Daily Herald the Brown
vol. cxlv, no. 109 | Wednesday, November 10, 2010 | Serving the community daily since 1891
BUCC talks labor policy,
undergraduate housing
By Emma Wohl
Staff Writer
The Brown University Community
Council met Tuesday evening to
revisit the issue of holding University
events at off-campus venues engaged
in labor disputes, look at suggested
improvements to undergraduate
housing and hear a presentation
on initiatives and planning for the
Swearer Center for Public Service.
Members of the Student Labor
Alliance brought forward a resolu-
tion urging the BUCC to “encourage
the Brown community to take all ap-
propriate measures to avoid holding
any events at venues in the midst of
a labor dispute.”
This was the first the BUCC
heard of this issue since last April, af-
ter the annual gala was moved from
the Westin Hotel at the last minute
due to the hotel’s questionable labor
practices, said SLA member Haley
Health Services outsources after-hours advice
By Rebecca Ballhaus it now closes at 7 p.m. Monday
Senior Staff Writer
When students call the Health Ser-
vices number after hours, they are
not connected to a staff member at
Brown. Instead, students reach a
medical advice service called Nurse
Response, which has many locations
all over the country.
Health Services has been using
Nurse Response since last Septem-
ber, when the center stopped being
open 24 hours every day. Though
Marcus Gartner ’12 and his teammates won two games in this weekend’s
tournament at MIT, qualifying for the Eastern Division Championships.
inside
News.....1–3
Sports.....4–5
Editorial....6
Opinion.....7
Today........8
www.browndailyherald.com
Kossek ’13.
The resolution identified groups,
such as the Brown Sports Founda-
tion and the Inman Page Black
Alumni Council, which had changed
venues for their events to union-
supported hotels after SLA notified
them of the labor disputes at the
Westin. But the SLA sought to ar-
ticulate a unified position because
“it makes some sense to have some
University policy” on the issue of
labor disputes in off-campus venues,
Kossek said.
Kathleen Sousa, manager of fi-
nancial and administrative services
for the Staff Advisory Council, said
she agreed with the sentiment of
the resolution but that the language
needed “refinement.” She also said
she had questions of practicality,
most notably with a part of the reso-
lution that suggested “adding labor
disputes to the standard cancellation
clause in contracts for off-campus
through Thursday, “we felt it was
still very important for students to
be able to get medical advice 24/7,”
said Lynn Dupont, associate direc-
tor of Health Services.
The change in hours arose
following last fall’s organizational
review process that analyzed cost
savings in different departments.
The after-hours nursing care and
in-patient unit were “a low-utilized
service” that had been used “less
and less” over the past five years
Emily Gilbert / Herald
High score
Brown scores high in
sustainability report,
tying for first place
news, 2
195 Angell Street, Providence, Rhode Island
Students at Wednesday afternoon’s BUCC meeting urged the University
and student groups to avoid holding events at venues with labor disputes.
events and meetings.”
The administration has been ad-
vised that “there will be no hotel”
willing to agree to such a clause,
she said.
as students shifted to “more am-
bulatory care and the addition of
full-service appointment hours both
evenings and weekends,” Dupont
said.
Students are automatically for-
warded to the hotline when they call
the Health Services number after
hours. After they speak to a nurse
with the service, the nurse sends
a triage report to Health Services,
and a Brown nurse follows up with
the student the following morning,
Dupont said. Though not directly
M. water polo falls in championship
By Garret Johnson
Sports Staff Writer
The third time was anything but the
charm for the men’s water polo team
(18-11), which dropped its third game
this season against No. 14 St. Francis
College (21-3), 14-7, on Sunday in the
Collegiate Water Polo Association
Northern Division Championship.
The loss followed a 12-6 win over
Iona College (6-19) and a 9-6 victory
over the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (12-10), who hosted the
tournament.
Head Coach Felix Mercado was
pleased with the first two games of
the tournament, and the fact that
his squad has now qualified for the
CWPA Eastern Division Champion-
ships, held at Bucknell University
from Nov. 18-21.
“I was happy on Saturday,” Mer-
No home
Swimmers and divers
optimistic despite
poor facilities
Sports, 5
Emma Wohl / Herald
Associate Professor of Africana
Studies Corey Walker said he took
issue with the resolution’s broad-
continued on page 2
reachable, there is a doctor on call
at Health Services that can be con-
tacted through the advice hotline
in case of emergencies, she said.
Dupont said the service receives
about five calls per night on average,
though some of these are “admin-
istrative” — students mistaking the
hotline for the appointment-making
function of the Health Services num-
ber.
Health Ser vices has been
continued on page 3
cado said. “But it’s almost like the
wheels fell off against St. Francis.”
Brown is far from the only team
to be derailed by the Terriers. They
have been steadily climbing in na-
tional rankings with nine consecu-
tive wins and are favored to win the
Eastern Championships.
The Bears would like nothing
more than to stun St. Francis with
an upset, but in order to even have
a shot at taking down the East Coast
powerhouse, Bruno will have to get
past No. 15 Navy (22-6). The winner
of that game will face either MIT or
No. 17 Princeton (18-8) for a spot in
the finals.
These upcoming foes are familiar
to Bruno, who have won three games
against MIT this season and lost one
to both Navy and Princeton.
“The gauntlet starts with Navy,”
Mercado said. “If we happen to pull
On your mark
Indoor track and
field teams get set
for new season
SPORTS, 5
Panel talks
free speech
in court
By Bradley Silverman
Staff Writer
Wendy Murphy could not believe
the judge’s order. She was serving
as an attorney for the plaintiff in a
Nebraska rape case, and the judge
had just given her client a number
of words she could not use in the
courtroom — including the word
“rape.”
“The idea that a victim of violence
in a criminal case cannot use the
word ‘rape’ is absurd,” Murphy said.
Tuesday night, Murphy — an at-
torney specializing in representing
crime victims, as well as a professor
and occasional CNN commentator
— participated in a panel discussion
held in a half-full Salomon 001 on the
role and the limits of speech within
the courtroom. Few students were
in the audience, which was mostly
comprised of legal professionals, in-
cluding Chief Justice Mary Lisi of the
U.S. District Court in Rhode Island.
Titled “Judicial Privilege and
Free Speech,” the panel also in-
cluded Robert O’Neil, director of
the University of Virginia’s Thomas
Jefferson Center for the Protection
of Free Expression, and moderator
Ross Cheit, associate professor of
political science and public policy.
Murphy recounted how she filed
a motion against the state judge in
federal court and was met with skep-
ticism that her suit could have any
standing. The federal judge hearing
continued on page 3
two great games together, I’m hoping
we’re looking at St. Francis.”
Walker Shockley ’14 will likely be
a major factor in Brown’s success or
failure in the upcoming tournaments.
The rookie goalkeeper has been see-
ing the bulk of the playing time in
the net lately, including the games
against Iona, MIT and St. Francis last
weekend. Shockley made a total of
32 saves in the tournament.
“When you have a hot goalie,
you’ve got to ride with him,” Mer-
cado said. “He came off of a good
showing in California, and has picked
up momentum ever since.” Shockley,
who last week was named CWPA
Rookie of the Week and CWPA De-
fensive Player of the Week, cited his
eight years of water polo “at a very
competitive level” as one factor in his
continued on page 3
Too P.C.?
Elizabeth Perez ’13:
Is excessive P.C. a
good thing?
Opinions, 7
herald@browndailyherald.com
Page 2 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Wednesday, November 10, 2010

C ampus N EWS “Sustainability is about a mindset more than anything else.”

— Ari Rubenstein ’11, executive director of emPower

BUCC resolutions meet controversy Brown earns highest

continued from page 1
mark for sustainability
ness. “If you’re asking the BUCC for
a sentiment, a better way ... would
be to say, ‘We support the Westin
workers,’ ” he said.
Walker suggested that the resolu-
tion be reworked to focus specifically
on the issue of labor practices at the
Westin.
“The point is that there may
be labor disputes at other venues
where the University may want to
hold events,” said SLA member Ju-
lian Park ’12.
“I would like to see something
broadly addressing the issue,” added
Beth Caldwell ’12, another member
of the group.
A vote unanimously defeated
the original resolution proposed by
SLA. But the BUCC adopted Walker’s
resolution, which expressed support
for the boycott of the Westin, and
agreed to give the issue further con-
sideration.
Vice President for Campus Life
and Student Ser vices Margaret
Klawunn presented updates on
planned improvements to undergrad-
uate housing. The administration had
started by looking into other univer-
sities’ systems, such as Harvard’s
house system and the residential
college model, before concluding
that other systems were not right
for Brown, she said.
But, she said, it was clear that
improvements must be made in un-
dergraduate housing. In the percep-
tion of incoming students, “we don’t
compare very well with our peers”
in the area of student housing, she
said. Among seniors, housing has
consistently been one of the lowest-
ranked factors in their on-campus
experience, she added.
She detailed plans such as moving
classrooms for first-year seminars
and advising to the areas around
freshman dorms.
Additionally, she discussed reno-
vating several University housing
buildings, such as 315 Thayer St. and
Minden Hall, to expand capacity and
create more suite-style living space.
Renovations to 315 Thayer St. are
slated to begin this summer and be
completed in summer 2012.
BUCC member Michael Stew-
art ’13 asked what the University
was doing to make facilities more
handicapped-accessible.
Klawunn responded that one of
the aims of the renovations was add-
ing features — such as ramps and
elevators — to make buildings more
accessible.
The University is committed to
“preserving a range of options” for
students looking for on-campus hous-
ing, she said.
Roger Nozaki, director of the
Swearer Center, gave an update on
the center’s initiatives and planning.
Recent developments have in-
cluded a series of seven fall training
sessions for students involved in
the community and the addition of
a career adviser specifically focused
on nonprofit careers — particularly
relevant because 53 percent of the
Class of 2010 went into jobs with
nonprofits, Nozaki said.
“About 1,000 students” are
involved in ser vice through the
Swearer Center, he said. “It’s not just
a one-shot thing,” he said, adding
that these are “ongoing, day-to-day
programs.”
In the future, the center is looking
to expand its review process beyond
the center’s programs to independent
student-run organizations such as
Project Health and Brown Refugee
Youth Tutoring and Enrichment, he
said.
During the time available for com-
munity members to present broad
campus issues to the council, Park
raised the issue of the upcoming
search for a new provost, following
the announcement that Provost Da-
vid Kertzer ’69 P’95 P’98 will step
down in June.
“It is absolutely crucial that the
people most affected by that deci-
sion,” specifically students, be in-
volved in that process and serve on
the search committee, Park said.
Kertzer said the Undergraduate
Council of Students and President
Ruth Simmons would discuss this
issue in their next meeting.
By Joseph Rosales
Contributing Writer
Brown received high marks — and
tied with two other schools for a first-
place ranking — from an institute
dedicated to advancing sustainability
for its efforts to be a green campus.
The Sustainable Endowments
Institute released the fifth edition
of its College Sustainablility Report
Card last month. According to the
institute’s website, the report card
is an evaluation of the sustainability
efforts in colleges and universities
across the United States and Can-
ada. The grading system revolves
around nine different categories
such as student involvement, cli-
mate change and energy, and invest-
ment priorities.
In the report, Brown received an
“A” in each of nine categories. Dick-
inson College and the University
of Minnesota also received perfect
scores.
The report card’s assessment
was made using surveys sent out
by the institute to 52 committees
on Brown’s campus, according to
Chris Powell, Brown’s director of
sustainable energy and environmen-
tal initiatives.
The University has shown a
steady increase in its scores since
the report card’s inception. In 2007,
the first year the report card was
released, Brown received an over-
all grade of “B,” according to the
institute’s website. The increase in
the University’s sustainability GPA
in recent years has to do with the
change in criteria from the surveys,
Powell said. Recently, the institute
has given more credit to schools
which have made actual progress
with their environmental initiatives
than to schools whose sustainable
programs have not improved, he
added.
Powell also credited both the
University’s reduction goals and
funds allocated to the goals for
the high marks. “The more people
that do that, the more the market
is influenced, because the market
responds,” Powell said.
Powell praised the increase in
student involvement with climate
and environmental issues on cam-
pus. Organizations are “much more
organized and involved,” Powell
said.
EmPower, one of Brown’s envi-
ronmental groups, was one of the
groups contacted by the institute,
according to Ari Rubenstein ’11, ex-
ecutive director of emPower. The
group’s many projects dedicated to
increasing sustainability on campus
were discussed in the surveys sent
to the institute, Rubenstein said.
Though the high grades are a
sign of forward progress, Ruben-
stein said he knows that there is
still room for improvement.
“Sustainability is about a mindset
more than anything else,” Ruben-
stein said. “Being an environmental-
ist does not have to mean being a
tree-hugging hippie.”
Powell agreed, saying that it is
one thing to make investments, but
another to get people to adapt and
do things differently.
“Do I think we’re perfect? No.
We should always be assessing what
we’re doing now,” Powell said.

sudoku

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Wednesday, November 10, 2010 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Page 3

C ampus N EWS “They were able to provide good guidelines in times of

stress.” — Zack Bodinger ’13, on the after-hours hotline

Health Services collaborates with medical advice hotline after hours

continued from page 1
pleased so far with the service. “The
medical advice has been consistently
thorough and well advised,” Dupont
said.
“With a new service, you’re al-
ways evaluating,” Dupont added. She
said the only issues so far have been
“logistical things, in terms of making
sure they know what services we
have, when we’re open.”
Nurse Response works with 13
schools across the country, said
Sherita Haigler, manager of client
services for the company. Haigler
said the service is careful to provide
specific information to its nurses
about each school. “We don’t take
a cookie-cutter approach,” she said.
“Each school has their unique needs
and we want to meet those unique
needs.”
When schools sign contracts
with Nurse Response, they fill out a
questionnaire, including information
about demographics, location and
“everything we have to know about
the campus and the community
around the campus,” Haigler said.
That information, updated annually,
is then organized so “all staff interact-
ing with students have it handy to
review,” she added.
Zack Bodinger ’13 said he found
the hotline helpful when he called
about a medical concern. “They were
very reassuring, and I really appreci-
ated that they were able to provide
good guidelines in times of stress,”
he said.
Brynn Smith ’11 was a frequent
user of the old system — 24-hour
on-site nurses available by phone
— when she was a Residential Coun-
selor two years ago. But when she
called the after-hours number recent-
ly, she said the service proceeded to
“reroute (her) seven times,” at which
point she gave up.
Smith said in the future she would
call the service again, but added that
if she had a similar experience, she
would be unlikely to continue calling.
Dupont said Health Services plans
to execute a student survey about
the hotline, though she said from
the feedback they have received, “a
majority have been pleased.”
Health Services does not explicit-
ly name the Nurse Response service
on the website. But Dupont said the
choice was not intentional. “We really
didn’t discuss it,” she said. “It’s not
deliberate — we want students to
call if they need advice.”
She added, “It’s important for
students to know that resource is
there, and that we follow up with
every student.”

Panel advocates for free

speech in courtrooms
continued from page 1
the case asked her why he should
not throw her in jail for contempt,
she said. A Nebraska state senator
mockingly filed a lawsuit against
God, arguing that if a rape victim can
sue a judge, he could sue the Lord.
O’Neil said that the role of and
stresses upon the court offered a
fundamental paradox: While the
courtroom is a “sacred” place, one
that deserves special protections,
the site of the room itself does not
constrain judicial authority.
“It is only a physical space… the
authority of a court transcends any
physical locations,” he said.
He recalled viewing a famous
photograph of Judge Sarah Hughes
administering the oath of office to
Lyndon B. Johnson aboard Air Force
One — a reminder that some things
that happen under the authority of a
judge do not take place in the court-
rooms.
At the same time, O’Neil noted
that certain limitations on courtroom
speech on judges, attorneys, litigants
and jurors do exist to facilitate the
execution of justice and to protect
the rights of all involved in the case.
O’Neil lamented the lack of legal
scholarship on the issue, in particu-
lar on the subject of disruption and
disturbance in the courtroom.
He cited one exception, Berner
v. Delahanty, a case involving an at-
torney who wore a political button
to a courtroom. The United States
Court of Appeals ultimately found
that “lawyers have no absolute right
to wear (their political beliefs) on
their sleeves” in the courtroom.

Bears recuperate after loss

to powerhouse St. Francis
continued from page 1
performance of late.
“I’m just working hard, doing my
thing ,” Shockley said. “And it’s pay-
ing off.”
Shockley normally splits time with
Max Lubin ’12. Mercado was quick
to point out that Lubin would “be a
starter on almost every other team
on the East Coast.” But the coach also
said the coaching staff won’t hesitate
to put Lubin back in net if Shockley’s
performance wavers.
The Bears will have a full two
weeks of practice before heading to
Bucknell on Nov. 18, where they hope
to claim the Eastern Division title.
SportsWednesday
The Brown Daily Herald
season preview / w. basketball
Coach and squad looking ahead
By Madeleine Wenstrup
Sports Staff Writer
Starting her 23rd year in the wom-
en’s basketball program, Head
Coach Jean Marie Burr is fired up
about the 2010-11 squad. Though
the team has only been practicing
for a few weeks, Burr says the com-
mitment is already there.
“We have a really solid team,”
Burr said. “They’re really excited
and they’re working hard. They’ve
broken some records on the track
as well as in the weight room.”
The team finished last year
with an 8-20 overall record and
a 5-9 league record. The Bears
graduated three seniors last year,
all of whom were four-year letter
winners.
Though the squad has no se-
niors this year, Burr said she has
no doubts about the leadership ca-
pabilities of the junior class.
“We have three juniors who have
a lot of playing time under their
belts,” Burr said. “I expect that they
are really going to take that to the
next level. They are great leaders.”
Their resumes are cer tainly
impressive. Hannah Passafuime
’12, Aileen Daniels ’12 and Lindsay
Steele ’12 are all Brown letter win-
ners who made significant contri-
butions to the 2009-10 season. Pas-
Wednesday, November 10, 2010 | Page 4
safuime and Daniels were named
spring captains last season. Both
players were high scorers on last
year’s team ­— Passafuime averaged
9.3 points a game to finish as the
leading scorer, and Daniels scored
7.1 per game to finish third.
The Bears will also look to their
new freshmen to bring on the heat.
Six recruited members and one
walk-on compose the freshman
class. Burr explained how the new
faces are already falling right into
step.
“We like an up-tempo game, we
love to play a pressure defense,”
she said. “They are really playing
hard and making that type of com-
mitment defensively.”
Passafuime agreed that the new
squad is already working well to-
gether.
“What gets me excited is that we
are already flowing so well together Jesse Morgan / Herald file photo
right now,” she said. Guard Sheila Dixon ‘13 and her teammates start their season Friday.
It is important for Burr’s team
dynamic that the freshmen partici- as the winter season captains. After Albany, the Bears return
pate in selecting captains. Co-captain Passafuime said she home to host Br yant University
“I like the first-years to be part is ready to jump into the season, in their first home game of the
of the chosen leadership,” Burr starting with the first game against season Nov. 23. The early season
said. “Everyone gets to know each Albany on Friday. will see two major tournaments­—
other, and then we vote.” “The first two weeks of practice the Iona Thanksgiving Classic and
In a voting process that included are hard because we aren’t playing the Brown Bear Basketball Classic,
both players and coaches, Passa- games yet,” she said. “We just look which will be held at the Pizzitola
fuime and Daniels were re-elected forward to the first game so much.” Center starting Dec. 1.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
S ports W ednesday
season preview / SWimming and diving
Despite lack of facilities, Indoor teams excited for start of season
team hopeful for season
By Ashley McDonnell
Sports Staff Writer
The divers have to go off campus
to train. The swimmers only have
a temporary pool for practice. The
men’s and women’s swimming and
diving teams cannot have any home
meets this season. But despite all
these setbacks, both teams are go-
ing into the winter season with posi-
tive attitudes and with the hope that
positive results will follow.
The team’s good attitude seems
to stem in large part from the new
diving coach, L. Channing Kimball.
Before coming to Brown, Kimball
was the diving coach at Alma Col-
lege in Michigan for three years.
During her own collegiate diving
career at the University of Wyo-
ming, she served as captain in her
junior and senior year, and won the
university’s swimming and diving
most inspirational award in 2003.
She now has brought that inspira-
tion to Brown.
“She’s exciting to be around,”
said men’s tri-captain Conor Car-
lucci ’11. “It’s nice to always see a
smiling face around.”
“She’s doing a great job at pro-
viding motivation and discipline,”
said Head Coach Peter Brown.
In addition to Kimball’s leader-
ship, Brown said he is depending
on the captains to lead both teams
and be the standout swimmers and
divers this season.
“They provide the team with a
good direction,” Brown said of the
women’s captains, Natascha Man-
gan ’11, Kara Lindquist ’11, Kelley
Wisinger ’11 and Allyson Schum-
acher ’12. “Once you have those
good things in place, then you can
go somewhere from there.”
Brown also said he expects the
freshmen to be “full-fledged team
members.” However, he was reluc-
tant to name any of the freshmen or
other players specifically, because
“it’s hard to single any of them out
without talking about all of them.”
Brown’s reluctance emphasizes
his belief in maintaining a team
mentality, even though swimming
and diving are individual sports.
“I think working together is re-
ally important,” Brown said. “You
can always achieve to a certain
level, especially individually, but
when you work as a team, you can
achieve things you couldn’t even
imagine.”
Carlucci echoed his coach’s
sentiments.
“We’re trying to focus on every-
one getting faster individually, and
that will lead to better team perfor-
mances,” he said.
With better team performances
comes the hope that both the men’s
and women’s squads will be able
to improve their overall records
this year, especially their confer-
ence standings. Carlucci said the
diving team is looking forward to
its first Ivy League meet Nov. 20
against Dartmouth. The Princeton
Invitational, Dec. 3–5, will provide a
good measurement of how well the
team is faring and what they need
to improve, she added.
“We’re on the rise and only go-
ing to keep getting better,” Carlucci
said.
The women’s team dives into its
season Friday at Providence Col-
lege starting at 5 p.m. A day later,
the men kick off the year with an
11 a.m. meet, also at PC.
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
season preview / track and field
By James Blum
Sports Staff Writer
As the weather turns colder, signal-
ing an end to the cross country sea-
son, the men’s and women’s indoor
track teams are busily preparing for
competition.
Director of men’s and women’s
track and field Michelle Eisenreich
is looking ahead to a successful year.
“We definitely want to improve
on our finishes from last season,”
Eisenreich said.
At the 2010 Ivy League Indoor
Track and Field Championships,
the men captured sixth place and
the women finished fifth.
The squads will be assisted in
achieving this goal by five coaches,
three of whom will be in their first
season with Brown track and field.
Coming from cross country, Tim
Springfield will serve as an assistant
coach for the distance runners. He
previously coached at the University
of St. Thomas, Division III, where
he helped guide 14 middle and long-
distance athletes to 45 All-American
awards.
Specializing in sprints and
hurdles, Assistant Coach Marc
Mangiacotti comes to Brown from
Wheaton College, also Division III.
He coached eight NCAA National
Champions and 53 All-Americans
during his six seasons at Wheaton,
of which he was co-head coach for
the final two seasons.
Rounding out the new arrivals
is Reuben Jones, previously with
Coastal Carolina University, who will
be a jumps assistant coach. Under
his tutelage, the Carolina women
earned six individual titles at the
2010 Big South Indoor Champion-
ships.
“They are all extremely well-qual-
ified and very successful coaches,
and we will see the program grow
under their leadership,” Eisenreich
said. “Hopefully, we will see immedi-
ate returns, but we are guaranteed
stronger programs down the line.”
In addition to new coaches,
the squads also welcome a “very
well-rounded recruiting class, with
strong talent in all of it,” according
to Eisenreich.
“We definitely have a lot of young
talent… Look for some big things
in track,” said distance runner Cait-
lin Clark ’11. “We are in a different
place than we have been in past
years ­— injury-free and physically
and mentally prepared.”
Though the teams welcome new
talent, several valuable athletes
graduated. Both Duriel Hardy ’10, a
winner in the 5-kilometer race at the
2010 Indoor Ivy League Heptagonal
Championship, and Ariel Wright ’10,
a fourth-place finisher in the 3k at
the championships, will be missed.
Page 5
Cross country co-captain Matt
Duffy ’12 and sprinter Mike Mazerik
’11 are among several returning
athletes who are expected to step
into leadership roles, according to
Eisenreich.
Perhaps the most notable return-
ing member of the team is Craig
Kinsley ’11. At the 2010 Division I
Outdoor Track and Field Champi-
onships, he threw 250 feet, three
inches to become the national cham-
pion in javelin. He is only the third
NCAA outdoor champion in school
history.
“Personally, I would like to
improve as much as possible and
to make Team USA for the World
Championships,” Kinsley said.
“Individually and team-wise, we’re
healthy as a team right now. There’s
a great shot at scoring in all the
events.”
With all of the incoming and re-
turning talent to the track teams,
Eisenreich emphasized the impor-
tance of finding success at the con-
ference championships.
“Anything before that is an op-
portunity to tune up and evaluate
where everybody’s fitness and train-
ing is,” Eisenreich said.
The work put in now will help en-
sure the squads find themselves in
top condition for the season-opening
Alden Invitational in Providence on
Dec. 4.
Editorial & Letters
The Brown Daily Herald

Page 6 | Wednesday, November 10, 2010

sam rosenfeld

e d i to r i a l

Letters, please! A good start

letters@browndailyherald.com Earlier this month, the Office of the Dean of the College It then aggregated the responses and provided the
unveiled Focal Point, a new concentration-mapping tool. helpful document for concentrators. A school-wide
As usual, we’re glad to see the University continue to initiative like this would give students more specific
t h e b r o w n d a i ly h e r a l d improve its Internet resources. We like the idea of a insight into how skills from a certain concentration
Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor Deputy Managing Editors Senior Editors tool that allows students to explore different majors. translate to the workplace.
George Miller Chaz Kelsh Emmy Liss Ben Hyman However, we think the current version of Focal Point We like that Focal Point provides links to concen-
Joanna Wohlmuth Seth Motel could be developed even further to be a more practi- tration requirements for each department. However,
editorial Business cal resource for students deciding between majors. these pages should be updated to provide even more
Anne Speyer Arts & Culture Editor General Managers Office Manager Right now, the tool offers very broad information, guidance to students. For instance, most concentra-
Suzannah Weiss Arts & Culture Editor
Claire Kiely Shawn Reilly such as a brief description of each department and a tion pages do not currently provide a guide explaining
Sara Luxenberg Features Editor
Katie Koh
Brian Mastroianni Features Editor list of industries that alums have joined. This infor- the best time to take certain courses to make sure
Brigitta Greene Metro Editor Directors
Ben Schreckinger Metro Editor Kelly Wess Sales mation may help students with a very vague idea of all prerequisites are satisfied in time to complete the
Matthew Burrows Finance
Sydney Ember News Editor
Danielle Marshak Asst. Finance
what they’d like to study, but most students may be major. This information is critical to guide students in
Tony Bakshi Sports Editor
Ashley McDonnell Asst. Sports Editor Margaret Watson Client Relations looking for more detailed information about potential making realistic choices about their concentration. It
Christiana Stephenson Alumni Relations career paths. would also help students construct a rough schedule
Graphics & Photos Managers
Stephen Lichenstein Graphics Editor The “Life After Brown” tool in particular has a lot of of future courses, which is necessary to declare most
Isha Gulati Local Sales
Alex Yuly Graphics Editor room for improvement. Currently, the tool is set up to concentrations.
Arjun Vaidya Local Sales
Stephanie London Photo Editor
Rajiv Iyengar National Sales list many of the industries as accessible to graduates Lastly, we’d like to see Focal Point incorporate
Max Monn Photo Editor
Aditi Bhatia University Sales
Hilary Rosenthal Photo Editor
Jared Davis University Sales of almost all majors. For example, 69 of the 78 majors information about theses in each department. When
Jonathan Bateman Sports Photo Editor
Jesse Morgan Asst. Sports Photo Editor
Trenten Nelson-Rivers Recruiter Sales listed on Focal Point show up when one selects the deciding a major, it’s helpful for students to see what
Lauren Bosso Business Operations
Jilyn Chao Business Analytics “Business/Consulting” category. While it’s helpful to the format and expectations are for an honors thesis in
Production
Kelly Mallahan Copy Desk Chief Margot Grinberg Credit and Collections know that students can enter a business profession that department. Focal Point would provide a good cen-
Alexander Carrere Special Projects
Joe Milner Asst. Copy Desk Chief with almost any major, more specific information would tral location to post examples of theses from previous
Dan Towne Asst. Copy Desk Chief Kathy Bui Staff
Julien Ouellet Design Editor Opinions be useful. For example, students in either Commerce, years so students know exactly what to expect when
Gili Kliger Asst. Design Editor Michael Fitzpatrick Opinions Editor Organizations and Entrepreneurship or Gender and declaring a concentration. Some departments already
Leor Shtull-Leber Asst. Design Editor Alyssa Ratledge Opinions Editor
Katie Wilson Asst. Design Editor
Sexuality Studies have pursued careers in business. have old theses posted on their websites, but many do
Matt Aks Editorial Page Editor
Neal Poole Web Editor Tyler Rosenbaum Editorial Page Editor But chances are that the proportion of Gender Stud- not. Consolidating this information in one place would
Post- magazine BLOG DAILY HERALD ies students that enter business is smaller than the make it easier for students to access theses and would
Sam Carter Editor-in-Chief Matt Klimerman Managing Editor proportion of COE students, and it would make sense also ensure that all departments make them available
Kate Doyle Editor-in-Chief Anne Simons Managing Editor for an advisory tool like “Life After Brown” to reflect to prospective concentrators.
Marshall Katheder Editor-in-Chief David Winer Managing Editor
this important difference. We think Focal Point will make it much easier for
Rebecca Ballhaus, Julien Ouellet, Katie Wilson, Designers Another helpful addition would be to include first- students to explore potential concentrations. We hope
Joe Milner, Raaj Parekh, Copy Editors
hand accounts of people who have gone into a particu- the Dean of the College uses this opportunity to make
Ana Alvarez, Sydney Ember, Lindor Qunaj, Luisa Robledo, Night Editors
lar industry, similar to the type of survey the English the tool even stronger.
Senior Staff Writers Ana Alvarez, Ashley Aydin, Rebecca Ballhaus, Alexander Bell, Nicole Boucher,
Fei Cai, Kristina Fazzalaro, Sarah Mancone, Claire Peracchio, Lindor Qunaj, Mark Raymond, Luisa
department did in 2007, but across all concentrations.
Robledo, Caitlin Trujillo In that survey, the department asked some of its recent Editorials are written by The Herald’s editorial page board.
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Opinions
The Brown Daily Herald
BY Sarah Rosenthal
Opinions Columnist
Walking past the recent Sophomore Concen-
tration Fair in Sayles Hall, I thought about
what I would say to any potential history
concentrators. Something along the lines of,
“Want a concentration that will kick your ass
every day of the week, will leave you pale
and sickly from hours in the library and will
either lead to unemployment or that inevita-
ble graveyard of humanities concentrators,
law school? Then history might be for you!”
As you might be able to tell, I have a
love/hate relationship with my concentra-
tion. I imagine that this is the case for most
Brown students. But being Brown students,
we don’t do things unless we want to, and
for me, it’s mostly love. So I was disheart-
ened to read that fewer and fewer people are
choosing to concentrate in history (“Num-
ber of history concentrators falls,” Nov. 1).
History professors blame the increased
course requirements for concentrators in re-
cent years, but I blame a number of unfair
yet persistent myths about studying history.
Myth One: History is a dusty, shriveled
topic taught by dusty, shriveled people. I
have had the privilege of listening to and
working with some of the most fascinating
scholars imaginable, who have brought im-
mense passion, intelligence and imagination
to their work. For instance, when Nancy Ja-
cobs teaches about South Africa, she is not
just regurgitating facts and figures; she is
Careful, let’s be politically correct now (or not)
BY elizabeth perez
Opinions Columnist
“What do you call yourself?” CEO Jack
Donaghey asks his Latin romantic interest
Elisa, to which she replies, “A Puerto Rican.”
Dumbfounded, he retorts, “No, I know you
can say that but what do I call you?” She in-
sists once again, “A Puerto Rican.” Flabber-
gasted by the idea that the politically correct
identification of a Puerto Rican is, in fact, a
Puerto Rican, he responds, “Wow, that does
not sound right.” The critically acclaimed
comedy show “30 Rock” ridicules the perva-
sive stigma that surrounds race, and makes
one actively question the way we have “col-
lectively constructed and institutionalized”
race through this constant need to be racial-
ly sensitive and politically correct, Caroline
Howarth writes in the article, “Race as Stig-
ma.” I have encountered similar but less ri-
diculous situations, except the only thing I’m
capable of verbalizing is, “Seriously?”
From liberals to conservatives on cam-
pus, everyone can acknowledge the fact that
Brown embraces and advocates its sense of
political correctness and racial sensitivity.
Unsurprisingly, the acronym “P.C.” gained
widespread attention in a cartoon strip pub-
lished by Brown. In the wide spectrum of po-
litical correctness, Brown equally struggles
to resolve the conflicts of the trivial and fleet-
ing matters to the most pressing and contro-
versial concerns. I applaud Brown’s efforts
to climb several steps ahead in the giant lad-
der of political correctness, but several steps
more could cause the whole ladder to col-
lapse.
History: a history
telling a story that is deeply relevant to our
world, one in which she actually participat-
ed. Hearing her talk about how her parents
would smuggle banned books into the coun-
try for her when she was doing post-grad-
uate research there vividly brings alive the
banal, everyday repressions of the apartheid
regime.
Obviously, not everyone can tell stories
about personal involvement with the history
he or she teaches. (“I remember this time
that Lucius Domitius Aurelianus and I got
History concentrators are passionate about what
we study for its own sake, because God knows
those long days spent in the Rock are not going to
make us much money or give us much social cred.
soooo wasted after the defeat of the Goths
at the Battle of Naissus — that was a night
for the history books!”) That doesn’t make
these contributions any less valuable, ei-
ther to academic discourse or to the world
at large.
Which leads me to Myth Two: history
is pointless. As any good Brown student
knows, Western academia has until recently
been dominated by a homogenous racist im-
perialist hegemonic blah blah blah. Joking
aside, it has been the project of many his-
torians in the modern period to undermine
Brown is constantly redefining what it
means to be politically correct and racially
sensitive; the renaming of Columbus Day to
Fall Weekend, as a Herald opinions column
expressed, was an attempt “to appease Na-
tive American rights activists” (“Fall Week-
end, reimagined,” Oct. 8, 2009). However,
Brown alums and Mayor of Providence Da-
vid Cicilline ’83 protested, “The decision to
simply erase the celebration of an incredibly
significant moment in world history and Ital-
ian-American culture for (the) sake of politi-
cal correctness does just the opposite.” The
ambiguous but “politically correct” naming
did not completely satisfy either side, but it
minimized the commotion.
To some extent, this atmosphere of political
correctness can be a tad bit excessive and
detrimental when considering the discomfort it
creates in informal and formal settings.
To some extent, this atmosphere of po-
litical correctness can be a tad bit exces-
sive and detrimental when considering the
discomfort it creates in informal and formal
settings. When I’m asked, “Where are you
from?” I will respond, “Los Angeles,” and I
chuckle at the dissatisfied faces of the stu-
dents who were actually curious about my
racial background, but resisted the tempta-
tion to ask once again, in an effort to be ra-
cially sensitive. Occasionally, I get the seri-
ous but laughable question, “What’s more
politically correct: Hispanic or Latino?”
When I reveal my ethnic background, I
Wednesday, November 10, 2010 | Page 7
and correct this imbalance. They speak up
for those who were considered to have no
history, or whose history was manufactured
for them to fit a pernicious agenda, and help
them refute the myths that were tools of
their oppression in the past and continue to
be detrimental to their everyday lives.
Besides, it only takes a cursory look
around you to see how relevant history re-
ally is. There are parts of this country that
are still fighting the Civil War. As I found out
when I spent last semester in England, there
are parts of that country that are still fight-
ing over the 500-year-old legacy of the Eng-
lish Reformation. I’m not one of those who
thinks that you can divine the future from
looking at the past, but pursuing the disci-
pline allows you to see patterns that you oth-
erwise might have missed.
Myth Three: History is a ton of work with
no payoff. I won’t deny the first part of that
statement. Taking a history class (a good
one, that is — as in any discipline, there are
some classes that are more rewarding than
others) is the equivalent of removing your
say my mother is Honduran and my father
is Puerto Rican. I enthusiastically joke that
I fulfilled both the Caribbean and Central
American racial quota. I am not devaluing
my own merits or unconsciously being self-
deprecating; I am challenging the uncom-
fortable boundaries of race and trivializing
the need to be politically correct.
We have more liberty to speak careless-
ly in an informal setting, but there are the
unfortunate few who do realign or conceal
their opinions in a formal one. It’s become
an unconscious effort to preserve an arti-
ficial atmosphere of political correctness,
where people can choose to censor contro-
versial ideas or even ordinary comments. In
the midst of protecting the prevailing idea,
those who are satisfied with the so-called
“just way of thinking” will only deprive the
less-favored view of its validity.
To be told it’s unethical to say one thing,
but it’s perfectly fine to say another, is a mis-
leading way of teaching and learning. It’s
disconcerting to realize that people willingly
suppress a thought to remain politically cor-
rect or that they mask their own ideas un-
der the sugarcoated conventionally accepted
idea. The pervasiveness of political correct-
ness is at times just borderline ridiculous.
Unfortunately, it can and will at times ulti-
brain from your cranium, stretching it out
like taffy and then trying to shove it back in
the same small space and use it again. In oth-
er words, it’s tiring.
But there’s also so much to love. After I
described the various obscure honors thesis
topics of the other concentrators in my sec-
tion to a non-concentrator friend, she very
sweetly observed, “You’re all just weirdos in
your own way.” Like the lovable misfits on
“Glee,” history concentrators are passion-
ate about what we study for its own sake,
because God knows those long days spent
in the Rock are not going to make us much
money or give us much social cred.
Perhaps most importantly, history gives
us a sense of where we are. Brown, where
86 percent of students graduate within four
years, necessarily has a short institutional
memory. (Why, just the other day, I heard
someone on the street refer to Store24 as
“Tedeschi!” Tedeschi, I say!) Without the
study of history, we’d all just be floating
around with no idea of why things are the
way they are, victims of fatuous connections,
false assumptions and superficial conclu-
sions that can be easily manipulated by the
mendacious or power-hungry.
So put aside the sexiness of “Television
Studies” or “Color Me Cool” and pre-register
for a history class for Spring 2011. I promise,
you won’t regret it.
Former Herald Opinions Editor Sarah
Rosenthal’s ’11 column space has been
bought and paid for by Big History.
mately create and enforce a generic guide-
line of how one should think and feel.
A school that strives to promote racial
sensitivity and political correctness inad-
vertently creates unnecessary boundaries
between the “majority” perspective and the
“minority” perspective. The book “The Po-
litically Correct University: Problems, Scope
and Reforms,” defends the need to trivial-
ize political correctness and to preserve in-
tellectual diversity in the academic sphere.
In it, contributors William O’Donohue and
Richard E. Redding claim, “Just as minority
students may feel alienated in educational
environments lacking minority professors
or culturally sensitive course content, con-
servative students may feel alienated when
few (often none) of their professors share or
respect their views and when conservative
perspectives are excluded from pedagogy.”
Creating a more politically correct atmo-
sphere at the expense of those with perhaps
the most unconventional views will inevita-
bly minimize diversity. Being politically cor-
rect is gradually transforming into the way
of thinking and acting. People are becoming
excessively conscious of what they say and
overly sensitive to foreign ideas. We should
de-emphasize the need for political correct-
ness so that the only concern is no longer
what or who will be offended. Then we can
strive to fully promote the guiltless liberty of
self-expression once more.
Elizabeth Perez ’13 is an economics and
international relations concentrator from
Hollywood, Calif. She can be contacted
at elizabeth_perez@brown.edu.
 Today 2 U. graded on sustainability to day to m o r r o w

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Today November 10 ToMORROW November 11
Bat & Gaz | Sofia Ortiz
5 P.M. Noon
Muslims in the West After 9/11, Veterans Day Ceremony, Main Green
Watson McKinney Conference Room
5:30 P.M. 7 P.M.
Science Across Genders and Debate: Burma Elections,
Cultures, Science Center Petteruti Lounge

menu
SHARPE REFECTORY VERNEy-WOOLLEY DINING HALL
LUNCH
Cabernet Voltaire | Abe Pressman
Parmesan Herb Pizza on Wheat Italian Sausage & Peppers
Crust, Dal Cali with Yogurt and Sandwich, Hamburgers, Spicy Black
Flat Bread Bean Burgers
DINNER
Cheese Quesadillas with Sour Cream Apricot Beef with Noodles, Egg Drop
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