Daily Herald the Brown
vol. cxliv, no. 76 | Thursday, October 1, 2009 | Serving the community daily since 1891
Over 1,000
students get
flu vaccine
By Suzannah Weiss
Senior Staf f Writer
Over 1,000 students have been vac-
cinated against the seasonal flu since
Health Services started offering free
shots against the virus on Monday,
said Director of Health Ser vices
Edward Wheeler.
The number of vaccinations
from Monday and Tuesday alone
is already approaching the 1,200 to
1,500 students per year who have
gotten the vaccine in the recent
past, Wheeler said. The free shots
do not protect against the swine
flu virus.
Health Services has tradition-
ally offered two or three free clin-
ics per year, but this fall is offering
earlier and more frequent seasonal
flu immunizations in order to devote
resources to treating those with the
H1N1 virus, Wheeler said.
“The more seasonal flu we can
prevent, the more people with symp-
toms will probably have the H1N1,”
he said.
Wheeler added that 30 to 50
percent of the US population is ex-
pected to contract the H1N1 virus
over this year, and that college stu-
dents are especially at risk.
“You bring people from all over
the world, you crowd them into
dormitories and classrooms — it’s
continued on page 2
Fellowship suspended Talks continue on BDS benefits
due to lack of funds
BY Ana Alvarez
Contributing Writer
Due to a temporary lack of funding,
the David J. Zucconi Fellowship
for International Study will not be
offered this year.
The fellowship, which the Uni-
versity created in 2003 to honor
former admissions officer and fund-
raiser Dave Zucconi ’55, is one of
Brown’s largest scholarships, hav-
ing included a $25,000 stipend and
round-trip airfare in recent years.
The scholarship is awarded to
a graduating senior who plans to
pursue a year-long independent
research program abroad.
Dean of the College Katherine
Bergeron said the interruption of
the Zucconi program was caused by
a drop in income from fundraising
this year, and that the suspension
would hopefully be “temporary.”
Money is already being raised to
inside
News.....1-6
Metro.....7-8
Spor ts...9
Editorial..10
Opinion...11
Today........12
www.browndailyherald.com
h oop l a o v er h on d uras
Sparks flew at the Third World Center as presenters and audience members discussed the political situation in Honduras.
Few undergraduate TAs attend new workshops
by REbecca Ballhaus
Contributing Writer
Last week, the Office of the Dean
of the College announced a series
of four workshops for undergradu-
ate teaching assistants focusing
on skills like leading discussions
and reaching out to students.
The workshops, which started
Sept. 23, were created in response
to requests by both faculty and
get the scholarship back on track
for next year, she said.
Wilfredo Perez ’08 MD’13, who
traveled to Les Cayes, Haiti on the
Zucconi fellowship in 2008, said he
was taking part in those fundraising
efforts. Perez used his fellowship
award to help establish preventive
public health programs for tuber-
culosis and malaria.
Perez said the fellowship had
a “tremendous impact,” with the
creation of 14 public health pro-
grams in a previously overlooked
part of Haiti benefiting the lives of
over 60,000 people. The Zucconi is
“a scholarship that changed lives,”
he said.
According to the Dean of the
College’s Web site, a successful
Zucconi applicant must demon-
strate a strong academic profile,
commitment to public service and
continued on page 6
Metro, 7
Pro bono
Rhody immigrants get
free legal counsel through
Roger Williams University
195 Angell Street, Providence, Rhode Island
students. A working group com-
posed of members of the faculty,
the Sheridan Center for Teaching
and Learning and the Office of
the Dean of the College surveyed
faculty members who work with
undergraduate TAs.
“The responses provided us
with material to work with and
we found a recurring request for
supplemental workshops — some-
thing which was immediately fea-
Brown Dining Services workers and University administrators are in the
midst of contract negotiations, with benefits a key point of discussion.
Zung Nguyen Vu / Herald
See article, page
sible,” said Douglas Brown, direc-
tor of Writing Support Programs
and adjunct lecturer.
Brown said the “initial im-
petus” for the workshops came
from a few incidents involving
students who felt their work was
being unfairly dealt with by un-
dergraduate TAs. These cases, he
said, involved comments made by
TAs on students’ papers that were
“significantly more destructive
Herald File Photo
Sports, 9
Split splash
Men’s water polo split
games in the pool last
week
Tenure
timelines
scrutinized
By Nicole Friedman
Senior Staff Writer
A committee charged with reviewing
tenure and faculty development poli-
cies met for the first time Wednesday,
but some Division of Biology and
Medicine departments are already
hoping the committee will recom-
mend that junior faculty in those de-
partments be given longer to prove
themselves before coming up for
tenure.
Five of the six BioMed depart-
ments have requested a longer pro-
bationary period for junior faculty
in tenure-track positions, Associate
Dean of Biology Edward Hawrot said.
3 continued on page 4
than productive.” In one instance
“the student felt very troubled and
humiliated and couldn’t under-
stand how to make it better,” he
added.
Christina Skonberg ’12 recalled
one incident in which the TA “ba-
sically just had too much on her
plate.” Skonberg received a low
grade from her TA on a paper and,
continued on page 5
By Alexandra Ulmer
Senior Staf f Writer
Potential changes to workers’ health
insurance contributions are emerg-
ing as a flashpoint in negotiations on
a new agreement between Dining
Services workers and the Univer-
sity ahead of an Oct. 12 deadline,
when their current work contract
expires.
The nature of proposed changes
— which may also include modifica-
tions to retirement benefits for new
hires and, workers say, a general
wage freeze — remains uncertain
and continues to be shaped by ne-
gotiations, which will resume on
Friday.
Roxana Rivera, chief negotiator
for the Service Employees Inter-
national Union, Local 615 — which
represents all of the roughly 200
Dining Services employees — said
she will have daily meetings with
continued on page 2
Opinions, 11
Defending jargon
Anthony Badami ’11 comes
to the defense of beloved
buzzwords
herald@browndailyherald.com
Page 2 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Thursday, October 1, 2009

C ampus N EWS “I was in and out in less than a minute.”

— Ashtin Charles ’12, on getting a flu shot

U. continues efforts at Reported cases of flu-like illness, to date

containing H1N1
continued from page 1
kind of a set-up for the spread of
infection,” he said, adding that “it’s
a novel virus … because there’s no
natural immunity, you expect a high
attack rate.”
Wheeler said 316 students have
already used the online reporting
system to notify Health Services of
influenza-like symptoms. The Rhode
Island State Department of Health
only allows three students per week
to be tested for H1N1, he said, but
“it’s a clinical diagnosis based on
symptoms. We presume if you have
those symptoms, you have it.”
In addition, seven of the last
eight lab test results from students
were positive for H1N1, he said.
Still, he added, “in general, the
illness has been mild. We’ve had no
hospitalizations.”
The University received most
of the flu shots from the state and
purchased the rest from a supplier,
Wheeler said, adding that the school
will not receive the H1N1 vaccine
350 Cases to
date
316
until the state has the resources to
distribute it. 300
In the meantime, Health Servic-
es has been promoting the seasonal
flu vaccine with table slips, posters 250 234
and e-mails to high-risk students,
he said.
Vaccines will be offered Monday
through Friday from 11 a.m. to 4
200
p.m. throughout October and then
by appointment for the remainder
of the year.
150
Students who got the seasonal
flu vaccination said the process was
100 78
quick and painless.
“It was ver y pleasant,” said
Ashtin Charles ’12. “I was in and Date
out in less than a minute.” 50
Emily Shelkowitz ’12 said she 9/17 9/23 9/29
didn’t know why anyone would miss Source: Heath Services
the opportunity to get the shot. “I’d Number of reported cases of influenza-like illness to date, from Sept. 2. A total of 316 cases have been report-
rather not get sick and have to miss ed as of Tuesday. Additionally, seven of the last eight students actually tested for swine flu were positive.
classes if I can avoid it,” she said. “I have a really busy semester extra per diem nurses and volun- given the concern everybody has”
“It was free, I had time and I and I really didn’t want to get sick,” teer emergency medical techni- about the flu. said Marie DeLuca
couldn’t think of a good reason not said Berg, who has gotten the sea- cians have been administering the ’12, an EMT who volunteered to
to,” said Alex Hills ’11, who went to sonal flu shot at Brown since her vaccine. help give the vaccine later in the
Jo’s with his friend Joanna Berg ’10 first year. “It’s something that’s helpful to week. “I think it’s cool to have the
to get the seasonal flu vaccine. Nurses from Health Ser vices, the campus right now, especially opportunity to help out.”

Workers, University negotiate contracts, health care benefits

continued from page 1
the University’s Director of Labor
Relations Joseph Sarno.
“Management is proposing one
of the biggest takeaways ever,” Ri-
vera said, referring to a University
proposal that would require some
workers to contribute more of their
pay to their health insurance. “They
want to save costs — it’s not about
sudoku
justice or fairness.”
Under the current health insur-
ance payment system, each BDS
worker pays 6 percent of his health
care premium. The University’s pro-
posal would replace that system with
a “sliding scale,” in which workers
would contribute according to their
salary. The proposed system would
require a contribution of 16.5 percent
for the highest paid employees.
Mark Nickel, the University’s
director of communications, said
Brown is not cutting back on health
benefits and is merely seeking more
flexibility in an increasingly expen-
sive cost sector. Sarno, answering a
reporter’s inquiry through Nickel,
declined to comment on the negotia-
tions himself.
Nickel said most other Univer-
sity employees, including faculty
and administrators, already pay for
health insurance on a sliding scale
according to salar y. “This is the
best possible coverage in the most
efficient way,” he said. “Sixty-five
percent of union workers would end
up paying less.”
Dining Services workers, SEIU
members and various student
groups are planning to stage a rally
on the Main Green at 4 p.m. today
to protest the proposed changes to
health care contribution rules.
Rivera said the University was
trying to cut costs by bringing up
the same issues that were discussed
during the last contract negotiation,
in 2006. But this time, she said, it is
falsely trying to excuse the proposed
contract changes as a necessary bur-
den in the face of a recession and a
bruised endowment.
“It’s disingenuous to say it’s sole-
culties to defend proposals that will
ultimately hurt workers.
Mark Morales ’10, a member of
the SLA, said the University should
agree not to change the contribution
plans “even if it requires a very small
loss in the endowment.”
“We think that’s what the Univer-
sity should do, and set an example,”
he said. “Everyone is suffering, and
it’s not going to help if we make
health care even less affordable.”
Nickel said the University was
not cutting back on benefits without
good reason, adding that the Univer-
sity needs “flexibility” in structuring
its costs.
“The University does want to pro-
vide its employees with good wages
and good benefits,” he said.
Among the employees, raw feel-
ings about the contract negotiations
are rampant.
“For us to shoulder a huge health
insurance increase would be pain-
ful,” said Rabbit Hoffinger, first
cook at the Sharpe Refectory and a
member of the union’s bargaining
committee. “It’s really not the time
for some of us to lose 10 percent of
our paycheck.”
He added that there is very little
disparity among Dining Services
workers’ salaries, and that only
minor savings would be gained by
“One possibility is that a lot of
people at the lower end will not be
paying significantly less,” he said,
“while others may have to pay sig-
nificantly more for the coverage.”
However, the hikes in the price
of health premiums, combined with
Brown’s endowment losses, have
driven the University to seek cost-
cutting measures. “Brown is never
going to give up health insurance,”
he said.
The fierce debate, he added —
emphasizing that he did not want
to choose sides in the negotiations
— is symptomatic of the national
one.
Other unionized University em-
ployees, including Facilities Manage-
ment and Library workers, currently
pay a flat rate of 6 and 8 percent to-
ward health insurance, respectively,
according to Karen McAninch ’74,
the business agent for the United
Service and Allied Workers of Rhode
Island, which represents workers in
those divisions.
In addition to the consternation
surrounding payments to health in-
surance, the University is proposing
a change in retirement benefits for
new hires. The proposed change in
benefits, according to Nickel, would
replace the existing defined-benefit
plan with a defined-contribution plan.

Daily Herald
ly for the sake of the endowment,” introducing a sliding scale. “It’s a portable benefit — you don’t
the Brown
she said. “How much money does it Marc Barsamian, cook’s helper have to retire from the University,”
save them compared to the impact at the Refectory, said an increase he said. “It also allows employees
Editorial Phone: 401.351.3372 | Business Phone: 401.351.3260 (the change in health insurance pay- in health care costs would offset who wish to increase their contribu-
Stephen DeLucia, President Jonathan Spector, Treasurer ments) will have on these employees any kind of salary benefit. “If I get tions to do so.”
Michael Bechek, Vice President Alexander Hughes, Secretary and their families?” a promotion, but they’re going to Rivera described that proposal
The Brown Daily Herald (USPS 067.740) is an independent newspaper serv- Brown’s roughly $2 billion en- increase my health care at the same as a “dramatic decrease” that would
ing the Brown University community daily since 1891. It is published Monday dowment lost more than $700 mil- time — what is the incentive?” he hurt all future hires.
through Friday during the academic year, excluding vacations, once during lion in the 12 months ending in June said. Rivera also said the possibility of
Commencement, once during Orientation and once in July by The Brown Daily
Herald, Inc. Single copy free for each members of the community.
and is pursuing what will be a sec- Edward Miller, adjunct associ- an across-the-board wage freeze has
POSTMASTER please send corrections to P.O. Box 2538, Providence, RI ond round of budget cuts this fall. ate professor of public policy who been floated, which the University
02906. Periodicals postage paid at Providence, R.I. Offices are located at 195 The Student Labor Alliance, teaches an undergraduate-level class “didn’t completely rule out.”
Angell St., Providence, R.I. E-mail herald@browndailyherald.com. which has spearheaded today’s about health policy, said the possible Nickel said he had not heard of
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Subscription prices: $319 one year daily, $139 one semester daily.
planned rally in support of the work- results of linking health insurance any potential wage freeze. “There
Copyright 2009 by The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. All rights reserved. ers, also accused the University of payments to a sliding scale are nu- is no particular model on the table
using the pretext of financial diffi- merous and depend on context. yet,” he said.
Thursday, October 1, 2009 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Page 3

C ampus N EWS “Starting a business is not necessarily contradictory to being

environmentally sustainable.” — Jill Lambiase ’10

New series to explore

South Asian politics
by Joe milner
Contributing Writer
A new year-long series will examine
contemporary South Asian political
issues by hosting seminars in Provi-
dence and the Boston area.
Co-sponsored by Brown, Harvard
and the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, the series will provide a
forum in which faculty and students
can engage with academics and public
figures in discussions about issues
affecting the region.
The first seminar, held Thursday,
Sept. 24, at the Watson Institute for In-
ternational Studies, featured a lecture
by leading Indian political philosopher
Zung Nguyen Vu / Herald
Pratap Bhanu Mehta.
Students gathered at the Third World Center for a presentation on this summer’s coup in Honduras
The series developed out of discus-
series’ organizing committee.
“There were several seminars
in this area on culture and history,”
Varshney said. “But many people in
these institutions were interested in
a serious discussion on politics, espe-
cially contemporary politics.”
Within the realm of politics, the
series will focus on security and con-
flict, democracy and political economy.
Of the five events that have been an-
nounced for the semester, the first
three examine Indian politics. The fo-
cus on India ties the series to Brown’s
“Year of India” initiative, which begins
today with a film showing. The larger
program will bring an assortment of
figures from politics, business, civil
society and the film industry to cam-
pus.

Tense debate erupts over Honduras
By Alex Bell
Contributing Writer
Honduras’s military coup this past
summer was “clearly rooted in the
struggle between classes,” Shaun
Joseph ’03 told an overcrowded
classroom at the Third World
Center last night. Joseph, speaking
alongside City Councilman Miguel
Luna, described their week-long
stay in Honduras after the coup at
an event sponsored by the Latin@
Political Group, the International
Socialist Club and the Rhode Island
Mobilization Committee to Stop
War and Occupation.
The event was punctuated by
unexpected controversy when
polarizing differences in opinions
among listeners became apparent
during the question-and-answer
session.
After spending a week in Hon-
duras in August, the presenters
had their own take on the military-
instated coup against civilian presi-
dent Manuel Zelaya by Roberto
Micheletti in June. “Unfortunately,
journalism is trumping analysis,”
Joseph said, referring to media cov-
erage of U.S. policy on the Hondu-
ran coup. “The strategy of the U.S.
was to formally condemn the coup,
sions among Brown’s Watson Institute
for International Studies, Harvard’s
Weatherhead Center for International
The fourth and fifth seminars will
look at the rebuilding of Afghanistan,
while a sixth topic remains to be an-
while in practice giving it time to Affairs and the MIT Center for Inter- nounced. The events will rotate among
gather power.” national Studies. Each had recognized the campuses of the participating uni-
Although the United States has a need to expand discussion of South versities to promote exchange among
halted foreign aid to Micheletti’s Asia, said Ashutosh Varshney, profes-
regime and President Obama has sor of political science and chair of the continued on page 6
repeatedly demanded Zelaya’s
return to power, Joseph argued
that the U.S. administration actu-
ally supports the new oligarchical
government.
“The list of graduates from the
School of the Americas is practi-
cally a who’s who in who’s done a
coup,” Joseph said of the Western
Hemisphere Institute for Security
continued on page 6

Business school takes its shoes off

By Emma Berry
Staff Writer
It’s tough to run a tailoring business
without a sewing machine. But it
can be just as hard for someone
without a business plan.
Microlending, a rapidly growing
tool of economic development, can
address the first problem, provid-
ing financial support to someone
looking to start or expand a small
business — and the Barefoot MBA,
co-created by former Herald editor
Katherine Boas ’02, is tackling the
second.
Microfinance provides small
loans to individuals whom tradi-
tional banks consider too poor or
too risky an investment.
But microloans are only part of
the solution, Boas said. Because of
the practice’s increasing popular-
ity, “there’s a lot of financial capital
floating around,” Boas said, “but
there’s not a lot of intellectual capi-
tal ... to help people make better
business decisions.”
FEATURE
Boas is trying to change that. In
2007, she and business school class-
mate Scott Raymond traveled to
rural Thailand, meeting with NGO
leaders who emphasized the need
for business literacy programs.
The trip inspired the duo to cre-
ate the Barefoot MBA, a tool that
uses stories to teach these skills to
microloan recipients.
Now the Capital Good Fund,
a Providence-based microfinance
organization, is bringing the adapt-
able curriculum to Rhode Island.
Andy Posner MA’09, the fund’s co-
founder and director, said people
coming to them for loans lacked
the “basic skills” required to run
a business.
“Some of them are already up
and running, but they don’t re-
ally know how to go about it, so
they’re not really turning a profit,”
he said.
Posner turned to Alan Harlam,
director of social entrepreneur-
ship at the Swearer Center, who
continued on page 5
Page 4
C ampus N EWS
BioMed to begin re-evaluating tenure deadlines
continued from page 1
There are around 20 junior faculty
members in BioMed, and about 15
in those five departments specifically,
he added.
Currently, all University depart-
ments follow the tenure guidelines
of the American Association of Uni-
versity Professors, which require that
faculty be told by the end of their sixth
year at an institution whether they will
be awarded tenure. After that point,
those who are denied tenure have
a seventh year of work left, during
which they can search for employ-
ment elsewhere.
That deadline means the tenure
review process begins in a faculty
member’s sixth year, leaving a profes-
sor with effectively only five years to
distinguish themselves.
The BioMed division at Brown is
“really quite unique” in that its faculty
members teach undergraduate, grad-
uate and medical students, Hawrot
said. But unlike other departments
in the University, whose peer depart-
ments at other schools also follow
the AAUP tenure guidelines, BioMed
departments compete against depart-
ments in medical schools, where
“more and more schools are going
towards longer probationary peri-
ods,” he said.
In 2008, 45 percent of medical
schools had probationary periods
of eight years or more for science
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faculty, according to Sarah Bunton,
research director for organization and
management studies for the Associa-
tion of American Medical Colleges.
“In most places other than Brown,
the medical school is separate,”
Hawrot said. “In many cases, there
are separate tenure clocks, and in
some cases, there are separate tenure
review committees.”
A tale of two tenure tracks?
But the AAUP maintains that its
seven-year tenure clock is not inap-
propriately short for science faculty
at medical schools, according to Anita
Levy, senior program officer for the
AAUP. In a 1999 statement on tenure
at medical schools, the association
states that while clinical faculty can
have longer probationary periods,
“we see no reason to consider the
extension of such a practice to re-
searchers in the basic sciences.”
Many American universities fol-
low the AAUP tenure guidelines, Levy
said, though choosing to follow the
guidelines is not so much a formal
commitment as it is an industry stan-
dard. She added that many medical
schools use the guidelines as well,
though they diverge more frequently
than universities.
Since most of the University’s de-
partments do not want a longer ten-
ure clock, the committee will consider
extending the probationary period
just for the BioMed departments that
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
“You can either be flying, or you can lay eggs.”
— Associate Dean of Biology Edward Hawrot, on the difficulties of applying for research grants
are dissatisfied with the current situ-
ation, according to the committee’s
charge.
The AAUP discourages having
separate tenure clocks for separate
departments, Levy said.
The seven-year tenure clock has
been a complaint within BioMed
for several years, said Professor of
Computer Science Andy Van Dam,
a member of the tenure review com-
mittee. Van Dam, who served as the
University’s Vice President for Re-
search from 2002 to 2006, said he
was approached by a “delegation” of
professors from BioMed, who com-
plained that because of a lack of fund-
ing — especially for new research-
ers — from the National Institutes of
Health, post-doctoral students were
being forced to work without perma-
nent positions “for an unconscionable
amount of time.”
NIH funding has been flat in
recent years, with the exception of
the recent federal stimulus package,
which “may be a blip,” Hawrot said.
Without an initial NIH grant, junior
faculty cannot “make their research
flourish,” he added.
But “the reality is, because of that
funding climate, the junior faculty
spend much more time having to
write and rewrite grants at the ex-
pense of publishing papers and really
accelerating their research program,”
said Professor of Biology Kimberly
Mowry, who chairs the Department
of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology
and Biochemistry.
“You can either be flying or you
can lay eggs,” Hawrot said of the
struggle between applying for grants
and conducting research. “You can’t
do both at the same time.”
Ideally for BioMed, the committee
to review tenure would recommend
that the Corporation extend by one
year the probationary period for five
BioMed departments, or “possibly
two in extraordinary circumstances,”
Mowry said.
Brown’s tenure clock, which is
“pretty tight” compared to BioMed’s
peer departments, Hawrot said, was
an area of concern for some junior
faculty members BioMed was trying
to recruit.
“For the first time ever,” he said,
recruits asked about the “potential
disadvantage they would be at” if they
came to Brown, since they would get
less time to develop a research pro-
gram before tenure review.
If the committee does not recom-
mend that the BioMed tenure clock
be extended, the BioMed depart-
ments will be “disappointed,” Mowry
said. BioMed would then consider
changing the requirements for how
much junior faculty members have
to teach, to allow them more time for
research, Hawrot said.
“There are no foregone conclu-
sions” with the committee, Hawrot
said. “If the length of time cannot be
Thursday, October 1, 2009
increased then we have to find some
other measures that could be intro-
duced to — in essence — give the
faculty more usable time.”
The only BioMed department that
has not requested a longer tenure
clock is the Department of Ecology
and Evolutionary Biology. That de-
partment’s faculty rely less on large
laboratory equipment and NIH fund-
ing, and their peer departments are
often housed in arts and sciences in-
stitutions rather than medical schools,
so they are competing against facul-
ties which are also on a seven-year
tenure clock, Hawrot said.
The rules of tenure “evolve over
time to meet changing circumstanc-
es,” Van Dam said. For example, there
used to be no exceptions to the ten-
ure clock timeline, but faculty can
now request extended probationary
periods to care for a new child or for
extraordinary circumstances, such
as catastrophic equipment failures,
Mowry said.
The tenure committee, which held
only a general discussion at its first
meeting Wednesday morning, has
yet to make any decisions about its
methods, priorities or schedule, Van
Dam said.
“We all come with different ideas
on what a committee like this could
accomplish,” he said. But tenure is
a human system, and “by definition,
human systems can be improved,”
he added.
Thursday, October 1, 2009 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Page 5

C ampus N EWS “Starting a business is not necessarily contradictory to being

environmentally sustainable.” — Jill Lambiase ’10

TA workshops sparsely attended UCS discusses agenda,

continued from page 1
when she asked her TA how she
could improve next time, “she
didn’t even remember it.”
“She even said, ‘This is actu-
ally pretty good,’ but she never
changed anything,” Skonberg
added.
Dean of the College Katherine
Bergeron said that the workshops
were not a reaction to complaints
but instead an attempt to provide
TAs with an opportunity for “gen-
eral discussion” about issues that
professors might not cover — for
example, how to lead a good dis-
cussion. A professor, she said, is
generally more concerned about
the day-to-day specifics of the
classroom, and not necessarily
about broader teaching meth-
ods.
The workshops are “not simply
remedial — they are a deeper,
richer experience for TAs,” Brown
said.
Eileen Landay, adjunct senior
lecturer in education who will
conduct one of the workshops,
calls them a “great opportunity
for undergrads to try their hand at
what it means to be a teacher” and
to experience what she calls the
“power and joy” of teaching.
“The quality of the skills of
the TA to orchestrate an effective
section make a huge difference,”
Landay added.
Undergraduate TAs are some
of the most effective teachers in
the classroom because they are
“much closer to the learners,”
she said.
Both Brown and Landay said
that the workshops are by no
means intended to replace the
guidance already provided by
professors, but to supplement it.
With this in mind, the work-
shops are not mandator y. Only
two out of 200 undergraduate TAs
showed up at the first workshop
on Sept. 23, and when only four
indicated interest in the second
workshop on Sept. 29, it was can-
celed. The remaining two work-
shops on Oct. 6 and 13, however,
are still scheduled to go on.
Bergeron attributed the low
attendance rate to the busy na-
ture of the first few weeks as well
as the novelty of the workshops.
“We hope to get the word out,”
she said.
The task force behind the
workshops intends to develop
the series over the semester, she
added.
“We want to find out what stu-
dents want, and what the faculty
thinks is useful,” she said.
H1N1, advising, at meeting
By Kyla Wilkes
Senior Staf f writer
Meeting for the first time in their
new home in the new Blue Room,
members of the Undergraduate
Council of Students outlined their
main goals for the semester Wednes-
day night. Dean of the College Kath-
erine Bergeron and Vice President
for Campus Life and Student Ser-
vices Margaret Klawunn updated
council members on campus life
initiatives.
The primary goals the council
put on its agenda for the year in-
clude getting more involved in the
debate over a proposed “student
tax” on Rhode Island colleges and
universities and increasing student
involvement in the budget-cutting
process overseen by the Organi-
zational Review Committee and its
several planned subcommittees.
titative will create “accountability,”
as both UCS and the student body
will be able to measure the council’s
progress.
Wertheimer also said he was ac-
tively working on a “State of Brown”
address for President Ruth Sim-
mons to give to the student body
— most likely after the Corporation
meeting in February. According to
Wertheimer, Brown presidents have
given such addresses in the past
when there was need for them.
“This is something I’d like to
institutionalize,” he said.
The meeting began with
Bergeron and Klawunn address-
ing the council members and
eliciting feedback on the Advising
Central initiative, budget cuts, the
new tutoring program and the Uni-
versity’s handling of the swine flu
outbreak.
UCS members expressed

Alum emphasizes skills, not bills

continued from page 3
connected him with the Barefoot
MBA.
The Capital Good Fund plans
to pilot a series of workshops this
fall with prospective loan recipi-
ents. While the workshops will be
required for certain potential loan
recipients, they will also be open to
the public, Posner said.
While the Barefoot MBA’s cur-
riculum was originally designed for
use in the developing world, “ulti-
mately these fundamentals are the
basis for any business anywhere,”
said Jill Lambiase ’10, who is modi-
fying the curriculum for the Capital
Good Fund.
Boas said she designed the tool
to be “adaptable” to various settings,
using a “Mad Libs model where 90
percent of the work is changing
nouns and verbs” to conform to
the learners’ cultural setting. One
version used in Guatemala uses
corn farmers Lorenzo and Aurelio
to explain the importance of sav-
ing. Lambiase’s version teaches the
same lesson using the example of
caterers Sofia and Tiffany.
The program, which does not
require participants to be literate,
uses a collection of 16 oral lessons
that each include a pair of contrast-
ing stories. Each story’s protago-
nists are placed in the same situa-
tion, but one character knows the
skill being taught ­— ultimately lead-
ing to greater financial success.
The Capital Good Fund plans to
adapt the stories into a series of five
workshops beginning this October.
The first workshops will be taught
in Spanish to a group of 30 to 40
low-income women in Olneyville,
most of whom are immigrants.
“The language barrier is one
The council also expressed inter- concern that students might get
est in facilitating dialogue and com- confused by the over whelming
munication about the report of the number of tutoring and advising
reaccreditation team from the New programs available and might not
reason why a lot of these people “We feel it hasn’t really been England Association of Schools and be able to dif ferentiate among
aren’t able to get loans from tra- implemented properly,” she said, Colleges, which is expected to be them. The council did provide posi-
ditional banks,” said Lambiase, a because the classes accompanying shared with the community soon. tive feedback on the University’s
Rhode Island native. “They can’t loans have stressed empowerment UCS President Clay Wertheimer measures to prepare the student
communicate effectively with these but failed to teach basic business ’10 told The Herald after the meet- body for widespread H1N1 cases.
banks.” skills. ing that the agenda was a draft. UCS Corporation Liaison Melea At-
According to Posner, many of “Empowerment is obviously He said he hopes to improve the kins ’10 said two things have gone
the women already have existing important,” she said, but the fact agenda by creating “measurables” ver y well — flu shots at Josiah’s
businesses but would like to run that the loan recipients are at the that can quantify the council’s effec- were effective and professors were
them more effectively, while oth- lessons “means they’re ready to tiveness. Wertheimer said making ver y understanding of students’
ers are hoping to build new busi- learn more.” the agenda more specific and quan- sickness.
nesses from the ground up. The
types of businesses they run vary
widely, he said. They include sew-
ing and cleaning services, as well
as a home-grown, homemade, one-
woman salsa operation.
To make the workshop rel-
evant to its participants, Lambiase
is incorporating details from their
specific businesses into the cur-
riculum.
The Capital Good Fund has an
environmental focus, so Lambiase
has also been integrating these
concepts into the curriculum. For
example, she said, her story on
cost-benefit analysis demonstrates
that purchasing a more expensive
but energy-efficient appliance can
save money over time — helping
the environment and the bottom
line.
“Starting a business is not nec-
essarily contradictory to being envi-
ronmentally sustainable,” she said.
“We don’t want to make it seem like
they’re two separate ideas.”
Such support for microloan
recipients is “essential,” Harlam
said. “There’s a huge correlation
between success in business and
skills in business.”
Lambiase, an economics con-
centrator, agreed with the need for
business education. Much microfi-
nance in the United States has had
“mixed results,” she said.

blogdailyherald.com
Page 6
C ampus N EWS
Seminar series examines
South Asian political climate
continued from page 3
area academics, Varshney said.
“It contributes to a broadening
of the intellectual conversation and
therefore to the quality of the overall
output,” he said.
For speakers, the seminars will of-
fer a testing ground for ideas intended
for eventual publication.
“Feedback leads to a finessing of
argument, an introduction of greater
sophistication, an introduction of great-
er balance or sometimes changing an
argument itself,” Varshney said.
Additionally, Varshney said he ex-
pects the forums to allow undergradu-
ate and graduate students access to
faculty members from the partner
universities. While some of the se-
ries’ speakers may be academics, the
organizing committee has envisioned
its events as accessible to anyone, he
said.
“Our desire is not to exclude any-
one,” Varshney said. He estimated
that about 40 people attended the first
event, and emphasized the presence of
undergraduates, graduates and even
Fellowship options take
a hit during recession
continued from page 1
leadership qualities. Fellows are then
expected to return to Brown and pro-
vide mentoring to Brown students.
The Arnold Fellowship, a schol-
arship opportunity similar to the
Zucconi, will still be available this
year to one student despite depleted
funds. Smaller scholarships, like the
Swearer Fellowship and several fel-
the chief of police of nearby Lincoln.
Riyad Seervai ’13 said he found the
first seminar by Mehta both interest-
ing and relevant.
“I thought that even though much
of it would probably go over my head,
I should come and experience the talk
of a man whose articles my parents
devour,” Seervai said.
He added that he enjoyed the for-
mat of the seminar, saying that the
presence of other professors increased
the quality of the conversation.
“When you have people that are
on the same intellectual level as you
or on a higher intellectual level than
you are, it keeps you more on your
toes, and you have to be more vigi-
lant,” he said.
Minh Ly GS also cited the semi-
nar’s format as a main strength.
“You have people who are really
well-read and thoughtful about the
subject talking about it with one an-
other,” he said. “Having that very
high-level discussion can oftentimes
be very beneficial, including for the
students.”
lowships offered by the Watson In-
stitute for International Studies, are
also available.
David Zucconi died of cancer
in 2003. When the University an-
nounced the fellowship named in
his honor, President Ruth Simmons
called him “our greatest cheerleader
for the transformational power of
higher education.”
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Thursday, October 1, 2009
“You can either be flying, or you can lay eggs.”
— Associate Dean of Biology Edward Hawrot, on the difficulties of applying for research grants
career fare
Diane Mokoro / Herald
Students sampled a virtual buffet of post-college opportunities in Sayles Hall on Wednesday afternoon.
Honduran coup debated at TWC
continued from page 3
Cooperation, the Department of
Defense facility formerly known as
the School of the Americas.
He cited a claim made by the
School of the Americas Watch that
the United States continues to train
Latin American military officers
in techniques for instituting coups
d’etat. The Watch is an independent
movement that monitors the Fort
Benning, Ga. facility.
Luna, wearing a black beret
reminiscent of Che Guevara, said
the Honduran rich are often al-
lowed by the Honduran Congress
not to pay their electricity bills.
When the state-run electric com-
pany went bankrupt in 2007, Zelaya
introduced “Operation Scissors” to
force the rich to pay. According to
Luna, the operation was cut off by
the oligarchy and the poor were
forced to make up for the rich citi-
zens’ refusals to pay through rate
increases.
However, not all lecture-goers
shared the speakers’ opinion of Zung Nguyen Vu / Herald
Zelaya, or of the coup. City Councilman Miguel Luna discussed the politics of the Honduran
coup at the TWC Wednesday night
“With all due respect, I’m from
Honduras,” Samahra Kafati said to “A coup is when the military Micheletti bias exists in the media.
the audience during the question- takes over,” Kafati said. “But we’re “There was a picture after some big
and-answer period. Kafati, a first- still a democracy. According to our (pro-Zelaya) demonstrations,” he
year at Johnson and Wales Univer- constitution, this is totally legal. We said. “It was a big picture of tens of
sity, had been standing outside the kicked (Zelaya) out of our country thousands of people, a big wide-an-
room with news articles and publi- because he was trying to change the gle shot. And then the caption says,
cations from the U.S. Congress un- constitution.” ‘Around 5,000 people demonstrated’
til the time set aside for questions Kafati said the pro-Zelaya side — but there were more than 5,000
and comments. “I’d like all of you distorts facts and exaggerates sup- people in the damn shot.”
to know that they only gave one port for their side. When Zelaya “It speaks to something about the
side of the story: Zelaya’s.” returned to Honduras earlier this whole question of legitimacy,” Joseph
Kafati, who lives in the Hondu- month from exile, she added, he was said of the differences in opinions
ran capital of Tegucigalpa, said in expecting half a million supporters between the sides. “The question
an interview after the lecture that to greet him, but was met by several of whether certain ideas and certain
she believes no coup occurred at thousand. political acts have legitimacy is about
all. Joseph claimed a similar pro- which side you take.”
Does this bohter you?
Come copy edit!
herald@browndailyherald.com
Metro
The Brown Daily Herald
“These scores are nowhere near where they need to be.”
— Deborah Gist, state commissioner of elementary and secondary education

Thursday, October 1, 2009 | Page 7

‘Colosseum’ club to open in Jewelry District Test scores still subpar

By Joanna Wohlmuth
Metro Editor
One of Providence’s largest clubs
will soon be reopening under new
ownership in the Jewelry District,
despite opposition from Brown.
The city’s Board of Licenses ap-
proved the transfer of the liquor
license for the venue formerly
housing The Complex, a club that
closed earlier this year, to new
owner Anthony Santurri. With the
board’s signoff, Santurri plans to
open the doors of the totally rein-
vented establishment, now dubbed
The Colosseum, by the beginning
of November, he said.
At the board’s hearing last week,
a number of groups expressed con-
cern about how the reopening of the
club would affect the surrounding
area. Al Dahlberg, the University’s
director of state and community re-
lations, testified and delivered a let-
ter to the board from Marisa Quinn,
vice president of public affairs and
University relations.
The University opposes reopen-
ing the nearly 1,400 person estab-
lishment because it will increase
alcohol consumption for students
in the area and attract patrons from
other parts of the state that stop
serving alcohol earlier, Dahlberg
said. The club is also likely to con-
tribute to a rise in disorderly con-
duct such as noise and bad behavior,
he added.
“With the movement of the
medical education building to the
Jewelry District, Brown is focus-
ing even more on quality of life and
neighborhood issues in the area,”
Dahlberg said.
Though Brown has opposed
the granting of liquor licenses to
some Thayer Street establishments,
administrators will have to decide
whether they will continue to fight
similar battles in the Jewelry Dis-
trict, Dahlberg said.
But Santurri said he believes
he will be able to keep things un-
der control and address residents’
concerns. “I will be there every
night standing at the front door,”
Santurri said. “I will refuse entrance
to anyone that I think will cause
trouble.”
A point of contention for many
residents opposed to the club’s re-
opening was whether patrons be-
tween 18 and 20 years old should
be allowed in, Santurri said. Though
he plans to only host a 21-and-over
crowd on Friday and Saturday
nights, he may admit younger pa-
trons on Thursdays, he said. Other
clubs in the area are open to 18-year-
olds so they will find somewhere
else to go if they are barred from
entering his club, he added.
“I just didn’t want that restric-
tion imposed on me arbitrarily,”
Santurri said. “It’s not fair to do
that to me.”
Santurri would prefer that his
club appeal to older clientele but is
concerned that the lack of parking in
the area will make it too difficult, he
said. “People who don’t go out every
night like the young kids ... won’t go
if they can’t park,” he said.
for Providence schools
By George Miller
Metro Editor
Rhode Island students underper-
formed on standardized science
tests for a second straight school
year in 2009, and the state depart-
ment of education is working with
a Texas-based think tank to bring
those scores up.
About 25 percent of all students
who took the test scored “profi-
cient” or better, according to results
released last week by the state.
That represents a small increase
from 2008, the first year students
took the science test offered by the
New England Common Assessment
Program. The test, which is also
administered in New Hampshire
and Vermont, was given in May to
public school students in grades
4, 8 and 11.
About 40 percent of fourth grad-
ers scored “proficient,” an increase
of 4 percent from 2008. About 19
percent of high-school students —
also more than last year — scored
“proficient.”
But the 8th-grade sample did
slightly worse than last year, with
just 18 percent scoring “proficient.”
Rhode Island students performed
worse than their New Hampshire
and Vermont counterparts in every
grade.
“These scores are nowhere near
where they need to be,” Deborah
Gist, the state’s commissioner of
elementary and secondary educa-
tion, said in a press release.
Native American, black and His-
continued on page 8

RWU opens law clinic for immigrants

By Ben Schreckinger
Senior Staff Writer
Immigrants in Rhode Island facing
deportation and other legal issues
now have a new source of free coun-
sel at Roger Williams University
Law School, which recently opened
the Immigration Law Clinic to at-
tend to the needs of non-citizens.
“The immigrant population in
Rhode Island is large, and there
just aren’t enough legal services for
them,” said Mary Holper, assistant
professor of law at Roger Williams
and director of the clinic.
“The legal service providers that
exist are doing a great job,” Holper will ease some of the burden on
said, but they are unable to keep existing providers created by many
up with the caseload of the entire of the more complex cases, allow-
immigrant population. ing those providers to more effi-
Because immigration courts are ciently handle a large volume of
not criminal courts, defendants who simpler cases, such as green card
are unable to afford legal counsel applications.
do not have access to free, court- The clinic not only benefits its
appointed representation. The clin- clients, Holper said, but provides
ic’s clients are represented by law
students under Holper’s supervi- continued on page 8
sion. Without representation by the
clinic, most of its clients — many
of whom may lack English fluency
— would be forced to represent
themselves.
According to Holper, the clinic
Page 8
M etro
Law school offers immigrants counseling
continued from page 7
law students with real legal experi-
ence in what Holper called “a more
complicated area of the law.”
Chas Ryan — a third-year law
student at Roger Williams — said he
viewed the clinic as “an opportunity
to get a lot of practical experience in
an area of law that frustrates a lot of
people.” Ryan has been considering
a career in immigration law and
said his experience with the clinic
thus far has made him more likely
to enter the field.
“I love the courtroom — I think
that’s fun — and helping people. If
you can do those two together, why
not?” Ryan said.
Ryan is currently represent-
ing an Uruguayan immigrant who
outstayed his visa and is being
detained in Massachusetts at the
Bristol County Jail and House of
Corrections. The government al-
leges that he entered the country
illegally and has a record of violent
crime.
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
“If we make a mistake ... a person could be deported.”
— Chas Ryan, a law student who works at an immigration law clinic
Ryan said he may help his client
petition for “asylum relief” on the
basis of abuse he was subjected to
in Uruguay, or his client may sign
the deportation papers rather than
wait in jail for the outcome of his
case. “Some clients do just want to
go home,” he said.
The clinic has impressed upon
Ryan the real-life consequences
of his schoolwork, he said. “If we
make a mistake … a person could
be deported,” he said. “We can’t
make mistakes.”
25 percent ‘proficient’ or
better on state exams
continued from page 7
panic students underperformed
their white and Asian peers, ac-
cording to the data. Although these
groups showed small improve-
ments in each grade level, only
3.3 percent of middle schoolers
and 4.6 percent of high schoolers
in those demographics passed the
most recent exam.
Following poor results in the
2008 test, Rhode Island brought in
experts from the Charles A. Dana
Center at the University of Texas,
Austin to revamp the curriculum
in 17 districts. The state plans a
three-year contract with the think
tank, which will work to see that
students are being properly taught
standards measured by the test,
said Elliot Krieger, spokesman for
the department of education.
The districts will not end up with
the same curriculum, but will all
have curricula aligned to the same
standards, he said. He added that
the Providence school district acted
as a “pioneer” in hiring consultants
from the Dana Center separately,
before the state followed suit.
The Dana Center supports K-12
education by helping teachers un-
derstand the state’s standards and
how to create units of study to meet
Thursday, October 1, 2009
them, preparing students for tests
and the next grade, said Joseph
Gallegos, a senior program coordi-
nator at Dana who is working with
the state. Because the standards
are broad, it is helpful to sort out
which teachers need to teach what,
he said.
Consultants will start planning
new curricula for the districts next
year, he added.
Jennifer Park, a research as-
sistant at Brown who works with
Providence high-schoolers in sci-
ence, said that the low scores did
not shock her as much as last year,
but the gaps between rich and poor,
as well as white and minority stu-
dents were still “surprising.”
Park, who works in the depart-
ment of molecular biology, cell
biology and biochemistr y, co-
coordinates Brown Science Prep,
which teams undergraduates up to
teach interactive science lessons to
high-schoolers on Saturday morn-
ings. Initially, about 40 students
come each week, generally taper-
ing down to about 30 later in the
year, she said.
Park said that while she does not
have much information about the
new science curriculum Providence
public schools are implementing,
she hopes the changes will help.
SportsThursday
The Brown Daily Herald
W. volleyball earns split at tourney M. water polo gaining
By Elisabeth Avallone
Spor ts Staf f Writer momentum, chemistry
The Bears (4-7) battled for a 1-1
split this weekend at the Bryant In-
vitational. After sweeping Howard
University (3-17) in the first match,
Brown narrowly fell to the host
Bulldogs (3-11), 3-2, in the second.
Brianna Williamson ’11 fueled the
Bears with a combined 27 kills, 22
digs and six service aces.
“I think that the team is really
improving and definitely stronger
than our record shows,” said Head
Coach Diane Short. “Brianna Wil-
liamson is having her best year at
Brown. She has had a very con-
sistent overall game and that has
been really nice to see.”
Brown dominated in the first
game against Howard, running
up a 25-14 score for an early 1-0
lead. Although the Bison gained
some rhythm in the next two sets,
the Bears again came out on top,
outscoring Howard 26-24 in both
sets for the sweep.
“I was really thrilled about our
win over Howard,” Williamson
said. “In the second and third
games we were very close at the
end, and it was a great feeling for
our team to pull that off. We are
proving that we can play well when
it matters.”
In addition to Williamson’s
contributions, Megan Toman ’11
earned 16 kills and seven digs to
add to the Bears success. Chris-
tina Berry ’13 added nine kills and
seven digs.
Shor t praised the defense,
pointing to freshmen Berry and
Carly Cotton ’13, who carried the
Bears in digs this weekend. Cotton
led Brown’s defense with a team-
high 11 digs in the first match and
28 against Bryant. Berry earned a
combined 23 digs.
“The freshmen have really
stepped up this season and have
helped the team come together as
a whole,” Williamson said.
Following the decisive victory
against Howard, Brown took the
court against Bryant. Although the
Bears put up a strong fight, their
efforts fell short of victory. Bryant
took an early 2-0 lead, outscoring
Bruno 25-22 and 25-21 in the first
two sets. The Bears, however, re-
The volleyball team, seen here in the invitational hosted at Brown two
weekends ago, split the past weekend’s invitational 1-1.
taliated in the third, 25-20, and re-
tained the momentum in the fourth
for a 25-19 win. Despite a valiant
effort, the Bears were clipped by
the Bulldogs in the fifth set, 15-13,
for a disappointing 3-2 loss.
Berr y had an exceptional
match, earning 15 kills and 16 digs,
followed by co-captain Danielle
Vaughan ’11, who scored another
12 kills. Alexandra Ilistad ’13 was
described by her teammates as
“really impressive,” as she stepped
into the setter position late into the
Jesse Morgan / Herald File Photos
Bryant match.
The Bears will open their Ivy
League season on the road against
Yale on Friday at 7 p.m.
“This weekend is going to be
a tough challenge as we’re up
against the defending Ivy League
Champion,” Short said. “We are
looking to improve on last year’s
results and to compete well against
them. I don’t think anyone is re-
ally expecting anything from us,
so we are going to try to sneak up
on them.”
Thursday, October 1, 2009 | Page 9
By Liza Jones
Contributing Writer
In the past week the men’s water
polo team beat the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, 6-5, and
Fordham, 11-9, then fell to St. Fran-
cis by a score of 12-5. Despite the
loss, the team is improving, and its
“chemistry” is strengthening with
each game, said Head Coach Felix
Mercado.
The MIT game last Thursday
ended in a narrow victory for the
Bears. The team began with a 2-1
lead in the first quarter, and both
teams scored in the second quarter,
bringing the halftime score to 3-2.
MIT evened the score in the third
quarter, but Brown came back in
the fourth quarter to end the game
with a 6-5 win. While the offense
lacked, with 15 missed shots, the
defense saved the game, specifically
due to Kent Holland’s ’10 skills in
the goal.
“Holland has been fantastic as
a goalie and made up for lack of
chemistry on the offensive end,”
Mercado said.
Mercado attributes the offensive
struggle to the overall youth and
inexperience of the team, adding
that they still need to find their
groove. Other leading players in the
MIT game were Michael Hartwick
’13 with three steals and two field
blocks, Zach Levko ’10 and Svetozar
Stefanovic ’13, who Mercado calls
“Freshman Phenom,” both with two
goals each. The Collegiate Water
Polo Association recently named Ste-
fanovic Northern Division Player of
the Week. He is also the first player
in league history to earn honors for
four consecutive weeks.
Three days after their victory,
the team faced the Fordham Rams
and the St. Francis Terriers in New
York. They triumphed over the Rams
in the first game with an 11-9 victory.
Holland continued to shine in the
goal with 15 saves, and the offense
picked up.
“For the first time in my years
here, I think our depth is deeper
than we have ever been, and that
has help us maintain consistency
throughout the four quarters,” Mer-
cado said.
The second game ended in a 12-5
loss. Shortly after the game started,
St. Francis led the game 4-0, and
were up 8-2 by the half. While the
Bears scored three more goals in the
second half, the Terriers still came
out on top. Ryan Gladych ’13 led
the team offensively with two goals,
while Stefanovic, Cyrus Mojdehi ’13
and Brandon Yoshimura ’11 each
scored one. Despite the outcome,
the team put up a strong fight, but
St. Francis was stronger in the end,
Mercado said.
“The silver lining of this cloud
is that for the first time offensively,
we were getting scoring opportuni-
ties,” he said. Mercado has observed
strong morale in the team, saying
that they are “cohesive in and out of
the water” thanks to the leadership
shown by Holland and Levko, which
will undoubtedly improve their abil-
ity at game time.
The Bears travel to Cambridge to
face Harvard on Saturday, Oct. 10.
Mercado said it is important for the
team to focus more on the season as
a whole rather than on the age-old
Harvard-Brown rivalry. The team is
trying to view Harvard as “just an-
other opponent to beat,” he said.
Editorial & Letters
The Brown Daily Herald

Page 10 | Thursday, October 1, 2009

l e t t e r to t h e e d i to r

Animals are people, too

To the Editor: from the out-group, and in a signifi-
cant and relevant way. Debating what
I am writing in response to a recent that difference could be is a matter of
editorial (“Animal wrongs,” Sept. 29). opinion and morals. Whether or not a
While I much appreciate the publicity given difference exists is a fundamen-
and favorable review given to the Lib- tally scientific question. As best I can
eration Project, I found several of the tell, the only categorical difference
article’s basic assumptions problem- current science suggests between
atic. Specifically, this piece treats the humans and non-human animals is
notion that non-human animals are not language, and only certain facets of
in a lower moral class than humans language. Is greater grammatical ap-
as beyond the pale, even calling such titude really a justification for a system
claims “sloppy moralizing.” As best I of mass captivity, brutalization and
can tell, the only reasons given for slaughter? I contend that it is not, and
this description are that this idea is I would also point out that I am not
shocking, which poses a radical chal- trying to lower humans but to raise
lenge to the vast majority of people’s non-human animals.
worldview, and for these reasons is Personally, the only difference
likely to incur a backlash. I would accept as justifying a par-
While I respect the last justification ticular group as the in-group and all
from a public-relations standpoint, the other creatures as the out-group is
first two are lacking. The boundary consciousness or sentiency. Since
of the “human condition” has been it strikes me that current scientific E R I K S T A y T O N and evan donohue
gradually expanded throughout the evidence suggests that sentiency is
history of Western moral thought, entirely rooted in the nervous sys-
from “white men with property” all tem, I draw the line around the set of e d i to r i a l
the way to “all humans,” where it now all creatures with nervous systems,
conventionally stands. I would ask
of those who believe the line should
remain where it is now for all eternity
which approximates the animal king-
dom. But that is not, fundamentally,
the point I am trying to make. My
The cannabis question
the same question I would ask of all point is that you cannot dismiss these Once again, Rhode Island is wading into muddy nomic conniving. But in this case, police concerns
previous line-drawers: “Why here?” questions out of hand, simply because waters. In May the General Assembly approved a about dispensary security and protocols focus on
I would also point out that the spe- they are “radical” or even because law mandating that the health department establish the crux of the issue: the well-being of patients who
cies is not nearly as fundamental as they are “offensive,” and that to do privately run medical cannabis dispensaries; the first depend on daily access to the drug. Dispensaries that
many believe, that it is in fact largely so is in fact a kind of sloppy moral- is scheduled to open next year. Rhode Island would surreptitiously flout the rules by selling to non-patients
an illusion of time and that all living izing or even closed-mindedness that be only the third state to enact such a law, and it has a or phony patients risk shortages for legitimate users.
creatures are cousins. I feel is contrary to the spirit of our chance to improve on California’s wild and unregulated And lax surveillance of the facilities could encourage
Of course, the line must be drawn University. system and New Mexico’s tightly constrained delivery- burglary — a very real threat in a state with nearly
somewhere, but I would argue that only network. But the new program has some crucial 13 percent unemployment — which would provide a
any proposed “in-group” must be Robert Black ’13 flaws that the Assembly must admit and rectify. bonanza to local criminals and cut off patients’ much-
demonstrably categorically different Sept. 30 In theory, the dispensaries should be an improve- needed supplies. The bill also fails to provide funding
ment over the state’s current marijuana regime. Un- to the health department for the establishment process
der a law passed four years ago, state residents with and includes no mandate for oversight by medical
t h e b r o w n d a i ly h e r a l d
certain serious medical conditions can obtain legal professionals, a crucial element of a properly run
Editor-in-Chief Managing Editors Deputy Managing Editors Senior Editors
authorization to grow cannabis for their personal use. dispensary program.
Steve DeLucia Michael Bechek Nandini Jayakrishna Rachel Arndt
Chaz Firestone Franklin Kanin Isabel Gottlieb The draconian federal marijuana prohibition prevents Setting up dispensaries sloppily may be worse than
Michael Skocpol Scott Lowenstein the Food and Drug Administration from conclusively not setting them up at all. It could encourage crime,
editorial Business verifying the real medical benefit of the substance, endanger patients’ supplies and discourage other
Ben Hyman Arts & Culture Editor General Managers Office Manager
Rosalind Schonwald Arts & Culture Editor Alexander Hughes Shawn Reilly but many patients suffering from wracking diseases states interested in similar ventures. The Assembly
Sophia Li Features Editor Jonathan Spector as well as allergies to painkillers have found it to be should admit its errors in the first bill and expedi-
George Miller Metro Editor
Joanna Wohlmuth Metro Editor
their only option for relief. Nevertheless, cultivation tiously design and pass legislation requiring close
Directors
Seth Motel News Editor Ellen DaSilva Sales is not a simple or abuse-proof process. Many hon- supervision by medical professionals and granting
Jenna Stark News Editor Claire Kiely Sales est users with chronic pain have severe difficulties the health and police departments the funding they
Andrew Braca Sports Editor Katie Koh Finance
Han Cui Asst. Sports Editor Jilyn Chao Asst. Finance growing the plants. And some dishonest registrants need to carefully establish and protect the dispen-
Alex Mazerov Asst. Sports Editor Christiana Stephenson Alumni Relations turn their privilege into a business venture, selling saries. This will not be easy. The state is saddled
Katie Wood Asst. Sports Editor
their produce to recreational smokers. A cannabis with a staggering deficit of nearly $62 million, and
Graphics & Photos Managers dispensary — carefully established, overseen and the Assembly has already had to override the veto
Chris Jesu Lee Graphics Editor Kelly Wess Local Sales
Stephen Lichenstein Graphics Editor Kathy Bui National Sales
guarded — would make the dealers easier to target of Governor Donald Carcieri ’65 to pass the original
Eunice Hong Photo Editor Alex Carrere University Sales and take a burden off of the suffering citizens who medical cannabis statute as well as the dispensary law.
Kim Perley Photo Editor Matt Burrows Credit and Collections need the drug. Nevertheless, the Assembly must take responsibility
Jesse Morgan Sports Photo Editor
But police officials have raised concerns that the for what it has set in motion and do the hard work
production Opinions
Ayelet Brinn Copy Desk Chief Alyssa Ratledge Opinions Editor bill makes no provision for protecting the dispensary necessary to make the dispensaries a boon to Rhode
Rachel Isaacs Copy Desk Chief Sarah Rosenthal Opinions Editor from robbery and preventing sales to casual users. Island and an example to other states.
Marlee Bruning Design Editor
Jessica Calihan Design Editor Editorial Page Board
Historically, anxiety about cannabis distribution has
Anna Migliaccio Asst. Design Editor James Shapiro Editorial Page Editor often been rooted in hysterical misconceptions about Editorials are written by The Herald’s editorial page board.
Julien Ouellet Asst. Design Editor Matt Aks Board member
the substance’s effects and selfish political and eco- Send comments to editorials@browndailyherald.com.
Neal Poole Web Editor Nick Bakshi Board member
Post- magazine Zack Beauchamp Board member
Debbie Lehmann Board member
Arthur Matuszewski
Kelly McKowen
Editor-in-Chief
Editor-in-Chief
William Martin Board member correction
Jessica Calihan, Julien Ouellet, Designers
Anne Artley, Geoffrey Kyi, Jennifer Popp, Carmen Shulman, Copy Editors
In an article in Wednesday’s Herald, (“Saint-Vil ’10 wins Rhody’s Tiara,” Sept. 30), the headline incorrectly
suggested that Deborah Saint-Vil ’10 won the Miss Rhode Island pageant. In fact, she won a $1,000 community
Sydney Ember, George Miller, Ben Schreckinger, Suzy Weiss, Kyla Wilkes, Night Editors
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Opinions
The Brown Daily Herald
The Brown bookstore bamboozle
BY BRIAN JUDGE
Opinions Columnist
By Oscar Wilde’s definition of a cynic —
a man who knows the price of ever ything
and the value of nothing — my boss at a
used textbook store I worked at this sum-
mer must have been the most cynical man
on the planet.
He could tell you off of the top of his
head where to find Rossum’s Universal Ro-
bots, what class it was being used for, and
how much it cost, but could not care less
about robot dystopias. Books were just a
product he was selling — a means to make
a living. One might go so far as to call him
alienated from the true value of the books
he sells.
The same specter is haunting Thayer
Street: the specter of overpriced textbooks
and commoditized learning. While look-
ing for a copy of the glossy special-edition
Brown University Laborator y Manual, I
was absolutely stunned to discover how
absurdly expensive a glorified spiral-bound
notebook was. In that moment, sticker
shock supplanted whatever interest I may
have had in learning chemistr y.
If the cost of books has any purchase on
a student’s class selection, then the Open
Curriculum isn’t allowed to work its mag-
A retreat from anti-intellectualism
BY ANTHONY BADAMI
Opinions Columnist
Jonah Fabricant’s recent column (“A retreat
from pedantry,” Sept. 22) is a stupefying and
wandering criticism of the use of academic
jargon in friendly conversation. He calls it
unnecessarily mystifying and invites his
readers to retreat from such conduct.
I am not of a similar mind. Instead, I in-
vite my peers to face pedantry head-on rath-
er than retreat into flavorless vocabulary.
Why might I have such an inclination?
I’ll answer this question by responding to
one of Fabricant’s. He writes, “Is the added
precision I would gain by introducing an un-
usual term worth the resulting loss of sim-
plicity?”
I dare say yes. Contrary to those who
embrace mental torpor, I would argue that
the injection of academic jargon into every-
day conversation is necessary and valuable.
Jonah deems the use of intellectual lingo as
simply a “shorthand (way) of referencing,”
a catalog of “academic buzzwords” not to be
“used outside of the classroom.”
This is nonsense. As a political theorist,
I can tell you that these “buzzwords” (espe-
cially “hegemony”) have made immeasur-
able contributions to the way human soci-
ety is understood. These words are not just
pseudo-intellectual argot; they are incred-
ibly rich and complex responses to some of
the toughest and most fundamental ques-
tions of human existence.
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Visit www.browndailyherald.com to comment on opinion and editorial content.
ic because price has obstructed the value
that a student places on his or her aca-
demic interests. Consequently, course se-
lection becomes an array of advantageous
purchases instead of a reflection of genu-
ine interest.
Imagine if you had to give 100 dollars
(or whatever the average cost of a lecture
is) to a clerk at a register in front of the
classroom, or give the security guard a
If the cost of books has any purchase on
a student’s class selection, then the open
curriculum isn’t allowed to work its magic
twenty before entering the Science Librar y
instead of swiping your card. Seems ridicu-
lous, right? However, it is indisputable that
this would fundamentally change the way
in which people relate to their studies, be-
cause it makes price more of an aspect of
one’s day to day experience. A liberal arts
education isn’t about maximizing the mon-
etar y return on our investment. It is about
cultivating and broadening our intellectual
faculties, not our eye for bargains.
Consider his two examples: “totally dia-
lectical” and “subversively heteronorma-
tive.” He dismissively argues that these
“mundane” terms could easily be boiled
down to something like “the two things are
opposed” or “I’m gay, and that offends me.”
But that’s not what those terms mean.
Dialectical thinking, for example, is a theo-
retical approach to analytic and philosophi-
cal discovery, utilized by powerful thinkers
like Marx and Hegel, that seeks to make
If you can describe your morning oatmeal at
the Ratty using “French literary criticism,” then
you’re someone I want to eat with!
sense of the contentious relationship among
social, political and economic forces. It is
wondrously nuanced and one of the more
interesting subjects I’ve studied as a Brown
undergraduate.
Nor are these terms used solely for pos-
turing. A queer student at Brown, express-
ing his or her repulsion to heteronorma-
tive behavior, is not merely performing for
peers or dressing up distress. Rather, he
or she is expressing genuine opposition to
hateful and entrenched prejudice. Person-
ally, if I were to overhear this bit of oppro-
Thursday, October 1, 2009 | Page 11
The vast majority of costs and prices are
dealt with before the semester even starts
so as to allow students to pursue their stud-
ies with as few distractions (price tags) as
possible. This allows each of us to make
decisions based on the value we find in go-
ing to see a professor during office hours
or eating hot ham at the Ratty, and not how
much it costs.
At first glance, having the bookstore
sell textbooks at cost may seem ridiculous:
a bookstore is a business like any other,
and it is entitled to make a profit to sus-
tain its own operation. But the bookstore is
an essential part of this non-profit univer-
sity just like the anthropology department,
and the anthropology department certain-
ly isn’t expected to turn a profit. Having
one’s academic interests add to the black
ink on the university’s balance sheet sug-
gests that Brown derives at least some pe-
brium in a food line at Jo’s, my heart would
skip a beat.
As a high school student, I understood
the benefit of keeping academics affairs
separate; my high school social circles were
not exactly bookish. Whether it was a farm
party or a friendly dinner, loud and boorish
behavior earned you attention — the cere-
bral did not.
But, as a junior at Brown, I’ve moved past
this. Why keep the academic, social and per-
sonal spheres separate? If you refuse to use
“academic” language in common social set-
tings, then you quarantine intellectual study
to the confines of a classroom. I implore
you: Let the spheres mingle. If you can de-
scribe your morning oatmeal at the Ratty us-
ing “French literary criticism,” then you’re
someone I want to eat with!
A significant part of Fabricant’s column
hinges on a GQ article concerning the
“douchiest” American colleges. May I say,
for the record, who gives a flying what’s-
its-name about GQ? I understand the fear
cuniar y benefit from putting price before
value, which is antithetical to the “spirit of
free inquir y” that Brown nominally hopes
to foster. To state the obvious, textbooks
are essential to ever y student’s academic
experience at Brown and should not have
to be stigmatized by a scarlet number.
The bookstore has ever ything you need
for your Brown education your tuition bill
doesn’t supply. Obviously, these costs
can’t be precisely anticipated in advance
because you get to choose your classes.
While much ado has been raised about the
proposed $300 per annum tax on private
Providence college students, the “$400-
500” that the bookstore Web site estimates
for course materials for a semester is ac-
cepted as an inevitable semiannual rite.
Given the already hefty price tag as-
sociated with joining this community and
the questions of fairness that others have
raised in conjunction with this issue, it
seems to me that ever y effort should be
made to ensure that students are free to
pursue their own genuine academic inter-
ests free from the specter of price.
Brian Judge ’11 cannot be too careful
in the choice of his enemies. He can be
reached at brian_judge@brown.edu.
of alienating one’s peers with elaborate lan-
guage, but no one has the authority (be they
GQ or Cosmo) to tell me how to act, how to
speak or how to think, so that I might es-
chew “douchiness.”
It seems like Fabricant’s real issue is with
the misuse of language. But this problem is
not solely academic — it pervades all forms
of vocabulary and communication. Correct-
ing malapropism requires the introduction
of difficult words into the public arena. If we
let complex words fester in some miserable
carrel, they’re useless.
I will end with a distinctly populist notion
brought to you by Enlightenment thinker
and French essayist François-Marie Arouet.
He writes, “No problem can withstand the
assault of sustained thinking.”
Academic language does not obscure
simplicity — it obscures simplistic think-
ing. It complicates matters. It exposes the
gray and challenges orthodoxy. It gives us a
chance to sustain thinking.
When, might I ask, will we get a better
opportunity to utilize these ideas and words
in everyday conversation? It’s Brown for
heaven’s sake! So, I ask you, with barren
angularity, to incorporate academic jargon
into whatever kind of social setting you find
yourself in, whether it’s a dull night out or
over a bowl of bland oatmeal.
Anthony Badami ’11 is a political theory
concentrator from Kansas City, MO.
He can be reached at
anthony_badami@brown.edu
 PUT DOWN THE FORK \\ marsha

LET’S WORKSHOP IT OUT \\ arthur

THE (SEX) LIVES OF OTHERS \\ s
TOP 10 IMPORTS \\ editor”s ten

MILLER MINUTES \\ the shrecki

A WORD OR TWO ON BUDWEISER

HOLDING COURT \\ fred milgri

POST PERIODICAL \\ sarah link

LONG DISTANCE \\ lauren neal
04 university

05 university
contentS
Today 5

07 lifestyle
03 upfront
to m o r r o w

08 culture

09 culture
Popular RI nightclub to reopen to day

The Brown Daily Herald

M. water polo gets in its groove

Thursday, October 1, 2009

7 62 / 43 66 / 56
Page 12

t h e n e w s i n i m ag e s
post- magazine
Brown university ● october 1, 2009 ● Volume 10 ● issue 14
post- inside

contentS
03 upfront

magazine
TOP 10 IMPORTS \\ editor”s ten
PUT DOWN THE FORK \\ marshall katheder
MILLER MINUTES \\ the shrecking ball

Brown university ● october 1, 2009 ● Volume 10 ● issue 14

04 university
HOLDING COURT \\ fred milgrim

05 university

post-
THE (SEX) LIVES OF OTHERS \\ sarah husk

3 07 lifestyle
A WORD OR TWO ON BUDWEISER \\ ian nappier

08 culture
LONG DISTANCE \\ lauren neal
c a l e n da r 09 culture
POST PERIODICAL \\ sarah link
Today, October 1 Friday, October 2 LET’S WORKSHOP IT OUT \\ arthur matuszewski

11 AM — Seasonal Flu Clinic, Jo- 12 PM — Art and History Exhibition, 10 lifestyle

siah’s
5 pm — Year of India Launch: “Songs
of a Sorrowful Man” Film Premiere and
Reception, Salomon 101
NICE AND TERRIBLE THINGS \\ ted & alex
John Nicholas Brown Center
11 entertainment
4 pm — Arts, Culture and the Soul of STEADFAST AS FILM ART \\ marshall katheder
I CAN SEE EVERY MONSTER AS THEY COME \\ sam carter
a City, Rites and Reason Theatre
12 lifestyle
NO MORE CASUAL FRIDAYS \\ allie wollner
YEARNING TO BE KINKY \\ the hardy brothers

menu
Sharpe Refectory
Lunch — Hot Turkey Sandwich with
Sauce, Bruschetta Mozzarella, Mashed
Red Potatoes with Garlic
Dinner — Pumpkin Raviolis with
Cream Sauce, Braised Beef Tips, Rice
Pilaf with Zucchini
RELEASE DATE– Thursday, October 1, 2009
Verney-Woolley Dining Hall comics
Lunch — Chicken Pot Pie, Broccoli
Birdfish| Matthew Weiss
Quiche, Baked Potato Bar
Dinner — Chopped Sirloin with
Mushroom Sauce, Vegan Roasted
Vegetable Stew, Mashed Potatoes

Los Angeles Times

c r o sDaily
s w oCrossword
rd Puzzle
Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
ACROSS 10 Steakhouse 40 Sweep under the 56 Double agent
1 Gillette’s __ II request rug 57 Pantomimed
razor 11 Canadian gas 42 Tylenol target disco song title
5 Young reporters sign 45 “Good buddies” 58 Many August
9 Half-and-half half 12 Oodles 47 Sheathes babies Cabernet Voltaire | Abe Pressman
14 __ sapiens 13 Clothing store 50 White 66-Down, 60 Don of talk radio
15 European capital section e.g. 62 Outlet letters
16 Speed 18 Bygone Serbian 51 Cat, in Cancún 63 Golfer’s choice
17 Doe auto 52 Land chronicled 64 AMEX rival
20 Get loose for the 19 “Finding Nemo” by C.S. Lewis 66 Pied Piper
game studio 55 One giving follower
21 French monarch 24 Laura of Starbuck 67 BlackBerry or
22 Long, long time “Jurassic Park” orders? Sidekick, briefly
23 Matured 26 Plural ending for
25 Maker of neur- ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:
ergonomic 27 Meal on a skewer
kitchenware 28 1 + 1 = 3, for
27 Do example
35 Suffix with ranch 29 “__ a Good Man,
36 Coastal bird Charlie Brown”
37 Curb, as 30 How contracts
spending are usually
38 Dentist’s directive signed
41 Puppy’s bite 31 Pres., vis-à-vis Dot Comic | Eshan Mitra and Brendan Hainline
43 Nearly boil the armed forces
44 Relating to the 32 Has __ up one’s
body’s main sleeve
blood line 33 City in which de
46 Laddie’s negative Gaulle was born
48 Indians, on 34 Rear-__: hit from
scoreboards behind
49 Dough 39 Grand Central,
53 Sushi fish e.g.: Abbr. xwordeditor@aol.com 10/01/09
54 Final Four initials
55 __ acetate:
banana oil
59 Hitter’s stat
61 Duke Ellington’s
“Take the __”
65 D’oh
68 Big name in
kitchen foil
69 Sculptor’s subject
70 Altar exchanges Hippomaniac | Mat Becker
71 Animal
72 She-bears, in
Seville
73 Promgoer’s
concern, maybe

DOWN
1 Melting period
2 Gossipy Barrett
3 Passionate deity
4 Hustler
5 Vie
6 Military morale-
boosting gp.
7 Indistinct image
8 “Already?”
9 “Evita” narrator By Jonathan Seff
(c)2009 Tribune Media Services, Inc.
10/01/09