Daily
the Brown
vol. cxlvi, no. 36
Former mayor Cianci
owns up to corruption
By Amy Rasmussen
Senior Staff Writer
Sporting a tie of festive green,
former Mayor Vincent “Buddy”
Cianci strode down the aisle of
Macmillan 117 to the enthusiastic
applause of a smattering of stu-
dents and community members.
Following a brief introduction
by a Brown Bookstore official, the
man who transformed the cul-
tural and financial landscape of
Providence during more than two
decades in City Hall took the stage
with a practiced ease.
News in brief
Times pay wall should
not affect students
Unlimited, free online access
to New York Times articles — a
resource as vital for students as
food, coffee and spicies with —
came under threat yesterday
morning. But it appears the
University Library will come to
distressed students’ rescue.
The Times will launch a digital
subscriptions service March 28
and place added restrictions to
its online content, the paper’s
publisher, Arthur Sulzberger
Jr., wrote in a letter to readers
yesterday. The new restrictions
limit nonsubscribers to 20 articles
or other media features per
month before they are cut off
and prompted to buy a digital
subscription, according to the
letter. Home delivery subscribers
will continue to benefit from all
online services.
Readers who click through
links found on blogs, search
engines, Facebook and Twitter will
not be denied access even if the
monthly limit has been reached,
the letter stated.
“The Library is working with
Newsbank, a vendor, to provide
same-day access to the entire
contents of the New York Times
online.  We will be providing more
details very soon.  The service
should be available before the
Times puts up its subscription
wall on March 28,” David Banush,
associate University librarian for
access services and collection
management, wrote in an e-mail
to The Herald.  gay marriage are currently under
Either way, students can
always go old school — print
versions of the Times will still be
available in the Sharpe Refectory
each morning.
— Talia Kagan
news...................2-3
inside
Sports...............4-5
editorial..............6
Opinions...............7
ArTS.........................8
Friday, March 18, 2011
“I can’t understand why you’re
all here on St. Patrick’s day,” Cianci
quipped, “But I can tell you, you
left an awful lot out of that intro-
duction.”
Though audience members
clutched copies of his newly re-
leased work, “Pasta and Politics,”
the renowned former mayor went
to the microphone empty-handed.
It did not matter. Cianci, much
like the book itself, was full of sto-
ries.
Trained as a lawyer, Cianci
continued on page 3
Gregorian celebrates libraries at Hay fete
By Nicole Grabel
Contributing Writer
There is a “difference between in-
formation and knowledge,” Vartan
Gregorian, former president of the
University, told an enthralled audi-
ence of 200 celebrating the centen-
nial of the John Hay Library in a
lecture yesterday afternoon.
The lecture, titled “Information
and Knowledge in an Age of Tech-
nology,” addressed the way technol-
ogy constantly bombards society
with facts, theories and data. He
emphasized the importance of
“analysis as well as synthesis” of
information, and the ability to dis-
tinguish between “what we know,”
Protestors hold flash
rally for gay marriage
By SOPHIA SEAWELL
Contributing Writer
Several dozen students and com-
munity members gathered outside J.
Walter Wilson yesterday afternoon
to encourage Rhode Island’s politi-
cians to support the legalization of
gay marriage.
The sunny weather bolstered
the already energetic atmosphere
of the flash rally, which lasted only
30 minutes. Many protestors held
signs and responded enthusiasti-
cally to speakers and honking cars
driving by.
Two bills that would legalize
consideration in the Rhode Island
House and Senate judiciary commit-
tees, whose votes will decide if the
bills will be debated on the floors of
those chambers. Similar bills have
been introduced several times in
past years, but have never made it
Close to Home
Janus Forum debates
collective bargaining
Campus news, 3
Herald
Former Providence Mayor Buddy Cianci spoke last night about his new book.
what the “screen” is telling us and
“what we don’t know” in order to
truly understand something.
The premium placed on spe-
cialization is one way knowledge
is stifled in the modern techno-
logical age, he said. We focus on
“marketable skills” and confuse the
educated person with the special-
ist. Today’s new technology makes
it all too easy to continue on this
specialized path, ignorant to the
knowledge and views of others.
Technology also allows the forma-
tion of “isolationist” groups which
keep people “safe from having to
relay” their ideas with those who
may not agree with them, Gre-
gorian said. But “all knowledge is
to the floor.
The bill’s co-sponsors, state rep-
resentatives Art Handy, D-Cranston,
and Frank Ferri, D-Warwick, spoke
at the rally. “This bill is moving for-
ward because of people like you,”
Handy told the crowd. Student sup-
port “helps people like me be more
enthusiastic and energetic,” he told
The Herald.
“I’ve been with my husband for
30 years, and I am a second-class
citizen,” Ferri told the crowd. He
encouraged students to stay active
in the fight for gay marriage.
Jeremy Feigenbaum ’11, the pres-
ident of the Brown Democrats, had
a similar message. “Keep continuing
the fight, going to the State House
and fighting for the bill,” he told the
gathered crowd. “It’s so important
that we hold our elected officials
responsible for the issues we care
about.”
The crowd was optimistic about
D&C
Das Racist gets coal —
find out why
Hilary Rosenthal / Herald
actually provisional,” he said, and
people must not be blind to other
views and perspectives.
Universities can overcome this
trend of specialization by striving
to “promote a multidisciplinary and
interdisciplinary approach,” he said,
adding that the “major challenge”
is being able to make connections
between different fields and disci-
plines. Though he acknowledged
the negative effects of technology,
he also discussed how it can help
promote a wide-ranging education
if we know how to use it correctly.
Libraries can be an essential tool
in correctly harnessing the power
continued on page 2
Students rallied to legalize gay marriage outside J. Walter Wilson yesterday.
the bill’s passage. “Your generation
will be the generation that makes a
difference with same-sex marriage,”
said Kelly Garrett, coordinator of the
LGBTQ Resource Center. “These are
hopeful and exciting times.”
The rally was organized by the
Queer Political Action Committee,
weather
Diamonds & Coal, 7
Since 1891
U. creates
fund for
Japan relief
By Nicole Boucher
News Editor
The University will establish a
fund for relief efforts in Japan fol-
lowing Friday’s earthquake and
tsunami, President Ruth Simmons
announced in an e-mail to the
Brown community yesterday af-
ternoon. A committee also met
yesterday to discuss contingency
plans for students studying abroad
or planning to study abroad in
Japan this semester and will con-
tinue to watch the situation as it
develops, according to Dean of
the College Katherine Bergeron.
The University’s response to
the disaster will include leading
fundraising efforts, lending sup-
port to universities in Japan and
soliciting student suggestions for
innovative ways to provide assis-
tance, Simmons wrote.
“This is consistent with the
approach we took after Katrina,”
Simmons wrote in an e-mail to
The Herald. “The community is
invited to help devise approaches
that are uniquely representative
of Brown.” She added that the
fund will come from University
resources as a way to generate
donations.
The Japanese Cultural Asso-
ciation will also throw a relief
continued on page 2
Sophia Seawell / Herald
along with the Brown Democrats
and Marriage Equality Rhode Is-
land, which held a phone bank for
protestors to call their senators dur-
ing the rally.
Gabe Schwartz ’13, co-director
continued on page 2
t o d ay tomorrow
64 / 35 45 / 31
2 Campus News
calendar
Today March 18 ToMORROW March 19
12 P.m. 2:30 p.m.
Vigil for Japan,
Faunce House
“Women in War Zones,”
Cable Car Cinema
7 p.m.
BRIO: World Cultural Dinner,
9 p.m.
Out of Bounds Sketch Comedy,
Andrews Dining Hall MacMillan 117
menu
SHARPE REFECTORY VERNEy-WOOLLEY DINING HALL
LUNCH
Hot Ham Sandwich, Onion Rings, Chicken Fingers, Vegan Nuggets,
Green Beans with Garlic, Vegan Corn Cobbets, Hot Dogs, Baked
Roasted Vegetable Burrito Beans, M&M Cookies
DINNER
Linguini Tossed in Olive Oil, Mussels Beef Lo Mein, Egg Foo Young,
in Marinara, Baked Potatoes, Vegan Sticky Rice, Hoisin Sugar Snap Peas,
Refried Beans, Pound Cake Focaccia Bread, Zeppole
Sudoku
Vartan Gregorian, former University president, celebrated the Hay yesterday.
Former president urges
knowledge integration
continued from page 1
of technology because they bring
many different types of knowledge
together in one place. Some fear
that technology will bring about the
demise of libraries, but Gregarian
said this is not the case. “We are not
a virtual society yet,” he said. Along
with helping us integrate differ-
ent sources of knowledge, libraries
remain vitally important as places
Crossword that provide community and allow
for the sharing of different ideas.
The need for libraries and books
will only grow stronger, and it is im-
Students rally for gay
marriage legislation
continued from page 1
of the committee, briefly addressed
the crowd. “The fundamentals of the
constitution are being undermined”
by the lack of a gay marriage bill,
he said.
Schwartz was contacted about
planning the rally by Rhode Island
Students for Equality, an organiza-
tion recently founded by Kyle Mar-
nane, a senior at Johnson and Wales
University. The rally was the third
of six that the group is organizing
Daily
the Brown
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195 Angell St., Providence, R.I.
Ben Schreckinger, President
Sydney Ember, Vice President
The Brown Daily Herald (USPS 067.740) is an independent newspaper serving the
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Copyright 2011 by The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. All rights reserved.
editorial
(401) 351-3372
herald@browndailyherald.com
Freddy Lu / Herald
portant that they remain available
to everyone, especially those who
cannot afford comparable resources
on their own.
The John Hay Library, which
holds the University’s archives and
rare books collection, was funded
by Andrew Carnegie in the early
1900s as a library that would be
open to the public. In her intro-
duction, President Ruth Simmons
said Gregorian was chosen to
speak on behalf of the Hay’s cen-
tennial because he was “prominent
enough, cute enough and persua-
sive enough.”
in universities across the state. “Get-
ting students to do it is much more
effective,” Marnane said.
Lauren Childress ’14, a member
of the Queer Alliance who attended
the rally, said she is surprised the
bill has not passed yet. By joining
the rally, she is hoping to move the
bill’s passage forward.
“We are the next generation of
this country’s leaders,” said Mar-
garet Baxter ’14, another protestor.
“So getting involved early on is im-
portant.”
Herald
Matthew Burrows, Treasurer
Isha Gulati, Secretary
Business
(401) 351-3360
gm@browndailyherald.com
The Brown Daily Herald
Friday, March 18, 2011
Students, U.
fundraise
for Japan
relief effort
continued from page 1
concert to raise money this Sun-
day, which will feature student
performers, a capella groups and
the Brown Jazz Band. Simmons
will match the donations if the
event raises at least $2,000, said
Rie Yamamato ’12, one of the as-
sociation’s co-presidents.
“The tragic aftermath of the
earthquake in Japan demands
that the University respond in a
concerted and careful way with
humanitarian assistance,” Sim-
mons wrote in the e-mail.
Students participating in study
abroad programs in Japan this
semester may have to find alter-
native plans.
The study abroad program at
the Kyoto Consortium for Japa-
nese Studies will be halted by
next week, wrote Helen Diagama
’12, one of three Brown students
participating in the program,
in an e-mail to The Herald. The
program is currently examining
different options available to the
students and should be able to
provide more information shortly,
Bergeron wrote in an e-mail to The
Herald. Though Kyoto was not di-
rectly impacted by the earthquake
and tsunami, the state department
began issuing warnings encourag-
ing the evacuation of Americans
from Japan yesterday. “The state
department strongly urges U.S.
citizens to defer travel to Japan
at this time and those in Japan
should consider departing,” the
travel warning read.
“This is very sad for us, since
we do feel safe and don’t want to
leave, so most students are pro-
testing,” Diagama wrote.
Jack Boeglin’12, who planned
to study at Keio University in
Tokyo, said he has not received
additional information since first
learning that orientation for his
program would be delayed until
April 4. “Local and international
authorities continue to state how
difficult it is to gauge the level of
risk accurately,” Bergeron wrote
in the e-mail. “We continue to
monitor the situation closely, con-
sult with our partners and peer
institutions, consider the best op-
tions and communicate with the
affected students and families. We
expect to have more news by this
weekend.”
Yamamato said the associa-
tion has been in touch with both
undergraduates and graduate
Japanese students who have fam-
ily in Tokyo. Yamamato said her
friends have described the situa-
tion as reminiscent of “wartime,”
as Japanese citizens are being
forced to ration food and water
and planned power outages are
blanketing the city in an effort to
conserve energy.
“The whole nation right now
is uncertain,” Yamamato said. Ev-
eryone is now asking “how safe is
it to be in Japan?”
The Brown Daily Herald
Friday, March 18, 2011
Cianci: ‘Corruption might Audience steals show at Janus debate
have been involved’
continued from page 1
spent time in the army before run-
ning for office in 1974. From 1975
to 1984 and from 1991 to 2002, he
served as mayor of Providence,
earning him the distinction of be-
ing the longest-serving mayor in
Providence history.
Ultimately, Cianci said, the
book is not about Providence.
Rather, it’s a mixture of person-
al anecdotes, the politics of the
1970s and 1980s and “this fabu-
lous, wonderful life of meeting so
many different types of people.”
Cianci began by recalling that
in the 1970s, the city of Provi-
dence was in “dire straits.” Though
its history was rich, Cianci said,
its future prospects could not have
been dimmer.
Running as the Republican
candidate in a Democratically
dominated state, Cianci thought
he could do better.
To appreciative laughter, Cianci
admitted that at the time he took
office, he knew as much about be-
ing mayor as he did about flying a
747 or performing brain surgery.
In other words — nothing.
“If I knew what it took to be
mayor in 1974, I don’t think I
would have voted for myself,” he
said.
Things were hectic from the
start. On the night of Cianci’s
inauguration, several monkeys
escaped from the zoo, and the
police department phoned their
new mayor, looking for advice.
“Do what you normally do,”
Cianci recalled telling the police.
“What do I know about how mon-
keys escape from the zoo?”
Cianci emphasized that his
time in office was centered on
three priorities — social work,
risk-taking and entrepreneurship.
Among other things, the for-
mer mayor spoke to his role in
rerouting the train tracks, forcing
banks to provide food stamps and
getting Nordstrom to invest in the
Providence Place mall.
While taking questions from
the audience, Cianci also ad-
dressed the gaping $180 million
two-year budget deficit Provi-
dence is currently facing.
“It isn’t a matter of philosophy
any longer,” he said emphatically,
“It’s a matter of necessity. You’ve
got to make the cuts.”
Cianci did not deny abuse of
his mayoral power, a topic he
speaks about openly in his book.
In response to a constituent
request, Cianci said, he prevent-
ed B.A. Dario from demolishing
Loew’s State Theater.
“Corruption might have been
involved there,” he said, adding
that it was not a phenomenon
unique to his own mayoral his-
tory.
“There’s corruption in the city
of Providence today, yesterday and
Got tips?
herald@browndailyherald.com
my paycheck every week for health concerns in Wisconsin and closer
care coverage that my union’s bar- to home.
it’ll probably be there tomorrow,”
Cianci said. “Anybody who doesn’t
think it exists is crazy.”
Cianci later offered to make
Dario the official artistic con-
sultant to the city of Providence
with a salary of $20,000 a year
to make up for the $40,000 that
Dario claimed he was owed.
The theater owner demanded
$25,000, and Cianci agreed. Why?
Because he was the mayor.
“Now that’s what I should have
gone to jail for,” he said to one of
the loudest laughs of the night,
“Not that other stuff.”
In the aptly named 2002 “Op-
eration Plunder Dome,” Cianci
was indicted on 27 charges and
cleared of all but one — racketeer-
ing, or the conspiracy to run the
city as a criminal enterprise.
“I will always maintain my in-
nocence,” he said of the charge.
After spending four years in
the Federal Correction Institute
Fort Dix, the former mayor spoke
authoritatively on jail life. One of
the most important things that he
kept in mind, Cianci said, was that
you have to do your time. It does
not help to think about what you
could be doing or where else you
could be.
Cianci said he never had any
problems during his four years
in the federally funded prison.
Still, he recalled the first day of
his incarceration, the official start
to his sentence following “orien-
tation,” as being the worst of his
life. Some of his fellow inmates
were murderers — as far as he was
concerned, he was there for trying
to gain membership to the Uni-
versity Club. When Cianci tried to
gain admission to the invitation-
only club and was denied a spot,
he brought the club’s renovation
requests to a standstill.
Following the reading, a long
line of audience members waiting
for signatures and photos snaked
down the hallway of Macmillan.
Andrew Antar ’12, an urban
studies concentrator, said he came
to the lecture because he wanted
a chance to see the Rhode Island
icon before he graduated.
“He’s the man,” Antar said.
Helene Gordon, who has lived
in Rhode Island for more than 70
years, said she thinks people have
forgiven Cianci for the corruption
because of all he did for the city.
“I just think he’s a very nice
man,” she said.
According to Cianci, his proud-
est moment did not come from
rebuilding Roger Williams Park,
restoring the Providence Perform-
ing Arts Center or rerouting three
rivers, but rather from restoring
the confidence level of the city
to a level most never imagined
possible.
“In 2002, when I left,” he add-
ed, “people were proud to say they
were from Providence.”
Campus News 3
By Katherine Long
Staff Writer
gained for. I’m 20 years old. I don’t “Mayor Taveras has made the
The atmosphere at last night’s de- need health care,” Steve Larrick ’11 case that the teachers union pre-
bate on collective bargaining was said in response to a discussion of vented him from creating a better
at times charged and tense, as ‘closed shop’ contracts, in which contract. … He says he can’t fire
audience members shared their every employee a company hires who he needs to fire without firing
personal experiences to challenge must be a member of the union. everyone,” Kroeber said. “He can’t
the debaters — and each other. “Why am I paying for it? What is operate within the union frame-
The debate, which was hosted by this union doing for me?” work.”
the Janus Forum, included an un- “But what about your co-work- Leaks said he sees the Wisconsin
precedented amount of audience ers?” audience member Gideon situation as a harbinger “for the
participation, perhaps because the Leaks ’85 immediately rebutted. destruction of collective bargaining
topic struck close to home for many The enthusiasm of both debaters in general.”
of the nearly 35 students and com- and audience members was over- Eichert agreed. “Wisconsin is
munity members in attendance. shadowed by the very real union the reason we’re here today.”
In the shadow of the passage of
a Wisconsin bill limiting collective
bargaining of public unions, the de-
bate centered around the question,
“Should public unions have collec-
tive bargaining rights?” Susannah
Kroeber ’11, a Herald opinions
columnist, argued against collec-
tive bargaining for public unions,
opposite former union organizer
Benjamin Eichert ’13.
Kroeber’s argument focused
on the difference between public
and private unions. She said that
though private employers have the
opportunity to “shut down or leave
town” if they cannot meet their
employees’ demands, government
employers have no such option.
“The state of Delaware can’t
pick up and move to Oregon if its
employees go on strike,” she said.
She added that there is an inher-
ent conflict of interest when public
employees are given the right to
bargain collectively.
“I think it’s preposterous that
you can both choose your man-
agement and then negotiate your
contract with that management,”
Kroeber said.
Eichert, who has organized
for the Service Employees Inter-
national Union and the National
Union for Healthcare Workers,
argued that collective bargaining
is a fundamental right recognized
by both international organizations
and the Constitution.
“We can’t take a step backward,”
he said. “We can’t say that while
unions were great in the past, we
don’t need them anymore … unions
bring democracy to the workplace.”
But audience members stole the
show from the billed speakers, tak-
ing the debate into their own hands.
One attendee made a passion-
ate argument in favor of collective
bargaining based on her knowledge
of the working conditions of house-
keepers employed by the University
of South Carolina.
“This is a high-pain job, where
employees are taking painkillers
just so they’re able to clean the ab-
surd amount of rooms they need
to clean in a day, and they’re work-
ing for extremely low wages,” she
said. “How can you tell me that they
don’t deserve the right to bargain
collectively?”
“That’s a tough question,” Kroe-
ber said. “Does anyone in the audi-
ence have a rebuttal?”
The debate soon broadened
from a discussion of the rights of
public unions to a conversation
about the relative merits of unions
in general.
“I work in a closed-shop super-
market, and I give up two hours of
4 Sports Friday
Squash
Self-taught squash star makes professional playing debut
By Nikhil Parasher
Contributing Writer
Adrian Leanza ’11.5, the top-
ranked player on the No. 12 men’s
squash team, made his profession-
al debut at the Providence Open
Tuesday. Leanza, who signed with
the Pro Squash Tour in February,
drew a tough opponent in his first
professional match. He faced off
against Bradley Ball, the tour’s
top-ranked player, and lost the
match in straight sets 3-0.
But Leanza said before the
match he was not expecting to
win — he was just excited to gain
experience in his debut and go up
against one of the best players in
the world.
“I’m definitely going to lose
pretty badly (against Ball). But,
hopefully, I’m going to get better
over the next few years,” he said.
“It’s amazing — these are just the
names I hear about in the squash
world. The fact that I get to play
(Ball) is just really incredible.”
Leanza, who grew up in Den-
ver, took up squash when he
was eight. He initially picked
up the sport because his dad
played squash recreationally, so
he grabbed a racquet and started
teaching himself the sport that
would eventually become his pro-
fession.
“While (my dad) was playing
matches, I was really bored, so he
gave me a racquet and a ball and
I would just go ahead by myself,”
Leanza said. “And that was when I
was very young. That was like my
day care, hitting by myself. I just
kept going from there.”
Leanza’s self-taught style is evi-
dent even today. Stuart LeGassick,
Brown’s head squash coach, said
Leanza is the only player he has
ever seen who skips before he
serves. LeGassick decided to let
Leanza retain the skip despite its
peculiarity.
“I can see players, very experi-
enced and very well-coached play-
ers, looking at this little skip be-
fore he serves and thinking, ‘Well,
this guy surely can’t be that good,’”
LeGassick said. “And then he turns
around and plays remarkably well
and surprises these people time
after time.”
Evan Besser ’11, who is a tri-
captain of the men’s team along
with Leanza and Ben Clayman ’11,
said Leanza’s unconventionality
makes him difficult to play.
“He does stuff that no one else
really would do on court,” Besser
said. “That kind of throws off a lot
of his opponents because he hits a
lot of weird shots that most players
who are traditionally trained are
not going to hit.”
Leanza’s playing style is so
unique that Sean Wilkinson, the
Adrian Leanza ‘11, the top-ranked member of the men’s squash team, competed in his first professional match Tuesday.
squash team’s assistant coach, dis-
tinctly remembers seeing him play
when Wilkinson was an under-
graduate at Bates College during a
match between Bates and Brown.
“I remember him just running
around the court, diving every-
where,” Wilkinson said. “I think
Bates won the match relatively
comfortably. Adrian (Leanza) was
on the court for about two hours,
which for squash is a remarkable
time. I remember asking Stuart
(LeGassick), you know, what this
guy’s deal was.”
Leanza admitted that he does
not “really have the best shots or
tactics or anything.”
“I just get every ball back,” he
said. “I’m very much about … tir-
ing out the other player and being
able to go longer than the other
person.”
But even as he stuck to his un-
usual techniques, Leanza climbed
in the rankings.
According to LeGassick,
Leanza was ranked near 115th in
the country when he was in high
school. Brown usually recruits
players who are in the nation’s
top 30. This season, Leanza was
the top-ranked player on the team.
Leanza’s improvement has been
so drastic that it caught Wilkinson
off-guard when he joined the pro-
gram as an assistant coach in 2010.
Leanza did not look anything like
the kid diving all over the court
that Wilkinson remembered.
“When I got here in the fall,
and I gave my first lesson to him,
I was like, ‘Are you the same kid?’”
Wilkinson said.
Besser also raved about his
teammate’s progress.
“He turned out to be … a huge
surprise,” Besser said. “Over the
past three years, he’s really pro-
gressed squash-wise, and he’s
turned out to be a really amazing
addition to our team.”
Wilkinson just wishes Leanza
had been able to benefit from
coaching at an earlier age.
“His ability to learn is un-
believable,” Wilkinson said. “If
he had a real coach growing up
and started playing the sport at
a younger age, he’d be top 10 in
the country.”
Because of his unpolished tech-
The Brown Daily Herald
Friday, March 18, 2011
Courtesy of Adrian Leanza
nique, Leanza is forced to rely on
his physical strength and fitness
to beat his opponents. To stay
in playing shape, Leanza spends
about three hours every day train-
ing for squash.
“It is his physical abilities that
really make him stand out,” Le-
Gassick explained. “Time after
time, Sean (Wilkinson) would
turn to me and say, ‘I’ve never
worked with anybody this strong
and this fit,’ and he’s worked with
some of the top squash players in
the world.”
“He’s just so unbelievably fit
that it’s such a huge advantage for
him because no one else really
plays with that kind of intensity
and attitude on court,” Besser said.
On Tuesday, Leanza’s fitness
was not enough to beat Ball, who
went on to win the Providence
Open. But that did not stop Lean-
za from enjoying his professional
debut.
“It’s certainly a learning expe-
rience,” Leanza said. “It’s always
good to play people a lot better
than you. Your flaws are really
exposed.”
Leanza will use his professional
debut experience against Ball to
prepare for the New England
Open, which will take place April
9-10, and the Albany Open, which
will take place April 29 through
May 1.
Leanza, who is completing a
bachelor of science in applied
mathematics and two bachelor
of arts, with concentrations in
economics and chemistry, hopes
to continue to play at the profes-
sional level after the Albany Open.
“I do plan to continue playing
after college,” Leanza said. “As long
as I’m still improving … I’d love
to keep playing.”
The Brown Daily Herald
Friday, March 18, 2011
When football stopped being about football
By Sam Sheehan
Sports Columnist
Midway through December, I sat
on a bus bound for northern Maine,
firmly sandwiched between a mor-
bidly obese woman and the grimy
windows of Concord Coach. The
in-drive movie was the shockingly
horrendous “The Back-up Plan,” so
I was forced to turn to my iPhone
to pass the time. Luckily, I had just
downloaded the latest Bill Sim-
mons podcast, in which he had
interviewed Washington Wizards
and Washington Capitals owner
Ted Leonsis.
What he said in the two-hour
interview blew my mind, but can
all pretty much be summed up in
this quote: “It’s their team,” he said
of Washington’s fans. “I might write
the checks, but it’s their team.”
Woah.
The words every fan wants to
hear out of their team owner’s
mouths.
Now, it’s a given that any owner
would say that if they thought it
would get fans on board and cre-
ate more money for them, but in
the interview Leonsis came off
as genuine. The way he spoke of
Washington, fans and winning, he
sounded like a man who really be-
lieved that, with his money and po-
sition, he had an honest civic duty
to create the best team for his fans.
Since Leonsis took over the Caps in
1999, the team has morphed into a
perennial contender at the expense
of his pocketbook.
I can’t stress enough that I un-
derstand Leonsis was likely using
the interview as a way to monger
up support, and simply saying all
the right things.
But still ­— that’s an intoxi-
cating idea, isn’t it? The wealthy
earning their money, but feeling a
human and civic duty to share it?
At Brown, we are often mocked
Cloud Buddies! | David Emanuel
Dot Comic | Eshan Mitra and Brendan Hainline
as the bleeding hearts, the hippie
children stuffed with ideals and
ignorance, the elitist socialists who
haphazardly condemn the greed of
the business sector: the liberals.
Now, I don’t do politics. En-
tertaining a “nuh-uh”-themed
conversation with someone who
will cling to any point, no matter
how ridiculous, as long as it sup-
ports them, is not my idea of an
adult dialogue. Fox News is the
most egregious offender in my
opinion, but MSNBC is often just
as ridiculous. No congressman
hears a speech by an opposing
party member and goes, “That’s a
great point! I’m changing my vote
to do what I believe is right. Vot-
ers and job security, be damned!”
I lack the wherewithal to face that
without depression creeping into
every corner of my body. Hope-
fully, someone with more stomach
than I will fix this someday.
But — what happened this Fri-
day was disgusting. For the next
couple paragraphs, I’m not the
cheery, joke-cracking columnist.
I’m the latest in a long line of jaded
fans.
As the NFL’s lockout begins,
there is a wave of finger-pointing
from both owners and players, with
each side pointing to the greed of
the other. The argument is how to
split nearly $1 billion in leftover
revenue. The owners have cried
poor and claim they need the mon-
ey to help pay for things such as
stadiums, which are often supple-
mented with a city’s tax money.
Players, who get a slight majority of
the cash, are not unwilling to let the
owners have this money. They just
want to see the 10-year financials
of the clubs so they can make sure
the owners need the money.
Yes, everyone, the main reason
why we will not have football this
year is because owners refuse to
hand over their ledgers.
Sounds fine to me.
NFL players are not sympa-
thetic figures. When people look
at players, they see cockiness and
arrogance. Men who are more suc-
cessful on the luck of possessing
natural talent: men of the enter-
comics
Sports Friday 5
tainment industry. You will often
hear grumbling about the millions
that players make. Maybe that’s
how the owners actually managed
to turn this into an argument.
But let’s look at this. These guys
don’t “stumble into” the skills re-
quired of NFL athletes. These guys
practice and practice and practice.
Not to mention the gambles these
kids take from a young age. If you
are a budding NFL hopeful, you
have to gamble much of your future
away for that chance. If you have
a good season, you have to leave
college or risk hurting your own
draft options. For every star, there
are four young men staring at the
practice squad final cut list, tears
in their eyes and broken dreams
around their feet.
These men aren’t here through
dumb luck and accident. These
NFL players took serious risks.
And they are still taking them.
As more data on the dangers of
concussions becomes apparent and
NFL players continue to drop dead
in their 40s, we are left to ponder:
Who is really cashing in on the
game? Who is really writing the
costly checks? Who is the one pay-
ing?
Capitalism has a place. It’s
worked in our country for gen-
erations. I’m not arguing that the
owners don’t deserve their money
— though maybe I could.
It’s when the curtain is lifted
back on sports, and the ugly
“money talks” philosophy rinses
its greed-caked hands in the pure
water of sport, that I just can’t take
it anymore. Maybe I’m an idealist.
Maybe I’m just the latest of Brown’s
ignorant bleeding hearts. Maybe
I’m just a fool.
But I’m sticking to my beliefs.
This labor strike stopped be-
ing about football a long time ago.
It isn’t the millionaires versus the
billionaires anymore. It’s about
the 32 men with more money
than they can spend in their lives.
The 32 men who hide behind the
rights given to them by capital-
ism to dodge the responsibilities
tied to their humanity. It’s about
the 32 men who look down on the
46-year-old on his deathbed and
callously dismiss him as “knowing
the risks.”
Football is just a game.
Tell that to the stadium work-
ers who now need employment
in a down market. Tell that to the
would-be draft picks, who gambled
everything on football and sudden-
ly have nothing. Tell that to the bar
owner outside Soldier Field in Chi-
cago with a mortgage to pay. Tell
that to the people of New Orleans
who fell with Katrina only to rise
with Braylon Brees, as his father
held him aloft with the champion-
ship trophy. Tell it to the widowed
Lisa McHale and her young sons
who lost their husband and father
to a drug overdose brought on by
concussion symptoms.
As fans, we need to remember
how far the owners are going in
hopes of getting more, how we
fans were tossed aside and how
the true colors of the owners have
bubbled to the surface. When de-
ciding between a football game
and basketball or baseball game,
remember this.
Football isn’t about football
anymore. I know I’m not going to
forget.
Sam Sheehan ’12 blacked out
there for a second. What did
I say? Talk sports with him at
sam_sheehan@brown.edu
or follow him on Twitter
@SamSheehan.
Get The Herald delivered
daily to your inbox
browndailyherald.com/register
‘Famished’
boasts
sharp script,
strong acting
continued from page 8
The set is wisely designed to
take full use of the beautiful and
state-of-the-art theater in the
Granoff Center. The foreground
Arts & Culture
is set up like the break room of an
office, with the rest of the stage
comprised of cubicles raised on
different levels. Six other employ-
ee characters are in full sight of
the audience as they work silently
amidst the conversations between
principals. These actors create
a busy work atmosphere which
never detracts from the dialogue
or plot.
“In a world where people ei-
ther say way too much or way
too little, ‘The Famished’ seeks
to investigate the rhythms of
failures,” Posner wrote in the
program notes. Posner’s inves-
tigation manages to find humor,
heartbreak and humanity amidst
sterile and gray cubicles.
Sharp script, sharp set and
heartfelt acting.
6 Editorial & Letter The Brown Daily Herald
Friday, March 18, 2011

diamonds & coal Editorial comic b y e r i k s tay to n a n d

e va n d o n au h u e
A diamond to the “Year of China,” an initiative inspired by the
University’s awareness of the importance of cultural appreciation —
and the yuan’s appreciation.

Coal to Spring Weekend act Das Racist. We were hoping for Das
Kanye.

Coal to Rhode Island Education Commissioner Deborah Gist, who

said, “Right now, the reality is that what is considered to be algebra in
Woonsocket may not be the same as the algebra in Westerly.” We’ve
heard of cultural relativism, but mathematical relativism is taking
things a bit far.

Diamonds to the cities of Pawtucket and Central Falls, which

have decided to integrate municipal services in an effort to increase
efficiency and decrease cost. It’s nice to see the “friends with benefits”
thing catch on beyond College Hill.

A cubic zirconium to the student who said of the new bar Whiskey
Republic, “From the looks of it on the outside, it doesn’t look like a
venue that’s very conducive to DFMOs: dance floor makeouts” — that’s
why there’s MDMA.

A cubic zirconium to the student who said of a program that raises

money to fight childhood obesity by betting on March Madness, “There
are a lot of people out there that feel uncomfortable gambling with
their friends. But if you turn it into a situation where they’re donating
to charity, all of a sudden they feel a lot more comfortable and not like
they’re dirty while doing it.” That’s all well and good, but instead of
gambling, shouldn’t this insight be applied to masturbation?

Coal to Mayor Angel Taveras for recommending the closure of

letter to the editor
four Providence schools. To make up for the closings, University Hall
has bravely decided to open schools of engineering, business, public
health and, heck, let’s say law.
Female CS concentrators misrepresented
To the Editor:
In an article published last month (“Algorithms
can’t solve CS gender gap,” Feb. 16), The Herald made
some gross misrepresentations of the Department of
Computer Science and of the field in general. The Her-
ald illustrates a national deficit of women in computer
science by citing the computer science enrollments at
reporter who has no personal experience as a woman
in science or as a CS concentrator, but who neverthe-
less labels women as people fighting to belong in a field
where they are underrepresented, we encourage you
to consider some facts.
The eight women graduating from the CS depart-
ment this year have 33 total semesters of TA experience.
All eight have been a TA for at least one CS class. Five

quote of the day Brown and other schools. There’s no arguing with the
numbers, but speculating about the cause of the prob-
lem through numbers alone is an inherently misguided
have been a head TA at least once. And for the last
two years, one has been a “Meta TA,” responsible for
facilitating the program of 90 TAs. Additionally, three

“We are the next generation of this and error-prone approach. Thus, it’s not surprising
that The Herald’s article lacked an eye-opening, fair or
even accurate depiction of being a female CS student.
Like many writings on this topic, the article discusses
country’s leaders, so getting the under-representation of women in the sciences and
work as consultants who fix technical problems that
students encounter in the computer lab. This is not
to say that our department lowers its standards for
women and other minorities — all eight have accepted
jobs at major tech companies for next year, and all are

involved is really important. ” how it can be difficult to be a woman in a field largely

comprised of men. Yet it says nothing about the positive
experiences of female CS students — students like us.
esteemed by peers and professors alike as noteworthy
department members. This substantiates our claim that
being a woman isn’t a handicap — our fellow female
Being a computer scientist is incredibly challenging, CS students all excel and stand out as high-achievers
— Margaret Baxter ‘14 fun and rewarding. Despite the widely propagated ste- in one way or another.
reotype that programmers are Mountain Dew-guzzling, There are fewer women than men in the CS depart-
See protestors on page 1. Dorito-inhaling, antisocial hermits, our department ment. Yet quantity and quality are not one and the
is a close-knit group of genuinely friendly, passionate same. The excellence of female students’ departmental
people. Between the two of us, we have been teaching contributions is in no way limited by the number of
assistants for nearly every incoming student over the female students — nor is our love for the subject. Writ-
t h e b r ow n da i ly h e r a l d past three years, and an overwhelming number of our
students have remarked upon the department’s sense
ing articles that broadcast the unflattering statistics
regarding women in CS and fixate on the trials and
Editors-in-Chief Deputy Managing Editors Senior Editors of community. When surrounded by such a welcom- tribulations they face, but that do not also mention
Sydney Ember Brigitta Greene Dan Alexander ing atmosphere and immersed in fascinating projects, their joys and successes, is a damaging and reactionary
Ben Schreckinger Anne Speyer Nicole Friedman
Julien Ouellet why should it matter that fellow females are few and way to dishearten potential computer scientists. The
editorial Business
far between? two of us love what we do and want others to join us,
Kristina Fazzalaro Arts & Culture Editor General Managers Office Manager
Which brings us to the question: What is it like to not for the sake of boosting the numbers, but so that
Luisa Robledo Arts & Culture Editor Matthew Burrows Shawn Reilly be a woman in CS at Brown? Honestly, being women they can experience first-hand a subject that is uniquely
Rebecca Ballhaus City & State Editor
Claire Peracchio City & State Editor
Isha Gulati in the department simply does not define our experi- exciting and rewarding. We sincerely hope that after
Directors
Talia Kagan Features Editor
Aditi Bhatia Sales
ences here. In fact, the top five groups within the CS reading this piece, no student — male or female — feels
Hannah Moser Features Editor
Danielle Marshak Finance department with which we identify do not include discouraged from exploring the fascinating field of CS.
Alex Bell News Editor
Nicole Boucher News Editor
Margot Grinberg Alumni Relations “women in CS.” Only things like The Herald’s distorted
Lisa Berlin Special Projects
Tony Bakshi Sports Editor
Managers
characterization of the gender imbalance make us feel Nell Elliott ’11
Ashley McDonnell Sports Editor
Ethan McCoy Asst. Sports Editor Hao Tran National Sales stigmatized or like outsiders. Rather than heeding a Alexandra Schultz ’11
Tyler Rosenbaum Editorial Page Editor Alec Kacew University Department Sales
Hunter Fast Opinions Editor Siena deLisser University Student Group Sales
Michael Fitzpatrick Opinions Editor Valery Scholem Recruiter Sales
C O R R E C T I O N S P olicy
Jared Davis Sales and Communications
Graphics & Photos Lauren Bosso Business Operations The Brown Daily Herald is committed to providing the Brown University community with the most accurate information possible. Corrections may be
Abe Pressman Graphics Editor Emily Zheng Business Analytics submitted up to seven calendar days after publication.
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Hilary Rosenthal Photo Editor The editorial is the majority opinion of the editorial page board of The Brown Daily Herald. The editorial viewpoint does not necessarily reflect the views of
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The Brown Daily Herald
Friday, March 18, 2011
Brown deserves a sailing center
By Jim Mackey
Guest Columnist
So you go to school in Rhode Island,
“The Ocean State.” But do you ever get
out on salt water?
The Brown sailing team is ranked
first in the Ivy League and fourth in the
nation, ahead of the Navy, the Coast
Guard, Merchant Marines and 230 other
schools. But have you ever seen a regatta,
taken out a boat to sail or even known
you could learn to sail if you wanted to?
Sailing at Brown is a club sport — any-
one can come, and no one gets cut. It is
open to recreational sailors, and as mem-
bers of the crew, an experienced skipper
will drive the boat while others will have
the time of their lives learning to sail and
race. I believe the reason so many stu-
dents have missed this opportunity is be-
cause the University does not have a sail-
ing center of its own.
Brown’s sailing club formed in 1894,
and the school used to have a boat house
— a gift from the class of 1907. But since
the boat house was destroyed in 1974, the
club has had to borrow the facilities at
Edgewood Yacht Club. This is an urgent
issue today after the Edgewood Yacht
Club burned to the water Jan. 12, and
the University’s nationally ranked sailing
team became homeless. It is now renting
a trailer as its temporary changing facil-
By Sarah Gassel
Guest Columnist
Imagine for a moment that a local pedi-
atrician’s office offers to painlessly eutha-
nize newborns at the request of struggling
mothers. Perhaps the mothers are too
young, old, poor, busy, embarrassed, un-
stable or unprepared to raise a child. These
are all potential reasons why a woman
might abort her fetus — but I ask you,
where do they stand when it comes to put-
ting to death a newborn infant? The hor-
ror most feel at the practice of infanticide
is the same horror felt by people who call
themselves “pro-life” and who extend the
idea to fetuses in the womb.
In a recent column by Kathleen Braine
’11.5 (“Keeping my head down no longer,”
March 4), she maligns anti-abortion pro-
testers, defends herself against their charge
that she was “hurting women” as an intern
at Planned Parenthood and counters that
recent Republican efforts opposed to fed-
eral funding for Planned Parenthood are
hurting women. Braine paints herself as
defender of the weak, working long hours
for “voiceless women,” but I counter —
are infants not the truly voiceless? In the
womb, they are not only unheard but in-
visible, making it easy to ignore them in
favor of a “vulnerable” mother who has
been legally empowered beyond the limits
of ethical behavior.
Let me tell you a story. Twenty-one
ity and hosting regattas without enough
space for participants to change or warm
up out of the cold and rain. Yet the team
is off to a great start, winning regattas de-
spite the loss of so much of its gear, tro-
phies and sails.
Though Edgewood was a fine facility,
when I was at Brown — two dozen years
ago — it always felt like we were borrow-
ing the place. There was no sign or any-
thing at the club that said “Brown.” Using
someone else’s facility to host a regatta
With the loss of the rented space at Edgewood, the time
has come to finally rebuild, after 37 years, a Brown
sailing facility that everyone at our school can enjoy.
weekend did not give a good first impres-
sion to visiting clubs or prospective stu-
dents, but it was certainly better than the
current situation.
Other schools have invested millions
in building facilities to grow a sailing
program, yet Brown has better sailors be-
cause it has a fantastic coach in John Mol-
licone and a long track record of success.
It has consistently ranked in the top 10
nationally for the past 30 years because of
The case for infant rights
years ago, a woman became pregnant with
a child she could not raise. Though she
had the legal right to abort her child, she
did not. She gave birth to the baby on June
16, 1990 and gave her up for adoption. The
child was adopted into a loving home, by
parents who desired a child but could not
conceive and grew up to study at Brown
and ultimately, to write this article.
Had my birthmother exercised con-
trol over her body at a vulnerable time, I
would not be here today, annoying your
While the providing of contraception, education,
sexually transmitted disease testing and medical exams
are good in their own right, it is difficult to praise the
vision of an organization that takes away the lives of
future Americans.
conscience. Just as no one had the ethi-
cal right to take my life as a newborn, no
one had the right to say my mother could
choose whether or not I was to live while
I was in the womb. Both abortion and in-
fanticide would result in my non-exis-
tence on this earth — are they truly sepa-
rate practices? I say this to give the cause
a face, but I am no more deserving of life
than the millions of children who are put
to death by a mother’s will or a father’s
pressure every year.
Let us now turn to the present Planned
Parenthood controversy with the gravity
of the taking of human lives impressed
Opinions 7
the coaches’ and the team’s commitment,
certainly not the facilities. Consider Har-
vard and the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, ranked sixth and 14th re-
spectively. Their sailboats and boathouse
on the Charles River are prominently dis-
played in their brochures for prospective
students. Yale, ranked eighth, recently
renovated its state-of-the-art sailing fa-
cility. Stanford, ranked 12th, has a gor-
geous new multi-million dollar facility.
Almost all of the schools with strong sail-
ing programs have their own sailing fa-
cility, but they lack the program and peo-
ple who are consistently putting Brown
ahead of them in regattas and nation-
al rankings. With the loss of the rented
space at Edgewood, the time has come to
finally rebuild, after 37 years, a sailing fa-
cility that everyone can enjoy.
Over the last 115 years, thousands
of students have been part of the sail-
ing team — ecologists learning about
upon our hearts and minds. The govern-
ment does not fund abortions at Planned
Parenthood clinics, and abortions com-
prise a mere 3 percent of their annual ser-
vices. Three percent sounds insignificant,
but what if I told you that this makes up
approximately a third of annual abortions
in the United States? In 2009, Planned
Parenthood provided abortions to 332,278
women.
It is deplorable judgment when this hu-
man carnage is termed a service, equal to
the service of handing a woman a pack
of pills or the service of examining her
breasts. What paucity of the noble pro-
gressive spirit, what twisted method of
reasoning, what ignorance of the value of
a human being it must take to put the tak-
ing of a life on the same footing as a life-
preserving medical procedure.
Even more telling is that in 2009, there
were a mere 977 referrals to adoption agen-
cies by Planned Parenthood, compared to
a medium-sized city of people prevented
from being born. And now I must ask you
— is Planned Parenthood working for the
good of voiceless children? Is it promoting
the power of winds and tides, engineers
learning how to apply aero- and hydro-
dynamics, historians gaining perspec-
tive on naval conflict, biologists study-
ing the sea and anthropologists under-
standing migration and coastal commu-
nities. They are all learning leadership
and team dynamics while getting away
from the books, out on the water and
into the wind for a while. Harnessing the
wind and ocean is an important experi-
ence on a planet that is 75 percent cov-
ered by water and running out of fossil
fuels. I believe alums will step in to help
fund a sailing center if students ask for it
and if the University makes it a priority.
It is time to begin a discussion of how we
can finally rebuild the University’s sailing
facility that was lost in 1974.
The University and the Department
of Athletics have been very supportive
of the team in getting temporary facili-
ties so they can continue to compete in
— and hopefully win — the Ivy League,
as well as a national title, this year. But it
is time to look to the future. Where will
Brown be sailing next year? How will it
accommodate the next generation of sail-
ors? Sailing is a big part of my life be-
cause I learned to race at Brown, and all
students deserve the same opportunity.
Jim Mackey ’87 is an alum from
Seattle, Wash. and urges everyone to join
the Friends of Brown University Sailing
Facebook group. He can be reached at
jim.mackey@gmail.com.
the option of adoption as morally higher
than the murder of a child? Is it giving a
voice to those truly without voices? By
these statistics, it is unequivocally fail-
ing in the pursuit to preserve human life,
and instead complying with the hardening
hearts of mothers and aiding them in the
ending of their children’s lives.
As long as Planned Parenthood pro-
vides abortions as a service, its high moral
purpose of helping low-income women is
fundamentally tarnished. If helping one
person comes at the expense of anoth-
er’s life, is any good accomplished? While
the providing of contraception, educa-
tion, sexually transmitted disease testing
and medical exams are good in their own
right, it is difficult to praise the vision of
an organization that takes away the lives
of future Americans.
Were Planned Parenthood to stop pro-
viding abortions and to promote adop-
tion as the only satisfactory solution to
an inconvenient pregnancy or the heart-
wrenching dilemma of being unable to
raise one’s own flesh and blood, my full
support would be behind the organiza-
tion. Until that day comes, I will continue
to declare my right to be alive, hoping to
convince others that every child conceived
also has such a right. One cannot be too
careful when it comes to human life.
Sarah Gassel ‘12 thinks it’s time for
Brown students to take up the mantle
of infants’ rights. She can be reached at
Sarah_Gassel@brown.edu.
Daily Herald Arts & Culture
the Brown
Shakespeare goes off the Green, out of control ‘Famished’
By Emma Wohl
Senior Staff Writer
Shakespeare on the Green moves
indoors this weekend to present
“The Compleat Works of Wllm
Shkspr (abridged),” directed by
Nicole Damari ’12 and Kirsten
Ward ’12. The play attempts to
condense all 37 Shakespeare
plays and 154 sonnets into one
night. The result is an explosion
of sounds and props.
There are only three charac-
ters, designed as caricatures of the
actors who portray them. Becca
Leeds ’12 and Trevor Olds ’14
play quintessential stereotypes
of over-eager actors, and Bennett
Ferris ’13 plays their eager but
much-abused straight man. While
Leeds and Old emote and gesticu-
late emphatically, Ferris mostly
bumbles through his actions — he
has the best of intentions but little
idea of how to please his demand-
ing cast mates.
His clueless simplicity comes
as a welcome relief. Leeds’ voice
booms through the theater for
the show’s two-hour run. It is im-
pressive that she can stick to her
character with such commitment.
Her vocal styling and mock seri-
ousness yield some of the show’s
funniest moments but also begin
to grate on the audience in scenes
where all of the focus is on her.
Olds’ delivery is more dynam-
ic, as is his character. At times,
he is as pretentious as Leeds. At
others, he is an excessively eager
drama student, shrieking with
excitement at the possibility of
getting to perform “Hamlet.”
“We were very intent on try-
ing to cast three people who had
very strong presences but would
preferably take their parts in very
different ways,” Damari said.
Olds said playing a version of
himself was “the hardest thing to
do acting-wise.”
The set is made up of wood
frames with the cast and crew’s
“Rabbit Hole” explores cosmos, adheres to screen cliches
By Suzannah Weiss
Arts & Culture Columnist
“Rabbit Hole” is a movie about
choices. It is about how even the
most arbitrary decisions can de-
stroy a life, how people choose
different means to attain the
same ends and how the universe
chooses events for inexplicable
reasons.
Becca (Nicole Kidman, nomi-
nated for a best leading actress
Academy Award for the role)
and Howie (Aaron Eckhart) are
grieving for their son in opposite
ways: he with closeness, she with
distance. A power struggle ensues
through each of their neuroses.
Becca tries to sell the family house
and cleans obsessively to erase
the memories of her son. Howie
obsessively watches home videos
and drags Becca to group therapy.
She will have none of the group’s
religious mumbo jumbo — if God
wanted another angel, she asks,
Becca Leeds ’12, Bennett Ferris ’13 and Trevor Olds ’14 reimagine “Titus Andronicus” as a cooking show as they
condense Shakespeare’s 37 plays and 154 sonnets into two hours in “The Compleat Works of Wllm Shkspr (abridged).”
bed sheets duct-taped to them,
designed to look as though the
actors had thrown it together with
objects from a basement, Damari
said.
This cobbled-together feeling
pervades other aspects of the
performance. “If you guys look
unfinished, that’s great,” Ward
told the cast.
Both directors said perfecting
the comedic aspects was the most
difficult part of the show. “People
have such different senses of hu-
mor that it’s really hard to know
what other people will think is
funny,” Ward said.
“The Compleat Works of Wllm
Shkspr” attempts to combat that
difficulty by cramming as many
jokes into every line as possible.
Some fall flat, especially those
thrown in to update the play or
make it Brown-friendly. No one
needs to name-drop Sarah Palin,
“Why didn’t he just make another
angel? He’s God!”
Instead, she seeks the company
of the high school student who
accidentally hit her son with his
car. Rejecting the warmth and
cushioning her husband seeks,
Becca favors cold, hard facts. She
wants causes, not reasons. When
her son’s remorseful killer pres-
ents a stunning art project about
parallel universes, she finally
finds a theory that satisfies her.
Disillusioned with a God who
plays dice with the universe, Bec-
ca finds in science — or pseudo-
science — a comfort that many
find in religion. Rather than see-
ing her adversity as a crucial part
of a grand plan, she sees it as a
completely random event with
many alternatives coexisting
somewhere out there. There are
infinite copies of her son else-
where. She just happens to be
experiencing the chance world
where he dies.
and the fact that modern culture
and media is a department at
Brown really should have stopped
amusing us a long time ago. Jokes
involving actors vomiting on the
audience grew similarly tiresome.
But the bulk of the show is
very funny. It is tailor-made for
theater geeks, but the variety of
jokes promises something for
everyone. Particular highlights
include a slideshow illustrating
the characters’ super-comedy — a
mash-up of all 16 Shakespearian
comedies — and the histories in-
terpreted as a multi-sided football
game, with the actors going after
a crown instead of a ball.
Most of Shakespeare’s plays get
a few words’ mention. “Hamlet,”
on the other hand, gets multiple
run-throughs. On the first go-
around, it’s a fairly standard —
but rushed, cut down, irreverent
and sometimes completely ad-
Movies about such tragic loss
work against themselves by trying
to convey emotions most can’t
imagine unless they’ve been
through similar experiences
themselves. The plot line bor-
ders on cliche, and it can’t help
it. Some exhausted topics simply
inhere in the theme: the existen-
tial crisis spurred by undeserved
tragedy, the tension that death
creates within a family, the faint
light at the end of the tunnel of
grief. These fortune cookie narra-
tives seem profound and unique
when experienced up close but
terribly trite and vague from afar.
But I’ll excuse this because it’s
a real part of the experience that
could not be excluded. And that’s
something I generally appreciate
director John Cameron Mitchell
for: depicting realistic people,
not cookie-cutter characters.
This is often at the expense of
the conventional Hollywood illu-
sions that all people worth film-
Nick Sinnott-Armstrong / Herald
libbed — interpretation.
Subsequent versions descend
deeper and deeper into madness,
until the cast is doing nothing but
screaming meaningless mono-
syllables. By the end, they col-
lapse on top of each other on the
floor. It’s hard to imagine them
recreating this level of energy for
a weekend full of performances.
“The Compleat Works of Wllm
Shkspr” is running March 18-20
at Kassar House Fox Auditorium.
“The Compleat Works of Wllm
Shkspr” comes in the midst of a
season filled with re-imaginings
of the Bard’s work. It is certainly
not, as Ferris said “dry, boring,
vomitless Shakespeare.” It is not
high-brow, intellectual or elegant
either. But it is deeply amusing.
ing are just naturally glamorous,
that normal lives belong in soap
operas and that all relationships
between men and women inevi-
tably lead to romance.
Actually, “Rabbit Hole” was a
bit disappointing with this last
trope. A poignant platonic rela-
tionship forms between Howie
and a woman in his grieving
group. Then, it abruptly threatens
to become an affair — whether it
actually does is unclear. They have
no chemistry and no explanation
besides his marital problems and
her recent separation from her
husband, which typically add up
to adultery — at least if the equa-
tion plays out on screen. focuses on the different levels of
“Rabbit Hole” will be available
on DVD April 19.
I’d recommend you go see it in
three out of five parallel universes.
Friday, March 18, 2011
fun takes
over Granoff
By ben kutner
Staff Writer
Whoever said art is dead would
be confused by “The Famished,”
a new play written and directed
by Max Posner ’11 and the first to
be staged in the Perry and Marty
Granoff Center for the Creative
Arts. “The Famished” is a tes-
tament to the enthusiasm and
excitement which a young play-
wright and cast can offer.
Set entirely in a corporate of-
fice, the play follows a worker
named Jefferson (Zach Segel
’13). Upon learning his home is
infested with bedbugs, Jefferson
sleeps in the office each night
after the other workers leave.
Each day, he is bombarded by
criticism and mired in competi-
tion from his long-time friend
and coworker, Ryan (Sam Alper
’11.5), a devious character who
munches on the leftover food of
workers when they get fired from
the company. When the two men
learn that the head position will
soon be available, the relationship
becomes fraught with tension and
confrontation.
“I’ve been writing the play for
two and a half years,” Posner said.
“I was interested initially in the
rhythm of how men talk to each
other.”
Segel said the most difficult
aspect of playing Jefferson was
being on stage for the entire time.
“This is the first outright lead
(I’ve had),” said Segel, who has
previously appeared in five plays
at the University.
Segel’s performance was ex-
tremely convincing, and his best
moments were in his fantastically
awkward conversations with his
co-worker and love-interest Re-
becca (Leah Cogan ’12). His ner-
vous bumbling and stammering
antics when he talks to her create
an air of tension that everyone
in the audience can feel, made
all the more tangible by Cogan’s
excellent reciprocation.
Cogan’s performance as a
beautiful young office worker
who finds something endearing
in Jefferson is exciting to watch,
and she convincingly conveys Re-
becca’s frustration and anxiety
when the relationship falls into
tumult.
Another notable performance
comes from Lily Mathews ’12 as
Ryan’s wife Amy, who approaches
her role with a ferocious voice
and a penetrating stare towards
the audience. Mathews described
the experience of performing a
new play as an exploratory pro-
cess, adding that “The Famished”
relationship.
The script is quick-witted and
often snarky. “I hope it’s funny,”
Posner said. “It’s also very dark.”
The dialogue supports the plot
well, and there is little drag.
continued on page 5