Daily Herald the Brown
vol. cxlv, no. 42 | Tuesday, April 6, 2010 | Serving the community daily since 1891
CIS to switch
all e-mail to
Google Apps
By Caitlin Trujillo
Senior Staff Writer
Following the switch from Microsoft
Exchange to Gmail for undergradu-
ate e-mail last semester, Computing
and Information Services is moving
forward to convert the e-mail system
used by faculty, staff, graduate and
medical students to Gmail before the
next fall term begins — a change that
CIS staff say will streamline com-
munication and save money.
The move to using Google Apps
for Education universally will make
faculty and student collaboration eas-
ier because everyone will be in the
same system, said Geoffrey Greene,
the director of IT support services
for CIS. For example, Greene said,
sharing Google documents will be-
come easier.
CIS considered Microsoft’s Live@
edu as an alternative to Google for e-
mail hosting, but though Microsoft’s
service has strong features, Google
provided other features and function-
ality without extra charge, said John
Spadaro, the director of technical
architecture and outreach.
Additionally, Microsoft Live’s
servers are all located at a single
data center and posed “a little too
much risk” in the event that the
data center is compromised, Spa-
daro said. They also considered that
continued on page 2
Brown group opposes
possible changes at Hope
By Jessica Liss
Contributing Writer
Hope United, a group founded by
Brown students and born out of a
Swearer Center Winter Breaks proj-
ect, is working to preserve the cur-
rent schedule and curriculum at Hope
High School. This work is in the face
of changes proposed by the school
district to return Hope to the prior
system — when Hope was one of the
“worst schools” in the Providence
area, said Aaron Regunberg ’12, one
of the group’s founders.
Superintendent Tom Brady is
planning to replace the current
eight-block schedule instituted in
2005 when, faced with low achieve-
ment and safety concerns, Hope
chose to reorganize itself into three
small schools and change to a block
schedule. The school dissolved one
of the schools last year due to budget
constraints.
inside
News......1–3
Metro......4–5
Editorial.....6
Opinion......7
Today.........8
www.browndailyherald.com
C an d y F or C hrist
College Hill for Christ welcomed students back from break with
chocolate-filled plastic eggs spread across the Main Green.
Bill would raise tobacco age to 21 R.I.’s wind
By Mark Raymond
Staff Writer
A bill currently being considered in
the Rhode Island Senate proposes to
raise the purchase age for tobacco
products to 21, from the current
legal age of 18.
The bill, introduced in January
by Senators Rhoda Perry P’91, D-
Providence, and V. Susan Sosnows-
ki, D–New Shoreham and South
Under Brady’s plan, which will
go into effect this fall, there will be
six classes per day, as opposed to the
present system where four 90-minute
classes meet each day on a rotating
cycle.
In a “Save Hope High School” pe-
tition addressed to Superintendent
Brady, the signatories asserted that
the change, “will cut student-teacher
advising time, teacher-meeting peri-
ods, and the arts and tech programs.
These reforms were essential to the
increased test scores, decreased drop-
out rates and reduced school violence
Hope High School has achieved since
its turnaround in 2005.”
The Providence Journal reported
March 26 that while Brady had ac-
knowledged Hope’s improvements
and successes in a letter to the Rhode
Island Board of Regents for Elemen-
tary and Secondary Education, he
continued on page 3
News, 2
Brown Business
Technology Ventures Office
capitalizes on research for
profit, prestige
195 Angell Street, Providence, Rhode Island
Nick Sinnott-Armstrong / Herald
Kingston, replaces each mention of
age 18 in the current law with the
proposed age of 21 and changes
nothing else.
METRO
Current Rhode Island law pro-
hibits anyone under the age of 18
from purchasing tobacco products
and outlaws the selling or delivery
of tobacco to minors.
Brown students are petitioning against Hope High School’s proposed
schedule change.
Simmons, administrators
visit India to foster ties
By Goda Thangada
Senior Staf f Writer
President Ruth Simmons, Dean of
the Faculty Rajiv Vohra P’07 and
other University administrators trav-
eled to India last week for five days
of meetings with alumni, represen-
tatives of Indian universities and
government officials.
While the delegation was visiting,
the Indian government announced
new legislation allowing foreign uni-
versities to establish campuses in
India more easily. But establishing
a campus in India “is not Brown’s
intention,” Simmons told The Her-
ald. “We are interested in continuing
and strengthening relationships with
universities in India,” she said.
Making global connections
The delegation attended the first
Perry said that this bill is based
on the public health benefits of re-
stricting tobacco use during a time
when many young people form life-
long habits. She said the bill is not
an attempt to force her beliefs on
others.
“I’m not trying to be moralistic
about this,” Perry said. “It’s re-
search, as well as morbidity and
continued on page 4
Kim Perley / Herald File
Metro, 4
Ivy Tavern
Hope Street pub struggles
to bait student patrons
with classic food
meeting of the new India Advisory
Council, comprised of alumni and
parents of students. In that meeting,
there was talk of creating a center
for research in India within the next
five years, said Matthew Gutmann,
vice president for international af-
fairs.
“That idea is of great interest to
members of the advisory council,”
he said.
Forming partnerships with other
universities is “not unusual for us,”
Simmons said. “We look for relation-
ships with other institutions that
will benefit our students and our
faculty.” In March, the University
announced a joint master’s program
with Instituto Empresa in Spain.
India has become a hotbed of
engineering and technological re-
continued on page 3
farm dreams
blown away
By CC Chiang
Contributing Writer
Rhode Island’s attempt to build the
nation’s first offshore wind farm
suffered a blow last Tuesday after
a group representing the University
— and several other of the state’s
largest consumers of energy — ex-
pressed its opposition to the project
before the state’s Public Utilities
Commission.
METRO
The commission rejected a pric-
ing agreement between Deepwater
Wind, the project’s developer, and
power distributor National Grid that
would have charged more for wind
power than the prevailing cost from
other sources.
Despite vocal support from Gov.
Donald Carcieri ’65, the commission-
ers voted unanimously against the
20-year power purchase agreement
for a demonstrative eight-turbine
wind farm three miles off Block Is-
land. The wind farm, which would
have been completed in 2013, was
lauded by Carcieri as a major step
towards developing a clean-energy
hub in Rhode Island. In the project’s
second phase, 106 additional tur-
bines would have been added.
But the commission questioned
the plan’s economic feasibility. The
continued on page 5
Opinions, 7
Another MIT?
Mike Johnson ’11 questions
Brown’s emphasis on
engineering and science
herald@browndailyherald.com
Page 2 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Tuesday, April 6, 2010

C ampus N EWS “Switching over is a pain.”

— Professor of Computer Science Andy van Dam on the switch to Gmail

Office helps sell Google to handle all U. e-mail

Brown research continued from page 1

many undergraduates, the first to

By Shara Azad
Staff Writer
Students walk past the Technology
Ventures Office on George Street
every day without knowing about
the work going on inside. The office
expanded this fall with hopes of fur-
ther aiding the process of managing
and commercializing the products of
Brown research. Thus far, the office
has been involved with the start-up of
genetics company NaBsys, business-
optimization organization Dynadec
and greenhouse-gas-reducing Banyan
Environmental, all of which started in
laboratories at Brown.
On a day-to-day basis, the office’s
five staff members “meet with faculty
to discuss research and assess poten-
tial inventions, evaluate technologies
and markets, have discussions with
potential third party licensees and
negotiate potential deals,” wrote Kath-
erine Gordon, managing director of
the TVO, in an e-mail to The Herald.
According to Gordon, this work is
directly related to Brown’s efforts to
boost its national research prestige.
“Our initiatives to move our tech-
nologies into the public sector provide
the means to commercialize these
programs. The recognition of these
accomplishments, originating from in-
novative research at Brown, validates
the high quality of the research,” she
wrote.
Professor of Computer Science
Pascal Van Hentenryck formed Dy-
nadec, a business optimization soft-
ware company, in 2009 with the help
of the Technology Ventures Office.
Van Hentenryck said the office was
integral in the start-up of his com-
pany, helping with the initial licens-
ing agreements between Brown and
Dynadec, making the organization
more appealing for outside funding
and negotiating deals.
“You have to have these things for
intellectual property agreements,”
Van Hentenryck said. The office
“made things attractive for Brown
and for Dynadec, creating a win-win
situation for both.”
The office has been working
closely with the Office of the Vice
President of Research and the Rhode
Island Center for Innovation and En-
trepreneurship to create more indus-
trial partnerships. One such project
is the IBM-Brown supercomputing
center, which is able to perform more
than 14 trillion calculations per sec-
ond.
“Our work … ultimately has major
benefits for the public sector,” Gordon
wrote.
experience the conversion, already
use Gmail.
Spadaro said another advantage
of the Google Apps for Education —
which is distinct from the consumer
Gmail that many people use — is
the contract negotiating the owner-
ship of data. Unlike with consumer
Gmail, the University would own
the user data, prohibiting Google
from pitching ads and limiting the
company’s ability to look at stored
information.
The new system also allows ad-
ministrators to delegate their mail-
boxes and calendars to assistants
so that the assistants can read or
respond on their behalf. Though
Spadaro said the tool, which Google
added recently, is not fully func-
tional yet, he expects it to be one of
the most utilized functions Google
offers.
But some concerns remain re-
garding security and privacy. Dur-
ing the transfer of accounts last Sep-
tember, Google accidentally sent
some students’ e-mails to the wrong
recipients and allowed the wrong
students access to certain inboxes.
Spadaro said this incident was a
“real aberration” caused by a coding
problem on Google’s end. The soft-
ware glitch affected other schools
that use the Gmail system.
Spadaro said CIS talked with
their partners at Google and was as-
sured the problem would not occur
again. Google also released a new
tool a few weeks ago that gives CIS
more control in the e-mail migration
process from Microsoft Exchange
to Google, he said.
Still, Spadaro said he has seen
less concern than he anticipated.
Greene added that most of the ques-
tions he has encountered relate to
consumer Gmail, which lacks some
of the safeguards and restrictions
that the contract with Google Apps
for Education would ensure.
Some of the different aspects of
Gmail might not appeal to longtime
users of Microsoft Exchange, said
Thomas Doeppner, associate profes-
sor of computer science. Google’s
calendar system, for example, is sig-
nificantly different from Exchange’s,
and whether important calendar
information can be transferred be-
tween the two systems “needs to be
demonstrated,” he said. The Gmail
interface, which groups e-mails into
conversation threads, also differs
from Exchange’s.
Though Doeppner called the
conversion a “step in the right
direction,” he said he personally
might not switch over to Gmail right
away, “primarily out of laziness,”
because he uses the Computer Sci-
ence department’s distinct e-mail
system. Some of his colleagues,
including Professor of Computer
Science Andy van Dam, have ex-
pressed a desire not to switch until
necessary.
“Switching over is a pain, and I
do worry about whether our private
e-mails will be adequately protected,
and whether up-time will be good
enough,” van Dam wrote in an e-
mail to The Herald.
Still, Doeppner said he predicts
he will likely switch over to the new
system eventually, and van Dam
wrote that he will not switch until he
feels he has to, but does not resist
the changes entirely.
Spadaro said many other fac-
ulty and staff members, though,
have expressed enthusiasm for the
conversion and have signed on to
become early adopters who use
test accounts or their own Gmail
accounts.
Anjali Sridhar, assistant director
of the Third World Center, was al-
ready using consumer Gmail when
she expressed interest to CIS in
the conversion. She said she hopes
using the new system will make
communication between students
and faculty and staff easier, partic-
ularly for the TWC. Using Gmail
for important functions, like RSVP
documents, also “streamlines the
process,” she said.
“I think the whole package will
be very useful,” Sridhar said.
CIS will hold a campus-wide
forum April 29 to familiarize users
with the new system.
Spadaro said the e-mail conver-
sion should save the University
money, though he said CIS does
not know how much at this time.
They are looking to reach out to
undergraduates, such as those who
work at the CIS help desk, for train-
ing new users on the new system.
Though they expect to have the
new system up for everyone by
the beginning of the fall semester,
Greene said they are hoping to have
departments that have asked to be-
come early adopters switched over
within the month.

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Tuesday, April 6, 2010 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Page 3

C ampus N EWS “...you can’t do justice to it in one year.”

—President Ruth Simmons on Year of India

Brown learns from international partners Brown student group sides with
continued from page 1 cil meeting included the recom- Simmons said. “They need to be
teachers at Hope High School
mendation that the president visit there. They need to not just be
search, especially at the 15 Indian India at least once a year. Other receiving reports.” continued from page 1 inghast said.
Institutes of Technology spread suggestions included establish- Indian universities may be in- The district has a strong focus on
throughout the country. “It’s natu- ing a permanent office in India terested in Brown because many said the school’s approach was too standardization and wants to make
ral if we are working with the top and growing the student exchange are considering introducing a lib- expensive. every school in the city have the
universities, we look at what can program. eral learning component. “We have The 20 to 30 extra teachers re- same schedule and curricula, said
be done in those fields,” Simmons The university partnerships in liabilities in our education system,” quired by the current Hope model Regunberg.
said. India would be “comprehensive,” she said. “They have theirs. One cost a total of approximately $2.5 While Hope teacher Megan
The University has been part- Simmons said. It would allow of the most important things in a million, Brady wrote in the letter, Thoma — who has been notified
nering with liberal arts colleges not only individual students and relationship is to come together according to the Journal. that her job will no longer exist un-
like St. Stephen’s College through faculty to take advantage of new as partners, not as critics.” During the Winter Breaks Project der the new plan — acknowledged
study abroad programs. resources, but facilitate the blend- While Simmons was in India, in January, a group of Brown stu- that consistency would enable stu-
“The potential for scientific col- ing of two types of institutional the countr y passed new legisla- dents exploring urban education in dents to move more easily between
laboration is perhaps obvious, but cultures. “We can benefit from tion mandating education for all Providence met with Hope teach- schools, she expressed concern that
it is worth noting that the huge energy and the advantages that children. Simmons said she was ers to learn about their model, and the changes would compromise the
economic and social transforma- that culture brings to a different excited by efforts to ensure equal to their surprise, heard about the school’s identity and “allow for less
tion that is currently taking place learning setting,” she said. access to education in a society his- changes and teachers’ grievances, arts integration in the curriculum,
in India is of enormous interest to torically filled with inequities, even Regunberg said. which is something we’ve always
researchers in the social sciences Learning from differences if the execution of such efforts is “Here was a situation where prided ourselves on.”
and the humanities,” Vohra wrote In addition to India, Brown not always successful. Scheduling teachers were scared to do anything While the school’s educators have
in an e-mail to The Herald. must nurture connections to China in universities based on caste has because they have a lot to lose and been instrumental in the past years’
“Our aim is primarily academ- and Brazil, Gutmann said. “You long been a controversial issue we have nothing to lose,” Regunberg success, both Regunberg and Till-
ic, but when it comes to research can’t hope to be a leading univer- in Indian politics. “The discourse said. “We were in an ideal situation inghast noted the jobs that will be
collaborations there is no reason sity today if you’re not working only demonstrate how attuned peo- to help and organize.” lost under the reorganization and
to assume that they will always with scholars in these countries,” ple in India are to these enduring “We went right to the Hope stu- teachers’ hesitancy to work against
be with universities,” he wrote. he said. problems,” Simmons said. dents,” he said, and Hope United was the superintendent and support Hope
“Over time, I would expect that A China Advisory Council al- Simmons said she found India formed. United.
the kind of productive research ready exists, and another council a vastly different place since she With 25 core members, the group However, Thoma said, Hope’s
partnerships that develop between in Latin America or Brazil may last visited in the 1970s — changes has held three meetings thus far and teachers “have been extremely vo-
academic researchers and U.S. be formed in the coming years. reflected in the attitudes toward plans to address the School Board in cal up until this point that we don’t
businesses will extend to Indian If each council requires a presi- education. “The notion of compul- the coming weeks, said Hope High support the changes.” She contin-
businesses.” dential visit, “how many advisory sory education — that’s about as School senior Michael Tillinghast. ued, “It goes against what we initially
The University recently hired councils we can sustain is an is- important in advancing society as The group provides opportunities signed on for.”
a number of faculty who work in sue,” Simmons said. anything I can think,” she said. for Hope students to strategize and “It makes it really difficult when
South Asian studies, including Simmons is also “focusing” on India today is not much differ- devise plans to protest the proposed your district isn’t supporting what
Professor of Political Science Africa, and an advisory council in ent from where the United States changes. you know what is best for your stu-
Ashutosh Varshney and Visiting Africa has been considered, but used to be, Simmons said. Her The Brown students have been dents,” Thoma said. “But it is also a
Professor of Theatre Shayoni Mi- establishing a council for a whole older siblings didn’t attend school “providing insight into the school financial issue.”
tra. “We are feeling very positive continent may be more complicat- because they needed to work on board, the meetings, the legalities Ultimately though, even in the
about the group already,” Simmons ed than a country-based council, the farm, while Simmons herself and everything they know,” Tilling- face of challenges, “for the most
said. she said. was able to attend school as one hast said. part, people are very passionate
Though Simmons is person- of the youngest children, she said. Right now, getting parents in- about keeping what we have,” said
A push to partner ally interested and invested in Simply stating that equality is an volved and educated is most impor- Thoma.
The immediate outcome of the the University’s relationship with objective represents changes in tant, according to Regunberg. In speaking about Hope United,
visit may be exchanges that will India, she said she is eager for values, she said. When instituting changes, “the Regunberg said the goal is to involve
bring new faculty to Brown and more members of the commu- “It reflects the movement in school board is looking at the de- all those with a stake in the debate.
allow Brown faculty to teach in nity to take initiative in building society that is sometimes so imper- structive factors: violence, test scores, “We don’t want it to be a Brown-led
India. The University would invite ties. “I’m encouraging faculty and ceptible. I can see that progress,” dropout rates. All of these things they thing, we want it to be a community
departments to nominate potential administrators to travel to India,” she said. use to test a school’s success,” Till- led thing,” he said.
visiting faculty, Simmons said.
The visit has been in the works
for two years, said Simmons, who
designated this academic year the
Year of India. “I wanted people to
know about the ver y strong in-
terest that we have in India,” she
said.
Simmons said she was amazed
that during her visit, people were
discussing the Year of India, a se-
ries of events that she called part
of a longer-term commitment to
Indian studies
“India is a very complex coun-
try, and you can’t do justice to it
in one year,” she said. “This is the
springboard for something much
more enduring.”
Members of the delegation
are still in India holding meet-
ings. News about specific fellow-
ships, exchanges and resources
for research in India could still
be forthcoming, Simmons said.
“The IAC is very anxious for us to
do that. We have to follow up with
something concrete,” she said.
Vohra, an alum of St. Stephen’s,
said a new agreement would al-
low more Brown students to study
abroad in India. A new exchange
will allow a St. Stephen’s student
to enroll at Brown for a one-year
master’s program.
Results from the advisory coun-
Metro
The Brown Daily Herald
Hope Street pub evades students
Locals flock to tavern
for burgers and beer
By Roberto Ferdman
Contributing Writer
Chef Tom Crowshaw lets the plates
drop against the counter. “One Silver-
burger and one Accidental Purist,”
he yells down the length of the bar
before grabbing two glasses and fill-
ing them to the brim. He slides the
overflowing beers up next to the two
burgers, one classic — loaded with
chili, bacon, mushrooms, onions and
cheese — and one garden — topped
with grilled apples, caramelized on-
ions, melted brie, tomato marmalade
and mesclun greens. He wipes his
face against his right forearm and
adds, “And two Dogfish Heads,” be-
fore he retreats back to the grill.
Tom has been sweating through
his evenings at the Ivy Tavern for
nearly five years now, helping regu-
lars kick back to platefuls of heart-
warming food and glassfuls of ice-
cold draft beer. But Brown students,
he says, have never really been a part
of the crowd.
The Experience
Nestled amongst Hope Street’s
shops and eateries, the Ivy Tavern’s
facade is subdued and unassuming,
“Smoking is a stupid thing to do, but it’s stupid at any age.”
— Steven Brown, executive director of the R.I. ACLU
save a large sidewalk easel that rests
at its front and reads: “Welcome to
the IVY — a cool little place with
GREAT FOOD.” The front door
swings open to the soft buzz of con-
versation, the clattering of silverware
and the aroma of a sizzling grill.
“I was going for a cross between
a gentlemen’s tavern and a place ev-
eryone would want in their neighbor-
hood,” said David Silverberg, owner
and founder of the Ivy Tavern.
Inside, sports memorabilia line
the pub’s sponge-painted walls and
dimly lit ceilings pour soft light down
onto the small tables that surround
its wooden bar. “It’s the type of setup
that makes people feel at home,” Sil-
verberg said.
“A lot of the decorations I already
had at the time and they really went
with the homey sports bar theme,”
he said.
Televisions hang throughout the
tavern and customers follow sporting
events around New England from
cramped tables.
Silverberg maintains a specials
section that he changes weekly,
complementing consistent favor-
ites like the Cool Breeze ­— an egg-
plant sandwich topped with pesto,
sundried tomato salsa and melted
mozzarella — and the Salmon Sen-
continued on page 5
Tuesday, April 6, 2010 | Page 4
Two state senators call for
higher tobacco age
continued from page 1
mortality statistics we’re looking at.”
Steven Brown, executive director
of the Rhode Island Affiliate of the
American Civil Liberties Union, said
that while smoking is unhealthy, this
bill does not make sense given the
other legal rights afforded to 18-year-
olds.
“Eighteen is the age of majority,”
Brown said. “An 18-year-old is legally
an adult and can marry, enter into
contracts and serve in the military,
so he or she should be able to smoke
cigarettes.”
Brown added that this bill is an
attempt to protect individuals who he
believes are old enough to be making
decisions on their own.
“It is a discrimination against
young adults solely on the basis of
their age,” Brown said. “It’s a protec-
tive measure that refuses to recognize
that 18-year-olds are adults and should
generally be treated as such.”
Despite Perry’s claim that research
validates the bill, she does not believe
it will pass this year. She predicted that
the influence of special interests and
political pressure to avoid measures
that might further depress Rhode
Island’s struggling economy would
prevent the bill from passing in the
near future.
“There are a good number of
people who would feel inclined to
agree with the measure, but on the
other hand there are very powerful
lobbying groups who are against this,”
Perry said. “We’re trying very hard
to work at the budget and our state’s
economy right now, but eventually we
may see this bill’s passage become a
possibility.”
Both Brown and Perry noted that
smoking is harmful, but each had a
different approach to how it should be
handled from a legal perspective.
“Smoking is a stupid thing to do,
but it’s stupid at any age,” Brown
said.
Perry said that while consump-
tion of alcohol in moderate amounts
can have social benefits — and even
potential health benefits — a cigarette
represents “an ill wind that blows no
good.”
She said that raising the age at
which an individual can obtain tobacco
would simply be one of the most effec-
tive ways to discourage young people
from smoking.
“These days we’re looking at what
researchers say works, which is keep-
ing young people from starting ciga-
rette smoking,” Perry said. “Studies
have revealed that the longer a young
person is kept from smoking, the less
likely he or she is to start.”
Page 5
M etro
The Ivy Tavern offers hot food and cold beer to a student-less crowd.
Classic eatery offers
friendly environment
continued from page 4
sato — a croissant sandwich filled
with broiled salmon, mesclun greens,
balsamic tomato, and the tavern’s own
lemon-dill-dijon salmonaise sauce.
“I always try to have veggie and
salad specials,” Silverberg said. “And
the garden burger is one of the most
popular dishes.”
But for hungrier patrons, plenty
of pub classics round off the menu. It
also offers a half-pound burger, chili
cheese fries and the Astro — a gen-
erously stacked sandwich filled with
pastrami, ham, sauteed onions and
peppers, beer mustard and swiss.
Silverberg understands he has to
please a tough audience.
“People in this town are dialed into
the better things,” he said, so “good
food was always the idea.”
The Story
Despite its status as an East Side
institution, Silverberg’s pub had to
endure a rough start before it hit its
stride.
When he opened the tavern in
May 2003, he ran his first advertise-
ment in The Herald. Brown students
seemed the ideal clientele for the
quaint, intimate eatery. But the ads
brought only a few Brown professors
— and no students. “I didn’t think the
mile or so up Hope Street would stop
kids from coming, but maybe it did,”
Silverberg said.
Whether or not it was distance that
deterred students from visiting the 758
Hope St. pub, Silverberg was forced to
look elsewhere for his customer base,
and began focusing on local residents.
“At the time, there wasn’t really a bar
on the street,” he said. “I thought this
could be the one.”
But Silverberg knew it was not
going to be easy. Having run a suc-
cessful restaurant on Block Island
before moving to Providence, he was
familiar with the ups and downs of
the industry. “I’ve learned that it’s
a tough business, and Providence
in particular is full of great places,”
Silverberg said.
“You need to find a way to separate
yourself,” he said.
So when Rhode Island Monthly
listed the pub in its Best of Rhode
Island 2005 installment, Silverberg
knew that he had found the distinction
Roberto Ferdman / Herald
he was looking for. “It changed the
whole game,” he said. “It completely
changed how I was doing business and
who I was doing business with.”
Since then, the small tavern has
become a neighborhood staple, field-
ing crowds of locals night in and night
out. “I think people really liked what
I was doing here,” Silverberg said of
his pub’s continued success.
But people crowd the place for
many different reasons. “Some come
week after week for an after-work
drink, some come for a specific dish
and some even come for a specific
employee,” he said.
“One time I took the Polka Dog off
the menu and two of my loyal custom-
ers stopped coming,” he said.
Why Brown students haven’t yet
found a favorite burger or waitress
at the neighborhood pub, Silver-
berg can’t say, but he hasn’t given
up. “Hopefully I’ll get some students
soon,” he said.
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Tuesday, April 6, 2010
“People in this town are dialed into the better things.”
— David Silverberg, owner of the Ivy Tavern
Commission rejects plan for offshore wind farm
continued from page 1 Maiorisi said the University’s strike a balance between economic
energy costs amount to approxi- feasibility and environmental sus-
plan proposed an initial price of mately $10 million annually. tainability.
24.4 cents per kilowatt-hour, with “Brown fully supports renew- Maiorisi said that more dialogue
a 3.5 percent increase over each able energy initiatives, but the pro- between members of the energy
year of the 20-year agreement — a posal didn’t seem market feasible. group and proponents of the project
steep premium over the average Hopefully they’ll go back and work will be crucial in understanding the
wholesale price of 7.8 cents per on it,” Maiorisi said. calculations behind the 24.4 cents
kilowatt-hour paid for other sources Maiorisi said that the University per kilowatt-hour figure.
of energy. Total above-market costs remains committed to clean energy, “We are hoping to get a group
to energy consumers could eventu- purchasing over a third of its en- of institutions together and invite
ally rise to $500 million. ergy from renewable sources. people from the wind proposal to
The commission also cited the Maiorisi said that the energy talk to us and share information.
wind farm’s lack of scale and lim- group’s opposition to the Deepwa- We’d like to encourage them to
ited employment as factors for their ter proposal was “simply a reaction move forward and see where the
rejection. to the market rate, not if it’s a good numbers are coming from. Then
In a press statement, Carcieri proposal.” we’ll wait to see how it follows out,”
called the commission’s decision “As a member, we allow (the he said.
“an extraordinarily short-sighted energy council) to represent not A representative from Deep-
and narrow-minded decision” and only us but 30 or so other institu- water Wind’s Rhode Island office
pledged to work with legislative tions. When National Grid goes declined to comment. In a press
leaders to discuss other potential before the PUC, we have somebody release, Chief Executive Officer
solutions. to objectively look at what the cal- William Moore expressed disap-
According to Amy Kempe, Car-
cieri’s press secretary, the Deep-
water plan was “the best proposal
culations might be,” he said.
Maiorisi said that though Brown
welcomes the idea of a wind farm
pointment with the PUC’s decision.
“Deepwater Wind is now forced
to reevaluate our plans for Rhode
that offered significant economic in Rhode Island, Deepwater has to Island,” he said in the release.
development and commitment to
state of Rhode Island.”
The Energy Council of Rhode
Island, which represents 60 of the
state’s largest energy users, includ-
ing Brown, was highly critical of the
plan. Chris Powell, Brown’s direc-
tor of sustainable energy and envi-
ronmental initiatives, is a member
of the group’s board.
Steve Maiorisi, vice president
for facilities management, said that
Brown’s energy bill would increase
by $200,000 in 2013 under the pro-
posal. The first phase of the proj-
ect would increase Brown’s energy
bill by $7 million over 20 years, he
said.
Editorial & Letters
The Brown Daily Herald

Page 6 | Tuesday, April 6, 2010

l e t t e r to t h e e d i to r

Herald mischaracterized
professors’ lawsuit
To the Editor: ing the position of Dean of the Col-
lege two days later. He had made
We are writing to correct mistak- it clear to Interim President Sheila
en statements in an opinions column Blumstein and Provost Kathr yn
and a news article that The Herald Spoehr that he would not take this
has published (“Shame on Ruth,” post without a commitment to give
Feb. 17; “Faculty stick together in Haviland the job security she had
work and marriage,” March 15) as a tenured associate professor at
about our successful lawsuit to force Stony Brook.
Brown University to honor promises The key letter, instigated by con-
that induced us to accept faculty po- versations we had with Blumstein,
sitions here. drafted by Spoehr’s office, reviewed
The Herald twice erroneously re- by University Counsel Beverly Led-
ported that we “did not sue Brown” better and signed by Dean of the
but merely sought a “legal clarifi- Faculty Mary Fennell, promised that
cation.” However, we were indeed Haviland “shall be renewed for ad-
compelled to sue Brown because ditional five-year terms” unless she
President Ruth Simmons refused to was found to have been guilty of
respect commitments the preceding “demonstrated incompetence, dis- E VA N D o N A H U E A N D E R I K S T AY T O N
administration had made, and we honesty in teaching or research, [or]
received a declaratory judgment substantial and manifest neglect of
from Rhode Island Superior Court duty” that would “be substantially
Judge Allen P. Rubine that orders equivalent to adequate cause for dis- e d i to r i a l
the University to abide by these missal of a tenured faculty member
agreements.
The Herald is repeating an argu-
from the University.”
The judge found that this was a Just say no
ment that Brown made in trying to clear and unambiguous promise that
have our case dismissed. The Uni- Brown violated by twice evaluating Rhode Island faces serious challenges that will require state’s budget certainly needs work, but Palumbo
versity’s lawyers contended that we Haviland for reappointment accord- substantive solutions, but one member of the General should keep his focus on programs that actually
were seeking an “advisory opinion” ing to a different standard (and deny- Assembly has a plan that should go back to the draw- use state dollars.
and that it was not the business of ing her a full five-year renewal after ing board. State Rep. Peter Palumbo, D-Cranston, It’s not just that Palumbo’s proposal won’t gen-
the court to give legal advice. Judge the first review). Brown’s violation of has introduced a bill that would require drug testing erate savings; it may actually drain the state’s cof-
Rubine considered and rejected this this promise gave us no alternative for all adult welfare recipients and their immediate fers even further. The Rhode Island Department of
argument. other than to sue the University. adult family members. Individuals found using illegal Human Services has cited serious concerns about
We agreed to give up our ten- drugs would lose monthly cash benefits. implementation costs, estimating that it would cost
ured faculty positions at SUNY-Stony If Palumbo’s goal is to further stigmatize the wel- between $2.4 million and $7.2 million to test the 8,000
Brook and accept jobs at Brown only Paul Armstrong fare program, this legislation will certainly do the adults in question.
because the University provided Professor of English trick. If his goal is to target poor individuals while leav- Palumbo said he has heard stories about welfare
Beverly Haviland with assurances Dean of the College, ing wealthier beneficiaries of government programs recipients selling their food stamps to fund their
about her reappointment as a non- 2001–2006 like tax credits off the hook, the measure is spot on. drug habits (he admitted that he has heard only
tenured Senior Lecturer that gave But if he is trying to save the state “a lot of money second-hand accounts of such activity, but he told
her security of employment equiva- Beverly Haviland that’s being misused,” as he told the Providence the Providence Journal that he is “convinced that it’s
lent to a tenured faculty member. Senior Lecturer and Visiting Journal last month, the bill is an embarrassment. happening”). Using public support to buy illegal drugs
A letter outlining these terms was Associate Professor For one thing, Palumbo’s proposal is blatantly is clearly reprehensible, and taxpayers and elected
sent to us on Oct. 18, 2000, and Paul Department of American unconstitutional, as it calls for testing all adults on officials alike are right to be concerned about where
Armstrong signed a letter accept- Civilization welfare without probable cause. Michigan passed welfare dollars are going. But if poor drug users lose
a similar law in 1997, and the law was challenged their welfare benefits and still cannot find work, the
shortly thereafter. In 2000, a District Court judge social costs are likely to be exacerbated.
issued a preliminary injunction against the measure, Rhode Island’s poverty rate is hovering above 12
calling it “dangerously at odds with the tenets of our percent, making it the highest in New England. The
t h e b r o w n d a i ly h e r a l d democracy.” And in 2003, the U.S. Court of Appeals state’s unemployment rate is nearly 13 percent —
Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor Deputy Managing Editors Senior Editors for the Sixth Circuit affirmed the ruling, setting a the third highest in the country. Now is no time to
George Miller Chaz Kelsh Sophia Li Ellen Cushing precedent that remains in place today. threaten welfare benefits for people who need them
Seth Motel
Emmy Liss
Joanna Wohlmuth
As far as savings go, Palumbo might want to take the most. If his bill doesn’t pass this time around,
editorial Business
another look at Rhode Island’s spending on welfare. Palumbo said he will “have to come back another
Anne Speyer Arts & Culture Editor General Managers Office Manager The monthly cash payments to welfare beneficiaries day.” Let’s hope the General Assembly has enough
Suzannah Weiss Arts & Culture Editor Claire Kiely Shawn Reilly come entirely from federal funds. State taxpayers sense to say no both now and in the future.
Brian Mastroianni Features Editor Katie Koh
Hannah Moser Features Editor finance only the administrative costs of the program,
Directors
Brigitta Greene Metro Editor Kelly Wess Sales which probably wouldn’t decrease if payments were Editorials are written by The Herald’s editorial page board.
Ben Schreckinger Metro Editor Matthew Burrows Finance
cut off for a small fraction of welfare recipients. The Send comments to editorials@browndailyherald.com.
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Graphics & Photos
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Stephen Lichenstein Graphics Editor
Maximilian Barrows Business Operations
Alex Yuly Graphics Editor
Jilyn Chao Business Analytics for 2014,” April 5) incorrectly stated that the University received 31,136 applications for the class of 2014. In fact,
Nick Sinnott-Armstrong Photo Editor
Max Monn Asst. Photo Editor
Danielle Marshak Credit and Collections the University received 30,136 applications, which the article correctly stated. The Herald regrets the error.
Alexander Carrere Special Projects
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Opinions
The Brown Daily Herald
Greater expectations: the case against indiscrimination
BRIAN JUDGE
Opinions Columnist
The opposite of discrimination isn’t indiscrimi-
nateness. In our quest to create an inclusive,
pluralistic society, we have abandoned the
standards and expectations that give us a vi-
sion of how to conduct oneself properly. This
isn’t an inevitability. I firmly believe that there
is a way to hold one another to standards
that do not depend on privileges of birth, but
determination of spirit. The notion of “proper
conduct” is no longer a privilege of birth. It
is something that is available to every person
who wishes to pursue it.
We all may come from very diverse cultural
and socioeconomic backgrounds, but I believe
that we can all come together in our commit-
ment to similar standards. The purpose of hav-
ing standards and expectations is to exclude
actions, not people. This is what Sean Quigley
’10 was railing against in his column (“Appro-
priate for the occasion,” March 17). Looking
like a slob, far from being a statement of one’s
own individuality, as many people can look like
slobs in the same way, is just a manifestation
of laziness that has permeated our culture. I
want to argue for why having a more inclusive
society doesn’t necessarily mean sacrificing
all expectations and norms.
Hey, we have humanities here, too
MIKE JOHNSON
Opinions Columnist
Recent efforts to approve a proposal to cre-
ate an engineering school are laudable. Ap-
proval would increase the intellectual capital
of the University while simultaneously help-
ing Brown join the ranks of all the other Ivy
League institutions with engineering schools.
It will pull graduate students to Brown who
would never have looked here before, help-
ing to constantly improve and expand on the
program. Yet unfortunately, the fight for the
proposal’s approval reveals a troubling trend
on campus.
Recently, the University has been focus-
ing on pumping money into the sciences
at Brown, perhaps to the detriment of the
humanities. The science resource center on
the third floor of the Sciences Library is just
the newest incarnation of dedicated facilities
for the sciences. While the center is open to
students of all disciplines, the naming and
location of a state-of-the-art study center isn’t
to be ignored.
Meanwhile, in the basement of the SciLi is
the Friedman Study Center, an innocuously-
named, inviting place to go wait in line while
someone prints a million pages worth of poorly
photocopied readings.
Now this isn’t meant to discount the need
for investment in science education. As the
world globalizes politically and economically,
and as the United States transitions further
Most of us have discovered at one point
or another that it is really fun to push against
what we see as people’s arbitrary expectations
of us. “Why should I eat my broccoli?” But I
know I am much better off for abiding by ex-
pectations that seemed arbitrary and unfair to
me at the time. By blindly tolerating anything
(except intolerance), there is no expectation
to try to improve oneself. I would hope that
Brown can still be the happiest college without
It seems like every week there is a lecture that
has the words “race,” “gender” or “class” in
the title. By remaining fixated on the power
structures that created these “constructs,”
we neglect the real possibility for unity and
community.
also being the most self-satisfied.
Now, we don’t have any competing visions
for what constitutes a respectable person. A
Brown University education is now open to
a much broader range of people, but there
isn’t really a comprehensive notion of what
a “Brown University education” really is. It
would be a shame for everyone to seal them-
selves up inside their own little bubbles and
affects and to have little concern for the Uni-
into a high-tech economy, the need to educate
our youth in the sciences increases. In order
to remain competitive, we need the business
and research leaders of tomorrow to know
how a fiber-optic cable works, or what a nano-
particle is.
And to be fair, the sciences are a cash cow.
Research grants and corporate sponsorships
fund amazing opportunities for undergradu-
ates and graduates alike, and draw noted pro-
fessors in every field. These grants spill over
indirectly into the humanities, as money that
doesn’t need to be spent in the sciences can
The shiny new science center has SMART boards
that probably don’t smell like a combination of
chalk, 1970s textbooks and despair.
be spent elsewhere.
While the number of libraries devoted to
literature and the other humanities outnumber
the SciLi, they aren’t really comparable. The
John Hay brings prestige, but it is a closed-
stack, rare books library, usually foreign to
most of the students who attend Brown. The
John Carter Brown Library is similar. The
Rockefeller Library, however — let’s just say
it’s not the same as the SciLi.
The Friedman Study Center has won
multiple awards for its aesthetics, while the
Rock’s study spaces are cafeteria tables with
versity as a whole. We are all bound to one
another by being students at Brown.
The purpose of having a system of rules
and mores that we all agree to abide by is to
establish some common ground among the
wide variety of people who go to school here,
not to merely insist on the dominance of one
particular group or ideology. The group of
people committed to learning and the better-
ment of the world is not the purview of any
one group in particular.
Insisting that people relate to one another
by a commitment to a shared set of values
and practices isn’t necessarily hegemonic.
It’s worth noting that the picture of the Mas-
sachusetts Institute of Technology student
body in 1956 that Quigley references was
all-male and all-white. It is a lot easier to in-
sist on standards when everyone is from the
same ethnic and socioeconomic background.
computers on them. The classrooms in the
Rock are dismal, unadorned, monastic cells
stowed away in the stacks that make Friday
afternoon seminars almost impossible to at-
tend. They’re furnished with what looks like
whatever chairs and tables Brown could get
at a yard sale. By comparison, the shiny new
science center has SMART boards that prob-
ably don’t smell like a combination of chalk,
1970s textbooks and despair.
Granted, the Watson Institute for Interna-
tional Studies is renowned, and the Pembroke
Center is groundbreaking, both adding to the
credibility of the humanities at Brown. How-
ever, what is troubling is that although Brown
is making efforts to end its dubious honor
of being the only Ivy League school without
a school of engineering, our University will
remain one of two in the Ivy League without
law or business schools.
The oft-given reason for this deficiency
is that Brown’s charter stipulates that the
school would be for the “education in the
vernacular and learned languages, and in the
liberal arts and sciences,” in which law and
business are not typically included. However,
Tuesday, April 6, 2010 | Page 7
Same rearing, same values. But we have pro-
gressed to the point where we can all come
together, regardless of background, to form
a single community, instead of insisting on
the importance of everyone’s own individual
background.
It seems like every week there is a lecture
that has the words “race,” “gender” or “class”
in the title. By remaining fixated on the power
structures that created these “constructs,”
we neglect the real possibility for unity and
community. I couldn’t care less if you are rich
or poor, black or white, male or female, etc.,
if you are a self-centered bore. All that does
matter is that you are a passionate and engag-
ing person.
The great sage Emily Post defined manners
as “the outward manifestation of one’s innate
character and attitude towards life.” There
are plenty of overly snarky examples I could
use to illustrate the wisdom of this statement,
but I will leave it to you all to decide whether
or not this does anything for you. Suffice it
to say that I have never heard someone say
anything intelligent in class while wearing
sweatpants.
If you stand for nothing, you will fall for
everything. I can’t help but think that GQ was
onto something in this regard.
Brian Judge ‘11 would like to see
an Emily Post Magazine in The
Herald.
the charter also describes the purpose of a
liberal education to be “preserving in the com-
munity a succession of men duly qualified for
discharging the offices of life with usefulness
and reputation.” Surely the study of the laws
of our nation and those of other nations is one
of the offices of life.
Brown’s charter hasn’t been amended
since 1942, when the Corporation decided it
was a bad idea to fill trustee positions based
on religious affiliation. Surely the charter
can be reinterpreted to allow the study of
law, one of the oldest and most prestigious
studies. If they’re worried about cash, I can
assure the Corporation that law school tuition
is appropriately exorbitant across the nation.
Since there is seemingly a push to see tomor-
row’s innovators coming out of Brunonia’s
halls, it seems just as important to push for
tomorrow’s chief justices and senators, maybe
even a president, to stride through the Van
Wickle Gates.
In today’s community we see a complete
disrespect and ignorance of the rule of law,
and of the spirit in which many of our nation’s
laws are interpreted. We constantly change
the way we view the hallowed words of the
Declaration of Independence and of the Con-
stitution. Should not Brown be part of that
conversation? We’ve seen the way those who
graduate with law degrees from Harvard or
Yale deal with those questions, and that’s cer-
tainly not working out.
Mike Johnson ’11 is simply too
lazy to apply to other law schools.
 Today
The Brown Daily Herald
1 4
c a l e n da r
Today, april 6
all day — “Mountaintop Removal:
A Legacy of Human Suffering and
Environmental Devastation,” Pembroke
Hall B2
4 P.M. — Priyadarshini Ghosh: Mohini
Attam Dance Demonstration and
Lecture, Ashamu Dance Studio
menu
Sharpe Refectory
Lunch — Spinach Quiche, Corn
Cobbets, Grilled Caribbean Jerk
Chicken, Chourico
Dinner — Sesame Chicken Strips with
Mustard Sauce, Vegan Chow Mein and
Tofu with Chow Mein Noodles
crossword
3 Simmons spends spring break overseas to day to m o r r o w
Ivy Tavern attracts few Ivy Leaguers
4 71 / 52
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
81 / 58
Page 8
t h e n e w s i n i m ag e s
comics
tomorrow, april 7 Dot Comic | Eshan Mitra and Brendan Hainline
9 P.M. — Mangoes with Chili, Pride
Series Convocation, Rites and Reason
Theatre
9 P.M. — “The Time that Remains,”
2010 Palestinian Film Series, Avon
Cinema
Verney-Woolley Dining Hall
Fruitopia | Andy Kim
Lunch — Shaved Steak Sandwich,
Vegetable Strudel, Grilled Caribbean
Jerk Chicken
Dinner — Grilled Caesar Chicken,
Creamy Parmesan Primavera, Saigon
Beef and Ham with Veggies
Hippomaniac | Mat Becker
Island Republic | Kevin Grubb
Classic Deep-Fried Kittens | Cara FitzGibbon