Wednesday, September 4, 2002

THE BROWN DAILY HERALDAn independent newspaper serving the Brown community since 1891

S E P T E M E R 4 , 2 0 0 2

Volume CXXXVII, No. 64 www.browndailyherald.com

W E D N E S D A Y

I N S I D E W E D N E S D AY, S E P T E M B E R 4 , 2 0 0 2 TO D AY ’ S F O R E C A S T

Decameron Webproject continues tothrive out of Italianstudies departmentpage 3

Dean Joyce Reedinforms The Herald shewill step down follow-ing academic yearpage 5

V-Dub renovations gettop-notch reviewsfrom Pembroke cam-pus dinerspage 5

Victoria Harris ’03 saysU.S. must make equalrights at home beforecrusading abroadcolumn, page 11

Men’s tennis teamannounces Jay Harrisas new coach for nextseasonpage 12

showershigh 80

low 58

BY ANDY GOLODNYAs the Van Wickle Gates opened Tuesday forthe 239th opening Convocation, membersof the Class of 2006 stepped through tosymbolically begin their Brown education— and a new phase of their lives.

The first-year class formed a long linedown College Street and waved back at thecrowd of parents, administrators andupperclassmen who gathered on the MainGreen to welcome them to Brown.

The bell on top of University Hall rangthroughout the 20-minute procession, asPresident Ruth Simmons and members ofthe faculty, dressed in full academic regalia,followed the first-years onto the green.

Jacquelynn Henry ’06 was quite pleasedto be a part of a day of pomp and tradition.“I’m nervous about starting classes, but I’mreally excited about Convocation,” she said.

Some first-years were taking place notonly in a Brown tradition but in a family oneas well.

“My dad went to Brown, and it’s good tobe doing the same thing that he did 25 yearsago,” said James Sholem ’06. “It’s definitelyvery exciting.”

A new tradition began this year as well. Itwas the first time that graduate and medicalstudents participated in the walk throughthe gates.

“I think it’s great — otherwise we would

have had seven straight hours of lectures,”said Katja Goldflam ’02 MD ’06.

Transfer students and ResumedUndergraduate Education students alsotook part in the procession.

Some Brown seniors watching the pro-cession got nostalgic at the thought of walk-ing through the gates at the end of this year.

“This brings back memories of when wedid it,” said Jeffrey Carleton ’03.

“It’s rough because it’s the last one,” saidMatt Dykhuizen ’03. “People are alreadyasking me what I’m going to do when Igraduate.”

The light mist that fell throughout theceremony did not damper the crowd’s spir-its, as each class cheered when Simmonsannounced its number.

After the procession concluded,University Chaplain Janet Cooper-Nelsongave the invocation.

President Simmons welcomed the newstudents to Brown. “A most enthusiasticwelcome to the amazing Class of 2006,” shesaid.

“You are all here not merely to absorbwhat is available to you but to reveal andtransmit the unique perspectives you bringto learning,” Simmons said.

Professor of Computer Science Andriesvan Dam, who was named the new vicepresident for research yesterday, gave the

keynote address in which he told the first-years, “you will live in a science fictionfuture.”

His speech focused on the great techno-logical changes that society will face in thefuture, particularly in the areas of biotech-nology, nanotechnology and informationscience.

He urged all students to “develop a pas-sion and be actively engaged in a field ofstudy and involved in a department.”

He also advised the first-years to “experi-ment academically and socially — takeadvantage of being at a great liberal artsuniversity.”

After van Dam’s speech, Simmons gavesome unscheduled remarks that echoedthe themes of inclusiveness and opennessfrom her speech at last year’s convocation.

“Brown is a community of learning andtrust that opposes bigotry,” where peopleshould be free from “intimidation andharassment no matter what their back-ground.

“Each of us is responsible for maintain-ing the highest ethical standards … if youfail in this respect your education is in asense wasted,” she said.

Herald staff writer Andy Golodny ’03 is anews editor. He can be reached at [email protected].

Josh Apte / Herald

President Ruth Simmons, left, donning traditional academic garb, looks on as the Class of 2006 files onto the Main Green forConvocation exercises. Earlier, a group of first-years, right, passes through the Van Wickle Gates for the first of two trips.

‘Welcome to Brown’U. names twoinsiders totop dean jobsBY BRIAN BASKINHours after he gave the keynote address atConvocation Tuesday, Professor ofComputer Science Andries van Dam wasnamed the University’s first vice presidentfor research. The University also pickedProfessor of Comparative Literature andEnglish Karen Newman to replaceProfessor of Chemistry and Physics PederEstrup as dean of the graduate school.

Both will assume their new duties onOct. 1.

Andries van DamVan Dam said he wants to turn theUniversity into a champagne caliber insti-tution, but not on a beer budget.

When the search committee headed byProvost Robert Zimmer asked van Dam toapply for the new position, van Dam saidhe had reservations. After 37 years on theBrown faculty, van Dam worried that theUniversity, which he said has always donethings on too small a scale, would not givehim enough resources to do his new job,he said.

But the administration promised thatwhile the resources it provides him mightnot be up to his champagne tastes, theycertainly would not be beer, van Dam said.

BY ELENA LESLEYProfessors and administrators expressedsupport Tuesday for a proposal that woulddramatically alter the structure of facultygovernance at the University, saidProfessor of Computer Science JohnSavage.

Savage, chairman of the Task Force onFaculty Governance, said his group’s planto trim down the 44 faculty committees inexistence to a more manageable 13 wouldstreamline decision-making processes.

The proposed system would consist ofthe six committees currently in operation,seven new committees that would absorbmany responsibilities of those being dis-

see CHANGES, page 6

see DEANS, page 4

Task forcerecommendssweeping U.govt changesProposals would reducenumber of facultycommittees and disband theAdvisory Committee onUniversity Planning

THIS MORNINGTHE BROWN DAILY HERALD

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2002 · PAGE 2

Editorial Phone: 401.351.3372

Business Phone: 401.351.3260

David Rivello, President

Beth Farnstrom, Vice President

Seth Kerschner, Vice President

Stacey Doynow, Treasurer

Jamie Wolosky, Secretary

The Brown Daily Herald (USPS 067.740) is published Monday through Friday during the aca-

demic year, excluding vacations, once during Commencement, once during Orientation and

once in July by The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. 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 [email protected]. World Wide Web:

http://www.browndailyherald.com. Subscription prices: $135 first class daily, $85 first class

weekly. Copyright 2002 by The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. All rights reserved.

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD, INC.

writejoin us

THURSDAY, SEPT. 5 @ 7 P.M.SUNDAY, SEPT. 8 @ 7 P.M.TUESDAY, SEPT. 10 @ 9 P.M.WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 11 @ 7 P.M.

open houses

M E N U S

THE RATTYLUNCH — vegetarian squash bisque, turkey and wildrice soup, shaved steak sandwich, broccoli cheese pie,French style green beans, chocolate frosted eclairs

DINNER —vegetarian squash bisque, Cajun chickenwith pasta, pork chops with seasoned crumbs,shoepeg corn casserole, roasted herb potatoes, slicedbeets, fresh vegetable melange, honey corn bread,cherry pie

V-DUBLUNCH — vegetarian squash bisque, turkey and wildrice soup, chicken pot pie, vegan Tex-Mex chili, sugarsnap peas, chocolate frosted eclairs

DINNER — vegetarian squash bisque, turkey and wildrice soup, chopped sirloin with onion sauce, lasagnawith meat or meatless sauce, oven browned potatoes,Belgian carrots, sauteed broccoli with garlic, honeycorn bread, cherry pie

Cookie’s Grandma is Jewish Saul Kerschner

DMAAG: Divorced, Middle-Aged, Alcoholic Gang Yuri Zhukov and Dash Riprock

Party Beulah FarnstromG R A P H I C S B Y T E D W U

W E A T H E R

High 78Low 64

mostly cloudy

High 83Low 63sunny

TODAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

High 76Low 51

partly cloudy

High 80Low 58showers

C A L E N D A RREADING — “A Night of 1001 Readings,” readings by second-year gradu-ate students. McCormack Family Theater, 70 Brown Street, 8 p.m.

ACROSS1 Soothing drink8 Eggs11 D’Amato and

Gore14 Freeze after a

rain15 Actress Ullmann16 Cote cry17 1959 death row

movie19 Filmmaker Lee20 Auctioneer’s

word21 Exhibits in court,

e.g.23 1937 Gary

Cooper movie27 Lucite or

Plexiglas30 Thesaurus wds.31 “__ you getting

this?”32 Thing34 Duty38 Bad review39 2000 Ryan

O’Neal film43 Woody’s ex44 Many46 The Green

Hornet’s sidekick47 Volcanic residue48 Richard of “Love

Me Tender”52 Glue base54 1997 film

subtitled“Jurassic Park 2”

58 One in custody59 Avian Australians63 Cultivated

Eastern carp64 1956 biopic

about Van Gogh68 Key in a corner69 Mel who hit 511

homers70 Reviewer of

books71 CIA relative72 Director Craven73 Malady

DOWN 1 Scoreboard

column2 Off-the-wall

reply?3 Lively dance4 With courage

5 Dam builder since’33

6 Widish shoe sizes7 Expertise8 Oil source9 Spread nasty

rumors about10 Longtime Vogue

photographerRichard

11 It’s good to goout with one

12 Knight stick13 “Full House”

costar Bob18 Cat call22 Once, once24 Send out25 Adam’s youngest26 Apple or pear27 Smurf elder28 Out of the

mouths of babes,say

29 Lettermancompetitor

33 Jan. 15monogram

35 Latin I word36 Señor’s “Sure

thing!”37 Madeline of

“Clue”

40 “Othello”schemer

41 Game ending?42 Bridge charge45 Phone front?49 Creep along50 Keen51 Weapons

tryouts, for short53 Antarctic penguin54 Not available55 Perot of politics

56 Writer Jong57 More than damp60 Big name in

copiers61 Twinkling

hoverers, sosome say

62 Withered65 Craze66 Yves’ “yes”67 Hwy., blvd.,

etc.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

14 15 16

17 18 19

20 21 22

23 24 25 26

27 28 29 30

31 32 33 34 35 36 37

38 39 40 41 42 43

44 45 46 47

48 49 50 51 52 53

54 55 56 57

58 59 60 61 62

63 64 65 66 67

68 69 70

71 72 73

A H A B I S A A C L S A TM A D E S E N N A O T R AB L A C K M A G I C G R A BL E G A L M U S H J A B SE Y E L E T S E E S A W

M E E T E M P T YE B B S P A N A M A O R EP O L B E R R I E S L I LI O U R E T A R D S L O PC R E P E S I F T

J E L L E D C L A M U PF E E L E C R U A T O N EO R A L G O O S E B U M P SW I N E E L V E S E M I TL E S T R E E D S S A N S

By Leonard Williams(c)2002 Tribune Media Services, Inc.

9/4/02

9/4/02

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:

Stumped? Call 1-900-226-4413. 99 cents a minute

[email protected]

C R O S S W O R D

A story of Edward Ahn

Pornucopia Eli Swiney

ACADEMIC WATCHTHE BROWN DAILY HERALD


BY STEPHANIE HARRISBrown scientists say they have identified proteins that ini-tiate blood clots, and their breakthrough research couldeventually prevent strokes, heart attacks and help treatcancer.

In the June 15 issue of “Blood,” Brown scientistsdescribed how Arp2/3, a complex of seven proteins foundin living cells, can facilitate blood clots.

In recent research, Associate Professors of Pathologyand Laboratory Medicine Dr. Elaine Bearer and JosephSweeney and Jam Prakash GS, showed that the proteincomplex is required to initiate clotting.

“We’ve definitively identified this Arp2/3 complex asthe initiator of cell shape change in platelets,” Bearer said.

Bearer, the project’s senior researcher, co-authored thepaper with Eric Kim ’02, who now attends medical schoolat Vanderbilt University.

Scientists say Arp2/3 could someday help preventstrokes and heart attacks.

“If you can stop blood clotting, you can intervene inheart attacks, and you can intervene in strokes. One goalof all this work would be to intervene in those very seriousdiseases,” Bearer said.

Although scientists have only shown that Arp2/3affects platelet shape, Bearer said she hopes to find thecomplex’s role in other processes.

“Since (the protein) is expressed in most other cells, webelieve it will also turn out to be the initiator for cell shapein many other biological processes,” she said.

Medical students Barham Kamal Abu Dayyeh GS ’05and Paul George GS ’05 are trying to determine whethercancer cells use Arp2/3 to spread through the body and

New interdisciplinary graduateprogram for Italian Studies deptThe University’s Academic Council last spring approvedthe creation of an interdisciplinary graduate program inItalian Studies, which aimed to enrich the academicofferings by uniting teaching and research in multiplefields.

This week, Chair of the Italian Studies departmentMassimo Riva told The Herald that he believes the pro-gram will invigorate his department.

“We’re very good in moving towards an interdiscipli-nary structure and trying to link in interesting waysresearch and teaching,” Riva said. “Our program is anexample of that ‘university-college’ idea that RuthSimmons talks about.”

Alongside the creation of the program came theinstallation of two joint faculty appointments. DavidKertzer, chair of the department of anthropology, andEvelyn Lincoln, assistant professor of the history of artand architecture, joined the new program in addition toperforming their regular duties.

In addition, the University hired a new professor toreplace Anthony Oldcorn, former chair of the depart-ment, who retired last year. His replacement, ProfessorRonald Martinez from the University of Minnesota, isone of the leading scholars on the works and life ofDante.

“He continues in the tradition of Italian Studies atBrown, which is particularly rich,” Riva said.

There are currently 10 graduate students completingPh.D.s in the department. The class entering in the fallof 2003 will be the first under the new program.

“Italian Studies has reinvented itself as an interdisci-plinary department,” Riva said.

“I think we’re one of the leading Italian Studiesdepartments in the country,” he said.

— Stephanie Harris

Research shines light on heart attacks,strokes

Decameron Web merges medieval, modernoBY STEPHANIE HARRISSeveral years ago, a group of Brown professors and stu-dents placed the works of author Giovanni Boccaccio onthe Web. Now, original texts and translations of one of theforemost writers of medieval Italy, along with illustrations,critical essays, links and audio materials, can be accessedwith the click of a mouse.

Massimo Riva, chair of the Department of ItalianStudies, thought up the Decameron Web Project in 1993.

“The point is to see how Web-based technology canhelp in the learning process of medieval texts,” said Riva,who is one of the directors of the project.

The Web site includes Boccaccio’s Decameron, a seriesof 100 short stories written in medieval Italy. TheDecameron is narrated by 10 storytellers escaping thebubonic plague. Each storyteller tells one story a night forten nights. The stories in the Decameron present a micro-cosm of medieval life and are the first known example ofshort stories.

The Decameron project aims to demonstrate “how con-temporary informational technology can facilitate,enhance and innovate the complex cognitive and learningactivities involved in reading a late medieval literary textlike Boccaccio’s Decameron,” according to the project’sWeb site.

Along with the original Italian text are English transla-tions, information about each narrator, information aboutthe history, society, religion and culture of medieval Italy,paintings of scenes in the text and a search function allow-ing users to search for keywords in either the text or theaccompanying essays. There are also resources for stu-dents and teachers and information relating to the courseIT102, Boccaccio’s Decameron.

The Web site also allows readers to explore theDecameron in ways not previously possible. On the site, areader can choose to read stories by a certain narrator or

I N B R I E F

see BLOOD, page 6

see ITALIAN, page 4

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2002

just those dealing with a certaintheme. The Web allows readers tobrowse the text in a non-linearfashion, enabling them to jump torelated sites or additional materi-al without interrupting the flow oftheir studies.

The Decameron project isgeared toward college and highschool teachers and students,according to the Web site, but thereare exceptions.

“Independent readers andscholars interested in theDecameron itself or aspects of itthat are related to their specificareas of interest will benefit from it,regardless of their geographic loca-tion or institutional affiliation,” thesite says.

Each year, IT102 students puttheir best work on the Web site forthe benefit of successive genera-tions of students. This adds aninteractive component to the Website and to the accompanying class.

The project contains “a veryimportant connection between aresearch type of project and a ped-agogical project,” Riva said.

Though professors and graduate

student researchers write most ofthe content for the project, stu-dents use the material in the class-room, and students’ insights andprojects greatly aid the Web site,Riva said.

“It’s a good thing to have bothgraduate and undergraduate stu-dents working at the same time,” hesaid.

Riva said he considers studentsan integral part of the project, notjust beneficiaries of it.

“There’s a lot we can learn fromstudents,” he said.

Students bring their own inter-ests to the project, adding to itsrichness. Biology students wroteabout the plague, modern cultureand media students analyzed thework in terms of feminist, Marxistand film theory and history stu-dents researched the historicalbackground of the Decameron.Some music students studiedmedieval songs and instrumentsand have recorded themselves inorder to have authentic audio clipson the site.

Thanks to a grant from theNational Endowment for theHumanities, the project is now inits fourth year under federal sup-port.

“The NEH grant has allowed usto give the opportunity to several

brilliant young scholars to worktogether as a team,” Riva said.

The Scholarly TechnologyGroup, a part of Computing andInformation Services, supports thetechnical aspects of the project.

“They’re our main collaboratorfor the technological parts of theproject,” Riva said.

Two post-doctorate fellows,Guyda Armstrong, an AndrewMellon Fellow, and CristianaFordyce, the project manager, assistRiva with the project. ProfessorMichael Papio of Holy CrossUniversity also aids Riva in thedirection of the project.

Since the project’s inception in1994, the Web site has grown andchanged as new material wasadded and the technology support-ing the site improved. As scholar-ship continues to produce newcommentary and research materi-als, and as students invent new andinteresting ways of looking at themedieval text, the Web site will con-tinue to be updated.

“This is the first electronicresource like this,” Riva said.“Nothing similar exists.”

Herald staff writer Stephanie Harris’04 edits the academic watch section.She can be reached [email protected].

continued from page 3

Italian

President Ruth Simmons’Initiative for Academic Enrichmentshowed him that the administra-tion was serious, van Dam said.

After reviewing candidates thissummer, the committee chose vanDam.

van Dam said he hopes to propelBrown into the top tier of researchinstitutions by addressing the twomost common faculty complaints:that they’re overworked and under-paid.

Professors should receive largerincentives to take on innovativeresearch projects, he said. TheUniversity should also help pro-fessors and students workthrough the research proposalprocess and provide more labspace and other physicalresources, he added.

Even with infinite resources,Brown’s research programs won’tturn around overnight, van Damsaid. The University must hireentrepreneurial professors willingto work across departments onmore ambitious projects.

Van Dam said he hopes to recre-ate the spirit and success of thebrain sciences program, whichdraws on world class scientists in12 departments in its quest tounderstand the most complexworkings of the mind.

He also worries that Brown isn’t

taking advantage of its existingresearch. The University holdsremarkably few patents for its sizeand does little to retain control ofits inventions compared to othertop universities, Van Dam said.

The Brown ResearchFoundation currently maintainspatents, but like many Brownenterprises, it too must be expand-ed, he said.

Van Dam earned the secondcomputer science Ph.D. awarded inthe United States from theUniversity of Pennsylvania beforecoming to Brown in 1965. Hehelped build Brown’s computer sci-ence program, now widely recog-nized as one of the strongest in thenation.

“I think his heart and soul are inthe right place,” said Vice Presidentfor Public Affairs and UniversityRelations Laura Freid.

“He is also an inspirationalleader, and I think many peoplemay have realized after hearing hisopening convocation,” she said.“He has been a favorite teacher fora decade.”

Van Dam will continue to teachhis two courses, CS15:“Introduction to Object-OrientedProgramming and ComputerScience” and CS123: “Introductionto Computer Graphics.”

Karen NewmanNewman’s passion for humanitieswill balance van Dam’s nearly 40years in the sciences, demonstrat-ing the wisdom behind splitting the

graduate school dean position,Estrup said.

Formerly the dean neededenough technical understanding tooversee science and engineeringresearch. As a result, most recentdeans were drawn from the sci-ences, Estrup said.

Brown has 1,350 graduate stu-dents. In recent years its researchhas grown exponentially, Freid said.

“It was a job becoming too bigfor one person,” Freid said.

Newman’s immediate goal willbe to recruit and retain top gradu-ate students to improve the gradu-ate school’s position among itspeers, Newman said in a BrownNews Service press release.

Newman came to Brown in 1978in the Comparative LiteratureDepartment. She headed thePembroke Center for Teaching andResearch on Women from 1988 to1992 and was named universityprofessor in 1995.

Newman was a member of theUniversity Task Force on GraduateEducation that issued a report onthe strength of the school’s pro-grams in 1997.

“She did an outstanding job onthat task force,” said Estrup, whoserved alongside her. “Newman is avery good example. She is an out-standing scholar.”

Newman was unavailable forcomment.

Herald staff writer Brian Baskin’04 can be reached [email protected].


Deans

CAMPUS NEWSTHE BROWN DAILY HERALD


BY EMIR SENTURKStudents, hungry for a taste of something both newand — according to many — delicious, descended onthe newly-renovated Verney-Woolley Dining HallTuesday evening.

The remodeled V-Dub features expanded servingstations offering a variety of menu items includingpasta, rice, salad, deli selections and grilled and broiledfoods. To relieve congestion, beverages are located inthe adjacent dining rooms.

“This place is fantastic,” said Erica Meredith ’05 asshe sat with friends and enjoyed a dinner of mixed-green salad and medium-rare veal London broil after“actual chefs” prepared and served her food.

“A part of us wishes we hadn’t moved across campusthis year,” she added.

Meredith took a seat at one of the new tables in the

dining hall, which had been closed since mid-March.New flatware, dishes, lighting, carpeting and tilingwere also added as part of the renovation.

Sarah Munro ’05 said the new food was “ridiculous-ly amazing.”

Munro also lived near the V-Dub last year.“Everything from the bread to the salad to the cake isso fresh,” she said.

Countless structural alterations to the serving anddining area accompany the new food.

“Space is definitely the biggest change we’ve seenover the summer,” said Janet Hillier, manager of the V-Dub. Hillier added that the dining hall’s new layout,which includes several serving stations with differentselections, is also an improvement.

Dean Joyce Reed’61 to step downafter this year

see V-DUB, page 6

Seth Kerschner / Herald

The V-dub reopened Tuesday after extensive renovations that began in March. New features include expandedserving stations and improved cuisine, all of which have received largely positive reviews from diners.

Renovated V-Dub grabs rave reviews

BY JULIETTE WALLACKAfter 12 years in Brown’s administration, Joyce Reed ’61,associate dean of the college, told The Herald she will stepdown at the end of the academic year.

Reed said Friday that she plans to leave her full-timeposition at the end of this semester but will continue tosupervise the Meiklejohn advising program on a part-time basis.

Reed said she was taking a part-time position her lastyear at Brown rather than retiring because “I can’t leavemy Meiklejohns. They’re great kids.”

Laura Freid, vice president of public affairs andUniversity relations, said Reed was taking an early retire-ment that would partially begin this semester so shecould “work on an exciting new venture” with WilliamCaskey ’85, a former admission counselor for alumni rela-tions.

That business venture, called connectedu, will assisthigh school seniors and juniors making decisions aboutcollege, Freid said. Craig Powell ’00 is also working on theproject.

Reed said Caskey’s expertise in college admission cou-pled with her own experience in university administra-tion prepared them for their new project.

“I’m really excited about the opportunity to help andguide the families and young people,” Reed said. “It canbe harrowing for the families to go through the collegesearch process.”

But, Reed “really is very dedicated to Brown,” Freidsaid.

Reed said she is attached to the Meiklejohn program. “I’ve been with that program for nine years,” she said.

“I’m really excited by what it’s contributed to Brown.”After graduating from Pembroke College in 1961, Reed

spent 25 years away from Brown. Before returning in 1990to serve as associate dean of special studies, Reed spentfive years at the University of Washington, and in 1970,she moved to Hawaii with her husband, where she home-schooled her children.

When Reed returned to Brown in 1990 with her fivechildren, she created programming for the BrownLearning Community, which offers noncredit evening

see REED, page 6


and weekend classes, coursesfor college graduates who wishto receive credit and coursesfor retired and semi-retiredadults.

Reed’s involvement at Brownand in Providence has extendedacross generations of her family— two of Reed’s five childrenattended Brown.

Freid said that as of yet there isno search or call for applicationsfor Reed’s replacement. Part ofthe reason Reed is staying at

Brown through the spring isbecause Paul Armstrong, dean ofthe College, would like to trainher successor with Reed’s help,Freid said.

“She knows so much abouthow to advise the Meiklejohns,”Freid said. “She’s been a realtreasure for the community. Afantastic dean, a great counselor,and really, I would say the inspi-ration for the Meiklejohn pro-gram.”

Herald staff writer JulietteWallack ’05 covers faculty andadministration. She can bereached at [email protected].


Reed

Students, however, complainedmore about the new organizationthan anything else Tuesday.

“There’s a lot more space, butthe flow is not so good,” saidNikki Ross Reyes ’05.

“They could really use somesigns,” added Randy Rempp ’05.

Responding to what lookedlike an onslaught of hungry stu-dents, Hillier expressed completeconfidence in the new systemand said she felt the student bodywould get used to it soon.

“It’s a new system, and there-fore will take time to get used to,but it will better enable us toserve our customers,” Hillier said.“You guys learn quickly.”

Herald staff writer Emir Senturk’05 can be reached [email protected].


V-Dub

“set up shop,” Bearer said.“Blood clotting and cancer

account for 70 percent of deathsof Americans,” she said.

Bearer said the researchdescribed in the June 15 paperwas her biggest discovery andstemmed from a project shestarted in 1987 as a post-doctor-ate fellow at the University ofCalifornia at San Francisco.When she left UCSF for Brown,she brought the project withher.

In her research, Bearer used anapproach known as “pro-teomics,” the study of how pro-teins interact in a particularprocess. In looking at howhuman platelets change shape,Bearer said she hoped to under-stand how other cells changeshape as well.

“We’re using (this research) asa tool to get at even bigger ques-tions,” Bearer said. “It’s one pieceof knowledge we can use to getinside a cell and look for moreabout how these processes of cellmovement and shape change canwork.”

Eventually, Bearer hopes todiscover if “this one molecularevent inside a platelet — shapechange — gives rise to a diseaseprocess that will kill a person,”she said.

“I believe that in my lab I candiscover things that can have abigger impact for more people.If I can understand the funda-mental biology that gives rise tothese major diseases, majorpathology for people, then thatwould help a lot of people,” shesaid.

Herald staff writer StephanieHarris ’04 edits the academic watchsection and can be reached at [email protected].


Blood

continued and nine administra-tive advisory boards. The pro-posed system would also elimi-nate the Advisory Committee onUniversity Planning.

“The faculty government sys-tem at Brown has grown a littlelike the British constitution,” saidChair of the Faculty andAssociate Professor ofAnthropology William Beeman.“Anytime we had a problem, wecreated a new committee. Therehave been some attempts atreform, but the revisions werepiecemeal and specific to eachcommittee.”

President Ruth Simmons’arrival last fall led faculty to exam-ine problems with the University’sgovernment. In April, the FacultyExecutive Committee created theeight-member task force to exam-ine the problem more closely.

At Tuesday’s meeting,Simmons told the faculty thatreform must be made a priority.

“If we’re incapable of makingefficient and timely decisions,”she said, it will be very difficult toundertake the challenge of aca-demic and institutional renewal.

“We’re doing this in the spiritof Ruth,” Savage said. “Usuallythese kinds of major changesrequire a revolution.”

Nancy Armstrong, task forcevice chairman and chair of theEnglish Department, said thatunder the current system, many

committees were formed inopposition to the administrationand “over battles that are nowpast.”

She cited ACUP as an exampleof this phenomenon, saying thatit was created in the early 1970sbecause faculty membersthought the University wasspending money irresponsibly.Over time, ACUP’s function as anoversight organization dimin-ished, and it is now a relativelyobsolete body that deals withonly a small fraction of theUniversity’s budget, Armstrongsaid.

If the proposal is approved,ACUP would be disbanded andthe organization’s duties wouldbe taken up by the newly-createdUniversity Resources Committee.Unlike ACUP, which holds openmeetings, URC would primarilymeet behind closed doors.

Savage said that ACUP’s openmeetings “discourage frank con-versation.”

But URC would have moreresponsibilities than ACUP,Savage said. Currently, criticscontend that ACUP acts only as arubber stamp for the budget pre-pared by the University BudgetOffice. Under the proposed sys-tem, URC would be consulted inthe early stages of budget plan-ning, Savage said.

“Students will have a greatervoice but will have to keep moreconfidences,” Savage said of theproposed URC.

Savage said the proposed reor-ganization would cut down onthe number of unfilled commit-

tee positions. “There aren’t enough people

to fill the (237) slots” on the 44existing faculty committees,Armstrong said. “So a selectgroup of masochists end up serv-ing over and over again.”

Under the current system,many faculty members havebeen reluctant to accept commit-tee positions because they thinktheir suggestions won’t be takenseriously by the administration,she said.

“You were considered kind of afool to serve,” she added.

Savage said that reducing thenumber of committee positionsto 70 and solidifying bondsbetween faculty members andadministrators would create anexchange “where both partiescan take each other more seri-ously.”

The task force will meet withundergraduate student groupstoday at 1 p.m. to discuss the pro-posal, and a faculty-wide forumis scheduled for Sept. 10.

Savage emphasized that theproposal is in its initial stages andthe task force is open to outsidesuggestions.

The faculty is expected to for-mally vote on the task force’s pro-posal Nov. 5, Savage said.

“There are people that haveissues and we want to discussthose issues,” he said. “This is stilla very open process.”

Herald staff writer Elena Lesley’04 is a news editor. She can bereached at [email protected].


Changes

writeH E R A L D @ B R O W N D A I L Y H E R A L D . C O M

W W W . B R O W N D A I L Y H E R A L D . C O Mt h e b r o w n d a i l y h e r a l d

articlescolumnslettersreviewsfeaturesnews

join us

WORLD & NATIONTHE BROWN DAILY HERALD


NEW YORK (Washington Post) — Former U.S. HousingSecretary Andrew Cuomo, seeking the New York gover-nor’s office once held by his father, suddenly withdrewfrom the race Tuesday, just a week before theDemocratic primary, and pledged his support to StateComptroller H. Carl McCall.

Running behind and remaining stagnant in the polls,Cuomo portrayed his actions as a step toward partyunity.

“Sometimes when you try to communicate too manyideas, sometimes you end up communicating nothing,and in part the campaign did that,” Cuomo said at anews conference with former President Clinton andother politicians at his side.

“I fell behind in the polls in July and August ... and Iaccept full responsibility for the way the campaign wasrun,” added Cuomo, the eldest son of former Gov.Mario M. Cuomo.

He said he rejected the recommendation of advisers,who urged a last-minute, $2-million blitz of negativecommercials.

“I will not close the gap in an election by opening onein the body politic,” Cuomo said. “While it’s harder forme to step back than step forward, today I step back.”

Once the Democratic front-runner, Cuomo slippedbadly after he charged that Gov. George Pataki hadceded leadership after the terrorist attack on the WorldTrade Center to then-Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. Cuomosaid Pataki had merely “held the leader’s coat.”

Cuomo was criticized broadly for his remark — andeven his father said it was a political error.

Obviously elated, McCall welcomed Cuomo’s sup-port and joked, “All this was supposed to happen nextTuesday. That’s one thing about politics. It’s alwaysunpredictable.”

Even by the often bizarre standards of politics in theEmpire State, Cuomo’s action was unusual. “Nothingcomes to mind historically,” said Steven Cohen, a pro-fessor of public policy at Columbia University. “Peoplehave pulled out of a race before, but nothing like this.”

Polls had shown Cuomo more than 20 points behindMcCall, who ran a steady campaign stressing themes ofa first-class education for all children, affordable healthcare and housing and greater job opportunities in thestate.

McCall, 66, who with Cuomo’s withdrawal will

become the state’s first black nominee for governorfrom a major party, repeatedly accused Pataki of inat-tention to the economy.

Cuomo, 44, initially enjoyed a lead in the polls overMcCall and proved to be a strong fund-raiser. But politi-cians and political consultants said his blunder inattacking Pataki after Sept. 11 represented a combativecampaign style ill-suited to the politics of healing afterthe twin towers tragedy.

Clinton and his wife, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton,proclaimed neutrality in the race.

But as McCall’s lead in the polls soared and heldsteady, signs appeared that they were leaning towardthe comptroller, who stressed to voters his rise frompoverty, his prior experience as a deputy ambassador tothe United Nations and as a vice president of Citibank.

Polls show McCall facing an uphill fight againstPataki, who defeated Cuomo’s father eight years ago.

Even with Cuomo’s withdrawal, the New York gover-nors’ race has been one of the most frustrating in thenation for Democrats. Although New York state is heav-ily Democratic — it gave both Al Gore and Bill Clintonnearly 2-million-vote margins in the past two presiden-tial elections, and Democrats hold both Senate seats-the party was unable to mount a serious challenge toPataki in 1998.

And even with a clear path to the nomination now, itis unclear that McCall can press the incumbent thistime, either. Pataki, with his support of gun control andlegalized abortion and many environmental causes,doesn’t present Democrats with the usual targets theyhave used effectively in recent elections to defeatRepublican gubernatorial candidates in other bigcoastal states, including California and New Jersey.Pataki has been further solidified by a positive publicreaction to his performance in the days after the Sept.11 attacks.

McCall’s expected nomination next week will giveDemocrats a second high-profile black nominee in oneof the nation’s largest states. In Texas, former DallasMayor Ron Kirk is seeking to become only the thirdblack to serve in the Senate since Reconstruction.

Cuomo’s future is less certain. Although he’s stillyoung, this campaign leaves some professionals won-dering if his intense and often prickly personality is toopolarizing for voters.

Cuomo drops out of Senate race

WASHINGTON (L.A.Times) — In a bid to forge a global strategytoward Iraq and prevent any wiggle room for PresidentSaddam Hussein, the Bush administration is exploringtough proposals for “extremely aggressive” inspections thatwould force Baghdad to cede its deadliest weapons quicklyor face immediate punitive action, according to U.S. offi-cials.

The proposals center on “coercive inspections,” whichwould speed the search for weapons and potentially evenback up the inspectors with thousands of U.S. or multina-tional troops deployed in or around Iraq.

One idea under consideration suggests that if inspectorsare turned away from a site suspected of producing or hid-ing weapons of mass destruction, foreign troops couldshoot their way in, according to sources familiar with theproposals.

Another idea for the “comply-or-else” effort suggests thatinspectors go quickly to the most sensitive Iraqi sites sus-pected of links to nuclear, biological or chemical weaponsor ballistic missiles. If Baghdad refuses access, the inspec-tors would report immediately to the United Nations, withthe implicit understanding that a single refusal could pro-voke or justify a full military assault to oust the regime.

“The thinking is still in the early stages, but coerciveinspections are one way of bringing the international com-munity into the planning of what happens next. It couldalso serve as a causus belli (cause for justifying war) whenthe Iraqis refuse to abide by it, as they will,” said a well-placed U.S. official who requested anonymity.

Some of the proposals might require a new U.N. resolu-tion, particularly if Iraq is called on to accept the deploy-ment of foreign troops. Although debate is likely to be vig-orous, U.S. officials predicted, other members of theSecurity Council might end up supporting the tough pro-posals as a way to avoid an imminent war.

It is also an alternative to a type of inspection that

proved unsuccessful at tracking down weapons of massdestruction. Baghdad dragged what was supposed to be an18-month process, begun at the end of the Persian GulfWar, into almost eight years of U.N. inspections, whichcontinued until 1998 — when the last team departedbecause of imminent U.S. airstrikes. Iraq refused to allowthem to return.

As currently structured, the U.N. inspections call for amethodical — and very slow — process of first building abaseline of suspected sites and then systematically track-ing down weapons, equipment and documents and settingup monitors to ensure that facilities are not used again forarms production. Creating a baseline alone could take aslong as a year, if done properly, and would delayWashington’s ability to act militarily, according to formerweapons inspectors.

Coercive sanctions also are designed to avoid a fatal flawfrom the earlier inspectors’ standoffs with the Iraqi govern-ment. In one 1992 episode at Baghdad’s Ministry ofAgriculture, U.N. inspectors were kept from entering thebuilding as Iraqi officials were seen carrying boxes of docu-ments related to nuclear programs out the back door.

Because the U.N. inspections had no backup, the inci-dent passed without consequences — and former inspec-tors are not sure to this day that they ever obtained all thedocuments.

In the past, the chief weapons inspector was mandatedto chronicle violations and report them to the SecurityCouncil every few months.

The new proposals reflect the growing debate on inspec-tions as the focus shifts from military strategy to the politi-cal challenges of confronting Baghdad. What to do aboutthe inspections process, mandated by the United Nationsand long supported by the United States, is the question onwhich the timing — and perhaps the outcome — of theadministration’s confrontation with Iraq might turn.

Coercive inspections an option in Iraq

Film director J. Lee Thompson, 88, dies(L. A. Times) — J. Lee Thompson, the British-born film directorbest known for the World War II action drama “The Guns ofNavarone,” the original “Cape Fear” and a string of CharlesBronson action thrillers made during a four-decade direct-ing career, has died. He was 88.

Thompson, who also introduced a young Haley Mills tothe screen, died of congestive heart failure Friday at hissummer home in Sooke, on Vancouver Island, BritishColumbia.

In a directing career that began in 1950 and spanned 56films, Thompson’s credits include four films starringGregory Peck (“The Guns of Navarone,”‘Cape Fear,”‘Mackenna’s Gold” and “The Chairman”) and nine films star-ring Charles Bronson, including “Death Wish 4: TheCrackdown”“The Evil That Men Do,”“Messenger of Death”and “Murphy’s Law.”

He also directed “Taras Bulba,”“John Goldfarb, PleaseCome Home,”“What a Way to Go!,” the 1974 musical ver-sion of “Huckleberry Finn,”“The Reincarnation of PeterProud,”“The Greek Tycoon” and two Planet of the Apesfilms — ”Conquest of the Planet of the Apes” and “Battle forthe Planet of the Apes.”

Study links food to pancreatic cancer(Newsday) — Women who are overweight and inactive andconsume diets high in starchy foods may dramatically ele-vate their risk of pancreatic cancer, one of the deadliest andmost difficult malignancies to treat, a team of HarvardUniversity scientists will report Wednesday.

“What we’re really talking about here is insulin’s role” inthe cause of pancreatic cancer, said Dr. Charles Fuchs, a gas-troenterologist and cancer researcher at the Dana-FarberCancer Institute in Boston. Insulin is a hormone producedby the pancreas in the presence of glucose (blood sugar). Itis insulin’s job to lower the amount of sugar that floods thebloodstream after a meal.

Fuchs and his team targeted potatoes, white rice andwhite or rye bread as key culprits in the cancer-producingscenario because these foods raise the “glycemic index,”the amount of sugar in the blood. The more sugar in theblood, he said, the greater the need for insulin. The hor-mone is capable of fueling the development of cancer cells,the researchers say.

Reporting in Wednesday’s Journal of the NationalCancer Institute, Fuchs and his colleagues relied on theNurses’ Health Study, a national epidemiologic analysis of89,000 female nurses. The research team reviewed theirdietary records, logging how much and what kinds of sug-ars they consumed.

Findings show that women with high glycemic loadswere 53 percent more likely to develop pancreatic cancerthan were those whose glycemic loads were lower.

Despite the study’s focus on women, Fuchs said hebelieves the same high-carb scenario may apply to men.

Pancreatic cancer is typically aggressive and one of theleast curable malignancies. Nearly 30,000 men and womenare diagnosed with it each year in the United States.

Woolsey to advise NYFD on terrorNEW YORK (Newsday) — Mayor Michael Bloomberg Tuesdaynamed a former CIA director to lead a task force on prepar-ing the fire department for any future terrorist attacks.

James Woolsey, a CIA director under President Clintonand a staple of cable news talk shows since the Sept. 11attacks, will serve as chief adviser on a panel also stockedwith a nuclear physicist, a Nobel Prize winner and a formerchief of Israeli intelligence.

“We have to develop an expertise and a level of pre-paredness that we have never had to deal with before,” FireCommissioner Nicholas Scoppetta said.

The move continues a trend started by PoliceCommissioner Ray Kelly, who hired retired Marine Corps Lt.Gen. Frank Libutti and David Cohen, a veteran CIA analyst,to run his anti-terror operation.

Woolsey, who served as CIA director from 1993 to 1995,described his job as “assessing what the department needsand answering questions from the department.” He saidthe panel will meet largely by conference call.

Woolsey, a vice president of Booz, Allen & Hamilton secu-rity firm who will work on a pro bono basis, said he feltindebted to the fire department because firefighters “hus-tled” his son Benjamin out of the trade center momentsbefore the south tower collapsed.

I N B R I E F


(Washington Post) — At least threeof the four people who grew ill ordied after receiving organs from awoman infected with the WestNile virus have also been foundto have been infected with themicrobe, adding to the evidencethat the potentially fatal diseasecan be transmitted by donatedorgans or blood.

Federal health officialsTuesday sought to reassure thepublic, saying that although notest is yet available to detect WestNile virus in donated blood ororgans they believe the nation’sblood and organ supply isextremely safe. There remains thepossibility that all the cases werecaused by mosquito bites, which

so far remain the only provenmeans of spreading the disease.

Nonetheless, officials said theywere mounting a massive drag-net to track down each of thescores of people who eitherdonated or received blood ororgans related to the recentlyidentified cases, in an effortprove or disprove a link by dona-tion.

No policy changes with regardto blood or organ donations arecurrently justified, officials said.But the Food and DrugAdministration has remindedblood banks to be vigilant in theirrejection of donors that appear tobe ill with West Nile’s flu-likesymptoms. And an advisory is

being prepared for distribution toorgan procurement organiza-tions, telling them to pay closeattention to daily updates fromthe Centers for Disease Controland Prevention and the FDA.

“At the moment there is no evi-dence that the nation’s bloodsupply has been contaminated atall,” said James Hughes, directorof the CDC’s National Center forInfectious Diseases. At the sametime, Hughes said, “We have toaggressively pursue the possibili-ty that a blood product wasresponsible for this.”

The new picture of risk beganto come into focus last week withthe diagnosis of West Nile in aFlorida organ recipient and the

appearance of West Nile symp-toms, including life-threateningencephalitis, in the three otherswho received organs from thesame Georgia donor. The newfinding that three of those fourrecipients definitely had West Nileafter getting the organs—includ-ing the one who died—offersstrong, though not definitive, evi-dence that the disease can bespread through blood products,organs or both, experts said.

Tests on the fourth organrecipient, a 71-year-old Floridawoman who is recuperating athome, have not been completed.

Federal health officials alsorevealed Tuesday that the organdonor, an automobile accident

victim, received blood productsthat had been pooled from about60 people before she succumbedto her injuries in the hospital —far more than the 37 blood-prod-uct donors officials had initiallybeen aware of. That complicatesthe ongoing effort to trace allthose people and the unknownnumber of patients who may alsohave received blood productsfrom those donors.

The CDC and FDA hope thatby testing for the presence of theWest Nile virus in all of those peo-ple and in various saved bloodspecimens they will be able to tellwhere the infections originatedand how likely it is that the viruscan be spread by blood or organs.

West Nile virus transferred through organ transplant

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (L.A.Times) — The touchy issue ofwomen’s rights and reproductivehealth caused delegates at a U.N.development summit here tostumble briefly Tuesday in theirmad dash to wrap up a globalplan to reduce poverty and simul-taneously protect the planet.

Final negotiations on the planwere completed Monday.However, delegates fromCanada and Europe succeededin the early morning hoursWednesdayto reopen the docu-ment and slip in a few wordsthey said were needed to guar-antee women’s rights to contra-ception, safe abortion and otherreproductive services.

“We won. We won,” said JuneZeitlin, executive director of thenonprofit Women’s Environmentand Development Organization.“Never underestimate thewomen of the world.”

Zeitlin and U.N. officials saidlanguage inserted in the healthcare paragraph of the plan match-es wording used in other interna-tional declarations on the topic.Their efforts had been opposedby a coalition that includes theUnited States, the Vatican andconservative Islamic countries.

After hours of intense negotia-tions, Zeitlin said, delegates“added the language that we’vebeen asking for and put it in aslightly different place in theparagraph,” she said. “It’s a dis-tinction without a difference, butit saved face.”

The 10-day World Summit onSustainable Development isscheduled to end Wednesday.The more than 100 assembledheads of state or governmentare expected to adopt the plan,which is designed to bring cleanwater, sanitation and energy tothe poor while protecting the

environment and preventingfurther extinction of species.

Secretary of State Colin L.Powell — standing in forPresident Bush — arrived at theconference late Tuesday and willaddress the gatheringWednesday. His speech will fol-low two days of on-again, off-again Bush bashing, mostly overthe issue of global warming.Other world leaders continued toexpress their disappointmentthat the United States abandonedthe 1997 Kyoto Protocol, an inter-national treaty to control green-house gases that are blamed forrapid climate changes.

Russian Prime MinisterMikhail M. Kasyanov on Tuesdayused the world stage here toannounce that his nation wouldsoon ratify the Kyoto Protocol,following by one day a similarannouncement by CanadianPrime Minister Jean Chretien.

Summit goers briefly review women’s issues

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2002 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD PAGE 9

(Washington Post) — The National Spa andPool Institute, an Alexandria, Va., tradegroup for pool contractors, has landed inhot water over itsdecades-old practice ofsetting voluntary pool safety standardsfor its members.

Four plaintiffs who were injured inpool accidents are seeking $71 million indamages from the NSPI, arguing that itsstandards aren’t strict enough. Last week,the institute filed for Chapter 11 bank-ruptcy protection in part to avoid beingwiped out if it loses those court fights.

The 5,200-member trade group washit with an $8.8 million judgment in asimilar case four years ago. Not wanting arepeat, it filed for bankruptcy to halt thelitigation, said Stephen Gallagher, anAlexandria attorney for the NSPI.

“These lawsuits are essentially due toan allegation that our standards weresomehow the cause of those accidents,”Gallagher said. “We deny those claims.We hope to resolve those lawsuits with-out litigation. But even a lawsuit that’sfrivolous has its costs. This (bankruptcy)gives us a little breathing room.”

The case the pool group lost in 1998to Shawn Meneely, a 6-foot-4, 16-year-old Washington state resident who wasleft a quadriplegic after slamming intothe up-sloping bottom of a residentialpool in 1991, has worried the manytrade groups that set voluntary stan-dards for the making and use of theirmembers’ products.

Washington area trade associations,many of which set standards for theirmembers, are watching the NSPI situa-tion closely, fearing they could face simi-lar problems. Most of the organizationspromulgate standards both to ward offstate or federal regulation as well as toencourage workplace and consumersafety and compatibility for differentkinds of products or equipment.

In the Meneely case, the NSPI deniedhaving anything to do with the youth’sinjuries, even indirectly. The trade groupcontended that the pool Meneely divedinto was not built to the voluntary stan-dards it set for contractors for the depthin the deep end of residential pools,which is usually 8 to 8 1/2 feet dependingon various factors, and that the poolshould not have had a diving board. Thedepth of the pool was inches shy of theNSPI standard.

Washington state courts upheld an$11 million judgment against the tradegroup and other defendants, orderingthe NSPI to pay $6.6 million of that, ajudgment that eventually amounted to$8.8 million including interest. The tradegroup filed for bankruptcy protection in1998 after the Meneely judgment, even-tually paid the damages and emergedfrom bankruptcy in March 2000, only to

be faced with new suits in Texas, NewJersey, Missouri and Toronto, Ontario.

Stacy Leistner, a spokesman for theAmerican National Standards Institutehere, which has accredited 280 profes-sional societies and trade groups such asthe NSPI to set product standards fortheir organizations, said the Meneelycase “has raised a lot of concerns, perva-sive concern among organizations thatput their name on voluntary standards aswell as the individuals who serve on thestandards-writing committees.

“These are groups that work for thepublic good” but are now fearful of beingsued, Leistner said.

John J. Cergol Jr., NSPI’s chief staff

executive, said the group “has never hada catastrophic accident in a pool that wasbuilt to NSPI standards,” which werewritten 30 years ago. He said the tradegroup had successfully defended morethan two dozen damage cases against it,losing only the Meneely suit. “Yetbecause we set standards, we’ve beenbrought into these cases.

“We believe we’ll prevail in defendingthese suits,” Cergol said. He said theywere scheduled to go to trial later thisyear and in 2003. Gallagher said addedthat the cases will only go to trial if U.S.Bankruptcy Judge Robert G. Mayer inAlexandria orders them to proceed.

Cergol said, however, that the lawsuitsare not the only reason the NSPI filed forbankruptcy protection. He said RogerGalvin, the group’s former chief execu-tive, has filed for arbitration of his claimsthat he is owed more than $3 million inback wages and expense account reim-bursements.

Overall, Cergol said the group has “$10million to $20 million” in assets. He saidthe group will continue to operate duringthe bankruptcy proceeding.

Trade groups watching Spaand Pool Institute lawsuits

“These lawsuits are essen-

tially due to an allegation

that our standards were

somehow the cause of

those accidents. We deny

those claims. We hope to

resolve those lawsuits

without litigation.”

Stephen GallagherNSPI attorney

WASHINGTON (L.A. Times) — President Bushbore down on lawmakers Tuesday toapprove his vision of a new Cabinetsuperagency to spearhead the nation’sdefense against terrorism, but a majordispute over executive power is brewingin the Senate.

Next week’s anniversary of the Sept. 11attacks is raising pressure on Congress toact on Bush’s proposal for a Department ofHomeland Security, much of which wasincluded in a bill the House passed in lateJuly.

The Senate, in its first vote on the mat-ter, agreed unanimously Tuesday to con-sider the legislation—the prelude to a floordebate that could take up to three weeks.

The vote cleared away an importantprocedural obstacle, increasing the likeli-hood that the Senate soon will pass its ownversion of a bill to merge all or parts ofmore than 20 federal agencies into onenew department with as many as 170,000employees.

The Senate legislation, like the House-passed counterpart, would set in motionthe most significant governmental reor-ganization of the past half-century.

But the administration continued toattack provisions it objects to in theSenate bill, sponsored by Sen. Joseph I.Lieberman, D-Conn. The dispute centerson how much freedom Bush and his newhomeland security secretary would haveto run the department outside of theusual government rules and regulations.

The administration is pressing for whatit calls “freedom to manage” — the abilityto reshape pieces of the new departmentand to create a new system for hiring, fir-ing and paying its employees.

Senate Democrats say the White Houseis overreaching. They want to preserveexisting civil service protections for thefederal employees — many of them repre-sented by unions — who would be joiningthe new agency. The Democrats also wantto preserve congressional authority overgovernment spending.

White House spokesman ScottMcClellan denounced the Senate billTuesday. “It does not create the lean, effec-tive and flexible agency that we need todefend against a ruthless enemy who cancarry out their attacks at their choosing,”he said.

Bush, whose aides for weeks havethreatened a veto by him over the employ-ee-management issues, pressed his caseTuesday in a burst of lobbying. SeveralRepublican senators came to the WhiteHouse for a strategy session, and the pres-ident’s homeland security adviser, TomRidge, made the rounds at the Capitol.

But some Democrats, led by Sen. RobertC. Byrd of West Virginia, promised to resistwhat they call an administration powergrab.

Byrd acknowledged “a political wind-storm” to create the homeland security

agency is “blowing down PennsylvaniaAvenue and through the halls ofCongress.”

But he urged the Senate to slow downthe debate and preserve the power ofCongress to oversee the executive branch.“Let’s stop, look and listen and be carefulabout what we’re doing,” he said.

Despite his adamant tone on the Senatefloor, Byrd indicated he would not neces-sarily use every parliamentary weapon tostop the bill. While he may offer amend-ments, Byrd told reporters, he did not planto try to talk the bill to death through a fil-ibuster. That, too, was a strong signal thatthe bill will advance.

The House returns Wednesday for whatwill be an unusual work week. On Friday,both houses of Congress are scheduled tohold a ceremonial meeting in New YorkCity to commemorate the Sept. 11 attackson the World Trade Center. It will be thefirst time in more than two centuries thatCongress has met in New York.

With the Sept. 11 anniversary much onthe minds of lawmakers, many of whomare up for re-election this fall, the home-land security debate seems likely to yield afinal bill by year’s end to create what wouldbe the government’s third-largest Cabinetdepartment.

But Congress will not meet the mostoptimistic timetables of some lawmakers.Soon after Bush proposed the governmentreorganization in a speech to the nationon June 6, House Minority Leader RichardA. Gephardt, D-Mo., urged that a bill becompleted in time for a signing ceremonyon the anniversary of the attacks.

Now, though, the issues surroundingcivil service rules and managementauthority seem likely to prolong thedebate and produce contentious negotia-tions between the Republican-led Houseand the Democratic-controlled Senate.

In remarks to reporters, Senate partyleaders staked out sharply conflictingpositions.

“We’re not going to roll over when itcomes to principles and beliefs that wehold to be very, very important,” saidSenateMajority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D. He called the Bush plan “a power grabof unprecedented magnitude.”

Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., appearing with Ridge in the Capitol,fired back: “I think it’s important that wefocus on homeland security and notbureaucrat security.”

Amid the partisan sniping, senatorsfrom both parties made clear that theyhave reached consensus on a number ofpoints. Most important, they agree that anew department should be created,bringing under one roof such disparateagencies as the Immigration andNaturalization Service, the Coast Guard,the Transportation SecurityAdministration and the CustomsService.

Senate’s homeland defense debatestirs issues of executive power

J A C O B R E I D E L

S T A F F E D I T O R I A L

EDITORIAL/LETTERSTHE BROWN DAILY HERALD


THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

C O M M E N T A R Y P O L I C YThe staff editorial is the majority opinion of the editorial board of The Brown Daily Herald. The editorial viewpoint does not necessarily reflectthe views of The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. Columns and letters 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 [email protected]. Include a telephone number with all letters. The Herald reserves the right to edit all letters forlength and cannot assure the publication of any letter. Please limit letters to 250 words. Under special circumstances writers may requestanonymity, 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 in its discretion.

On the first day of the new semester, another sweeping change toUniversity policies and procedures was proposed. Tuesday afternoon,the Task Force on Faculty Governance announced its proposal to trimdown the 44 faculty committees in existence to a more manageable 13committees and to restructure the University’s most prominent studentand faculty governing body, the Advisory Committee on UniversityPlanning. While we support many of the ideas announced Tuesdayafternoon and laud the efforts of those faculty members who spear-headed the task force, changes to the University governance systemshould make those decision-making bodies more inclusive and lesssecretive.

Professor of Computer Science John Savage and the task force areright on the money when they say that the current governance systemneeds reform. The current structure is too bureaucratic and complexwith far too many ambiguous, poorly staffed and ineffectual commit-tees. We hope that the rest of the faculty, staff and student body will fol-low the task force’s aggressive lead in attempting to make Universitygovernance more efficient while staying true to Brown’s current goals.

Trimming the number of committees will give those people involvedin the oversight bodies more clearly defined responsibilities and, inturn, make the committees more effective. Hopefully, this change willinspire more faculty, students and staff members to take an active rolein University governance. Furthermore, the task force’s proposal comesin tandem with the University’s initial implementation of PresidentRuth Simmons’ aggressive plans to renew academics at Brown.

We are pleased that the task force will be holding open forums forstudents, faculty and staff to discuss the governance restructuring pro-posal. This theme of open, community discussion should be incorpo-rated into the proposal itself, however. While we agree that ACUP mustbe reformed along with the rest of the existing governance system, it istroubling that the task force proposed replacing this top decision mak-ing body with a committee that will meet behind closed doors.Governance at Brown is often questioned and perceived as ineffectualbecause of secret meetings, secret reports and non-disclosure. Lastyear, in fact, ACUP held several open forums where they gathered ideasfrom community members. Decisions and discussions related toUniversity governance should not be restricted to the few students, fac-ulty and administrators who sit on the proposed committees. It wouldbe impossible to evaluate the effectiveness of any governing body ifthose who the body governed did not know what went on within thatbody.

Efficient government

Bronwyn Bryant, Night EditorJonathan Skolnick, Copy Editor

Staff Writers Kathy Babcock, Brian Baskin, Jonathan Bloom, Carla Blumenkranz, ChrisByrnes, Jinhee Chung, Maria Di Mento, Nicholas Foley,Vinay Ganti, Neema SinghGuliani, Ari Gerstman, Andy Golodny, Daniel Gorfine, Nick Gourevitch, Stephanie Harris,Victoria Harris Maggie Haskins, Shara Hegde, Brian Herman, Shana Jalbert, Brent Lang,Elena Lesley, Jamay Liu, Jermaine Matheson, Kerry Miller, Kavita Mishra, MartinMulkeen, Alicia Mullin, Crystal Z.Y. Ng, Ginny Nuckols, Juan Nunez, Sean Peden, KatieRoush, Caroline Rummel, Emir Senturk, Jen Sopchockchai, Anna Stubblefield, JonathonThompson, Joshua Troy, Miranda Turner, Juliette Wallack, Jesse Warren, Genan Zilkha,Julia ZuckermanPagination Staff Bronwyn Bryant, Jessica Chan, Sam Cochran, Joshua Gootzeit, MichaelKingsley, Hana Kwan, Erika Litvin, Jessica Morrison, Stacy WongStaff Photographers Josh Apte, Makini Chisolm-Straker, Allison Lauterbach, Maria Schriber,Allie Silverman, Vanessia WuCopy Editors John Audett, Lanie Davis, Marc Debush, Daniel Jacobson, Sonya Tat

E D I T O R I A L

Beth Farnstrom, Editor-in-Chief

Seth Kerschner, Editor-in-Chief

David Rivello, Editor-in-Chief

Will Hurwitz, Executive Editor

Sheryl Shapiro, Executive Editor

Andy Golodny, News Editor

Elena Lesley, News Editor

Brian Baskin, Campus Watch Editor

Carla Blumenkranz, Arts & Culture Editor

Stephanie Harris, Academic Watch Editor

Juliette Wallack, Metro Editor

Victoria Harris, Opinions Editor

Sanders Kleinfeld, Opinions Editor

P R O D U C T I O N

Marion Billings, Design Editor

Bronwyn Bryant, Asst. Design Editor

Julia Zuckerman, Copy Desk Chief

Jonathan Skolnick, Copy Desk Chief

Ellen Bak, Photography Editor

Makini Chisolm-Straker,Asst.Photography Editor

Allie Silverman, Asst.Photography Editor

Brett Cohen, Systems Manager

B U S I N E S SStacey Doynow, General ManagerJamie Wolosky, Executive ManagerJared Gerber, Associate ManagerAngela Kim, Local Accounts ManagerHyebin Joo, Local Accounts ManagerMoon-Suk Oh, University Accounts ManagerJan Vezikov, University Accounts ManagerEugene C. Cha, National Accounts ManagerJoseph Laganas, National Accounts ManagerJosh Miller, Classifieds Account ManagerElizabeth Tietz, Marketing CoordinatorShereen Kassam, Marketing CoordinatorTugba Erem, Marketing CoordinatorMiguel Escobar, Subscriptions ManagerLaurie-Ann Paliotti, Senior Advertising Rep.Kate Sparaco, Office Manager

P O S T- M A G A Z I N EKerry Miller, Editor-in-ChiefZach Frechette, Executive EditorMorgan Clendaniel, Film EditorDan Poulson, Calendar EditorAlex Carnevale, Features EditorTheo Schell-Lambert, Music Editor

S P O R T SJoshua Troy, Sports EditorNick Gourevitch, Asst. Sports EditorJermaine Matheson, Asst. Sports EditorAlicia Mullin, Asst. Sports EditorSean Peden, Asst. Sports EditorEmily Hunt, Sports Photography EditorMichelle Batoon, Sports Photography Editor

Herald suggestions onwriting proficiencyappreciated, but aremisinformedTo the Editor:As Director of Writing Programs, I am responsiblefor assisting the Dean of the College and workingwith the faculty to examine, develop and evaluateour policies concerning writing instruction atBrown. I was gratified to see both an article (“U.’swriting proficiency requirement raises questionsabout consistent enforcement,” April 11) and aneditorial (“Requiring Writing,” April 11), on Brown’swriting requirement since this has been a topic pre-viously neglected by The Herald.

First, I’d like to point out one highly importantinaccuracy. The Herald noted that students flaggedfor incompetent writing “must enroll in a designat-ed intensive reading and writing course.” This ispatently untrue. Although the Dean of the Collegestrongly recommends that certain frosh take eitherEnglish 11 or 13 in their first semester, the decisionis left up to the student, in keeping with Brown’sphilosophy of curricular choice. In fact, my study ofthis year’s frosh indicates that only 50 percent ofthose students who received the Dean’s letter actu-ally enrolled in English 11 or 13. One might arguethat this statistic indicates there is work to be donein improving our ability to reach students who needmore exposure to writing-intensive courses, but italso testifies to Brown’s commitment to an opencurriculum.

I agree with those colleagues interviewed who

point out that the policy may not be consistentlyenforced. Although there is, in fact, a standard pro-cedure on the books, the system of deficiencychecks needs to be more widely publicized, used byfaculty and explained to students. In addition, therequirement’s key words (“students must demon-strate competence in writing”) need clearer defini-tion, and I welcome suggestions. But instituting astandardized placement test that “would be pain-less,” as you put it in the editorial, is not necessari-ly the way to go. There are enormous theoreticalproblems in constructing any single placementtest, administering it and then evaluating its resultsfairly. Composition research shows that portfoliosubmissions are a more legitimate way to evaluatestudent writing because the writing can be evaluat-ed in the context of its purpose and audience.

The other suggestion, creating “a list of interdis-ciplinary writing requirement courses across sever-al departments,” is more promising. We actuallyhave such a set of writing-intensive courses alreadyin place. It’s called The Writing Fellows Program,and it was established 20 years ago as a resource forfaculty and students. Writing Fellows offer assis-tance for all students enrolled in twenty-five select-ed courses across the curriculum each semester .Carefully-trained peer writing tutors, the WritingFellows critique first drafts of all essays written forthese courses and offer individual conferenceswhere students have the opportunity to discusstheir essays

I hope your readers will send comments andsuggestions to me ([email protected])concerning the writing requirement. I’m eager toimprove the way it works for all undergraduates.

Dr. Rhoda L. FlaxmanAug . 29

L E T T E R S T O T H E E D I T O R

W W W . B R O W N D A I L Y H E R A L D . C O M

J O I N O U R B U S I N E S S S T A F F T O D A Y .

B U S I N E S S @ B R O W N D A I L Y H E R A L D . C O M

t h e b r o w n d a i l y h e r a l d

OPINIONSTHE BROWN DAILY HERALD


Exploding U.S. hypocrisy in women’s rights rhetoricThe United States cannot crusade for women’s rights abroad, while failing to uphold them domestically

MORE THAN THE “ W ” NOW SEEMSto separate George Bush from his pappy.Bush the elder left office with a pesky, U.S.-installed dictator still in office. By the timehis appointment as president ends, theyounger Bush appears determined toensure that no kisses will beplaced near the armpit (hispreferred location) of thisobsessively clean tyrant.

Justification for this delayedousting of Saddam Husseinspews from the mouths ofmajor players in American pol-itics, albeit in varied and oftencontradictory terms. Op-edauthors argue over strategyand the post-Hussein land-scape. Slightly more nuancedcommentators cautiously con-tend that, in truth, the waragainst Iraq has never ceased,as bombing has continued uninterruptedsince Bush I began it.

However large their concerns about thesuccess or moral correctness of a U.S.-ledwar against Iraq, most self-righteouslyagree that the United States of America,champion of human rights and possessorof the elusive “liberty and justice for all,”can claim moral superiority and thusforcibly bring these qualities to a new Iraq.

The United Nations’ Convention on theElimination of All Forms of DiscriminationAgainst Women, regarded as the ultimatecomprehensive international bill of rightsfor women, and signed by 168 countriesincluding all other industrialized democ-racies in the world is surely considered ananathema to the barbaric ruler of Iraq.After all, he’s the man notorious not onlyfor his role as Satan’s lover in the “South

Park” movie, but also for his part as thebiggest, baddest wolf of all: the guy thatputs the evil in “axis of evil.” One glance atthe bill should verify that the United Statesis far more committed to ending discrimi-nation and upholding human rights than

Hussein’s holdings. Right? Wrong. Iraq’s signature

appears as a ratifying nationon the document, smugly sit-uated between Indonesia andIreland. The United States,along with Afghanistan,Sudan and other axis of evilfavorites Iran and NorthKorea, is among the few con-spicuous absences.

Drafted in 1979, CEDAWprovides the first concretedefinition of anti-female dis-crimination. It classifies it as“any distinction, exclusion or

restriction made on the basis of sex whichhas the effect or purpose of impairing ornullifying the recognition, enjoyment orexercise by women, irrespective of theirmarital status, on a basis of equality ofmen and women, of human rights andfundamental freedoms in the political,social, cultural, civic or any other field.”(www.un.org/cedaw)

The treaty states that ratifying nationswill abolish discriminatory laws, therebyincorporating its principle of equality intotheir legal systems; set up institutions toensure that female citizens are protectedagainst acts of discrimination; and man-date the elimination of discrimination ofwomen by persons, organizations andenterprises. Additionally, each participat-ing nation is required to submit a report tothe U.N. every four years concerning itsprogress in the struggle for women’s equal-ity.

The U.S. helped compose the treaty,President Jimmy Carter approved it and

the Senate Foreign Relations Committeeendorsed it both in 1998 and this July.However, a floor vote, the last necessarystep for ratification, has never taken place.Despite consistent pressure from SenatorsJoseph Biden, D-Del., and Barbara Boxer,D-Calif., based on the lack of nationalattention this issue has received, it seemsunlikely that a vote will take place beforethis year’s elections.

Discrimination in any form is unac-ceptable, and a nation that presentsHoratio Alger stories of individuals work-ing from rags to riches not only as thenorm of democracy but also as a measureof its power, must affirm its commitmentto women’s rights as well as to those ofother groups with a history of oppres-sion, whether for race, sexual orientationor creed. To do otherwise is purehypocrisy.

Ratifying CEDAW will not entailchanges to existing law, but it will serve asa powerful tool for those advocating trueequality for women. New research showsthat “women lawyers, scientists, journal-ists, congressional staff and other profes-sionals lag behind their male counter-parts. A variety of groups, from theAmerican Bar Association to the AmericanAssociation for the Advancement ofScience, have even issued reports docu-menting a worsening of women’s status inselected fields.” (www.womenstreaty.org/facts)

The reservations (sections of the treatya nation refuses to be obligated to) thatthe United States has demanded, even ifCEDAW does someday succeed in pass-ing, belie its true feelings towards equali-ty for women. Paid maternity leave willnot be mandated, the private sector willnot be subject to legislation enforcingequality and equal pay for equal work willnot be implemented.

Worse, failure to ratify the most crucial

piece of international legislation con-cerning anti-female discrimination iscompletely at odds with stated U.S. for-eign policy. It is hypocrisy in its ultimateform to argue for the necessity of militaryaction against a nation to end its discrim-inatory treatment of women, while onerefuses to pass a treaty ending discrimi-nation domestically.

Shortly after Sept. 11, newspapers andmagazines were flooded by articles con-demning the behavior of the Taliban inrelation to Afghan women. For manyAmericans otherwise unconvinced by theBush administration’s repeated calls formilitary action, the depiction of women,oppressed by their burkahs, unable toenter public locations, the property oftheir male family members, drove themto demand action. Conveniently omittedfrom these well-crafted propagandapieces was the knowledge that the UnitedStates and the Taliban share an importantinternational stance on the place ofwomen — failure to uphold their equalityin the law.

On a report to Congress submittedJune 28, 2001, Bush wrote “respect forwomen is an imperative of U.S. ForeignPolicy, among the goals that are groundedin the non-negotiable demand for humandignity and reflect universal values.”Perhaps he meant all women exceptingthose with the misfortune to be Americancitizens?

Last November, Laura Bush urgedAmericans to remember that: “the fightagainst terrorism is also a fight for therights and dignity of women.”(RadioAddress, Nov. 17, 2001) Say what you willabout the proposed military actionagainst Iraq, but will the promised dem-ocratic Iraq bring the commitment tothe “rights and dignity of women”upheld by the United States? I, for one,hope not.

Victoria Harris ’03 wonders if SaddamHussein has seen “South Park” the movieand, if so, what he thinks of his character.

VICTORIA HARRISTHE CRISIS HAS

MATURED

Do you have something to say?PROVE IT.

SEND YOUR 1000 WORD SUBMISSIONS TO [email protected] IS SEPT. 13, 2002

• Have your voice heard by over 6,000 members of the Brown community

• Spark serious discussion about pertinent political and social issues

• Educate the Brown community about an underreported or misunderstood topic

• Share lighthearted comments about life as you experience it

• Make your sexy face notorious across campus

• Become a Herald opinions columnist

SPORTS WEDNESDAYTHE BROWN DAILY HERALD

SEPTEMBER 4, 2002 · PAGE 12

THIS YEAR, I’M ROOTING FOR STEVE SPURRIER. I'M not a Redskins fan. I’m not a Florida Gators fan. Actually,prior to a few weeks ago, I had an adamant dislike ofSpurrier.

My aversion to Spurrier was probably twofold. First,for completely arbitrary reasons, especially considering I

have never set foot in the stateof Florida, I chose theSeminoles as the school I rootfor from the Sunshine State.Secondly, as embarrassed as Iam to admit it, I bought into

the whole “Spurrier’s an egomaniac of a coach who runsup the score simply because he’s a jerk,” routine.

But, all that changed after watching him on ESPN’s“Sunday Night Conversation” a couple of weeks ago. In anutshell, he said he would never think of complainingabout how another coach plays his game, and thereforehe has not, nor will he ever, apologize about how hecoaches his team. And he’s absolutely correct.

He’s correct because in sports, especially professionaland major college sports, one shouldn’t feel compelled tofollow so-called “unwritten” rules. As long as the rule-book doesn’t say you can’t do something, then you cando it. So, Spurrier can play his starting offense for a wholepreseason game even if the other team doesn’t and hecan run up the score in any game, preseason or not.

Who are we to judge whether his reasons are justifiedin coaching the way he does? Anyone can think of anumber of motives for why Spurrier coaches the way hedoes and all of those point towards his sole objective: towin football games and to put his team in position to winthe Super Bowl.

And in professional sports, winning is the only objec-tive. When “unwritten” rules get in the way of that, it isludicrous for anyone to expect them to be followed. Thistopic has come up many times over the years and one ofthe more recent incidents was last year at a ballgamebetween the Arizona Diamondbacks and the San DiegoPadres.

As you may recall, Curt Schilling was dominating thePads and in fact he had a perfect game going throughseven innings. In the bottom of the eighth, with thePadres trailing 2-0, slow-footed catcher Ben Davis cameto the plate. Trying to get something started, Davis sur-prised the D-backs and bunted for a hit.

Now, this sent Schilling, Arizona manager Bob Brenly,and various other “baseball purists” across the countryinto an absolute conniption fit because you aren’t sup-posed to break up a no-hitter with a bunt. Yet, Davisbrought the tying run to the plate and possibly rattledSchilling giving the Padres their best chance to possiblywin the game. Davis shouldn’t have done this? Please.

It seems to me that the integrity of the game is putmore in jeopardy when players change the way they playin order to preserve some time-honored code of conductrather than to win.

I’m not saying that sportsmanship should be thrownout the window. It should be noted that playing to winand being a good sport are not mutually exclusive.Obviously, the “win-at-all-costs” attitude shouldn’t beapplied to Little League or Pop Warner. Soccer playersshould still be taught to kick the ball out of bounds whenan opponent is injured on the field (this might be theonly “unwritten” rule I would feel compelled to followbecause a player’s health and not their ego is at risk.)

But professional athletes and coaches are grown men,and they are paid to win. Anything within the rules thatfurthers that goal is fine by me. So, getting back toSpurrier, I look forward to seeing him annoy the hell outof opposing coaches this season as he takes the Redskinsinto the playoffs. I hope I see him go for a “Hail Mary” up35 points in the waning seconds of the fourth quarter inthe hopes that it will improve his team’s standing for the5th tiebreaker for an NFL playoff spot: Net Points withinyour division.

Spurrier doesn’t care if nobody likes him, as long as hewins. As Vince Lombardi once said, “winning isn’t every-thing, it’s the only thing.”

In life, that’s a rotten philosophy to live by, but in sport,it’s the only one you can live by, and certainly the one youwant your local NFL head coach to follow.

M’s tennis appoints new head coach

The shock of an earlier September

BY ALICIA MULLINThe Ivy League Champion Brown men’s tennis team findsitself under new leadership this year. After the post-cham-pionship resignation of head coach John Choboy on July7, Jay Harris has taken on the position. Harris, HeadCoach of the Bowling Green State University men’s tennissquad for the past six seasons, brings years of both coach-ing and playing experience to the job.

Before acquiring his coaching position at BowlingGreen, Harris worked as assistant coach for the MiamiUniversity women’s tennis squad and also coached at sev-eral camps, resorts, and clubs in the Midwest and on theeast coast. His Bowling Green men’s team earned the Mid-American Conference championship the past two con-secutive seasons and as a result, Harris himself earnedhonors as 2001 Mid-American Conference Coach of theYear.

Harris’ own tennis career culminated in his four yearsat the University of Cincinnati. There Harris was twicenamed to the All-Great Midwest Conference team as wellas to the Great Midwest Conference All-Academic team.After graduating from the University of Cincinnati in1993, Harris moved on to Miami University to pursue aMaster of Science degree in sports studies and to beginhis coaching career.

Harris’ appointment to the Brown coaching positioncomes on the heels of one of the best seasons in the his-tory of Brown men’s tennis. In addition to compiling a 13-10 overall record, the Brown squad finished the seasonundefeated in the Ivy League. The League Championship,clinched after defeating defending champions HarvardUniversity, earned Brown a spot in the NCAA playoffs. Thesquad’s playoff trip was brief though, ending in a first-round loss to seventh-ranked Ole Miss on May 13.

Luckily, Bruno lost only one player from it’s champi-onship team last season. Team co-captain and All-Ivy sin-gles selection Nick Malone has graduated, but among theplayers returning to train under Harris’ new guidance isthe first team All-Ivy doubles pair of co-captainChristopher Drake ’03 and Justin Natale ’04, as well assecond team All-Ivy singles player Jamie Cerretani ’04.

Coach Harris follows in the footsteps of former coachChoboy, who finished his four-year coaching career atBrown with an accumulative record of 53-37, a 2001 ECACChampionship, and last season’s Ivy League title.Choboy’s resignation was an amicable one.

“I’ve had a tremendous experience at Brown and amappreciative of the opportunity that [Athletic Director]Dave Roach gave me to be the head coach here,” Choboysaid in an interview last month. “Everyone at Brown hasbeen extremely supportive. I’m extremely happy aboutwhat our program has accomplished in the last four years,and the fact that the program is in great shape for thefuture.”

Choboy will continue coaching this year at NorthCarolina State University.

Herald staff writer Alicia Mullin ’04 is an assistant sports editor.She can be reached at [email protected].

(Washington Post) — Thirty years ago Thursday marksthe tragedy of the Olympic Games in Munich, which in asense introduced the world to terrorist attacks. At anevent to which countless millions had turned their atten-tion, Palestinian terrorists broke into an unguardedOlympic Village at 4:10 a.m. Sept. 5, 1972, and killed twomembers of the Israeli team, taking hostage nine others.By the following midnight, those would be murdered,too. From this worst time in the history of the Games, wewere given one more vivid example of the horror peoplecan inflict and modern-day meaning, if only an introduc-tion, to surprise attack.

Having covered those Olympics for The WashingtonPost, I watched the horrifying scene just a few hundredyards from the building in which the Israelis were heldhostage. I spent many of the daylight hours of the pro-tracted crisis outside a wire fence surrounding theOlympic Village, a vantage that was eerily close. By latemorning, the mood of thousands at the fence was grim.Most stood silently, hoping the standoff would beresolved peacefully.

Yet others sat by seemingly unperturbed. Some tookthe sun. Some read newspapers with old news. Some ath-letes in the village could be seen sunbathing at the edgeof an artificial lake, as if nothing was happening. Someathletes played table tennis just a stone’s throw from theapartments in which the Israelis were being held.

An ice cream vendor walked the slopes at the fence,selling his goods. A voice in English from a transistorradio said, ‘‘This is serious business.” At that moment,one of the sunbathers in the village plunged into thewater.

A pickup basketball game went on next to parkedGerman police trucks. At an outdoor cafe between thevillage and the Olympic stadium, customers ate facingthe Israeli building as if watching a movie. Two Germanofficers scaled the fence near that building, unwittingly

demonstrating how easy it had been for the terrorists toget in.

The terrorists demanded that Israel release Arab pris-oners and threatened to kill their first hostage at noon iftheir demands weren’t met. Noon came and went. Ten, 15minutes passed and the tension among those at thefence could be felt subsiding. People experienced feel-ings of hope and fear as they watched the Israelis’ build-ing now ringed by German police, who lacked a workableplan.

Various athletic competitions went on. Only later didthe International Olympic Committee’s then-president,Avery Brundage, halt the Games for a time, and then, itseemed, reluctantly.

Brundage, the sunbathers, people attending the com-petitions—there were indications almost everywherethat people didn’t grasp what was happening, or perhapsdidn’t want to. And one wonders, in terms of nationalsecurity, if governments learned as much from Munich asthey said they did.

There was plenty to think about. On Connolly Strasse,at Building 31, there were bullet holes in the walls. Therewould be an empty feeling in more ways than one; manyof the Olympic athletes left early, their competitions overand their desire to stay gone. There was very much asense of moving on quickly, too quickly. About the timethe coffins were put aboard planes two days later, trackand field events resumed in the big Olympic stadiumwith 80,000 in the stands and flags of the 123 nations thathad been lowered, were now raised again.

One of the victims was flown to the United States. Hisname was David Berger and he lived in Shaker Heights,Ohio. He’d decided to live in Israel and try out for theOlympic team there. Every now and then, but not oftenenough, something happens to give us reason to remem-ber Berger and the others—and the hate that took themaway.

When it comes tocoaching, the best playby their own set of rules

NICKGOUREVICH

SEE NICK’S VIEW

Michelle Batoon / Herald

The men’s tennis team will compete this year under theleadership of new coach Jay Harris.

Wednesday, September 4, 2002

Documents

Transcript of Wednesday, September 4, 2002