8-14-2, HEA 3-8-1) at Madison Square Garden and tied at Dartmouth (3-14-3, 2-10-1), which is in last place in the ECAC. Junior forward Brian Ferlin leads the Big Red with nine goals and 20 total points. Goalie Andy Iles has started all but one game and has notched a .918 save percentage. The Bears will have their eye on first-year Eric Freschi, who scored two goals in the teams’ last meeting, though one was an empty-netter to seal the game. Bruno will look to get revenge for one of its worst games of the year, and Steel will attempt to redeem himself after allowing four goals on 27 shots.

The weekend does not provide Bruno much opportunity for advancement in the ECAC standings. Even if the Bears win both their games, the only team they can only overtake is Yale, though the Elis need only muster one point this weekend to keep their position. Yale also hosts Cornell and Colgate this weekend.

of creating championships. Becoming the first starting QB to win it all for two different franchises would almost certainly elevate Manning to the top of the totem pole.

Manning has won 178 games in his impressive career. Even with a loss, Manning will remain among the all-time greats. The case could still be made that he is the all-time great — Barry Sanders and Dan Marino managed to achieve football immortality without a Lombardi trophy. Legacy is evidently not an easy concept to define.

But its most important ingredient is undoubtedly Super Bowl victories.

The result of one game can’t possibly take away all Manning has accomplished, can it? Maybe not, but it will certainly affect his ledger. As irrational as it seems, the Super Bowl is not just another game. To be the best football player you need to achieve the ultimate football objective. Though it may not be fair, only a Denver victory on Sunday will be enough to completely silence the critics.

Win this game and Manning suppresses the doubts, vanquishes past disappointments and likely earns the unanimous title of greatest quarterback to ever live. Lose this game, though, and he reinforces his

“choker” label that threatens to taint his legacy. Either way, the stakes are high. Sunday, another chapter will be written in the incredible career of Peyton Manning. This is Manning’s team, Manning’s moment. The spotlight will glare brighter on him than on anyone else. Win or lose, Manning will bear responsibility.

How heavily these issues weigh on the mind of Manning himself, who knows? On Tuesday’s media day, Manning evaded questions about his legacy by claiming, “I’m not even 100 percent sure what the word even means.” To his credit, Manning is doing all he can to stay focused on the task at hand. But during all those lonely hours in the film room, the thought has to have crept into his mind: stars are remembered, above all, by championships, not by fame, box scores or cute commercials.

Nevertheless, the ultimate competitor is all business as soon as he steps onto the field. Manning probably won’t be thinking of his legacy as he’s staring into the teeth of the Seahawks’ defense Sunday. But I know I sure will be. Odds are, I won’t be alone.

By ALEX WAINGER SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Mike Firn ’16 is biased toward Brady, but still. Contact him at michael_firn@brown.edu.

TOM SULLIVAN / HERALD

After a 1-1 start in the Ivies, Steven Spieth ’17 and his men’s basketball teammates will host Cornell and Columbia this weekend.

» UCS SEARCH, from page 1 Affairs committee, also expressed satisfaction with the number of applicants, adding that “everyone was a really impressive applicant.”

The applicant pool included a diverse swath of students, said Sam Gilman ’15, UCS vice president. Students from every class year applied, as did one UCS general body member, Gilman said.

The group included “a range of applicants involved in different academic disciplines and concentrations — life sciences, humanities, social sciences — as well as different extracurricular activities on campus,” he said.

The interviews were “relatively brief, because we want to make sure that we can get through this process in time for the recommendations” today, Harris said. The interviews “just covered experience dealing with administration and the kinds of priorities that these students are looking for in the next provost,” he said.

Srinivasan said the interview process is meant to help engaging and charismatic candidates stand out.

“I’d say the one thing we’re looking for in these interviews is just to see where applicants shine off of paper,” Srinivasan said. “We’re looking for presence and an ability to represent student voice in a room

www.browndailyherald.com

of administrators and other people,” she said. The finalists UCS ultimately selects should be “able to represent that whole idea of a student voice,” she added.

During the interview process, the UCS executive board hopes to also identify students who are comfortable working alongside administrators, Gilman said. Ideal candidates should have experience interacting with highlevel administrators, he said.

“We understand that the role of the provost is a unique and complex one on campus, and the idea is to find … candidates who have an understanding of the complexities of the role,” he said.

The Council will also consider each potential candidate’s ability to “speak to the different conversations that have been going on (throughout) campus around the strategic plan, around the University Resources Committee and different undergraduate priorities that have come up during the last semester,” he added.

After Harris and Gilman inform Paxson of their three recommendations today, she will narrow down the list to one student who will represent undergraduates on the committee.

“I imagine that she’ll be announcing the timeline of the process and the full membership of the committee in the coming weeks,” Harris said.

today 5

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 2014

menu SHARPE REFECTORY

h a p p y b i r t h d ay VERNEY-WOOLLEY

LUNCH Tacos with Letttuce and Tomato, Vegetarian Cajun Pasta, Milk and White Chocolate Chip Cookies

German Sausage Chowder, Breaded Chicken Fingers, Vegan Lentil Soup, Chocolate Frosted Eclairs

DINNER Seafood Cavatelli, Braised Fennel, Tuscan Parpardelle Pasta, Bacon Rounds, Cherry Crumb Pie

Spinach Pie Casserole, Stir Fried Tofu, Corn Cobbettes, Focaccia with Rosemary, Sweet Potato Pie

sudoku

COURTESY OF BROWN UNIVERSITY

The University unveiled a new website this week featuring information about Brown’s upcoming 250th anniversary celebrations.

comic A & B | MJ Esquivel RELEASE DATE– Friday, January 31, 2014

Los Angeles Times Puzzle c r o sDaily s w oCrossword rd Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

ACROSS 1 Out of the rat race, maybe: Abbr.

4 Country inflection 9 Discombobulate 14 Chatter’s caveat 15 Family nickname 16 Prized mushroom 17 Snap of part of one’s portfolio?

20 Chocolatey, circular cereal brand 21 Gerrymanders, say 22 Medication unit 23 Brawl 25 Org. with den mothers 27 Zone for DDE 28 Big name in 30Across 30 Flats, e.g.

32 What a Canadian band owes annually?

36 “Gun Hill Road” star Morales 37 Recover 38 Cheap Valentine’s Day gift?

45 Sassy ones 46 Indian intern in “Dilbert” 47 Business card abbr.

48 Far from draconian 49 Smartphone downloads 51 Giants lineman Chris 52 “Venerable” Eng. monk 55 Motion-sensitive Xbox accessory 57 Injury sustained before the semis?

60 Two-footer 61 High-muck-amuck 62 Had a taco 63 Makes tender, in a way 64 “We __ please” 65 Composer Rorem DOWN 1 Unwrap in a hurry 2 Retired professors 3 “Funky Cold Medina” rapper

49 Fruity quencher 4 Ballpark rallying 34 It may include a cry based on a checking account 50 Prefix with frost 1950s hit 35 Atlantic City game 51 Hit with skits and 5 “Twin Peaks” bits 38 High-tech actor Tamblyn connection letters 53 Cook up 6 Barbecue 54 DFW schedule 39 Formally attired buttinsky data 40 Homemade 7 Commerce gp. collection of songs 55 Use needles headed by 56 “Othello” schemer 41 Shock Roberto AzevÍdo 57 Brees and Brady: 42 Like some Lake 8 Girdle material Abbr.

Erie residents 9 Letters on some 58 T.G.I. time 43 Fulfill faces 59 ThinkPad maker 44 Undid a dele 10 Capital west of Dubai ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE: 11 Big name in cloud storage 12 “Well, now ...”

13 “Turn to Stone” band 18 Exiled Cambodian Lon __ 19 Critical 23 One-named Milanese model 24 Protein producer 26 Mule kin 28 Arizona landscape features 29 Sporting, with “in” 30 Desolate 31 Symbolic ring 33 Put in storage 01/31/14 xwordeditor@aol.com

calendar TODAY

JANUARY 31

12:00 P.M. ROUNDTABLE WITH TAYLOR BRANCH: MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. IN BERLIN

Open discussion on Martin Luther King, Jr.’s 1964 visit to East and West Berlin, in which he spoke to people on both sides about segregation around the world and the need for a “common humanity.” Pembroke Hall, Room 305 8:00 P.M. KARAOKE AT TECH HOUSE

Thousands of songs plus two mikes equals an uninhibited start to the evening for you and a bunch of friends. Tech House Lounge, Harkness House

SATURDAY

FEBRUARY 1

9:00 A.M. TWTP REMIX 2014

The Third World Center holds a day of activities to promote dialogue on social identities. An opening presentation entitled “Power, Privilege and Oppression” will be followed by various workshops held by MPCs. Smith-Buonanno Hall 2:00 P.M. IMPULSE DANCE COMPANY PRESENTS FREE HIP-HOP WORKSHOP

Learn the basics of hip-hop or hone your already sharp skills with this tutorial from choreographer Mari Maria. T.F. Green Hall, Room 205

SUNDAY

FEBRUARY 2

12:00 P.M. BROWN MOTION PICTURES CASTING CALLS AND OPEN AUDITIONS

Looking for a big break? Try out for the five short films that Brown Motion Pictures will be producing this semester. No preparation necessary. Wilson Hall, Room 102 6:00 P.M. SUPER BOWL SUNDAY PARTY

By Julian Lim (c)2014 Tribune Content Agency, LLC

01/31/14

q u o t e o f t h e d ay

“The big picture is good, but you have to be good at the little things,

”

too.

— Michael Petro ’17

See RELIGION on page 1.

Come watch the Super Bowl on a giant flat-screen with an abundance of free wings and pizza with fellow sports enthusiasts.

Stephen Robert ’62 Campus Center, Room 211

6 diamonds & coal

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 2014

DIAMONDS & COAL A diamond to Roberto Gedeon ’15 and Alexandra Kordas ’15 for starting a fashion-forward street style blog, because they wouldn’t be caught dead in cubic zirconia.

Coal to the student who said, “We do have a graduate student bar, but I didn’t know the Graduate Student Council existed.” At least grad students have their priorities straight.

A diamond to Figidini’s for offering “un-cut” pizza that makes the “adventure downtown worthwhile.” We like to go downtown, too.

Coal to the Swedish researcher who said he experimented on the leatherback turtle with a Brown graduate student because “it’s also one of the only marine turtles that are actually left.” As if the animal rights community didn’t already have enough on us with those drunk pigs.

A diamond to Richard Bova, senior associate dean of residential and dining services, who said, “It’s a big cookie, and it tastes damn good, doesn’t it?” We like big cookies, and we cannot lie.

Coal to Kenneth Litwak, a leader on a committee examining alcohol’s effects on pigs, who said, “I think you have to ask yourself what we were possibly learning from baby piglets getting large quantities of alcohol.” That’s what we asked ourselves the last time we were in Keeney.

A diamond to NYU doctoral student Matt Canfield, who said some graduate assistants feel like “nothing is safe unless there is a contract.” Consensual sex is hot.

Coal to The Herald’s athlete of the week, who said, “I have never really listened to music while I run, because I don’t really enjoy it.” Clearly we need to introduce him to Beyonce.

A N G E L IA WA N G

Cubic zirconia to the researcher who said parents should “perhaps use sexting to introduce the topic of sex and safe sex.” Everyone prepare yourselves for some disturbing pics from dad.

A diamond to the comb jelly for usurping the sponge’s position as the most distant animal relative to the human. The sponge is totally jell-us.

CORRECTION An article in Thursday’s Herald (“Website presents portraits of careers to engage middle schoolers,” Jan. 30) misstated the name of an upcoming career website created by three PhD students. It is the Inventing Heron Project, not Inventing Heron. The Herald regrets the error.

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commentary 7

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 2014

Unrepresentative government forces empty radicalism

BY SAM HILLESTAD opinions columnist

Brown is frequently dubbed the liberal Ivy. Whether in response to Fox News’ disturbing intrusion on campus, New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly’s supposedly fascist lecture or the Corporation’s flat denial of the demands of Brown Divest Coal, Brown students never miss an opportunity to reinforce our hardearned liberal activist stereotype.

We thrive on that stereotype. It is a source of great pride. We like to think of ourselves as somehow more political, more radical and more enlightened than our peers. In reality, that radicalism lacks any substance behind its thin veneer of face value trickery. It is an illusion designed and perpetuated to create a political climate of strong left-wing politics that gives us that empowering sense of “better-than” and “holierthan-thou.”

But there is no true left wing at Brown, and there certainly is no true right wing. We are a university of centrists and left-leaning moderates who thrive on the momentary rush of radicalism that consistently fails to be anything more than selfserving and vain. This artificiality of university activism is a symptom

of a much greater disease. Brown stands infected with the well-known affliction of unrepresentative government. There are fundamentally undemocratic principles at work that push us toward radicalism. The futility of our political movements is a harsh reality that motivates further radical action as we constantly struggle to dispel the looming realization that all the marches and rallies in the world will not achieve the victories we so desperately desire.

The fault behind this unfortunate state of affairs lies not with us, but with our leadership that marginalizes the will of the student body. At the center of this problem are the Corporation, the administration and the Undergraduate Council of Students, all of which grossly fail in their duty to adequately represent the student body. Powerless in representation, we are forced into radical political action to gain a semblance of a voice in University politics.

I grant that there are small sects on campus that would maintain their radical political ideology regardless of the state of student democracy. The Brown Spectator consistently delivers strong conservative views in a political climate that detests conservatism in all its forms.

Despite getting drowned out by the incessant wave of left-wing activism, there are legitimately conservative voices at Brown. The true left wing

is represented by Brown’s International Socialist Organization. It is a fledgling group of diehards scraping and clawing for the rest of Brown to renounce their blind Obama-loving liberalism and organize to fight for truly progressive causes: workers’ rights, anti-war policies, racial equality, etc. Instead, the majority of Brown’s politically minded students organize empty rallies that do little

Powerless in representation, we are forced into radical political action to gain a semblance of a voice in University politics. to advance their faux-liberal causes.

In the process, an illusion is formed, and that illusion creates the lens through which the rest of the world views Brown. It is an illusion of radically liberal freedom fighters out to change the world. On closer review, the mirage dissipates. We lie to ourselves to feel better about the futility of our political movements.

The source of this problem stems from our unique position as top-ti-

er college students without an outlet to unleash our talents and passions.

So we use politics — and middle-ofthe-road politics are not enough to get our blood pumping. We exaggerate our beliefs and push movements further than necessary in an attempt to alleviate residual teenage angst.

We are capable and intelligent, but in the confines of the Brown bubble, we are powerless. So when a cocky right-wing reporter comes to town, we preemptively strike back by making a viral video. When Ray Kelly is invited to speak, we stage a fiery protest and kick him out. And when divestment is rejected, we hunker down and grow even bolder than before. Struggling in the face of supreme helplessness, we retreat into the empowerment of radicalism.

The video attacking Fox News garnered national coverage, but to what end? It made us feel superior to the incompetent fools at Fox but accomplished little else. The Kelly protests succeeded in stopping the lecture. A small minority gained immense solace in the act, but for everyone else, we lost a chance at legitimate civil discourse. And the coal divestment movement, while honorable and impressive, is a fool’s errand. The Corporation has spoken — for now — and any further action is the result of our unbreakable antiestablishment habit.

This is not to say activism should be avoided. Political action is a necessary and vital part of the University. We need the passion of idealists to enact real change. But let’s not deceive ourselves any longer. After we leave Brown, we the radicals will settle into the real world and adopt our true left-leaning centrist political views. Our days of youthful revolution are numbered. Post-Brown, the crippling sense of powerlessness will fade along with our radicalism.

But as long as we’re still here, we should channel our profound idealism to fight for student democracy so that future classes need not resort to the baseless radicalism we see today. Instead of borderline violent protests and meaningless confrontations that fail to get results, we could be democratically represented in a civilized manner. In the place of never-ending conflicts fraught with extreme dissent, we can have cooperation through legitimate political discourse. With the realization of student democracy, we can shed the need to fruitlessly resort to the radical liberal activism that so defines Brown University.

Sam Hillestad ’15 genuinely welcomes all questions and comments. He can be reached at samuel_hillestad@brown.edu.

Minimum wage is a maximum loss for Rhode Island

BY SCOTT G. LLOYD guest columnist

When I was sixteen, I got my first job as a dishwasher working for the grand rate of $1.10 per hour. It wasn’t much — about $5.70 in today’s dollars — but I was happy to get it. That wage meant $20 per week in my pocket, enough for dinner for two and a movie, or four record albums, or a used car payment and gas. Plus, my meals at work were free. Two years later, when I left home for college, I was earning $2.50 an hour as a chef at more than double my original pay rate.

I think about that once typical American teenage experience every time some politician promises to help the “working people” by raising the minimum wage to new heights. Were I sixteen again, would it be possible for me to walk into a store and find work so easily?

In his 2014 State of the Union address Jan. 28, President Obama promised to sign an executive order increasing the minimum wage for workers under new federal contracts from $7.25 an hour to $10.10, indexing it to inflation, or “the cost of living.” Last April, Rhode Island’s two representatives in the U.S. Congress, Jim Langevin, D-R.I. and David Cicilline, D-R.I., issued a joint declaration that they support the “Fair Minimum Wage Act” creating a $10.10 minimum wage within three years. Just last week, two Democratic candidates for Governor of Rhode Island, Providence Mayor Angel Taveras and General Treasurer Gina Raimondo also proposed raising the current state minimum wage from $8 an hour to $10.10 an hour.

So, what is this rush to the magic wage of

$10.10 all about? According to the Heritage Foundation, this would be the highest federal minimum wage, adjusted for inflation, ever, far surpassing 1968’s inflation adjusted minimum wage rate of $8.67 an hour.

The myth behind the concept of the minimum wage is that the “working poor” are being exploited by businesses that are unwilling to pay a “living wage” in order to make “excessive profits” at their employees’ expense. Raising the minimum wage is supposed to balance this apparent unfairness and prevent exploitation of unskilled workers.

Gina Raimondo’s campaign has shown enthusiasm for this issue. Taveras wants gradual increases to $10.10 by 2018, but Raimondo

Contrary to the mythology, the minimum wage does not improve the plight of the poor. wants the change to take effect by early 2015.

“Two-thirds of minimum wage earners are women,” her campaign website states, “so a raise would immediately help women across Rhode Island and their families.”

As indeed, it would — at least temporarily.

Every wage-earner would like a 26 percent pay raise for the same reasons: To benefit themselves and their families. But an artificial raise in the cost of labor relative to its market value has negative and painful economic effects.

Contrary to the mythology, the minimum wage does not improve the plight of the poor.

As economist Milton Friedman observed in a 1975 television interview, “You’re doing nothing of the kind. What you’re doing is to ensure that people whose skills do not justify that wage will be unemployed.” He concluded, “It is the exact people who the do-gooders are trying to help that are hurt the most — the poorest!”

Imagine raising the minimum wage to $20 or $30 an hour. Would that not benefit all workers and end poverty immediately? Why not pay everyone at least $100 an hour and make everyone rich? Of course, this would be foolishness. Rationally, we know that raising the cost of labor without any efficiency gains always raises the cost of products and services proportionally, no matter how modest the wage increase.

In the most optimistic analysis, these costs would be quietly absorbed by consumers who now must spend more to get what they get now. More importantly, higher costs depress sales and profits necessary to conduct a successful business. For some businesses, a 26 percent increase in unskilled labor costs can make the difference between staying open and going under.

According to WPRI reporter Tim White, Raimondo brushed aside these concerns. “The majority of companies that do minimum wage are big companies: the Wal-Marts (and) McDonald’s,” Raimondo said, “They can afford it.”

But Wal-Mart and McDonald’s, like the many thousands of other small and large businesses in Rhode Island, are not immune from the laws of the marketplace. Rather than operate at a loss, companies that hire unskilled workers will simply find cheaper ways to conduct business and cut back on the number of hours they can offer. Some may leave Rhode Island altogether. Even skilled and semi-skilled workers are affected, because their wages will

decline or their jobs cut to make up for the jump in unskilled labor costs.

The Rhode Island Center for Freedom and Prosperity, a non-partisan “free-enterprise public policy think tank,” according to their website, reports that 24,846 out of 465,600 working Rhode Islanders currently have jobs that pay them at a rate of $8.25 per hour or less. Based on a study conducted by economists David Macpherson of Trinity University and William Even of Miami University, the Center estimates that up to 3,466 of those jobs will disappear if this increase takes effect. The study shows that even modest increases have been harmful in the past, such as Rhode Island’s move from $6.75 to $7.40 between 2005 and 2011, which “likely cost teenagers in the state 397 jobs.” They also cite recent census data showing that only 14 percent of minimum wage earners are single parents or sole earners for a family. Most minimum wage earners are single people with no dependents or they are secondary income earners. These secondary incomes can make the difference between a family living meagerly or well.

The true cost of the “living wage” is borne by the people of the state in the form of increased unemployment and welfare benefits, loss of earned income tax revenue, a higher cost of living and reduced productivity.

Lowering the cost of employment, not raising it, will bring prosperity to Rhode Island and generate jobs. Businesses are attracted to locations where they can keep costs down, improve sales and maximize their profits. Our citizens benefit best when businesses thrive.

Scott Lloyd is a Brown staff member who believes in creating more opportunities, not more dependency.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 2014

THE

BROWN DAILY HERALD sports friday Playing for a legacy against the ‘Legion’

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

MICHAEL FIRN sports columnist

It’s not complicated. More is better.

An oversimplification? Perhaps.

But when it comes to discussing championships and Peyton Manning’s NFL legacy, this axiom — verified by kindergarteners courtesy of AT&T — rings true as ever. His football resume is impressive — 13 Pro Bowl selections, five NFL MVP awards and a very long list of all-time records. But with only one Lombardi Trophy to show for Manning’s decorated career, the stats and accolades are starting to seem like consolation prizes.

Despite Richard Sherman’s best efforts, the major storyline leading up to Sunday’s Super Bowl has centered around the monkey on Manning’s back: must he win a second ring to cement his status as the greatest quarterback to ever live? Poised to claim nearly every major passing record before he retires, Manning has this title locked up at least from a statistical standpoint. His game definitely passes the eye test, as well. Manning’s unique blend of physical gifts and mental acumen are simply un-teachable, products of his football lineage and endless preparation. Manning has picked apart defenses his entire career, orchestrating his dynamic offenses with chess-like precision. A staple of consistent excellence in an ever-changing NFL landscape, Manning hasn’t received nearly enough credit for resurrecting his career following four serious neck surgeries. The second act has been just as awe-inspiring as the first.

But legacy is built on championship pedigree, not on numbers. And establishing a Super Bowl track record requires more than one title.

Sure, put Manning at the helm of any team in the league, and it instantly becomes a title contender. Manning has consistently put his teams in prime position to make a championship run. But for whatever reason,

COURTESY OF NED WILLIG

Ned Willig ’16 set both a new school record and a best personal time in the 1,000-meter run last weekend.

Willig finished with a time of 2:22.35, setting the fifth-best all-time mark in the Ivy League.

Willig ’16 posts top-five time in Ivy history Willig leads throughout race on his way to recordtime first place at Terrier Invitational

By EMILE BAUTISTA CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Of all the strong performances the men’s track-and-field team turned in this past weekend, Ned Willig ’16 left his teammates in the dust, setting both the school record and a personal one in the 1,000-meter run, finishing with a time of 2 minutes, 22.35 seconds. Willig led the race from beginning to end, coming in with a time that stands as the fifth-best all-time in the Ivy League.

A distance runner at heart, Willig is also a cross-country athlete and was a first-team all-Ivy selection last year after winning the 1,000m at the Ivy League Heptagonal Indoor Championships.

For his wire-to-wire, record-breaking performance, Willig has been named The Herald’s Athlete of the Week.

How did you get into running, and when did you start?

I got into running in middle school.

My parents were both runners, so they encouraged me to try running. I enjoyed it and I had success early on, so I just pursued it from there.

How’s the season going for you?

I think the season’s going very well.

It’s off to a good start­— still a month or so left in the season at least. I was happy with how the first two races (went), and the whole team is looking healthy, which is exciting.

Were you always a distance runner?

Yes, always. The first race I ran was a one-mile race, so always in that range.

You broke the school record for the 1,000m. When you were running, did you know you were on pace to break the record?

I actually set the (previous) record last year, so I had an idea that I would hopefully be on that pace again. But I wasn’t really sure what time I would run during the race.

What would you say is your proudest accomplishment as a runner?

The most fun I have with running is when I’m running on relays. Last year, I was on two record-setting relays.

One was in the distance medley and the other was in a 4x800 meter relay.

Those were both very exciting events.

Individually, I would say winning the Ivy League Championship last year in the 1K (was my proudest accomplishment).

Do you have any pre-meet rituals?

I sleep until about an hour before the race. Then I do my stretches and my warm-ups, which is about a 20-minute run and then other drills to get the muscles prepared to race.

What goes through your mind when you’re racing?

I’m just thinking about my position in the field and when I should start to make my move to get to the front of the pack. I’m evaluating the race as it goes and how I am feeling.

Do you listen to music when you run in your free time?

No, I don’t. I have never really listened to music while I run, because I don’t really enjoy it.

Manning’s regular season production hasn’t parlayed into a proportional number of rings. At a certain point, that responsibility has to fall on his shoulders.

Manning’s accomplishments to date have undoubtedly thrust him into the ranks of the super elite. But greatness is relative, and eventually it becomes impossible to ignore the fact that Joe Montana’s four championships and Tom Brady’s three dwarf Manning’s lone ring. Even Peyton’s erratic brother Eli has won two Super Bowls. Whereas no one has offset more team deficiencies over the years than Brady, Manning has repeatedly fallen short with a full arsenal of AllPro weapons in his huddle. Brady and Montana boast a combined 3415 playoff record. Manning, on the other hand, is a mediocre 11-11, despite often operating as the oddson favorite. This all-important gulf certainly knocks him down a notch in the echelon of NFL super elites.

There’s a big difference between “the best” and “one of the best.” So yes, to truly cement his status as the greatest QB of all time, Manning needs this victory.

And what an opportunity awaits.

Seattle’s defense was seemingly built to stop Peyton Manning on the game’s biggest stage. Led by cocky cornerback Richard Sherman, the “Legion of Boom” Seahawk defense leads the league in interceptions, fewest yards allowed and total takeaways.

The “weak opponent” disclaimer that plagued Manning’s first championship over the Rex Grossman-led Chicago Bears certainly would not apply here. Winning even one Super Bowl is a great achievement regardless of the opponent, but a sample size that small doesn’t necessarily isolate or indicate QB excellence. Piggybacking on Baltimore’s dominant defense in 2001, Trent Dilfer proved that even a career journeyman can win the big game once. When a player becomes the common denominator on multiple Super Bowl-winning teams, though, he certifies a legacy » See PEYTON, page 4

Herald sports writers’ Super Bowl picks NFL Super Bowl XLVIII — Sunday, Feb. 2 at 6:30 p.m.

After two weeks of meticulous research on the strengths and weaknesses of both teams in Sunday’s Super Bowl, The Herald’s sports writers make their picks for Sunday’s results:

Seahawks

Seahawks

Seahawks

Broncos

Broncos

Broncos

Seahawks

29-13

31-27

31-28

27-21

31-28

20-14

23-21

Caleb Miller

Dante O’Connell

Andrew Flax

Alex Wainger

Hannah Camhi

Cormac Cummiskey

Lainie Rowland

sports editor

sports editor

senior staff writer

senior staff writer

staff writer

staff writer

staff writer

Broncos

Seahawks

Broncos

Seahawks

Seahawks

Broncos

21-17

17-14

34-30

24-21

23-20

30-21

Sam Rubinroit

Christine Rush

Bruno Zuccolo

Jack Blasberg

Mike Firn

Emile Bautista

staff writer

staff writer

staff writer

sports columnist

sports columnist

contributing writer