Daily Herald the Brown
vol. cxliv, no. 99 | Wednesday, November 4, 2009 | Serving the community daily since 1891
Ethicist Singer challenges
man-animal ‘speciesism’
By Sydney Ember
Senior Staff Writer
The animal liberation movement is a
“far-reaching revolution,” philosopher
and animal rights advocate Peter
Singer told a packed MacMillan 117
Tuesday night. In his lecture, “Eth-
ics and Animals: Where we’ve come
from, and where we need to go,” the
world-renowned ethicist shared his
controversial views about the ethical
basis for giving animals the same
moral considerations as humans and
the justification for treating all beings
as a “community of equals.”
“We should give interests equal
consideration, whatever those in-
terests might be,” Singer said. “It’s
hard to say that species member-
ship should mark a morally crucial
divide.”
Because animals suffer like hu-
man beings and can feel pain, Singer
said, humans cannot justify exploiting
other species for food production and
research. “This equal consideration
Field stops declined sharply, DPS data trove shows
By Ellen Cushing
Senior Staff Writer
Instances of Department of Public
Safety officers stopping people on
campus have declined by more than
half since early 2008, according
to detailed field-stop reports from
DPS. The reports, which the depart-
ment began releasing in 2007, also
suggest that officers have not been
conducting stops in a racially-biased
manner, members of an oversight
committee that reviews the data
said.
After 63 years, Loui’s still has strong ties to Brown and the local community.
inside
News......1-5
Sports....6-7
Editorial...10
Opinion....11
Today.......12
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of interests is one that we routinely
violate,” he said.
Singer, a professor at Princeton,
came to Brown with support from
the Brown Animal Rights Club and
the Kaleidoscope Lecture Fund, a
group promoting the expression of
diversity of ideas and opinions at the
University. Though his appearances
have spurred protests in the past,
Tuesday’s talk occurred without
incident, save a quiet protest and
pamphleting from members of the
Lyndon LaRouche movement before
the event.
Singer began cultivating his
provocative stance while studying
at Oxford University as a graduate
student. His exploration of bioethics
was started after a lunch companion
piqued his interest in the treatment of
animals. When his colleague chose
a salad over a meat-sauced pasta,
Singer said he wondered why people
avoided eating animal products. Un-
continued on page 3
DPS officers performed many fewer
field stops through June 2009 than
in the first half of 2008, the data
show — 54 people were stopped
in the first half of 2009, compared
with 130 in 2008. Between July and
December 2008, 95 people were
stopped.
The reports break the numbers
of stops down by race, gender and
university affiliation of the party
stopped.
Mark Porter, director of public
safety, attributed the decrease to a
general decline in crime on campus.
Jenna Stark / Herald
News, 3
sexy ed
Trojan Condoms’ report
card gives Brown high
marks for sexual health
195 Angell Street, Providence, Rhode Island
In a lecture on ethics and animal rights, world-renowned philosopher
Peter Singer called for an “equal consideration of interests.”
“We’ve managed to reduce crime,
so it goes hand-in-hand that our
stops would be down,” he said.
“We’re all gratified that the num-
ber of stops has gone down,” said
Associate Provost and Director of
Institutional Diversity Valerie Wil-
son, who sits on the Public Safety
Oversight Committee.
Wilson said she and the rest of
the committee were satisfied with
the information these breakdowns
yielded.
“We looked at the data in great
detail, and I think we were all very
Loui’s hits the small screen on Food Network
By Jenna Stark
News Editor
Loui’s Diner has long been famous
among Brown students as a good
place to end the night, start the
morning or a combination of the
two — but now the diner’s pumpkin
chocolate chip pancakes, muffins
and barbecued chicken-and-cheese
ravioli may be recognized across
the nation.
An unmistakable landmark on
Brook Street for decades, Loui’s
Diner was featured on the Food
Network show “Diners, Drive-ins
and Dives” in an episode that aired
on Monday at 10 p.m. The show,
which first premiered in 2007,
Nick Sinnott-Armstrong / Herald
satisfied with the information we
got,” Wilson said. The stops, as
outlined in the report, seem to be
“even-handed,” she added.
“There is a general sense that of-
ficers are emphasizing appropriate
discretion, and there does not seem
to be bias,” Wilson said.
Indeed, the demographics of
those stopped reflected in the data
mirror the racial breakdown of the
general student body. More men
than women were stopped despite
continued on page 5
follows its host Guy Fieri as he
crosses the countr y hunting for
the best greasy spoon joints —
ever ything from clam shacks to
burger bars.
Enthusiastic customers and
the diner’s employees squeezed
into the crowded restaurant Mon-
FEATURE
day night to watch its five min-
utes of fame on television and eat
delicious food.
The screening at Loui’s received
lots of laughs and cheers through-
out the show and thunderous ap-
plause at the end.
Fieri described Loui’s as a
Sports, 7
Volleyball woes
The weekend was rough for
Bruno, with losses to Penn
and Princeton
Accreditation
report comes
out today
By nicole Friedman
Senior Staf f Writer
The results of a major external
audit of the University and its poli-
cies will be made public Wednesday
morning, Provost David Kertzer ’69
P’95 P’98 announced at a monthly
faculty meeting Tuesday. A team
from the New England Association
of Schools and Colleges visited this
past spring to launch the widescale
review, which the University spent
more than a year preparing for.
The reports have been known to
a select group of top administrators
and faculty for some time, and the
University has begun to respond
to some of the recommendations,
Kertzer added.
Also at Tuesday’s meeting,
the body moved to amend rules
concerning dismissal of faculty
members and heard an update on
the recent accomplishments of Uni-
versity research programs.
The NEASC review, which is
conducted ever y 10 years, evalu-
ates schools on 11 different stan-
dards, including their academic
programs, students, technologi-
cal resources and integrity. Since
teams of administrators from peer
schools lead these evaluations,
universities like Brown that are
virtually assured of formal re-ac-
creditation often use the process
as an opportunity to examine their
strengths and weaknesses.
The report is “ver y positive,”
Kertzer said at the meeting, where
he presented some key points and
excerpts.
Since its last accreditation,
continued on page 4
“family-owned restaurant” that
“still ser ves great food at reason-
able prices.”
But Loui’s regulars know the
diner as much more than a good
place to grab a meal.
“They’re sort of like family to
me,” said Frances Carpenter ’84,
a Providence resident. “It has a
sense of warmth with the people
that hasn’t changed.”
Loui’s, a landmark
For many Brown students, it is
difficult to imagine Brook Street
without Loui’s. The diner first
opened 63 years ago under the
continued on page 2
Opinions, 11
first aid
Simon Liebling ’12 says
the U.’s promise to meet
financial need is empty
herald@browndailyherald.com
Page 2 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Wednesday, November 4, 2009

C ampus N EWS “Interesting, like everything here is.”

— Guy Fieri, Food Network host, on granola pancakes at Loui’s

For five shining minutes, Loui’s Diner gets Food Network spotlight
continued from page 1
management of Louis Gianfran-
cesco, then a 25-year-old Italian
immigrant.
Before opening the diner, Louis
and his brother ran a market in
Eagle Park but temporarily left the
grocer y business to enlist in the
U.S. Army as cooks during World
War II, said Nina Cullinane, Louis’
granddaughter, who now works in
the diner.
Many of the diner’s recipes
originated from the brothers’ Army
cookbook, though some have been
modified over the years, according
to Cullinane. “The home fries are
what the soldiers in World War II
were eating,” she said.
After WWII ended, the Gian-
francesco brothers reopened their
market in Eagle Park and built new
property at 286 Brook St. The new
building held a grocery store on its
top floor and a diner in the base-
ment, said Johnny Gianfrancesco,
Louis’ son, who now runs the diner
with his brother full-time.
The grocer y store delivered
food directly to Rhode Island resi-
dents’ homes, even putting food
that needed to be kept cold in the
owners’ refrigerators if they were
out, Gianfrancesco said.
“It was a dif ferent time,” he
added.
Loui’s Diner then was ver y dif-
ferent from the institution Brown
students know and love today.
Customers used “meal tickets”
to purchase a set number of meals
in advance, and the menu consisted
of more standard diner fare, such
as pot roast and meatloaf, Gian-
francesco said.
Eventually, as the diner attract-
sudoku
ed more and more business, the
grocery store closed. Running the
diner was no easy task — Louis
insisted that the diner’s doors be
open from 2 a.m. to 12 p.m., Gian-
francesco said.
The diner, which was known
for its friendly atmosphere as well
as its odd hours, catered to both
Providence residents and local col-
lege students who would come to
restaurant in need of hearty food
after a night on the town.
As Louis aged, the diner’s hours
evolved, although they remain dis-
tinctive. Loui’s now opens at 5 a.m.
and closes promptly at 3 p.m. seven
days a week, Gianfrancesco said.
The diner’s odd hours have its
benefits, including drawing an al-
ternative crowd. “If you open at 5
a.m., you get the drunk people,”
Cullinane said.
“It used to be more fun before
when we were open for late nights,” Jenna Stark / Herald
Gianfrancesco said. He’s consid- Fans of Loui’s gathered there Monday night to see the restaurant featured on the Food Network.
ered reinstating the diner’s old
hours, he said, but he’s too busy July 29, featured Loui’s granola
managing the family’s various pancakes, turkey dinner and bar-
Providence properties. becued chicken-and-cheese ravioli,
Louis died in August 1999, leav- showing in rapid-fire succession
ing the diner in the care of his six the secret ingredients and instruc-
children who make sure the diner tions behind each signature dish.
maintains the same feel its first Each recipe holds surprises —
owner created. the granola pancakes, for instance,
“It was always my grandfather’s include turmeric and rum along
passion,” Cullinane said. with oats, fruit and honey. In the
episode, Fieri called the pancakes
Home fries and Hollywood “interesting, like ever ything here
Last year, Loui’s Diner received is.”
a call from “Diners, Drive-ins and But the barbecued chicken-and-
Dives,” Cullinane said. Fieri, who cheese ravioli was clearly one of
hosts the show, was referred to Fieri’s favorites. “Off the hook,” George Harrison. building.”
the restaurant by a former John- he said in enjoyment after his “My mom still has a check from Although Garcia generally
son and Wales University student, first bite. JFK, Jr. ’83, and she will never part works daytime hours, he said he
she said. Fieri is not the first celebrity with it,” Cullinane said. worked the 5 a.m. shift once on a
The show, filmed on location to drop by the diner. John F. Ken- But the regular customers — Thursday morning before going to
nedy once sat down for a meal at construction workers, Providence class. “I was so tired I spilled my
Loui’s, as have filmmaker Steven locals and Brown staff and students coffee and cut myself,” he said.
Spielberg P’12 and the Beatles’ — are the ones who keep Loui’s in Still, Garcia said he wouldn’t
business year after year, Gianfran- want to work anywhere else. “It’s
cesco said. my favorite place in the world right
“We have a ver y close bond now,” he added.
between Loui’s and Brown,” Cul- The students who came to
linane agreed. Loui’s Diner to watch the show
“The atmosphere is great,” said seemed to agree.
Josh Garcia ’11, who works at the “I love Loui’s and I love the TV
diner on weekends. The diner is show,” said RISD student Hannah
a “hodgepodge of locals, students Tarr.
and professors. It is its own com- But Fieri may have said it best:
munity by itself in a one-room “What a great place, man.”

Daily Herald
the Brown

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Wednesday, November 4, 2009
C ampus N EWS
Trojan gives U. high marks for sexual health
By Alex Bell
Staff Writer
Trojan Condoms released their an-
nual Sexual Health Report Card last
week, ranking Brown ninth among
141 schools across the nation.
The report card ranked the
University of South Carolina first,
followed by Stanford University,
the University of Connecticut and
Columbia University.
“The survey is a great resource
for the student health centers to
see how they compare with other
schools,” said Bert Sperling, presi-
dent of Sperling’s Best Places, the
independent research firm that ran
the study. “I don’t think there’s any-
thing else like this out there.”
Criteria for the four-year-old
survey include students’ opinions
of their health centers, as well as
the quality and cost of sexual health
resources and services at schools,
according to Sperling.
To acquire their data, research-
ers sent a questionnaire to each
school’s health services depart-
ment to gather basic information
on services provided. They also
evaluated the departments’ Web
sites and polled students through
Facebook.
Sperling said the firm’s Face-
book advertising campaign asked
students from each school in the
study to respond to a list of ques-
tions regarding their student health
centers and sexual issues. The
campaign brought in some 7,000
responses total, with an average of
50 per school, and no less than 20
from each school, Sperling said.
Brown has always been in the
top third of the ranked schools and
has increased in rank every year,
from 17th last year and 39th the
year before. This year is Brown’s
first time in the top 10.
Brown Health Educator Naomi
Ninneman said she was skepti-
cal about the accuracy of the
rankings.
“The reason we moved up last
year was because they hadn’t really
done their research, to be honest,”
Ninneman said. Sperling admitted
that the evaluation relied more heav-
ily on anecdotes than it does now.
This year, a new condom dis-
penser in the bathroom of J. Walter
Wilson was likely an important fac-
tor in increasing the University’s
score, Ninneman added.
Brown scored in the 97th per-
centile in the Facebook student
polls, Sperling said.
“Students felt that Brown was do-
ing a very good job with the health
center, has complete services, is
trustworthy — that sort of thing,”
he said.
Ninneman said Brown’s ap-
proach to sexual health includes
information programs — such
as “Sex Jeopardy,” table-slipping
campaigns, guest speakers and the
Health Services Web site — and
supplies provided at low costs, in-
cluding condom dispensers, cheap
condoms available on resident peer
counselors’ doors and contracep-
tives available at Health Services.
Sperling also said Health Ser-
vices’ Web site was easy to use.
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Page 3
“At Brown, it’s a risk-reduction strategy.”
— Naomi Ninneman, health educator, on Brown’s sexual health resources
Singer: Factory farming
in societal ‘blind spot’
continued from page 1 “We don’t have any big stake in
continuing to eat animal products
satisfied with traditional justifications — that was a terrible pun, sorry,”
for animal exploitation — Singer cited he said, eliciting laughter from the
arguments of Aristotle and Thomas audience. “We are going to have to
Aquinas as examples of flawed ratio- abandon animal products as part of
nalization — he began examining the our diet.” But Singer was quick to
fundamental principles that ostensi- stress that some circumstances make
bly divide animals from humans. a meat-free diet impractical, adding
“I decided species is not going to he would not demand similar reforms
be the criterion that is going to sepa- in impoverished areas that depend on
rate us from non-human animals,” meat consumption for survival.
he said. “Clearly, we are violating In order to transition to more
the most basic interest of animals in ethical animal treatment, Singer said
order to produce their flesh.” people should eat meat substitutes
Factory farming — the wide- and develop non-animal or computer
spread industrial practice of raising models for research.
livestock in high-density confinement “I don’t think there’s anything in-
— should be abolished, Singer said, herently unethical about eating an
adding that society has developed animal,” he said. “It’s more a matter
Lara Press / Herald
Trojan’s Sexual Health Report Card gave Brown high marks for easy an ideological “blind spot” to defend of weighing up interests.”
access to contraceptives. the practice. During a question-and-answer
Despite the continued mistreat- session following the lecture, Singer
Health Services’ HIV-testing advocated abstinence, Sperling ment of animals, Singer said, the discussed rationed health-care re-
program is in the “top tier” and its said. But, he added, those schools animal liberation movement has form, the justifications for owning
hours of operation are excellent, often do not provide sexual-health made “encouraging progress.” Some companion animals and the ethics of
he said. resources or inform students about states have passed legislation bar- watching a cat play with a mouse.
Still, Sperling has a few tips safer sex, and thus rank lower. ring certain methods of confinement, After again encouraging a reduc-
for “fine-tuning” the University’s “At Brown, it’s a risk-reduction such as tight chains that can cause tion in worldwide meat consumption,
programs. strategy,” Ninneman said. “Studies lacerations, he said. But Singer said Singer acknowledged the inherent
“There could be more flexibil- show that making condoms avail- there would always be a “significant difficulty in his ideological revolution.
ity as far as students who wanted able does not increase sex, but amount of suffering inflicted on “This is no doubt going to take a lot
to drop in and didn’t want to make it makes sex safer and students animals” unless there is more wide- of time,” he said. “Some people find it
an appointment, for instance,” he healthier.” spread consumer resistance. hard to give up the taste of bacon.”
said.
Though rare, some schools’ stu-
dent publications include columns
for students to read responses to
anonymous questions about sexual
health. These columns boost the
schools’ scores significantly in the
category of availability of anony-
mous advice, Sperling said.
The University’s ratings for stu-
dent peer groups and for lecture and
outreach programs were also not as
high they could be, he said.
“There was some use of that, but
it wasn’t as good as other schools,”
he said.
Male Sexuality Workshop facili-
tator Michael Tackeff ’12 said the
average rating for student groups
is “very bizarre.”
“I’d have to disagree,” he said.
“All of my friends at Ivies and other
schools don’t have anything like
this, so it surprises me that they’d
say we’re not cool with student
groups.”
Sperling said he would also like
to see a specific section on Heath
Services’ Web site “that targets
sexual health and awareness.”
Another category for the rank-
ing was contraceptive availability
and cost.
“Whenever something was
provided for free, that definitely
improved the rankings,” Sperling
said. He noted that Yale was able
to score some extra points in this
category for providing free emer-
gency contraception.
Ninneman said Brown provides
many safer sex resources at mini-
mal cost, but providing them for
free would not be feasible.
The five lowest-ranking schools
have Christian affiliations, including
nearby Providence College, which
ranked third-to-last. The study did
not directly penalize schools that
Page 4
C ampus N EWS
Alum appointed president of Mount Holyoke
By Sarah Julian
Staff Writer
Brown graduate Lynn Pasquerella
PhD’85 will be the 18th president of
Mount Holyoke College, the school
announced on Monday. Pasquer-
ella was selected Oct. 31 in a spe-
cial meeting of the Mount Holyoke
Board of Trustees after a unanimous
recommendation from the Trustees’
search committee.
“Lynn represents the ideal of a
Mount Holyoke education,” said Les-
lie Anne Miller, chair of the Board
of Trustees, in a Holyoke news re-
lease. “She is in the vanguard of a
new generation of academic leaders
who are taking the helm at a time of
great challenge and opportunity for
top liberal arts colleges.”
Pasquerella earned her doctorate
in philosophy from Brown after re-
ceiving her bachelor’s degree from
Mount Holyoke, a women’s college
in South Hadley, Mass., in 1980. Pas-
querella is currently the provost of
the University of Hartford, where
she will remain until she assumes
the Mount Holyoke presidency next
summer.
University of Hartford President
Walter Harrison, in an e-mail to the
school community, asked students
to “please join me in cheering and
crying at the same time as Lynn ac-
cepts this important position.”
Lynn Pasquerella PhD’85 will be Mount Holyoke’s 18th president.
“She and Mount Holyoke have
a very bright future indeed,” he
wrote.
Before working at the University
of Hartford, Pasquerella taught phi-
losophy at the University of Rhode
Island. She later became an associate
dean of the graduate school and later
served as an interim vice provost.
At her swearing-in ceremony,
Pasquerella spoke about “the sin-
gular value of women’s education
and the challenges of articulating the
worth of liberal learning in contem-
porary society.” This sentiment re-
flects the general theme of her work
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
“She is in the vanguard of a new generation of academic
leaders.” — Leslie Anne Miller, Mt. Holyoke Board of Trustees chair
Courtesy of Mary Noble Ours
and research, much of which relates
to ethics and women’s issues.
Pasquerella spoke about her
work with the Africa Center for En-
gineering Social Solutions in Kenya,
where she promotes clean water
delivery and sustainable agriculture
by empowering local women.
She also reflected on the diffi-
culties she faced as the child of a
single parent, her reliance on Pell
Grants and the support of friends
and classmates to succeed at Mount
Holyoke.
Pasquerella will take office on
July 1.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Outside team says U.
has room to improve
continued from page 1
Brown has shown “tremendous
progress” in its graduate school
and is more directed in its expan-
sion, the NEASC team found, ac-
cording to Kertzer. “Brown’s big
ambitions necessitate a strong
central organizing focus, and (the
Plan for Academic Enrichment)
provides such a focused and guid-
ing force,” one excerpt shared with
the faculty reads.
The report also compliments
Brown’s “deeply loyal” and “ver y
knowledgeable” Corporation.
But the NEASC team also of-
fered a range of recommendations,
including adding more Graduate
School alums to the Corporation,
increasing faculty participation in
University governance and institut-
ing more comprehensive evaluation
of “student learning outcomes,”
Kertzer said.
The evaluation team was par-
ticularly concerned that, because
of Brown’s lack of distribution re-
quirements, many students lack
any exposure to the life and physi-
cal sciences. According to recent
data, 6 percent of students graduate
having taken no math or science
courses, and 15 percent graduate
having taken just one math or sci-
ence course, Kertzer said.
Another criticism leveled by
the NEASC team was that the Uni-
versity’s rate of granting tenure
to junior professors is unusually
high — a point Kerzter shared with
the faculty at a meeting earlier this
fall. According to the report, 70
percent of academics who join
Brown as assistant professors are
ultimately granted tenure. The re-
port said that while most faculty
are not bothered by this number,
a small few are calling for “greater
rigor.”
That “minority voice,” the re-
port said, “must become consider-
ably more forceful.”
Kertzer said he was unsure how
the NEASC team had determined
faculty members’ opinions on the
tenure rate. “I don’t think they took
a poll,” he said.
Earlier this year, the University
formed an ad hoc committee to
review its tenure policies, which
hopes to present a report to the
faculty next semester, according to
Kertzer. Associate Professor of Ap-
plied Mathematics Govind Menon
PhD’01 was recently added to the
committee’s roster in response to a
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concern that junior faculty were not
adequately represented, Kertzer
said. Menon received tenure in
2008.
At least one of the report’s rec-
ommendations has been addressed
entirely, Kertzer said: The Univer-
sity now has high-per formance
computing capability — which
the report suggested it obtain —
thanks to a partnership with IBM,
he said.
The faculty also voted unani-
mously Tuesday to recommend
that the Corporation amend the
Faculty Rules and Regulations re-
garding the dismissal of a faculty
member.
“The spirit is to clarify the situ-
ation and correct some of the in-
adequacies of the previous faculty
rules,” said Chung-I Tan, chair of
both the physics department and
the Faculty Executive Commit-
tee.
The new language explains the
procedures surrounding the dis-
missal process and clarifies the
various causes for dismissal. After
lengthy faculty discussion, three
“friendly amendments” were added
to further clarify the text.
Still, “the guidelines can never
be clear enough to tell committees
what to do,” President Ruth Sim-
mons reminded the faculty. “They
have to use their judgment.”
Vice President for Research
Clyde Briant also updated the
faculty on his office’s recent ac-
complishments and spoke about
ongoing partnerships and efforts to
“develop an entire research culture
here at Brown.”
The University has already
reaped $31 million for research
from the federal stimulus bill, he
said, adding that the Office of Spon-
sored Projects is hoping to expand
its staff to accommodate the in-
creased workload of submitting
more research proposals.
“We’re living in a time where
regulation is higher than it’s ever
been,” he said, which means the
process of compiling a grant has
grown increasingly lengthy. “We do
want to assist the faculty as much
as possible.”
Though Simmons was sched-
uled to give her monthly report at
the faculty meeting, she asked to
be moved to the end of the agenda
after faculty discussion lasted lon-
ger than anticipated and ended up
without time to speak.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
C ampus N EWS
Summary statistics
shed light on crime
continued from page 1
the fact that Brown’s student body
tilts slightly female.
Concerns about bias in DPS’s
field stops ignited the campus in
the fall of 2006, when officers who
detained Chipalo Street ’06 MA’07
faced accusations of having used ex-
cessive force. The incident spurred
students to found the now-defunct
Coalition for Police Accountability
and Institutional Transparency.
That incident, Wilson said,
provided a “real educational
moment.”
Since then, DPS has made several
moves to increase transparency and
communication with the community,
officials said. Those included creat-
ing the PSOC and releasing the field
stop data.
“All of those things that were
unanswered questions in the past
are now right there in the data,”
Wilson said.
The goal of the reports is to
enhance the community’s trust in
public safety officers, PSOC member
Evan Holownia ’11 wrote in an e-mail
to The Herald.
“I think that DPS releases the
data for the sake of transparency,
so that there are no questions as to
the validity of an officer’s decision
to stop individuals or motor vehicles
when there is suspicious activity,”
Holownia wrote. “The reason for
publishing the data, therefore, has
to do with students’ right to be aware
of the details surrounding investiga-
tory stops and inquire about their
legitimacy.”
Wilson said the report was sym-
bolic of a wider effort on the part of
DPS to communicate with the Brown
community.
“The numbers only tell one part
of the story,” she said. “Greater com-
munication out to the community
— that’s the other part of the story.
And communication has been much
better around the whole issue of the
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Page 5
presence of the police and public
safety on campus.”
Shane Easter ’10, who joined
Co-PAIT after the Street incident
occurred early in his freshman year,
said he applauded DPS’s efforts at
transparency but remains skeptical
of DPS and the data.
“I want to have faith in DPS and
assume that those numbers are
valid numbers,” he said. “The fact
that they are keeping track of those
numbers is an important effort, and
I commend them for making that
effort.”
Wilson said that she does not
Freddy Lu / Herald
believe the decrease in stops is in-
Department of Public Safety officers stand watch outside the Salomon Center.
dicative of flagging commitment on
the part of DPS to pursue leads or merits a stop and detailed training reports. DPS officers were first giv- we were arming the department,”
report data. on how to conduct themselves dur- en authorization to stop suspicious Porter said. “We wanted to make
“I think this just means a good ing a stop. motor vehicles in January 2008. sure that we had the best practices
job is being done here,” she said. The reports are not limited to According to Porter and Carey, for being proactive about insuring
“I think the information presented information about field stops. They the field stop report was originally impartial policing.”
is comprehensive.” also show that in the first six months launched in 2007 as part of the de- Carey said that the decision to
Senior Vice President for Corpo- of 2009, DPS reported about 19,000 partment’s Field Stop Integrity Initia- implement the FSII did not come
ration Affairs and University Gover- service and emergency calls, about tive, which aimed to “enhance the directly out of the Street incident,
nance Russell Carey ’91 MA’06, also 11,000 of which were summons to department’s policies and protocols but rather from a general impulse
a member of PSOC, echoed Wilson’s University buildings for routine around field incidences” and prevent toward greater transparency.
sentiments. problems like lock-outs. The calls bias, according to Porter. “A large part of it is around the
“We have a high degree of confi- resulted in 873 incident reports. Porter and Carey said the FSII issue of trust,” Carey said, adding
dence that officers are documenting Officers performed 21 motor came primarily out of the decision, that officers’ ability to protect the
these stops appropriately,” he said. vehicle stops between January and made in early 2006, to allow DPS community “is directly related to the
In addition to increasing trans- June this year, up from 17 over the officers to carry firearms. relationship the students, faculty and
parency, DPS has made an effort to same priod in 2008, according to the “It was around that time that staff have with the officers.”
improve of the clarity of its grievance
procedures.
Anyone stopped by DPS has
the right to ask why, Porter said,
and those who think they have
been unfairly targeted may file a
complaint.
“Students should know that they
have every right to question officers’
decisions to stop them, especially if
they feel that the stops were unwar-
ranted or inappropriate,” Holownia
wrote. “PSOC reviews complaints
and cases to ensure that there is no
misconduct.”
DPS officers receive training on
how to appropriately handle a stop,
Porter said, including education
about how to identify what legally
SportsWednesday
The Brown Daily Herald
Volleyball
drops two in
tough weekend
By Elisabeth Avallone
Spor ts Staf f Writer
The volleyball team saw disappoint-
ing results this weekend, falling
to Princeton, 3-0, on Friday night
and to Penn, 3-1, the following af-
ternoon. With the losses, Brown
drops to 5-15 overall this season
and 1-8 in the Ivy League.
Princeton 3, Brown 0
Princeton dominated the first
set as it earned a 25-16 victor y.
Despite the strong performance
of Spencer McAndrews ’12, who
totaled 13 assists, two digs and
two kills, the Bears were unable to
match up against the Tigers, falling
25-15 and 25-14 for the sweep.
Brianna Williamson ’11 powered
the Bears’ attack with nine kills and
six digs. Katrina Post ’13 and Ann
continued on page 7
Men’s water polo on the up and up with victory over MIT
By Liza Jones
Contributing Writer
As the Northern Division Cham-
pionships swiftly approach, men’s
water polo appears to be playing
stronger than ever. In their recent
game against MIT on Sunday, the
Bears edged out the Engineers,
14-12.
MIT took the lead, 4-2, after
eight minutes of play. But the
Bears did not let this crush their
The volleyball team dropped two games over the weekend and dropped its season record to 5-15.
morale, and they scored six goals
to MIT’s one in the second quar-
ter, leading to a halftime score,
8-5, in favor of Bruno. Despite
MIT outscoring Brown, 7-6, in the
second half, the Bears’ impressive
second quarter allowed them to
still claim victor y.
The win would not have been
possible without Gordon Hood
’11 leading the offense. Of the 14
goals scored, Hood contributed
seven, along with three assists.
In honor of his performance, the
Collegiate Water Polo Association
named Hood this week’s Player
of the Week.
Hood was not the only Bear to
receive honors from the CWPA.
Svetozar Stefanovic ’13 earned
Rookie of the Week honors as
well, bringing his weekly award
total to eight. Living up to his
honors, Stefanovic notched two
goals against MIT, as did fellow
freshman Ryan Gladych ’13.
The team’s two seniors, Kent
Holland ’10 and Zach Levko ’10,
both had strong games on Senior
Day. Head coach Felix Mercado
said there is no question that
these two seniors have done a
good job in leading the team this
season. Holland commanded the
cage with 14 saves, while Levko
added a goal to contribute to the
win. Brandon Yoshimura ’11 and
Corey Schwar tz ’11 each also
Wednesday, November 4, 2009 | Page 6
Herald File Photo
scored a goal.
“Overall, I thought we played
okay — it wasn’t a perfect game
but the impor tant thing is that
we came out with the win, and
offensively we have built some
momentum going into the cham-
pionship,” said Mercado. But he
admitted that some things need
to improve defensively before this
weekend.
With the confidence of this win
sitting in their pocket, first-seed
Brown is now ready to travel to
Cambridge this weekend for the
Northern Division Championship
semifinals on Saturday. Brown will
play the winner of the Har vard-
MIT game. Mercado said his main
worr y about the team this week-
end is the overall level of confi-
dence. While they have the ability
to beat ever y team, that does not
mean anything if they “don’t show
up mentally,” he said.
Favre more
hate-able
than ever
It’s hard to believe the NFL season
is half over.
It was only two months ago
when NFL fans still thought the
Tennessee Titans had a legitimate
chance of
Ethan Hammerman
Nailed winning the
Super Bowl,
the Indianapolis Colts could have
trouble adjusting to the new regime
of Jim Caldwell and the Buffalo Bills
— with the addition of Terrell Ow-
ens — would become one of the top
passing teams in the NFL.
But instead of any of these pos-
sible storylines, another one, just
as intriguing if not more so, has
emerged: the increased hate-ability
of Brett Favre.
To be fair, this started two off-
seasons ago. You know, the first
time Favre retired. Favre had
played out his career in Green Bay
and truly was, and is, one of the
best quarterbacks to ever play. With
his charismatic leadership, strong
arm and iron-clad gut, Favre led the
Packers to success after success.
Even more interesting was the
relationship between Favre and his
cheesehead brethren. Green Bay
is the smallest city in the country
to host a major professional sports
team. The team is publicly owned
by fans as shareholders. Football
Sunday at Lambeau Field is like a
religion, and Favre was the Jesus-
like figure to propel them to vic-
tory.
Then, the 2007 offseason came
around, and Favre said he wanted
to retire. Finally, he was leaving
the game. The city of Green Bay
treated it like a day of mourning.
Flags were flown at half-mast, and
the true cheeseheads were pro-
foundly saddened but proud of all
that Favre had done for their small
organization.
But come training camp, Favre
wanted back in. And, mind you, this
was after Aaron Rodgers had been
entrenched as the starter, the heir
to Favre’s throne. Favre came back
to Green Bay and started to create
a ruckus. He whined about not get-
ting the opportunity to play.
And then general manager Ted
Thompson had enough and shipped
him off to the New York Jets, where
he languished through a 9-7 season
and missed the playoffs.
Now, I was a little bit surprised
about, well, the lack of reaction that
came with Favre’s trade.
Sure, some people were upset
that he had been spirited away in
the dark of night. But others actu-
ally defended Favre, saying that he
just wanted to play and was treated
unfairly by the Packers’ manage-
ment. Besides, he did go to the
AFC — he wouldn’t have to face
his former team. So the season went
on as usual and people ended up
ignoring it for the most part.
Then Favre retired again. And
continued on page 7
Page 7
S ports W ednesday
Favre moves
from champ
to chump
continued from page 6
rumors spread of him meeting with
coach Brad Childress of the Minnesota
Vikings.
This was a problem. I know that
when I first saw this on ESPN News,
I was appalled. How could Favre do
this? Turn on the team that had sup-
ported him for so many years, the fans
that had named their kids after him,
the religion that had been spawned
in Green Bay due to his great play? It
seemed impossible.
And then, eventually, he signed with
the Vikings. Now they are 6-1 after
beating Green Bay for the second time
this season on Sunday.
There was once a time when Favre
was considered one of the nicest guys
in the NFL. He was thought of as a
good role model, someone who stood
for something more important than 60
minutes on a football field.
But now that has all changed. Favre
was corrupted by money, like so many
are. His desire for more power over-
came his loyalty to the city that he
called home for so long. And now the
people who once loved him booed him
as he came onto the frozen tundra of
Lambeau Field last Sunday evening.
Favre was once an all-time champ.
Now, in my book, he’s an all-time
chump.
Volleyball falls to Penn and Princeton at home
continued from page 6
Cowell ’10 earned six and five
kills, respectively. Carly Cotton
’13 held down the defense with
a team-high 13 digs.
With the win, the Tigers
moved to 7-12 overall and 5-3
in the Ivy League.
Penn 3, Brown 1
The Bears had a tough start
on Saturday afternoon as the
Quakers took the first two sets,
25-18 and 25-16, respectively.
Penn’s momentum, seemingly
carrying into the third set, was
interrupted by Brown’s en-
croachment on a 17-13 deficit.
Tying the game at 21, Brown
battled point for point, forcing
Penn to make a series of er-
rors. The errors proved fatal
for Penn, as Brown stormed
on for a 28-26 victory, bringing
the score to 2-1. But Brown’s
success was hampered by a
fourth-set loss, 25-18.
“I was ver y pleased with
the way we competed against
Penn,” said Head Coach Diane
Short. “They’re undefeated in
the Ivy League and we took a
game away from them, so that
was nice to see. It was a team
effort, but two players in par-
ticular stand out in my mind:
Ann Cowell, with her blocking
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Wednesday, November 4, 2009
and hitting, and Carly Cotton
defensively.”
Cowell added seven kills for
the Bears’ cause, and Cotton
put up a strong fight on defense
with 26 digs. Annika Gliottone
’12 also had an impressive
match, earning 13 assists and
17 digs and limiting Penn’s at-
tack to a .214 hitting percent-
age. Megan Toman ’11 led the
Bears on attack with 11 kills as
Williamson, again, stepped up
with eight kills and ten digs.
“Saturday we matched up
against the Ivy League champs
and we played with a lot of
heart, the most heart our team
has seen thus far,” Williamson
said. “I was really proud of the
way we came out after Friday’s
loss. No one expected us to get
a game off Penn.”
Penn remains undefeated in
the Ivy League at 9-0, and 18-4
overall this season.
The Bears are back on the
road this weekend against
Dar tmouth on Friday night
and Har vard on Saturday af-
ternoon.
“We beat Dartmouth before,
so I’m looking for ward to see-
ing us use that confidence to do
it again,” said co-captain Dan-
ielle Vaughan ’10. “Hopefully Herald File Photo
we can come home with two Women’s volleyball struggled this weekend and will hit the road this
wins this weekend.” weekend with games against Dartmouth and Harvard.
World & Nation
The Brown Daily Herald
Report links obesity to
swine flu complications
By Thomas Maugh II and
Karen Kaplan
Los Angeles T imes
Obesity appears to be a risk fac-
tor on a par with pregnancy for
developing complications from
an infection with pandemic H1N1
influenza, according to the most
comprehensive look yet at swine
flu hospitalizations.
About a quarter of those hos-
pitalizations complications have
been in people who were morbidly
obese, even though such people
make up less than 5 percent of the
population. That fivefold increase
in risk is nearly the same as the
sixfold increase observed in preg-
nant women, according to the re-
port published Wednesday in the
Journal of the American Medical
Association.
Even the merely obese were
at increased risk of severe cases
of swine flu, the analysis found.
Although 34 percent of Americans
are obese, they accounted for 58
percent of the hospitalizations in
the study.
“It makes intuitive sense,” said
Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, director
of the Centers for Disease Con-
trol and Prevention, who noted
that obese people have a higher
risk of many diseases and thus a
lower life expectancy. “It should
be added as one of the underlying
conditions.”
The CDC considers adults to be
obese if their body mass index is 30
or above and morbidly obese if their
BMI tops 40. A person who is 5 feet,
8 inches tall would be obese if he
or she weighs at least 197 pounds
and morbidly obese if he or she
weighs at least 262 pounds.
Researchers have seen anec-
dotal reports that the obese might
be at greater risk of complications
from infection, but it has never
been clear whether this was a re-
sult of obesity or of associated risk
factors.
In the study, which analyzed
data from the 1,088 swine-flu-related
hospitalizations in California from
the beginning of the outbreak this
spring through Aug. 11, research-
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browndailyherald.com/register
ers from the state Department of
Public Health identified 268 adults
whose BMIs were known. Of those,
156 were obese, including 67 who
were morbidly obese. Forty-six of
those obese adults died, according
to the study.
In addition, 19 percent of hospi-
talized swine flu patients between
the ages of 2 and 17 were consid-
ered obese, with a BMI above the
95th percentile for their age. None
of those patients died.
The researchers found that two-
thirds of the obese patients had a
health problem that was previously
recognized as an underlying risk
factor for swine flu. The most com-
mon were chronic lung disease,
heart disease and diabetes.
But that left one-third of obese
patients without other risk factors,
said Dr. Janice K. Louie, the lead
author of the study and chief of
the state health department’s in-
fluenza and respiratory syndromes
section.
There are many possible
explanations.
The lungs of obese patients are
compressed because the abdomen
presses up on the diaphragm. In
addition, the chest wall is heavier
so it’s more difficult for the lungs
to stay inflated.
Both of those things make it
difficult for blood and oxygen to
travel throughout the lungs and
fight infection, said Dr. Lena Napol-
itano, chief of acute-care surgery at
the University of Michigan Health
System. She recently published
a report in the CDC’s Morbidity
and Mortality Weekly Report on
10 swine flu patients admitted to
the ICU there. Of the 10, nine were
obese, including seven who were
morbidly obese.
The compromised immune
system of obese people probably
also plays a role, said Dr. David
Heber, director of the Risk Factor
Obesity Program at the University
of California, Los Angeles’ David
Geffen School of Medicine. Scien-
tists believe that obese people have
a baseline level of inflammation
that diminishes the body’s ability
to fight diseases.
McDonnell sweeps to victory in Va.
By Rosalind Helderman and
Anita Kumar
Washington Post
WASHINGTON — Virginians elected
Republican Robert McDonnell the
commonwealth’s 71st governor Tues-
day, sweeping the GOP to power
and emphatically halting a decade of
Democratic advances in the critical
swing state.
The former state attorney general
defeated Democratic state Sen. R.
Creigh Deeds in rural and suburban
areas, among conservatives and inde-
pendents alike. Boosted by a political
mood shift that has left many voters
cool to Democrats, McDonnell, 55,
prevailed with a promise to create
jobs in the down economy and fix
the state’s clogged roads without a
tax increase. His campaign avoided
the hot-button social issues that in
recent elections had alienated vot-
ers in Northern Virginia and other
urban centers. And he benefited from
a lackluster Democratic opponent
whom voters came to know in good
part from a video clip in which he
waffled and stammered when asked
if he would raise taxes.
Deeds, 51, failed to re-create
the voting coalition that last year
helped Barack Obama become the
first Democratic presidential can-
didate to capture Virginia in more
than four decades. Many of the black
and young voters who had helped
send two Democrats in a row to the
governor’s mansion and two Demo-
crats to the U.S. Senate stayed home
Tuesday.
In the campaign’s final days,
Deeds made an explicit appeal to
Obama voters that a vote for him was
a vote in support of the president.
But earlier, he had distanced himself
from Obama’s agenda, especially on
health and energy policy.
Republicans swept the state’s top
three jobs, as Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling eas-
ily won reelection and Fairfax Sen.
Ken Cuccinelli II, one of the most
socially conservative members of the
Richmond legislature, was chosen to
become the next attorney general.
McDonnell won by dominating
Deeds among independent voters,
controlling rural areas and ben-
efiting from relatively low turnout
in populous suburbs. McDonnell
reversed the political order in the
Washington region’s suburban outer
counties, appearing to win Loudoun
and Prince William counties, which
went for Democrat Timothy Kaine
for governor four years ago.
McDonnell defeated Deeds in
every other region of the state, win-
ning by a particularly wide margin
in rural areas, which the Democrat
had labeled “Deeds Country,” hop-
ing to outperform previous Demo-
cratic contenders from his base in the
Shenandoah Valley’s Bath County.
The three Republicans inherit a
government burdened by a severe
budget crisis and a transportation
network so underfunded that Virgin-
ia will soon lack the matching funds
necessary to secure U.S. dollars for
road construction. For Republicans
to build beyond Tuesday’s improved
showing in Northern Virginia, Mc-
Wednesday, November 4, 2009 | Page 8
Donnell will have to prove that unlike
past GOP administrations, he will
deliver more resources to Virginia’s
most populous and affluent region.
At the Richmond Marriott, Repub-
licans who have spent years watching
Democrats win election after election
roared with excitement as several
media outlets called the governor’s
race for McDonnell about 8 p.m.
Deeds conceded at 8:50 p.m. at
the Westin Hotel in Richmond. “Just
because we didn’t get the right result
tonight doesn’t mean we get to go
home and whine. ... We’ve got to keep
working and keep fighting, and I’m
fighting!”
From the start, McDonnell had
history on his side: Since 1977, no
party that has won the White House
has gone on to capture Virginia’s
governorship the next year.
McDonnell’s campaign — sup-
ported, like Deeds’, with millions of
dollars from his national party — was
on the defensive for only a few weeks,
starting with the publication in Au-
gust of a Washington Post report
detailing a master’s degree thesis
the candidate wrote in 1989 at what
is now Regent University in Virginia
Beach. In the thesis, written at the
Christian-oriented school founded by
televangelist Pat Robertson, McDon-
nell, then 34, outlined an action plan
for strengthening the traditional fam-
ily and wrote that working women
were detrimental to the family.
Deeds seized on the thesis, mak-
ing it the centerpiece of an advertis-
ing campaign designed to convince
voters that McDonnell was a right-
wing extremist who had undergone
a disingenuous campaign-year
makeover.
The strategy appeared to work
for a time, as polls tightened. But
McDonnell fought back with a series
of TV spots featuring supportive tes-
timonials from his daughter, an Army
veteran who served in Iraq, and a
gallery of professional women who
had worked for him in the attorney
general’s office. Increasingly, voters
said they saw Deeds’s campaign as
a largely negative one that failed to
define his own vision for the state.
McDonnell campaigned on his
opposition to federal policies. He
criticized the Democratic-led effort
to change the nation’s health care
system and sided with southwest
Virginians who believe that proposed
federal legislation designed to curb
greenhouse gases would cost jobs in
the coalfields of that region.
The Republican also relentlessly
attacked Deeds over the Democrat’s
willingness to raise taxes for trans-
portation improvements. A key turn-
ing point in the campaign came in
September, when Deeds was caught
on camera flailing when swarmed
by reporters asking whether he
would raise taxes to pay for road
improvements.
The moment, immediately cut
into TV ads aired repeatedly by Mc-
Donnell and the Republican Gover-
nors Association, highlighted Deeds’
stammering speaking style, caught
him snapping at a reporter and made
him appear indecisive on the critical
issues of taxes and transportation.
“I think taxes are high enough,”
said James Thomas, a 39-year-old
accountant who cast his ballot for
McDonnell at Clarendon United
Methodist Church in Arlington
County.
Born in Philadelphia, McDon-
nell grew up in Fairfax County and
played football for Bishop Ireton
High School before attending Notre
Dame and marrying a Washington
Redskins cheerleader. He pointed
to his Northern Virginia childhood
frequently in a disciplined effort to
convince suburbanites he under-
stood their concerns better than
Deeds, who grew up in the state’s
rural west.
A sure-footed public speaker
and a former Army officer, McDon-
nell came across to many voters as
a competent manager and likable
family man who rarely wavered from
his promise to create jobs amid the
state’s worst recession since the
Great Depression.
“I think McDonnell is better quali-
fied, and he has ideas,” said Debbie
Zolp, 51, of Dumfries, who cast her
ballot for the Republican after voting
for Obama last November and Kaine
four years ago. “It doesn’t seem like
Deeds has a plan.”
McDonnell carefully avoided
alienating independents or anger-
ing Democrats, taking care at nearly
every appearance to praise Obama,
especially for championing charter
schools and promoting fatherhood.
The Republican targeted 10 sub-
urban swing localities outside the
state’s three major urban centers in
Northern Virginia, Hampton Roads
and Richmond. And he reached out
to immigrants, a strategy modeled in
recent elections by successful Demo-
crats including Kaine and U.S. Sen.
James Webb.
Although known for a social con-
servatism deeply informed by his
religious faith during his 14 years
as a delegate representing Virginia
Beach, during the gubernatorial
campaign McDonnell studiously
avoided controversial such social
issues as abortion, immigration and
gun rights, largely neutralizing the
Democrats’ effort to portray him as
an extremist with a stealth agenda.
“He’s a breed of Republican can-
didate I’ve been hoping and looking
for that translates Republican values
into everyday reality,” said Michael
Steele, Republican National Com-
mittee chair. “Bob talks about what
people want to know.”
Deeds sought to be the first gov-
ernor to hail from a rural part of the
state since the 1980s, promising to
bring opportunity to corners of the
state often forgotten.
But he struggled to connect with
the Democratic base, at times dis-
tancing himself from Obama. For-
mer governor L. Douglas Wilder,
a fellow Democrat and the nation’s
first elected black governor, de-
clined to endorse him, and promi-
nent black businesswoman Sheila
Johnson, a Democrat, supported his
opponent, even making a TV ad for
McDonnell.
continued on page 9
Page 9
W orld & N ation
After troubled election, re-elected Karzai
is conciliatory but offers few specifics
By Alexandra Zavis
Los Angeles T imes
KABUL — In his first public com-
ments Tuesday since winning a
second term, President Hamid
Karzai pledged to form an inclusive
government and to tackle corrup-
tion, as advocated by the U.S. and
many fellow Afghans.
But he offered no specific ges-
tures toward his election rival, for-
mer Foreign Minister Abdullah
Abdullah. Nor would he commit to
measures that might help restore
legitimacy to his administration
after a turbulent election marred
by fraud.
The U.S. strategy to stabilize
Afghanistan requires a credible
government in Kabul that can
support militar y operations and
deliver ser vices to help draw ci-
vilians from an escalating Taliban
insurgency.
But the decision Monday by
electoral officials to declare Karzai
the victor after Abdullah, citing
concerns of more fraud, pulled
out of a weekend election runoff
deprived the president of a genu-
ine win at the polls. President Ba-
rack Obama may now find it more
difficult to justify major troop in-
creases, which his commanders
have recommended to bolster the
war effort.
U.S. and European leaders are
pressing Karzai to reach out to his
rivals, including Abdullah’s camp,
to help form a government that is
serious about improving gover-
nance and cracking down on the
corruption that has colored his
administration.
“My government will be for
all Afghans, and all those who
want to work with me are most
welcome, regardless of whether
they opposed me in the election or
they supported me in the election,”
Karzai told a news briefing at the
presidential palace.
In Washington, State Depart-
ment spokesman Ian Kelly said U.S.
officials were looking for Karzai “to
move boldly and forcefully to initi-
ate internal reforms, and we stand
ready to assist him in that regard,
to help him improve governance
in Afghanistan, to provide security
for the Afghan people and provide
the kind of services that the people
of Afghanistan deserve.
“We want to see how the gov-
ernment is formed. We want to
see who he’s going to have in his
government,” Kelly said. “We’re
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
looking for some strong and deci-
sive action.”
Karzai said he would welcome
Taliban militants who are ready
to work with the government.
But he has obligations toward his
own supporters that could limit the
number of top positions available
to the opposition.
The presence of Karzai’s two
sullen running mates at his side
throughout the half-hour news con-
ference underlined the president’s
troubling ties. To secure another
five-year term, Karzai cut deals
with regional strongmen, includ-
ing Mohammed Fahim, a former
warlord accused of drug trafficking
and human rights abuses who will
serve as first vice president in the
new government. Fahim denies the
allegations against him.
Although Karzai was gracious
about Abdullah’s campaign, which
he noted was “much better” than
his own, he avoided answering
questions about what role his
challenger might play in his ad-
ministration.
“By my accounting he has
promised every cabinet post three
times over,” said a Western official,
who requested anonymity because
of the sensitivity of the issue.
wednesday, November 4, 2009
Although Karzai sent “all the
right signals” Tuesday, the official
said, “we’ve heard the words many
times before. … The test is over
the coming days and weeks, when
Karzai makes his cabinet appoint-
ments. Then we will have a better
idea about his intentions.”
Some U.S. officials would like
to see Karzai make a few high-pro-
file arrests of corrupt officials, in
hopes of helping restore public
trust. His refusal to remove the
top leadership of the Independent
Election Commission, whose mem-
bers were appointed by Karzai,
was one of the reasons given by
Abdullah for his withdrawal.
The Afghan president acknowl-
edged Tuesday that “we have been
tarnished with corruption” and
said “we will continue to make ev-
ery possible effort to wipe away
this stain.”
But he said through a transla-
tor, “The failures in the system and
the government cannot only be
solved through removals. There
are rules and there are regulations
and there are laws that need to be
reformed.”
He also vowed to strengthen
an anti-corruption commission
established last year.
McDonnell
victorious in
Virginia
continued from page 8
Deeds, who has served in the
legislature for 18 years and battled
McDonnell to within 360 votes in a
race for attorney general in 2005, was
the unexpected victor in a three-way
primary for the Democratic nomina-
tion in June.
McDonnell carefully prepared to
run for governor for four years. Ex-
pecting a tough primary challenge, he
instead found himself with a clear path
after Bolling surprised the political
establishment by skipping a race for
governor and seeking reelection as
lieutenant governor instead.
He outspent Deeds considerably,
receiving unprecedented support from
outside groups — $9 million from the
Republican National Committee as
well as significant direct TV buys on
his behalf from the Republican Gov-
ernors Association, the National Rifle
Association and the U.S. Chamber of
Commerce.
McDonnell and Bolling, who ran
as a team, agreed early on that they
needed to escape from the GOP’s
reputation as the “party of no” by
campaigning on a series of detailed
policy proposals.
“We’re now the parties of ideas,
and they’re not,” Bolling said.
Editorial & Letters
The Brown Daily Herald

Page 10 | Wednesday, November 4, 2009

A le x yuly

e d i to r i a l

Providence Plantations
Letters, please! Lawmakers in the Rhode Island House of Representa-
tives voted last Wednesday to hold a statewide referendum
of slavery as a southern institution. New Englanders, in
particular, have contrived to erase the institution’s presence
on the state’s official name. The Ocean State is technically from their collective memory.” The old name, plantations
letters@browndailyherald.com called the State of Rhode Island and Providence Planta- and all, serves as a potent, if misleading, reminder of Rhode
tions. In November 2010, residents will vote on whether Island’s ugly and extensive involvement with slavery.
to remove the controversial last three words from the Without it we fear that Rhode Island’s past will become
name. even more obscure.
We commend legislators for putting the issue to a Last spring we urged faculty members to rename
vote, although we wonder whether it was the best use of Columbus Day. There are three significant differences
their limited time during last week’s crunched session. between the renaming of Rhode Island and Columbus Day
At issue is whether the term “Providence Plantations” that account for our support of the latter but not the former.
t h e b r o w n d a i ly h e r a l d
is objectionable and, if so, whether its elimination is in First, holidays imply an approval or celebration of their
Editor-in-Chief Managing Editors Deputy Managing Editors Senior Editors
order. Rhode Islanders should be allowed to decide that namesakes that state names do not. Second, Columbus
Steve DeLucia Michael Bechek Nandini Jayakrishna Rachel Arndt
Chaz Firestone Franklin Kanin Isabel Gottlieb for themselves. bears a direct connection to violence and injustice, while
Michael Skocpol Scott Lowenstein Opponents of the name change point out that the term the term “Providence Plantations,” taken in context, does
editorial Business “plantation,” was, as a matter of historical fact, synony- not. Third, New England’s ties to slavery are, we believe,
Ben Hyman Arts & Culture Editor General Managers Office Manager
Sophia Li Features Editor Alexander Hughes Shawn Reilly mous with “colony” or “farmland” when Roger Williams less well-known than Columbus’ misdeeds and more in
George Miller Metro Editor Jonathan Spector introduced it. Supporters note that slaves labored on need of publicity.
Joanna Wohlmuth Metro Editor
Seth Motel News Editor
Rhode Island plantations, that the term brings to mind this However Rhode Islanders end up voting, the name
Directors
Jenna Stark News Editor Ellen DaSilva Sales country’s legacy of slavery and that Rhode Island played change is largely a symbolic issue. In a June article, the
Andrew Braca Sports Editor Claire Kiely Sales a leading role in the transatlantic slave trade. New York Times reported on the bill’s practical effect:
Han Cui Asst. Sports Editor Katie Koh Finance
Alex Mazerov Asst. Sports Editor Jilyn Chao Asst. Finance Both sides have a point. The traditionalists are correct “state letterheads and documents would be replaced
Katie Wood Asst. Sports Editor Christiana Stephenson Alumni Relations that the historical definition of plantations is innocent of when current supplies ran out.” State buildings will
Graphics & Photos Managers
the word’s more sinister connotations. The progressives continue to bear the Rhode Island’s old name regardless
Chris Jesu Lee Graphics Editor Kelly Wess Local Sales
Stephen Lichenstein Graphics Editor Kathy Bui National Sales are right to note that “plantations” has become inextrica- of the referendum’s outcome. Nevertheless, there are
Kim Perley Photo Editor Alex Carrere University Sales bly linked with slavery in modern usage and that Rhode real reasons why voters ought to keep the name the
Max Monn Asst. Photo Editor Matt Burrows Credit and Collections
Jesse Morgan Sports Photo Editor Islanders traded and owned slaves. These considerations way it is. We hope they pay attention to them.
production Opinions lead us to cautiously oppose the measure to rename Rhode
Ayelet Brinn Copy Desk Chief Alyssa Ratledge Opinions Editor Island. Editorials are written by The Herald’s editorial page board.
Rachel Isaacs Copy Desk Chief Sarah Rosenthal Opinions Editor
As the report of the University Steering Committee on Send comments to editorials@browndailyherald.com.
Marlee Bruning Design Editor
Jessica Calihan Design Editor Editorial Page Board Slavery and Justice notes, “Most Americans today think
Anna Migliaccio Asst. Design Editor James Shapiro Editorial Page Editor
Julien Ouellet Asst. Design Editor Matt Aks Board member
Neal Poole
Post- magazine
Web Editor Nick Bakshi
Zack Beauchamp
Board member
Board member
corrections
Arthur Matuszewski Debbie Lehmann Board member
Editor-in-Chief
Kelly McKowen William Martin Board member
Editor-in-Chief
An article in Tuesday’s paper (“Breathing life into a storied instrument,” Nov. 3) incorrectly identified University Or-
Zahra Merchand, Anna Migliaccio, Julien Ouellet, Leor Shtull-Leber, Designers ganist Mark Steinbach as a visiting assistant professor of music. Steinbach is a lecturer in the Department of Music.
Brendan Burke, Jenny Bloom, Madeleine Rosenberg, Copy Editors A photo caption accompanying the same article incorrectly identified the instrument a student was playing as Say-
Ellen Cushing, Brigitta Greene, Brian Mastroianni, Night Editors
les Hall’s Hutchings-Votey organ. While another photo accompanying the story showed Steinbach playing the Sayles
Senior Staff Writers Dan Alexander, Mitra Anoushiravani, Ellen Cushing, Sydney Ember,
Lauren Fedor, Nicole Friedman, Brigitta Greene, Sarah Husk, Brian Mastroianni, Hannah organ, this photo showed a student playing the organ of St. Stephen’s Church on George Street.
Moser, Ben Schreckinger, Anne Simons, Anne Speyer, Sara Sunshine, Alex Ulmer, Suzannah
Weiss, Kyla Wilkes
Staff Writers Shara Azad, Emma Berry, Alicia Chen, Zunaira Choudhary, Alicia Dang, C O R R E C T I O N S P olicy
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Opinions
The Brown Daily Herald
The fallacy of demonstrated need
Simon
Liebling
Opinions Columnist
When the Corporation decided last spring that
it would be just and good to accompany a re-
cession and deep budget cuts at the University
with still another tuition hike, disregarding
once again the student interests to which they
are, of course, unaccountable, I heard two
prevailing responses.
First, well-deserved outrage from students
once again called upon to bankroll the Corpo-
ration’s indulgent aspirations. But the second,
infinitely more aggravating reaction came from
the privileged student scabs who said that
tuition hikes don’t matter. The people who
actually have to pay more have the means to
pay more, they said, because everyone else is
protected by Brown’s commitment to meet 100
percent of its students’ demonstrated need.
Makes sense. If the Financial Aid office
guarantees that it will compensate under-
graduates for their full need, then every dol-
lar still solicited is a dollar that a family can
afford to pay. That privilege, put to use, can
go a long way towards helping disadvantaged
students.
But things don’t work out quite that effi-
ciently or equitably, and so tuition hikes still
matter for students concerned about their
ability to afford a Brown education (38 percent
of Brown students, according to a Herald poll
last semester).
The first problem is simple sticker shock.
Alums, foundation should rethink their naivety
BY DOMINIC MHIRIPIRI
Opinions Columnist
This fall, Brown announced its success in
hiring arguably the most celebrated African
author of all time, 78-year-old Chinua Achebe
from Nigeria. An intense social critic, thinker,
teacher and award-winning writer, Achebe has
for decades established himself as an authority
in both Western and African literature — es-
pecially his analyses of the relations between
these two different cultures throughout his-
tory. Among a myriad of achievements, Achebe
is a recent recipient of the Man Booker Inter-
national Prize for fiction, where he bettered
such celebrated nominees as Philip Roth,
Margaret Atwood and Ian McEwan.
To many, Brown’s coup in hiring a talent
of Achebe’s stature is a great success, and
given his experience and views, an immense
addition to the University’s pool of intellectual
thought and diversity. I was able to see a lot
of reactions to the news by friends and, es-
pecially, non-Brown students who expressed
everything between great awe and envy at
Achebe’s imminent arrival to College Hill.
You can imagine how many times I read the
most popular cliche used by college students
to express the latter feeling: “Oh my God, I
am sooooo jealous!”
Yet beyond the mild pomp and fanfare that
surrounded the news of Achebe’s hiring, a
group of Brown alums — members of the
Foundation for Intellectual Diversity — led
the debate on the wisdom of Brown’s “focus”
on Africa and Africana studies. Writing to
Posted tuition levels, published on Brown’s
Web site, in college guides and beyond, can
dissuade potential applicants, even those who
would have had the benefit of financial aid had
they applied. Those choosing on the basis of
cost between cheaper public universities and
Brown, with its astronomical advertised price,
are pushed to the former by the perceived
expense of a Brown education, particularly
when considering that they are less likely
to receive quality college guidance during
high school.
Despite its supposed commitment to meet all
demonstrated need, Brown leaves deserving
students without the aid they require.
Then there’s the fact that Brown remains
need-aware when evaluating international
applicants. For them, tuition hikes mean a
real increase in the cost to their families. And
so the international student community on
which the University prides itself winds up a
cross-section of the international aristocracy
rather than of the diverse societies we would
prefer it represent.
But above all else, Brown — despite its sup-
posed commitment to meet all demonstrated
need — leaves deserving students without the
aid they require, and so long as that is true
tuition hikes will carry real consequences for
students when money is in short supply.
We are surrounded by the empirical evi-
dence of this failure. Students take on loans
The Herald last month, Stephen Beale ’04,
Christopher McAuliffe ’05 and Travis Rowley
’02 slammed Brown’s decision to “expand”
the already well-catered-for Africana Studies
department (“U. should re-think Africa focus,”
Oct. 13). They cited the existence at Brown of
such resources as the Third World Center, the
Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in
America and the Africa Group Colloquium as
enough for Brown’s “Africana” needs.
Central to their argument, however, was
their particular concern for the decision to
appoint Achebe as a Brown professor. The
alums brought up an old debate on Achebe’s
controversial criticism of British author Joseph
Reducing Achebe’s enormous and celebrated
body of work to a single opinion raised in a
hugely controversial debate is a narrow-minded
claim that borders on the absurd.
Conrad as a “bloody racist.” Achebe attacked
Conrad’s work in “Heart of Darkness” as cel-
ebrating “the dehumanization” and “deper-
sonalization” of Africans. A significant portion
of the negative criticism that Conrad’s book
has received has largely hinged on Achebe’s
lead. “The University should consider more
creative ways to teach its students about the
classics of Western literature than calling them
racist,” the letter writers concluded.
Nkechi Eze ’12 expressed the “naivety”
of her assumption, before coming to College
Hill, that Brunonians would hold more open-
Wednesday, November 4, 2009 | Page 11
and rack up thousands of dollars in debt, forc-
ing them to worry about money from the
moment they matriculate. Others face ulti-
matums from their families and the prospect
of being unable to return to Brown, giving
up the quality education they have worked
so ceaselessly to earn.
Take the case of one Brown sophomore
who was rebuffed twice by the Financial Aid
office — initially after applying and later on ap-
peal. For the four years from 2003 to 2006, her
family’s average annual income was $20,000,
less than half of Brown tuition. Her parents
took out a second mortgage on their home,
emptied their general savings accounts, ex-
hausted the education funds stashed away for
her and her brother, borrowed from relatives
and racked up credit card debt.
But because in 2007 her father made
$290,000 on a one-time stock option, she re-
ceived no aid. That money couldn’t go towards
her tuition expenses. Her family had to use
it to pay off their massive debts and rebuild
their savings — her brother will be heading
to college himself next year.
Worse still, though she applied as a mem-
ber of the Class of 2011, Brown instead offered
her a space in the Class of 2012 and did not
show her a financial aid package before they
minded views on African issues. A member
of the Nigerian Igbo tribe like Achebe, Eze
emphasized the importance of bringing “great
African minds” like Achebe to help Brown
dispel the ignorance and myths held by some
about Africa.
“Racism and stereotyping apparent in
famous texts such as Conrad’s ‘Heart Of
Darkness’ and D.W. Griffith’s film ‘Birth of
A Nation’ should be exposed, as they help us
understand why these works are so great or
were able to resonate with their target audi-
ences who held the same belief, thus ensuring
the success of these texts,” she added in an
e-mail.
Hiring Achebe is a huge step towards
establishing Brown’s leadership on African
scholarship and not a “needless expansion” of
the Africana Studies Department. University
resources like those cited by the alums are not
focused on Africana studies per se — they are
open to all members of the Brown community!
The Third World Center, in particular, not
only caters to the Arab, Asian, Black, Latino,
multiracial and Native American communi-
ties, but also caters to the overall integration
of all these groups into the broader Brown
community.
asked her to commit. She sacrificed signifi-
cant need-based and merit-based aid at other
schools and $5,000 a year in outside scholar-
ships, trusting that Brown would meet her
need. “I cried when I got my aid letter,” she
says.
Left mercilessly adrift by the bureaucrats
at Financial Aid, her family told her that they
could only pay half, and she’d be responsible
for the rest if she wanted to stay at Brown.
Still committed to her education here, she
took out $18,000 of loans during the fall of her
freshman year and paid the rest of her share
with money saved from her gap year. The
remaining three years will each take $25,000
more. She’ll graduate with $93,000 dollars in
debt, and the figure is only that low because
she depleted her personal savings too.
Her story is a tragic repudiation of the
administration’s false pretense to filling all
need. Their supposed commitment to meet
100 percent of demonstrated need is an empty
promise. The University will meet all need as
it defines need, a benchmark it sets far below
any realistic measure.
With this deft trick, administrators save
money for themselves while protecting their
right to advertise the ostensibly progressive
financial aid policy that brings the University
so much acclaim. But for this sophomore and
so many others, that famous reputation will
be slim consolation as they spend their 20s
paying for the failures of financial aid.
Simon Liebling ’12 wants to hear your
financial aid stories. He can be reached
at simon.liebling@gmail.com.
Reducing Achebe’s enormous and cel-
ebrated body of work to a single opinion
raised in a hugely controversial debate is a
narrow-minded claim that borders on the
absurd. Not only is Achebe entitled to his
opinions, but also some appreciation for his
nerve to challenge convention and broaden
our analysis of such important texts as Heart
of Darkness. Contrary to the alums’ assertion,
students ought to be taught not only how to
“appreciate” classical Western literature on
the surface, but also to criticize, think in dif-
ferent ways and stomach difficult viewpoints
from other people. Certainly, excluding radical
views such as Achebe’s only muzzles students’
understanding of the dominant view.
How can Brown, the same community that
changed Columbus Day to Fall Weekend be-
cause of its association with an atrocious part
of history, bring down an author who stood up
to a debatable portrayal of his people? Surely,
if Achebe is not welcome here because of his
objection to Conrad’s book, then Brown is not
only a school where students are happy, but
very hypocritical also!
Achebe’s arrival at Brown is a giant step
for intellectual diversity and literary scholar-
ship. Welcoming him and respecting his work
should mirror the words of Luis Rodriguez
’12: “Brown is diversity... racial, religious, eco-
nomic background, sexual/gender identity…
great! How about some respect for diversity
of opinion?”
Dominic Mhiripiri ’12 wishes Brown
Health Services had a treatment for the
“sophomore slump.” He can be reached
at dominic_mhiripiri@brown.edu.
 Today
The Brown Daily Herald
1 1
c a l e n da r
Today, November 4
12 pm — SexPowerGod tickets go on
sale, Alumnae Hall
8 pm — Freedom without Walls Film
Screening of “Goodbye Lenin!,” Mac-
Millan 117
menu
Sharpe Refectory
Lunch — Beef Tips with Curry, Cheese
Enchiladas, Polynesian Ratatouille
Dinner — Chicken Stir Fry, Maca-
roni and Cheese with Avocados and
Tomatoes, Baked Sweet Potatoes with
Honey and Chives
crossword
3 Brown ranks high in sex health to day to m o r r o w
M. water polo bests MIT
6
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
50 / 32 50 / 35
Page 12
t h e n e w s i n i m ag e s
comics
Thursday, November 5 Dot Comic | Eshan Mitra and Brendan Hainline
2:30 PM — A reading by poet Ilya
Kaminsky, McCormack Family The-
ater
7 pm — “A Career in Making and
Marketing Media Brands” with Sergei
Kuharsky, CDC, 167 Angell Street
Verney-Woolley Dining Hall
Hippomaniac | Mat Becker
Lunch — Pulled Pork Sandwich,
Grecian Zucchini Bake, Fresh Sliced
Carrots
Dinner — Sesame Chicken Strips
with Mustard Sauce, Egg Foo Young,
Sticky Rice
Classic Deo | Daniel Perez
Classic How To Get Down | Nate Saunders
Classic Freeze-Dried Puppies | Cara FitzGibbon