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

News.......1–3Arts............4Sports........5 Editorial......6Opinion.......7Today..........8 ARTS, 4

Oct. for arts

insi

deDaily Heraldthe Brown

vol. cxlv, no. 97 | Monday, October 25, 2010 | Serving the community daily since 1891

SPORTS, 5 OPiniOnS, 7

Bruno prevails Off meal planMonth of candy and costumes now for arts and humanities

Men’s soccer kicks over the Big Red, dropping Cornell 2-0

Lucia Seda ’12 wants her kitchen back

Simmons addresses familiesBy ABBy KeRSOn

Contributing Writer

Students, parents and alums gath-ered under a tent on the Main Green Saturday for the annual Hour with the President event to hear Presi-dent Ruth Simmons give an update on the University.

There were no spare seats to be found as Simmons made her way to the podium, greeting those sitting in the aisles along the way. Over 600 parents from 41 states and 15 countries were preregistered for the event, according to Simmons. As she listed the countries, those who were present cheered with pride.

Before speaking about campus life and the academic opportunities available to students, Simmons paid tribute to the recent suicides of gay youth and reiterated the Univer-sity’s harassment policy.

Simmons began by mentioning the importance of getting exposure

By eThAn MccOy

SportS Staff Writer

Two touchdown passes from Joe Springer ’11 to Alex Tounkara ’11 propelled the football team (4-2, 3-0 Ivy League) to a 27-14 conference victory over Cornell (1-5, 0-3) on Saturday. The win ties Bruno for first place atop the Ivy standings with No. 20 Penn, whom Brown will battle next week in Philadelphia for the conference’s outright lead.

“I thought that offensively, we played a lot better,” said Head Coach Phil Estes. “We ran the ball fairly successfully when we had to, and Joe, I thought, was spectacular,

just directing the offense, and he threw the ball extremely well.”

Springer, who threw for 287 yards, spread the ball around to seven different receivers and found success in a short and ef-ficient passing game — running back Zach Tronti ’11 had six recep-tions for 71 yards — to deal with the strong winds on a crisp October afternoon.

“Whenever you play with the wind, you have to make sure you throw the ball with a tight spiral,” Springer said. “I kind of got in a rhythm and figured out what the

Football belittles Big red, now 3-0 in Ivies

New stats show campus crime dropped in 2009Zero arrests for drugs or alcoholBy chiP LeBOviTz

Contributing Writer

There were zero arrests on cam-pus for drug or alcohol crimes in 2009, according to the most recent Department of Public Safety annual report.

Campus crime totals dropped across the board in the past year — but the online news site Daily Beast still labeled Brown the third-most dangerous Ivy League institution based on crime statistics.

DPS releases these numbers as a part of its yearly campus crime report, a document released un-der the Clery Act, a federal law that requires colleges and univer-sities to tally the amount of crime

on their campuses and record the preventative steps that their public safety departments are taking. But experts debate the usefulness of the data and how on-campus safety is compared.

Statistical findingsThe key highlights of the report

included drops in nearly every ma-jor crime statistic during the last year. The school saw a 19 percent reduction in burglaries and a drop in violent crimes like robbery and aggravated assault, a year after a 56 percent rise in burglaries. Reported forcible sex offenses rose back to 2007 levels, increasing from four to 10.

The most troublesome statistic for Chief of Public Safety Mark Por-ter was the prevalence of larcenies and other forms of theft at Brown last year, a phenomenon that re-flects a nationwide trend, he said. Though the rates decreased from last year, Porter cited the poor economy as the reason the numbers did not drop even more. Larceny,

continued on page 5

Emily Gilbert / HeraldWide receiver Alex Tounkara ’11 had a big day in Brown’s victory over Cornell this weekend, scoring two of the team’s three TDs.

continued on page 2

Alex Bell / HeraldPresident Ruth Simmons addressed students and families during the Hour with the President.

Sexual assault potentially underreported due to stigmaBy AnA ALvARez

Senior Staff Writer

A recent University report sug-gests extensive underreporting of sex crimes on campus, students and administrators said.

The annual Campus Crime Report, released last month by the Department of Public Safety, indicated that there had been 10 claims of “forcible sex offenses” made in 2009.

Statistics from a 2000 report by the National Institute of Justice and the Bureau of Justice Statis-tics predict that about one in 36 female university students is the victim of rape or attempted rape each academic year — suggesting that just over 100 female Brown students would have been victims last year. At other Ivy League uni-versities, the number of reported forcible sex offenses ranges from eight to 17.

Director of Health Education Frances Mantak said that since sexual assault is one of the most underreported crimes, the large gap between the crime report number and the actual number of cases is “normal and expected.”

Catherine McCarthy ’11, presi-dent of the Sexual Assault Task Force, said that though she would not be able to estimate the number of actual cases of sexual assault, 10 “is not even in the ballpark.”

Mantak said one reason for the low number is the shame associ-ated with being a victim of sexual assault. The practice of victims denying assault in order to protect themselves is common in other traumatic experiences, especially

in a culture of victim-blaming at-titudes, she said.

“Claiming identity as a victim is difficult,” said Anna Quinn ’13, a Women Peer Counselor.

She said that even the differing definitions of sexual assault makes reporting sexual assault difficult. “A lot of people have regrettable sexual encounters,” Quinn said, but defining an assault is some-times tricky.

“We have to listen but be care-ful never to label someone else’s experience as assault,” Quinn said.

Yet those interviewed agreed that the decision to report an as-sault — and, if reported, to involve the police in the investigation — should be completely up to the victim.

Mantak said the best approach to handling any situation of sexual assault is “victim empowerment and victim choice.”

“Reporting should be 100 percent up to the survivor. The University has no right to tell the police if a survivor doesn’t want to,” McCarthy said, since a legal investigation has more severe re-percussions, takes more time and takes a larger toll on the victim.

“It is up to the victim how much they want to go through,” McCar-thy said. “There should be no ob-ligation for them to do anything.”

The University should help vic-tims learn their options, includ-ing choosing whether to report, Mantak said.

Quinn said this is what WPCs aim for when dealing with victims of sexual assault — to “let them

continued on page 2

continued on page 2

U. serves it up family-style to 2,400By Fei cAi

Senior Staff Writer

Brown invited parents and siblings to experience life on College Hill this Family Weekend.

About 50 percent of attendees were related to first-years, 20 per-cent to sophomores and 15 percent each to juniors and seniors, wrote Director of the Event and Confer-ence Center Julie Haworth in an e-mail to The Herald.

“Brown welcomed and hosted over 2,400 students and family members, representing more than 700 families from 41 states and 15 countries,” she wrote.

Last year’s Family Weekend

drew approximately 3,000 people to Brown, Haworth wrote.

This weekend, the University hosted events including Cider on the Green Friday afternoon; Faculty Forums, where Brown faculty mem-bers talked about their research; and the Hour with the President, a speech from President Ruth Simmons followed by a question-and-answer session. Families also attended the football game against Cornell, the Brown University Wind Symphony Concert and special per-formances by a cappella groups.

Attendees paid $40 for the first registration and $25 for each addi-tional guest over twelve years of age to hear lectures by prominent fac-

ulty members, tour historical sites in the area and attend a variety of student group performances. They registered online or at the Stephen Robert ’62 Campus Center.

“Everything is great,” said Jeff Berman P’14, father of Laura Ber-man ’14. “We went to see Improvi-dence, hear the president speak, see King Lear, and I went to the football game.”

“The diversity of opportunity here is incredible,” he said, adding that he would have liked to go to more of the events, but the weekend schedule was too packed to allow it.

Family members of Brendan

continued on page 3

hiGheR eD

sudoku

George Miller, PresidentClaire Kiely, Vice President

Katie Koh, TreasurerChaz Kelsh, Secretary

The Brown Daily Herald (USPS 067.740) is an independent newspaper serv-ing the Brown University community daily since 1891. It is published Monday through Friday during the academic year, excluding vacations, once during Commencement, once during Orientation and once in July by The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. Single copy free for each member of the community. POSTMASTER please send corrections to P.O. Box 2538, Providence, RI 02906. Periodicals postage paid at Providence, R.I. Offices are located at 195 Angell St., Providence, R.I. E-mail herald@browndailyherald.com. World Wide Web: http://www.browndailyherald.com. Subscription prices: $319 one year daily, $139 one semester daily. Copyright 2010 by The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. All rights reserved.

editorial Phone: 401.351.3372 | Business Phone: 401.351.3260Daily Heraldthe Brown

MONDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2010THE BROWN DAILY HERALDPAGE 2

CampUS newS “It isn’t chic to be in subpar living conditions.”— President Ruth Simmons

know their options.” There are many victims who

don’t officially report but instead seek support, Mantak said.

“There are a lot of ways of talking about the experience,” she said. “If we focus on number of cases re-ported, we lose sight of people who talk to friends, therapists or WPCs.”

According to McCarthy, the Uni-versity’s system with dealing with assaults “is slowly improving.” One recent improvement, spearheaded by the Sexual Assault Task Force, was a change in the sexual miscon-duct policy, which now separates sexual assault offenses into two categories — one for less severe cases of non-consensual assault and another that deals with violent acts and penetration. The separation, McCarthy said, allows for expulsion to be considered for offenses falling in the second category.

Another improvement has been the addition of a staff position spe-cifically dealing with sexual assault. Before the hiring of Trish Glover

as the University’s sexual assault response and prevention program coordinator, the “lack of staff was glaring,” McCarthy said.

Glover is no longer on staff, but Mantak has taken over her respon-sibilities and said there is a search underway for Glover’s replacement, which she hopes will be over soon.

But, Quinn said, even more im-portant improvements can be made at the University — not necessarily in dealing with reported sexual as-sault cases, but in addressing their prevention.

“There are some good conversa-tions going on, but the University could do more,” Quinn said.

At the heart of the issue, Quinn added, is that even if Brown can pro-vide all of the adequate resources to victims, most cases will end up unreported because of the continu-ing social stigma against victims.

“If you are comfortable, there are people there to help, but it is easier said than done,” she said.

Mantak added that current cov-erage of William McCormick III’s case deters successful handling of

sexual assault cases. McCormick, a former member of the class of 2010, is suing the University because he believes he was unfairly removed from Brown after being accused of rape.

Coverage of a case where the victim’s side is unreported is “not a good place to learn about the dy-namic of sexual assault” at Brown, Mantak said.

In a letter published in The Herald last April, students from the Sexual Assault Task Force, in-cluding McCarthy, wrote that the coverage, which focused “on the truthfulness of the victim’s state-ment, rather than on the University officials’ alleged misconduct,” did “the entire Brown community a disservice.”

In the end, regardless of how an assault is handled — whether it is reported or not — supporting the victim and increasing awareness of sexual assault is what matters, Quinn said.

“The feeling of violation is what needs to be talked about, whether it counts as a crime or not,” she added.

which is not included on the cam-pus reports, consists largely of laptop thefts, Porter said, which accounted for 68 crimes in 2009.

The Clery Act, passed in 1990, was originally a response to the rape and murder of Lehigh University fresh-man Jeanne Clery in 1986.

“This is one of those cases where a horrific crime caused a federal law,” said Associate Professor of Political Science and Public Policy Ross Cheit, who teaches POLS 1821T: “Criminal Justice System.” “It came from one family’s horrible grief and the idea that you would make more informed choices about campus, about college, if you had this kind of data.”

DPS finds these statistics useful to gauge how successful its efforts have been over a calendar year, according to Porter. “Those numbers tell us that our deployment of personnel … did something very good to increase our comprehensive security program here.”

explaining the numbers Porter credits multiple DPS initia-

tives for keeping crime totals lower.“There’s a lot that goes into ana-

lyzing, forecasting and anticipating crime,” Porter said.

Some of these factors include monitoring and responding to trends like the national increase in burglaries and holding weekly meetings with the Providence Police Department to coordinate deployment of police officers around campus.

But Cheit said there are other fac-tors at work related to the decrease of crime rates at Brown besides new police tactics. Any system in which the agency, either a local police or a university public safety department, reports its own crime statistics inher-ently generates pressure to make the numbers look better, Cheit said.

For local police departments, “the pressure is political. You want to show that crime’s going down in your city, not up,” Cheit said. “Here, the pres-sure is economic, but in either case, there’s this problem that the people reporting the numbers have an inter-est in having the numbers look good.”

Another factor that may cause numbers to be low, especially in the case of drug and alcohol offenses, is the disciplinary referral system. DPS officers have the ability to de-cide whether to refer students to the Office of Student Life for disciplin-ary action in lieu of arresting them. DPS believes that the disciplinary referral process is more efficient than focusing on arrests for minor crimes, Porter said.

These referrals lead students to the Office of Student Life, where the initial DPS report generates a review of the incident, according to Senior Associate Dean for Student Life Allen Ward. Depending on the severity of the incident, the Office of Student Life decides either to provide support for the student or to investigate the matter, and only some investigations lead to the student being charged, Ward said.

Problems with comparisonThe Daily Beast’s report, pub-

lished in September, judged colleges based on their Clery crime statistics reported from 2006 to 2008. The publication subjectively weighted the eight major reported types of crimes indexed by the FBI, differentiating between forcible and non-forcible sex offenses. In the calculation, burglary had the smallest value while murder carried the highest. Also, the formula divided crime totals by the number of students enrolled in an attempt to accurately compare small and large campuses.

Porter said he did not know about the Daily Beast article, but general

safety comparisons between schools can be problematic.

“I don’t know what formula they used, but it’s often somewhat danger-ous to make comparisons because each campus is different,” Porter said.

Cheit agreed that most methods comparing university safety are un-fair. Many factors other than numbers alone go into overall safety of a cam-pus, including how urban the school is and how many of the students drive cars, Cheit said.

“There’s so many things that you might adjust to make them compa-rable that aren’t done,” he said, add-ing that such comparisons are often “useless.”

The University also does not put that much weight on comparisons between schools, said Vice President of Public Affairs and University Rela-tions Marisa Quinn. Instead of focus-ing on how safe Brown is compared to other schools, the University focuses on how safe Brown is for its students, she said.

Cheit cautioned against trans-lating statistics into a barometer of safety.

“Go to the FBI’s website, the Uni-form Crime Reports, and the first thing they’ll say is crime reports aren’t really comparable across ju-risdictions,” Cheit said. “Not to say crime stats are without value. They’re valuable for things like comparing the same jurisdiction over time, and even then, they have their limits.”

Porter agreed that statistics are not the only method of judging the safety of a campus. DPS does a survey every few years to see if the issues they find to be most important, such as the increase in burglaries, match up with the concerns of students.

“Statistics are very important, but it’s important to know if we’re treating the issues the community feels are a priority,” Porter said.

to a variety of opinions, citing an experience from her college days when a white student from South Africa stood up in class and gave her controversial opinion on apartheid.

“I learned something amazing that day,” Simmons said.

The diverse opinions students hear at Brown come in part from the professors, Simmons said. She spoke of new additions to the fac-ulty as examples, including Assis-tant Professor of Religious Studies Stephen Bush, who studies the relationship between religion and political views. Simmons said the University’s “student-faculty rela-tionship” is bolstered by Brown’s ability to draw professors who are both skilled researchers and dedicated teachers.

Study abroad programs also add to the broad education of-fered at Brown and prepare stu-dents for a “complex multicultural world,” she said, announcing the University’s partnerships with schools in Mumbai, China and Ghana.

Simmons also reported on the status of the Campaign for Academic Enrichment, which is scheduled to end Dec. 31. She announced that the Campaign has so far raised over $1.57 bil-lion toward initiatives such as the expansion of the faculty and the development of new academic programs and opportunities for students.

Simmons also mentioned reno-vation and expansion of housing. Universities are recognizing that “it isn’t chic to be in subpar liv-ing conditions,” she said, eliciting

chuckles and scattered applause from the audience.

Before going on to the question-and-answer session, Simmons gave a few examples of the projects Brown students have been undertaking for the “common good.” She mentioned the Better World By Design con-ference, held Oct. 1–3, and the disaster relief work students are doing in the wake of the floods in Pakistan.

Simmons went on to take ques-tions from the audience with Pro-vost David Kertzer ’69 P’95 P’98, Executive Vice President for Fi-nance and Administration Beppie Huidekoper and Dean of the Col-lege Katherine Bergeron. These included a question about the recommendations of the report issued by the University Steer-ing Committee on Slavery and Justice. Another parent voiced concerns for the fate of humani-ties disciplines at Brown.

In response to this question, Bergeron mentioned many new programs intended to emphasize the humanities, including an on-line portfolio system designed to help students keep track of their progress in fulfilling Brown’s writing requirement, as well as seminars offered by the Cogut Center for the Humanities.

“Problem-solving does not only happen in the sciences,” Bergeron said.

After the speech, Leah Piekarz P’10.5 said Simmons came across as “genuine.”

“She believes in what she is talking about, and I agree — there should be an emphasis on teach-ing people to have a diverse point of view,” she said.

Simmons to families: seek out diverse opinions

continued from page 1

Crime report says theft still a problem

U. urges awareness of sexual assaults

continued from page 1

continued from page 1

CampUS newSMONDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2010 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD PAGE 3

“We’re sharing lots of time together as a family.”— Melody Hainline P’12

Drug bust at GeorgetownPolice found a drug lab producing the hallucinogenic dimethyltryptamine, or DMT, inside

a freshman dorm at Georgetown University this weekend, the Washington Post reported. Two freshman roommates and a visitor were arrested early Saturday morning after a student called police to the building around 5 a.m. because of a strange odor, according to the article. As a precautionary measure, 400 students were evacuated from the building at 6 a.m. while local safety officials evaluated it for safety, the Hoya, Georgetown’s student newspaper, reported. The evacuated students were allowed back in their rooms later in the day. According to the Hoya, the three students could face up to $1 million in fines and 20 years in prison.

higher ed news roundupby sarah forman

staff writer

Title iX issues at Delaware State

Delaware State University reached a settlement last week in a class-action lawsuit filed after the school cut its female equestrian team for budget reasons, according to an Oct. 22 article in the Delaware Online. Federal law requires gender equity in sports, and currently only 42 percent of the athletes at the school are female, according to the article. Because women make up 61 percent of the student body, the settlement requires that university close a gap of nearly 20 percentage points by 2013.

Police banned from egyptian universitiesEgypt’s High Administrative Court made a ruling this weekend banning police from the

campuses of institutes of higher education, the Los Angeles Times reported Oct. 24. Professors at Cairo University filed and won a lawsuit in 2008 that barred police from campus after student leaders and faculty complained of law enforcement intimidation and intrusion into academics, the article explained. The Ministry of Higher Education and the Ministry of Interior in Egypt both appealed the 2008 ruling, and their motion was struck down this weekend.

Hainline ’12, co-creator of Dot Comic for The Herald, were also happy about how the weekend turned out. “We’re sharing lots of time together as a family, and this is the first time the siblings have come,” said Melo-dy Hainline P’12, Brendan’s mother. The family attended the Mariachi de Brown concert, visited museums and went to the Wind Symphony

Concert.There were a few problems with

the influx of family members this weekend, though. When asked if there was anything that needed im-provement, brother Russell Hain-line said, “Traffic control. There are some out-of-control drivers in Providence.”

“Some of the events need more publicity,” Melody Hainline said. “And more mariachi!”

weekend brings families together on the hill

continued from page 1

the BLOG brought to you DAiLy by The heRALD

blog daily herald dot com

By KRiSTinA FAzzALARO

Senior Staff Writer

The holiday season is always stress-ful. Buying gifts, managing guests and making sure the liquor cabinet is well-stocked — to help manage the guests — can drive a person crazy. Such is the case in Trinity Repertory Theatre’s production of “Absurd Person Singular.”

Set in 1970s England, Alan Ayckbourn’s comedic romp tells the story of three middle-aged couples who take turns hosting holiday soirees on Christmas Eve. Though the play lacks depth and packs a lengthy run-time — two-and-a-half hours — it makes up for it with plenty of holiday-induced hysterics.

The first act takes place in the Hopcroft household, where Sidney (Stephen Berenson) and Jane (An-gela Brazil), a middle-class couple with aspirations to elevate their social standing, host a get-together with members of higher society — the Jacksons and the Brewster-Wrights. Sidney hopes to acquire a loan from Ronald Brewster-Wright (Timothy Crowe) and make con-nections with prominent architect Geoffrey Jackson (Fred Sullivan Jr.).

While Jane obsesses over clean-

ing the small house — going so far as to wipe down the washing machine — Sidney merely walks about, generally un-tidying her work and counting down the min-utes until their guests’ imminent arrival.

The first act is largely car-ried by the combined efforts of the actresses. Marion Brewster-Wright (Anne Scurria) is initially all smiles, acting the part of the perfect, demure English woman. Proclaiming the Hopcroft’s kitchen “simply dishy,” she becomes fasci-nated with the washing machine, saying, “Whites. Colored. My god, it’s apartheid!” Her biting humor — straight gin is the only drink strong enough for her — is much appreciated. After she has had too much gin, she switches from kindly society gal to judgmental snoot, telling her husband in secret that they must leave this “loathsome little house” as soon as possible.

Eva Jackson (Phyllis Kay), though not prominent in the first act, sets the stage for an energetic second act. High on pills to “keep her sanity,” Eva is simply a joy to watch with perfect comedic timing and biting one-liners.

Jane spends most of the first act cleaning or locked out of the house in the rain, simultaneously

delighting and annoying audiences — really, the dusting can wait until tomorrow — with her hysterical outbursts as her night crumbles around her.

The men — bossy Sidney, obliv-ious Ronald and salacious Geoffrey — have some amusing one-liners but are for the most part carried by the acting of their female coun-terparts.

Act two jumps ahead a year, with the Jacksons hosting cocktail hour this time around. There’s only one or twenty problems, though — in the midst of a fairly messy separation, the Jacksons have for-gotten their plans. As Geoffrey, who is leaving Eva for his mistress, hurries to water down the gin, a silent and pajama-clad Eva sits at the kitchen table, scribbling away at a notepad.

With Jackson out of the room to let in the Hopcrofts, Eva opens the kitchen window and steps onto the ledge — leaving the audience with no doubt what her scribbling was. As she prepares to jump, Geof-frey returns and drags her back in, throws away her suicide note and calls her doctor.

Begin suicide attempt number two. Eva writes another note and opens the oven. Enter the Hop-crofts. Jane, believing Eva to be

cleaning the oven, shoves her aside and decides to be neighborly, say-ing rather inopportunely, “I’ll clean that oven if it kills me.” Meanwhile, Sidney sets out to fix the Jacksons’ leaky sink, following his wife’s example. When Jackson asks the two to watch Eva while he gets the doctor, Eva resumes her planning.

Though she does not speak a single line throughout the entire second act, Eva is undoubtedly the star. Her suicide attempts — run-ning at a propped-up knife, hanging herself from the lamp fixture and sniffing a bottle of Vicks, for ex-ample — somehow become comi-cal. She infuses her desperation with the right amount of frustration (people keep throwing her suicide notes away!) and determination (nailing said suicide note to the table when all else fails) to keep the audience laughing rather than crying over her antics.

The chaos of the second act heightens Eva’s plight. Ronald gets electrocuted trying to fix a light, a drunk Marion admires the family’s oven and George, the Jackson’s dog, barricades the whole lot in the kitchen. When Jackson re-turns home with the doctor on his heels, he finds two semi-conscious women, one electrocuted man and an oblivious carolling couple. End act two.

The third act is set another year in the future. Each couple is still together and dealing with its own issues. The Jacksons and Brewster-Wrights have fallen on hard times while the Hopcrofts have risen steadily, causing new tensions and tribulations this holi-day season.

The script of “Absurd Person Singular” is great because of its simplicity — it glosses over the heavy issues with laughter and re-latable characters, such as the neat freak and the drunken guest. After a stressful month of midterms, it’s the perfect thing to relax the brain cells because it doesn’t require much thinking, just pure enjoy-ment.

The production is also well-exe-cuted, with a strong cast led by Kay and Scurria. Though the actors could use a few more lessons in mastering the English accent, they put on a good show and keep the lengthy performance from feeling too drawn out.

“Absurd Person Singular” is pure farce — no underlying themes or experimental acting. It delivers a good time and lots of laughs, a rarity worth the trip down the hill.

“Absurd Person Singular” runs at Trinity Repertory Theatre through Nov. 21. Tickets start at $12.

arts & CultureThe Brown Daily Herald

MONDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2010 | PAGE 4

‘absurd’-ly hilarious farce puts audience in the holiday mood

Gov. names oct. arts and humanities monthBy Fei cAi

Senior Staff Writer

Gov. Donald Carcieri ’65 has pro-claimed October 2010 Arts and Humanities Month in Rhode Is-land, corresponding with President Obama’s declaration of October as National Arts and Humanities Month Oct. 1.

“The State of Rhode Island has clear evidence that the arts and humanities contribute significantly to our quality of life, the education of our citizens and the economy of our state,” Carcieri’s official proc-lamation reads.

Carcieri also called on citizens to join him in “celebrating and promoting the arts and culture in our nation and our state, and to specifically encourage greater par-ticipation in taking action for the arts and humanities in our cities and towns.”

President Obama expressed similar sentiments in his procla-mation. “As we work to bring the power of the arts and humanities to all Americans, my Administration remains committed to providing our children with an education that inspires as it informs. Exposing our students to disciplines in music, dance, drama, design, writing and fine art is an important part of that mission,” the proclamation stated.

October has been recognized as National Arts and Humanities

Month since 1993, though this is the first year that Rhode Island has explicitly participated.

Nonprofit artistic and cultural activities generate $750 million yearly and 13,000 jobs through-out the state, according to Car-cieri’s proclamation. These num-bers may increase this year, with nearly $900,000 awarded to artists and arts organizations in the State Arts Council’s last round of grants, according to a July 6 government press release.

In addition, Lieutenant Gover-nor Elizabeth Roberts ’78 won a Lieutenant Governors Arts Lead-ership Award earlier this year, ac-cording to a July 28 release.

Randall Rosenbaum, executive director of the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, and Mary-Kim Arnold, executive director of the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities, applauded Carcieri’s decision, according to an Oct. 12 press release. The two orga-nizations, along with the City of Providence’s Department of Art, Culture and Tourism, Rhode Island Citizens for the Arts and artistic idea-sharing forum Pecha Kucha Providence, will celebrate the oc-casion with an open “Creative Con-versations” conference on creative and social entrepreneurship Oct. 27 at Firehouse 13, according to the Rhode Island Citizens for the Arts website.

SportsmondayMONDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2010 | PAGE 5

The Brown Daily Herald

Squad hurts its Ivy chances with tieBy MADeLeine WenSTRuP

SportS Staff Writer

On a chilly Sunday afternoon, the women’s soccer team took on Cor-nell, looking for its second league win. But Bruno fell short and walked away with a 0-0 tie.

The scoreless game did not come from a lack of effort. The Bears (7-4-4, 1-2-2 Ivy League) took more than triple the amount of shots that Cornell (6-6-1, 1-3-1) did — the final shot count was 20-6 — and dominated the offensive play in the first and second halves. But Big Red goalkeeper Megan Bartlett was

unstoppable and made six saves to shut down every dangerous play.

“I thought the goalkeeper did a nice job coming out on all the crosses,” said Bears Head Coach Phil Pincince. “We had all the chances, and we just didn’t finish.”

Midfielders Mika Siegelman ’14 and Sarah Hebert-Seropian ’12 led the way for the Bears offensively, taking three shots apiece.

The shutout by goalkeeping duo Amber Bledsoe ’14 and MC Barrett ’14 allowed the Bears to focus on offense. Bledsoe made two saves in the first half and Barrett followed her lead, stopping one in the sec-

ond 45-minute period.Pincince said he was impressed

by his team’s overall performance.“This was the best game we

have played against Cornell. Even though we won last year, 1-0, it was a very ugly performance by our program,” he said. “I look at this and think it’s actually a good situation.”

The Bears will continue on their Ivy tour this weekend, traveling to compete against Penn at 5 p.m. Saturday, then returning home to take on Yale the following Saturday for their last game of the regular season.

Grandstrand ’11 breaks record in winBy zAcK BAhR

SportS editor

With the home-side bleachers filled to capacity for Family Weekend, the No. 14 men’s soccer team (9-1-3, 2-1-1 Ivy League) picked up a 2-0 victory in an Ivy must-win game against a struggling Cornell (4-6-4, 0-3-1).

“An Ivy game is always going to be tough,” said Head Coach Pat Laughlin. “When you get to this part of the Ivy season, points matter so much. They make a huge difference and a huge swing. All we can do is try to take care of our own business.”

The Bears started the game with some hesitance in their per-formance. Cornell defender Matt Stengel caused some problems with his throw-ins sailing for 30 yards, re-sembling lofty corner kicks. Players miscommunicated on several passes and headers were sent out of play.

“I think we were so intent on putting in a good performance that we came out playing stiff,” Laughlin said. “After they got the shot, we re-ally started to come into it.”

“The shot” was a well-executed cross in the 13th minute by mid-fielder Taylor Gorman ’12 from near left post to midfielder Thomas Mc-Namara ’13, who drove the ball hard into the back of the net. McNamara also found the goal in the second half, when he blazed past two Big Red defenders before firing a one-on-one shot past Cornell goalkeeper Rick Pflasterer at 64:29.

“I’m happy to finally get some goals under me,” McNamara said. “Everybody scores every game, and today was just something different and it happened to be me. We got the ‘W’ and that’s what matters.”

The Bears exhibited a staunch defense, as a strong showing by the back four helped goalkeeper Paul Grandstrand ’11 make his way into the team record books. Grandstrand now has the most single-season shut-

outs and is one away from leading the career shutout category.

“We came out and played strong,” said midfielder Bobby Belair ’13, who assisted in the shutout effort. “We knew Cornell was going to be a very physical team. I just wanted to stay behind the ball and play sound defense.”

Injuries plagued the Big Red during the match. A tense feeling filled the air in the 14th minute when defender David Walls ’11 and Cornell forward Franck Onambele collided heads in midair. Walls walked away, but a trainer helped Onombele press a towel against his bloody face be-fore helping him limp off the field. Cornell Head Coach Jaro Zawislan said Onombele was taken to the hospital and that adjustments had to be made.

“There aren’t too many teams that can absorb such injuries, but I think our guys played well and gave us quality minutes,” Zawislan said. “I’m proud of everyone who played.”

Brown had to play without for-ward Jon Okafor ’11, who leads the points column for the team, and for-ward Austen Mandel ’12, who leads

in assists. A wide rotation of Bears made up the difference, with several reserve players seeing notable time.

“Playing time is won and lost in training and on performance in-game,” Laughlin said. “If you’ve been playing a lot, it’s because you’ve been playing well in games.”

Signs of frustration set in for the Big Red near the midway point in the game. The referee issued a yel-low card to defender Ben Kenyon after he tackled to stop a break by forward Sean Rosa ’12.5. Another card was given to defender Jake Ri-now after slide-tackling Rosa, who was tracking a ball out of bounds. At one point late in the game, Kenyon screamed at his teammates to “stay on the ball.”

“Every game we are looking to pretty much go after the teams with the high pressure and high-tempo type of the game.” Zawislan said of his team’s gameplan. “We are not going to set back by design.”

Bruno will be home on Tuesday against Holy Cross at 7 p.m. before traveling to Penn on Saturday for a 7:30 p.m. game that could potentially decide the Ivy League champion.

ScOReBOARD

vOLLeyBALL

Brown 3Dartmouth 1

Brown 1harvard 3

FieLD hOcKey

cornell 2 Brown 1 (OT)

W. hOcKey

Brown 2no. 8 Boston coll. 5

wind was doing and was able to throw some balls that didn’t hang up too much.”

While Springer led a balanced Brown attack — running an equal number of rushing and passing plays — the defense stepped up as well, sacking Cornell freshman quarter-back Jeff Mathews five times and holding the Cornell rushing attack to only 61 yards.

“We play physical,” said defen-sive end Jeremy Raducha ’11 when asked about Brown’s defense this season. “We’re not the biggest guys out there, but we’re athletic enough to rock and roll a little bit… and get to the (quarterback).”

The Bears struck first, as Alex Norocea ’14 connected on a 45-yard field goal. On the ensuing drive, Cor-nell responded with a 70-yard touch-down drive capped by a tough catch in the end zone by Ryan Houska with a Brown defender on his back. This was the only lead the Big Red saw all game.

Brown reclaimed the lead four minutes later in an unorthodox fash-ion. After efficiently moving the ball to the Cornell four-yard line, a muffed exchange on a handoff between Springer and Mark Kachmer ’13 put the ball on the turf. The fumbled ball squirted into the end zone, where in the confusion, it was fallen on by Kachmer for the score, putting Brown on top 10-7.

“It went down on the ground, and everybody’s eyes were up,” Estes said. “It went between the legs of the Cornell players, and (Kachmer) was able to find it.”

The second quarter proved to be a huge momentum swing in the Bears’ favor. The Brown defense held Cornell to only nine yards in the quarter, and the offense added 10 more points to extend the lead to 20-7 at halftime. Brown had the ball at its own 43-yard line with only 55 seconds left in the half. A 27-yard reception on the sideline by receiver Jimmy Saros ’12 set up a 20-yard touchdown from Springer to Tounkara to extend the Bears’ lead going into halftime.

Springer and Tounkara linked

up again in the fourth quarter, this time on a 15-yard strike. Tounkara caught the ball over the middle at the five-yard line and muscled his way into the end zone to put the Bears up 27-7 with only 13:12 remaining in the game.

Cornell made a bit of noise at the end of the game, scoring on a quick 66-yard drive. After a Brown three-and-out, the Big Red looked poised to make the game interesting again, but the Bears’ defense held strong. After Cornell converted on a fourth-and-short in Brown territory, linebacker Chimso Okoji ’11 dished out a punishing hit over the middle to force an incompletion on the en-suing play, breathing life back into Bruno. Defensive end Patxi Colbern ’13 sacked Mathews for a loss of 11 on the next play, and Cornell ended up turning the ball over on downs.

“We played a really physical football team today in Brown, a well-coached football team,” said Cornell Head Coach Kent Austin.

The Bears’ “D” put pressure on the Cornell quarterback all game. Linebacker and tri-captain Andrew Serrano ’11 turned in another strong performance, logging eight tackles and a sack. The entire Brown front seven seemed to be in the Big Red backfield on every play, preventing Mathews from establishing any sort of comfort zone or rhythm.

In addition to Springer’s strong play on the offensive side of the ball, the Bears’ two-headed running attack of Tronti and Kachmer produced their best combined effort of the year. Kachmer led the way with a game-high 81 yards on the ground, while Tronti amassed 128 total yards of offense and was an integral part of the passing game. Estes commented on how the two were running hard “downhill,” and the success on the ground took some pressure off the passing attack.

The win improves Brown’s confer-ence record to 3-0 and places them tied atop the table with Penn, who dispatched Yale on Saturday. The two sides will face off at Franklin Field in Philadelphia next week in a 1:30 p.m. matchup of the Ivy League’s unbeatens.

after chewing up Big red, football ready for penn

continued from page 1

Jonathan Bateman / HeraldMidfielder Thomas McNamara ’13 gets past a defender to score his second goal in a Family Weekend victory against Cornell.

M. SOcceR

W. SOcceR

editorial & LettersPAGE 6 | MONDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2010

The Brown Daily Herald

J U L I A S T R E U L I

Up for negotiation

C O R R E C T I O N S P O L I C YThe Brown Daily Herald is committed to providing the Brown University community with the most accurate information possible. Correc-tions may be submitted up to seven calendar days after publication.

C O M M E N T A R Y P O L I C YThe editorial is the majority opinion of the editorial page board of The Brown Daily Herald. The editorial viewpoint does not necessarily reflect the views of The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. Columns, letters and comics reflect the opinions of their authors only.

L E T T E R S T O T H E E D I T O R P O L I C YSend letters to letters@browndailyherald.com. Include a telephone number with all letters. The Herald reserves the right to edit all letters for length and clarity and cannot assure the publication of any letter. Please limit letters to 250 words. Under special circumstances writers may request anonymity, but no letter will be printed if the author’s identity is unknown to the editors. Announcements of events will not be printed.

A D V E R T I S I N G P O L I C YThe Brown Daily Herald, Inc. reserves the right to accept or decline any advertisement at its discretion.

editorial

For the second time in as many years, the University is engaged in a tense labor dispute with a segment of employees who are fundamental to the school’s functioning. Last October, Brown Dining Services workers threatened to strike in response to a proposed increase in workers’ contributions to health care premiums. And as The Herald reported last week, the University’s negotiations with the library work-ers’ union are ongoing. Issues pertaining to health insurance coverage and costs remain unresolved. Our inclination is to support the library workers, and we are again especially concerned by the University’s lack of transparency when labor disputes arise.

As a Herald story noted last week, the University does not generally comment on details of contract negotiations with employees. There are surely good reasons for this policy, but there’s also a good reason it should be eased slightly for the time being. Despite the lingering effects of a brutal economic recession and a state unemployment rate above 11 percent, multi-million dollar construction projects seem to be springing up all over campus. As a result, many students and other community members may experi-ence cognitive dissonance when they hear that the University is taking a hard line in talks with Dining Services or library workers.

We’ve noted in previous editorials that donations to the University are often earmarked for specific purposes, so money for construction projects would be difficult to redirect. But each time these disputes happen, students’ view of the administration and

Brown’s reputation in the city and state take a major hit. Last year, students supporting the Dining Services workers carried around a giant puppet of a school administrator holding dollar bills in each hand. The University must do a better job of articulating why it is seeking certain contract changes and roughly how much it expects to save.

Without a little more explanation and clarification, we can’t help but be persuaded by the back-of-the-envelope calculations that appeared in an opinions column in The Herald last week. The author, Chris Norris-LeBlanc ’13, calculated that while library workers are being asked to pay at the very least an additional 2.67 percent of their yearly income for health insurance, the estimated cost savings would amount to only .01 percent of the University’s yearly operating budget. If Norris-LeBlanc’s figures are even roughly correct, we agree that the library workers are being unnecessarily squeezed.

The administration has largely done a good job of navigating an extremely difficult economy, and the construction projects do create jobs and stimulate economic activity in Rhode Island. But when nego-tiations between Brown and its employees become tense, the sixth largest employer in the state needs to be a little more forthright and proactive about answering observers’ reasonable questions.

Editorials are written by The Herald’s editorial page board. Send comments to editorials@browndailyherald.com.

Rafael chaiken, Kyle Mcnamara, Julien Ouellet, Designers

carrie craven, Kelly Mallahan, Katrina Phillips, Dan Towne, emma Wohl, Copy Editors

Alex Bell, Fei cai, Sydney ember, Lindor Qunaj, Suzy Weiss, Night Editors

Letters, please!letters@browndailyherald.com

Senior Staff Writers Ana Alvarez, Ashley Aydin, Rebecca Ballhaus, Alexander Bell, Nicole Boucher, Fei Cai, Kristina Fazzalaro, Sarah Mancone, Claire Peracchio, Lindor Qunaj, Mark Raymond, Luisa Robledo, Caitlin TrujilloStaff Writers Anna Andreeva, Anne Artley, Anita Badejo, Casey Bleho, Amy Chen, Alicia Dang, Sarah Forman, Miriam Furst, Max Godnick, Thomas Jarus, Julia Kim, Kristina Klara, Leonardo Moauro, Emily Rosen, Bradley Silverman, Anne Simons, Alexandra Ulmer, Qian YinSenior Sales executives Katie Galvin, Liana Nisimova, Isha Gulati, Samantha WongSales Associates Roshni Assomull, Brady Caspar, Anna Cook, Siena deLisser, Begum Ersan, Tommy Fink, Ryan Fleming, Evan Gill, Debbie Lai, Jason Lee, Katie Lynch, Sean Maroongroge, Zahra Merchant, Edjola Ruci, Webber XuSenior Finance Associates Jason Beckman, Mae Cadao, Adam Fern, Krystle OnibokunFinance Associates Lisa Berlin, Mahima Chawla, Mark Hu, Jason Lee, Justin Lee, Kevin Lynch, Jennifer Morgan, Sam Plotner, Nicholas Robbins, Dan Seder, Daniel Slutsky, Emily ZhengDesign Staff Rebecca Ballhaus, Caleigh ForbesWeb Staff Warren Jin, Claire Kwong, Adam ZethraeusPhoto Staff Qidong Chen, Janine Cheng, Alex DePaoli, Frederic Lu, Quinn Savitcopy editors Ted Burke, Corinne Cathcart, David Chung, Olivia Conetta, Carrie Craven, Max Ernst, Nicole Grabel, Jeffrey Handler, Emma Janaskie, Bridget Jeong, Jenny Kaplan, Abby Kerson, Juhee Kwon, Claire Luchette, Sahil Luthra, Shefali Luthra, Katie MacDougald, Alexandra Nuttbrown, Elizabeth Orr, Katrina Phillips, Amy Rasmussen, Winnie Wang, Emma Wohleditorial Page Board Members Anita Mathews, Melissa Shube, Gaurie Tilak

the brown daily herald

Anne SpeyerSuzannah WeissSara LuxenbergBrian MastroianniBrigitta GreeneBen SchreckingerSydney emberzack BahrTony BakshiAshley McDonnell

Stephen LichensteinAlex yulyStephanie LondonMax Monn hilary RosenthalJonathan BatemanJesse Morgan

Graphics EditorGraphics Editor

Photo EditorPhoto EditorPhoto Editor

Sports Photo EditorAsst. Sports Photo Editor

graphics & photos

BUSINESS

Kelly MallahanJoe MilnerDan TowneJulien OuelletGili KligerLeor Shtull-LeberKatie Wilsonneal Poole

production

Copy Desk ChiefAsst. Copy Desk ChiefAsst. Copy Desk Chief

Design EditorAsst. Design EditorAsst. Design EditorAsst. Design Editor

Web Editor

EDITORIAL

Arts & Culture EditorArts & Culture Editor

Features EditorFeatures Editor

Metro EditorMetro EditorNews Editor

Sports EditorSports Editor

Asst. Sports Editor

editor-in-chief

George Miller

senior editors

Ben hymanSeth Motel

deputy managing editors

emmy LissJoanna Wohlmuth

managing editor

chaz Kelsh

OPINIONS Michael FitzpatrickAlyssa RatledgeMatt AksTyler Rosenbaum

Opinions EditorOpinions Editor

Editorial Page EditorEditorial Page Editor

BLOG DAILY HERALDMatt KlimermanAnne SimonsDavid Winer

Managing EditorManaging EditorManaging Editor

general managers

claire KielyKatie Koh

office manager

Shawn Reilly

directors

Kelly WessMatthew BurrowsDanielle MarshakMargaret Watsonchristiana Stephenson

managers

isha GulatiArjun vaidyaRajiv iyengarAditi BhatiaJared DavisTrenten nelson-RiversLauren BossoJilyn chaoMargot GrinbergAlexander carrereKathy Bui

SalesFinance

Asst. FinanceClient Relations

Alumni Relations

Local SalesLocal Sales

National SalesUniversity SalesUniversity SalesRecruiter Sales

Business OperationsBusiness Analytics

Credit and CollectionsSpecial Projects

Staff

POST- MAGAZINESam carterKate DoyleMarshall Katheder

Editor-in-ChiefEditor-in-ChiefEditor-in-Chief

MONDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2010 | PAGE 7

opinionsThe Brown Daily Herald

Toward the end of July, the usual meal plan brochure arrived in my mailbox, announcing all of the familiar meal plans for the upcom-ing Academic Year. At the time, I checked off my current meal plan option on the card and mailed it back by the first week of August, without giving too much thought to my food options for next year. However, after coming back to Brown from a summer in Bologna, Italy, and thinking about all the wonderful Italian dishes I could prepare, I resolved to go off the meal plan.

My decision — motivated in part by the facts and figures that came up after dividing the total cost of the meal plan by the num-ber of meals per semester, but mostly driven by personal concerns over the quality of the food — was final. I walked to the Dining Ser-vices office and after waiting in line behind a pair of freshmen who were eager to upgrade to the Flex 460, I handed out my card and was immediately free to experiment with my Food Network recipes.

In preparation for what was to become a mighty cooking operation, I went to Target to buy all the necessary kitchenware and to the local supermarkets to stock up on gro-ceries. I communicated the news to one of my friends who lives in my residence hall, and as a welcoming gesture, he offered to show me all the nooks and crannies of God-

dard House. While he was giving me a tour of the hidden marvels of the ADPhi base-ment, he casually mentioned that their kitch-en — the one that I had seen about a week ago as I made my own discovery of the build-ing amenities — was for exclusive use of the literary frat members. When I asked where the kitchen for the independents was locat-ed, he pointed toward a locked door that bore no external sign: as had been the case for the past years, the independent kitchen had been transformed into a three-person

bedroom. With the ADPhi kitchen locked, the independent “kitchen” converted into a room and the DPhi kitchen used as a super-size dumpster (with a locked door as well), the prospect of using a stove or an oven was as remote as trying to bake a souffle: close to impossible. My dreams of becoming the next Julia Child (or Julie Powell, for that mat-ter) had been shattered.

For the past two years, having access to a kitchen has not ranked among my top priori-

ties as far as Brown housing is concerned. When I was a freshman, the lounge on my floor had been turned into a room, but the kitchen was still available and though I nev-er made a habit of using it, it was still a cozy place to heat up a TV dinner and chat with whoever happened to be pulling an all-night-er that evening. During sophomore year, the industrial-looking kitchen at Minden lacked stove tops (though it was still considered a legitimate kitchen under Brown standards), yet it fulfilled the requirements of a function-

al kitchen, if only halfway. As a junior, my kitchen status is still uncertain, and you can imagine that being kitchen-less and off-meal plan is not exactly a working combo.

Although my many complaints — through e-mails to the director of Residential Life and personal visits to the Office of Resi-dential Life on Wayland Arch — have been somewhat addressed, the issue goes beyond providing an insistent student with a kitchen for the next couple of months. Enabling card

access to nearby fraternity houses in order to use the independent kitchen, like ResLife did in my case, is a temporary way of taking care of the situation. Yet, it is by no means a definitive solution: From what I have been experiencing these past days, having card access to the building, but not the actual key to the kitchen, is equally problematic.

As an institution that guarantees housing and utilities for all its students, Brown should ensure that all of its on-campus students do receive this promised benefit of a kitchen, no matter where they live. Moreover, if the University is planning to use some kitchens as temporary or permanent housing, ResLife should specify which dorms have been or are likely to be affected by this prior to the housing lottery. At the most practical level, Brown should make sure that the projects for the expansion of the University match the housing capacity that the University has. A recent “News from the Corporation Meeting” e-mail to the Brown community proudly announced the future construction of a residence hall on Thayer Street. Seeing the efforts of “Building Brown” across cam-pus always fills me with excitement. But as it is now, I applaud and especially look for-ward to the efforts made towards “Building Brown (Dormitories).”

Lucia Seda ’12 is a comparative literature concentrator from San Juan, Puerto Rico. She can be contacted at

lucia_seda@brown.edu.

where did my kitchen go?

When was the last time, walking along Thay-er, you stopped a classmate to tell her you appreciated her comment in yesterday’s sec-tion? It’s my experience that this rarely, if ever, happens — especially with people who don’t know each other apart from happening to be assigned the same section. But why does this simple act often seem like some sort of a risk, like no one is sure you’ll ac-tually recognize each other outside of the classroom?

It’s wrong that after spending a semester in a seminar tackling major questions and sensitive issues, it isn’t natural that one stu-dent will acknowledge another on the Main Green. It’s wrong that after finishing a dis-cussion section addressing important, often personally affective subjects, we can walk out and act like nothing happened, that we shared nothing. The problem is a sense that the college classroom must be treated as purely academic, non-experiential, individu-alistic and high-pressure. With some notable exceptions, Brown classes could do a much better job of creating a community among students and professors.

First, classrooms should be comfortable spaces for students to ask, and answer, the big questions that academic subjects raise. What should we do about universal health care? How can we treat one another well? What responsibility do we have to care for our earth? What does happen to particles so small we can’t see them with the most pow-erful microscope? These questions often require quite a bit of courage to try to an-

swer, especially in front of relative strangers. Think of it this way: We’re much less con-cerned about what we say — and how we say it — around friends. Shouldn’t we foster that openness in the classroom?

Furthermore, the creation of an academ-ic community should deepen the study of the subject at hand. Beyond creating a space where speaking your mind in class is more comfortable, a classroom community of stu-dents engaged with one another could allow them to really do work in a subject rather than simply study and analyze it. Often, we

get trapped in a cycle of reading, proving we did the reading by saying something in sec-tion and writing about it alone in our rooms. Academic work, while it can be very solitary, in reality is often collaborative, and our class-rooms should reflect that.

To accomplish this concretely, the first thing we — professors, students, TAs — need to do is simply acknowledge that as people spending multiple hours per week together for at least three months, we are a community. We should learn each other’s names and actually say hello outside of class. This is simple enough, and often happens al-ready, but the trend could stand to become

more widespread.Beyond acknowledging the classroom

community, classes should actively try to create it. Many classes use the Writing Cen-ter as a method by which to improve student papers before they are turned in as final drafts. Another possibility could be to ask students to trade their papers a week be-fore the deadline. Not only would this give them an opportunity to critique each other and recognize their own papers’ strengths and weaknesses, it would create a mutually beneficial bond among students. Even more,

this would be a more realistic simulation of the way the scholarly community works — academics often present works in progress or ask peers to edit their work prior to pub-lication.

Class field trips or joint projects are oth-er effective ways of engaging the classroom community. I took two freshman seminars. In one, we visited a different lab around campus almost every week to learn from the researchers firsthand about what they do. In the other, I worked with three other students to create a radio show interviewing the major historical characters and authors we’d been studying.

In both of these classes, I got to know the other students in my class and felt com-fortable asking questions and contributing thoughts in a more conversation-style semi-nar. Furthermore, I was able to engage the material in creative ways and see its applica-tion in real-world settings.

Another method of fostering learning communities could be through depart-ments. Once students declare a concentra-tion, in addition to having an individual ad-visor, they could join a group of concentra-tors that would serve as a support system and community of scholarship for the rest of the student’s time at Brown. These groups could meet a few times a semester to dis-cuss everyone’s academic progress — how has your practice of history improved? Why did one human biology class convince you to focus in that area? What challenges are you facing in applying the principles of econom-ics to the world? Why are we even studying all these things, and what can we do with them?

Because ultimately, creating better learn-ing communities could help fill what I see as a pervasive gap between academic work and nonacademic life at Brown. Personally, my academic classes tend to remain sectioned away in one part of my brain, while my oth-er opinions and passions take up the “extra-curricular” space. If my class communities and fellow concentrators actually made ap-pearances and had significance outside the classroom, perhaps that divide wouldn’t be so gaping.

Chelsea Waite ’11 will say hi to you on the Main Green if you say hi back.

Classrooms should create learning communities among students

Classrooms should be comfortable spaces for students to ask, and answer, the big questions

that academic subjects raise.

Being kitchen-less and off-meal plan is not exactly a working combo.

BY LUCIA SEDAopinions columnist

BY CHELSEA WAITEopinions columnist

MOnDAy, OcTOBeR 25, 2010 PAGE 8

Today 45

Show brings the holidays to mind

Another Ivy shutout for the Bears

The Brown Daily Herald

68 / 58

Bat & Gaz | Sofia Ortiz

Dr. Bear | Mat Becker

cabernet voltaire | Abe Pressman

5 54calendar

menu

crossword

the news in images

comics

69 / 59

today tomorrow

11:30 A.M.

Bench Press for Cancer,

Main Green

8 P.M.

Gray Code Concert,

Grant Recital Hall

2:30 P.M.

A Reading by Poet Dan Beachy-Quick

McCormack Family Theatre

7:30 P.M.

Interracial Dating Forum,

De Ciccio Family Auditorium

ShARPe ReFecTORy veRney-WOOLLey DininG hALL

Lunch

DinneR

Roast beef au jus, baked sweet

potatoes, macaroni and cheese,

gyro sandwich, s’mores bar

Italian meatballs with pasta, pizza

rustica, Italian couscous, Italian

vegetable saute, s’mores bars

Popcorn chicken, gyro sandwich,

vegetarian submarine sandwich,

snickerdoodle cookies

Bacon ranch chicken sandwich,

baked macaroni and cheese,

snickerdoodle cookies

TODAy SePTeMBeR 21 TOMORROW SePTeMBeR 22 The Adventures of Team vag | Wendy Kwartin

Dot comic | Eshan Mitra and Brendan Hainline