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Comics...................5
editorial..............6 Brown researcher gets Ethi- Alum explores unconscious Sarah Rosenthal ’11
Opinions...............7 opian teens to talk safe sex biases in healthcare on student writing
feature...................8 Campus News, 3 Feature, 8 Opinions, 7 28 / 21 34 / 18
2 Campus News The Brown Daily Herald
Friday, January 28, 2011
Daily Herald
the Brown will contribute to changes in the
Sudoku way cancer is treated, moving
away from the nonspecific and
www.browndailyherald.com toxic removal of tissue to more
195 Angell St., Providence, R.I. personalized medicine. The imme-
Ben Schreckinger, President Matthew Burrows, Treasurer diate impact of the research is that
Sydney Ember, Vice President Isha Gulati, Secretary people may now measure for IDH
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to affect treatment.”
Crossword
The Brown Daily Herald
Friday, January 28, 2011 Campus News 3
Prof obtains better data on sex habits In Davos, Simmons
By EMILY ROSEN
Staff Writer
bers at Jimma University were
closely involved in the research,
versities and health providers to
improve public health. This re- networks, hosts panels
and Lindstrom said he frequently search project also studies other
Using innovative nonverbal inter- travels to Ethiopia to run work- aspects of Ethiopian life, including continued from page 1 thew Gutmann, vice president for
viewing methods to protect the shops and work directly with native issues of sanitation, living habits, international affairs. Prospective
privacy of participants, Associ- Ethiopians. pest control and infectious disease. sions with this group are especially students, alums, donors and Cor-
ate Professor of Sociology David The Jimma University’s health Lindstrom said there are many important to us in university life.” poration members are expected to
Lindstrom has developed a method communication program has re- simple ways to improve public Simmons also recently learned attend. Though recruitment is not
for obtaining more honest answers cently produced radio broadcasts health without spending large sums of a project offering mini-loans to the main reason behind Simmons’
from Ethiopian adolescents to of the policy briefs. Lindstrom said of money. Lindstrom said he hopes artists, and she wrote she is excited trip to Switzerland, she wrote she
questions about their reproduc- he hopes the radio broadcasts will his research collaborators and oth- by the prospect of implementing occasionally meets young, moti-
tive health. be an effective way to communicate ers will continue this kind of re- the idea. vated individuals at the forum who
Lindstrom said this nonverbal the survey results to the general search in the future and expand And she will be holding a Uni- already stand among global figures.
response method makes for more populace. it to other regions of the world. versity event alongside Ronald The University always welcomes
accurate responses because the He said his group’s goal is to “We’re there to make a long-term Margolin, vice president for inter- outstanding individuals, Quinn
Ethiopian adolescents his group establish a dialogue between uni- contribution and impact,” he said. national advancement, and Mat- said.
interviews are not required to ver-
balize answers to personal ques-
tions about their sexual activity
and reproductive health. This in-
novative method could be used to
conduct health surveys in other
places, as it is an easy, economical
way to conduct research, he said.
For over nine years, Lindstrom
and researchers from Brown, Em-
ory University and two Ethiopian
universities have been studying
topics including sexual behavior
among adolescents, access to con-
traceptives, awareness of HIV and
the various issues young people
face during the transition from
adolescence to adulthood, Lind-
strom said.
Due to the personal nature and
sensitivity of the questions asked
during the interviews, Lindstrom
said it was important to ensure
participant privacy. The research-
ers also needed to find a nonverbal
interview technique for people who
may not be literate or know how to
use computers, he added.
To protect participants’ ano-
nymity, Lindstrom’s group devel-
oped a method to conduct inter-
views using response cards. A card
is placed between the interviewer
and the participant so that the in-
terviewer cannot see the partici-
pant’s side of the card. The par-
ticipant’s side contains a grid with
possible answers to questions, such
as the words “yes” and “no.” Each
possible answer then has a small
hole punched in the card directly
below it. To answer a question,
the participant sticks a small rod
through the hole corresponding to
his or her answer. The interviewer
records the hole that was chosen by
the participant without knowing
which hole corresponds to which
answer. A master key is then used
to decode the survey answers.
Lindstrom’s group interviews
Ethiopians between the ages of 15
and 25. Each individual is followed
for five years and is periodically
interviewed during those years.
Researchers then compile and
analyze data from the interviews,
and publish policy briefs to sum-
marize the findings, Lindstrom
said. The policy briefs are short
memos that contain data and sta-
tistics from the survey as well as
policy recommendations to im-
prove health and well-being.
Lindstrom said these policy
briefs include suggestions to health
service providers for improving re-
productive health.
Another major component of
the project was collaboration with
Ethiopian universities, including
Jimma University. Faculty mem-
4 Campus News The Brown Daily Herald
Friday, January 28, 2011
Entrepreneurs
struggle with brevity
continued from page 1 audience, a small dose is really
useful,” Beckman said. “To be
Aeronautics and Space Adminis- able to distill an idea down into
tration. After research and inter- a minute’s length and sell the idea
views with astronauts, the team they’re working on is an essential
discovered that neither hot nor skill.”
cold beverages are available in Raimondo said that this chal-
space due to energy constraints. lenge of brevity was also one of
This inspired the team to design the more difficult aspects of the
a thermos using portable ther- competition.
moelectric technology. “It’s challenging to give enough
Raimondo said the group did information in 90 seconds that
not plan on actually marketing you convince someone that your
the product at the beginning of idea is useful and worthwhile,”
the semester, but the group’s win she said. “Getting people inter-
in the contest might change that. ested quickly is a useful skill to
“We would consider it now,” have.”
said Raimondo. “It’s gotten a lot WaterWalla, Vaish’s group, be-
more recognition than we ex- gan seven months ago and has
pected. We’re entering the Rhode raised $17,000. Vaish said group
Island Business Plan Competi- members felt an obligation to
tion. If everything goes well, it’s use their resources — especially
a definite possibility.” The group a Brown education — to give back
will use their prize money toward to others in the form of better
a prototype of the thermos as part health. The Hindi word “walla”
of this semester’s class. roughly translates to “provider
Jason Beckman ’11, co-pres- of.”
ident of the Brown Entrepre- After assessing the needs of
neurship Program, noted the different communities in India,
importance of being able to pitch WaterWalla sells technological
a complicated business idea in solutions to local vendors at no
a short amount of time. The profit.
program — which offers men- According to WaterWalla’s
toring and networking services website, diseases related to wa-
to students with an interest in ter toxicity cause 90 percent of
beginning their own business the deaths of children in Dharavi,
venture — offers its own annual the slum in Mumbai, India where
elevator pitch competition with a the project began.
cash reward of $1,000 to the best “If all else fails, if we save the
45-second pitch. life of just one child, it will all be
“In terms of captivating an worth it,” Vaish said.
Editorials are written by The Herald’s editorial page board. Send comments
“If all else fails, if we save the life of just one child,
to editorials@browndailyherald.com.
t h e b r ow n da i ly h e r a l d
Editors-in-Chief
Sydney Ember
Deputy Managing Editors
Brigitta Greene
Senior Editors
Dan Alexander
it will all be worth it. ”
Ben Schreckinger Anne Speyer Nicole Friedman — Anshu Vaish ’12, on his non-profit business, which brings clean water to urban slums
Julien Ouellet
editorial Business
Kristina Fazzalaro Arts & Culture Editor General Managers Office Manager
Correction
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Directors
Rebecca Ballhaus City & State Editor
Aditi Bhadia Sales
Claire Peracchio City & State Editor
Alex Bell News Editor
Danielle Marshak Finance An article in Thursday’s Herald (“Fundraising campaign complete,” Jan. 27, 2011) incorrectly stated that the
Margot Grinberg Alumni Relations
Nicole Boucher News Editor
Lisa Berlin Special Projects Brown Annual Fund raised $573 million throughout the course of the Campaign for Academic Enrichment.
Tony Bakshi Sports Editor
Ashley McDonnell Sports Editor Managers This figure refers to the total amount of current-use funds raised during the campaign. The Annual Fund
Anita Mathews Editorial Page Editor Hao Tran National Sales raised $247.9 million during the campaign. The Herald regrets the error.
Tyler Rosenbaum Editorial Page Editor Alec Kacew University Department Sales
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C O R R E C T I O N S P olic y
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The Brown Daily Herald
Friday, January 28, 2011 Opinions 7
The ROTC Question
unwillingness to rescind its status as an testing the United States military’s foreign year — not very good compensation for
By Chris academic credit-bearing entity. Howev- involvement. risking one’s life. Although officer positions
er, as we all know, the 1960s were a time Although this summary paints just a certainly pay more handsomely, they are
Norris-LeBlanc of significant student protest, especially small picture of the cultural milieu in the mostly available to students coming from
Opinions Columnist at schools like Brown. Starting as early as ’60s and ’70s, it helps us to reconstruct the military colleges like West Point.
1967, there was a “Brown Committee to socio-political climate at the time ROTC Given this comparison between the sit-
After 18 years, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was Abolish ROTC” taking action on campus. was expelled from our campus. So, where uation in the 1960s and that of the 2000s,
finally repealed by a Senate vote of 63 for To try and remove Brown’s expulsion do we stand now? I see no reason why ROTC would be any
and 33 against. This historic legislation of ROTC in 1972 from the context of the The United States military is current- more welcome on our campus than it was
marks the end of an almost two-decade United States military’s violence in Viet- ly involved in many foreign conflicts, the 50 years ago. If we look at the two student
period when gay and lesbian members of nam and at Kent State University is akin to most prominent of which are taking place groups at Brown organizing around this
the armed forces had to face a dishonor- taking any other action out of its historical in Iraq and Afghanistan. In Iraq, an esti- issue, Students for ROTC and The Brown
able discharge if they divulged their sexu- Coalition Against Special Privileges for
ality to their comrades, forcing them to live ROTC, our campus’s opinion on the issue
in secrecy while trying to perform a highly is fairly clear; the coalition has 173 petition
stressful and dangerous job. signatures (including students, faculty and
The magnitude of this decision has To once again allow ROTC on our campus would be to alums) and 10 student groups allied with
sent reverberations nationwide; however, I their position, while Students for ROTC
would like to talk about how it has reached completely ignore the social, political and historical only has a handful of members and virtu-
us here on College Hill. In light of the re- contexts of its original expulsion. ally no visible support.
peal, President Simmons has decided to In The Herald this week, Undergraduate
form a committee tasked with reevaluating Council of Students President Diane Mo-
the 1972 ban on all Reserve Officer Train- koro ’11 was quoted saying that in regards
ing Corps programs at Brown. to the committee members’ personal opin-
To once again allow ROTC on our cam- context. In order to truly achieve a coher- mated 99,000-108,000 civilians have been ions about ROTC, she wants “somebody
pus would be to completely ignore the so- ent analysis about the initial decision to re- killed as a result of U.S. occupation. A 2003 who’s relatively in the middle.” Although
cial, political and historical contexts of its move ROTC, we must look at the cultural survey of female veterans showed that 30 our instinct at Brown is to always attempt
original expulsion. My personal feelings position of the United States military be- percent were victims of sexual assault while to create a level debate, I think it is critical-
about the military aside, the repeal of the tween the years of 1967 and 1972. serving in various branches of the military; ly important that whoever gets chosen for
policy was a huge victory for human rights By the official end of the Vietnam War furthermore, a 2004 study of female veter- this committee is both invested in the issue
and has set an important precedent for fu- in 1975, an estimated one million members ans seeking help for post-traumatic stress and has opinions which reflect those of the
ture anti-discrimination laws; that being of the North Vietnamese Army and Viet disorder found that 71 percent had been larger student body.
said, discrimination against queer folks in Cong had died defending their country victims of sexual assault while in the ser- My suggestion: Tell Ruth we don’t want
the military will not necessarily die with from U.S. invasion. Women, although al- vice. Meanwhile, the National Guard has a committee, and all hail community ref-
“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”, and ROTC divest- lowed in the military in the 1960s and ’70s, been called in on numerous occasions to erenda.
ment was an act informed by the sum of were not given the same job opportunities help suppress protests during G-8 and
many other crimes against humanity per- as men, regardless of their ability or tech- G-20 meetings held all over the United
petrated by the United States military. nical proficiency. On May 4, 1970, at Kent States. To add insult to injury, the starting Chris Norris-LeBlanc ’13 is from Rhode
Officially, the University instituted the State University, four students were killed pay for a member of the Air Force, Navy, Island. He can be contacted at
ban on ROTC as a result of the program’s and nine others were injured at a rally pro- Marines or Army is only 17,604 dollars per chris.norris.leblanc@gmail.com.
White III ’57 P’98 reveals racial bias in medicine and care
By Crystal vance guerra Yet innumerable articles, re- do not reflect the country’s racial Atlanta hotel during a medical position at his own alma mater,
Contributing Writer ports and personal stories reflect composition, according to a 2010 society luncheon, according to Brown, where he once studied
discrimination in today’s medical Association of American Medi- the Journal article. It was not until psychology.
Augustus White III ’57 P’98 is no education, patient treatment and cal Colleges report. For example, 1964 that higher education was White served on the Blue Rib-
stranger to breaking down racial workforce. blacks make up 12.4 percent of forced to desegregate, and not bon Committee, an external re-
barriers. Certain minority popula- the country, but only 6.3 percent until 1965 that segregated hos- view of minority education and
In 1961, White was one of only tions are 50 percent less likely of all physicians, according to the pitals were banned by law. student life at Brown. The com-
four black graduate students at than non-minorities to receive report. For Latinos, the imbalance Although racial segregation is mittee was formed after students
Stanford University. He went on pain medication after arm and is even greater — 15.8 percent no longer sanctioned by organiza- occupied the John Carter Brown
to become Stanford’s first black leg fractures, according to White. versus 5.5 percent. tion or law, disparities continue to Library, protesting the Univer-
medical school graduate, as well “There is no sign that said, Why the disparity? exist. Only 7.5 percent of medical sity’s failure to meet previous
as Yale’s first black resident sur- ‘Don’t give any black people any One reason may be the long school faculty are minorities, ac- demands for increased student
geon and the first black depart- medication if they come in with history of systematic racial dis- cording to a 2009 AAMC inves- and academic diversity.
ment head at Harvard’s medical a broken bone,’ ” White said, but crimination in the medical field. tigation. This committee published a
teaching school. “there are still examples of re- By the end of the 19th century, Faculty positions for people of report titled “The American Uni-
Born and raised in Mem- sidual bias.” two medical organizations had color are “very, very rare,” White versity and the Pluralist Ideal,” in
phis, Tenn. during the Jim Crow For White, much of his per- emerged, reflecting the country’s said. which several recommendations
era, White witnessed dramatic spective relates to “how people re- blatant racism: the exclusively White highlighted the impor- were made to address minority
changes in the nation’s attitudes act to me as an African-American white American Medical Associa- tance of mentorship in his own student concerns. These recom-
concerning race over the course male in certain settings.” Yet even tion and the predominantly black success. mendations resulted in the hiring
of his life. he was surprised by the “extent National Medical Association. After serving as an army sur- of the first full-time Latino dean
He recently published a book and prevalence of the disparities In 1910, a report commis- geon in Vietnam, White met Wil- and an increased effort to recruit
titled “Seeing Patients: Uncon- which affect so many people.” sioned by the AMA recommend- liam Montague Cobb, a physician minority faculty in each academic
scious Bias in Health Care.” The “Doctors who really thought ed closing seven of nine black at Howard University, who was department, according to a 1986
book highlights inequalities in they were not prejudiced … were medical schools, leaving even also head of the NMA for over article in The Herald.
the field of medicine that result shocked to find out that they had fewer options for black medical 10 years and chair of the board The University followed all but
from conscious and unconscious treated black people in a disparate students, according to a 2008 of trustees of the National As- one of the committee’s recom-
bias, he said. Part memoir, part manner,” White said, referencing Journal of the American Medi- sociation for the Advancement mendations: that students be re-
research, it is told through both the results of an implicit associa- cal Association article. of Colored People. quired to take at least one course
White’s personal story and the tion test. As late as 1961, during the “Cobb thought it was impor- that relates to a minority issue,
lens of medicine, he added. Several other studies confirm black freedom movement, the tant to help others, to give op- according to White.
“One of the lessons I’ve these disparities and reveal that AMA refused to defend eight portunity to more African-Amer- White said the University’s re-
learned from medicine,” White patient treatment is not the only black physicians who had been icans if you were in a position to sponse was, “sounds like a good
said, “is how common human- area still mired in racial biases. arrested for requesting service do that,” White said. idea, but remember — we have
ity is.” U.S. physician demographics in the whites-only section of an In 1986, White was in such a no required courses.”