8/14/2019 January 29, 2009 Issue

1/12

by GeorGe Miller

Metro editor

Under the shadow o the Craw-

ord Street Bridge in downtown

Providence, just eet rom where

a riend died earlier this month, a

ew homeless people are living in a

camp o three or our tents to raise

awareness o their plight.

And because there is saety

in numbers.

Though several organizations

operate shelters in the city a

ew within walking distance o

the tents many o the roughly

15 people here preer to sleep

outside.

Down here, I know the com-munity. I know the people, said

Ernest Alther, a Vietnam veteran

living here since Sunday, a day

ater the camp was set up.

The tent city is a project o

the Homeless Peoples Action

Committee, a group o homeless

and ormerly homeless people,

and receives support rom the

Brown student group, Housing

Opportunities or People Every-where, or HOPE. The camp,

www.browndailyherald.com 195 Angell Street, Providence, Rhode Island herald@browndailyherald.com

News.....1-4Metro....5-6Sports...7-8Editorial..10Opinion...11Today........12

CHeCKiNG oUT

Funding issues have set up

a battle for the citys public

library system

Metro, 5

liberal sCieNCes

Nick Hagerty 10 thinks the

humanities are more PC

than science corses

Opinions, 11

inside

DailyHeraldthe Brown

vol. cxliv, no. 7 | Thursday, January 29, 2009 | Serving the community daily since 1891

M B,

b by MiTra aNoUsHiravaNiSeniorStaffWriter

Brown ranks 12th on a new college-

ranking list published by U.S. News

and World Report, beating out two

ellow Ivies.

This single-variable list, released

online on Monday, uses yield the

percentage o students accepted that

enrolls at a college to determine

the most popular colleges, according

to Robert Morse, the director o data

research at the magazine.

Brown stands higher on U.S.

News new Most Popular Collegeslist than on its more established list o

the Best Colleges, on which it places

16th, behind all o its Ivy League coun-

terparts.

In U.S. News popularity ranking,

Browns 56 percent yield placed it

ahead o both Dartmouth and Cornell.

Harvard which saw 79 percent o

the students it admitted matriculate

topped the list. It also topped U.S.

News more prominent list in 2008.

This list shows how prized some

o these acceptances are, Morse

said, adding that the yield is a statis-

tic based mainly on student choice

and is thereore not a very strong

academic actor.Dean o Admissions James Mill-

er 73 said he did not give too much

weight to the list, characterizing it as a

silly survey that was not representa-

tive o much o anything.

But, he added, Any survey where

were among the best colleges in

the country Im delighted to be

there.

U.S. News stopped using yield as

one o the actors in its widely looked-

to Best Colleges list because it is not

a reliable statistic, Morse said.

Miller agreed yield was unreliable.

Im not saying anyone manipulated

it, but it can be easily manipulated,he said.

Morse also mentioned other prob-

lems with using yield to rank schools.

Religious schools such as Brigham

Young University and Yeshiva Univer-

sity ranked in the top ten on the Most

Popular Colleges list mainly because

they have a unique relationship with

their applicants, he said.

Yield or some schools, he said,

is impacted by early decision. It is

articially boosting the yield.

Military academies also have very

high yields because o their lengthy

application processes and ree tuition.

State and public schools rank high

because they are cheaper and closer

to home or most students, Morse

said. In the current economic climate,

more public schools will make the

list simply because students cannot

aord out-o-state or private colleges,

he added.

Mz

by CHrisTiaN MarTell

StaffWriter

Sarah Kay 10 considers hersel

an adventurous traveler, but even

she couldnt have imag-

ined the experiences she

would have in Prague,

which included getting to know lo-

cal artists and meeting a man who

made wooden marionettes.

And now Kay will have the

chance to share the stories she

picked up while studying abroad

last all, thanks to National Geo-

graphics Glimpse Magazine.

Started by Nick Fitzhugh 02 in

2000, the print and online magazine

oers rsthand accounts o young

people living abroad.

In the spring o 2007,

Glimpse moved rom its

original Pawtucket oce to its cur-

rent Washington, D.C. location in

National Geographics headquar-

ters, said Glimpse Editor-in-Chie

Cortesy of Sarah Kay

A giant pillow fight broke ot in Old Town Sqare in Prage.

? bby eTieNNe Ma

StaffWriter

The sideline is nothing new to

Coach Jesse Agel.

With 20 years o experience

coaching Division I mens bas-

ketball two years under his

belt as an assistant at Brown and17 years at the University o Ver-

mont and multiple

NCAA tournament ap-

pearances to show or

it, Agel has much to draw rom in

his rst year as head coach.

Having worked with his play-

ers or two years under the pre-

vious head coach (and now rst

brother-in-law) Craig Robinson,

Agel was ready to hit the court

running in his new role.

The transition has been very

smooth, he said, adding that his

players have done a great job.

They have a tremendous will-

ingness to learn and a great desire

to be successul, Agel said. So

that has enabled everything to

work very smoothly or us.

The respect was mutual,

as each o the teams captains

praised their new coach.

Hes done a phenomenal

job so ar, said tri-captain Chris

Skrelja 09. Its always tough to

transition into a new system

new plays, new assistant coaches

but hes been doing a great

job.

Im just upset that its my

last year here, and that I wonthave more years to succeed in

his system, Skrelja

added.

Coming into the

season, Agel had a number o

goals or the team as well as

changes he wanted to eect.

One goal was to win the Ivy

League championship, regard-

less o what the Bears chances

looked like at the beginning o

the season.

You have to shoot or the

top, he said. That certainly is

our goal, and will be our goal ev-

ery year.

The Bears have a 6-10 record

overall, including an 0-2 mark in

the Ivy League ater back-to-back

losses to Yale.

But his oremost concern is to

continued onpage 3continued onpage 7

George Miller / Herald

Nearly 15 homeless locals have set p a tent city nder the Crawford Street Bridge downtown.

A ,

continued onpage 6

sPorTs

by MiTra aNoUsHiravaNi

SeniorStaffWriter

President Barack Obama announced

more than a dozen key appointees

Wednesday to a top executive branch

oce among them three Brown

alumni.

Norman Eisen 85, Karen Dunn

97 and Katherine Shaw 01 were

named to the Oce o the White

House Counsel, which is respon-

sible or providing legal advice to

the President.Eisen, a classmate o Obamas at

Harvard Law School, was appointed

Special Counsel to the President

or Ethics and Government Reorm,

a position rom which he will help

advance the Presidents agenda

to change Washington politics. A

philosophy concentrator at Brown,

Eisen was a partner at Zuckerman

Spaeder LLP, a D.C. law rm, and

most recently held the position o

Deputy General Counsel to the Tran-

sition, where he served as lead eth-

ics advisor. Eisen is also a co-ounder

o the good-government watchdog

group Citizens or Responsibility

and Ethics in Washington.Dunn, a political science con-

b 3

continued onpage 3

FeaTUre

post- is a naughty girl witha bad habit, and babyweve got a brand newbag

Inside

8/14/2019 January 29, 2009 Issue

2/12

sudoku

Stephen DeLucia, President

Michael Bechek, Vice President

Jonathan Spector, Treasurer

Aleander Hughes, Secretary

The Brown Daily Herald (USPS 067.740) is an independent newspaper serv-ing the Brown University community daily since 1891. It is published Mondaythrough Friday during the academic year, ecluding vacations, once duringCommencement, once during Orientation and once in July by The Brown DailyHerald, Inc. POSTMASTERplease send corrections to P.O. Bo 2538, Provi-dence, RI 02906. Periodicals postage paid at Providence, R.I. Oces are locatedat 195 Angell St., Providence, R.I. E-mail herald@browndailyherald.com.World Wide Web: http://www.browndailyherald.com.Subscription prices: $319 one year daily, $139 one semester daily.Copyright 2009 by The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. All rights reserved.

et Phn: 401.351.3372 | bun Phn: 401.351.3260

DailyHeraldthe Brown

THE BROWN DAILY HERALDPAGE 2 THuRSDAY, JANuARY 29, 2009

CAMS wS We dont want to seem like a bnch of kids coming offthe hill and being charitable. Raisa Aziz 11

F ISDby briaN MasTroiaNNiSeniorStaffWriter

Beore winter break, Caitrin Wat-

son 13 had a 13-hour cram session

with her riends or an introductory

art history course. But Watson was

not taking the same popular art

class taught here, and her riends

were students at the Rhode Island

School o Design not Brown.

Watson is one o the 13 students

currently enrolled in the pilot

Brown-RISD dual degree program.

Now in her second semester at

RISD, Watson plans to combine

her love o art and academics in

the ve-year program that will al-

low her to graduate with degrees

rom both schools.

Art is my passion, but I have

also always done well in academ-

ics, Watson said. This is the per-ect program or me.

As the dual degree program

between Brown and RISD enters

its second semester, students said

it has been both successul and

challenging.

Through the dual degree pro-

gram, students live at RISD during

their rst year o college, and at

Brown in their second year. Ater

their rst two years, students can

live at either school, and have the

option o living o campus in their

last two years.

Currently, all o the dual degree

students live in the same residence

hall at RISD, helping them bond,

said Beth Soucy 13, another stu-

dent in the program.

We have all become really

close this year, Soucy said.

But she admitted she didnt eelas connected to the college she will

live at next year. I wish we had

more interaction with the students

on Browns campus, she said.

For this rst class o dual de-

gree students, the transition to

RISDs rigorous course load has

been intimidating. Students oten

spend entire days working in the

rst-year studio oundation class-

es, working on their own projects

while observing others work and

taking ew breaks, Soucy said.

But they had been warned. At

the RISD orientation last all the

students had been told that they

could expect to get little sleep in

their rst year, Soucy said.

At Brown, the students will

S f bby alexaNdra UlMer

StaffWriter

Four Brown students are launching

Providences rst micronance bank

in Olneyville next month to give

loans to poor entrepreneurs and

to immigrants looking to become

permanent residents and citizens.

Mollie West 09, Andy Posner GS,

Raisa Aziz 11 and Nabeel Gillani 12

started the Capital Good Fund proj-

ect last month in the predominantlylow-income, Hispanic community o

Olneyville. The neighborhood, one

o the citys oldest, is located near

Federal Hill.

In the absence o a micronance

bank in the area, many entrepre-

neurs were turning towards loan

sharks who werent really ocused

on advancing social good, Gillani

said.

The project assumes that people

have the skills they need to get out

o poverty but need the capital,

Posner added.

Stressing the need to respect

eisting community networks, the

students held discussion sessions in

Spanish or Olneyville residents and

worked with local organizations to

learn about the amilies needs.

Participants in the groups voiced

entrepreneurial ideas such as creat-

ing day-care centers, selling booksin Spanish and starting a print de-

sign company.

We ound that there was a huge

demand or banking services or the

working poor, West said.

To nance the idea, the students

wrote grant appeals and contacted

similar banks at Harvard, Yale and

Rutgers University. The project

received $5,000 rom the Swearer

Centers Social Innovation Initia-

tive, $2,000 rom the Clinton Global

Initiative and $3,000 rom private

contributions.

The students goal is to make

the project sel-sucient and com-

pletely integrated into the Olneyville

community, Aziz said.

We dont want to seem like a

bunch o kids coming o the hill and

being charitable, she said.

Initially, the pilot project, which

will run rom Februar y to October,plans to oer two or three $2,000

loans or small businesses and ve

$900 loans to cover application ees

or permanent residency and citizen-

ship. Many actors will be examined

beore the loans are given out, such

as likelihood o achieving citizenship

or character recommendations.

Qinn Savit / Herald

For stdents (left to right), Raisa Aziz 11, Mollie West 09, Andy Posner GS and Nabeel Gillani 12 plan to

start a microfinance bank in Olneyville.

continued onpage 3

continued onpage 3

8/14/2019 January 29, 2009 Issue

3/12

CAMS wSTHuRSDAY, JANuARY 29, 2009 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD PAGE 3

Kerala Taylor 02. Though Taylor

and Fitzhugh rst presented theiridea to National Geographic in

2002, it took almost ve years to

make the original magazine and

Web site part o National Geograph-

ic, Taylor said.

The rst our years were spent

bartending, she added, and try-

ing to urther establish the maga-

zine.

In the all o 2008, Fitzhugh and

Taylor launched the National Geo-

graphic Correspondents Program,

Taylor said. Kay was one o eight

correspondents chosen to partici-

pate in the pilot program.

In order to receive the $600stipend and the chance to be pub-

lished in the print magazine, cor-

respondents must complete two

stories in video, photo or written

orm, as well as a written eature

on a resident o the region and 20

tips or uture travelers to the area,

Taylor said.

The purpose behind the pro-

gram was so that Glimpse would

have an elite group o writers that

would produce high-quality con-

tent or the print magazine, Taylor

said.

Though the program may have

given Glimpse ready-to-publish

writers, Proessor Emeritus o En-gineering Barrett Hazeltine said

the magazine was proessional rom

its start as an independent study

project he oversaw in 2000.

Glimpse started o with high-

class content provided by students

not just rom Brown, but rom other

nearby colleges, Hazeltine said.

Im proud Nick was able to merge

Glimpse with National Geographic

as early as he did.

That National Geographic seal

o approval was key to Kays insider

look into a oreign land.

Being a National Geographic

correspondent was like having an

all-access pass (to the Czech Re-

public), Kay said.

While in Prague, Kay realized

how nice and helpul Czech people

could be. That is, ater they de-

cided they liked and could trust

you, she said.

The best thing about the pro-

gram was that the National Geo-graphic name gave you legitimacy,

but by not being a big-time journal-

ist, people didnt reak out around

me, Kay said. I probably just

seemed like a naive and impres-

sionable American girl to them.

This accessibility to people

abroad is what she liked best about

the program and what led her to

her wildest adventure the pur-

suit o a rock that some claim is

Supermans Kryptonite.

My mom is kind o a rock en-

thusiast and told me about a certain

rock that can only be ound in the

Czech Republic, Kay said.

Bits o a meteorite that hit Ger-

many years ago merged with the

Earth to orm the green-colored

rock, moldavite, Kay said. It eventu-

ally traveled by river to the Czech

Republic, now the only place it can

be ound.

When Kay set out to look or

the rock, which some believe holds

metaphysical powers, she met an

entire village and ound hersel ask-

ing its inhabitants whether people

made the connection between mal-

dovite and Superman.

No, thats a made-up stor y,

was the only reply she received,

but that made-up story will reach a

world o readers through Glimpses

pages.

Cortesy of Sarah KaySarah Kay 10 stdied abroad in the Czech Repblic and will write abother experiences for National Geographics Glimpse magazine.

continued frompage 1

encounter less rigid degree re-

quirements. We only have to take

roughly 16 classes at Brown or our

degree, which is denitely not as

stringent as our requirements at

RISD, said Alison Rutsch 13.

Though it may be dicult to

balance the dierent course loads

at their two colleges, the dual de-

gree students are capable o ris-

ing to the challenge, said Joanne

Stryker, dean o oundation studies

at RISD.

These students are real pio-

neers, she said. As a group, theyare great they certainly have

their act together.

Stryker, a member o the Brown-

RISD Dual Degree Oversight Com-

mittee, comprised o both adminis-

trators rom both schools, said the

committee is keeping a close eye

on things. We are always tweaking

things, she said. Were always

looking or aspects o the program

to improve and r eview.

Stryker said she thinks the

greatest challenge acing the stu-

dents is to be able to eel a part o

both schools, as opposed to just

one or the other.For Rutsch, part o the chal-

lenge is getting used to the di-

erent environments on each cam-

pus and the contrast between the

teaching styles o Brown and RISD

proessors, she said.

At RISD, everything is much

more interactive, in studio classes

you are moving around the room

and looking at the work produced

in other classes, she said. At the

Brown reshman seminar that I

took, the classroom environment

was more reserved it was a com-

pletely dierent atmosphere.

Though some o the dual de-gree students have already en-

rolled in classes at Brown, they

will begin the majority o their

studies here net year when they

live at Brown.

As or the dual-degree class o

2014, selections will begin shortly,

Dean o Admissions James Miller

73 wrote in an e-mail to The Her-

ald. The committee waits to see

which candidates were admitted to

both schools independently, then

makes its selections rom that

group, Miller wrote.

For Miller, the continued

growth o the program is indica-tive o Browns need to evolve con-

stantly. This program is clearly

on the continuum o academic in-

novation that has characterized

Brown throughout its history, he

wrote.

Though she oten has to sacri-

ce sleep and her social lie to keep

up with her work, Watsons aith

in the program remains unshaken,

she said.

I will walk away with a degree

rom two great universities I

dont want anything other than

that, she said.

B B, ISD

continued frompage 2

Mz G

centrator in her undergraduate

years, will serve as an AssociateCounsel to the President. She pre-

viously worked on the Obama or

America campaign as the deputy to

Chie Strategist David Axelrod and

clerked or Supreme Court Justice

Stephen Breyer. She graduated

rom Yale Law School.

Shaw will also serve as an As-

sociate Counsel to the President.

She also worked on Obamas tran-

sition team and was a law clerk or

Supreme Court Justice John Paul

Stevens. Ater earning her Browndegree in gender studies and re-

ligious studies, Shaw went on to

Northwestern University School

o Law, where she was editor-in-

chie o the Northwestern Law

Review.

None o the appointees were

successully reached or com-

ment.

Alums ead to wite house

continued frompage 1

Clients who have been selected

or the pilot project will obtain

their loans in mid-March. They

will attend bi-weekly meetings

and receive training in business

skills.

Youre basically hand-held

throughout the project, Aziz said.

The second type o loan per-

mits clients to apply or a change

in their legal status, helping in-

crease their sense o belonging,

access to jobs and eligibility or

welare.

Its a very dierent, innova-

tive use o micronance, Aziz

added.I the plan is successul, the

bank will be sel-sucient and

oriented toward environmental

sustainability in ve years, said

Posner, who is writing his thesis

on green micronance.

The students said they became

interested in the subject ater read-

ing Nobel Prize winner Muham-

mad Yunus books and studying

and working or microinance

banks abroad.Gillani said the models they

studied helped the group decide

to ocus on individual loans rather

than the group lending model.

Alan Harlam, the director o

social entrepreneurship at the

Swearer Center, who has advised

the group since the beginning,

praised the students or their

extensive research on micro-

nance.

The (Capital Good Fund)team

has created their model to lever-

age the relationships and cred-

ibility o their community part-

ners, he wrote in an e-mail to The

Herald.The group said it will le or

nonprot status in March and

hopes to receive it in October,

beore giving out a new batch o

loans in November.

Aziz said she was excited or

the launch o the bank.

The our o us are pretty much

giving our lives to it, she said. It

consumes us.

Mf

continued frompage 2

I probably jst seemed like a naive and impressionableAmerican girl to them. Sarah Kay 10.

8/14/2019 January 29, 2009 Issue

4/12

THuRSDAY, JANuARY 29, 2009THE BROWN DAILY HERALDPAGE 4

CAMS wSB- by sHaNNoN obrieN

Contributing Writer

Students dreaming o riding a bike

around campus need wait no longer,

thanks to a new bike-sharing service

slated to begin soon.

The Brown Outing Club plans to

launch Bikes@Brown, a bike shar-

ing service with seven bicycles, in

early March.

The service, unded using let-

over money rom the clubs budget

rom last semester, will be based

in the old Undergraduate Finance

Board room in lower Faunce House,

said Carly Sie 09, who is in charge

o the program along with MichaelTeshima 11.

Brown students will be able to

borrow a bike, along with a lock and

key, or up to two days ater provid-

ing a $20 deposit and their student

ID number. When they return the

bike, theyll get the deposit back.

Students must pay a $5 ee, which

will be used or bike maintenance,

to participate in the program.

The oce in lower Faunce will be

open or one hour each day, Monday

through Friday.

Freshman year, I was sort o

shocked that it wasnt here, because

I eel like it really complements

everything Brown is about, Sie

said.

The outing club tried to create a

bike-sharing program last year, butit ailed because the club wasnt as

committed to the idea as it is now,

Sie said, adding that it couldnt nd

a space or the bikes.

The club made proposals to both

the Student Activities Oce and the

Undergraduate Finance Board last

year, but neither was approved, The

Herald reported in October.

Sie said she has received a lot o

positive reaction about the program

rom students and aculty alike.

With seven bicycles, the program

will start out small, but Teshima

hopes it will grow and we can e-

pand (its) hours and accessibility.The organization plans to eventually

have bikes available at the Sciences

and Rockeeller libraries so students

can check one out with a librarian

at any hour o the day.

I theyre famboyant, like, sick

bikes, people will notice them and be

like, Hey, I want one too, said Ariel

Shecter 10, a member o the Out-

ing Club. The bikes will be teal and

pink, ollowing the custom o most

bike-sharing programs, which use

signature colors both to publicize

their programs and prevent thet,

according to club members.

Bikes@Brown will try to become

independent o the outing club

sometime net year, Teshima said,

adding that the club also plans to

petition UFB or additional unding

or Bikes@Brown net week.

In March or April, Bikes@Brown

plans to launch a student-run main-

tenance shop where anyone with a

Brown ID can get a bike xed. Also

in the works are training sessions

on bike maintenance that would be

open to both potential maintenanceshop volunteers and students who

just want to know how to x their

bikes.

Some students said they were

ecited about the program.

Thats a service I would de-

nitely use, and more so because its

organized by Brown students, said

Ian Gray 12.

Others, like Frankie Nuzzo 09,

thought the program would be suc-

cessul even though he wouldnt take

advantage o it.Im not really a bike rider, he

said. But i I was a reshman or a

sophomore, I might have used it.

Frederic L / Herald

Memebers of the Brown Oting Clb Bike Co-op (L to R): Bao Ngyen12, Rokinto Abobacar 09, Michael Teshima 11 and Carly Sieff 09.

Fcut uffUCs n p-q

news inbrief

Members of the un-

dergradate Concil of

Stdents exective board

met with the Faclty Exec-

tive Committee Tesday to

present a proposal for halt-

ing Banners enforcement

of prereqisites. Bt at

Wednesday nights meeting

the general body learned of

the FECs rejection of the

reqest.

In a letter to Academic

and Administrative Affairs

Chair Tyler Rosenbam 11

and President Brian Becker

09, FEC Chair and Chair

of the Faclty James Dreierwrote the FEC does not

spport removing Banners

enforcement of prereqi-

sites We think instrctors

shold be able to have en-

forced prereqisites if they

want to.

After the meeting Rosen-

bam told The Herald It

was disappointing to me

not entirely nexpected.

I kind of wished I cold

have known how mch sp-

port there was among the

faclty, he added, noting

that he did not know if the

FEC rejected the uCS re-

qest overwhelmingly or if

a significant minority sp-

ported it. Were not jst

going to back down becase

weve experienced adver-

sity, he said.

The next committee

meeting of the Academic

and Administrative Affairs

Committee will be open to

the pblic and will concern

response to the FEC deci-

sion.

uCS also filled an at-large

vacancy on the undergrad-

ate Finance Board as well aselecting a uCS-uFB liaison

Wednesday night.

Benjamin Schrank 11

was elected from among

ten candidates as an at-

large member of the board.

Schrank told the concil

that he considered uFB

the lifeblood of stdent

activities here at brown.

Concil members pointed

to Schranks experience as

financial signatory for the

mock trial team and the

Brown Contemporary dr-

ing deliberation.

Rosenbam, a Herald

opinions colmnist, beat ot

fellow uCS members Brady

Wyrtzen 11 and Lcy Wang

12 to be elected uCS-uFB

liason. He told the con-

cil that he believes there

have been past instances

in which uCS did receive as

mch fnding as it shold,

and that on uFB he wold

vote for uCS interests.

I do my own taxes, he

added.

Ben Schreckinger

It really complements everything Brown is abot. Carly Sieff 09, on a bike-sharing program.

8/14/2019 January 29, 2009 Issue

5/12

MetroThe Brown Daily Herald

THuRSDAY, JANuARY 29, 2009 | PAGE 5

The city called for this. Tonia Mason, spokeswoman for the Providence Pblic Library.

F b b by laUreN Fedor

SeniorStaffWriter

The Providence Public Library sys-

tem, a private, nonprot organiza-

tion which serves nearly 75,000 reg-

istered borrowers, may be orced

to alter its operating strategies or

the coming year.

With an estimated budget decit

o $1.4 million, the librarys sta

and board o trustees have pre-

sented a proposal to the city that

would close ve o the librarys nine

neighborhood branches. But the

proposal aces resistance rom the

Providence Community Library, a

recently ormed nonprot seekingto take over all the neighborhood

locations.

The librarys board approved the

proposal on Dec. 18, according to

the PPL Web site.

The public librarys proposal

also calls or scaling back und-

ing or the Central Library the

large, downtown branch on Empire

Street and converting the ve

closed branches to city- or commu-

nity-owned neighborhood learn-

ing centers. Such centers would

maintain community activities, such

as ater-school programs, and the

system would be willing to donate

the buildings, content and supportservices, said Tonia Mason, direc-

tor o marketing and communica-

tion or the PPL.

But these buildings would not

operate as library buildings, Ma-

son said, because we would not

be able to sta them. At least 80

percent o operating costs go to

stang, she added.

The systems Olneyville, Wan-

skuck, Fox Point, Washington Park

and Smith Hill branches are acing

closings.

Mason said the librarys propos-al attempts to create a sustainable

or a ordable system.

There have been continuing,

growing gaps in the amount o und-

ing we receive versus what we actu-

ally need to run the system, she

said, adding that the librarys board

had agreed to und this years bud-

get gap while the library continues

its planning process with the city.

This is an ongoing process rom

the librarys perspective, Mason

said. The city called or this.

The library anticipates local gov-

ernment leaders to reach decisions

about the library as soon as March,she added.

Possible choices or the city, Ma-

son said, include postponing the

deadline or taking action, decid-

ing to und the librar ys anticipated

budget gap or next year or accept-

ing the boards sustainable system

proposal. She said the city could opt

to incorporate the library system

into a city department or even und

a third party to run the system.

The Providence Community

Library, meanwhile, seeks to gain

control o the library systems nine

local branches, while allowing the

PPL to maintain ownership o the

Central Library.In an opinion column in the

Providence Journal this month,

PCL President Marcus Mitchell

criticized the librarys sustainabil-

ity plan. The plan to close the ve

neighborhood branches, he wrote,

was neither necessary nor accept-

able.

Mitchell presented PCLs plans

or budget adjustments includ-

ing hiring ewer administrators and

engaging in more robust undrais-

ing and urged the city to end its

relationship with the PPL.City Council President Peter

Mancini said council members plan

to meet with Mayor David Cicilline

83 and other city ocials to exam-

ine the proposals o both the PPL

and the PCL. He said the meeting

will likely be held net month.

The PCLs proposal to take over

the nine neighborhood branches

sounds really good, Mancini said,

but there are details o the plan

especially undraising strategies

that must be eamined beore a

decision is made. We need to get

together and see i we can make

this work, he said.It is extremely important to

many o the city council members

to ensure that the local branches

stay open, Mancini said. Moreover,

it is not likely that the city will

take over the library branches, he

added.

As o Wednesday aternoon, the

PCLs online petition asking the city

to transer unds rom the PPL to

the PCL had more than 300 signa-

tures. The PCL held a public orum

Wednesday night at Knight Memo-

rial Library on Elmwood Avenue.

The organizations next com-

munity meeting will be held at the

South Providence Library on Feb.3.

Janine Cheng / Herald

The Providence Pblic Librarys bdget deficit may mean the closing offive of its nine neighborhood branches.

8/14/2019 January 29, 2009 Issue

6/12

consisting o a ew tents, a couple

o lanterns and boxes o supplies,

is sandwiched between two roads.

A well-worn track o packed-down

snow leads down to the camp rom

the street, trodden down by well-

wishers and members o the me-

dia.

Roland Colpitts, a middle-aged

man wearing two coats and a white,

knitted cap, said the camp should be

a last alternative ater the shelters.

But or those who dont stay in the

shelters, its best to s tick together.We wanted to get together so

another one o us doesnt have to

die alone, Colpitts said.

Earlier this month, Paul Langlois

died under this very bridge. His

bedroll still lies here, undisturbed,

steps away rom the tents. A ser-

vice held Wednesday morning at

Benecent Church on Weybosset

Street honored him and 30 other

homeless people who died over the

last year.

To avoid another death, Colpitts

said, he and others have been mak-

ing rounds to places where other

homeless people sleep places he

says the police dont know to check.

Theyve had some luck getting some

to go to shelters, and those who

wont go to shelters sometimes

come join them in the tents.

Colpitts said residents o the tent

city take shits keeping watch over

one another.

Your backpack is your lie, he

said. You dont want to wake up

and nd its not there.

Many tent city dwellers say they

are ed up with shelter services

some or personal reasons, such as

dislike o crowds, others because

they have been barred rom shel-

ters beore.

Barbara Ferrara, who has beenstaying at the tent city since Satur-

day, said she cant stand the ghts

and drugs she ran into at shelters.

She said she was banned rom shel-

ters ater she let to rent an apart-

ment with roommates only to

be back out on the streets ater her

roommates were evicted.

Anne Nolan, president o Cross-

roads Rhode Island, an organization

that runs emergency shelters, said

that though occasionally, people

are barred or behavioral inrac-

tions or saety violations, nobody is

ecluded during bad weather.

We will not leave somebody

out in the cold in the winter, shesaid.

Meghna Philip 11, a member o

HOPE, does outreach or the tent

city, bringing ood and publicity.

She said the group wants to see

unding restored to programs such

as the Neighborhood Opportunities

Program, which provided unds or

construction and rent subsidies.

That program, and others, were re-

cently cut as Rhode Island struggles

to balance its budget.

HOPE plans to lobby the state or

a change to the program assuranc-

es, agreements between the stateand shelters run by Crossroads and

the Urban League o Rhode Island,

Philip says. The assurances, which

determine how shelters are run and

allow or complaints, are vague and

not enorced, she said.

Megan Smith 10, another mem-

ber o HOPE who volunteers at the

tent city, said she wants to see the

local government take more ac-

tion.

The city and the state have ab-

dicated their responsibility, she

said, adding that the city o Warwick

has adopted a 10-year-plan to endhomelessness. Wed like Provi-

dence to have the same oresight,

she said.

Meanwhile, the tent city has

received plenty o attention rom

newspapers, radio and television.

People have brought ood, blankets,

brand-new backpacks and tents. The

police have also been cooperative.

And Colpitts said he is not wor-

ried about ice and snow. He plans

to stay under the bridge or as long

as he needs to, until we can get

something done.

Ive woken up under a oot osnow beore, he said.

THuRSDAY, JANuARY 29, 2009THE BROWN DAILY HERALDPAGE 6

M We wanted to get together so another one of s doesnt have to die alone. Roland Colpitts, a homeless resident of the tent city nder a bridge b, b ,

continued frompage 1

George Miller / Herald

Many tent city dwellers say they wold rather sleep otside than in the shelters.

8/14/2019 January 29, 2009 Issue

7/12

SportshursdayTHuRSDAY, JANuARY 29, 2009 | Page 7

The Brown Daily Herald

Spot weeke wp-pby KaTie Wood

aSSiStantSportS editor

The Bears were well representedon the road last weekend, tak-

ing on teams rom all over New

England.

W. tnn

The womens tennis team

pulled out a tight 4-3 win over

Boston University on Sunday a-

ternoon. The match came down to

the winner o the doubles point as

each team split its singles match-

es, 3-3. At number one doubles,

Bianca Aboubakare 11 and Sara

Mansur 09 put together an 8-6

win. At number three, Kathrin

Sorokko 10 and Emily Ellis 10

ell 6-8 shortly ater the conclu-sion o the number one game.

Cassandra Herzberg 12 and

Marisa Schoneld 11 won a close

9-8 (4) decision to claim the deci-

sive doubles point or the team.

Aboubakare and Herzberg pro-

vided two key wins or the Bears

in singles at number one and two.

The Bears will look to continue

their success in the new year with

two home matches against Army

on Sat. at 11 a.m. and Bualo on

Sun. at 10 a.m.

M. wmmng n ng

Harvard remained undeeated

on the year as the mens swim-

ming and diving team dropped a169-119 decision to Brown on Sat-

urday. Daniel Ricketts 09 swam

to three victories on the day or

the Bears in the 50 ree (21.10

seconds), the 100 ree (46.37),

and the 100 fy (50.30). Conor

Carlucci 11 ollowed Ricketts or

second (51.99) in the 100 fy, com-

bining or a solid one-two punch in

the event. Carlucci also notched a

second-place nish or the Bears

in the 100 back (54.99). J.D. Pinto

10 led the way or Brown in the

200 back (1:53.81), recording

one o ve rst place nishes in

the meet. The Bears closed outthe meet strong, winning two o

the nal events. Ryan Kikuchi

11 won the 400 IM (4:04.62) and

the 200 ree relay team o David

Koweek 09, James Hunter 12,

Richard Alexander 09 and Car-

lucci nished o the meet also

with a win (1:27.44).

W. wmmng n ng

The Crimson also prevailed

over the womens swimming

and diving team as the Bears ell

M. tck n fMatt Jasmin 09 contined to excel in the 55-meter hr-

dles for the mens track and field team at the Boston

university Terrier Invitational, a meet which also saw

several strong performances in the field for Brown.

Tp Pfm

Jasmin: 55-meter hrdles, 7.70 s, 3rd place

Bryan Powlen 09: Shot Pt, 15.82m, 5th

Andrew Chapin 10: Triple Jmp, 14.15m, 6th

Jordan Maddocks 11: High Jmp, 1.89m, 6th

Wmn tck n fBrynn Smith 11 and Nicole Brns 09 led a solid effort

for Brown at the Terrier Invitational, with Smith post-ing a second-place finish in the shot pt, while Brns

trned in an impressive race in the 500-meter rn.

Tp Pfm

Smith: Shot Pt, 14.71m, 2nd

Brns: 500m, 1:13.92, 3rd

Danielle Grnloh 10: Shot Pt, 14.03m, 4th

Thelma Breezeatl 10: 55m, 7.19, 5th

Rachel Biblo 11: Triple Jmp, 11.40m, 7th

Mn fncngBrown went 5-1 as a team at the Northeastern Fenc-

ing Conference in the OMAC on Satrday, led by solid

performances from the foil and saber sqads. The team

defeated Tfts, Vassar, Dartmoth, Boston College, and

MIT, while losing to Brandeis.

Tp Pfm

Adam Pantel 10: 16-1 in foil

Jonathan Y 11: 15-3 in foil

Peter Tyson 12: 12-6 in saber

Wmn fncngThe womens foil sqad went 5-2 at the NFC, also de to

strong performances in foil and saber.

Tp Pfm

Linda Zhang 10: 7-1 in foil

Francesca Bartholomew 11: 12-3 in foil

Christina Salvatore 09: 14-7 in epee

Randy Alevi 10: 12-2 in saber

Compiled by Benjy Asher, Sports Editor

rcp th num

continued onpage 8

make the mens basketball programconsistently strong, rather than reli-

ant upon incoming and outgoing play-

ers. He plans to develop players who

do not have sucient experience or

eposure and put them in a position

to succeed.

Still, Agel said there is work to

be done.

Were a work in progress, he

said. We dont have all the pieces we

need to play the style that I oresee

us playing in the uture.

Tri-captain Scott Friske 09 echoed

Agel on player development. Our

teams not very deep, he said.

We have our guys in the top 10 inthe league in most minutes played,

Friske said, reerring to the teams

lack o support rom the bench.

The loss o All-Ivy players Damon

Human 08 and Mark McAndrew

08, two o the top scorers in Brown

history, last year hasnt make the

transition to a new coach any easier,

Friske said.

Another change has been the

complete re-vamping o the assistant

sta, with new assistant coaches La-

mar Barrett, T.J. Sorrentine and Kyle

Cieaplicki. Sorrentine and Cieaplicki

are ormer players o Agels rom

Vermont and have experience in the

NCAA tournament.Having the younger coaches re-

ally benets us, because they can

relate to us, tri-captain Peter Sul-

livan 11 said.

Because theyve been in the

NCAA tournament, you respect what

they say that much more, Skrelja

added.

Under Agel, the team has switchedrom Robinsons Princeton oense

which involved back-door cuts and

more perimeter play to a high-low

oense, where the players rst look

is inside at the post beore the ball

returns to the perimeter. With more

reedom in the oense, players have

room to be creative and use their

talents to be successul.

The new oense suits the team

much better, Sullivan said.

On the deensive end, the Bears

now use a man-to-man deense that

makes opponents uncomortable,

instead o the zone deense that they

had used under Robinson, Skreljasaid.

Because the teams style has

changed so much, so too have the

practices.

One o the most welcome chang-

es has been the rescheduling o 5:30

a.m. practices to the aternoon.

Those were rough, Skrelja con-

essed with a laugh.

My philosophy about practice is

you want to keep it resh, Agel said.

You want to be in a positive work

environment, (where) people tend

to do their best.

But while the same reedom

aorded to them in games is also

allowed in practice, the aternoon ses-

sions have still been really intense,

really stressing a lot o deense,

Skrelja said.

Even so, Sullivan said, You enjoy

playing basketball, rather than prac-

tice being a chore and you wake up

ecited to practice.

Agel wants the Bears to be known

as the team in the Ivy League thatworks the hardest, Sullivan said.

He wants us to be a real physi-

cal team he always wants us to

play hard, Sullivan said. He always

stresses playing harder than our op-

ponents always be the rst guy on

the ground or the loose ball.

Last season, which saw the Bears

nish second in the Ivy League, set

the bar high or this years team.

But the sub-.500 record, the cap-

tains agree, is not refective o the

progress the team has made. In

non-conerence play, Brown aced

up with teams like Virginia, North-

western, George Mason, Holy Crossand Providence tough teams that

are expected to beat us, Sullivan

said.

Our record may not show the

strides that were making this year

just because were playing some

tough teams, he said.

From Agels perspective, the si

wins are signicant the ourth-

highest non-conerence win total in

the history o the program. Things

dont get easier immediately as the

Bears ready themselves or nearly

a month without a home game, but

Agel thinks the hostile road environ-

ments will benet the team in the

long term.Its a good place to go to grow

up, Agel said. We play in ront o

the (opposing) teams ans.

I you want to be champions, you

have to be able to win both home and

away, he said.

A, . continued frompage 1

Jn Th H!Info sessions at 195 Angell St.

Mn, Fu 2 @ 8 p.m.Thu, Fu 5 @ 8 p.m.sun, Fu 8 @ 8 p.m.

Reporting, photography, bsiness,design, opinions and more!

8/14/2019 January 29, 2009 Issue

8/12

THuRSDAY, JANuARY 29, 2009THE BROWN DAILY HERALDPAGE 8

SSwkD

199.5-99.5. Allyson Schumacher

12 tallied the Bears rst vic-

tory on the day in the 200 ree

(1:52.09). Candice Sisouvanvi-

eng-Kim 11 swam a 24.21 in the

50 ree to notch the second win

or the team. The ree proved to

be a strong event or Brown, as

Kristen Caldarella 12 claimed

the 100 ree title (53.36). Kelley

Wisinger 11 notched the nal

victory in the pool or the Bears,

as she led her team to a one-two

sweep in the 200 back (2:07.44) as

Sage Erskine 11 ollowed closelybehind in second (2:09.76). Sisou-

vanvieng-Kim, Caldarella, Susan-

nah Ford 10 and Schumacher led

the way or Brown in the relays as

the team combined or a second-

place nish in the 200 ree relay

(1:39.02).

M. quh

The no. 14 mens squash team

came away with their third con-

secutive victory as they handed

Bowdoin an 8-1 deeat. Adrian

Leanza 11 began the day or the

Bears with a solid 3-0 win at num-

ber one, helping the team gain

the momentum it carried into the

remainder o the match. Adam

Greenberg 10 at number three,Brad Thompson 12 at number

our, Patrick Davis 10 at number

ve, Tucker Bryan 12 at num-

ber seven and Brett Camarda

09 at number nine ollowed up

Leanzas perormance with ve

3-0 decisions o their own. The

Bears will look to continue their

success on into their Ivy League

match-up with Dartmouth on

Saturday.

W. quh

The no. 10 womens squash

team equaled the men in their

perormance, deeating Bowdoin8-1 or their third straight victory.

Charlotte Steel 09 catapulted the

Bears to a strong showing on the

day with a 3-0 win at number one.

Breck Haynes 09 lost a hard-

ought ve-game match, alling

3-2. Ater the close loss, Brown

did not turn back and won the

net seven matches. Kali Schel-

lenberg 10 at number ve, Nikoo

Fadaiard 12 at number six, Caro-

lyn Tilney 11 at number seven,

Sarah Roberts 10 at number

eight and Charlotte MacMillan

09 at number nine each notched

3-0 victories or the Bears. The

team will ace Dartmouth andStanord on Saturday.

M. q

continued frompage 7

S B b I, CAC by beNJy asHer

SportS editor

Jarred Smith 12 had a breakout per-ormance or the mens hockey team

this weekend that earned him the

ECAC Hockey Rookie o the Week

Award. In Friday nights 4-1 win at

Colgate, Smith notched the rst goal

o his collegiate career to break a 1-1

tie late in the second period.

Though Brown struggled on Sat-

urday night at Cornell, Smith came

through or the Bears again, tallying

the only goal o the night or the

team in a 5-1 loss.In a narrow 57-55 loss to Yale,

Matt Mullery 10, who was named

to the Ivy League honor roll or the

week, shone or the mens basket-

ball team. Mullery scored 22 points,

grabbed nine rebounds and regis-

tered six blocked shots. Mullery has

established himsel as one o the top

post men in the league this season,

with averages o 16.3 points, 5.6 re-

bounds and 1.9 blocks per game,

all o which rank in the top 10 inthe league.

The womens basketball team

struggled in its 71-37 loss to Yale,

but Sadiea Williams 11 was in top

orm. Williams was named to the Ivy

League honor roll, ater leading the

team with 12 points, ve rebounds

and our steals.

8/14/2019 January 29, 2009 Issue

9/12

8/14/2019 January 29, 2009 Issue

10/12

ditorial & LettersPage 10 | THuRSDAY, JANuARY 29, 2009

The Brown Daily Herald

A L E x Y U L Y

S

C O R R E C T I ON S P O L I C Y

The Brown Daily Herald is committed to providing the Brown University community with the most accurate inormation possible. Corrections

may be submitted up to seven calendar days ater publication.

C O MME N T A R Y P O LI C Y

The editorial is the majority opinion o the editorial page board o The Brown Daily Herald. The editorial viewpoint does not necessarily

refect the views o The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. Columns, letters and comics refect the opinions o their authors only.

LE T T E R S T O T H E E D I T O R P O LI C Y

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length and clarity and cannot assure the publication o any letter. Please limit letters to 250 words. Under special circumstances writers may

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It almost seems that the recent spate o harsh weather in Providencewas intended as a metaphor or the Universitys dire nancial state.

President Ruth Simmons recent e-mail to the Brown community regard-

ing the Universitys budget painted a bleak picture o our present scal

situation and outlined some drastic measures in response.

The gures listed in Simmons e-mail are alarming: The Corporation

estimates that Browns endowment will be worth $2 billion at the end o

June, down $800 million rom last year. Simmons noted that undraising

or the net two years could drop by as much as 10 percent. In the ace

o these revenue shortalls, Brown will have to slash spending by $60

million or the upcoming budget and postpone major initiatives that

were part o the Plan or Academic Enrichment, including increases in

graduate school enrollment and the size o the aculty.

Faced with an almost 30 percent loss in the endowment, the Univer-

sity will have to make painul adjustments. Simmons e-mail presents a

pragmatic approach that we can grudgingly appreciate while wistully

dreaming o the perorming ar ts center and permanent swimming poolthat we thought would materialize during our time on campus.

Browns commitment to meeting students ull demonstrated nancial

need displays a laudable concern or many amilies recent nancial

diculties. Brown also deserves praise or its decision to cut jobs and

other budget items in areas which will have a minimal impact on teach-

ing aculty and academic departments.

We should bear in mind that Brown is not suering alone. The Univer-

sity luckily escaped the allout rom Bernard Mado s Ponzi scheme, the

collapse o which has taken a toll on many other universities. Brandeis,

or example, has been orced to close its Rose Art Museum and sell

6,000 artworks in an attempt to recover, and may have to cut 10 percent

o its aculty. Yale, Harvard and Princeton all epect their endowments

to all by 25 to 30 percent by the summer. These schools, with larger

endowments than ours, have proposed cost-cutting measures similar to

what President Simmons outlined in her e-mail.

As stakeholders in the University and its uture, we understand Browns

conservative outlook. The recession demands sacrices, and the Univer-sity has chosen to lower spending prudently. Once the economy starts to

turn around, we trust that Brown will bounce back bolder than ever.

Editorials are written by The Heralds editorial page board. Send comments

to editorials@browndailyherald.com.

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Two views on liberals and partisanship

lettersto the editors

T th et:

Within the rst two paragraphs o Jonathan Topazs

12 column (The dirty c word, Jan. 27), I read this curi-

ous phrase: ... (Matt Taibbi) makes his points without

excessive ire and without raising his voice, pointing out

idiocy and hypocrisy with restraint and tact.

I then wondered i Topaz had ever actually read an

article by Taibbi. Taibbis articles are so laden with

insults and proanity (routinely reerring to Republicans

as c*cksuckers and the candidates or the 2008 Repub-

lican ticket a collection o second-rate buoons; airly

tame remarks or Taibbi) that his anger towards and

loathing o the GOP practically eplodes o the page.

Even liberal Rolling Stone readers write requently to

the magazine to condemn his language and writing

style. Its almost a joke to see tact and Taibbi in the

same sentence.

an Zck 11

Jan. 28

Room for conservative views in discourseT th et:

Positive letters to the editors are rare in most pub-

lications, but Id like to applaud Jonathan Topazs 12

column (The dirty c word, Jan. 27). I sel-identiy as

let-o-center politically, but on many issues I hold views

that are much more conservative than what youd expect

to nd at a liberal university like Brown.

I have nothing but respect or the openness this

school osters when it comes to issues o gender, race

and identity. But when it comes to politics, theres the

ever-present ear o creating a chilling eect. What i

you say something that doesnt t the mold? Theres an

incentive, in other words, to keep non-liberal opinions

to yoursel.

The class Mr. Topaz mentions, which elt at times

more like an Obama rally than nuanced discussion,

strikes a chord with me because I think I was in it.

Intolerance or other ways o thinking is not a conserva-

tive value, nor is it a liberal value. But it always nds

its voice when we put our brains on autopilot and let

partisanship take over the conversation.

I sincerely hope President Obama, his sta and, most

importantly, his supporters can nd a way to put aside

the hateul nonconstructive partisanship o the past

decade. To borrow a phrase rom one such partisan

organization, its time to move on.

ec Jhnn 11

Jan. 27

8/14/2019 January 29, 2009 Issue

11/12

THuRSDAY, JANuARY 29, 2009 | PAGE 11

pinionsThe Brown Daily Herald

What are liberal arts? Besides paintings by

gay-married terrorists who happen to like

arugula or unsubstantiated claims o sel-in-

duced abortions by Yale art students.

Many Brown students might respond: lit-

erature, languages, history, philosophy, polit-

ical science and anthropology. (Economics is

typically disqualied because it is thought to

guarantee its concentrators uture housing

conditions better than those o a rerigerator

carton.) Math and science are o course in an

entirely separate category.This would be quite a shock to students

o the rst Western universities, those in Eu-

rope during the Middle Ages. Their artes

liberales consisted o the trivium gram-

mar, rhetoric and logic and the quadriv-

ium geometry, arithmetic, music and as-

tronomy. Yes, ully hal o the original liberal

arts were what is now known as math and

science.

Curricula have evolved, entire social sci-

ence disciplines have sprung up, and arith-

metic is now taught to elementary school

children. But even in our time, the liberal

arts are commonly considered the oppo-

site o pre-proessional education. A liberal

arts education involves studying a range o

elds not or their immediate relevance tojob placement, but or the intrinsic appeal o

learning and the development o general in-

tellectual capabilities.

Ater all, most people work in jobs unrelat-

ed to their undergraduate major. In the long

term, the abilities to think critically, analyze,

communicate, adapt and learn independently

are more conducive to career success thanthe memorization o a narrow body o knowl-

edge that will be obsolete in 10 or 20 years.

These attributes are easily recognizable

in disciplines like English, art history and

sociology. Ecellent maniestos espousing

the value o humanities and the study o the

seemingly useless have appeared on this

page. It is indeed rustrating when science

and engineering concentrators at Brown

look down upon, or reuse to take courses in,

the supposedly too-sot elds that comprise

the humanities and social sciences.

But more widespread than chemistry con-

centrators who never dabble in the humani-

ties (over our years, a dicult eat!), are in-

ternational relations or literary arts concen-

trators who declare math and science irrele-

vant to their academic lives, vowing that high

school was the last time they would ever

take a math or science course. Somehow it

is more politically correct at Brown to ignore

the sciences altogether than to permanentlystay cooped up in Barus and Holley and the

CIT.

This attitude is disappointing and mis-

guided. The natural sciences and mathemat-

ics are not only absolutely relevant to a liber-

al arts education but equally valuable as sub-

jects more concerned with human creations.

For one thing, the natural sciences at anundergraduate level are almost as impracti-

cal proessionally as humanities and social

sciences. Siteen courses hardly make an e-

pert, so there are ew jobs in which science

concentrators are qualied to directly apply

their particular discipline without etensive

graduate work.

Just as medical schools do not require a

biology concentration, not all biology con-

centrators plan to become doctors. Interest

in, or eample, the coevolution o Mesozoic

reptiles and erns is as immediately useless

as the works o Cervantes or Foucault, and

potentially as rewarding.

More important than the particular sub-

ject under study much o which students

will orget within a ew years are the quan-

titative reasoning, logical analysis, abstract

thinking and problem-solving skills learned

through math and other sciences. Its no co-

incidence that Wall Street was the largest em-

ployer o theoretical physicists in the 1990s.But the knowledge and intuition gained

in science courses is immensely useul in ev-

eryday lie. The more science you know, the

more oten you can answer yoursel when

you think, I wonder why. You can more

easily understand medical treatments and

new technologies.

A basic grasp o science is also crucial oreective participation in democracy. A sur-

prising number o political issues, rom stem

cells to climate change, require etensive sci-

entic knowledge or a truly inormed vote.

The halls o Congress overfow with lawyers,

but we sorely need leaders and policymakers

with scientic sensibilities.

More romantically, the natural sciences

are the purest epression o intellectual cu-

riosity. Since antiquity they have aspired to

eplain our surrounding universe, rom the

wondrously intricate workings o our own

bodies to the origins and motion o celestial

bodies millions o light-years away. The hu-

manities may ponder the human condition,

but only the natural sciences can place it in ameaningul contet.

So i you are a humanities or social sci-

ence concentrator who hasnt taken a course

in science or math since high school, try

one! I you dont remember much biology,

take BIOL0200: The Foundations o Living

Systems. I you have some calculus back-

ground, look into PHYS0160: Introduction

to Relativity and Quantum Physics. For

something new, try GEOL0010: Face o the

Earth. Even psychology or cognitive sci-

ence courses can work i you want. I you are

worried about the diculty, thats precisely

what S/NC is or.

And no, ENGN0090 doesnt count.

Nick Hagerty 10 is a biological physics

and economics major from

Portland, Oregon. He can be reached at

nicholas_hagerty@brown.ed.

T b

Two words: Rod Blagojevich. For those o

you who were abroad this past winter or

simply reuse to watch the news, Blagojevich

is the still-governor o Illinois who allegedly

tried to trade Barack Obamas ormer senate

seat or campaign donations and lucrative

private-sector jobs.

Blagojevich promised not to appoint

anyone to the seat ater the public learned

o his misdoings, but wound up sending

ormer Illinois Attorney General Roland

Burris to Washington anyway. This gave

Senate Democrats days o hear tburn. They

promised not to seat Burris but capitulated

shortly thereater.

While selling a Senate seat is probably

the worst scandal involving a gubernatorial

appointment in recent years, it is not the

only one. Ater Frank Murkowski appointed

his daughter to the Senate seat he vacated

when he became governor o Alaska, voters

punished him in the subsequent election by

voting or a little-known mayor named Sarah

Palin in the Republican primary. The back-

lash rom a nepotistic appointment helped

Palin rise to power.

So how does this aect the Ocean State?

I one o the Rhode Islands senators vacates

his seat, the governor appoints someone

to take his place. So what can the voters

do? They must wait until the next round

o ederal elections to pick their senator.For up to two years, an appointed senator

can vote however he pleases and author

whatever legislation he chooses, ostensibly

representing the Rhode Island citizens who

had no choice but to accept the gover nors

decision.

Beore 1913, U.S. senators were selected

by state legislators apparently, voters

were incapable o picking their own rep-

resentatives. The 17th Amendment went

a long way toward expanding democracy

by allowing voters to pick their senators in

general elections, but made no such provi-

sion or lling senate vacancies. As a result,

governors have the power to ll vacancies

in many states.

Rhode Island governors have recently

made use o this undemocratic power. In No-

vember o 1999, Governor Lincoln Almond

appointed the mayor o Warwick, Lincoln

Chaee 75, to ll the seat o his late ather,

John Chaee. Lincoln Chaee was arguably

the best choice. He was mayor o Rhode

Islands second largest city and was alreadyan announced candidate or the upcoming

election. But his appointment raises ques-

tions about the legitimacy o the process.

Is it air that, as a U.S. senator, Lincoln

Chaee had the ability to raise more money

and attract additional media attention? In

the next election, newly minted incumbent-

Chaee had substantial electoral advantages

over his Democratic opponent because the

governor decided that he should.

Thankully, Chaees appointment may

be the last o its kind. One organization,

FairVote Rhode Island, is working to institute

special elections. When I spoke with Matt

Sledge 08, the groups eecutive director,

he said he elt optimistic about the likeli-

hood that a bill mandating special elections

would pass.

When David Segal, D-Dist. 2 introduced

this legislation one year ago, voters and

reporters paid little attention. The House

Judiciary Committee simply recommended

that the measure be held or ur ther study. I

hope that Illinois provided all the additionalinormation that they needed.

Perhaps some good can come rom

Blagojevichs corruption. People have -

nally decided to take a look at this issue,

Sledge said. Letting a governor make an

appointment to a ederal elected oce is a

problem. And it is a faw that is ver y easily

corrected.

All it takes is one bill, and Chris Fierro,

D-Dist. 51 has already introduced legislation

in the State House similar to Segals mea-

sure. A U.S. Senate seat is too important

to be appointed by any one person, be they

Democrat or Republican, Fierro told me in

an interview. Time and time again, senators

shape national policy by placing holds on

legislation, even relatively uncontroversial

bills involving land protection. That is ar

too much power or any unelected man or

woman to hold.

Fierro also said that the image o Rhode

Island as corrupt has kept some businesses

away rom the state. By reorming the ap-

pointment process, Rhode Island can clean

up its image and attract new jobs in the

atermath o the Blagojevich scandal.

Jeremy Feigenbam 11 is a political

science concentrator from Teaneck,

New Jersey. He can be reached at

jeremy_feigenbam@brown.ed.

I I

An appointed senator can vote however she

pleases and athor whatever legislation she

chooses, ostensibly representing the Rhode

Island citizens who had no choice bt to accept

the governors decision.

Somehow it is more politically correct at

Brown to ignore the sciences altogether than topermanently stay cooped p in Bars and Holley

and the CIT.

BY NICK HAGERTY

opinions coluMnist

BY JEREMY FEIGENBAuM

opinions coluMnist

8/14/2019 January 29, 2009 Issue

12/12

THUrsday, JaNUary 29, 2009 PaGe 12

Today5

7

Teaser text abot section of the day

Teaser text abot sports of the day

The Brown Daily Herald

38 / 19

JaNUary 29, 2008

7 P.M. Common Grond: Jstice

and Equality in Palestine/Israel,

MacMllan 117.

4 P.M. Institutional Transformation

and Women in the Sciences, Smith

Bonanno 106.

JaNUary 30, 2008

7 P.M. W. basketball v. Cornell,

Pizzitola Center.

7 P.M. M. ice hockey v.

Qinnipiac, Meehan Aditorim.

ACROSS1 Unit of

capacitance6 Three-time NFL

MVP11 Noel contraction14 Agave fiber15 Hamburger

helper?16 Harry Potters pal

Weasley17 Landmark

birthday, informally19 Notable flag-

raising site, briefly20 Street where the

air is sweet21 Finished22 Nibble

persistently23 Retreat25 Garlicky sauce27 Gives strict orders32 Cant Help

Lovin __ Man33 Go astray34 State bordering

Arizona35 Some investment

accts.37 On the double39 Full of life40 Live-in employee43 Chickadees

cousin45 Canon camera46 Bird who loved

Horton in

BroadwaysSeussical

50 ... could __ lean51 Trading post item52 Butlers last word54 Not to56 Part of a biblical

miracle60 Actor Wallach61 Hot-weather rash63 HVAC abbr.64 Handle65 Saint-Sans __

Macabre66 Jerrys adversary67 Fabulous fellow?68 Foul moods

DOWN1 Is just right2 Tennis star who

won each grandslam tournamentexcept theFrench Open

3 Hwys.4 Capital near

Troy5 Martian moon6 Stentorian, in

music notation7 Like areas with

arroyos8 Costar with

Lucille9 Prepares a third

draft of10 That, in Toledo11 Lemon Tree

singer, 196512 Davenport site13 Reception

problem18 Crystalline stone22 Quiet valleys24 Metal band with

the 1999 tripleplatinum albumIssues

26 Discoverers cry27 Law of the Lash

star, 194728 In short supply29 Penned30 __ con pollo31 Behavior32 How TV screens

are measured:Abbr.

36 Beelzebub38 Unlikely hero41 NYC subway42 Enjoy the wild, as

animals44 Immune system

lymphocyte47 Fishing boats48 Pink and golfer

Raymond?49 Dweller in the

Uintas52 Net worth factor

53 Violists clef55 Quadri-

doubled57 Start of an

ancient boast58 Bridge position59 Fr. holy women61 Do you know

where yourchildren are? isone: Abbr.

62 Keystonebumbler

By Gareth Bain

(c)2009 Tribune Media Services, Inc.01/29/09

01/29/09

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