Daily Herald the Brown
vol. cxliv, no. 30 | Thursday, March 5, 2009 | Serving the community daily since 1891
Nas, Of Montreal to headline Spring Weekend Stimulus
Tickets go on
sale online
this Monday
By Sydney Ember
Senior Staff Writer
Hip-hop star Nas and the retro-elec-
tric indie-pop band Of Montreal will
headline Spring Weekend, Brown
Concert Agency representatives
said Wednesday. Sharon Jones and
the Dap Kings, bombastic ska-punk
rhymester Santigold, local rock
band Deer Tick and world-fusion
quintet Toubab Krewe will also
perform.
In addition to an eclectic mix of
musical entertainment, this year’s
Spring Weekend will feature a new,
Internet-based ticketing scheme
run through the Brown Student
Agency’s new online store, said
Daniel Ain ’09, BCA’s booking
chair.
Stephen Hazeltine ’09, BCA’s
administrative chair, said bands
were selected because of audi-
ence appeal, student interest and
“bargain” cost.
This year will “be better than
the year before — at least that’s
the goal,” Ain said, though he ac-
U.S. influence on the
wane, journalist says
By Alexandra Ulmer
Staf f Writer
Though President Obama’s world-
view is more intelligent and in-
formed than his predecessor’s, the
decline of American power and the
current economic crisis may hinder
his administration’s success, Pulitzer
Prize-winning journalist Fred Kaplan
told a packed Joukowsky Forum
yesterday.
During the discussion, entitled
“Obama and the World: U.S. For-
eign Policy in an Age of Global An-
archy” and hosted by the Watson
Institute for International Studies,
Kaplan delved into topics ranging
from the world’s power structure
to the difficulty of waging war in
tribal Afghanistan. He consistently
characterized the positions of the
Bush and Obama administrations
as deeply opposed.
Kaplan, a military analysis col-
umnist for Slate and author of the
new book “Daydream Believers:
How a Few Grand Ideas Wrecked
American Power,” answered ques-
tions from Professor of International
inside
News.....1-4
Metro......5-6
Spor ts...7-8
Editorial..10
Opinion...11
Today........12
www.browndailyherald.com
Indie group Of Montreal will headline the Saturday show during this year’s Spring Weekend.
knowledged BCA “set the bar pretty
high last year” with performances
by Lupe Fiasco and M.I.A.
The concerts will be held over
a two-day period, with Nas, Sha-
ron Jones and Deer Tick perform-
ing on Friday night, April 17. Of
Montreal, Santigold and Toubab
Krewe will perform Saturday, April
Studies James Der Derian and Vis-
iting Fellow in International Stud-
ies Christopher Lydon during the
event, which was recorded to be
posted online as a podcast.
“It’s not quite anarchy,” Kaplan
said of the world’s political struc-
ture, which he described as having
many competing sources of power
— a change from the polarized Cold
War-era power structure. “But it’s
a situation without a point of equi-
librium.”
Much of this global fragility re-
sults from the end of the Cold War,
Kaplan said, which he described as
a frozen moment in history. “What
is going on now is a resumption of
history,” he said.
This resumption of history marks
the end of the U.S. as the world su-
perpower, Kaplan said, a situation
that Obama tacitly recognizes. But
with most of the world’s economies
suffering, the United States may by
default resume its leadership role,
he added.
“The challenge that Obama has is
continued on page 2
Inside
post-
jives with clothesy folk,
kicks it with some hot
liquors and grooves to
the best music.
195 Angell Street, Providence, Rhode Island
18. Weather permitting, the shows
will be held on the Main Green,
with Meehan Auditorium serving
as a rain location.
“I think Nas sort of speaks for
himself,” Hazeltine said of BCA’s
decision to select the high-profile
rapper, esteemed for his suave
look and feverish lyrics. “Every-
Simmons to UCS: Job cuts coming
By Ben Schreckinger
Senior Staff Writer
Existing jobs will need to be cut for
the University to achieve the savings
new, tighter budgets require, Presi-
dent Ruth Simmons told the Under-
graduate Council of Students at its
general body meeting last night.
“Inevitably positions will not
be filled and some services and
positions will not be continued,”
Simmons said during an hour-long
discussion with UCS members that
focused heavily on the University’s
financial situation.
Simmons first indicated job cuts
could be on the way in an e-mail to
the Brown community following
last month’s Corporation meeting,
at which the University’s highest
governing body told administra-
tors they would need to proceed
even more frugally than they had
planned in order to cope with eco-
nomic woes.
“A fair number of administrative
positions will be eliminated,” includ-
ing some “very senior” positions,
Simmons told the council.
But Simmons said the University
would make preserving academics
Courtesy of Time Soter
one was sort of able to agree pretty
quickly.”
Of Montreal, the effervescently
psychedelic band from Athens, Ga.,
was selected to headline Saturday’s
show because of widespread stu-
dent interest, Ain said. “Everybody
continued on page 3
President Ruth Simmons warned of future cuts at a UCS meeting.
a priority.
“We don’t have any plans to cut
the faculty. In fact, we plan to in-
crease the faculty,” Simmons said.
“Our fondest wish is to spend as
little as possible on administrative
areas and as much as possible on
academic programs.”
Some faculty members have said
they are willing to take pay cuts or
work reduced hours to aid Univer-
sity efforts to preserve jobs, Sim-
Metro, 5
divine online
A Providence LGBT weekly
newspaper transitions to
web-only format.
expands
higher ed
funding
By Ellen Cushing
Senior Staf f Writer
Brown, other colleges and universi-
ties and many individual students
stand to gain from the stimulus pack-
age signed by President Obama
last month.
The bill, officially called the
American Recovery and Reinvest-
ment Act of 2009, will provide be-
tween $50 billion and $75 billion
for students and colleges, Inside
Higher Ed reported last month.
A large portion of the money will
go to student aid and infrastruc-
ture improvement and will benefit
both public and private institutions,
though in different ways.
For some Brown students, the
package will make tuition more
affordable, while the University
can expect to enjoy more access
to research funds and could even
receive additional support for capital
continued on page 4
Jesse Morgan / Herald
mons told UCS.
“We are seeing some truly ex-
traordinary gestures,” she said.
In order to consult more Brown
community members about potential
cuts, Simmons said the administra-
tion would explore “augmenting”
certain University committees to
include representation for students
and staff.
continued on page 2
Opinions, 11
the inside scoop
Kate Doyle ’12 tells
prospective students
about the real Brown.
herald@browndailyherald.com
Page 2 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Thursday, March 5, 2009

C ampus N EWS
W. club volleyball Kaplan predicts problems in Pakistan
team faces hurdles continued from page 1

how to re-engage the United States

By Caitlin Trujillo
Contributing Writer
A lack of adequate resources has
left the fate of a proposed women’s
club volleyball team up in the air.
Tessa Churchill ’11, who sub-
mitted the club’s constitution and
20 signatures of interested stu-
dents to the Department of Athlet-
ics last spring, said her request
was rejected due to a lack of funds,
resources and court space.
Assistant Director of Athletics
Matthew Tsimikas said his depart-
ment’s responsibility is to meet
the needs of existing clubs before
accommodating new ones.
“It would not be fair or respon-
sible to our current club sports to
take on new ones,” Tsimikas said
of the reason behind the rejection,
citing concerns about providing
transportation, health and safety
measures and adequate oversight
for the new team.
He said though the University
has the third-largest sports pro-
gram in the country, it has limited
facilities and only one volleyball
court.
Tsimikas said he did not know
whether the women’s club volley-
ball team will be established, but
added that he intends to meet with
other administrators this semes-
ter to discuss the department’s
ability to support emerging club
sports.
Churchill, who played vol-
leyball throughout high school,
said she has been trying to start
the club since her first semester
sudoku
at Brown.
She said she wanted to continue
playing at a level more competitive
than intramural, without the pres-
sures of a varsity sport.
After coordinating and discuss-
ing possible competitive leagues
with other players, Churchill said
she drafted a constitution detail-
ing the club’s needs. She calcu-
lated the costs of entering three
tournaments, travel logistics and
necessary equipment. Though her
budget amounted to $1,560, she
said she considered adjusting the
cost to account for fundraising ef-
forts and equipment she would be
able to provide, which brought the
number to $820.
But Churchill said the athletics
department told her the club could
not rely on her equipment because
her equipment would not support
the group after her graduation.
Though her initial efforts to
start the team were not successful,
Churchill said she is determined
to try again.
Currently, she plays on two
intramural volleyball teams, one
of which she started herself. The
teams allow her to play the sport
she loves and find other players
interested in the club team, she
said.
She said she hasn’t worked on
starting the team this year because
of the University’s financial woes,
but intends to submit her request
again soon.
“It would definitely be nice to
have some sort of support for the
team,” Churchill said.
in the world and restore some of our
powers and influence in a world that
is not so keen to go along with this,”
Kaplan said.
In foreign policy, Kaplan said,
Obama’s policies will not be char-
acterized by any particular doctrine
but rather by flexibility and multi-
lateral collaboration. As Obama “is
from everywhere and nowhere,”
he enjoys incomparable world sup-
port, Kaplan said — although he
predicted this support will dry up
within nine months.
Kaplan said Afghanistan, Iraq
and Pakistan will be the crucial
first tests for Obama in terms of
foreign policy. He said Obama will
not dramatically expand American
presence in Afghanistan because of
budgetary constraints, the memory
of Vietnam and Obama’s view that
the Afghan problem fits into a wider
regional one.
Jesse Morgan / Herald
“He is ver y reluctant to get “There are a lot of countries Dick Cheney can’t go traveling to,” journalist
trapped into some escalation,” Ka- Fred Kaplan told a Joukowski Forum audience Wednesday night.
plan added.
But the real threat, Kaplan said, cused on his new book’s description Though Kaplan foresees Congres-
is an unstable and nuclear Pakistan. of the Bush administration as having sional hearings, he said, Obama is
“For every five terrorists that we’re promoted bad ideas at a particularly more inclined to look toward the
killing, we’re creating 50 or a 100 bad time — as being men with vi- future and work in a bipartisan
terrorist sympathizers because we sions as opposed to visionaries. “The fashion.
killed their cousins,” Kaplan said. nature of that bad time made the Nevertheless, “there are a lot
Like Afghanistan, Pakistan requires nature of the ideas particularly bad,” of countries Dick Cheney can’t go
regional collaboration that must in- Kaplan said. traveling to,” Kaplan said to laugh-
volve India, China, Russia and Iran, Despite their failures, Kaplan ter. “I’d be very surprised if Don-
he said. said, members of the Bush adminis- ald Rumsfeld’s memoir sells a lot
Much of Kaplan’s talk also fo- tration will not be held accountable. of copies.”
U. may add students to committees
sitive personnel files, however, could Simmons unveiled in 2002. “Had we
continued from page 1
make that difficult, she said. not started the Plan a few years ago,
She also raised the possibility of But despite impending budget I shudder to think where we would
creating ad hoc committees to ad- cuts, Simmons said, the University be today,” she said.
dress certain aspects of the Univer- has in some ways been lucky. Fortu- Simmons said having the Plan in
sity’s financial problems. But, she nate timing allowed Brown to pursue place helped the University navigate
said, “we don’t have any committees some initiatives it might not have pur- the economic crisis. “We’d already set
to announce at this point.” sued after the economic crisis struck, our priorities,” she said.
Simmons did not specify which she said. Emphasizing the University’s
committees could see expanded rep- “If the financial aid increase that commitment to making the Brown
resentation. But, when asked about came up last year had come up this experience fruitful for students in the
the possibility, Simmons said the year, it wouldn’t have been done,” midst of the downturn, Simmons told
University might consider adding she said. the Council that “you only get four
student representation to the Aca- Simmons also told The Herald years” at Brown.
demic Priorities Committee, which after her discussion with UCS that “Imagine if your four years was
oversees big-picture academic de- she felt “relieved” about the progress all about the economic crisis,” she
cisions. The logistical challenge of of the Plan for Academic Enrichment said. “We have to — in a sense —
including students on the committee — a wide-ranging blueprint for raising insulate you from that, because it’s
without granting them access to sen- the University’s academic profile that just not fair.”

Daily Herald
the Brown

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Thursday, March 5, 2009
C ampus N EWS
This year’s Spring Weekend will feature online ticketing, a shift from past years’ traditional box-office ticketing.
Spring Weekend tickets on sale soon
continued from page 1
who’s seen their shows said they’re
pretty crazy.”
Deer Tick satisfies BCA’s desire
to bring a local group to the week-
end’s lineup, Hazeltine said.
“It’s kind of cool to be connected
to the Providence community and
the local community in this way,”
Ain agreed.
Spring Weekend will also feature
revamped ticketing in response to
long lines and ticket counterfeiting
last year.
“After last year, there’s a legiti-
mate need for change,” Ain said.
“We really wanted to do our part to
make sure as many Brown students
who wanted to come to the show
could.”
Tickets will go on sale online ex-
clusively for Brown students during
the first week of sales, which begin
Monday at 8 a.m. Students will be
allowed to purchase two tickets each
online at market.brownstudentagen-
cies.com using their University user-
name and password.
“What’s great is students won’t
have to wait in line,” said Matt Garza
’11, who designed the Web site and
interface with Erik Nazarenko ’11.
The store is “basically an Amazon
for Brown students,” Garza said.
Spring Weekend ticketing will be the
online store’s first venture.
Brown students can buy ticket
packages for both shows for $25.
Students will also be able to buy
separate tickets for Friday’s and Sat-
urday’s shows for $15 each. Ticket
sales will open to RISD students for
the same prices a week later.
If there are still tickets left on
Mar. 18, BCA will open ticket sales
to the public for $25 a show.
But Ain said he hoped BCA
would not need to sell any tickets
to the public.
“Our intention is to sell it only
to Brown,” he said. “It’s Brown stu-
dents paying the activity fee.”
Ain added that a number of sub-
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Page 3
“After last year, there’s a legitimate need for change.”
— Daniel Ain ’09, BCA booking chair
news in brief
Econ. study pads students’ pockets
Katie Silverstein ’11 usually leaves ECON 0110: “Prin-
ciples of Economics” with just a little more knowledge in
her head and a few more notes in her notebook. But on one
recent morning, she left with an extra $60 in her wallet.
The source of Silverstein’s windfall was an economics
research survey being conducted by Associate Professor of
Economics Kfir Eliaz.
Eliaz’s study, in which students fill out a questionnaire
and pick a chip out of a bag, has paid out as much as $90
to participating students. Eliaz declined to elaborate on the
purpose of the study because it is currently underway.
Eliaz distributed the questionnaire to students in various
economics classes. Fifteen lucky students are selected to
pick a chip out of the bag. If they get a chip that corre-
sponds to the answers they gave on the questionnaire, the
prize for those lucky few is a monetary reward that varies
depending on their answers.
The experiment was “pretty exciting — made it worth
going to my 9 a.m. class,” said Silverstein, who was one of
the 15 students chosen in her class to participate.
Andrea Scharfen ’12, who won $90 in her economics
class, said she was very happy when she received her win-
nings.
With two classes having already participated, the
experiment will continue throughout the year and into the
fall semester when the research award that supports the
experiments will expire, Eliaz said.
— Monique Vernon
Kim Perley / Herald
sidized tickets will be reserved for
students with a high financial need.
“It’s going to help the students who
couldn’t afford to go otherwise,”
he said.
This year’s tickets will also have
anti-counterfeiting measures, includ-
ing holograms and black-light ink,
and will be delivered exclusively to
student mailboxes “well before the
concert,” Ain said.
Initially, 3,000 tickets will be avail-
able, Hazeltine said, but the BCA
will sell an additional 1,500 through
conventional box-office ticketing 48
hours before each show if weather
permits the shows to be held out-
doors.
“Ideally, both shows will be on
the Main Green this year,” he said.
Does this bohter you?
Last year, both concerts were held
inside Meehan because forecasts Come copy edit!
called for rain.
Saturday’s show will also feature
a student band selected at a Battle
herald@browndailyherald.com
of the Bands at the Underground
in early April.
Page 4
C ampus N EWS
Federal stimulus holds billions for states, colleges, students
continued from page 1
projects.
And Rhode Island’s state govern-
ment stands to receive an injection
funding for public education, some
of which would be directed to the
state’s cash-strapped public colleges
and universities.
Brown officials praised the bill,
saying it included important invest-
ments in education that would pay
dividends now and in the future.
In an e-mail to The Herald, Presi-
dent Ruth Simmons wrote that in-
vesting in education was important
to stimulate the economy. “It would
be short-sighted to forego needed
investments in education for short
term economic gains,” she wrote.
“Education is the foundation of a
healthy modern economy. Educa-
tion enables economic development,
job growth, broad social advance-
ment and equality, quality of life and
the health of our democracy.”
Student Aid
According to James Tilton, direc-
tor of financial aid, the bill will help
students paying for school.
“Brown has a significant commit-
ment to student aid, and the stimu-
lus package helps us do that,” he
said. “It’s a really good thing for
our students.”
The bill provides about $17 bil-
lion to increase Pell Grants, which
help low-income students finance
college. According to Tilton, the
maximum individual grants will
increase from $4,850 to $5,350 for
the fiscal year 2010, which begins
this July.
Tilton also said that under Presi-
dent Obama’s budget, which was
delivered to Congress last week,
the grants will increase annually
starting in fiscal year 2010 at a rate
of inflation plus one percent, in
perpetuity.
At Brown, 2,410 students — 40.5
percent of the student body — cur-
rently receive need-based financial
aid, and 30 percent of financial aid
recipients receive Pell Grants, Tilton
said. Starting next semester, these
families’ grants will increase by a
maximum of $500, though some
families will receive a smaller in-
crease, he said.
Because a greater portion of
some students’ aid will now come
from Pell grants, the University will
be able to put that money back into
its aid budget.
The increase also has symbolic
importance, Tilton said.
“It sends a message to families
that there’s help,” he said, noting
that “there were many years that
Pell didn’t increase at all.”
The bill will also provide an ad-
ditional $200 million to the federal
work-study program, according to
Tim Leshan, director of government
relations and community affairs.
According to Tilton, the Univer-
sity currently receives $1.3 million
from the federal government to help
fund on-campus jobs for the 1,430
students eligible for work-study this
academic year. Because the $200
million will be spread between all
schools currently receiving fund-
ing, Tilton said his “sense is that it’s
unlikely that any one school will see
a huge increase, though we would
welcome any increase.”
Brown students eligible for finan-
cial aid are not the only ones helped
by the bill, which also allocates $13
billion to expand the federal tuition
tax credit program by temporarily
replacing the Hope Scholarship tax
credit. The credit will now be avail-
able to more middle-class families,
with an eligibility cutoff of $180,000
in adjusted gross income for families
filing joint returns, as opposed to
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
“Education is the foundation of a healthy modern economy.”
the $116,000 cutoff for the Hope
credit.
The maximum tax credit will be
increased from $1,800 to $2,500 for
the fiscal year 2010, and the length
of time that families may use the
credit will be increased from two
to four years.
The credit will also be extended
to cover four million additional low-
income students whose families do
not pay income taxes, according to
Kerrie Bennett, press secretary for
Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I, who
voted for the bill.
Infrastructure
The stimulus package includes
a $53.6 billion State Fiscal Stabiliza-
tion Fund that will be administered
by the Department of Education
and will go directly to state gov-
ernments, to be used primarily for
education funding.
The fund allocates $8.8 billion to
state governors, who can use it to
fund government services includ-
ing public safety and educational
and facility improvement. Because
this funding is at the governor’s dis-
cretion, its direct effects on private
institutions are unclear right now,
Leshan said.
“The state is still trying to work
out how those funds will be dis-
tributed,” he said. Though Leshan
said Brown was “not counting on
getting funds from the state stabi-
lization fund,” he noted that some
private colleges, including Brown,
are nevertheless encouraging the
governor to use some of the money
on modernization projects on their
campuses.
“Before the stimulus was even
passed, we were asked to provide
a list of possible projects,” Leshan
said. “Projects we’ve talked about
include things like the medical
education building and other core
infrastructure that Brown usually
does work on during the summer
— things like updating utilities and
How do you read The Herald?
Let us know! browndailyherald.com/survey
— President Ruth Simmons
the like.”
Brown is “not depending” on the
money, Leshan said, but added that
with the construction slowdown an-
nounced at last month’s Corporation
meeting, stimulus money “could be
a benefit to these projects moving
forward.”
Dan Egan, president of the As-
sociation of Independent Colleges
and Universities of Rhode Island
which represents the interests of
Rhode Island’s eight private colleges
and universities, said the state’s pri-
vate colleges offer “shovel-ready op-
portunities.” These can benefit the
state’s economy in both the short
and long term by replacing con-
struction jobs lost to the shrinking
housing market and “strengthen-
ing the knowledge economy, which
will benefit the economy in the long
term.”
The fund also allocates $10.4
billion to the National Institutes of
Health and $3 billion to the National
Science Foundation, The Herald
reported March 2.
Public schools
Public colleges and universities,
in Rhode Island and nationwide, will
reap particular benefits from the
bill.
“Public institutions of higher
education could gain a great deal,”
wrote Steve Maurano, a spokesman
for the Rhode Island Board of Gov-
ernors for Higher Education, in an
e-mail to The Herald.
Another $39.5 billion of the
State Fiscal Stabilization Fund will
be distributed to states for public
K-12 and postsecondary education
and may be used to prevent layoffs,
replace budget cuts and modernize
facilities.
Maurano estimated that Rhode
Island’s share would be about $165
million.
But, he said, the state is in dan-
ger of not qualifying to receive these
funds because of a provision in the
Thursday, March 5, 2009
bill called “maintenance of effort,”
which holds that in order to qualify
for these funds, a state must provide
no less support to education than it
did in fiscal year 2006.
Only Rhode Island’s and New
Jersey’s funds are in danger of be-
ing withheld under that provision,
according to a Feb. 27 article in the
Chronicle of Higher Education.
“With the budget deficits in
Rhode Island and the cuts that pub-
lic higher education has absorbed
over the last few years, we are not at
2006 levels,” Maurano wrote.
“Rhode Island’s slide into the re-
cession (came) earlier than other
states and our budget deficits have
been larger (percentage-wise) than
other states,” he wrote. “As a result,
we began cutting higher education
funding sooner than most states.
So while most states are still fund-
ing public higher education at or
above the levels they were in 2006,
we are not.”
Maurano wrote that the specific
rules regarding the maintenance of
effort provision had not yet been
published, so it is currently unclear
how much the state needs to make
up in funding.
Dave Lavallee, spokesman for the
University of Rhode Island, said this
money was sorely needed in Rhode
Island, which has been hit especially
hard by the economic crisis.
“Finances are always an issue,
but the past couple of years have
been par ticularly dif ficult,” he
said.
In addition to the stabilization
fund, Maurano wrote that state
colleges and universities may also
gain from other provisions scattered
around the 500-page bill. The legisla-
tion includes competitive grants and
other areas of funding which may
have some small effects on two-and
four-year colleges, he wrote.
— With additional reporting
by Etienne Ma
Metro
The Brown Daily Herald
“Each foreclosure has a rippling effect.”
— State Sen. Charles Levesque, D-Dist. 11

Thursday, March 5, 2009 | Page 5

Gay marriage bills duel in Senate Senators propose

By Sara Sunshine
Senior Staff Writer
Testimony went late into the night
last Thursday as supporters and op-
ponents of gay marriage discussed a
pair of bills before the Senate judicia-
ry committee at the State House.
Bill S0136, introduced by Sena-
tor Leo Blais, R-Dist. 21, seeks to
amend Rhode Island’s constitution
to specify marriage as an institution
between a man and a woman. Bill
S0147, on the other hand, calls for
the state to issue marriage licenses
to same-sex couples.
Though several bills supporting
gay marriage have been introduced
in the state Senate before, propo-
nents of the current bill believe “that
there is a better chance than in the
past to have fruitful dialogue,” said
Susan MacNeil, director of develop-
ment and communications for the
advocacy group Marriage Equality
of Rhode Island.
The group has been working on
the issue for ten years, but after the
November election and the passage
of Proposition 8 in California, which
eliminated the right to gay marriage
in that state, there has been an out-
pouring of public support for gay
marriage, MacNeil said.
continued on page 6
foreclosure halt
By George Miller
Metro Editor
State senators have proposed
placing a 180-day moratorium
on many foreclosures in Rhode
Island, Democratic legislators an-
nounced at a State House press
conference Tuesday.
Senators said the emergency
measure would buy time for a
more permanent way to keep
Rhode Islanders in their homes
amid economic turmoil and for
borrowers to negotiate with their
mortgage holders. The bill, which
was introduced Feb. 11, also calls
for further legislation requiring
that all foreclosures be reviewed
by state courts.
Sen. Charles Levesque, D-Dist.
11, said the act would only apply
to homeowners who received
“particularly nefarious” types of
loans. Those loans, as defined in
Kim Perley / Herald
Gay marriage testimony was on the State Senate’s Judiciary Committee’s
agenda last week.
the bill, include adjustable-rate
loans with introductory periods of
three years or less, interest-only
loans and loans approved without
regard for the borrower’s ability
to pay, among others.
The bill would halt eviction
proceedings during the 180-day
period, except in cases where
the property has been sold or
proceedings began before fore-
closure. It would also prohibit ad-
ditional fees or interest accruing
during the moratorium.
Senators said the bill would
help all Rhode Islanders, not just
those in danger of foreclosure, be-
cause foreclosed properties lower
the values of nearby homes.
“Each foreclosure has a rip-
pling effect,” Levesque said. “All
of us have a stake in trying to ad-
dress this problem.”
continued on page 6

LGBT weekly drops print edition

By Lauren Fedor
Senior Staf f Writer
Divine Providence — a major
newsweekly for Rhode Island’s
lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans-
gender community — has ended its
print edition and begun publishing
exclusively online.
Divine Providence’s print edi-
tion, which ended in Januar y, had
a weekly readership of 4,000. Now
an estimated 300 to 1,000 read-
ers visit the publication’s Web
site each day, according to Editor
Eric Marion.
Marion cited the weakening
economy and struggling print in-
dustr y as factors in the decision.
He said he saw “where the
economy was going” last summer,
and as advertisers became harder
to come by, he considered creating
a Web version of the publication.
Shortly after Christmas, when
Marion lost four major advertisers,
he made the of ficial decision to
bring Divine Providence online.
In an e-mail to The Herald,
Marion wrote that while he was
initially concerned the decision
would lead to decreased reader-
ship, he later realized that the Web
site might attract a “younger and
more intelligent” audience.
Marion wrote that Divine Provi-
dence’s news quality has been
“much better” since going online,
adding that running the publica-
tion is now “much less stressful”
for him.
Instead of “wasting time hus-
tling for ad dollars” and “spending
six hours a week picking up and
distributing paper copies,” Marion
— who is also a full-time lawyer
practicing in Providence — wrote
that he is able to concentrate on
one or two large news stories each
week. He is aided by a small group
of contributing writers.
The time has allowed Divine
Providence to “bring the latest
news to its readers,” he added,
noting that the publication has
continued on page 6
Page 6
M etro
Copies of the last print issue of Divine Providence in Faunce House.
The LGBT newsweekly moved to an online-only format in January.
LGBT paper goes
web-only to cut costs
continued from page 5
broken “several stories” ahead
of the Providence Journal since
going online.
Marion said he does not be-
lieve the paper will ever return
to print.
“I was spending $2,500 a
month,” he wrote in the e-mail,
“but the only (beneficiar y) in
doing print is the printing com-
pany.”
Marion, who manages both
the site’s design and content, said
he now spends just $10 a month
to maintain the publication.
He no longer solicits paid
adver tisements, and the only
ads that appear on the publica-
tion’s Web site are offered free
of charge to those who had ad-
vertised in Divine Providence’s
print edition.
Marion said while cutting
— Susan MacNeil, Marriage Equality of R.I.’s director of development and communications
Kim Perley/ Herald
costs is important, Divine Provi-
dence has “never been a money-
making venture.”
Making money “is not my
priority,” he said. “My priority
is for Divine Providence to be
the premier GLBT news source
in New England.”
Leigh Anna Dwyer ’09, advo-
cacy chair for Queer Alliance,
wrote in an e-mail to The Herald
that she hopes publications like
Divine Providence will “sur vive
the rough financial times,” add-
ing that they “can ser ve to unite
the Providence queer community
and help people feel more con-
nected.”
“It (can) feel ver y isolating
and frustrating to read a local
newspaper or magazine, or watch
the news, and never see or hear
any mention of gay, bi, transgen-
der people or the issues that af-
fect us,” she wrote.
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
“People want to be part of the marriage equality movement.”
200 show up for gay marriage hearing
continued from page 5
“People want to be part of the
marriage equality movement,” she
said.
Many of the Ocean State’s neigh-
bors have already taken action.
Same-sex marriage is currently legal
in Connecticut and Massachusetts,
while Vermont, New Jersey and
New Hampshire have authorized
civil unions.
A July poll commissioned by the
Marriage Equality group found that
45 percent of Catholics in Rhode
Island and 49 percent of all Rhode
Islanders support gay marriage.
“We have a tremendous amount
of support from the community,”
MacNeil said, adding that about
200 people showed up to testify
about the bill on Thursday. Though
testimony continued until almost
midnight, MacNeil said, at least
half the Senate judiciary committee
stayed until very late, demonstrating
a commitment to listening to the
community.
According to a 2008 statistical
table by U.S. Conference of Catholic
Bishops, Rhode Island is the most
Catholic state in America.
Michelle Cretella, an advisory
East Side leaders back foreclosure halt
continued from page 5
Sen. Juan Pichardo, D-Dist. 2,
who said he has been working on
the issue of subprime loans for five
years, praised Rhode Island-based
Citizens Bank for a moratorium it
voluntarily placed on most foreclo-
sures last month. That moratorium
will end Mar. 12.
Pichardo said restructuring
mortgages so people are better able
to pay benefits everyone, including
the banks.
While banks prefer, for liability
reasons, not to manage properties
that residents have defaulted on
board member for the Rhode Island
chapter of the National Organization
for Marriage, which opposes gay
marriage, said though the state is
mostly Catholic, widespread sup-
port for gay marriage comes from its
“very Democratic” population.
“I think there are a lot of Catho-
lics who sort of follow their own
minds,” she said. “They don’t nec-
essarily get in line with the authority
of the church.”
But not all community members
support same-sex marriage.
Marriage is “more than just a
bundle of rights. It’s a public institu-
tion that’s intimately tied to family,”
Cretella said. “Mothers and fathers
— men and women — are different
and they each bring unique qualities
to child-rearing that two men and
two women cannot provide.”
As for the growing support for
gay marriage in Rhode Island, Cre-
tella said many people “don’t real-
ize how a gender-neutral definition
of marriage may impact them in a
negative way.”
Though the pro-gay marriage
bill provides for religious communi-
ties’ right to make decisions about
marriage eligibility, Cretella said
the clause is “essentially rendered
but continue to live on, Levesque
said, his sympathies lie with hom-
eowners, not lending institutions.
If banks don’t want to manage a
property, he said, “that’s too bad.”
Brenda Clement, executive
director of the Housing Action
Coalition of Rhode Island, said at
the press conference that 2,777
properties were foreclosed on last
year in the state and that 458 prop-
erties were listed for foreclosure
in January.
When the housing bubble burst,
she said, it wasn’t a soap bubble,
but a sticky wad of gum.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do to
Thursday, March 5, 2009
inconsequential.” She cited the fact
that New Jersey-based company
eHarmony was forced to accommo-
date gay clients and that the Catholic
Charities of Boston was ordered to
place children in same-sex homes.
According to a Feb. 22 Provi-
dence Journal article, many public
figures in Rhode Island, including
Providence Mayor David Cicilline
’83, Lt. Gov. Elizabeth Roberts
’78 and Attorney General Pat-
rick L ynch ’87, have already ex-
pressed their support for same-sex
marriage legislation.
But even if the bill manages to
get out of the judiciary committee
and pass a vote on the Senate and
House floors, Gov. Donald Carcieri
’65 “is a really significant roadblock”
because he will veto it, MacNeil
said.
Despite Carcieri’s opposition,
MacNeil and her group believe
legislative action is the best way to
achieve marriage equality, she said,
adding that filing a court case has
some significant flaws.
“Equal marriage is the civil
rights struggle of the 21st century.
… The Constitution was not written
for only certain groups of people,”
MacNeil said.
scrape up the pieces,” she said.
Levesque was joined at the press
conference by Pichardo, Sen. Eliza-
beth Crowley, D-Dist. 16, Sen. John
Tassoni, D-Dist. 22, Sen. Joshua
Miller, D-Dist. 28 and Sen. Rhoda
Perr y P’91, D-Dist. 3, which in-
cludes Brown’s campus.
Levesque said both Senate Presi-
dent Teresa Paiva Weed and Ma-
jority Leader Daniel Connors have
“expressed interest” in the bill, and
he hopes to have a vote on the Sen-
ate floor in about two weeks.
Rep. David Segal, D-Dist. 2, has
introduced companion legislation
in the House.
SportsThursday
The Brown Daily Herald

Thursday, March 5, 2009 | Page 7

A career in Mixed results for

insurance teams over weekend
How would you feel if you were
paid to come to work, sit in on meet- Baseball the second inning. Kate Strobel ’12,
ings with your fellow coworkers, do The baseball team (1-1) began its playing in her first collegiate game,
everything ev- season last Friday afternoon, split- led off the top of the fourth inning
er ybody else ting a doubleheader with Florida with a homer of her own, and the
in your office International University. Bears added two more runs to fin-
does, only In the first game, pitcher Will ish out the inning. Brown would go
when it comes Weidig ’10 turned in a strong effort on to win, 9-1, as Asay and Strobel
time to do any in his first start of the season, allow- each finished with two hits and three
actual work, ing three runs over eight innings RBIs, and Michelle Moses ’09 struck
you have to pitched, while recording five strike- out ten batters, allowing just one run
go sit by the Ben Singer outs and no walks. Shortstopand cap- in a complete game effort.
water cooler Sports Columnist tain Matt Nuzzo ’09 blasted a two-run In the second game, the Bears
and watch? homer in the top of the seventh to faced host St. Mary’s, who took
Admittedly, the economy is give Brown a 2-1 lead, but two runs advantage of five Brown errors to
bad, and some people don’t get in the bottom of the inning secured cruise to a 13-3 win, despite a 3-for-
anything done at work anyway, the 3-2 win for FIU. 3 performance at the plate from
but think about it seriously for a In the second game, Brown Asay.
second. Over the course of several trailed 4-0 in the sixth inning, but In a rematch with Binghamton
years or more, would you really feel the Bears exploded for six runs in on Saturday, Brown saw some great
comfortable with a job where you the bottom of the inning and went on pitching from Trish Melvin ’12 and
can interact with your coworkers to win, 7-4. Mark Gormley ’11 had a Moses, but the offense managed
but never contribute to the work solid start, giving up four runs, three just five hits and the Bears dropped
like they do? of them earned, over six innings to a tough 1-0 decision.
This situation isn’t unheard of get the win, and Matt Kimball ’11 got Later on Saturday, Asay and
in the National Football League. the save with three shutout innings. Kelsey Wilson ’09 each got two
Only so many players on a roster Designated hitter Pete Greskoff ’11 hits, but an explosive Utah Valley
will actually get a chance to play. registered Brown’s only multi-hit per- University offense was too much
The rest are backup plans, develop- formance, going 2-for-4, while Nuzzo for the Bears to overcome, as they Justin Coleman / Herald
Matt Nozzo ’09 has been a top early-season performer for the baseball.
ment projects for the future. Unlike picked up another two RBIs. lost 11-3.
other professional sports, the NFL The rain ended the trip early and Asay went 8-for-9 at the plate over
doesn’t have any developmental or kept the Bears from playing their the four games and led the team with
minor leagues (unless you count final two match-ups with Coastal four runs scored. Top performers
the Arena Football League, which Carolina and West Virginia. Due to rain, the rest of the tourna-
cancelled its 2009 season), so the This weekend, the team will head ment was cancelled. • Amanda Asay ’10, softball: • Will Weidig ’10, baseball: 8
only practice these backup players down to Alabama for a three-game The team will return to action on .889 batting average (8 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 5 K, 0 BB
get is in, well, practice. series with Auburn. Mar. 13, when the Bears will travel for 9), 1 HR, 4 RBI, 1.333 • Matt Nuzzo ’09, baseball:
But there is one type of posi- to South Carolina for the Adidas slugging percentage .286 BA (2 for 7), 1 HR, 1
tion that is uniquely dif ferent Softball Tournament. • Michelle Moses ’09, softball: 3B, 4 RBI, 1.000 Slg. Pct.
from the rest: the career backup The softball team (1-3) opened 2 pitching appearances, 8 • Lauren Vitkus ’09, women’s
quarterback. its season with a win on Friday after- Fencing 1/3 innings pitched, 4H, 1 lacrosse:3goals, 8 ground
Ever ybody knows today what noon, before dropping its next three The men’s and women’s fencing R, 12 K, 1 BB balls
has become of Matt Cassel. Since games at the Lady Gaels Classic. teams competed at the International • Matt Kimball ’11, baseball: • Isabel Harvey ’12, women’s
playing high school quarterback in In the first game, Amanda Asay Fencing Association Championships 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 5 K,1 BB lacrosse: 17 goals allowed,
California, Cassel backed up Heis- ’10 gave Brown a 2-0 lead over Bing- 15 saves
man Trophy winners Carson Palmer hamton with a home run in the top of continued on page 8
and Matt Leinart at the University
of Southern California, then spent
his first three pro seasons with the
New England Patriots on the bench
behind NFL megastar Tom Brady.
Then, in September 2008, Brady
went down, the backup plan went
into effect, and Cassel’s hard work
paid off to the tune of $14.65 million
dollars and a starting job with the
Kansas City Chiefs, who acquired
Cassel in a trade last week.
But as frequent as injuries are in
the NFL, and as inspiring as Cas-
sel’s stor y may be, most backup
QBs remain just that for the dura-
tion of their careers. Periodically,
their NFL experience is essentially
an extended training camp, and they
are never really considered as any-
thing more than potential insurance
policies. But every once in a while
there are those few who spend
years, even multiple contracts, with
the same team.
All-everything in high school and
the career pass efficiency leader
(141.2 rating) for the University of
Wisconsin, Jim Sorgi has attended
Manning University for the past five
years. Drafted in the sixth round
by the Indianapolis Colts in 2004,
Sorgi re-signed a three year con-
tract extension back in 2007. For the
eight years since he graduated from

continued on page 8
Page 8
S ports T hursday
W. lacrosse drops game to Hofstra
continued from page 7
over the weekend. Joseph Isaacson
’11 was the only one from the men’s
team to place in the final standings,
earning ninth place in the saber. For
the women, Deborah Gorth ’09 fin-
ished fifth in the saber, while Char-
lotte Rose ’09 also placed in saber,
coming in fifteenth.
On Mar. 8, both squads will
compete at the NCAA Northeast
Regional Tournament at MIT, where
several members of the team will
vie for a spot in the NCAA Cham-
pionships.
Women’s lacrosse
The women’s lacrosse team (1-
1) was handed its first loss of the
season on Saturday, falling 11-7
to Hofstra at home. After Brown
fell behind 3-0, Lauren Vitkus ’09
scored two goals in a 30-second span
to pull the Bears within one goal,
but Hofstra jumped out to an 8-3
halftime lead.
Hofstra expanded that lead to
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
11-3, and though Brown finished the
game with four unanswered goals
to make a dent in the Pride’s lead,
it was too little too late.
Bethany Buzzell ’10 tied Vitkus
for the team lead with two goals,
while Molly McCarthy ’10 tallied
two assists on the day, and Isabel
Harvey ’12 made a career-high 12
saves in goal for the Bears.
The team will resume compe-
tition in a match-up with the SU-
NY-Albany at home on Saturday
at 1 p.m.
Singer ’09: Job security,
losing the ‘edge’ threats
to players’ potential
continued from page 7
college, his playing time has been
largely confined to the summer
months. Barring a serious injury
to the QB with the second longest
consecutive starting streak in NFL
history behind the iron man Brett
Favre, that’s where it will stay.
As far as we know, Sorgi could
be a decent starter in the NFL. He’s
played in meaningless late-season
games as well as anyone, compil-
ing a 6:1 touchdown to interception
ratio and a 87.9 quarterback rating.
But his stats are irrelevant. What is
relevant is that Sorgi is working a
full-time job in which his employer’s
ideal scenario is that he never does
any work at all.
To be fair, Jim gets paid over
$53,000 per game he doesn’t play,
which is more than most of us
hope to earn in a year. He, without
a doubt, puts in just as much time as
anyone else practicing with the team
and preparing for games. But you
have to wonder how much his focus
can remain on a game in which he
never really gets to participate.
Backup QB Anthony Wright
once explained in an interview with
Thursday, March 5, 2009
ESPN that because of the lack of
playing time, “I had to either play
basketball or rush home and play
a video game … You have to find a
way to keep the edge.” He currently
holds the clipboard for Eli Manning
as a New York Giant, but states that
“When I hear some guys say they
weren’t ready, it just kills me,” ac-
knowledging that some backups
do regress to the expectations of
their role.
Wright’s comments seem to
echo a theme that extends well
outside of football: Beyond simply
the fear of losing one’s job looms
the greater fear of losing one’s
“edge.” As demonstrated by Peter
Gibbons from “Office Space” or
Lester Burnham from “American
Beauty,” sometimes the lull of a life
of easily completed but unengaging
tasks is even more terrifying than
a lack of job security.
As young as he is and as much
fun as being on a professional
sports team in any capacity must
be, I wonder if Sorgi ever thinks
about that.
Ben Singer ’09 is a backup
at Initech.
Editorial & Letters
The Brown Daily Herald

Page 10 | Thursday, March 5, 2009

e d i to r i a l
Keep talking
Last Friday, the campus group White People Talking held its first workshop.
Its goal was to spark a discussion among the overwhelming white majority of
Brown students about their racial identity and its implications, and the group’s
organizers will hold similar forums on related topics on the last Friday of each
month. Next semester, they intend to hold additional workshops aimed at
interracial dialogue while continuing White People Talking. Ultimately, they
hope to foster a better understanding of race’s role in American society among
all Brown students — including themselves. They also have plans for a corps
of “white allies,” to advise the University’s minority peer counselors on the
concerns and experiences of white students.
These are worthwhile goals. Unwarranted police violence against minorities
is still too common, and blacks’ paltry 7-percent representation among Brown
students continues to raise the question of whether baseless racial prejudice
is constraining students’ opportunities to the detriment of this University and
this country.
But the road ahead has potholes aplenty. Like many activists with dreams
of racial equality, the students behind White People Talking are too quick to
embrace a pure reversal of white privilege: Their instinct is to saddle whites
with the duty to confront racism and renounce its benefits while granting mi-
norities blanket boons that may be inappropriate to their circumstances. The
most obvious problem with this agenda is its tendency to alienate potentially
sympathetic white Americans, whose support is crucial for countering the
insidious mechanisms of modern racial prejudice. Still worse is the notion’s
blindness to the circumstances of working-class white Americans who would
be flabbergasted to hear that they are somehow “privileged.” Ensconced in
Brunonia, it’s easy to forget that many other Americans have had radically
different experiences with race.
Nonetheless, what separates White People Talking from many similar
initiatives is the modesty of its founders. Their goal is conversation, not in-
doctrination, and they’re willing to learn as much as they teach. The “white chris jesu lee
allies” they intend to commission won’t be crusading for the eradication of
racism at Brown, but rather serving as a reservoir of experience for minority
peer counselors to tap, making this campus more hospitable without grand
gestures. That’s a lot to live up to. And White People Talking can’t survive l e t t e r to t h e e d i to r s
on the efforts of its founders alone. It requires a consistent commitment to

COE takes care of the business

honesty and openness from all of its participants — not just embracing com-
fortable condemnations of white privilege, but seriously considering the words
of students who believe that directly confronting the remnants of American
racism won’t lead to true progress. To the Editor: courses in economics focus on finance, an area of inves-
tigation made all the more important by recent world
Editorials are written by The Herald’s editorial page board. Send comments to As student leaders involved with entrepreneurship events; courses in sociology focus on organizational
editorials@browndailyherald.com. education at Brown, we are writing in response to last theory, an area of study attracting far more research
week’s ill-informed and hypocritical editorial (“We’re in than any other in management; courses in technology
t h e b r o w n d a i ly h e r a l d business,” Feb. 23). The editorial criticizes the Com- management focus on the process of transforming ideas
Editor-in-Chief Managing Editors Associate Editors Senior Editors merce, Organizations and Entrepreneurship program into opportunities, and, deliberately, opportunities into
Steve DeLucia Michael Bechek Nandini Jayakrishna Rachel Arndt for being pre-professional, (i.e. preparing students for commercial realities. These courses are complemented
Chaz Firestone Franklin Kanin Catherine Cullen
Michael Skocpol Scott Lowenstein work in a particular field through practical instruction), with at least four additional classes in the traditional
editorial Business yet also criticizes COE for not preparing students for pro- hard sciences.
Ben Hyman Arts & Culture Editor General Managers Office Manager fessional life. This paradoxical attack suggests that the Students are attracted to this interdisciplinary con-
Hannah Levintova Arts & Culture Editor Alexander Hughes Shawn Reilly
Sophia Li Features Editor Jonathan Spector editors may have used COE as a vehicle for expressing centration. They know that today’s world demands
Emmy Liss Features Editor Directors an anti-business bias, rather than legitimately evaluating a broad set of intellectual skills. Furthermore, many
Gaurie Tilak Higher Ed Editor Ellen DaSilva Sales Director
Matthew Varley Higher Ed Editor Claire Kiely Sales Director
the concentration as an academic program. things are happening under the COE umbrella outside
George Miller Metro Editor Phil Maynard Sales Director The primary aim of COE is to study organizations the classroom, from events such as last week’s Entrepre-
Joanna Wohlmuth Metro Editor Katie Koh Finance Director and entrepreneurship from a multidisciplinary perspec- neurship Program Forum, which was attended by over
Chaz Kelsh News Editor Jilyn Chao Asst. Finance Director
Jenna Stark News Editor tive. Students are exposed to analytical frameworks 200 students, faculty and alumni and watched online by
Benjy Asher Sports Editor Managers
that are well grounded in the disciplines of economics, more than 11,000 people, to an undergraduate summer
Andrew Braca Sports Editor Kelly Wess Local Sales
Alex Mazerov Asst. Sports Editor Kathy Bui National Sales organizational studies and technology management. internship in India, student-faculty events organized by
Katie Wood Asst. Sports Editor Alex Carrere University Sales Skills that students can elect to study are indeed practi- its DUG and a new mentorship initiative under the aegis
Christiana Stephenson Recruiter Sales
Graphics & Photos
Matt Burrows Credit and Collections
cal, but no more so than some courses in Public Policy of the Brown Women in Business student group.
Chris Jesu Lee Graphics Editor
Stephen Lichenstein Graphics Editor Opinions
or International Relations, for example. If The Herald Contrary to the derogatory tone of Monday’s edito-
Eunice Hong Photo Editor Sarah Rosenthal Opinions Editor questions whether COE teaches “marketable skills,” rial, COE helps students to master one of the hardest
Kim Perley Photo Editor Editorial Page Board then the career successes of COE graduates now in intellectual challenges: integrating cutting-edge ideas
Justin Coleman Sports Photo Editor James Shapiro Editorial Page Editor
Nick Bakshi Board member the Brookings Institute, Capital One, Goldman Sachs, across three very different disciplines. This ability to
production
Kathryn Delaney Copy Desk Chief
Zack Beauchamp Board member JPMorgan, Northwestern Mutual, Teach for America synthesize multiple perspectives is not only central to
Sara Molinaro Board member
Seth Motel Copy Desk Chief
William Martin Board member
and Turner Construction speak for themselves. Brown’s mission; it is also indispensable to success in
Marlee Bruning Design Editor
Jessica Calihan Design Editor
A strong line of attack in the editorial is COE’s business, public service and scholarship alike.
Anna Migliaccio Asst. Design Editor Post- magazine purported lack of rigor. Though the difficulty of any
Julien Ouellet Asst. Design Editor Arthur Matuszewski Editor-in-Chief concentration at Brown is ultimately of the student’s Ian Spector ’09
Neal Poole Web Editor Kelly McKowen Editor-in-Chief
choosing, COE’s structure is just as strenuous, if not Drew Janes ’09
Anna Migliaccio, Jessie Calihan, Jessica Kirschner, Designers
more, than many concentrations, requiring 14 to 17 Entrepreneurship Program Co-Presidents
Kathryn Delaney, Sydney Ember, Allison Peck, Copy Editors
courses depending upon the track. In terms of content, Mar. 4
Mitra Anoushiravani, Chaz Kelsh, George Miller, Caroline Sedano, Sara Sunshine, Night Editors

Senior Staff Writers Mitra Anoushiravani, Colin Chazen, Ellen Cushing, Sydney Ember,
Lauren Fedor, Nicole Friedman, Britta Greene, Sarah Husk, Brian Mastroianni, Hannah
Moser, Ben Schreckinger, Caroline Sedano, Melissa Shube, Anne Simons, Sara Sunshine,
Staff Writers Zunaira Choudhary, Chris Duffy, Nicole Dungca, Juliana Friend, Cameron
Lee, Kelly Mallahan, Christian Martell, Heeyoung Min, Seth Motel, Jyotsna Mullur, Lauren C O R R E C T I O N S P olicy
Pischel, Leslie Primack, Anne Speyer, Alexandra Ulmer, Kyla Wilkes
The Brown Daily Herald is committed to providing the Brown University community with the most accurate information possible. Correc-
Sports Staff Writers Nicole Stock
tions may be submitted up to seven calendar days after publication.
Senior Business Associates Max Barrows, Jackie Goldman, Margaret Watson, Ben Xiong
Business Associates Stassia Chyzhykova, Misha Desai, Bonnie Kim, Maura Lynch, Cathy C ommentary P O L I C Y
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Opinions
The Brown Daily Herald
The applicant’s guide to what they didn’t tell you on the tour
KATE DOYLE
Opinions Columnist
I recently wandered smack into the midst of
a tour group of astonishing size and, weav-
ing around attentive high-schoolers and par-
ents listening raptly to their tour guide, cast
my eyes across the grounds. Everywhere,
roving bands of prospectives solemnly took
in each worn brick and green blade of grass
as they tagged after cheery tour guides this
way and that — to Sayles, to the Hay, to the
Ratty. speare’s nostrils? So if you do nothing else
It all put me in mind of my own first vis-
it to Brown, one sunny April Thursday dur-
ing my junior year. Nothing unusual: a trip to
the admissions office, a class visit, a tour, an
information session (given, I feel compelled
by sheer good humor to mention, by a dean
who claimed to have spent 95 percent of his
undergraduate years exploring the mysteri-
ous tunnels of Providence at whim). sandwich? Oh, I know now that I really
Noontime found me at a table on the
front steps of one among many austere
brick buildings, eating an utterly marvelous
sandwich from a student center cafe. The
sun shone down on the backs of T-shirted
students sprawled in the grass below. At the
table next to me, two young men in bright-
ly colored V-neck sweaters and edgy thick-
framed glasses carried on a conversation at
exceptional volume. Ah, memories — it was
a nice place to be.
Now, as I crossed the grass en route to
my dorm, it seemed remarkably pleasant to
be the Brown student ambling past the tour
group, someone for whom cozying up in an
armchair to study in the Rock and meander-
BY ANDREA MATTHEWS
Guest Columnist
Midterm season has a way of sucking the joie
de vivre from even the most eager students.
Technically speaking, we really have very
little reason to complain. The Open Cur-
riculum gives us the opportunity to take any
class we choose. But a midterm is a midterm
nonetheless, often accompanied by incredible
procrastinator y feats, sudden and inexpli-
cable fits of drowsiness during class or in
the library and perhaps even the occasional
load of stress laundry.
What is the (almost) ever-learning student
to do? Some find solace in chocolate, unnec-
essary trips to Antonio’s Pizza or Beyonce’s
deceitfully effortless-looking choreography
in her video for “Single Ladies.” (How does
she do it?) All of these are worthy sources
of comfort, lifted spirits and a little bit of
inspiration.
But there is another source of procrastina-
tion and encouragement ready and waiting
to be utilized: your peers. I have not encoun-
tered a more motivational experience than
watching my fellow Brown students excel
at the activities that they love best. Love of
academia aside, these activities are not often
writing papers or completing problem sets.
They are the musicals, concerts, sporting
ing across a sun-kissed Main Green is all in
an ordinary day. Equally pleasant was the
thought that maybe, just maybe, I had come
to be something close to an insider in the
past few months and had perhaps learned a
thing or two about Brown life since my days
as a prospective.
I know now, for example, that the anony-
mous brick building to whose steps I’d paid a
visit is known ’round these parts as Faunce.
I know now that the sweatered gentlemen at
the table to my right were, by technical defi-
For all those high schoolers wandering about
campus and the surrounding locale in the weeks
ahead, I’ve jotted down a small sampling of
things worth knowing.
nition, “hipsters.” And that focaccia bread
ought to have savored every last bite — or
at least wrapped up the leftovers for that not
so far-off day when I too would be a Brown
student, all out of flex points.
I’ve lately fallen to thinking on such ins
and outs of day-to-day life at Brown, which
might never escape a tour guide’s lips. I’m
not talking about benefits of the Open Cur-
riculum, student organizations, athletic sta-
tistics, student body composition, number
of dining facilities, number of books in the
libraries or any of our school’s considerable
historical background — though that’s all
significant and valuable information for any
prospective to consider during the all-impor-
tant College Decision Process.
Peer effects
events, plays and other extracurricular com-
mitments that make students wish for 28-hour
days, even while acknowledging that they
love them too much to give them up.
Why is watching a live performance of
your peers better than cooking up theories
to explain the latest plot twist in “Lost”? A
few reasons:
1) You get a chance to support your fellow
students. If you’ve put your time and energy
into a project for which you receive not a
I have not encountered a more motivational
experience than watching my fellow Brown
students excel at the activities that they love best.
grade or a wage but only the pride that comes
with a job well done, wouldn’t you want a few
people to celebrate your achievements?
2) “Live” means it won’t always be there.
As long as I have Internet access, I can watch
mind-numbing programming to my heart’s
content at any time, on any date. This is not
true of the one-weekend shows, one-night
senior recitals and at-home sporting events
that seem ubiquitous, but are in reality all too
I’m talking about what it’s like to really
live here! I’m talking about all sorts of things
the past few months have taught me — like
how to put money on a vending stripe in-
stead of scrounging for laundry quarters,
the necessity of parting with one’s ballet flats
in favor of a good pair of boots come late Oc-
tober or how to just suck it up and eat that
wretched-looking pancake syrup at the Rat-
ty. So for all those high-schoolers wandering
about campus and the surrounding area in
the weeks ahead, I’ve jotted down a small
sampling of things worth knowing: a Brown
Applicant’s Guide to Things They Didn’t Tell
You On The Tour.
We’ll begin from the dictionary: A hill is
by definition “a naturally raised area of land.”
You may have noticed that we’re on one.
Your best intentions of regularly frequenting
the attractions of downtown Providence in-
variably will be thwarted within the first two
weeks of your freshman year by that pesky
incline that connects here to there. It’s a de-
lightful skip to the ice-skating rink, but it’s
a torturous haul back. You probably think
the Providence Place Mall is conveniently lo-
cated, and we think your naivete is precious.
We’ll let you hang onto that little delusion for
the time.
Also worth knowing: Providence is a city.
transient. Each event is a unique and limited
engagement, and I may never have this kind
of access to so much free or inexpensive
live entertainment again. My AP Literature
teacher gave me some very precious advice
before I left for college: “Eat as much free
food and see as much free stuff as you can.
Seriously.”
3) Finally, watching your peers might just
give you a little inspiration to go home, put
a book on your desk and get to work. This
can be called, quite literally, a “peer effect.”
Usually employed in the context of uni-
form environments like classrooms, a loose
imposition of this concept in this context
seems appropriate. Simply put, peer effects
are the positive influences that high-achieving
individuals have on their peers. In the ab-
stract, watching my peers perform passion-
ately, even in an extracurricular context, may
motivate me to do better.
Thursday, March 5, 2009 | Page 11
Sort of. One day they’ll invest in a few street
lamps, and then we’ll really be in business.
Until then, your best bet for days when you
crave the cosmopolitan life is pressing your
nose against the glass as you admire the
view from the Rock. Fare for a roundtrip to
Boston costs a little extra, but you get the
added luxury of seeing upwards of five peo-
ple on the street at a time.
A cheerier tidbit: Don’t despair, there’s
always Thayer Street. My own tour two
years ago didn’t stop here — an oversight,
it seems to me, for what’s Brown life without
this quirky thoroughfare? Where else can
you find anything from a basic bottle of milk
to a tissue box that dispenses from Shake-
on your visit, buy a cup of coffee and peo-
ple-watch from the window of Starbucks. Or
go shopping, so years down the line you can
say fondly, “This is the shirt/bracelet/tissue
box featuring Shakespeare’s nostrils that I
bought on my first visit to Brown!”
Prospectives, I could go on, but my word
limit stops me — and anyway, this first-year
doesn’t pretend to know it all. I’m still fig-
uring things out myself! I’m only newly ca-
pable of riding RIPTA, for example, and or-
dering deli sandwiches at the Gate is a very
recently acquired skill. The housing lottery
remains a mystery to me, and let’s not even
talk about meal plans! Plus I haven’t found
any of those secret passageways. Unless the
Thayer Street bus tunnel counts?
Kate Doyle ’12 is from Westport, Con-
necticut. She can be reached at
Katherine_Doyle@brown.edu.
I don’t have empirical evidence for this
claim and probably never will (UTRA, any-
one?). But, intuitively, it seems to make sense.
There is something moving about watching
people who are my age, who share my living
environment, who sit next to me in class, do
the things they love to do well. It raises the
bar to recognize the boy from your biology
lecture performing at an a cappella concert,
or the girl from down the hall at a gymnastics
meet. These are your friends, your peers,
your equals, and they are amazing.
Watching our fellow students in the ex-
tracurricular realm shows us that they are
talented, hard working and dedicated. For
some reason that I can only call inspiration,
watching them do well makes me want to
prove that I can be talented, hardworking
and dedicated too.
This Saturday night, try giving the Fried-
man Study Center computers a break from
YouTube videos. Take in the entertainment
at the nearest concert hall or auditorium in-
stead. Go out on a limb and see a production
in which you know no one. Who knows —
maybe you’ll recognize someone you didn’t
expect to see. Don’t worr y, Beyonce will
wait.
Andrea Matthews ’11 highly suggests
forays into the world of Gaetano
Donizetti this weekend.
 Today
The Brown Daily Herald
statehouse scene
5
c a l e n da r
today, March 5
5:00 P.M. — Cape Verdean Worker
Appreciation Day, Refectory
8:00 P.M. — Event Brown Theatre
presents Cabaret, Leeds Theatre, 77
Waterman St.
menu
Sharpe Refectory
Lunch — Vegan Tofu Raviolis with
Sauce, Polynesian Chicken Wings,
Grilled Ham and Swiss Sandwich
Dinner — Vegetarian Gnocchi a la
Sorrentina, Roast Turkey with Sauce,
Stuffing, Asian Noodle Bar
crossword
tomorrow, March 6
8:00 P.M. — Donizetti’s “L’elisr
d’amore” presented by Brown Opera
Productions, Alumnae Hall
8:30 P.M. — GAIA Benefit Concert,
the Underground
Verney-Woolley Dining Hall
Lunch — Vegan Tofu Raviolis with
Sauce, Hot Roast Beef on French
Bread, Grilled Cajun Chicken
Dinner — Lemon Broiled Chicken,
Pasta Spinach Casserole, Fried Rice
Bowl with Ham, Vegetable Egg Rolls
5
to day to m o r r o w
Opposing marriage bills introduced
Baseball splits weekend doubleheader
7 37 / 27 44 / 34
post-
Thursday, March 5, 2009 Page 12
post-
magazine
Brown university ● march 5, 2009 ● Volume 10 ● issue 6
Inside...
03 feature
DRESSING BRUNONIAN \\ abby schreiber
04 film and television
COMPASSIONATE ENABLERS \\ doug eacho
05 music
PEACEFUL, EASY FEELIN’ \\ eva kurtz-nelson
SPRING ABLUM ROUNDUP \\ post music
07 sexpertise
GREAT EXPECTATIONS, EPIC FAILS\\ allie wollner
A FOUND TRUST \\ sam yambrovich
08 from the hill
A LITTLE BROADWAY IN PROVIDENCE\\ lauren kay
BLOGGING ABOUT BACON \\ ted lamm & alex logan
CINEBRASIL\\ anthony badami
comics
Vagina Dentata | Soojean Kim
Cabernet Voltaire | Abe Pressman
Socrates | Stephen Lichenstein and Adam Wagner
The One About Zombies | Kevin Grubb