February 5, 2009 Issue

8/14/2019 February 5, 2009 Issue

1/12

www.brownailheral.com 195 Anell Street, Provience, Rhoe Islan [email protected]

News.....1-4Metro........5-6Sports...7-8Eitorial..10Opinion...11Toay........12

NEW EATS ON THAYER

A new burer restaurant

will open on Thayer Street

this sprin

Metro, 5SCIENTIFIC THEATER

Alyssa Ratlee 11 wants

more science classes

aime at non-scientists

Opinions, 11

inside

DailyHeraldthe Brown

vol. cxliv, no. 12 | Thursday, February 5, 2009 | Serving the community daily since 1891

Sk b BY BRIgITTA gREENE

SeniorStaffWriter

Every weekday night in the cinder-

block basement o the Maddock

Alumni Center, students sit head-

sets over their ears, scripts on their

desks in tiny cubicle arrange-

ments. Their job, talking to donors

about giving to the Brown Annual

Fund, has grown more dicult in

the current economic climate.

Posted in the basement, known

as the student call center, is a sign

with the heading Fundraising in an

Uncertain Economic Climate.

Many alumni, parents and riends

have epressed concern about howthe current global nancial crisis is

aecting Brown, the sign warns,

beore giving more detailed advice

to callers.

With less than ve months re-

maining in the 2009 scal year, only

$12.8 million o a $36 million goal

has been raised or the und, said

Tammie Ruda, executive director

o annual giving.

Though the und was only 4 per-

cent behind the previous years pace

as o Dec. 31, according to a Jan. 27

e-mail to the community rom Presi-

dent Ruth Simmons, an economy in

recession may make it dicult to

reach an ambitious, $36 million goalthat would seek to beat last years

haul by almost $1 million.

The Campaign or Academic En-

richment has identifed the progress

o the Annual Fund as its main ocus,

said Ronald Vanden Dorpel MA71,

senior vice president or University

advancement. Simmons wrote in

her e-mail that any reduction in

the Fund total by fscal year end will

mean a dollar-or-dollar reduction in

our operating budget.The Annual Fund, i it reaches

its goal, would supply 7percent o

the Universitys operating budget,

according to Ruda.

Despite the current pace, Ruda

said she is pretty pleased with An-

nual Fund giving so ar. Gits to the

und are heaviest in the ourth quar-

ter o the scal year, with consider-

able donations coming in during May

and June, she said. Over $9.5 million

was raised or the Annual Fund dur-ing the month o June alone last year,

according to the unds Web site.

Were still pushing very hard to

reach this goal, Ruda said.

The Annual Fund is an unrestrict-

ed pool o money that goes directly

toward the operating budget. An

expected 10 percent decline in the

amount raised through the Fund and

other annual und-raising eorts

would reduce operating revenues

by $4 million, according to Simmonse-mail.

b UA BY CHAz KElSH

neWS editor

The number o Undergraduate

Teaching and Research Awards

oered or this summer will re-main steady at about 200, despite

previous plans to expand the

number each year, said Christina

Furtado, assistant dean or upper

class studies.

Though the Task Force on

Undergraduate Education recom-

mended expanding the UTRA pro-

gram in its fnal report released in

September, the Universitys fnan-

cial troubles have precluded the

small increase planned or this

year, said Furtado, who oversees

the program or the Ofce o the

Dean o the College.

Furtado did not know how

large this years increase would

have been. We got hit beore we

got to that point, she said, add-

ing that the size o the program

in any given year also depends

on the quality o the applications

received.

In its report, the task orce

recommended that the Univer-

sity increase unding or inde-

pendent learning experiences,

like research opportunities and

internships.There is currently no plan or

uture increases, Furtado said.

But i you want to be optimistic,

she added, then yes we hope

to be able to turn things around

net year.

Were hoping to do the best

we can or our students, Furtado

said, adding that administrators

are quite committed to the task

orces recommendations.

In an e-mail to The Herald,

Marjorie Thompson, assistant

dean o biological sciences,

wrote that she has seen demand

or UTRAs increasing. As the

number o scholarships remains

steady, students will have to be

more creative in nding und-

ing or summer research, she

wrote.

C

BY JOANNA WOHlmuTH

Metro editor

The College Curriculum Council may

fnish reviewing up to 13 undergradu-

ate concentrations more than it

originally planned by the end o the

academic year, said Karen Krahulik,

the chair o the councils concentra-

tions subcommittee.

The council began comprehensive

reviews o Browns 95 undergradu-

ate concentrations last semester, asrecommended by the Task Force

on Undergraduate Education, which

released its report in September.

The process requires departments

to clariy the goals o concentrations

they oer and to explain how they ul-

ll Browns broader academic aims,

said Krahulik, who is also the asso-

ciate dean o the College or upper

class studies. Departments are also

asked to review advising and senior

capstone opportunities, she said.

Nine concentrations had origi-

nally been slated or review this year.

But some concentrations wishing to

make signicant changes to their

programs have been added to the

schedule, potentially allowing the

M, kBY KEllY mAllAHAN

StaffWriter

As the new semester kicks into high

gear, many students have trouble bal-

ancing classes, sports, extracurricularsand that weekly shit at the Gate they

work to nance their coee habits.

But or a ew Brown undergraduates,

theres an additional element to add to

this balancing act: their marriages.

The University doesnt keep

statistics on the number o married

undergraduate students, nor does

it provide any specic services or

them the only mention o married

students on the Universitys Web site

is their exemption rom on-campus

living requirements. Brown students

who choose to get married beore

getting their degrees are largely on

their own.

According to Alicia Adams 11, who

married her high school boyriend

Brian in July, the hardest part o get-

ting married was guring out her liv-

ing arrangement. Since her husband is

not a Brown student, they were orced

to rent an o-campus apar tment. Its

really expensive, she said, adding that

her rent was almost $1,100 a month.

My loans have denitely gone up,

she added.

Lanna Leite, who enrolled as a

member o the class o 2010 but is

currently taking a year o, got mar-

ried over winter break o her resh-

man year. She works odd jobs and

waits tables to support hersel and

her husband Cassius.

Leites husband is rom Brazil, and

they had to wait six months ater they

got married beore he could join her

in the U.S. She continued to live in

Keeney Quandrangle the spring ol-

lowing their marriage, but she has

since moved o campus. She also

cited housing as the largest obstacle

acing married students. Leite said

it was dicult to nd an apartment

near campus, because no one that

was close by would rent to us.

Even many landlords listed on

Browns auxiliary housing Web site

Enice Hon / Heral

Stent callers, seen here solicitin onations for the Brown Annal Fn, now face an nfavorable econom.

Cortes of Alicia Aams

Alicia Aams 11, seen here with her hsban Brian, sai maintaininher social life on camps is a challene since she ot marrie, bt Brianhelps her maintain a health balance.FEATuRE

continued onpage 4

continued onpage 2

continued onpage 4

continued onpage 4

post- hops to with strappinyoun meicine folkan tosses tea to the

hih life

Insie


2/12

sudoku

Stephen DeLucia, President

Michael Bechek, Vice President

Jonathan Spector, Treasurer

Aleander Hughes, Secretary

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

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DailyHeraldthe Brown

THuRSdAy, FEBRuARy 5, 2009THE BROWN dAILy HERALdPAgE 2

CAMUS wS It oesnt make sense to take awa the onl means of centralize commnication. Cla Wertheimer 10, uCS Commnications Chair, on a new Mornin Mail policMCA z -BY BEN SCHRECKINgER

SeniorStaffWriter

The company that administers the

Medical College Admission Test iscontacting students who received an

e-mail erroneously inorming them

that their exam had been canceled

ater several people may have missed

the eam last Saturday in Warwick.

A spokesperson or the testing

company, Prometric, expressed re-

gret or the conusion and said the

company was reaching out to those

who may have been aected. Pro-

metric does not know how or why

the e-mail was sent.

The Herald reported Monday that

at least our Brown students received

an e-mail last Friday stating that their

MCAT exams, scheduled or the ol-lowing day, had been canceled.

The e-mail originated rom Pro-

metric, the company administering

the test, and was sent to takers o

all exams at Prometrics Warwick

location. An employee in Warwick

reerred questions to the companysnational headquarters in Baltimore.

We sincerely apologize or the

mistake, said Jodi Katz, a Prometric

public relations manager reached

there. To be perectly honest, theres

no simple way to eplain it.

Katz said Prometric was contact-

ing recipients o the message by

phone and e-mail to inorm them o

the error.

Michael Li 10, a Brown student

who originally received the alse can-

cellation message, said he received

one o those ollow-up e-mails rom

the company on Tuesday, three days

ater the exam. Clearly, since I tookthe test, it wasnt a huge deal, he

said.

The Herald previously reported

that three to our test-takers may

have missed the MCAT in Warwick

Saturday. It is unknown whether any

Brown students missed the eam.We are working very closely with

(the Association o American Medi-

cal Colleges) to reach out to each

individual candidate whose exam was

impacted, Katz wrote Wednesday in

an e-mail to The Herald. AAMC is

the organization that oversees the

MCAT.

Prometric is attempting to accom-

modate test-takers needs in terms o

timing, Katz wrote. The next sched-

uled round o MCAT testing will take

place on March 28.

Li said rescheduling could nega-

tively aect a student who had pre-

pared to take the test Saturday. Thatwould really suck to have to take that

in March, he added.

UCS M M BY BEN SCHRECKINgER

SeniorStaffWriter

The Undergraduate Council o Stu-

dents proposed a resolution Tuesday

calling or the University to reverse

its new, more restrictive policy or

posting to Morning Mail.

The new policy, which began in

January, excludes Morning Mail an-

nouncements that advertise events

in venues that hold ewer than 300

people.

The 300-person minimum or

events was arbitrary, UCS Presi-

dent Brian Becker 09 said at the

meeting, and several UCS members

pointed out that ew campus venues

can accommodate that many people.

Council members added that it is

smaller events that beneft most rom

Morning Mails ree publicity.

The size o the venue does not

determine the value o an event to

the Brown community, the proposed

resolution reads in part.

A straw poll o UCS members con-

ducted last Wednesday night showed

overwhelming disapproval o Morn-

ing Mails new policy. Faculty and

sta, not students, had complained

about Morning Mails excessive

length, said UCS Communications

Chair Clay Wertheimer 10, the reso-

lutions sponsor.

It seemed like there was a con-

sensus that students were against

the new policy, Wertheimer told

The Herald.

Theres certainly a lot that can

be done to improve how Brown

distributes inormation, he added.

It doesnt make sense to take away

the only means o centralized com-

munication.

The council will vote on the reso-

lution at its general body meeting

net Wednesday.

Tyler Rosenbaum 11, UCS aca-demic and administrative aairs chair

and a Herald opinions columnist, also

announced that UCS members would

be meeting with academic depart-

ment chairs in the next two weeks

to discuss scaling back the prerequi-

sites that Banner requires or those

departments courses.

Coin soon: breakfast at litte Jos

news inbrief

dante b the trek to the inin hall in the mornin?

Not enoh time to wait in Ble Room lines? In perhaps

jst a few weeks, Little Jos will offer another breakfast

soltion.

The camps retailer ajacent to Josiahs will offer

breakfast from 7:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Mona throh

Fria, sai Ton Antetomaso, a Brown dinin Services

retail spervisor. The new hors are schele to ebt

Feb. 23.

The breakfast offerins at Little Jos will incle coffee,

cereal, jices, scones an other pastries, Antetomaso sai.

BdS concte a cstomer srve at the en of last

semester that inicate stents were intereste in havin

Little Jos open in the mornin, wrote Jacqes Lare,

irector of retail inin operations at Josiahs, in an e-mail

to The Heral.

The start ate was tentative becase we were not sre

how qickl we col et these shifts fille, Lare wrote.

Sophie Fchs 11 was hire earlier this week to work

three of the new mornin shifts each week.

I have the absolte first shift, sai Fchs, who bean

searchin for a job with BdS at the beinnin of the

semester an was hire on the spot jst a few as ao.

Sophia Li

Meara Sharma / Heral File Photo

Little Jos will be expane to incle mornin hors, coffee,cereal, jices, scones, an other pastries.

reused to rent to Leite, she said. She

eventually ound an apartment onWickenden Street, but moved to the

South Side because rent was really

really high at her frst apartment. All

the aordable places said no!

I didnt have a steady job, we

werent 21, he wasnt here, she said.

I was doing it all on my own.

Thats because, in addition to

her classes and housing search, she

had another marriage-related issue

to tackle immigration. Leite lived

in Brazil or two years, and she met

Cassius there. Since he is not a U.S.

citizen, Leite had to put together a gi-

ant scrapbook ull o evidence proving

their marriage was not a hoa.

I did all the immigration work dur-

ing fnals, she said. I you want to go

down this path, you ace a lot more

obstacles than most students.

Another complication is nancial

aid. Adams said though Brown asked

or her husbands income inormation

in addition to her parents, it didnt

aect her aid package because he is

also a student.

I dont think its air that they still

need your parents ino, even i theyre

no longer supporting you, she said.

Once I got married, my mom stopped

supporting me nancially.

Despite the difculties, both Leite

and Adams said they are more than

happy with their decision to get mar-

ried. Adams said that when she had

serious medical problems during high

school, Brian ended up taking care ome, skipping school so that my mom

could go to work. This went on or a

ew years, she said, and he became a

part o my entire amily, and we all just

loved him so much that there wasnt

any other option or me.

Still, staying socially connected to

Brown has been a challenge or Ad-

ams, who went by her maiden name,

Amy Conover, when she frst came to

Brown. Im either in class or at my

apartment, she said, adding that her

husband helps her maintain a balance

in her lie.

He does the dishes and cooking

and most o that stu to allow me to

ocus on school, she said.Leite said she and her husband

were just in love and wanted to be

together. Though it was dierent

socially to be married, she said she

didnt mind it.

I didnt miss out because I never

wanted to be part o the sorority, party-

on-the-weekend culture.

Both Leite and Adams experienced

a variety o responses to the news

about their marital statuses, rom

judgmental and negative to happy

and supportive.

The weirdest reactions are rom

people I dont know like when I

open my computer and have wed-

ding pictures on there, or when Im

talking to a proessor or something,

said Adams, who was engaged when

she came to Brown as a reshman.Many o the people in her reshman

unit didnt believe her when she in-

troduced Brian as her ancee, she

said.

Leite had similar experiences.

There have been great responses,

but there have been more incredulous

what? responses, she said. Though

many people reacted negatively to

the news, her reshman roommate

was supportive. She even helped Leite

shop or a wedding dress.

There are very very ew married

undergrads in any given year, Associ-

ate Dean o Student Lie Carla Han-

sen wrote in an e-mail to The Herald.

What our oce does is just what it

does or students in any anomalous

situation: listen to the students needs,

and make connections and reerrals,

and, i need be plead the students case

with other administrators.

Leite said though Dean Hansen

was wonderul in assisting her and

was supportive about her decision to

get married, it has still been a major

liestyle change.

I Im a ull-time Brown student

and single, I have resources. I have

a dorm, I have meals. But i I choose

to get married, then I dont, Leite

said. It was my decision, but I had to

separate mysel rom Brown.

M b bcontinued frompage 1


3/12

CAMUS wSTHuRSdAy, FEBRuARy 5, 2009 THE BROWN dAILy HERALd PAgE 3

We cant an wolnt insist on people stain an extra ear.

Allan Bower, professor of enineerin

. q

BY gAuRIE TIlAK

HigHered editor

Changes to the requirements or the

biomedical engineering concentration

in the Department o Engineering

have let some students rustrated.

The requirements or accredi-

tation are set by the Accreditation

Board or Engineering and Technol-

ogy, which reviewed the biomedical

engineering concentration require-

ments and decided that certain elec-

tive options should be made more

restrictive. The change, which was

put into eect this semester, presents

students with a shorter list o elec-

tives rom which to choose.

The board ofcially recommends

that all students complete the most

updated set o requirements or their

program, said Proessor o Engineer-

ing Allan Bower.

But the Department o Engineer-

ing is allowing its students a degree

o leniency. Current seniors may

still graduate ollowing the old re-

quirements, said Anubhav Tripathi,director o undergraduate studies in

biomedical engineering. He added

that while juniors are encouraged to

ollow the revised curriculum, they

will not be orced into it.

We cant and wouldnt insist on

people staying an extra year, Bower

said.

But current sophomores and

rst-years will have to ollow the

new guidelines, which has rustrat-

ed students who did not epect the

change.

Engineering students are advised

to plan out their our years in ad-vance, said Holly Lauridsen 11, a bio-

medical engineering concentrator.

She said revising her course plans

was annoying she had careully

planned her classes to accommodate

her study-abroad plans.

Though Lauridsen said the

changes did not aect her course

schedule this semester, she will end

up having one or two ewer electives

over the next two years. Additionally,

the change will orce her to take a

concentration requirement abroad.

The new changes arent impos-

sible to live with, Lauridsen said,

but they are rustrating.The revised curriculum has the

same number o required courses

as the old version, Tripathi said.

However, several elective options

that were previously available have

been removed. Lower-level engineer-

ing courses and courses designed

or biology majors no longer count

toward a biomedical engineering

degree, he said.

Changes in concentration re-

quirements are not uncommon,

Bower said. Last year, changes were

introduced to the curricula o the

civil and mechanical engineeringprograms.

Biomedical engineering was in-

troduced at Brown in 2004, Bower

said. Since it is not as well-estab-

lished as the other engineering

degree programs, it required more

changes than other concentrations

to meet the accreditation boards

standards.

Bowers and Tripathi both agreed

that graduating rom an accredited

program has advantages or students

who intend to pursue a career in their

chosen eld.

You dont have to be accredited,

Bower said, but its dicult to geta proessional registration ater

graduating rom an unaccredited

program.

Qion Chen / Heral

Revise enineerin reqirements will reqire some to chane plans in orer to receive their erees.

C BY SuzANNAH WEISS

ContributingWriter

Nearly 15.7 percent o courses ini-

tially oered this semester were

canceled, according to Registrar

Michael Pesta.

Pesta said a combination o

things had led to the number o

cancellations and that it was hard to

say theres one dominant actor.

Course cancellations are usually

higher in the spring than in the all

because proessors decide what

second semester classes they will

list in the Course Announcement

Bulletin a year ahead o time, requir-ing them to make predictions about

their availability ar in advance, Pesta

said.

Last spring, 14.7 percent o

classes listed in the course bulletin

were canceled, meaning only about

10 more classes were canceled this

time as compared to a year ago. But

several years ago, course cancella-

tions were less prevalent only 5

percent o courses were canceled in

spring 2004, The Herald reported

that semester.

In all, 166 courses were canceled

this semester. In the all, 106 were

canceled, up rom 91 the year beore,

The Herald reported in October.Common reasons that proes-

sors cancel courses include lack o

student interest, sabbaticals, new

job oerings, illnesses and a needor ewer sections than originally

thought or a particular class, Pesta

said.

Proessor o International Stud-

ies James Der Derian canceled his

senior seminar, INTL1800N: Global

Media: History/Theory/Produc-

tion, largely because he did not get

the administrative support needed

to und the class, which brings in

lmmakers to speak to students.

Its a course that requires a good

deal o support in logistics, he said.

There wasnt evidently any money

available at Brown to do that.

Another actor contributing tothe rise in cancellations in recent

years may be Browns recently re-

vised sabbatical policy, which used

to allow proessors to go on sab-

batical ater six years o teaching

but now grants the privilege to any

proessor who has taught or three

years, said Barry Connors, chair o

the Department o Neuroscience.

This will increase the challenge

o covering all important courses in

every department, Connors said.

The department this semester had

to cancel NEUR1660: Neural Basis

o Cognition, one o the require-

ments or the cognitive neurosci-

ence concentration.Connors said small, specialized

continued onpage 4


4/12


CAMUS wS Were still fll steam ahea, all sstems o. Ronal Vanen dorpel MA71, senior VP for universit avancement

council to fnish between 11 and 13

reviews by the end o the semester,

Krahulik said. For convenience, the

concentration reviews are timed to

coincide with other departmental

reviews, she added.

Krahulik would not say which

concentrations are currently un-

der review, but according to the

original schedule, the rst nine to

be reviewed were Aricana Studies,

Cognitive Neuroscience, Compara-

tive Literature, Education, Hispanic

Studies, History, International Re-

lations and Psychology, as well as

the Theatre, Speech and Danceconcentration.

The task orce report set a 2011

deadline or reviewing all concen-

trations, which could still be met,

Krahulik said, adding that they

should be completed in no more

than ve years.

Krahulik called the review o a

concentration a thorough process

that extends beyond a departmental

meeting with the council. Each de-

partment prepares the appropriate

documentation, reviewing it with

Krahulik beore sending it to the

other committee members, she

said.

For the most part, concentra-tions know what their strengths and

weaknesses are, so when we get

to the meeting, its more a matter

o just ollowing up with them and

seeing how they are progressing,

Krahulik said.

Ater the meeting, the council

discusses the review and makes

recommendations that Dean o

the College Katherine Bergeroncommunicates to the departments,

Krahulik said.

The Department o Theatre,

Speech and Dance was one o the

irst to have its concentrations

reviewed.

Rebecca Schneider, associate

proessor and chair o the depart-

ment, said the review was well-

timed because the department is

undergoing dramatic modifcation,

including introducing two new

concentration tracks and ocially

changing its name to the Depart-

ment o Theatre and Perormance

Studies.As part o its review, the depart-

ment addressed how to better ar-

ticulate its program and the links

between its concentrations and

University-wide goals, such as in-

ternationalization, Schneider said.

The whole thing was a really

great eercise in sel-eamination

and sel-improvement, Schneider

said. It was a abulous thing to go

through.

One o the most useul parts o

the review, according to Schneider,

was the opportunity to discuss how

components o concentrations,

such as the Department Under-

graduate Group, are run in other

departments.

The concentrations almost al-

ways come to us with areas they

want to strengthen, Krahulik said,

adding that they seek suggestions

or specic improvements. The

conversations are quite invigorating

intellectually.

The onus will be on aculty

to use grants and other eternal

unding to pay students, Thomp-

son wrote, adding that students

could also apply to outside pro-

grams or simply volunteer.

No doubt the program, which

is marvelous, is doing its best

under very daunting times, so

we just have to be realistic about

this (and) get through the crisis,

she wrote.

Proessor o Computer Science

Andries van Dam, who oten uses

UTRA students and describes

himsel as a rm and long-term

believer in the value o under-

graduate research, said he was

disappointed by the news.

There are bound to be reper-

cussions, he said. Im hoping

that in the (Campaign or Aca-

demic Enrichment) there will

still be money earmarked or the

UTRA program, he said.

Sima Patel 10, who is apply-

ing or an UTRA to research

the underlying causes o sepsis

a potentially deadly medical

condition caused by a ull-body

infammatory response said

her decision to apply was not a-

ected by the economic downturn.

I needed to join a lab at Brown

i I wanted to be serious aboutwriting a thesis, she said.

As or the decision to curtail

expansion o the UTRA program,

Patel was pragmatic. I eel like

Im in a bubble sometimes, she

said. I think (the decision) shows

that the University is hard-struck

as well.

The UTRA program has grown

over the last several years to its

current size, Furtado said.

She said it was too early to say

whether more students will apply

or UTRAs this year, given that

summer opportunities elsewhere

could be more scarce. Like most

deadlines at Brown, you really

dont see much activity until

right beore the deadline, she

said. The deadline or students to

apply or UTRAs is tomor row.

Furtado also said administra-

tors are hoping to stay on track

with initiatives to build commu-

nity among students with UTRAs,

like Research Thursdays, which

bring in leading authorities

to talk to students, and the Vir-

tual Symposium, which allows

students to share their projects

online. Those projects are not

terribly resource-intensive, she

said.

continued frompage 1


C -

UA ,

But the estimated reduction

based on an examination o recent

trends is minor, according to Van-den Dorpel, when compared to that

expected by many peer schools, some

o which epect 17 or 18 percent de-

creases rom last year, he said.

He said that the Ofce o Advance-

ment has not yet seen large numbers

o layos, but its workers have seen

their bonuses cut. The ofce will wait

or more data beore making conclu-

sive statements, he added.

We dont want to make (the re-

duction) a sel-ulflling prophecy, he

said. Were still ull steam ahead, all

systems go.

Though negative eedback rom

potential donors has not been over-

whelming, he said, the breadth o

the economic downturn cannot be

ignored.

We all read the newspapers, hesaid.

The Campaign or Academic En-

richment has raised $1.317 billion to

date over 94 percent o its $1.4 bil-

lion goal. The Ofce o Advancement

hopes to meet that goal by June 30,

though ofcially the deadline remains

December 2010.

A campaign is a marathon, not

a sprint, Vanden Dorpel said, add-

ing that the University is destined

to hit a wall and struggle at points,

despite coming out o the blocks

very strong.

Vanden Dorpel said that the idea

o raising the goal to $1.7 billion

was toyed with as late as last year,

though the plan was never ormal-

ized.

The Oce o Advancement in-creased its sta by 15 to 20 percent at

the start o the campaign, according

to Vanden Dorpel, and hopes to keep

those individuals on sta even ater

the campaign concludes. Reducing

sta is a mistake the University made

ater its last two campaigns, he said,

adding that gains in undraising rev-

enue during campaign years need

to be maintained or the University

to unction at a high level.

The best measures o success is

how we do against all goals we have

set or ourselves, Vanden Dorpel

said.

F continued frompage 1

classes are hardest to oer when

proessors go on leave, especially in

the neuroscience department, which

has 14 regular aculty members who

are responsible or an abundance o

classes and research.

Smaller courses, however, are

more likely to be canceled than core

requirements or concentrations,

Pesta said. Theres more volatility

in our curriculum because its an open

curriculum, and there arent as manyclasses that the department eels that

they have to oer, he said.

Carolyn Aker 12 elt the eects

o that act when she ound out her

frst-year seminar, PPAI0700D: Reli-

gion and Public Policy, was no longer

being oered. It was disappointing

because it seemed like a really inter-

esting class, she said.

She also ound it hard to have

to register or a dierent rst-year

seminar when she ound out at the last

minute that her class was canceled,

since most seminars are capped at

small numbers. I was kind o annoyed

that they didnt send out an e-mail,

she said.

Peony Sze 12 had a dierent at-

titude toward the cancellation o her

HISP0500: Advanced Spanish Con-

versation section, or which only our

students were registered. Now I dont

have to wake up at 8:00 every morning

to go to Spanish class, she said. So

or me, it was actually pretty good.

Some departments, moreover,

opened windows at the same time

they closed doors. Though fve classes

in the Department o English were

canceled, ve were added, said Pro-

essor o English Philip Gould 83,

the departments acting chair. Wereactually all right, I think, in terms o

the nal tally, he said.



5/12

MetroThe Brown dail Heral

THuRSdAy, FEBRuARy 5, 2009 | PAgE 5

With that kin of mone, we col have hose everone who ha been isplace.

Jim Rczek, exective irector of the Rhoe Islan Coalition for the Homeless

wk BY SARA SuNSHINE

SeniorStaffWriter

EAST PROVIDENCE Nearly 150

people gathered outside the ColibriGroups ormer East Providence man-

uacturing plant Tuesday, shouting,

Yes, we can!

For these Rhode Islanders, the

popular rerain had a dierent mean-

ing than it did or the supporters o

President Barack Obama many

in the protesting crowd were work-

ers let unemployed by the actorys

sudden closure.

Colibri a nationally known jew-

elry-making frm based in Providence

or 80 years unexpectedly shut its

doors on Jan. 20, leaving around 280

workers without a job, according to

a Jan. 21 Providence Journal article.

While some sta were notied o

the closure, many Colibri employees

came to work only to fnd the plants

doors locked.

Workers rights group Fuerza

Laboral, which organized the dem-

onstration, and the ormer Colibri

employees claim that the company

violated the Worker Adjustment

and Retraining Act, which requires

that any actory with more than 100

workers give at least 60 days notice

beore closing. Additionally, the em-

ployee health coverage provided by

Colibri ended shortly ater the clo-

sure, leaving many workers abruptly

uninsured, said Donna Walker, an

employee who had been with the

company or 21 years.

Fuerza Laboral representatives

said the company owes its workers 60

days o wages, health care coverageand severance pay.

Reverend Duane Clinker o the

Open Table o Christ United Meth-

odist Church began Tuesdays rally,

conducted in both English and Span-

ish, by telling workers that in a time o

economic uncertainty, Rhode Island

is looking to you to seek justice.

Clinker said though Colibri is now

bankrupt and incapable o paying its

workers, the companys Manhattan-

based owner Founders Equity Inc.

should be responsible or provid-

ing their benets as required by the

Worker Adjustment and Retraining

Act. Colibri owes HSBC and Sover-

eign Banks about $14 million each,

according to the Journal article.

A call to a number listed on Co-

libris Web site Wednesday aternoon

was not immediately returned.

With ownership comes respon-

sibility, Greg Pehrson, director

o Fuerza Laboral, told the crowd.

(Founders Equity) must ollow la-

bor law.

Some laid-o workers also shared

their eperiences.

I used to be able to hold my head

high (because I was a Colibri em-

ployee). Now Im ashamed to say I

A , bk bkBY lAuREN FEdOR

SeniorStaffWriter

A ceremonial groundbreaking in

North Scituate on Jan. 29 marked an

important milestone in a lengthy and

complicated process or the Rhode

Island State Police, who have been

trying or at least two years to build

a new, state-o-the-art headquarters.

Slated or completion in less than

24 months, the 56,384-square oot

acility will house administrative,

detective and uniorm personnel,

according to a statement released

by the state police last week.

Construction o the headquarters,

which will include a 911 cal l center, is

likely to support nearly 100 jobs.But the loty plans or the acility

havent been met with unanimous

excitement. Advocates or the home-

less in Rhode Island are ambivalent

about the process leading to the new

police acility.

The new headquarters will be

downsized rom the initial proposals,

which called or them to be located

in Cranston on property that earlier

housed Welcome Arnold, the states

largest homeless shelter. The state

spent $3.8 million in March o 2007 to

tear down the shelter, beore decid-

ing rst to scale back on the police

project and then to relocate the head-

quarters to North Scituate.Describing the $3.8 million as

wasted money, Jim Ryczek, execu-

tive director o the Rhode Island Co-

alition or the Homeless, said though

the state police deserve their bar-

racks, the Welcome Arnold issue

needed better planning.

With that kind o money, we

could have housed everyone who

had been displaced (by the shelters

closing) and then some, he said.

The demolition o Welcome Ar-

nold has been a point o contention

between the state government and

local advocates or the homeless,

Ryczek said, adding that the ormer

shelter housed 100 beds available on

a night-to-night basis.

One o Ryczeks main concerns

is that advocates werent included

in the planning process, he said.

According to him, it was only ater

advocates invited themselves to thetable, proposing a plan to care or

those displaced by the shelters clos-

ing, that the state took notice.

A state police ocial declined to

comment on the issues surrounding

Welcome Arnolds demolition and

directed inquiries to the governors

ofce. Representatives o the gover-

nors ofce could not be reached or

comment or this article.

In November 2007, Gov. Donald

Carcieri 65 told the Providence Jour-

nal that the state took the advice

o the homeless advocates. The

state replaced every single bed that

was available at the Welcome Ar-

nold shelter with new beds in other,

smaller acilities. In act, we even

added some beds.

But Ryczek said the replacement

o beds didnt necessarily help the

nearly 200 people his coalition esti-

mates used Welcome Arnold each

month. He said it is naive to think

that scattering an equivalent number

o beds in other night-to-night shel-

ters was the same as providing or

those who used Arnolds services.

Two years later, the need or

those services continues to grow.

In the last 18 months, the number

o homeless Rhode Islanders has

nearly doubled rom 571 to 1,080,

according to data released by the

coalition.

Moreover, since the demolition

o Welcome Arnold, local advocates

have realized that night-to-night

shelters may not be the best way

to support the states homeless.

Ryczek said that by exploring new

programs the coalition has realized

that it would never want to reopen a

acility like Welcome Arnold.

Shelters are only eective at

protecting people rom reezing todeath, he said, adding that closing

down large shelters and replacing

them with subsidies like Housing

First or the Neighborhood Op-

portunities Program is more cost-

eective.

Cortes of Street Sihts

Rhoe Islans larest homeless shelter was emolishe to make wa for a new police heaqarters.

JAZZ T IMES TWO

Qinn Savit / Heral

The Brazilian jazz o Minas ave a concert last niht in grant Recital Hall.

New brer jointcoin to Thayerthis sprin

metro inbrief

Thaer Street resta-

rant manate An Mitre-

lis will soon a another

eater to his empire. The

owner of Anreas, Para-

on an Spats Restarant

sai he will open Bet-

ter Brer Compan, his

sixth brer shop in New

Enlan, this sprin.

The restarant will

open at 217 Thaer St.,

which earlier hose

yans, a fabric an ift

botiqe. Crrentl emp-t, the space is ientifie

onl b sins featrin a

lare brer an the slo-

an The new ki on the

block.

Mitrelis, a veteran

brermoner, sai he

opene his first resta-

rant in Connectict in

1962. I know the bsi-

ness, he sai. Ive been

in it for 47 ears.

Mitrelis sai the res-

tarant will primaril sell

brers, bt will also offer

other sanwiches, pizza

an breakfast foo.

Itll be ver excitin,

he sai.

George Miller

continued onpage 6

Info session tonight at 8 p.m!

195 Angell Street (between Brook and Thayer)


6/12


M The laws are the floor, not the sk. gre Pehrson, irector of Ferza Laboral

worked or Colibri, because this is not

right, said Iris Medina, who spokein Spanish but was accompanied by

a translator.

No somos basura, she said

we are not trash.

You dont have to be ashamed.

They should be ashamed, Rhode

Island AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer

George Nee later told Medina.

Thanking the workers or being

willing to ght so this law means

something, Nee said that i they won,

their victory would send a message

to the rest o the country.

Many people at the demonstra-tion said they believed that a new

administration in Washington and

a new political climate would help

their cause.

State Senator Juan Pichardo, D-

Dist 2, said progressive Democrats

and the State Houses minority

caucus would support the workers.

Pichardo pledged to write a letter

to his colleagues about the plight o

the Colibri workers and to CC the

President.

Pehrson ended the meeting by

reciting a Fuerza Laboral mantra the laws are the foor, not the sky.

The audience cheered and shook

empty Coca-Cola bottles lled with

dried nuts.

Though the protest gave the

workers hope, it didnt dispel their

rustration altogether. Why do we

have to ght or something thats

the law? Why do we have to beg or

it? Walker said.

. k bfcontinued frompage 5

Sara Snshine / HeralWorkers lai off b jewelr-maker Colibri rop emonstrate in the

snow Tesa.


7/12


8/12


SSUSDA I ess I col be an enforcer. Jenna dancewicz 11, womens hocke plaer

All three look roughly the same,

except that Pitcher A looks like he

got lucky due to his lower BABIP.

Their WHIP, GBP and LDP num-

bers are roughly the same, with

only their K/BB ratio diering.

Think o FIP (eplained later) as

ERA and you see that C is clearly

better than B who is clearly better

than A.

Turns out A is Matsuzaka, B

is Sonnanstine and C is Meche.

Thats right, Dice-K was a worse

starter than Sonnanstine (13-9, 4.38

ERA) or Meche (14-11, 3.98 ERA).I know what youre thinking: How

can a pitcher that went 18-3 with a

2.90 ERA last season be the worst

out o the group o small market

pitchers youve never heard o?

This must be a joke, right?

The rst thing you must know

is that wins and ERA are elemen-

tary stats to judge a pitchers

value. Wins and ERA are highly

dependent on your oense, your

deense, your luck that day and

even what park you play in (think

Petco Park vs. Coors Field). I you

get shelled or 10 runs, and your

team puts up 11, you still get the

win. I you leave two men on base,but your bullpen bails you out, or

i you have a host o Gold Glovers

playing deense behind you, your

ERA is still sparkly.

Thankully, sabermetrics has

provided us with more advanced

stats that ocus on what a pitcher

can control, ignoring the deense

behind him. These stats are com-

monly known as DIPS, or Deense

Independent Pitching Statistics.

Things like strikeouts, walks,

home runs and ground balls in-

duced are associated with the

pitcher. Things like Derek Jeters

inability to move to his let to get an

easy out or Grady Sizemore mak-ing a spectacular grab on the wall

or an out arent up to the pitcher.

Matsuzaka benets rom the de-

ense behind him, which includes

above-average elders such as

second baseman Dustin Pedroia,

rst baseman Kevin Youkilis and

outelder Jacoby Ellsbur y.

Pitching is about preventing

runs. These outcomes (strikeouts,

fy balls, etc.) are given epected

run values and then combined to

determine a pitchers value. Outs

are good and runners on base are

bad. The most commonly accepted

pitching statistic is FIP, developedby well-known sabermetrician Tom

Tangotiger Tango. As seen ear-

lier, Matsuzaka posted the worst

FIP out o the three starters last

season. A convenient way to think

o FIP is to imagine it as the ERA a

pitcher should have gotten, based

solely on the actors under his con-

trol, ater removing luck and de-

ense. Would anyone have believed

that two no-names would turn out

to be better, and theoretically add

more wins over the long haul?

It may seem a silly notion,

but statistically, a rotation o Gil

Meches or Andy Sonnanstines

would contribute more wins thana rotation o Daisuke Matsuza-

kas. Understanding some simple

number-crunching goes a long way

to nding quality pitchers more

accurately, and seeing which ones

are over-hyped or undervalued. So

please, lets see less Matsuzaka

love and some more Meche ans

on campus.

Jonathan Hahn 10 asks,

Wait, ore sain baseball

isnt plae on an Excel

spreasheet?

0: M


so I could have helped out the team

earlier, but during winter break wehad a lot o practices. That gave me

time to get some extra skating in and

work on my shot and work on getting

the plays down and everything. We

practiced every day and sometimes

twice a day during winter break, so

that probably really helped bring out

my game.

How did it eel to score the

game-winning goal against

Princeton?

It elt really good. My coach said

today we havent beat Princeton in

(three) years, and so it was really

exciting to beat them, and especiallyin their own barn. We really, really

needed these wins to end our season

on a good note and hopeully make

the playos.

Do you eel that these wins

over Quinnipiac and Princeton

are something that the team can

really build on going into the

stretch run?

I think that we denitely have a

big confdence boost, and I think that

we can denitely build upon it or

net weekend. This weekend is go-

ing to be pretty tough Dartmouth

is ranked (No. 2) in our league, and

Harvard is also really up there, so

this will be a tough weekend. We

had a good game against Harvard

last time we played them and then

not so much against Dartmouth. ButI think were ready to keep on win-

ning and keep our winning streak

going and bring some more upsets

to the ECAC.

Youve taken 15 penalties this

year, the most on the team. Does

that make you the enforcer?

Am I the enorcer? I dont know

(laughs). Sorry, my roommate, whos

also my teammate, is laughing right

now. I actually didnt know until a

ew weeks ago that I was leading in

penalties.

I was actually surprised that I was

leading in penalties, but I dont know.There (are) a ew things I need to

work on, like keeping my eet mov-

ing when Im hitting someone or

something. So, I guess I could be

an enorcer. Im denitely more o

a grinding player rather than, like,

ancy-schmancy, so I guess thats

probably why I get more penalties.

And Im not necessarily a small kid,

so I dont know (laughs).

Whats been your favorite mo-

ment from this season?

From our team, our wins over

Colgate and Princeton were prob-

ably my avorite moments, especially

Colgate that was a really good

game, and it was really close. And

then individually, my avorite mo-

ments were when I got my frst goal

versus St. Lawrence, and probablythis past weekend.

You all seem to do much bet-

ter on the road than at home.

Can you explain that?

Not that Browns campus isnt

great or anything, but I think when

we get away rom campus we also put

behind other things that are on our

mind, like academics or whatever,

so were able to really ocus on the

game and hockey and each other

rather than other things. And also,

we get to sleep in nice, warm, comy

beds in the hotel (laughs). So I think

its just like, our mindset is just a lotdierent when were on the road than

when were at home.

What are your goals or the

rest of the season, both individu-

ally and as a team?

As a team, we obviously want to

keep winning. I we win a certain

amount o games, well make it into

playos, so were just really trying to

grind out these wins in this last part

o our season. And then individually,

I just want to help our team keep win-

ning, so I guess keep on scoring and

keep goals out o our net, too, and

just keep working hard and doing the

right things at the right times.

w. k Dz -, continued frompage 7


9/12


10/12

ditorial & LettersPage 10 | THuRSdAy, FEBRuARy 5, 2009

The Brown daily Heral

A L E x Y U L Y

U A

C OR R E C T I ONS P OL I C Y

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

may be submitted up to seven calendar days ater publication.

C OM M E NT A R Y P OL I C Y

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

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

L E T T E R S T O T HE E DI T OR P OL I C Y

Send letters to [email protected]. Include a telephone number with all letters. The Herald reserves the right to edit all letters or

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

request anonymity, but no letter will be printed i the authors identity is unknown to the editors. Announcements o events will not be printed.

A DV E R T I S I NG P OL I C Y

The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. reserves the right to accept or decline any advertisement at its discretion.

The TA shortage chronicled in last weeks Herald would be bad enoughunder ordinary circumstances. However, the nancial crisis has made the

Universitys current situation anything but ordinary. These new scal con-

straints caused the University to put a reeze on graduate program expansion,

a necessary move but one likely to exacerbate the current TA shor tage, given

that the average number o students in Brown undergraduate classes has

continued to increase over the past ew years.

Since we cant do anything about the Universitys fnancial state, it may seem

that the only available option is to grin and bear the unpleasant but inevitable

capping o introductory lecture courses and increase in Scantron eams. We

think theres a better option. Departments should consider making use o a

resource that is plentiul, cheap and capable o shouldering the TA burden:

the undergraduate student body.

This practice is by no means unheard o. Some departments, like eco-

nomics and computer science, regularly employ upper-level undergraduate

concentrators to grade or lead sections in introductory courses. However,

many TA shortages occur in writing-intensive courses, which raises a new seto problems: Are undergraduates qualied to assess their peers writing? Do

they have the depth o knowledge necessary to provide advice on ormulat-

ing paper topics? Can they avoid bias toward riends, absent the constraints

imposed by eam grading?

These problems are not insurmountable. The success o the Writing Fellows

program shows that Brown students are capable o providing useul criticism to

other undergraduates. Restricting undergraduate TAs to reshman-only sections

or introductory classes and requiring them to be senior concentrators ocusing

on the courses specic subeld a model similar to one used in Proessor

James Morones ever-popular POLS 0220: City Politics class would go a

long way toward addressing concerns about eper tise and objectivity.

Further, the stark separation between graduate students and undergraduates

assumed in these criticisms may not be quite accurate. Advanced undergradu-

ates who have developed specic research interests are nearly as qualied

as newer graduate students to lead sections, especially when those sections

cover very basic material.

Were not sure whether any o the departments lacking TAs eel the sameway about undergraduate TAs. We do, however, hope theyll consider the

proposal.

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

[email protected].

editorial

Senior Staff Writers Mitra Anoshiravani, Colin Chazen, Ellen Cshin, Sne Ember,

Laren Feor, Nicole Frieman, Britta greene, Sarah Hsk, Brian Mastroianni, Hannah

Moser, Ben Schreckiner, Caroline Seano, Melissa Shbe, Anne Simons, Sara Snshine,

Staff Writers Znaira Chohar, Leslie Primack, Christian Martell, Alexanra ulmer,

Laren Pischel, Samel Bker, Anne deelman, Nicole dnca, Cameron Lee, Seth

Motel, Kla Wilkes, Jliana Frien, Kell Mallahan, Jotsna Mllr, Chris dff

Sports Staff Writers Peter Cipparone, Nicole Stock

Bsiness Staff Maximilian Barrows, Thanases Plestis, Allen Mcgonaill, Ben Xion, Bonnie

Kim, Cath Li, Core Schwartz, Evan Smortin, Haar Tan, Jackie golman, Jiln Chao,

Kenneth So, Lnse yess, Mararet Watson, Matthew Brrows, Mara Lnch, Misha desai,

Stassia Chzhkova, Webber X, William Schweitzer

desin Staff Jessica Kirschner, Joanna Lee, Maxwell Rosero

Photo Staff Alex dePaoli, Qinn Savit, Meara Sharma, Min W

Copy Eitors Rafael Chaiken, Ellen Cshin, yonhn Kim, Freeric L, Laren Feor,

Maeleine Rosenber, Kell Mallahan, Jennifer Kim, Tarah Knaresboro, Joran Mainzer,

Janine Lopez, Lis Solis, Aelet Brinn, Rachel Starr, Riva Shah, Jason ym, Simon Lieblin,

geoffre Ki, Anna Joravleva

Web deveopers Jihan Chao, gre Emiston

Jessie Calihan, Jessica Kirschner, Anna Migliaccio Dsns

Sydney Ember, Seth Motel Cpy eds

Mitra Anoushiravani, Chaz Kelsh, George Miller, Sara Sunshine Nh eds

thebrowndailyherald

Ben HyanHannah levintovaSophia liEy lissgarie Tiak

matthew Vareygeore mierJoanna WohthCha KeshJenna StarkBenjy AsherAnrew BracaAex maerovKatie Woo

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Graphics & photos

BuSiNeSS

Kathryn Delaney

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editor-in-chief

Steve delcia

senior editors

Rache ArntCatherine CenScott lowenstein

associate editors

Nanini JayakrishnaFrankin Kanin

michae Skocpo

manaGinG editors

michae BechekCha Firestone

oPiNioNSSarah Rosenthal opnns ed

editorial paGe board

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ed P edBd bBd bBd bBd b

General manaGers

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directors

Een daSivaCaire Kiey,Phi maynarKatie Koh

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PoSt- magaziNe

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Kelly McKowenednChfednChf

Join The Hera!

Info sessions at 195 Anell St.(between Brook an Thaer)

Toniht, Febrary 5 @ 8 p..

Snay, Febrary 8 @ 8 p..

Reportin, bsiness, photoraph,esin, cop eitin, opinions,

sports an more!

correction

A eature ar ticle about an alum, Sandeep Parikh 02, who produces Web videos (TA stint launched alums com-edy career, Feb. 4) incorrectly stated that Parikh created the Web series The Guild. Parikh is a regular castmember on the The Guild, but the show was created by Felicia Day.


11/12

College-going smokers in Boston just got one

more reason to transer. The sale o tobacco

products at drugstores and on college and uni-

versity campuses has been banned there since

December, thanks to the Boston Public Health

Commission (BPHC).

The Commission also etended restrictions

on smoking in public patios, loading docks,

hotels, inns and bed and breakasts have all be-

come smoke-ree zones.

The ban comes on the heels o a report

by state disease trackers showing that heart

attack-related deaths had substantially de-

creased since the enactment o a our-yearstatewide ban on smoking in restaurants and

bars. The commissions goal was to reduce to-

bacco use among youth and the poor.

Since quite a ew Brown students can be

seen lighting up on campus, it would be inter-

esting, to say the least, i the Boston ban in-

spired a similar course o action in Providence.

Rhode Island state ocials have already pro-

posed increasing the cigarette ta by a dollar

per pack. Fortunately, their decision has more

to do with raising revenue than discouraging

smoking.

The commission declares that young

people are particularly at risk or becoming

smokers, and many will not be able to resist

i their very own educational institutions and

nearby drugstores peddle tobacco. Dr. Barba-

ra Ferrer, eecutive director o the BPHC, add-

ed that the ban will ensure that young peopleare not eposed to products that make them

sick when they go to places like pharmacies

to get well.

The commission justied the ban on the

grounds that selling tobacco products goes

against the mission o colleges and phar-

macies. Colleges are meant to educate the

younger population about social, environmen-

tal and health risks and harms, while pharma-

cies are supposed to dispense materials and in-

ormation that contribute to well-being.

By that logic, the ban should also etend

to numerous other unhealthy products sold

at pharmacies and universities soda, candy

bars, energy drinks and ast ood, to name a

ew. I adults cannot make inormed decisions

about smoking, how will they deal with the

conusing array o other temptations?

The bans supporters misunderstand the

thought process o smokers and potential

smokers. Prohibitionists view the latter ascompletely oblivious, and thus unable to make

their own choices without the help o a health

commission. Current smokers must be o the

out o sight, out o mind variety, willing to

give up their habit as soon as maintaining it be-

comes inconvenient.

The Public Health Commission was kind

enough to give cigar and hookah bars a grace

period in light o the current economic situa-

tion, but those establishments will not be the

only ones aected. Walgreens spokesman Mi-

chael Polzin told the Boston Globe that stores

would lose not only the tobacco sale, but

those other items (smokers) also pick up on

the same shopping trip.

Smokers are a rather staunch consumer

presence, and the commission should know

that simply banning a consumer item rom a

ew stores is probably the least e ective way to

eradicate its ill eects. Rather than quitting on

the spot, smokers will simply take their moneyelsewhere, which wont improve the economic

situation in Boston.

Considered alongside eisting anti-smok-

ing measures, the ban is downright patroniz-

ing. Apparently, advertising restrictions, re-

quired health warnings on packages, bans on

smoking in public areas, the eorts o anti-

drug organizations and a cursory knowledge

o chemistry and human anatomy are just not

enough to help college students understand

the adverse eects o smoking. No, a ban on to-

bacco products is what impressionable young

people need to prevent them rom stumbling

into their local CVS and buying cigarettes in-

stead.

By adopting an Im just doing whats bestor you approach, the government is overstep-

ping its bounds. It makes sense to want to edu-

cate and protect minors rom the infuence o

drugs and alcohol, but treating adults like chil-

dren sets a disturbing precedent. College stu-

dents can enlist in the Army, but are apparent-

ly unable to perorm the much less lie-alter-

ing task o choosing whether or not to smoke.

Iv Chan 10 is a hman biolo

concentrator from Los Aneles,

California. She can be reache at

iv_chan @brown.e.

I really enjoyed reading Nick Hagertys 10

recent opinion column (The liberal scienc-

es, Jan. 29). I couldnt agree more with his

thesis too many humanities and socialscience students ignore hard sciences and

mathematics once they arrive at Brown. It

seems obvious that, especially as scientic

advances become more and more relevant

to daily lie, Brown students and society

at large would benet rom a little extra

science in their lives.

But I dont think the cru o the problem

is that Brown students nd science irrele-

vant; rather, the problem is that outside o

rst-year seminars, there arent enough in-

teresting science classes aimed at non-con-

centrators to make lling that ourth spot in

your schedule with a hard science realistic.

I speak rom eperience. As a public

policy concentrator ocusing on the inter-

section o technology and public policy, Ihave tried to nd interesting classes in the

physical and lie science departments in or-

der to understand the science behind tech-

nological advancements without any politi-

cal or policy analysis lter. The problem or

me has been how ew o these classes are

available.

The classes Hagerty cites in his col-

umn are good eamples BIOL0200:

The Foundations o Living Systems and

GEOL0010: Face o the Earth are intro-

ductory classes aimed at everyone, regard-

less o prospective concentration. Plenty o

students do take advantage o these classes

when looking to broaden their academic in-

terests. But or many Brown students, intro-

ductory classes might be too introductory.

Many i not most humanities and social

science concentrators have a strong eist-

ing knowledge base rom several years o

advanced biology, chemistry and physics

in high school. Though some would love

the sort o overview that BIOL0200 and its

abulous proessor, Ken Miller, would give,

others would rather take a class on some-

thing intriguing that builds on our eist-ing knowledge without requiring us to be

eperts.

The physics department makes a great

eample. A current rst-year seminar,

PHYS 0120: Adventures in Nanoworld,

sounds like just the sort o class that would

intrigue students without requiring years o

physics background.But or sophomores, juniors and seniors, theres no similar op-

tion. For an overview, we could take PHYS

0030: Basic Physics though even its

course description lists it as meant or con-

centrators in sciences other than physics.

Thats not reassuring to students o hu-

manities, even i we remember all the me-

chanics we learned in AP Physics. We see

it as inaccessible; we take a philosophy lec-

ture instead. But i there were a class titled,

say, Crazy Ideas In Modern Physics That

Will Blow Your Mind, I bet the room would

overfow during shopping period.

The biology department, by contrast,

oers a ew options or non-concentrators:

beyond rst-year seminars, both BIOL

0030: Principles o Nutritionand BIOL

0170: Biotechnology in Medicinecome

without any prerequisites. Both are inter-

esting classes aimed at concentrators and

non-concentrators alike, and they certainly

draw a variety o students.

But what about classes in genetics or in-

ectious disease or those among us with

strong interest in the topics but no plans

or med school? Both are timely, importantand truly ascinating topics, and they would

certainly be popular with students rom all

backgrounds.

These classes would by no means be

dumbed-down versions o current cours-

es oered to concentrators and advanced

students. This is, o course, the rst worry

when it comes to creating science classesaccessible to non-concentrators unlike

literature classes, or eample, science

classes build on each other directly, e-

panding students knowledge base in a par-

ticular subject in order to eamine more

and more comple topics. That is why its

more common or science concentrators to

take a humanities class than or humanities

concentrators to take a science class: stu-

dents sel-select based on things they know

and work they can do, and humanities class-

es are less likely to have prerequisites than

science classes.

Instead, science classes aimed at non-

concentrators might be similar in ormat

to rst-year seminars, delving into a speci-

ic area o study in an intimate and non-in-

timidating setting. These classes would be

based on the substantial amount o knowl-

edge we have rom high school and other

sources. Maybe we dont understand the in-

tricacies o combinatorial topology, but we

do know calculus, the laws o motion and

thermodynamics and the premises o rela-

tivity and were ready to learn how bi-

zarre quantum mechanics can be. Theres denitely a market or these

sorts o classes. Consider SCSO 1550B:

Neuroethics, the science and society de-

partments only spring class.Though this is

a seminar limited to 20 people, Id estimate

that more than twice that number came to

the rst class meeting. Many were neuro-

science concentrators, true, but plenty were

not just students interested in the topic

and not araid to dive into science. The same

could be said o NEUR 0010: The Brain: An

Introduction to Neuroscience itsel: stu-

dents rom all types o concentrations take

it because it is a stimulating, appealing and,

above all, accessible science class.

There are certainly humanities and so-

cial science concentrators who dont everwant to see a mathematical proo or chemi-

cal compound or the rest o their lives, and

thats perectly air. But there are plenty o

us who would take advantage o the oppor-

tunity to broaden our intellectual pursuits i

it were easible through creative, engag-

ing science classes intended or everyone.

Alssa Ratlee 11 cant ecie

between BIOL1000: deconstrctin

Necrotizin Fasciitis an CHEM1212:

Blowin Stff up.

THuRSdAy, FEBRuARy 5, 2009 | PAgE 11

pinionsThe Brown dail Heral

T b

b

The Commission jstifie the ban on the rons

that sellin tobacco procts oes aainst the

mission of collees an pharmacies... If alts

cannot make informe ecisions abot smokin,

how will the eal with the confsin arra of

other temptations?

If there were a class title Craz Ieas In

Moern Phsics That Will Blow yor Min, I bet

the room wol overflow rin shoppin perio.

By IVy CHANgopinions columnist

By ALySSA RATLEdgE

opinions columnist


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