daily herald

the Brown
vol. cxxii, no. 89

InSIde

Page 3

Football

The Bears beat Cornell to grab first Ivy win

tedx discusses liberal education impact

By Caroline Saine
Senior Staff Writer

Monday, october 22, 2012

since 1891

B a n d i n g to g e t h e r

Page 4

Moon missions
Astronaut David Scott talked space exploration Page 8

E-shop courses
Websites allow students to find peer-reviewed classes
today tomorrow

64 / 45

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Katherine Chon 02 has supported human trafficking victims for more than a decade, and her education at Brown gave her the skills, confidence and courage to embrace the unknown in her professional career, she said. Chon gave one of 11 talks at teDxBrownUniversity Saturday, a series of lectures by alums, faculty and students related to the subject of life, learning and a liberal education. teDxBrown, which originally began as a research project between Vanessa ryan, assistant professor of english, and Kimberly takahata 14, was held in the Perry and Marty Granoff Center for the Creative Arts. The event was coordinated by ryan, takahata and PhD candidates in english Jessica tabak and Joel Simundich. today is an interesting and unset-

tling period for higher education in this country, said Dean of the College Katherine Bergeron in her opening remarks at the event. There has never been a time when we needed this kind of conversation more. Bergeron said the tough economy has contributed to student concern about how to put their liberal educations to use outside of college. Alums from a variety of disciplines spoke about how their liberal educations enabled them to succeed in their professional lives. Chon, who gave a talk entitled reinventing the Underground railroad, concentrated in psychology at Brown and is now the co-founder and president emerita of Polaris Project, a nonprofit organization that combats slavery and human trafficking. while at Brown, she said she took classes across many disciplines, which sparked her in/ / Tedx page 2

GreG Jordan-detamore / Herald

The Brown Band came out in full force around 9 a.m. Saturday for a Family weekend tour of campus.

PW production explores romney as robot babies see

By maddie Berg
Senior Staff Writer

Presidential candidate Mitt romneys background has been scrutinized, investigated and discussed on morning talk shows, in newspapers and at campaign events almost ceaselessly since he won the nomination. But romney is a robot, a musical performed at the Production workshop Upspace last night, tells a story about romney that you have not read in a newspaper or seen on Cnn. romney is a robot explored Democrats common critique that the candidate is stiff, insincere and apathetic. The show takes the frequent joke about romney acting like a robot seriously and proceeds to explain

how he became that way and how it has affected him through a series of musical numbers. This is the second musical race Archibold 15 has written and directed, the first being a parody of Jersey Shore performed last year at Brown. Musicals allow for absurdity more than plays and other performance styles do, Archibold said. today, in 2012, a musical is not a common genre, and it is inherently silly, he said. It seems good to have a ridiculous genre for a ridiculous story. And ridiculous the story was. After a brief introduction by Archibold, who also played piano for the show and provided narration, actors playing romneys parents appeared on

stage, singing about their inability to conceive. The parents finally reached a solution they had Mark Zuckerberg, who had invented a time machine, build them a robot son. The son Zuckerberg produced was romney (Brandon Montell 15), characterized by his serious personality and love of the stock market. As the play progressed, it followed the story of romneys rise in the business and political worlds. one day, romney heard on the news that the white house had become like a machine, complete with wired rooms and new technology. Upon learning this, romney fell in love with the Pennsylvania Avenue residence. he breaks into a song-anddance routine full of robotic, politi-

cal and sexual jokes You turn my floppy disk into a hard drive and I can put the o in oval office which had the audience laughing with delight. while trying to figure out how he could attain the presidency and begin a love affair with the white house, he was visited by the ghost of Lehman Brothers (roie Levin 15), who sang a rendition of Popular from wicked. But instead of teaching him how to be popular, the ghost interchanged the word with conservative, teaching him how to appeal to the republican Party. Though Popular was the only unoriginal music in the performance, it received enormous applause and laughter / / romney page 5

gender constructs, study shows

By KaTe nuSSenBaum
Senior Staff Writer

no. 18 bruno top undefeated big red

By alexandra Conway
SportS Staff Writer

m. SoCCer

Ben maurey 15 scored against Cornell in the fifth minute of Saturdays game, starting the Bears off strong in their victorious match.

JonatHan Bateman / Herald

The no. 18 mens soccer team put an end to no. 10 Cornells undefeated season and reign atop the Ivy League with a 2-0 victory Saturday afternoon in front of a boisterous crowd at Stevenson Field. with three conference games left in the season, the Bears (11-1-2, 3-0-1 Ivy) have put themselves in prime position to defend their co-league title and keep it out of the hands of the previously dominant Big red (12-1-0, 3-1-0). It was a big win playing against an undefeated and outstanding attacking team, and I have to give credit to our team for doing a fantastic job limiting their chances, said head Coach Patrick Laughlin. It was a really intense Ivy League battle.

we didnt play as much soccer as we wanted to, but we finished our chances, played good defense and got a good result, defender Dylan remick 13 said. he explained that keeping the Big red off the board was a particularly big accomplishment since Cornell has the Ivys leading goal scorer, Daniel haber, leading the attack. haber has 16 goals on the season, trailing only elon Universitys Chris Thomas for the national lead. The Big reds perfect record was anything but daunting to the Bears, who played aggressively from the start. An early goal by Ben Maurey 15 his third game-winning score of the season put Cornell on the back foot less than five minutes into the match. Midfielder Bobby Belair 13 launched a shot toward the net off a nice cross from the left by remick / / Soccer page 2

Before babies learn language, they can perceive gender stereotypes. Studies suggest that at 18 months, before they even have the ability to understand their own gender identity, infants will focus longer on images that challenge typical roles a man putting on lipstick, for example. By age two, they can locate themselves in the gender system and identify pictures of males and females based on external characteristics like hair length and clothing. But they cannot discern a naked persons sex. These phenomena are examples of ways our social context influences our development, said Anne Fausto-Sterling, professor of biology and gender studies, in a public conversation Friday with Debbie weinstein 93, assistant director of the Pembroke Center for teaching and research on women. Students and their parents filled Pembroke Center 305 to listen to the talk, entitled An Alternative to nature v. nurture: Biology in a Social world. These days the nature-nurture debate is a fallback for a lot of people, Fausto-Sterling said. But actually the whole contour of that so-called debate is really changing. Its changing across the board because people are becoming much more aware of the ways in which nature and nurture are integrated phenomena. She explained a study of London taxi cab drivers that illustrates the profound impact society has on biology. to become certified, cab drivers must memorize more than 20,000 roads and key sites in London. Scientists fou n d t h at / / Biology page 3

2 campus news
C alendar
TODAY 4P .m. Physics Colloquium: David Griffiths Barus & Holly, Room 168 8:45 P .m. Presidential Debate Watch Party Metcalf 101, Friedman Auditorium 5:30 P .m. Meditating Selflessly Petteruti Lounge OCT. 22 TOmORROW 3P .m. Fluids Seminar Barus & Holley, Room 190 OCT. 23

the Brown DAILY herALD MonDAY, oCtoBer 22, 2012

/ / Soccer page 1
that was parried by goalkeeper rick Pflasterer, but the rebound caromed to Maurey who nailed the ball into the open net. Fortunately for us, we scored an early goal, said co-captain ryan McDuff 13. After this score, we were still adjusting and trying to figure out how to play against them. Sometimes it comes down to just figuring out how to win and thats just what we did. Bens goal in the first five minutes really took them out of the game, said goalie Sam Kernan-Schloss 13. neither team scored for the remainder of the first half, and a tense battle persisted as both teams controlled the ball for stretches of the game. Bruno went into the break holding an 8-7 advantage in shots. The Big red came out strong after the half with its best chance to score coming in the first minute of play. After a pass from Peter Chodas, haber nailed a shot from the top of the penalty box that appeared to be headed into the back of the net. But Kernan-Schloss made a

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spectacular diving save, and though the rebound came out into the open field, tyler regans attempt went directly at Kernan-Schloss for a second save on the play. The Big red pressed on, gaining an 8-2 advantage in shots, but Brunos defense held strong. The back four did what theyve been doing all season, which is preventing the other team from getting any clear chances on goal, Kernan-Schloss said. our defense was a huge part of our success and they were amazing on the day, said Voltaire escalona 13. The game fell out of Cornells reach when they scored an own goal with less than 20 minutes remaining. Alex Markes 15 put in an unconventional cross with the outside of his right foot after a pass from Daniel taylor 15. Pflasterer punched the shot attempt away, but it went off a Big red defender into the net to give the Bears a 2-0 lead. There was lots of emotion and both teams fought really hard, but I think we showed that we are clearly the better team and we are very happy to be in first place in the Ivy League, escalona

said. ending their undefeated streak was a great feeling it was a great win for Brown soccer. The teams focus must now turn to the remainder of the season, he added. we need to continue to train hard and prepare for each of the last three games one at a time, escalona said. with two pivotal wins last week under their belts, the Bears are invigorated and will likely climb in this weeks national rankings. But McDuff said that its not just about the rankings we are making sure to put out our best each day and believe this is what will make us successful. Laughlin echoed his defenders sentiment. our goals havent changed theyve been the same all season, Laughlin said. we are just trying to get better, play better, figure out what were good at and keep moving forward so that we are playing our best soccer at the end of the season. The Bears regular season continues with a trip to Philadelphia to face Penn (2-11, 0-4 Ivy) Saturday.

/ / Tedx page 1
terest in social issues. I credit the full spectrum of that education to what Im doing now, she said. Chons interest in modern slavery came about, she said, after she came across an article in the Providence Journal during her junior year, which detailed a local human trafficking case. She said she was shocked that these events were happening in the modern day and less than two miles from campus. Following graduation, Chon moved with Polaris Project co-founder Derek ellerman 02 to washington, D.C., where they began a crisis hotline for victims of human trafficking. the hotline operates in more than 120 languages and has received approximately 60,000 calls in the last four to five years, Chon said. She cited an example of a schoolteacher who called the hotline to voice concern about two teenage girls in her class who had disappeared. Polaris Project was able to track and aid the girls in South Carolina, where they were being trafficked as sex slaves. we worked our modern version of the Underground railroad network, and action happened, Chon said. nawal nour 88, whose talk was entitled Development Studies and International relations: how Do They Lead to obstetrics? used a metaphor of the white nile and the Blue nile, the two major tributaries of the nile river, to represent her divergent interests in addressing both medical issues particularly female genital cutting and

CroSSWord

social justice while at Brown. nour emphasized how the benefits of a liberal education allowed her to explore and bridge her two interests. As the two tributaries eventually merge into the nile river, nour has managed to combine her interests. She is an obstetrician/gynecologist and the founder and director of the African womens health Center, which aids women in Boston who have undergone female genital cutting. other speakers included Brad Simpson 95, a co-producer of Academy Award-nominated Far From heaven and associate producer of Academy Award-winning Boys Dont Cry, and Ari Matusiak 99, executive director of the white house Business Council and co-founder of Young Invincibles, an organization designed to help young Americans voice their ideas about United States policy. Simpsons talk, Zombies, Drag Queens, Glam rockers and wimpy Kids (or what I Did with my Liberal Arts Degree), detailed the connection between storytelling and critical thinking that his education helped cultivate, he said. You can do anything with these degrees, Simpson said. Matusiak credited his multicultural background with helping him become comfortable with the unknown, the uncertain and the unfamiliar, which he identified as a hallmark of a liberal education. Liberal education is not held in sole custody by venerable institutions like this one, Matusiak said. It is a

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lifelong endeavor. The first step in organizing the event was identifying alums who could tell a story, takahata said. ryan and takahata reached out to department heads for suggestions of alums, eventually compiling a list of more than 500 names, she added. The final selection process involved putting together a group who represented a broad range of fields, degrees and time spent in the workforce, takahata said. It was a lot of looking at videos, she said, to see who could tell a story in front of live audiences. tabak, who had previously worked as a teaching assistant for ryan, joined the project over the summer. I thought it was fantastic, she said. teDx events are coordinated independently of teDtalks. The University already had an independent teD license from teDxBrown 2011, takahata said, an event that included only faculty speakers. In addition to making teDxBrown 2012 speakers primarily alums, ryan and takahata also implemented a student speaker component. we felt we needed the student voice in order to make it more holistic, takahata said. The teDxBrown Student Challenge was held oct. 2. eleven students auditioned with five-minute talks concerning the value of a liberal education. ria Mirchandani 15 and eduardo Diaz-Santana Vazquez 14 were chosen as the winners, though Vazquez was not able to present at the event. takahata said she and ryan received messages from students after the event, crediting the event with reaffirming their confidence in pursuing a liberal arts education. You dont have to go to college you could do a start-up, you could intern somewhere. If those choices are so available and so exciting, then why would you choose to come to college in the first place? takahata said, noting that teDxBrown was intended to validate college education and generate a discussion about the values of pursuing the liberal education track. we did what we wanted to do, takahata added. I feel like in terms of making students understand that there is a conversation, and there is a potential answer to that conversation, we accomplished that.

the Brown DAILY herALD MonDAY, oCtoBer 22, 2012

sports monday 3
193 yards and two touchdowns in his first varsity start. he averaged 8.8 yards per carry. we knew we had to run the football and do some things differently than weve done before, but we didnt go in there with the expectation that they would do extraordinary things, estes said. It was about seeing what they were going to give us. But Jordan had an exceptional game. he took ordinary plays and made them big plays. Though he was only on the field for a few plays earlier this season, reisner said the transition from playing junior varsity to starting a game in the varsity program felt natural for him, since he has been practicing with the team and watching film all along. But estes also said that credit was due to the offensive line for doing a great job of creating holes for reisner and Jeffrey Izon 13, who chipped in 46 yards, to get past the line of scrimmage. on defense, the Bears were able to put consistent pressure on All-American quarterback Jeff Mathews, notching three sacks along with three critical interceptions. Co-captain and defensive back AJ Cruz 13 pinned much of the defenses success on the effective strategies designed by the coaches. The rest of that is just executing, Cruz said. our defensive plan was to create a lot of different looks: showing him zone and being man, showing him man and being zone, estes said. we were making it difficult for him to pinpoint where we were coming from. Despite this pressure, Mathews was able to put his league-leading passing abilities on display, throwing for 357 yards, right in line with his season average of 354 per game. estes said this did not reflect on Brunos defensive performance in any way. Its about keeping them out of the end zone and not about the number of yards they get, he said. we played extremely well against a very good offense. The Bears struck first in the game, pleasing the crowd brought in by Family weekend. They moved the ball 87 yards in nine plays for a touchdown on their first drive of the game. After converting on three consecutive first downs, quarterback Patrick Donnelly 13 capped the explosive series by breaking through the Big red defense for a 26-yard run of his own. Brunos next chance to score came toward the end of the half, when a 15yard run by reisner put the team within field goal range. But Alex norocea 14 slipped on the wet grass, missing the 43-yard attempt. Cornell struggled to build offensive momentum through the first two quarters, with a series of ill-timed penalties exacerbating the lack of offensive fluidity. Down 7-0, the Big red was going for a fourth-and-one conversion on the Brown 38 in the beginning of the second quarter, but a false start made them reconsider and punt instead. Later in the quarter, a set of good passes by

running reisner 14 leads bruno to first Ivy win

By lindor Qunaj
SportS editor

FooTBall

The football team earned its first conference win of the season with a 21-14 victory over Cornell on its return to the comfortable confines of Brown Stadium Saturday. After a three-game stretch on the road that ended with a shutout loss to a surging Princeton squad, the Bears (4-2, 1-2 Ivy) were looking to rebound from a disappointing loss and climb out of the bottom of the league standings. But with injuries straining the Bears offense, it seemed that it was going to be a difficult undertaking. Along with offensive lineman Jack templeton 13 and fullback Cody taulbee 14, running backs Spiro Theodhosi 12.5 and Mark Kachmer 13, who led the teams dynamic rushing attack early in the season, were all out with injuries in the matchup against the Big red (33, 1-2), forcing the Bears to adjust their starting lineup and adapt their offensive strategy. But if the season-high 452 total yards they put up against Cornell are any indication, the Bears offense was able to move past these injuries, helping the team to what head Coach Phil estes described as a good win under extreme circumstances. Leading that charge was running back Jordan reisner 14, the afternoons breakout star. reisner, who was fifth on the Bears tailback depth chart just two weeks ago, ran for an impressive

emily GilBert / Herald

The Bears were able to move beyond injuries in their first conference win this season against Cornell Saturday. Mathews quickly moved Cornell into short touchdown. Bruno territory, but a false start once The Bears response on the next again halted their progress. Immediately drive prevented any momentum shift following this second penalty, Mathews in the Big reds direction. In just over was sacked and fumbled the ball, though two minutes, Bruno moved the ball 77 the Big red recovered for a loss of 15. yards, and the drive was capped off by a reisner ran for 51 yards as the sec- reisner 27-yard touchdown run. ond quarter expired, putting an emI dont think Cornell really knew phatic cap on his breakout first half. what to expect, reisner said. we had But Cornell quickly tied up the two of our top running backs gone, and game after the break. The Big reds Brett so they probably assumed we would Buehler recovered a fumble by tellef have more of an aerial attack. They Lundevall 13 and returned it 32 yards werent sure how to play us. to the 14-yard line. A few plays later, a Though taylor Betros intercepted phantom pass interference which Donnellys pass later in the third, the estes said was a bad, bad call was Big red could not catch any breaks. In a called on Cruz, which set up the Cornell three-play span, the team was called for offense at the 2-yard line with a first and its third false start of the game, Mathews goal. Luke hagy then ran it in for the was sacked for / / Football page 5

Midterm revue mocks exam stress with four musicals

By emily Boney
ContriButing Writer

Midterm period is tough. Students spend hours in libraries and review sessions, cramming in last-minute facts. Sleep and fun slip from existence for weeks as students slave over papers and tests. Musical Forums Midterm revue, a mash-up of various musical theater songs set to an original plot, offers a familiar snapshot of the student experience at this hectic time in the semester. Set in

arts & culture

the basement of the beloved Sciences Library, the play showcases 10 students with a variety of interests who find their own ways to cope with papers, problem sets and lab reports. The cast performed four shows in the Underground last weekend. The musical began slowly as students trickled in to the tune racing with the Clock from The Pajama Game while the cast settled in to begin studying. The driving plot point was a dangerously low supply of coffee as soon as the studious group realized they had no source of caffeine, they launched into a dramatic rendition

of Coffee Break from how to Succeed in Business without really trying. Bolstered by their performance, the students began to reveal their insecurities, discussed the merits of majoring in english and accepted donuts from a naked man. Standout numbers from the show included I Am Africa from The Book of Mormon, The Book report from Youre a Good Man, Charlie Brown and the inspirational our time from Merrily we roll Along. The audience was swept along on an emotional roller coaster, swinging from dramatic breakdowns to hopeful

enthusiasm. The full spectrum of midterm feelings from utter despair to triumph, and back again was thoroughly explored. writer, director and accompanist Sam Davidoff-Gore 15 said he was inspired to create a midterm revue by a business re-

view show he was a part of this summer. Davidoff-Gore said he used four or five songs from the business show, then added a few of his own choosing. In his search for actors, Davidoff-Gore said he sought people who could bring unique perspectives to the concept of stress.

/ / Biology page 1
such training causes a key memory structure in the brain, the hippocampus, to grow. training to fill a very particular cultural niche results in their physical biology changing, Fausto-Sterling said. The studys results counter many peoples belief in nature as permanently fixed and unchangeable. People are also prone to believe in nurture as infinitely pliable, but certain cultural phenomena are extremely difficult to change, Fausto-Sterling said. over time, she and other scientists have realized that even subtle social differences can shape development. while early feminist psychologists focused on whether children were punished or rewarded for behaving in certain ways, daily experience starts from the moment of birth on, she said. to examine some of these early influences, Fausto-Sterling teamed up

with Cynthia Garcia Coll, professor of education, psychology and pediatrics, to study how mothers interacted with infants. They are in the process of observing, coding and analyzing weekly videotapes of interactions. Though they have not finished their analysis, Fausto-Sterling said they have found differences between how mothers interact with girls and boys. Mothers speak more to girls but will move boys around to encourage them to walk and crawl, she said. Fausto-Sterling said she uses the dynamic systems theory to approach much of her work. This approach relies on multiple levels of organization that influence each other dynamically. For example, a babys motor cortex, muscle development and weight all influence his ability to learn to crawl. If one level destabilizes, the whole system turns to chaos but will then find a way to stabilize again, Fausto-Sterling said. the multiple layers that influence development may change the

way we approach cultural issues like transgender identity, Fausto-Sterling said in response to a question from weinstein about the stakes of her research. Currently, people who identify as transgender often change their bodies surgically, through a medically complex and dangerous set of procedures, Fausto-Sterling said. But changing the social structure of society to be more accepting of people whose gender identity and biological sex do not match is an alternative worth considering, she said. In the long term, there has to be a better way to train scientists to think in more social contexts, FaustoSterling said. emma Bratton 14 said she was particularly struck by the fact that 18-month-olds are able to recognize when gender stereotypes are violated. Gender norms are really limiting, and so the fact that something is learned so early that is so limiting to gender identity in general is troubling to me.

4 science & research

astronaut david Scott recalls moon mission
nedys ability to convince Congress to support space exploration. Personally, I think the public is into space, but its their representatives that have no interest in presenting this interest to administration, Scott said. representatives need to connect and realize what space exploration means to people. Scott also described the experience of being in space and toward the end of his lecture, he invited the audience to examine rock samples from the lunar mission he took along with head. It takes 12 minutes to get out of orbit, and at 10,000 feet the earth becomes a globe. You take so many pictures, and each picture is always the same, Scott said, adding that its a reminder that we need to take care of this earth. Mariana Castro 16 called the lecture inspirational. Its amazing to see how well-trained these astronauts were, and it was so exciting to learn about a time when space exploration was at its prime, she said. In addition to impressing those interested in space exploration, Scott also inspired students through the power of creativity. I really enjoyed this talk. Imagination is a big part of my work as a student. Im also focusing on the moon as a part of my project as well, so this really helped me, said hunter Blackwell, a junior at the rhode Island School of Design. See www.browndailyherald.com for video coverage of the lecture.

the Brown DAILY herALD MonDAY, oCtoBer 22, 2012

Men come out on top in local competition

By jameS Blum
SportS Staff Writer

CroSS CounTry

Herald file PHoto

apollo astronaut david Scott stressed the power of space exploration.

By iSaBelle THenor-louiS
ContriButing Writer

Astronaut David Scott received two standing ovations during a lecture he delivered Friday about his role in the Apollo 15 mission and scientific research on the moon. More than 100 students, parents and faculty members congregated in MacMillan 117 to hear Scott, the recipient of both a Brown honorary degree and two nASA Distinguished Service Medals. After being introduced by Professor of Geological Sciences Jim head as a true American hero, Scott delivered his presentation,The Voyage of Apollo 15 to the hadley-Apennine region of the Moon. Scott described the journey of Apollo

15, the first lunar mission with a primary focus on scientific research. From Apollo 15s three-day mission in 1971 on the moon, nASA acquired 170 pounds of lunar rock and soil and 1,000 photographs of the moons surface. But with a limited amount of vital supplies, time was a pressing constraint, Scott said. There is so much to explore on the moon. You always wish there was more time to collect more samples and look at everything, Scott said. Scott shared anecdotes of the tense space race when the space program was in its early stages and presented the audience with pictures and scientific findings of the mountainous region explored. Citing former President John F. Kennedys challenge to the American people to beat the russians, Scott praised Ken-

The cross country squads hosted the rothenberg Invitational this weekend at Goddard Memorial State Park in warwick and defended their home turf. The men earned first place in the five-team field, and the women placed third among five teams. will Sheeran 16 led the way for the men, finishing the 8-kilometer course second overall in 25 minutes, 40 seconds. Mark McGurrin 15 finished on Sheerans heels in 25 minutes, 44 seconds and captured the third place finish overall. I think that they competed well, said tim Springfield, head coach of the mens team. It was a good opportunity for some of the younger guys to compete up at the front of the race. Kyler evitt 14 and ned willig 16 were the next runners to finish for Bruno in 25 minutes, 56 seconds and 25 minutes, 57 seconds, respectively. Ben Stephenson 13 was the final runner to score for Brown and earned 11th place overall with a time of 25 minutes, 59 seconds. elizabeth ryan 13 was the first runner to cross the line for Bruno in the womens 5-kilometer race, placing 13th overall in 18 minutes, 59 seconds. Victoria oneil 16 who set her personal record time of 18 minutes, 20 seconds for a 5k race earlier in the season

at the new england Championship was the next runner to finish behind ryan in 19 minutes, 3 seconds. I felt pretty good about my race, oneil said. It was a pretty hard technical race because it was through sand and a trail run, but I really enjoyed it. The next two women to finish for Bruno were Kate Buss 16 and Kelsey Albright 14 in times of 19 minutes, 18 seconds and 19 minutes, 20 seconds, respectively. emily McGurrin 16 rounded out the top five finishers for Brown with a 23rd place finish overall in 19 minutes, 39 seconds. we did well in the sense that we showed other teams that we can compete with the girls that we had, oneil said. The teams will next compete oct. 27 at the Ivy League heptagonal Championships, hosted by Princeton. Last year, the men earned fourth at the competition, and the women came in seventh. oneil said she is excited to compete against the other Ivy League rivals and hopes to come in top seven for the team. The men will continue to work on keeping our groupings together during the next week, Springfield said. The training that the guys have done has been excellent, Springfield said. Their fitness level is high, and we just need to let that come out in a racing setting better than it has been.

the Brown DAILY herALD MonDAY, oCtoBer 22, 2012

sports monday 5
/ / Football page 3
a loss of 10 and a Matthews pass was intercepted by Cruz. each team would go on to score one more touchdown, keeping the game close at 21-14 with 2:54 left to go. Cornell had a few good opportunities to stage a comeback, but two fourth-quarter interceptions one in the end zone by linebacker Stephen Zambetti 13 and another by defensive back emory Polley 14 to seal the game kept Bruno ahead. Cruz said the team will continue to focus on coming down with more third-down stops and preventing opponents from scoring touchdowns when they get into the red zone. The Bears limited Cornell to one third-down conversion on 13 opportunities. estes said he was pleased with the teams progress and its ability to rebound with confidence from last weeks loss. After the game against Princeton, we couldve gone south, he said. But we went north. regardless, estes said the team will need to start preparing for their next opponent. Im happy, but were ready to go back to work. Its no different than a loss. You get rid of a win as quickly as a loss, he said. Bruno will be on the road again next week, traveling to Philadelphia to battle a Penn team coming off an unexpected loss to Yale this week. As long as were doing our job as a unit, good things are going to happen, reisner said. contributed 6 kills and also demonstrated her serving skills in the match with three aces. But the Bears continued to be outplayed on offense. Yale ended the match with a .178 hitting percentage, topping Brunos .068. Yale put up a really good block and had fast offense, said captain Kathryn Glickman 13. It was definitely a little challenging for our block to close every time. Glickman said that the team knew the match against the reigning Ivy champs would not be an easy one. we always go into our games against them knowing they are stiff competition, she said. I think this season knowing that they are the team to beat helped us mentally prepare. the Bears will play conference foes Cornell (6-13, 2-6) and Columbia (9-8, 4-4) this weekend at the Pizzitola Center. we need to play like we played against Yale, and then some, Glickman said. we need to take what works from that game, build on it, apply that to the next three weekends and we can walk away with some great wins.

bruno falls behind against dominant yale

w. volleyBall

despite a strong performance and close scores in each set, the Bears fell to yale in a match Saturday. They face Columbia and Cornell this weekend.
By meg Sullivan
ContriButing Writer

Sam ruBinroit / Herald

the womens volleyball team lost to a Yale squad that is undefeated in Ivy League play Saturday in new haven, Conn. the Bears fell in straight sets, 25-21, 25-21, 25-22, despite remaining competitive in each frame.

After tying the first set 19-19, the Bears (5-13, 1-7 Ivy) fell behind the Bulldogs (12-5, 8-0) and went on to drop the pivotal set. In the second set, the Bears came back from a nine point deficit and cut it to two as a result of a surge precipitated by strong play at the net and several Yale errors. the Bears led for the majority

of the final set, but the Bulldogs superior blocking and junior Kelly Johnsons 12 kills ultimately proved too much. Defensive specialist Kathryn Conner 15 had a strong performance, leading the Bears in digs with 17. the team registered 64 kills to Yales 62. outside hitter Katrina Post 13

/ / romney page 1
from the audience due to its cleverly revised lyrics. The show climaxed when a hysterical newscaster (william Underwood 15) told romney that a rumor that he was a robot was circulating. nervous that his secret had been revealed, romney was visited by Zuckerberg and a seductive white house (Dane Jones 15).

They convinced romney that the only way to win would be to convince young people not to vote, and the show ended with a call for young people to vote in this years election. The romney is a robot storyline was both funny and creative. (Archibold) really tied in some clever humor, Alon Sacks 15 said. I thought the music was really great, said Kristen Gardner 15. I dont know how people think of

things like that. Despite the storys premise and clear liberal leaning, audience members from both sides of the aisle could easily enjoy the musical. A republican would laugh at it,

Gardner said. It was far enough out and not too personal. Its not a show that has a very strong political agenda, Archibold said. Its more about the funniness. I just hope people will be entertained.

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6 editorial & letter

Making right by the writing requirement
editorial
Last week, the open Jar Foundation, a nonprofit focused on curricular freedom in higher education, published an opinion piece criticizing the additional writing requirements Brown added to its curriculum this year. But this piece did not take into account that these changes have been in the works for several years and have only clarified the writing policy. Starting with the class of 2015, students must take one class in an approved department during their first four semesters and demonstrate writing proficiency in their latter four semesters. while we do not believe a writing requirement is at odds with the precepts of the open curriculum, we believe its implementation should be altered in order to ensure a smooth transition. to ensure that the new writing requirements have enough time to be implemented, they should be enacted starting with the class of 2016, or even the class of 2017. Though the classes that satisfy the requirement any course in the english, comparative literature or literary arts departments, along with wrIt-designated classes are sufficiently broad, it is not fair to make students in the class of 2015 take one in the two semesters they have left, while future classes have four semesters to do so. Though humanities concentrators in the class of 2015 likely satisfied this requirement inadvertently during their freshman year, students who took many science classes are at a distinct disadvantage. Additionally, students are often still taking a variety of classes to settle on their concentration throughout sophomore year and should not be required to deviate from this exploration to fulfill a lastminute requirement. rather than having these changes forced upon them, perhaps the class of 2015 could be given an additional one or two semesters to satisfy this requirement as a compromise. Last month, we noted the arbitrary nature of wrIt-designated courses (righting the writing requirement, Sept. 12). Students should not be required to take a course in fields such as literature and literary arts if they would prefer another academic focus. Classes that teach writing about the sciences, for example, would be not only more interesting to many of these students but also more pertinent to their careers after Brown. If the writing requirement is intended to empower students to express themselves more clearly, there should be more wrIt options that would enable them to do so. we recommend an expansion in courses that are designated wrIt, particularly in the sciences, to couple the ideas of the open curriculum with the motivations behind the writing requirement changes. Finally, the clarified writing requirements are not as radical a departure from the precepts of the open curriculum as the open Jar Foundation would like us to believe. As long as students retain the option to satisfy the requirement in many departments, this will not be a significant change. It is important to remember that though the open curriculum has its roots in our open educational philosophy, all students are required to graduate with a concentration, and many concentrations have strict requirements. Perhaps the writing requirement could be built into every concentration department. This would be an entirely symbolic change, but would satisfy those who object to the idea of a requirement for the entire student body. we should not be resistant or fearful of change. Indeed, it is part of the character of the University to test boundaries and new concepts. writing requirements do not threaten the open curriculum as long as they are implemented in a thoughtful and open manner. Editorials are written by The Heralds editorial page board. Send comments to editorials@browndailyherald.com.

the Brown DAILY herALD MonDAY, oCtoBer 22, 2012

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Providence seeks to minimize lead exposure

To the editor: A person reading The heralds article on lead levels (Lead levels rise in aging Providence buildings, oct. 8) might draw the conclusion that water mains in the Providence water distribution system are made entirely of lead. not true! In fact, the only lead water encounters in its journey from the treatment plant to consumers is found in less than 25 percent of our systems more than 70,000 smallservice connection pipes that bring water into customer properties from the mains in the street. All service connections are jointly owned by Providence water (the section from the main to the customers property line) and the property owner (the section from the property line into the property itself). water that flows through the distribution system is virtually lead-free. the storys implication that Browns drinking water lead issues are the result of city-owned supply systems and that the University has no control over the situation is also completely false. Perhaps the school is unaware that the University has all the control to eliminate their lead issues. the surest method is to replace a propertys interior lead plumbing and remove any water service connection made of lead. this, however, can be expensive for property owners, and many choose not to do this. Providence water has a longstanding policy we will replace the utility-owned portion of the connection (from the main to the customers property line) free of charge anytime a customer chooses to replace the section of a lead service connection they own at their expense. we all share a common goal to minimize anyones exposure to lead. we stand ready to work side-by-side with Brown to get the lead out once and for all. david nickerson manager of Communications, Providence Water Supply Board

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you turn my floppy disk into a hard drive.

Brandon montell 15 as mitt romney See romney on page 1.

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the Brown DAILY herALD MonDAY, oCtoBer 22, 2012

opinions 7
Why therapy is cool
ated with seeking help. And the rise in students seeking help is not unique to Brown. In 2009-10, 8 percent of the Colorado State University student body used psychological services. that rose to 13 percent in the next two years. All around the country, health experts are observing similar increases in visits to mental health facilities. But why? Maybe its because pop culture mainly reality television is constantly referencing therapy. It all started with Dr. Drew and Celebrity rehab. then the real housewe have misconceptions about what seeing a therapist actually means? Possibly. those of us who are running to the fifth floor of J. walter wilson might be disappointed. First of all, therapy is not free. It can be expensive. not all insurance plans cover it, or the co-pay is horrendous. Brown offers seven free sessions per year before students have to come up with cash. And believe it or not, sometimes therapy can make people feel worse. though its disputable, there is an inherent conflict of interest where therapists lose stigma associated with therapy is not because people are more accepting of mental conditions like depression and anxiety. these, in fact, still face unjust stigmatization. Its because being obsessed with ones own mental health has become normalized. therapy is something normal people do. It is devalued. Brown may offer students seven free sessions but there is no therapist in the world that believes a person can be treated in seven sessions. Because therapy is ongoing. Its not something you can mark off a checklist. Its not like going to the gym. even after many months of sessions, I often hear students complain they still dont feel treated maybe because there was never a condition to treat. therapy draws us inward, but sometimes what we really need is to be pushed out, outside our own heads, outside the Brown bubble. Some say volunteering is the best therapy. And there are other natural supports that can help with emotional distress friends, family, peers, exercise, meditation. the list goes on. Because therapy isnt fun. Its not like getting a massage. And if youre doing it right, it shouldnt feel good. It should feel painful, and then weird, and then somehow okay. And if you dont need it, why would you want to go through that? theres no denying some people really benefit from therapy. And while I dont think Brown should cut back on its services, I do think we should question ourselves before we consider it a fast solution for all types of emotional distress.

Cara dorriS
opinions Columnist
Its midterm season again. our stress levels are rising. As the week goes on, listen to the conversations around you. havent you heard at least one person jokingly begin a sentence with My therapist thinks... or end with, thats what my therapist said? Do you ever see self-critical jokes on twitter accompanied by the hashtag #needtherapy? we hear these jokes more and more in comedy. Sarah Silverman frequently laughs about childhood traumas the time she discovered her therapist had hanged himself, but was forced to stay until the end of the session. we see it on the Internet. Lena Dunhams twitter bio begins with My life is my art, and therapy is my palette. Depression has always been the mark of an artist. And though we all arent tortured artists, there is no denying that being conflicted is sexy. having problems is endearing. People who want to seem funny and smart and open-minded talk about therapy infer it, joke about it. Its like going to yoga or getting a massage or drinking odwalla juice. Its supposed to be healthy. According to Belinda Johnson, director of Brown Psychological Services, the percentage of the Brown student body seeking therapy has oscillated between 16 percent and 18 percent throughout the last 10 years. nevertheless, Johnson believes there has been a steady, though gradual, decrease in the stigma associ-

Brown may provide students with seven free sessions but there is no therapist in the world that believes a person can be treated in seven sessions.

wives started broadcasting their tawk sessions. Shortly after there was Interior therapy with Jeff Lewis who is not a therapist himself, but a real estate agent who renovates houses. And most recent is the Vh1 series, Couples therapy. In February, Bravo was even casting for a rumored Los Angeles-based reality show called the therapists. our obsession with treatment extends beyond television. Athletes have sports psychologists. Celebrities do it. Some say a network of shrinks connects the entire city of new York. therapy is trendy. well, at least talking about it is. But is therapy really supposed to be something entertaining or is this just another example of tabloid voyeurism do

money when patients stop seeking help. Sometimes patients are panicked into believing they have more problems than they actually do. Feeling sad? nothing 50 more sessions cant cure. Yet thats the supposedly beautiful thing about therapy there is no destination, only a journey. that means you wont be closing your wallet until well, forever. Unless your therapist hangs himself Silverman-style, and the journey finally ends. or you die. Dont get me wrong. there are times when therapy is absolutely necessary. If you are depressed, chronically anxious, a subject of trauma, then its a good idea to get help. But the whole reason there is a steady, though gradual decrease in the

Cara dorris 15 can be reached at cara_ dorris@brown.edu or @Caradorris.

a real solution to the dining Services dilemma

alex dreCHSler
opinions Columnist
Bad food seems to be a staple of college life. The proliferation of photos of ramen noodles humorously posted on the Facebook pages of newly arrived freshmen may stand as testament. As we all know, ratty food is no exception. Though ratty food will never be close to gourmet, having been massproduced for maximum consumption by students, it seems to me that students like to taunt the ratty for more than just the quality of its food. As expressed in a recent Brown Daily herald editorial (Please sir, can I have some more? Sept. 19, 2012), students are often fed up with the cost of the available meal plans. to better understand the situation and possible solutions, I sat down with Gretchen willis, the director of Brown Dining Services. while the editorial board has made many salient points, I believe they unfairly paint BDS as greedy or inconsiderate. what the editorial board has missed is that BDS makes no profit on the students meal plan, and that the setup of their meal plans was intended to maximize utility for the entire student body. Part of the reason the meal plans are so expensive is because of the Universitys commitment to well-paid labor, quality local food and greener to-go containers, which Im sure Brown students support. But this does not address the fact that an individual meal credit is cheapest for those who purchase the highest plans. this is because the meal plans price consists of two separate costs. the first is a baseline cost, which goes mostly toward labor. everyone pays the same baseline regardless of which meal plan they are on. on top of that, everyone is charged a second cost that varies depending on their meal plan and goes towards the actual food. In effect, the lowest meal plans are rial page board is right to insist that the meal plans be more equitable. everyone should not be paying identical baseline costs. even if that means the highest plans will be more expensive, it is simply fairer, as long as the increase is not dramatic. In fact, if the lowest meal plan was cheaper than it is now, it is possible that it would be more attractive to sophomores and juniors who have left the meal plan because of how expensive the plans are. Compromise is feasible even given economic constraints. I encourage students to engage BDS in making these changes, and even more importantly I there are other changes that can easily be made to the meal plan to make it more affordable for students. For example, many eateries require students to pay only in points rather than meal credits. this discourages students from eating there because their points may be more limited than their credits. As willis explained, this plan is applied mostly in small areas that cannot handle huge crowds the Blue room, the libraries and Little Jos. this is the logic behind the 4 p.m. timestamp for credits at the Blue room. Specifically, this avoids the huge lunch rush. I believe that 4 p.m. is far too late. Instead, the University should have a small window of time when only points can be used for instance, between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. and allow credits all other times. Libraries and Little Jos should have the same rules so that students can use meal credits if they so choose. Again, students need to engage BDS to express their opinions, and at the same time BDS needs to respond to students concerns. Compromise is possible as long as both sides of the debate come to the table with a rich and balanced understanding of the situation, concerns and constraints at hand. alex drechsler 15 is a sophomore who still loves his ramen noodles. He can be reached at alex_drechsler@brown.edu.

i encourage students to engage BdS in making these changes, and even more importantly i encourage BdS to engage more students in their decision-making process.

subsidizing the highest meal plans so that more underclassmen can afford the highest meal plan. those who want to purchase the lowest meal plan may think this is unfair, but what we need to take into consideration is that lowering the costs of the lowest meal plans may cause the price of the highest meal plan to skyrocket. the costs from a cheaper lower meal plan must be made up somewhere. notwithstanding, I do believe the edito-

encourage BDS to engage more students in their decision-making process. If students show a true desire, BDS may even consider allowing students to use their meal credits off-campus at local restaurants. this is a business model that has already proven to be feasible, given MunchCards success. It could lower the labor and food costs for BDS and encourage even more upperclassmen to remain on the meal plan.

daily herald
the Brown
By Tonya riley
Senior Staff Writer

MonDAY, oCtoBer 22, 2012

Websites provide useful aids for student planning

Best of Brown compiles favorite classes
Launched last spring by Jonah Kagan 13 and Liz neu 14, Best of Brown is a website that allows students to submit their favorite three classes and see the top recommended classes and professors of other students. The site addressed some of its initial bugs prior to relaunching this semester. Last semester, a lot of people were complaining about having to use Facebook, so I just took that out and used Brown email, Kagan said, adding that the aesthetics of the site was also changed. In the relaunch, data from the spring semester was not carried over, and users who were registered through Facebook will have to re-register, he said. The site is also now open to alumni and first-years, who are not required to submit their favorite three classes to register. Current users are split evenly among class years, he said. According to the Best of Brown website, 754 out of 4573 sophomores, juniors and seniors, or approximately 16 percent of undergraduates who are not first-years, have submitted to the site. Last time around, it was sort of this hacked-together experiment, Kagan said. now, its got a lot of the infrastructure in place that it can sort of grow, if it needs to, in the future. The new structure will allow Kagan to add features, such as periodic updates of favorite courses. Kagan says Best of Brown continues to complement the Critical review, filling a demand for less objective reviews that highlight courses that have had formative impacts on students. nobody agreed that favorite courses are best courses, Kagan said. At the same time, it wouldnt work if take neUr 0010: The Brain: An Introduction to neuroscience. Dont shop that section of eCon 0110: Principles of economics. And dont forget that 3 p.m. meeting at the Blue room with your group partners. This is the kind of information available on student startup websites focused on Brown academics. Critical review, CalClash and Best of Brown, all created by Brown undergraduates, serve to answer some of the questions that other University resources cannot, like how to schedule the perfect meeting time for your study group or which professor might change your life. here, The herald explores the development of these websites and the challenges that lie ahead.

feature

CourteSy of BeStofBroWn.Com

Best of Brown ranks classes based on students three favorites. you forced users to agree to a definition of best because everyone has their own definition of best. whats important to the site is that everyone loved (the course), he said. But one issue the original site faced was a possible bias in the rankings toward large introductory classes, especially in the sciences, as these larger classes received more votes simply because of higher enrollment. Because the registrar will not release overall enrollment by class, Kagan said he is not able to average the data. Still, the sites value is in its ability to show trends in the data, he said. Kagan said his strategy for the website involves applying a simple yet meaningful concept that encourages the largest number of users and creates the largest possible data set. The site has received little feedback from the administration and faculty, though this kind of feedback is not key to Best of Browns concept. Kagan is also a founding member of The Brown Conversation, a student discussion forum that encourages critical discussion of different approaches to education at the University. Best of Brown is a tool that matches with the idea of students critically examining their time at Brown, Kagan said. If you dont know which class you want to take, Best of Brown might be helpful because on Critical review you have to search for a specific course or department, said Frances Steen 15, who had not heard of the site before. Kagan cited Mocha as a site that slowed in development after its founders graduated. to prevent the same fate for Best of Brown, he is currently speaking with Computer Information Services about creating a system that allows student developers to share their data and projects with undergraduates who would continue the projects after the original developers graduate. My vision for Best of Brown as part of a greater ecosystem is sort of to move student-developed course tools, he said. My greatest vision is to have data available to other student developers.

CourteSy of tHeCritiCalrevieW.orG

Though Critical review has changed drastically since its formation in 1976, it still provides a valuable service to students and professors.

veteran Critical review evolves to stay relevant

Founded in 1976, the Critical review launched the online edition that current Brown students are familiar with in 1997. the Critical review now only prints paper copies for archiving purposes, according to Charis Loke 13, an editor-in-chief of the organization. But its early years were a formative part of its ability to remain a presence on campus for more than 30 years. During his time as editor-inchief, robert Markey 86 addressed a number of issues with the venture, including production time, coverage span and the varied quality of reviews that had sometimes been rude to professors. Markey got involved in the spring of 1984 after complaining at a Sharpe refectory meal about the poor quality of the Critical review. Markey was chagrined when he discovered he had been griping to the head of the Critical review, who then challenged Markey to do better. Markey decided to take on the challenge. we fundamentally rewrote the survey and came up with a new way to present the stuff, Markey said. Changes included replacing averages with bar graphs illustrating the distribution of scores, a format the Critical review still uses today. Markey, who stayed in contact with the organizers for several years after he graduated, attributes the success of the Critical review to the crucial role it plays in helping students take advantage of the new

Curriculum. By building a positive, voluntary relationship with professors, it is something the whole Brown community can be invested in, he said. If the Critical review didnt exist today, it would be started by someone, Markey said. today, the organization, which is funded by the Undergraduate Finance Board, continues to adapt to student demands. Loke said the Critical review is currently looking into potential ways to improve the service, though no concrete decisions have yet been made. the Critical review is unique in that it was the first website to allow professors to directly get feedback from students. Professors have told Loke that they consider reviews from Critical review when reworking a curriculum, she said. Loke, who joined Critical review her first year, mentioned new blood as a way to keep student projects sustainable. Because the Critical review gets new staff every year, the organization keeps the staff energized and prevents burnout, she said. there has been growth in studentdeveloped websites over the past three years, Loke said, but many of them disappear after a while. Most obviously, you need to have a consistent need for the service, she added.

CalClash coordinates students schedules

Andrew Antar 12, a former herald editorial cartoonist, founded CalClash. com, a site that syncs students online calendars across platforms to find a meeting time that works for everyone in a group. he aimed to create a site that was more efficient and aesthetically pleasing than when2Meet and Doodle, he said. he recruited Jordan Berg 09 GS to code the site for his new idea, but what they thought would be a quick project ended up taking a year to complete. After a period of beta testing, the website launched in its completed form this semester. The site, which currently has over 100 users and recently enjoyed a traffic boost after being featured in the blog VentureBeat, targets the college demographic. They are looking to expand and integrate it with enterprise and Microsoft outlook to attract professionals, Berg said, adding that the goal is to be totally cross-platform. Antar also helped found VentureLabs, the Universitys first entrepreneurial fund for undergraduates pursuing business ideas, while at Brown. Antar described the creativity and proactiveness of Brown students as the

CourteSy of CalClaSH.Com

CalClash allows groups of students to find a time when they are all free to meet. perfect cocktail for entrepreneurship, though the institution is lagging behind a bit in providing resources for student entrepreneurs. VentureLabs is a step toward progress, Antar said. Though CalClash did not receive money from VentureLabs, it got funds from several grants, and Antar is now working with VentureLabs on a music networking startup called hearo.fm. CalClash is still in its infancy, and right now Antar and Berg are working to publicize the site to as many people as possible, especially students at Brown. The key to having a sustainable startup is to have something that is useful and that taps into community identity, Antar said.