Daily
the Brown
vol. cxlvi, no. 12
Corporation
to approve
2012 budget
this weekend
By Alex Bell
News Editor
With few major capital projects left
on its plate, the Corporation will
meet this weekend to discuss vari-
ous University policies and vote on
next year’s budget.
The University’s highest govern-
ing body will review President Ruth
Simmons’ budget recommendations
— including tuition and student fees
— based on the report of the Univer-
sity Resources Committee, which
will be made public this weekend,
said Russell Carey ’91 MA’06, senior
vice president for Corporation affairs
and governance.
A group of Corporation members
visited Yale Wednesday to talk about
university governance with their
counterparts, Carey said. They took
a similar trip last year to Princeton.
Members will attend a series of
committee meetings today, break-
ing for the dedication of the Perry
and Marty Granoff Center for the
Creative Arts this evening.
On Friday, the Corporation will
meet as a whole during the day be-
fore breaking into committees in the
afternoon and reconvening Saturday
morning to vote in University Hall.
A memorial service for Joseph
Fernandez ’85, president of the
continued on page 2
Revered reverend
Reverend Janet Cooper Nelson has been the chaplain for 21 years.
news...................2-4
inside
WORLD................8-9
editorial.............10
Opinions.............11
CITY & state.......12
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Pro- and anti-gay marriage advocates overflowed from the State House yesterday as debate began on a marriage bill.
Groups rally for, against gay marriage
By CHIp LEBOVITZ
Staff Writer
Same-sex marriage supporters
packed the State House yesterday
at a Marriage Equality Rhode Is-
land rally.
city & state
Buoyed by the election of Gov-
ernor Lincoln Chafee ’75 P’14,
who has publicly voiced his sup-
port for marriage equality, the
group is pushing for the passage
of a bill introduced this January
that would legalize marriage for
all couples regardless of gender.
A rally against legalizing same-
sex marriage, hosted by the Na-
Ashley Aydin / Herald
See page 2.
Making a Mark
Students get involved in the
political process
City & STATE, 5
Herald
tional Organization for Marriage,
directly preceded the marriage
equality rally. Maggie Gallagher,
chair of the National Organiza-
tion for Marriage, Senator Har-
old Metts, D-Providence, and Rep.
Raymond Hull, D-Providence,
were scheduled to speak at the
rally.
About 300 supporters waving
signs turned out to show their sup-
port for the marriage equality bill.
The total attendance exceeded the
State House’s capacity, causing an
L-shaped line to spill out of the
State House and onto Smith Street.
Expectations for the newly
sworn-in governor were high.
Supporters of the bill draped a
banner inside the State House
Faculty remains
mostly male, white
By Shefali Luthra
Senior Staff Writer
About two-thirds of the faculty are
male and about four-fifths identify
as white, according to statistics pub-
lished on the Dean of the Faculty’s
website. The faculty continues to lack
racial and gender diversity despite
concerted institutional efforts in
recent years to increase it.
news analysis
Though males and whites domi-
nate the faculty, the current make-up
represents a significant increase in
faculty diversity, according to Dean
of the Faculty Rajiv Vohra P’07. Both
he and Director for Institutional
Diversity Valerie Wilson cited the
Plan for Academic Enrichment as
an engine for increased diversity in
Stephanie London / Herald
bearing a recent quotation from
Chafee: “When equal marriage is
the law in Rhode Island, we honor
our forefathers who risked their
lives and fortune in the pursuit of
human equality.”
Chafee did not attend the rally.
The rally featured speakers
such as Senator Rhoda Perry P’91,
D-Providence, and Rev. Eugene
Dyszlewski, chair of the Religious
Coalition for Marriage Equality.
The speakers sounded a consistent
theme of support for equal mar-
riage rights, reiterating their faith
in Chafee’s resolve and a need to
press forward.
“Don’t give up. Don’t give up.
continued on page 6
recent years.
The number of female faculty
members has increased by 30 per-
cent since the 2002-03 academic
year, while the presence of various
minority groups has also increased.
“The University is putting a
great deal of emphasis on diversity
in terms of faculty,” Wilson said.
“But you have to understand that
recruiting a diverse faculty is not
like recruiting a diverse group of
students in the freshman class.”
Vohra said the current faculty
reflects a lack of diversity in the
pool of applicants. In the physical
sciences, for example, he said it is
“quite well-known” that there aren’t
many senior women faculty mem-
bers across the “university system
as a whole.”
continued on page 4
weather
Post-
gets laid, judges by
the cover
Post-, Inside
Since 1891
Ne ws in brief
‘Jockapella’
receives UCS
approval
The Undergraduate Council
of Students elected an Ivy
Council liaison and approved
the formation of four new
student groups, including
“Jockapella,” last night.
UCS invited its members
to consider serving as the
body’s representative to the
Ivy Council. Leah Bromberg ’11,
who currently serves on the
Academic and Administrative
Affairs committee, ran for
the position pointing to her
experiences with both UCS
and Ivy Council. In addition to
having attended Ivy Council
conferences and summits, she
was a member of the group’s
policy committee last year.
Bromberg edged out
Michelle Frea ’14, who
promised to strengthen the
relationship between UCS
and the Ivy Council if elected,
saying the latter does not have
a large enough presence on
campus.
The Ivy Council’s Ivy Policy
Conference will be held Feb.
25-27 at Dartmouth.
A number of new student
organizations were confirmed
at the meeting as well.
“Jockapella,” an a cappella
group formed by athletes from
the track and field and football
teams, was approved as a
category one group. Though
the founding members have
formed a camaraderie with
athletes across a number of
sports through singing, they
have been unable to join
existing a cappella groups
due to unfavorable audition
and practice schedules, said
Ralanda Nelson ’12, chair of the
student activities committee.
“Jockapella” aims to allow
athletes to further explore their
interests in singing.
Chapters of Operation Smile,
an international organization
committed to treating cleft
palates, and Generation
Citizen, a non-governmental
organization founded by Scott
Warren ’09 and Anna Ninan
’09 that educates high school
students about social change,
were both approved.
The Brown Naturalist
Society, a group aiming to
promote appreciation of
nature, was also approved by
the council.
— David Chung
t o d ay tomorrow
26 / 9 31 / 24
2 Campus News The Brown Daily Herald
Thursday, February 10, 2011

TODAY
calendar
FEBruary 10 ToMORROW February 11
Chaplain looks back on 21 years
By ashley aydin which was just the two of us, to New Divine Providence
6:30 P.m. 6:00 p.m. Senior Staff Writer Hampshire. I had to make weekly A few years after she arrived as
Israeli Film Festival: “Precious Life”, CSA Chinese New Year Banquet, commutes. There was divinity place- chaplain, Cooper Nelson said she
Avon Cinema Andrews Dining Hall In suite 410 of J. Walter Wilson, amid ment in Hanover, which ultimately talked to senior officers and deans
colorful artwork, classic furniture turned into a job,” she said. and created student focus groups to
8:00 p.m. 7:30 p.m.
and family photographs of Brown There is not a typical process for see what could be done to increase
East Campus Speed Dating, Dancing with the Profs, community members, sits Reverend becoming a chaplain of a university. religious diversity on campus. Coo-
Barbour Hall Alumnae Hall Janet Cooper Nelson, the University “People come to this position out of per Nelson also created additional
chaplain. academic classrooms at universities, associate positions in her office so

menu Appointed chaplain in 1990,

Cooper Nelson has been a part of
the Brown community for the past
SHARPE REFECTORY VERNEy-WOOLLEY DINING HALL
21 years. She serves not only as direc-
LUNCH tor of the Office of the Chaplains and
National Pizza Day, Cavatappi and Beef Stew, Vegan Tofu Raviolis Religious Life but also as a personal
Whole Wheat Penne, Oatmeal with Sauce, Grilled Cajun Chicken, resource for the students, faculty and
Butterscotch Cookies Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies staff whose images adorn her walls.
DINNER
Feature
Roast Turkey with Stuffing, Mashed Lemon Broiled Chicken, Cauliflower
Sweet and White Potatoes, Vegan Au Gratin, Rosemary Potatoes, Revered reverend
Pumpkin Tofu Cheesecake Vegan Pumpkin Tofu Cheesecake “When I took this job, I was the
first woman to take a job like this at
Sudoku an Ivy,” Cooper Nelson said.
Though she is now the author-
ity on the University’s religious life,
Cooper Nelson started her career
in the secular world. Her path to
chaplain began when she left her
job as a history teacher.
“My brain was tired from teach-
ing kids, and I needed a break,” she
said. After leaving her teaching posi-
tion, Cooper Nelson became inter-
ested in studying law and headed to
graduate school on an experimental
grant, she said.
When the time came to reapply
for the grant, she started to consider
a new path. “What about ordina-
tion?” Cooper Nelson asked herself.
Cooper Nelson started to look
into combined programs at Harvard
Divinity School and Harvard Law
out of (non-governmental organiza-
tions), out of congregational work
— which is the least likely­— and
other different areas,” she said.
Nuts and bolts and faith
Being chaplain of the University
is no easy role. The job is both an ad-
ministrative and a spiritual vocation.
Cooper Nelson typically meets with
other administrators, fulfills pastoral
duties by running religious services,
reads and writes articles and speaks
publicly at University events and on
the road, she said. She also works
with other religious organizations
to aid in fundraising efforts.
“There’s a big Brown family,
and anyone who is in need of care
gets our help,” Cooper Nelson said,
adding that the Office of Chaplains
and Religious Life has a wide reach.
“Our e-mail address group is close
to 18,000 people,” she said.
Cooper Nelson said there is a
broad interest in religion on campus.
“It’s not hard to get people to talk
about the topic of religion, but that’s
kind of true at Brown for anything,”
she said.
“I would say 40 to 60 percent of
Brown students are involved in re-
ligion, whether through fellowship
groups, attending services or writing
about religion for some journal,” she
Protestant, Catholic, Jewish and
Muslim traditions would all be
represented on campus. She also
established new positions in public
service.
“It was a more successful design
for signaling to people that the di-
versity of religion was a priority at
Brown and would be supported,” she
said. “The range of practice in each
of the major strands of tradition here
is very broad.”
Cooper Nelson also focuses on
increasing religious literacy on cam-
pus. The Office of Chaplains and
Religious Life provides invitations
to students to collaborate with fac-
ulty, undertake research projects and
participate in programs to increase
knowledge about different traditions,
she said. This semester, she is facili-
tating a religious literacy seminar
for students seeking extracurricular
learning.
“We’re endlessly teaching when
we are caring and caring when we are
teaching. We’re never off the hook
in each direction. We’re trying to
help students voice what they think
and reach a place of understanding,”
Cooper Nelson said.
For Cooper Nelson, the notion of
religion is still complex. “I think the
word ‘religion’ is a stumbling block.
People associate it with institutional

across to bear School but did not like the way the
law school worked “because of its
added.
As chaplain, Cooper Nelson said
failure,” she said.
Religious institutions across the
ACROSS legends of the Hidden temple by natan last ‘12 sort of ‘hazing’ process,” she said, she tries to supports students in their world are undergoing processes of
1 Cops, slangily “where students would have to stand choices instead of dictating specific deep reform and restructuring.
5 Peaces out
11 As yet up and read cases.” solutions to them. “Your grandchildren will see radi-
unscheduled: Abbr.
14 Troy’s best friend, Cooper Nelson enrolled at the “We’re just going to hold the cally different models, whether due
on “Community”
15 86th Street home Divinity School in Cambridge, mirror up for you and make sure to finance, deep moral outrage about
of Caravaggio’s Mass., while her husband worked you’ve made a decision that reflects the conduct of some communities
“The Musicians”
16 Live ___, 1985 at Dartmouth College in Hanover, the values you have,” she said. “That’s and the people in some communi-
fundraising concert
for Ethiopian N.H. “We moved our family home, our job.” ties, or something else,” she said.
famine relief
17 Be a role model, as
to younger siblings
20 ___ Lanka
21 Ambulance driver,
for short
22 Former Oasis
Corporation to review building projects
guitarist Gallagher
23 Headlines? continued from page 1 Aquatics Center and Jonathan Nel- in the company.
28 ___ Mawr, Pa. son ’77 Fitness Center and the Medi- Chancellor Thomas Tisch ’76,
30 Bills at a strip club
31 Actress Green of Brown Alumni Association and a cal Education Building. who leads the Corporation, said that
“Casino Royale”
32 Eye of the tigre? trustee of the Corporation at the time Carey said the University’s invest- for the past few years the body has
33 “That’s just
embarrassing...,” of his death in December, will be held ment in HEI Hotels and Resorts will been “operating under the shadow of
online Saturday at 12:15 p.m. in Sayles Hall. also be on the agenda for the Cor- convulsions of the financial markets”
36 “Actress” who, to
assuage her fear In addition to the budget, Carey poration’s Investment Committee in its discussions of fundraising and
of flying before 66 Cuthbert of “The 13 Suffix with hater 48 Harsh
getting on planes, Girl Next Door” or power 49 Chomper in said discussion will likely also touch following the December recom- capital projects.
pumps some 67 Population: ___ 18 Web ___ “The Land
Britney Spears full (Strong Badia sign) (sparkling Before Time,”
on housing and future capital proj- mendation by the Advisory Com- “Meeting at this time is an op-
volume 68 Hirsute “Addams defensive play) and others ects, as well as ongoing projects such mittee on Corporate Responsibility portunity to both step back and to
39 Reality TV show in Family” cousin 19 Riotous crowd 51 “Still ___” (Hit
which Paris Hilton 69 “Shaun of the 24 City near from 1999) as the Katherine Moran Coleman in Investment Policy not to reinvest look forward,” he said.
and Nicole Richie Dead” or “Dead D√ºsseldorf 53 ___ Maas,
tried to do manual, & Breakfast,” for 25 Honduran Oedipa’s At its February meeting last year,

Daily Herald
low-paying jobs, for short currency husband in “The the Corporation approved a 4.5
the amusement of 70 Bad day for Caesar 26 Knievel of Crying of Lot the Brown
all daredeviltry 49” percent increase in undergraduate
42 Iron Wok DOWN 27 “How I Met Your 54 Kind of golf
alternative 1 Offer, as a lit joint Mother” narrator tourney tuition and fees along with a 6.5 per-
43 Element between 2 Fairy king in “A 29 Counterspell to 55 Calc. calculation
indium and Midsummer Night’s Lumos 57 Hip hop duo
www.browndailyherald.com cent increase in the undergraduate
antimony in the Dream” 34 Additive Dead ___ 195 Angell St., Providence, R.I.
periodic table 3 Small and trim, in financial aid budget.
dress sizes probably used by 60 Letter in the
44 “___” McCallister 42-Across names of Ben Schreckinger, President Matthew Burrows, Treasurer Last year’s budget set in motion
(“Home Alone” 4 ___ Mae, Whoopi’s 35 Part of a drum kit three Brown
protagonist) “Ghost” role 37 “Prince ___” fraternities Sydney Ember, Vice President Isha Gulati, Secretary an internal restructuring that led to
45 Departure’s opp. 5 “Conquer, ___ (“Aladdin” song) 61 Hamas rival
46 1996 novel “Infinite ya, stop your silly 38 Opponent of 62 Relative of a The Brown Daily Herald (USPS 067.740) is an independent newspaper serving the about 60 layoffs and 140 early retire-
___” nonsense...” (Jay-Z a Spartan,
50 Made to get on a in “Monster”) do-now Brown University community daily since 1891. It is published Monday through Fri- ments by the start of this academic
6 Prefix with shop or on “Deadliest 63 White house
knee and drink a Warrior” defense grp. day during the academic year, excluding vacations, once during Commencement, once year.
Smirnoff bomb 39 Strong Bad 64 ESPN show during Orientation and once in July by The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. Single copy free
52 One who works 7 ___ Zeppelin refers to him with Tony for each member of the community.
Unlike the May and October
well with others to 8 The Beatles’ “___ as “the best Kornheiser and
get the job done Mine” lawyer soft tacos Michael Wilbon POSTMASTER please send corrections to P.O. Box 2538, Providence, RI 02906. meetings, the Corporation’s Febru-
56 Joanna Newsom’s 9 Cartoonist Avery
instrument 10 Song performed by can buy” and Periodicals postage paid at Providence, R.I. ary meeting does not usually include
Eminem and Elton “a cheese, or Subscription prices: $280 one year daily, $140 one semester daily.
58 Campus across
John at the 2001 maybe an anvil” emeriti members. The 54 trustees
the river on 40 Come to blows, Solutions and Copyright 2011 by The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. All rights reserved.
Washington Street Grammys in old slang archive online at
and fellows expected to attend the
59 WALL-E’s love 11 Die down 41 Duchess in editorial Business
60 The desire to 12 Bobbie Sue’s “Black Beauty,”
acrosstobear. meeting include a replacement for
never grow up, to a partner in crime in wordpress.com (401) 351-3372 (401) 351-3360
psychologist “Take The Money e.g.
Email: brownpuzzles herald@browndailyherald.com gm@browndailyherald.com
Fernandez, whose name will be an-
And Run” 42 Hit the slopes
65 O ___ 47 Lens cover? @gmail.com nounced after the meeting.
The Brown Daily Herald
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Swearer Center brings student pay in line with labor law
By Claire Gianotti
Contributing Writer
This semester the Swearer Cen-
ter for Public Service will pay its
program coordinators by the hour,
rather than with a stipend, in order
to bring its compensation polices
in line with the Fair Labor Stan-
dards Act.
Coordinators are paid not only
because of their large time com-
mitment, but also in the hope that
the compensation will make com-
munity service “more financially
accessible,” said Roger Nozaki
MAT’89, director of the Swearer
Center and associate dean of the
College for community and global
engagement.
Affected students did not ex-
press strong opinions about the
change. “I do the work that I need
to do, and I happen to get paid,”
said Brian Lin ’12, a coordinator for
the Brown Language Arts Program,
which works with elementary-age
students in Providence schools.
Lin said he was unsure how the
change would affect him.
Christine Joyce ’12.5, a coordi-
nator for the Swearer Classroom
Program, said the only real change
to her routine was that she would
have to log her time hourly rather
than weekly.
Every week, coordinators will
now have to fill out a form to log
their hours in order to receive
payment. Last year, Lin said, “the
checks just came.”
The Swearer Center does not
expect “a major change” in funding
for the center, or in the amount of
compensation students will receive,
Nozaki said. “At this point it is a
pretty straightforward thing,” he
added.
The decision is not a result of
the Swearer budget cuts announced
last spring, said Elizabeth Warner,
director of compensation and or-
ganizational services. Instead, the
change is intended to bring the
University into compliance with
the Fair Labor Standards Act of
1938, she said.
A committee convened by the
Department of Human Resources,
the Office of Financial Aid and the
Controller’s Office met at the be-
ginning of the semester to “clarify
Campus News 3
student employment policies and
procedures,” Warner said. The
same review led the computer sci-
ence department to begin paying
its teaching assistants by the hour
last semester.
This committee revised the stu-
dent employment handbook and
standardized a time-tracking sheet
that can be used by all departments.
This effort will continue, Warner
said, adding that the committee will
work with the Dean of the College
to define a new category of paid
“student opportunities,” which will
not be subject to the Fair Labor
Standards Act. Offering “student
opportunities” in addition to stu-
dent employment will hopefully
provide more avenues for students
to be involved in campus life, War-
ner said.
The review “has nothing to do
with money,” Warner said, and is
rather in response to a need for
more communication between
departments regarding employ-
ment on campus. She added that
the review is not likely to spur any
further changes to the way money Stephanie London / Herald
is allotted to student-run programs. The Swearer Center will pay students by the hour instead of on a stipend basis.

Psych Services reports no increase in visits from freshmen

By Miriam Furst
Staff Writer
Though in a newly-released na-
tional survey college freshmen
rated their emotional health at a
record low, Psychological Services
has not seen a significant change
in visits from first-year students,
Director of Psych Services Belinda
Johnson said.
At the start of this academic
year, Psych Services hired a new
psychotherapist. The decision was
partially a response to a 2009 New
England Association of Schools
and Colleges reaccreditation re-
port, which criticized the Uni-
versity’s psychological support
resources compared to those of
its peers, The Herald reported in
September.
The addition to the staff “has
certainly improved our ability
to serve students because a new
position makes you more avail-
able,” Johnson said. “What will be
most interesting to see in the end
of the year is if we’re seeing more
students than we had in previ-
ous years. It’s still too early to tell
though,” she said.
Johnson added that the main
reason for hiring another psy-
chotherapist was to increase the
number of free sessions available
to students from five to seven per
year.
The national Higher Education
Research Institute survey, based on
responses from 201,818 first-year
students at 279 different colleges,
showed that fewer students per-
ceived their emotional health “was
in the ‘highest 10 percent’ or ‘above
average’ when compared to their
peers,” according to the research
brief. The survey has been distrib-
uted to college freshmen for the
last 45 years, said Linda DeAngelo,
assistant director for research for
the Cooperative Institutional Re-
search Program at the University
of California at Los Angeles, which
administered the survey.
In the most recent survey, the
percentage of students reporting
their emotional health as above
average dropped from 55.3 percent
in 2009 to 51.9 percent in 2010,
according to the research brief.
Freshmen are surveyed when they
first enter college, DeAngelo said,
so results reflect how students felt
when first entering school.
“We see in our study that stu-
dents expect to be satisfied with
college,” DeAngelo said. But she
said many students feel pres-
sure and anxiety about “making
the most of their college experi-
ences.” Specifically, the survey
showed two-thirds of freshmen
had financial concerns that had
influenced their choice of school.
DeAngelo said in recent years
universities have “really started to
increase the wellness services they
offer to students.”
Over the past five years, Psych
Services has seen roughly 17 per-
cent of the student body each year,
Johnson said. In comparison, half
that many students used the Uni-
versity’s psychological resources
in 1985.
The greater availability of re-
sources is not the only factor that
has driven the increase, Johnson
said. “Since 1985, culturally — not
just at Brown — there has been
more attention given to mental
health,” she said.
Johnson said Psych Services
tries to make first-years aware of
available resources by participating
in orientation activities and pro-
viding information to residential
peer leaders.
Over the past five years, John-
son said she has not seen any ma-
jor changes in the concerns stu-
dents bring with them when they
visit Psych Services. She said that
though more students feel pres-
sure and anxiety regarding jobs
because of the economic recession,
the number is not large.
Additionally, when students
first go to Psych Services, they are
asked whether they have seen a
counselor before coming to Brown.
Johnson said they have been col-
lecting this information for the
past six years and the percentage
has not changed.
Johnson said the national sur-
vey involves self-reports from
freshmen about their emotional
health compared to how they per-
ceive their peers’ emotional well-
being. The results are a measure of
perceived emotional health, rather
than an evaluation of students’ ac-
tual mental states.
Brown regularly tops the Princ-
eton Review’s annual list of col-
leges with the “Happiest Students.”
But having the happiest students
is not the same as having the stu-
dent body with the highest level
of emotional well-being.
“One common theme, that I
would guess is somewhat specific
to Brown, is that students tend to
assume that everyone around them
has it together, and that they are
the only one experiencing any sort
of distress,” said Remy Fernandez-
O’Brien ’12, a residential coun-
selor in Littlefield House. “This
of course is not true, but it does
seem to make people less likely to
seek help when they could benefit
from it.”
“People don’t necessarily want
to specifically label what’s going
on with them, but they are often
motivated to make things bet-
ter for themselves,” Fernandez-
O’Brien added. “Because of this, in
many cases I’ll recommend a spe-
cific person that I know, in Psych
Services or another department,
whom I know to be particularly
helpful.”
“I do believe that Brown stu-
dents are happier on average
than students at other universi-
ties,” Johnson said. “So you get
this phenomenon that students
who are feeling bad feel cheated or
are reluctant to let other students
know they are feeling bad because
they feel out of the ordinary.”
4 Campus News The Brown Daily Herald
Thursday, February 10, 2011

Hiring of minority, female faculty progressing slowly

continued from page 1

Finding a qualified female pro-

fessor for the physics department is
“as rare as a fang in an owl’s mouth,”
said Michael Kosterlitz, professor of
physics and chair of the Committee
for Faculty Equity and Diversity.
Vohra also said the high number
of tenured professors — 72 percent
— slows down faculty turnover,
making it difficult to quickly alter
its composition. Consequently, he
attributed the growth in diversity
to increased hiring in the past 10
years, a component of the Plan for
Academic Enrichment.
But both Vohra and Wilson em-
phasized change beyond the overall
numbers, citing shifts in ethnic and
gender composition in individual
departments.
“In the Department of Econom- Gili Kliger / Herald
ics, at one point we had no women at
any level,” Wilson said. “Now there as economics, physics and applied is important to consider the pool Oh, who is originally from Korea, pressed hope for future increases
are two senior women in the De- mathematics will pave the way for of applicants. said her department does consider in faculty diversity, though Wilson
partment of Economics, and there future female hires. “Maybe I wish there were more “the issue of women” when looking said she believes there will always
are extensive recruitments going Professor of Economics Glenn black faculty around not at just this for new hires. But Oh, who previ- be a “lag” between student and fac-
on that we hope will result in the Loury, who is African-American, university, but at other universities ously worked at the California Insti- ulty diversity. According to statistics
appointment of women and maybe said that although he doesn’t like to of this caliber,” Loury said. “But I tute of Technology, also said a lack published this fall, 52.2 percent of
even racial or ethnic minorities.” “play a numbers game” with issues know how hard it is to find out- of diversity exists at many schools. undergraduate students are female
Vohra said he believes the intro- of diversity, he does think increased standing African-American can- About 18 percent of Harvard fac- and 45.8 percent identify as white.
duction of female professors into faculty diversity would benefit stu- didates.” ulty members identify as minorities, The graduate school and Alpert
historically male departments such dents. At the same time, he said it Wilson added that faculty di- while 27 percent are female, accord- Medical School reported similar
versity is considered heavily in the ing to a report published this year. gender and race distributions.
hiring process. When looking for Yale, meanwhile, reports a faculty Wilson also said diversity in the
new faculty members, departments composed of about 20 percent mi- faculty encourages students to fol-
must submit recruitment plans to norities and 33.5 percent females. low their passions. “Having a scholar
the Dean of the Faculty’s office and Penn, Stanford University and Cor- of color or a woman scholar in these
to Wilson. Both review the plans nell all published reports in 2009, classes really demonstrates to stu-
and the subsequent shortlists of ap- finding percentages of minorities in dents the universality of knowledge
plicants to ensure that departments the teens and percentages of females and the potential of every individual
consider diversity. An affirmative in the twenties. An article in Princ- to aspire to those fields to which they
action representative also sits on eton’s alumni magazine reported a are best suited,” she said. “There’s no
every recruitment panel. similar race and gender distribution. such thing as a field that is only for
Professor of Mathematics Hee Both Vohra and Wilson ex- this person or that person.”
The Brown Daily Herald
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Undergrads take action in state political campaigns
By casey bleho
Staff Writer
Students pride themselves on get-
ting involved off College Hill, and
during the midterm campaign
season last year, they did just that,
lending support to state candi-
dates and getting a real-world in-
troduction to the political process.
“People are intrigued and will
listen to you because you’re young
and bright-eyed. Catch them off-
guard, and they’ll listen,” said
Libby Kimzey, campaign man-
ager for state Rep. Teresa Tanzi,
D-Narragansett, Wakefield and
Peace Dale. Kimzey, who took
a leave from the University and
Read Post- magazine
Thursdays in the Herald
moved in with Tanzi to assist
her campaign, did not provide a
graduation year.
Both the Brown Republicans
and the Brown Democrats have
been active volunteers for their
respective candidates, said Ter-
rence George ’13, president of the
Brown Republicans. “Politicians
know we are a somewhat reliable
source for volunteers,” he said,
so “we are treated with respect.”
Because students help can-
didates during their campaigns,
they know politicians will consid-
er their views when formulating
policy, said Katerina Wright ’11,
president of the Brown Demo-
crats. Rhode Island’s small size
City & State 5
means state government is highly
accessible to students, she said.
Tanzi said her campaign shows
the potential for student impact.
Tanzi, a resumed undergraduate
student from Wakefield, took a
leave from the University in 2008
to start a family and later success-
fully ran for the state House of
Representatives.
“Without a doubt, students
were the backbone of this cam-
paign,” she said, adding that while
she had plenty of offers from paid
consultants seeking to provide
campaign advice, her campaign
needed volunteers.
Anna Quinn ’13 helped Tanzi’s
campaign garner absentee votes
from Brown students. Quinn said
her campaign experience showed
her that “anyone can be involved.”
Political participation gave her “a
sense of ownership in my repre-
sentative on a state level,” she said.
Aaron Regunberg ’12 worked
as an East Side field organizer for
Providence Mayor Angel Tav-
eras during his campaign. “We
knocked on every door on the
East Side three to four times,” Re-
gunberg said. After the election,
Regunberg was named a member
of Taveras’s transition team for
issues related to education.
“With the right legislature,”
students can “absolutely” have
clout when it comes to the politi-
cal process, Tanzi said. “If they’re
willing to put in the time and the
energy and are willing to testify,
the sky is the limit.”
6 City & State
State leaders look
to reform heathcare
continued from page 12
nesses by driving up health care
costs.
“I’ve spoken with small busi-
ness owners who say they can’t
hire new employees because of
this,” Robitaille said.
But Ted Almon, president and
CEO of Claflin, a Warwick-based
medical device company, said ex-
changes will benefit small busi-
nesses.
“The exchange opportunity
provided in the federal legislation
is perhaps the most significant op-
portunity that we’ve had to really
bend the cost curve in the future
of health care,” Almon said.
He said the exchanges will
make providing insurance afford-
able for businesses, while giving
workers additional flexibility.
“Small business, ultimately,
through the use of this tool, will
be able to make a defined contri-
bution on behalf of their employ-
ees — but their employees would
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to your inbox
browndailyherald.com/register
then be able to use the exchange to
select appropriate coverage within
that budget,” he said.
Almon said he thinks the ex-
change itself should be simple and
user-friendly. He said the General
Assembly should focus on the ex-
change’s structure and authority,
without getting into operational
details.
Also last month, freshman
state Rep. Daniel Gordon, R-
Little Compton, Portsmouth and
Tiverton, introduced a bill that
would prevent the government
from requiring Rhode Islanders
to purchase insurance and from
levying a fine if they refuse to do
so, thereby nullifying a key com-
ponent of the reform law known
as the individual mandate. Un-
der the federal Supremacy Clause,
states cannot nullify federal law.
Challenges to health care re-
form’s individual mandate are
pending in federal court and
will likely go before the Supreme
Court.
Students bring science concepts to life
continued from page 12
ample, she said, they understand
physics but struggle with the math
behind it, such as unit conversions,
fractions and ratios. But “they’ll
pick it up once they are taught,”
she added.
Williams called her experience
with students “mentoring, with
science on the side.” The program
is a science enrichment program in
which Brown students mentor and
tutor roughly 40 to 50 underprivi-
leged students from several high
Gay marriage advocates find hope
continued from page 1
Let your voice be heard at the
State House today,” said Rep. John
Edwards, D-Tiverton and Ports-
mouth.
Students were also in atten-
dance, including members of the
Brown Democrats and queer al-
liances.
Jean McCabe ’14 said she was
confident about the future of gay
rights in Rhode Island. “I think
that this is the year we’re probably
going to get marriage equality,”
McCabe told The Herald. ”It’s only
a matter of time.”
“It’s a matter of fairness and jus-
tice,” said Rachel Cocroft, a local
supporter of equal marriage rights.
“I hope it brings Rhode Island into
The Brown Daily Herald
Thursday, February 10, 2011
schools in Providence. Each men-
tor is assigned to five high school
students, teaching basic science
skills and helping with schoolwork
or college preparation.
The group also plans “excit-
ing lessons,” such as chemistry
of food or a Halloween lesson on
sugar, Williams said. She added
that the program tries to expose
high school students to college life
and promote the study of science
at college. They hope to present
students’ science projects at the
Science Center this semester to
the 21st century.”
Twenty to 30 anti-gay marriage
advocates were peppered through
the crowd. One such advocate,
Jackie Archambealt, told The
Herald she was there to “support
traditional marriage.”
“I’m a born-again Christian,
and the definition of marriage
should be the way that God in-
tended it to be: between a man
and a woman,” she said.
Other counter-protesters in-
cluded remaining members of the
anti-gay marriage rally and for-
mer Providence mayoral candidate
Chris Young. “Same-sex marriage
violates the First Amendment to
the Constitution of the United
States — the establishment clause,”
Young told The Herald. “The gov-
“make more people at Brown know
more about it and (get) the word
out about what we do,” Williams
said. “It is a fulfilling and wonder-
ful experience to teach students
who incredibly deserve” the op-
portunity, she added.
Mark Sabbagh ’12, who partici-
pates in the program, called the
experience “incredibly rewarding”
for the student mentors. “We fall
between teacher and friend,” he
said. It is “less of teaching,” he said,
but really about “being with them.”
ernment may not redefine the reli-
gious meaning of our belief.”
Kyle Marnane, a volunteer for
Marriage Equality Rhode Island
and a student at Johnson and
Wales University, has been work-
ing for the organization since Oc-
tober. “Hopefully this shows the
General Assembly that marriage
matters,” Marnane said, “and that
marriage equality needs to hap-
pen now.”
The legalization of gay marriage
is not the only bill dealing with the
issue that has been introduced to
the General Assembly. Another bill
has been put up for consideration
that would put legalization on the
ballot in November.
“We do not want (a referen-
dum) to happen,” Marnane said.
The Brown Daily Herald
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Citizens flood State House for gay marriage hearing
By Kat Thornton
Senior Staff Writer
Gay marriage supporters and op-
ponents alike gathered at the State
House yesterday for the House
Judiciary Committee hearing on
two bills regarding same-sex mar-
riage in Rhode Island.
The first bill would legalize
same-sex marriage, while the
second would put to vote next
year a constitutional amendment
defining marriage as between a
man and a woman. Three hun-
dred people signed up to give
testimony at the hearing.
Beforehand, the line to enter
the building reached onto the
sidewalk outside the north en-
trance of the State House, and
space for hearing attendees had
to be expanded to the second and
third floors.
The hearing began with debate
between state legislators, led by
state Rep. Edith Ajello, D-Provi-
dence. Ajello, whose district in-
cludes College Hill, was recently
named chair of the House Judi-
ciary Committee.
State Rep. Jon Brien, D-Woon-
socket, called for the issue to be
put to a public vote because it is
“larger than this body.” He added,
“No one group has a fundamental
right” to define marriage for the
state.
Other representatives coun-
tered Brien with the reasoning
that marriage equality is a civil
rights issue that the government
has the power to legislate in order
to protect the rights of minority
groups such as gays.
“The system has been set up to
protect the rights of minorities,”
said state Rep. Michael Marcello,
D-Cranston. “It is only through
the system that we protect every-
one’s rights.”
Brien responded that same-
sex marriage should not be con-
sidered an issue of civil rights
because sexual orientation is a
matter of choice, while race is not.
City & State 7
State Rep. Charlene Lima, D- nition of marriage. legalizing gay marriage would Linda Green, who opposes
Cranston, compared same-sex The bill would “hurt our chil- hurt future generations because legalization, said she wishes this
marriage to female suffrage. She dren’s futures,” said lawyer Joe children would grow up without were not a legal issue. She said
said that in the past, a woman’s Cavanagh. He said marriage fathers. she did not want to appear hateful
right to vote would not have “between a man and a woman” Listeners outside the hear- toward the gay community, but
passed in a public vote because has been the traditional definition ing differed on their views of the claimed the bill’s passage would
it was an “emotional issue.” “since the beginning of the world.” proceedings. Lauren Bonetti, a negatively redefine families.
Ajello later stopped the discus- “Same-sex marriage is an oxy- same-sex marriage supporter, said “Where does it end?” she
sion to open the floor for citizen moron,” he said. she is optimistic the bill will pass asked. “Where do we draw the
testimony. Other opponents claimed this year. line?”
After each testimony, repre-
sentatives asked the speakers
questions.
A lawyer who supports gay
marriage said she has seen same-
sex couples face challenges in at-
taining the same legal protection
they would receive from marriage.
Because same-sex couples can’t
marry, it is more difficult for them
to take a leave of absence from
work if a partner is ill or to adopt
children.
Noah Bareto, an eighth grade
student at Cole Middle School in
East Greenwich, spoke in favor
of the bill. Bareto said he has not
seen a difference between children
raised by gay parents and children
raised by straight parents. “It’s not
going to affect our lives if some-
one else is happy,” he said.
Many people consider “gay”
a synonym for “bad,” he said,
but he does not agree with that
sentiment. “In the Bible they ate
children. We don’t eat children,”
he added.
Other gay marriage advocates
cited potential economic gains
from legalization. According to a
representative from the Williams
Institute for Sexual Orientation
Law and Public Policy, legaliz-
ing gay marriage could bring the
state $1.2 million in the next three
years.
Sally Lapides, co-founder of
Residential Properties Ltd. in
Providence said legalizing gay
marriage would encourage more
people to live in Rhode Island.
Same-sex marriage opponents
called for a public vote and urged
the committee to vote against the
bill because it constitutes a redefi-
8 World & Nation
Suleiman warns of coup as tensions rise in Egypt
By Timothy M. Phelps and Kim
Murphy
Los Angeles Times
CAIRO — Egypt’s government and
protesters edged closer to violent
confrontation Wednesday as dem-
onstrators escalated their tactics
and the vice president warned of a
coup if the unrest continued, say-
ing protests must end or “the dark
bats of the night” would emerge to
terrorize the nation.
Labor unrest continued to
plague the nation for a second day,
threatening to merge the political
goals of the opposition with the
more focused economic issues that
have long plagued Egypt. And vio-
lence spread to a normally peaceful
desert oasis 500 miles southwest
of Cairo, where police killed four
people.
Protesters in the central square,
re-energized by massive crowds
Tuesday after turnout began to flag
on Monday, promised the biggest
demonstrations yet on Friday,
this time nationwide as well as in
multiple locations in Cairo. On
Wednesday, they defied the Egyp-
tian army by occupying the street
in front of parliament, creating a
second front in downtown Cairo.
Egyptian Vice President Omar
Suleiman, in comments to Egyp-
tian newspaper editors published
Wednesday, warned sharply that
demonstrations could not contin-
ue. Suleiman, who until now has
presented himself as a soft-spoken
voice of reason in discussions with
opposition leaders, sounded rattled
as he warned of tougher measures.
The protests are “very danger-
ous for society, and we can’t put up
with this at all,” he said. “We don’t
want to deal with Egyptian society
with police tools.”
He said he foresaw “the dark
bats of the night emerging to ter-
rorize the people” if the situation
is not resolved. If protests against
President Hosni Mubarak’s leader-
ship continued, he said, the like-
lihood is that “a coup happens,
which would mean uncalculated
and hasty steps, including lots of
irrationalities.”
A coup could come from within
the regime, the army, the police or
intelligence services — which he
used to lead — or the opposition,
Suleiman warned.
Middle-class Cairenes in par-
ticular were terrified by the with-
drawal of police from the city 11
days ago, resulting in the mass re-
lease of prisoners and reports of
people from poor neighborhoods
marauding at night in wealthier
areas. Many have spent nights
outside guarding their homes
and businesses with metal bars
and sometimes guns.
The Brown Daily Herald
Thursday, February 10, 2011
While fewer people have been
out patrolling the last two nights,
Suleiman’s comments about “bats”
appeared calculated to stir up those
fears.
The army has taken over secu-
rity from the police, but has fo-
cused on the protests, not police
work. It has been highly praised
by the opposition since it moved
into Cairo and other urban areas,
but Wednesday that relationship
seemed to change as the Muslim
Brotherhood, the largest opposi-
tion group, accused the army of
arresting and torturing protesters
headed to Tahrir Square.
“We appreciate the Egyptian
army’s role in protecting protest-
ers,” said Muhammad Mursi, who
has met with Suleiman to discuss
the crisis, at a news conference.
“But in some places, protesters are
being taken to military camps and
they are being tortured like those
from the (police intelligence) tor-
tured people in the past.”
He said 70 to 100 people had
been tortured “very badly” by the
army.
Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul
Gheit also seemed to signal a
crackdown could be coming, and
added that he was “amazed” to hear
of U.S. Vice President Joe Biden’s
call for Egypt to immediately scrap
its harsh “emergency law” aimed
at maintaining civil order.
“How can you ask me to sort of
disband that emergency law while Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times
I’m in difficulty? ... Allow me to A group of protesters established themselves in front of the Egyptian Parliament building Wednesday in Cairo, Egypt.
have control to stabilize the nation,
to stabilize the state, and then we the normal tie-ups. full of demonstrators Wednesday, A few blocks away, journalists
would look into the issue,” Aboul “It’s not OK what you are doing which was not scheduled as a ma- were on strike for better pay at
Gheit said. here,” Gen. Hassan Ruwaini of the jor day of protest, a sign of con- the magazine Rose El Yussef and
In Washington, State Depart- military police told protesters. “If tinuing vitality within the move- condemned their editors for lavish
ment spokesman P.J. Crowley sug- you want to protest, go to Tahrir.” ment to remove Mubarak from lifestyles and supporting Mubarak.
gested Aboul Gheit should not be The army has pledged not to at- power. In another escalation, the Hundreds of workers and em-
taken aback by U.S. calls for demo- tack peaceful protesters — at least opposition called for protests in ployees at the Egypt Telecom Co.
cratic reform. in Tahrir Square — and it is a rare multiple locations in Cairo on protested outside company head-
“With all due respect to the for- time in modern Egyptian history Friday, the Muslim day of prayer. quarters downtown, demanding
eign minister, he should not be when people feel free to disregard The protesters were defiant better salaries and working con-
amazed — if that’s the word that military orders. after Suleiman’s warning about a ditions. There are ongoing strikes
he used — at our call for rescind- “We are not leaving, he is leav- possible coup if protesters don’t and protests by workers at the
ing the emergency law,” Crowley ing,” chanted 150 young men be- back down, and vowed instead to Egypt Railway Co., the Omar Ef-
said at a news briefing. “We have hind their barricade. It was not expand their protests. fendi public retail stores and the
been calling for that for years, if clear if they were referring to “What Suleiman said was some- Petrotrade petroleum company.
not decades.” Mubarak, the usual focus of that thing aggressive, and that means Several other protests by pub-
On Wednesday, about 500 pro- slogan, or the general. already they have a decision about lic workers are taking place in
testers blocked the street in front The frustrated officer pulled what to do against us, and they will the governorates of Giza, Suez,
of parliament, some of them hav- back from the confrontation, at do it in these next two days,” said Helwan, Kafr El Dawar and Kafr
ing camped there overnight after least for a time. Mohammed Taman, a spokesman El Zayat.
Tuesday’s massive gathering in The parliament has been a ma- for a coalition of five main youth While the majority of labor-
Tahrir Square, four blocks away, jor focus of opposition’s ire because groups attempting to coordinate ers are calling for better contracts,
spilled over. The government has of rigged elections and one-party the protests. working conditions and pay raises,
promised not to forcibly remove rule. Members of parliament were Taman emphasized that none they have also chanted slogans that
demonstrators from the central told to stay home Wednesday, and of those purportedly representing salute the protests in Tahrir Square.
plaza, but the occupation of new the building was closed off. protesters in talks with the gov- Meanwhile, Prime Minister
territory increased pressure on the A correspondent for Al-Jazeera ernment were legitimate. “This is Ahmed Shafik is carrying out his
army to act. television reported Wednesday very bad, several times on TV they duties from the Ministry of Civil
The army blocked off Kasr El night that the army had entered said these guys represent us. This is Aviation’s headquarters near Cairo
Ainey Street, the major road into the parliament building for the false. There is no one representing Airport after demonstrators pre-
downtown from the south, because first time in modern history to us,” he said. “If there is someone vented him from entering the
it runs by parliament, creating protect it. from the government who wants Cabinet building.
massive traffic jams even beyond Tahrir Square was surprisingly to negotiate with us, they should In New Valley, a western prov-
come here.” ince, security forces reported that
He added that “we have one re- the first sizable anti-Mubarak
quest, and we insist on it: Mubarak gathering in the region resulted
must leave.” in clashes between protesters and
While not necessarily throwing police Tuesday and Wednesday.
in their lot with the opposition, Four people were killed and several
workers seemed to take advantage were wounded by gunshots.
of the chaos to issue their own de- Protesters in the city of Port
mands. Said set the City Hall building on
In downtown Cairo, Ministry fire after saying the city’s governor
of Health employees joined the ignored their complaints for sub-
protesters outside the parliament. sidized housing facilities.
The Brown Daily Herald
Thursday, February 10, 2011
House panel plans to overturn EPA’s finding on climate change
By Renee Schoof
McClatchy Newspapers
WASHINGTON — Republicans on
the House of Representatives energy
committee on Wednesday aired their
proposal to block the Environmental
Protection Agency from reducing
greenhouse gases and to reverse
the agency’s scientific finding that
climate change is dangerous.
While the plan might be blocked
in the Senate or vetoed by Presi-
dent Barack Obama, the comments
during Wednesday’s hearing were
a fresh indication of the depth of
opposition in Congress to action
on reducing U.S. carbon pollution.
Supporters of the measure to revise
the Clean Air Act to take away the
EPA’s authority to regulate this type
of pollution said that curbing emis-
sions would be too costly.
The EPA’s planned regulations
“would boost the cost of energy,
not just for homeowners and car
owners, but for businesses both
large and small,” said Rep. Fred
Upton, R-Mich., the author of the
legislation. “EPA may be starting by
regulating only the largest power
plants and factories, but we will all
feel the impact of higher prices and
fewer jobs.”
The EPA’s main plan so far is
to write regulations that would set
standards for heat-trapping gases
emitted by new or upgraded power
plants and refineries. The standards
would be met mainly through ef-
ficiency improvements.
Congressional opponents of EPA
action haven’t offered an alternative
plan to cut emissions.
EPA Administrator Lisa Jack-
son testified that the agency would
estimate the costs after it wrote the
regulations. The Clean Air Act re-
quires the agency to show that its
plans are cost-effective and tech-
nologically feasible.
Jackson said Congress would be
wrong to overturn the EPA’s 2009
“endangerment finding” that green-
World & Nation 9
house gases are a threat to American The American Lung Association that millions of jobs and hundreds At a briefing before the hearing,
health and welfare. on Wednesday released a letter to of billions of dollars per year would Dick Munson of Recycled Energy
“Politicians overruling scien- Obama and Congress from more be lost. “This regulation is going to Development said greater efficiency
tists on a scientific question — that than 1,800 doctors, nurses and other skyrocket electricity costs,” said Rep. could cut emissions profitably. Re-
would become part of this commit- medical professionals urging them John Shimkus, R-Ill. cycled Energy Development installs
tee’s legacy,” she said. to reject Upton’s bill. Barton and other Republicans equipment to capture waste heat in
She cited the National Academy Committee Republicans pressed cut off Jackson repeatedly, speak- order to make power without addi-
of Sciences, the government’s chief Jackson for more information about ing over her attempts to reply. She tional fuel. Munson said the EPA’s
science advisory body, which has the costs of greenhouse gas curbs. told the panel the benefits of Clean rule would “drive the installation
reported that “there is a strong, Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, chal- Air Act regulations historically out- of proven technologies that will en-
credible body of evidence, based lenged her to refute his assertion weighed the costs by large amounts. hance American competitiveness.”
on multiple lines of research, docu-
menting that the climate is changing
and that these changes are in large
part caused by human activities.”
comics
Scientific organizations have said BB & Z | Cole Pruitt, Andrew Seiden, Valerie Hsiung and Dan Ricker
in recent years that global tempera-
tures are rising as a result of the ac-
cumulation of heat-trapping gases,
mostly from fossil fuel use, and that
the risks to the planet will increase
if these emissions aren’t cut.
Upton has said that global tem-
peratures may be rising but he’s not
convinced that human actions are
the cause.
The Supreme Court ruled in
2007 that the EPA must regulate
greenhouse gases under the law if
Dot Comic | Eshan Mitra and Brendan Hainline
it found they endangered human
health and welfare.
Then-EPA Administrator Ste-
phen Johnson recommended in a
letter to President George W. Bush
in 2008 that the administration im-
pose curbs similar to the ones the
agency now plans.
“The latest science of climate
change requires the agency to
propose a positive endangerment
finding,” Johnson wrote. Commit-
tee Democrats released his letter
Tuesday.
The Bush administration in the
end rejected greenhouse gas regu-
lations and didn’t allow the EPA
to make its endangerment finding
public.
Rep. Jay Inslee, D-Wash., pre-
dicted that Obama would veto the
bill if it cleared Congress and that
he and other opponents of the leg-
islation would have enough votes
to sustain the veto.
10 Editorial & Letter The Brown Daily Herald
Thursday, February 10, 2011

Editorial Editorial comic b y a l e x y u ly

The trouble with
the double degree
As seniors settle into their last semester, many are double-checking
their requirements to make sure that, come May, they will graduate
with a bachelor’s degree in hand. While some expect to receive degrees
from multiple departments, a small contingent will earn both a bach-
elor’s and a master’s degree through the University’s concurrent degree
program. Not widely publicized, this track allows students to complete
both degrees in four years.
As the system currently operates, candidates may apply during their
junior year for the joint degree at the discretion of their respective de-
partment and the Graduate Council and must demonstrate academic
excellence in a minimum of 34 courses over eight or nine semesters.
Offering hard-working students the benefit of an advanced degree is com-
mendable, yet the concurrent degree program was instituted in the 1960s
before the adoption of the New Curriculum, and in some ways appears
to stand in contrast with Brown’s current philosophy of liberal learning.
The most stringent stipulation is that candidates must have completed
10 courses outside their area of study by the time they wish to apply.
“Area of study” is defined broadly, and in fact often is distinguished at
the level of sciences and humanities. This means that a student seeking
a bachelor’s and a master’s in English, for example, may have to take at
least 10 courses in life or physical sciences by the end of her junior year.
This can impose serious burdens on students who might prefer to
spread such classes over their senior year as well, and it might discour-
age some others who would be reluctant to take so many extra classes
without being certain of admission to the program. On the other hand,
if the student took a fifth year at Brown to pursue her master’s, she would
be free to structure her undergraduate course of study according to the
freedom allowed by the open curriculum, restricted only by the require-
ments within her concentration department.
According to Stephen Lassonde, deputy dean of the College, at the
time the concurrent degree program was instituted, “the philosophy was le tter to the editor
to reward students who had already studied broadly.” Yet we see in this
an inconsistency with Brown’s current educational philosophy. Given
that students gravitate to Brown for its commitment to liberal learning
After fire, new sailing facility badly needed
at the undergraduate level, it seems both unfair and illogical to stipulate
that those with a focused academic interest must spend valuable credits To the Editor: all students, not just the sailing team, can go anytime.
taking courses in other departments in order to even apply for an ad- Now we can editorialize on the need and value for
vanced degree. We would like to see these contingencies reevaluated and Thank you for the terrific article on the fire at the something Brown should have replaced when the first
conformed to the mold in which the New Curriculum has been cast. home of Brown sailing. Now that the disaster has at Brown-owned sailing facility, acquired in 1937 as a
It is also important that students be aware of their options in pursu- least been reported in The Herald, we can begin ef- gift from the class of 1908, was destroyed.
ing degrees at Brown. Lassonde said that he is receiving “inquiries from forts to raise awareness and commitment across the
increasingly younger students,” some before they have even step foot on University to build a Brown-owned waterfront sailing James Mackey IV ’87
campus, yet typically fewer than 10 students graduate each year with a facility, comparable to other schools’. A place where
concurrent bachelor’s and master’s degree. On the one hand, said Las-
sonde, students should avoid “credentialing, rather than broadening and
deepening their education,” but they must also receive proper advising far
enough in advance, because students who only start to consider applying
in their junior year are “having to make real trade-offs.” Students should
quote of the day
work closely with their advisors and departments when considering
possible degree tracks, and do so early on. When commencement rolls
around, we hope to see students become graduates knowing that they
“Same-sex marriage violates
the First Amendment to the
made the most of their time here.

Editorials are written by The Herald’s editorial page board. Send comments
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Constitution of the United States
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The Brown Daily Herald
Thursday, February 10, 2011
(Some Of) The British Are (Sort of) (Still) Coming!
By Stephen Wicken
Opinions Columnist
During the break, dear reader, I chanced
across an astonishing car commercial.
You might have seen it. The one where the
Dodge Challenger defeats the Redcoats,
heralding the dawn of a new nation that
gets “two things right: cars and freedom.”
“Auto-industry bailout!” I spluttered. “PA-
TRIOT Act!” Before I knew it, I was thrown
headlong into a gentle transatlantic tiff with
my American in-laws.
A while ago, the Yanks had a “revolu-
tion,” if that’s the right term for a group of
middle-aged white men refusing to share
their slavery earnings. A lot of perfectly
good tea was ruined. The British took the
hint, for the most part, and toddled off to
conquer most of the rest of the world with
gin and tonics and silly moustaches.
Eventually, we reunited when America
popped in for the last five minutes of two
World Wars, and things settled down into
a tense but durable friendship, like that of
two bandmates who remember that they
wouldn’t be where they are without one an-
other, but still think the other’s solo proj-
ects are crap.
In the past few years, however, things
have changed ever so slightly. Presi-
dent Obama had Bush’s bust of Winston
Churchill removed from the Oval Office
because it was intimidating his speechwrit-
ers. Global energy giants and irresponsibil-
ity enthusiasts BP became ‘British’ again
when something very, very bad happened,
despite the fact that Halliburton was in-
Rethinking the higher education paradigm
By Oliver Doren
Opinions Columnist
Look around. Wherever you are on cam-
pus, you are most likely surrounded by a
fairly diverse group of students who are
unique in any number of ways, from eth-
nicity to sexual orientation to intellectual
passions. Brown’s cosmopolitan character
is refreshing, and the pattern of growing
diversity in American colleges is perhaps
the greatest achievement of education in
the last century.
But it has its limits. The new frontiers
of exclusion in this country — at least in
higher education — are no longer princi-
pally confined to matters of race or religion
— they are socioeconomic. As much as
we and elite universities like us pride our-
selves on our inclusivity, it is an irrefutable
fact that the strongest internal correlation
among students is that of economic back-
ground. A simple statistic from a recent
Princeton study says it all: Of all students
in the top 146 universities in America, only
three percent come from the lowest income
quartile — 77 percent come from the high-
est.
This is an unsustainable state of affairs,
one that raises a pressing question: How
can we oversee the redistribution of intel-
lectual capital from the educated elite to the
masses? For the beginnings of an answer,
we can look to the great equalizer of our
volved and therefore it was almost certainly
Dick Cheney’s fault.
We’ve even taken over the superhero
arena, installing British actors as Super-
man, Batman and Spider-Man, prompt-
ing one Hollywood casting director to
suggest that American men aren’t man-
ly enough for such roles. Probably should
have thought twice before you changed the
rules of rugby and starting playing in leg-
gings, eh?
And now, it seems, we’re coming for
your universities. Or at least, a few more
Global energy giants and irresponsibility enthusiasts BP
became ‘British’ again when something very, very bad
happened, despite the fact that Halliburton was involved
and therefore it was almost certainly Dick Cheney’s fault.
of us are applying to Brown, according to
a recent article in The Herald (“Academic
freedom a plus for Brits,” Jan. 31). Lock up
your teapots: Brits are bursting forth from
the gulags and making for the nearest Ur-
ban Outfitters in unprecedented numbers.
It’s true that the differences between the
British and American education systems
are surprisingly marked. As the earlier arti-
cle notes, students in Britain start specializ-
ing much earlier. Your intrepid correspon-
dent ditched geography, for example, at the
age of 14, despite the inevitable homonym-
ic hilarities that come with the adolescent
study of such fascinating topics as coastal
time: the Internet.
In 2002, the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology began an “OpenCourseWare”
initiative to publish educational materials
from all of its courses online, for free. Near-
ly ten years later, MIT “OpenCourseWare”
hosts over 2,000 classes, many of which
feature an organized course plan complete
with full, in-class lectures by MIT profes-
sors, notes, homework, exams and hours of
instructional solution videos worked out
by graduate students specifically assigned
It’s time that we make a concerted effort to share
knowledge with the world, rather than foment it
in secrecy behind walls that are
$55,000 high.
to “T.A.” the online version of the course.
Meanwhile, in a converted walk-in clos-
et just outside of Silicon Valley, Sal Khan —
a former hedge fund manager and gradu-
ate of both MIT and Harvard — is record-
ing a lecture on thermodynamics. He will
soon upload it to KhanAcademy.org, where
one can find 2,100 other lessons just like it,
ranging from statistics to organic chemis-
try to the Napoleonic Wars. Like the MIT
initiative, Khan’s teaching is entirely free of
Opinions 11
erosion. Groin! Every time.
Under the British system one can, if one
is so inclined, blind oneself to enormous
chunks of human thought and endeavor
at a very early stage. At sixteen, I bid adieu
giddily to maths and the sciences to focus
on the humanities and social sciences, and
rarely have I been as happy since. I am, of
course, now innumerate. Around 17, one
picks a subject to study at university and
applies to universities to study it. Stick with
it for another three years and before you
know it, you’re a notional expert. You can
get most of the way toward qualifying as a
doctor or lawyer in Britain before you can
order a beer in the U.S.
Before you reel in horror, there is some-
thing to be said for this approach. Those
who view the value of university educa-
tion purely in terms of training the work-
force appreciate the efficiency of being
able to churn out engineers, for example,
at 21. And even the majority of students
who don’t end up directly translating their
degree expertise into an occupation ben-
efit from the opportunity for immersion
in a discipline. This is especially the case
at Cambridge and Oxford, where students
charge and accessible to anyone.
Ultimately, this broad-based dissemina-
tion of high-quality educational material
means that basically anyone in the world
with a library card and an Internet connec-
tion can receive a truly world-class educa-
tion.
These new academic media seem to un-
derscore the long-standing inefficacies in
contemporary higher education. While
Khan’s informal lessons are not in any po-
sition to replace the traditional classroom
model, they teem with a refreshing sense of
childlike enthusiasm that may be in short
supply in a lecture of two hundred that is
taught by a tenured professor a few years
past his prime.
In the face of the looming higher educa-
tion bubble, in which students are seeing a
rapidly increasing cost compared with de-
creasing returns for a college degree, these
legitimate, free online resources are pre-
serving the viability of the future of higher
are taught primarily in one-on-one or very
small group meetings.
There isn’t much I would change about
my undergrad experience. I wouldn’t trade
the time I spent reading in pubs and on riv-
erbanks for all the language labs and cof-
fee shops the Ivy League can throw. Of
course, due to educational choices made
during my adolescence, I’m not capable of
adding up how many labs and workshops
that would be. By my 21st birthday, I had
forgotten more about Nietzsche than Ni-
etzsche learned about me in his entire life,
and I enjoyed forgetting it all tremendous-
ly. There is a reason why British universities
are still turning out, for example, the bet-
ter PhDs in subjects like European history
— that relentless focus produces detailed,
sometimes definitive, work.
Nonetheless, the liberal arts curricu-
lum as practiced at universities like Brown
leaves me feeling jealous. I very much like
the idea of following one’s intellectual nos-
trils without giving up on all other scents.
One’s interests change. Imagine having to
listen to the same music from 16 to 22. By
graduation, you might have soured a lit-
tle on Weezer. It might have been nice to
mix up all that European political philoso-
phy with the occasional interpretive dance
workshop and actually get academic credit
for it.
So take your time, follow your nose and
enjoy your academic freedom. Or your ac-
ademic Dodge Challenger. Just keep Wee-
zer off the stereo. It’s still too soon.
Stephen Wicken GS is a fifth-year
doctoral candidate in history. He can be
reached at stephen_wicken@brown.edu.
education. In a society where education is
not a virtue, but merely a quantifiable com-
modity in the professional’s repertoire, they
are reclaiming it for the intellectually curi-
ous and the passionate.
There is immense potential to be found
in this latest iteration of distance learning
that MIT, Khan Academy and others have
helped to build. As an institution that has
often been at the forefront of revolutionary
ideas in education, Brown University needs
to embrace the egalitarian spirit of free and
accessible education for all. It’s time that we
make a concerted effort to share knowledge
with the world, rather than foment it in se-
crecy behind walls that are $55,000 high.
It is in our mission to serve “the com-
munity, the nation and the world by dis-
covering, communicating and preserving
knowledge and understanding in a spirit
of free inquiry.” What better way to do so
than to create an “OpenCourseWare” ini-
tiative here at Brown?
The logistics of an initiative of this mag-
nitude are by no means trivial. The pro-
gram will be costly — MIT “OpenCourse-
Ware” runs at about $3.5 million per year
— and, in the midst of a budgetary and fi-
nancial crisis, it may be some time before
anything worthwhile is implemented. But
establishing an online platform for free and
accessible learning should be a top prior-
ity for the “the rebel Ivy” as we move ahead
into the future.
Oliver Doren ’14 is from Miami, FL.
Daily Herald City & State
the Brown
R.I. firms commit to installing car-charging stations
By Hannah abelow
Contributing Writer
Project Get Ready Rhode Island,
an initiative devoted to promoting
plug-in electric vehicles, celebrated
its one-year anniversary last week by
announcing the pledges of 14 Rhode
Island-based companies to install
charging stations for electric cars.
Albert Dahlberg, professor of
medical science, founded the Rhode
Island branch of the Project Get
Ready initiative of the Rocky Moun-
tain Institute, a Colorado think tank,
The Herald reported last February.
In the last year, Project Get
Mentors seek to boost R.I. tackles health care reform
passion for the sciences
By JU MYOUNG KIm
Staff Writer
Each week, students devote hun-
dreds of hours to teaching and
mentoring Providence’s disadvan-
taged youth. But these volunteer
tutors are facing a problem that
even the most dedicated may be
ill-equipped to handle.
National science tests show
large disparities in Rhode Island,
according to the most recent re-
port from the National Assess-
ment of Educational Progress. Test
scores are much lower among mi-
nority students than among white
students, among disabled students
than among non-disabled students
and among impoverished students
than among the better-off. Rhode
Island tested lowest in the nation
in 2009 for Hispanic eighth grad-
ers, with 74 percent scoring “below
basic,” according to the report.
The low scores show that “the
need to transform our schools
is urgent,” Commissioner of El-
ementary and Secondary Educa-
tion Deborah Gist said in a Jan. 26
Providence Journal article.
Though the report provided
numerical evidence of the score
disparity, attempting to close the
gap is not a new goal for many
Brown tutoring programs.
“There are so many factors in-
volved,” said Karen Haberstroh,
assistant professor of engineering
and director of STEM Outreach, a
Info sessions at 195 Angell St. (between Brook and Thayer):
Ready’s volunteers have devoted
their efforts toward increasing the
number of charging stations around
Rhode Island. “Even though the ve-
hicles won’t be available in Rhode
Island until the end of this year, it’s
important to start building up the
infrastructure,” Dahlberg said.
The number of charging stations
in Rhode Island has been rising
since the first was unveiled in West
Warwick last August.
Governor Lincoln Chafee ’75
P’14 attended the event and ex-
pressed an interest in “looking at
how the electric vehicles could be
integrated into the state fleet,” Dahl-
group that sponsors a number of
programs bringing together gradu-
ate students, high schoolers and
their teachers to boost students’
understanding of and passion for
science.
In one of these programs, Phys-
ical Processes in the Environment,
graduate students bring weekly
inquiry-based science lessons to
students in Providence elemen-
tary and high schools. Graduate
students work “very intensively”
to change students’ perception of
science and to encourage them to
pursue it at the university level,
Haberstroh said.
Last summer, the program
sponsored a collaboration be-
tween Providence teachers and
University professors and graduate
students. They worked to develop
class curricula making science
more appealing and interactive.
The teachers “have been fantastic
and so supportive” of the program,
Haberstroh said.
“The students are very behind
the grade level,” said Daniel Prinz
’13, a student mentor for Algebra
in Motion, a Brown organization
that tutors Hope High School stu-
dents in math. “That’s why we go
out everyday.”
Katie Williams ’11, a student
mentor in Brown Science Prep,
said that students struggle the
most with basic concepts. For ex-
continued on page 6
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berg said.
Ryan McGee GS, who has coor-
dinated significant research under-
taken by students for Project Get
Ready, emphasized the significance
of Chafee’s statement. “The previ-
ous administration had been totally
silent on electric vehicles,” McGee
said. “We had already established
relationships with City Hall but this
is our first high-visibility relation-
ship at the State House.”
Until now, Project Get Ready has
depended on student research and
corporate leadership rather than
federal or state support, Dahlberg
said. McGee said an aim of the ini-
By Bradley silverman
Staff Writer
Rhode Island policymakers are
hammering out the details of how
to implement the health care re-
form bill Congress passed last
March.
State Senate President Teresa
Paiva Weed, D-Newport, intro-
duced a bill Jan. 28 to establish
a health care exchange in Rhode
Island.
“The exchange will create a
health benefit marketplace that
is fair, competitive, transparent
and understandable to individuals
and small businesses,” Paiva Weed
said in a statement. “It will also
have the important job of getting
federal subsidies to the people
who need them.”
The health care reform law
mandates that each state set up
a health insurance exchange by
2014 or allow the federal govern-
ment to create one if they refuse
to comply. An exchange is a set of
standardized health plans, offered
by private insurers, from which
individuals may purchase cover-
age. They are intended to inject
competition into the marketplace,
lower costs and extend coverage
to those currently uninsured.
Low-income citizens will receive
federal subsidies to purchase in-
surance under the reform law.
At a January ceremony in
downtown Providence, Gov. Lin-
coln Chafee ’75 P’14 signed an
executive order establishing the
Thursday, February 10, 2011
tiative is to attract more members of
the private sector, and he hoped the
announcement would help “main-
tain their momentum.”
Since the project’s beginning,
students have taken an active role
in the research necessary for Project
Get Ready to establish the needed
infrastructure. This fall, one stu-
dent researched the geographical
distribution of Toyota Prius owners
throughout the state. The project is
now using this research “to figure
out where early adopters for electric
vehicles are likely to live,” McGee
said.
According to McGee, some
Rhode Island Health Care Reform
Commission. He named Lt. Gov.
Elizabeth Roberts ’78, who once
worked in the health care field and
has long advocated for reform, as
its chair.
“I really think the creation of
this new entity … is really an ex-
citing moment,” Roberts said.
She said the exchange should
address three critical issues ­­— “af-
fordability, quality and sustain-
ability.”
The commission will serve to
make recommendations to the
governor and offer legislative pro-
posals to the General Assembly.
It replaces a task force Roberts
established earlier to investigate
the problems facing Rhode Is-
land’s health care system. In that
role, she clashed with former Gov.
Donald Carcieri ’65, a staunch
federal reform opponent.
“We have been in the past a
national leader in health care and
health care reform,” Roberts said.
“That has not necessarily been our
position over the past few years,
but I think it will be a real goal of
this group and this administration
to put us back in the forefront.”
Deborah Faulkner, a consultant
to the Rhode Island Office of the
Health Insurance Commissioner,
served on Roberts’ task force and
will play a role on the new com-
mission as well.
“It will create a shop exchange­
— that is, a place for small em-
ployers to identify options for
health insurance and potentially
classes at Brown have also moved
toward “active participation” in the
project, including courses offered in
commerce, organizations and en-
trepreneurship and environmental
studies. Kurt Teichert, a lecturer in
environmental studies and manager
of environmental stewardship ini-
tiatives, offered a seminar last fall
in which students discussed differ-
ent vehicle technologies, including
plug-in electric cars.
“The intent is to have students
provide some of the research for
Project Get Ready to better under-
stand how this market is going to
develop,” Treichert said.
purchase through it,” Faulkner
said.
There are many questions over
how the exchange will operate —
what authority it will have, which
plans will be offered and who will
be allowed to participate. Oth-
er remaining questions include
whether it will be sustainable, how
it will interface with the state’s
Medicaid program and which
state government agency will
be responsible for overseeing it,
Faulkner said.
“Does (the reform law) go
beyond what’s envisioned in the
(Affordable Care Act) to serve be-
yond small groups, larger groups,
municipalities?” she said. “Those
are the kinds of questions that
many folks have raised. Who are
its primary customers?”
John Robitaille, a Republican
who narrowly lost the race for
governor last year, said the health
care law’s requirement that in-
dividuals purchase insurance is
unconstitutional.
“You can’t require people to
purchase a product,” he said.
Had Robitaille won, however,
he would have been charged with
implementing the law. He said he
would like the exchange to pro-
vide consumers with information
about different insurance options.
He added that he hopes it does not
become a bureaucracy, preferring
instead something like a website.
He also said the law hurts busi-
continued on page 6