Daily Herald the Brown
vol. cxlv, no. 29 | Wednesday, March 10, 2010 | Serving the community daily since 1891
Snoop, MGMT to headline Spring Weekend
By Suzannah Weiss
Arts & Culture Editor
After much anticipation, the Brown
Concert Agency announced that
smooth-spitting rapper Snoop Dogg
and the kaleidoscopically electric
MGMT will headline this year’s Spring
Weekend concerts, which will also
feature Major Lazer, the Black Keys
and Wale and will take place over the
weekend of April 23–25.
This year, which marks the 50th
anniversary of the Spring Weekend
concerts, BCA aimed to “combine
the new as well as the old,” said
James Hinton ’10, the group’s book-
ing chair.
The chosen acts are “imbued with
a certain appeal to GenY,” according
to BCA’s press release.
Hinton said BCA’s goal for the
milestone occasion shifted from
emulating notable past concerts to
finding modern icons and up-and-
continued on page 2
‘Bats with Faculty debate engineering school
frikkin’
lasers’
By Sarah Forman
Staff Writer
Chains hang from the ceiling and
not a drop of sunlight can enter the
bat lair hidden in the restricted-
access basement of Hunter Labo-
ratory.
“They are masters of flying,”
said Assistant Research Professor
of Neuroscience Seth Horowitz
MSc ’93 PhD ’97 of the big brown
bats (Eptesicus fuscus) he sends
into this eerie room as part of his
research on the interplay between
sensory and vestibular systems.
He wants to determine how bats
are able to “pull nine-G turns in
total darkness while eating” and
perform other feats of balance
and speed far beyond the techno-
logical capabilities of man-made
vehicles.
His current research project —
originally proposed to the Rhode
Island Space Grant Consortium
with the title “On the Road to Au-
tonomous UAVs: Bats with frik-
kin’ lasers on their heads” — uses
laser technology to explore how
bats use their sonar systems to
fly so skillfully. He seeks to ap-
ply the results of his research to
improve designs for unmanned
aerial vehicles — or UAVs. The
knowledge he gains from this
continued on page 2
inside
News.....1-3
Sports.....4-5
Editorial....6
Opinion....7
Today........8
www.browndailyherald.com
This year’s Spring Weekend concerts will feature, clockwise from top left, rappers Snoop Dogg and Wale, rock/
electronic duo MGMT and DJs Major Lazer.
By Goda Thangada
Senior Staf f Writer
A Tuesday faculty forum to discuss
a proposal to transform the divi-
sion of engineering to full-fledged
school drew about 60 professors
and administrators, mostly from
the sciences, and many of whom
expressed skepticism of the pro-
posal.
The most contentious part of
the discussion, which preceded
W. hoops takes Cornell
By Zack Bahr
Assistant Sports Editor
This weekend, the women’s basketball
team was playing for many things.
They were playing to sweep Cornell
on the season. They were playing to
upset Columbia. But perhaps the big-
gest thing the Bears were playing for
this weekend was their seniors. And in
the final games of the season, Bruno
dominated the Big Red, 74-58, and fell
hard to the Lions, 54-41.
Brown 74, Cornell 58
Friday night, the Bears (8-20, 5-9
Ivy) traveled to Ithaca, N.Y., where
they snapped a three-game losing
streak by claiming the victory over
Cornell (7-20, 2-12).
Lindsay Nickel ’13 and Aileen
Daniels ’12 led the way for Bruno,
each scoring career-highs of 23 and
22 points, respectively. The team shot
52 percent from the field, far above the
News, 3
engineering debate
The discussions on creating
a separate school of
engineering continue
195 Angell Street, Providence, Rhode Island
an April 6 vote on the proposal,
concerned a potentially dispropor-
tionate emphasis on engineering at
the expense of other sciences.
“The administration does feel
that this is an important step,” said
Clyde Briant, vice president for
research, who said he was speak-
ing on behalf of Provost David
Kertzer ’69 P’95 P’98. “It’s part of
the natural evolution of building the
sciences and engineering.”
Brown would be the last Ivy
season average of 32 percent.
Cornell led by six with 12:31 left
in the first half, but Brown gained
a 35-30 advantage heading into the
locker room.
Bruno retained the lead for the
rest of the game behind near-perfect
free throws — missing just one of
16 chances — and strong play in the
paint.
“We run offenses that have a lot
of options — many of which are in-
side — and Cornell focused heavily
on our shooting game, which really
opens up the inside,” Daniels said.
“We simply have good passers who
looked in the post.”
Brown led by as many as 20 points
on the evening.
Columbia 54, Brown 41
Saturday’s contest was the last
of the season for the Bears, but the
continued on page 5
Sports, 5
skiing champions
Ski team places third at
National Championships,
best of the East Coast
Courtesy of Brown Concert Agency
League school after Har vard
to have an engineering school.
Brown’s proposal involves faculty
hires, research investment and
construction totaling $100 million.
Much of Tuesday’s conversation
centered on the substance of the
changes and how these would af-
fect other science departments.
Most faculty agreed that engi-
neering needed some expansion
continued on page 3
Lindsay Nickel ’13 scored 23 points in the women’s basketball team’s
victory over Cornell on Friday.
Opinions, 7
intro to interviews
Mary Bates GS tells how to
master the graduate school
interview
Breach hits
hundreds of
employees
By Julia Kim
Staff Writer
A data breach involving unauthor-
ized access to paper records of
Brown employees and their family
members occurred in December,
and Brown officials were notified
of the breach Jan. 5, said David
Sherry, chief information security
officer.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of
Rhode Island accidentally sent
paper records of more than 500
Brown employees and their family
members to another subscriber
company and its agent, according
to Sherry.
Within 24 hours, both the com-
panies received the records and,
upon recognizing the mistake,
destroyed the records and noti-
fied Blue Cross Blue Shield, which
subsequently notified Brown, he
added.
There was no health or Social
Security information in the sent re-
port, Sherry said. It only included
names, Blue Cross subscriber
numbers and “charges during
the period.”
“From what we were told …
it was human error,” Sherry said.
He said there was no “malicious
intent” or “criminal activity.”
Brown addressed the breach
with legal counsel, human re-
sources and Sherry, Sherry said.
continued on page 2
Jonathan Bateman / Herald file photo
The blog today
blog daily herald
More on Spring Weekend
and the expensive and the
argyle of Brown fashion
herald@browndailyherald.com
Page 2 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Wednesday, March 10, 2010

C ampus N EWS “We’re always excited about bringing newer artists.”

— James Hinton ’10, BCA booking chair

BCA draws several big
artists for concerts
continued from page 1
coming artists.
Hinton said students will look
back on the lineup and think, “Wow,
these guys played here.”
“I’ve liked (Snoop Dogg) for a
long time,” Hinton said of the hip-
hop artist who released his first
album in 1993. “He was one of the
first three songs I downloaded on
Napster.”
Brooklyn-based electronic indie
rock duo MGMT was the top request
of respondents to BCA’s survey in
fall’s Undergraduate Council of Stu-
dents poll, which asked students to
list bands or artists they would like
to see perform for Spring Weekend,
according to Hinton.
“Usually we don’t even get into
the top 10 or 20 in the poll,” he
said.
The rest of the artists are less
well-known, Hinton said. “We’re al-
ways excited about bringing newer
artists,” he said.
Major Lazer, a collaboration of
British DJs Diplo and Switch, will
open for MGMT Friday evening.
Alex Spoto ’11, BCA’s administra-
tive chair, said the board members
identified Major Lazer as “some-
thing that would be pretty popular
by the time Spring Weekend rolled
around.”
Starting at 1 p.m. on Saturday,
The other BDH
www.BlogDailyHerald.com
sudoku
April 24, rapper Wale, blues-rock
band the Black Keys and Snoop
Dogg — who just released an album
and is currently shooting a film —
will take over the Main Green.
“I love the Black Keys, and I’m
pretty excited about Wale, too,”
Spoto said. “We snagged him kind
of early on, and I think he’s getting
bigger and bigger.”
Because the Black Keys are re-
leasing an album in May and have
gotten a lot of radio play in recent
months, “we felt like it was just a
really cool time to get them,” Hin-
ton said.
Spoto also added that several of
BCA’s board members have seen
— and been impressed by — the
Ohio-based duo’s past performanc-
es. “They’ve put on a really great
live show,” he said.
With an increased budget in
honor of the anniversary, BCA so-
licited some “far-fetched” prospects,
according to Spoto. “We tried a few
kind of crazy bids early on,” such as
Neil Young, Elvis Costello and the
Beastie Boys, he said.
At the end of the day, though,
Hinton said he “couldn’t be happier
with how it turned out.”
Tickets will be sold online begin-
ning March 24 for $18 per day with
a Brown or Rhode Island School of
Design ID and $25 for the general
public.
In the lab with Brown’s own bat man
continued from page 1
work also helps inform another proj-
ect: “NeuroPop.”
Using his extensive understanding
of sound, neuroscience and balance,
Horowitz partnered with composer
Lance Massey to create NeuroPop, a
music album designed to help people
fall asleep. He said he originally came
upon the idea while working at SUNY
Stony Brook with funding from NASA,
where he tried to understand the in-
somnia problems that often plague
astronauts in space.
“Could the balance system be
driving the sleep system?” Horowitz
asked himself, since astronauts’ stabil-
ity changes when they go into space.
Subsequent research found that the
human balance system is completely
tied to the emotional system, he said.
Because balance is based in the ears
and vestibular system, with emotions
centered in the brain, he thought that
sound could be used to activate neural
sleep centers.
He found that the “whole curve
from arousal to sleep has a lot of in-
put from the balance system,” and
that low frequency vibrations could
influence the vestibular system and
encourage sleep.
Horowitz asked Massey to alter
classical music according to algo-
rithms that he developed in the lab,
and upon distributing the music to
Data breach spurs Blue Cross audit
continued from page 1
They “pressed” Blue Cross Blue
Shield to “do a few things,” including
recovering all the copies, notifying the
affected individuals, offering a change
of subscriber numbers and review-
ing its claims for the next six months,
Sherry added.
“Brown has no responsibility in
this whatsoever, but we took it very,
very serious — enough to make sure
that Blue Cross Blue Shield acted in a
way that would rectify this whole thing
and protect our employees and their
families,” Sherry said.
Blue Cross Blue Shield “conducted
an internal review and modified exist-
ing security procedures to prevent a
similar situation from occurring in the
future,” Director of Communications
Services Jacqueline Ibbitson wrote in
some friends, he found that it very
effectively made them fall asleep.
“It seems to work,” said James
Simmons, professor of biology and
director of the lab in which Horowitz
conducts his bat research, of Neu-
roPop. “People like it.”
Horowitz was quick to mention
that “NeuroPop is completely sepa-
rate from what I do at Brown,” but
his lab work informs his understand-
ing of human interactions with sound
and also has several other practical
applications.
Still, NeuroPop depends upon the
scientific knowledge of the vestibu-
lar system that Horowitz has gained
in part from watching the motion of
bats flying around the chain-room in
Hunter Lab.
Only “three or four” of Horowitz’s
bats, which he collects from natural
habitats around Providence — includ-
ing one taken from a math depart-
ment building last week — will toler-
ate wearing the modified four-gram
lasers that Horowitz uses.
These lasers, combined with 20
microphones and four infrared cam-
eras in the isolated research cave,
tell Horowitz exactly where each bat
was pointing its head when it let out
a call. As the sound waves return to
the bat after hitting the chains hang-
ing from the ceiling, the bat receives
a picture of its surroundings that
Horowitz hopes to use for practical
an e-mail to The Herald. The company
“will also be conducting an audit of the
affected members’ claims later this
year,” she added, declining to answer
further questions.
Brown was required by new legisla-
tion to report the breach to the U.S.
Department of Health and Human
Services because the privacy breach
affected over 500 individuals, Sherry
said.
The law is part of the Health In-
formation Technology for Economic
and Clinical Health Act, intended to
“safeguard” private information and
build consumer trust, according to an
official at the Office for Civil Rights at
the Department of Health and Human
Services.
There have been 47 breaches of
“unsecured protected health informa-
applications.
“The bats are using their sound
system the way we use our vision,”
he said, hoping to use his research
to understand exactly how that hap-
pens.
Horowitz has yet to make any
formal recommendations for flying
vehicles based upon his laser re-
search with the bats, partly because
of the odd set of challenges inherent
to working with the animals.
He has had to special-order toupee
tape to attach the lasers to the bats’
heads because they fly so quickly that
the lasers often fall off. One bat went
bald from the constant re-attachment
of lasers.
The lab also deals with the con-
stant threat of rabies and other dis-
eases affecting the bats, since they
are taken from the wild.
Sharon Swartz, professor of biol-
ogy and director of a bat laboratory
focusing on flight and aeronautics in
Prince Laboratory, said she only uses
bats raised in captivity, and therefore
does not face the same health risks
from working with them.
“To me, they’re just incredibly
beautiful,” Swartz said of the bats
in her lab. “It’s a little bit like giant
fairies.”
According to Swartz, each one has
a different personality, with unique
reactions to her trials, which mostly
continued on page 5
tion affecting 500 or more individuals”
across the nation since the act was
implemented last August, according to
a list of breaches posted on the depart-
ment’s Web site. The majority of the
breaches were due to theft, according
to the Web site.
Though the breach was publicized
on the department’s Web site, there
has been little media attention to the
breach at Brown. This is because the
breach was of “low risk” and because
Brown was required to notify the me-
dia only if the breach affected more
than 500 people from one state, Sherry
said. Affected individuals reside in
`three different states — Rhode Is-
land, Massachusetts and Connecticut,
according to Sherry.
“Quite frankly,” Sherry said,
“Brown did not make any mistakes.”

Daily Herald
the Brown

Editorial Phone: 401.351.3372 | Business Phone: 401.351.3260

George Miller, President Katie Koh, Treasurer
Claire Kiely, Vice President Chaz 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.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
C ampus N EWS
Faculty across disciplines weigh in on potential engineering school
continued from page 1
at the University.
“Engineering is small,” said
Professor of Physics Chung-I Tan
P’95 P’03, chair of the department
and head of the Faculty Executive
Committee. “It should grow. As it
grows, it will benefit all science
areas.” The important issue, he
said, was to ensure coordination
so that other areas grow at the
same time.
Those behind the proposal
sought to win the approval of other
departments prior to the vote. “It’s
ver y important for us to interact
with as many of you as we can,”
said Rodney Clifton, interim dean
of the division of engineering.
Before the discussion began,
Clifton showed a slide of Brown’s
Prince Engineering Laboratory, the
University’s principal engineering
research space, which was built 50
years ago. “That’s not the way re-
search is done today,” he said, “We
need quiet spaces, clean spaces.”
To illustrate a model of modern
research facilities, he showed a
slide of Har vard’s state-of-the-art
Northwest Science Building.
The Har vard comparison per-
sisted when Professor of Physics
David Cutts pressed Clifton on
the organizational structure of
the school.
Cutts said he was concerned
about “a leadership of the school
that was reporting at the highest
level and thus was independent of
other faculties.” Har vard’s model,
he said, was “much more inclusive”
than Brown’s proposed school, be-
cause the dean of the school of
engineering reports to the dean of
the faculty. Under the new proposal
at Brown, the dean would report di-
rectly to the provost, bypassing the
faculty of the arts and sciences.
The decision to have a new dean
report to the provost was made
because “it’s just a much more at-
tractive position if we show that the
person is reporting at the level of
the provost,” Clifton said.
Clifton also explained that engi-
neering would be unified internal-
ly, with no departmental divisions
within the school. The departments
of applied math and computer sci-
ence were initially envisioned as
part of a new school, he said.
“They have opted not to join this
school, but I think there’s quite a
lot of support,” he said.
Many professors spoke about
“collateral benefits,” using a term
introduced by Professor of Pedi-
atrics James Padbur y, who said
increased research in nanotechnol-
ogy would complement his own
work. Dietrich Neumann, chair of
the faculty forum, said he heard
“a chorus in unison.”
When other professors began
to suggest alterations to the plan
and voice concerns, Susan Alcock,
professor of classics and director
of the Joukowsky Institute for Ar-
chaeology, highlighted her depart-
ment’s unusual involvement with
engineering. She urged other fac-
ulty to take a “slightly more holistic
view of the whole situation.”
Tan asked whether there was
a comprehensive plan for the re-
organization of all the sciences.
Vohra replied, “The whole question
of how we are organized ought to
be considered in its own right.”
Donald Forsyth, professor of geo-
logical sciences and vice-chair of
the Academic Priorities Commit-
tee, said there may be discussion
of having “another layer of deans
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
— Rodney Clifton, interim dean of the division of engineering
beneath the provost.”
Other faculty brought up the
idea of creating multidisciplinar y
institutes in the three areas iden-
tified in the proposal as needing
attention and expansion — micro-
and nano-technologies, biomedical
engineering and energy and envi-
ronment and infrastructure.
“ ‘Interdisciplinar y’ is ver y ex-
citing,” Professor of Physics James
Valles said. “What is challenging
about it is in fact maintaining a core
intellectual feeling.”
In choosing areas in which to
bring new faculty and expand, en-
gineering would work with other
departments whose research areas
overlapped, Clifton said. “It’s kind
of like a football draft,” he said,
“You go for the best athlete.”
Clifton emphasized the impor-
tance of the name change and the
need for visibility to attract stu-
dents. Of the 25 top universities
in the nation, 23 have schools of
engineering, he said. The other top
university lacking a school is the
California Institute of Technology,
which has a formidable reputation
in engineering but does not have
schools. “For visibility, it is impor-
tant to us that it really be a school,”
Clifton said.
Several speakers touched on
the issue of diversity, both in
“It’s kind of like a football draft.”
terms of the ethnicity and gen-
der of students and new faculty
hires. However, Harvey Silverman,
professor of engineering, said he
was satisfied with the Department
of Engineering’s current gender
breakdown. In his course, he said,
“we’re just about 40 percent women
now. I’m not terribly unhappy.”
With the emphasis on building
sophisticated research capacity, the
impact on undergraduate students
was another thread of the discus-
sion. “We do not want to tamper
with the undergraduate experience
at Brown,” Briant said.
Clifton said the presence of
more faculty would mean more
courses of general interest could
be taught.
“We don’t have enough elective
courses to offer undergraduates,”
said Professor of Engineering Eric
Suuberg.
The last major arc of the dis-
cussion was the plan to raise $100
million for engineering, of which
about one-third would go toward
the construction or renovation of
a new building.
“We’ve been ver y careful in
planning this whole thing that
this won’t take away from others,”
Clifton said. “We had a bigger pro-
posal there before.” The current
proposal is the third version of a
Page 3
proposal first drawn up in sum-
mer 2008.
The game is not necessarily
zero-sum, Clifton said. “The focus
here is to bring into the University
money that we’re not getting, mon-
ey that’s being left on the table. My
prediction is that the overall giving
will go up.”
Cutts suggested giving co-
appointments to new professors.
This could be “an opportunity for
all the sciences to work together
in bringing these people here,” he
said.
As for the physical location of
the building, Clifton said it has not
been discussed. John Hermance,
professor of geology, spoke about
how he valued running into his
students as he walked around cam-
pus. “We need that kind of casual
interaction,” he said, concerned
that the location of a new facility
in the Jewelr y District or Wayland
Square would scatter students and
faculty.
Forsyth said he would like
Prince Laborator y itself to be re-
placed. “That would be one thing
many of the faculty would like to
see,” he said.
Briant noted that Ker tzer is
planning to appoint a committee
to develop the physical space com-
ponent of the proposal.
SportsWednesday
The Brown Daily Herald
BASEBALL
Bears make tough trip down south After two wins, Brown loses
By Jesse Frank
Sports Staff Writer
The baseball team took on some of
the nation’s elite talent when it trav-
elled to Louisiana to face Pepperdine
and defending national champion
Louisiana State over the weekend.
The Bears finished the trip 1-3, but
came back to Providence with an
upbeat attitude.
“We really swung the bats very
well,” said Head Coach Marek
Drabinski. “We played some great
teams and did pretty well. We need
to work on timely hitting, but over-
all it was a positive weekend and we
have lots to build on.”
The Bears earned their lone
win on Friday, an 8-7 victory over
Pepperdine. But then they dropped
two games to No. 1 LSU, 13-7 and
9-2, and lost the rematch to Pep-
perdine, 19-3.
Brown 8, Pepperdine 7
Brown got off to a strong start
on Friday to open the season. In
the victory, winning pitcher Kevin
Carlow ’13 and starter Mark Gorm-
ley ’11 each pitched four innings,
giving up a total of only five earned
runs. Matt Kimball ’11, the team’s
closer, gave up only one hit in the
9th inning to close out the game.
Offensively for the Bears, the
highlights came in the sixth and
eighth innings when the Bears
scored four runs in each frame.
Daniel Rosoff ’12 went 2-3 with
three RBI and two runs to lead
Brown’s offense.
LSU 13, Brown 6
The happiness from the season-
opening win didn’t last long, as later
that afternoon the Bears ran into
the juggernaut that is the No. 1 LSU
Tigers. The Tigers got off to a fast
start and led, 8-0, by the end of the
second inning.
But the Bears did not go down
without a fight. They scored seven
runs in the last five innings and
the final score was 13-6 in favor
of LSU.
In the loss, Matt Colantonio ’11
was 3-5 and Graham Tyler ’12 was
2-5 with three RBI.
Pepperdine 19, Brown 3
The next day, the Bears took on
Pepperdine again, but this time, the
Waves came out with a vengeance.
Despite a first inning 1-0 lead after
an RBI single by Pete Greskoff
’11, the Bears trailed after two in-
nings, 9-1. From there, Pepperdine
didn’t let off the gas and went on to
the 19-3 victory. In the loss, Cody
Slaughter ’13 was 3-4 and Ryan
Zrenda ’11 was 3-5 with an RBI.
During the game, Brown was
plagued by spotty defense. Brown’s
inability to practice outside because
of the weather may have hurt the
team’s fielding, Greskoff said.
“Having not been on the field yet,
we struggled defensively,” Greskoff
said. “But our offense performed
better than we expected.”
LSU 9, Brown 2
The Bears closed out the road
trip by playing LSU again. Brown
took an early 2-0 lead on the Tigers
on RBI singles by Slaughter and
Nick Punal ’10.
But from there, the Tigers’
pitchers kept the Bears in check,
and LSU went on to a 9-2 victory.
Brown took away some posi-
tives from the first road trip of the
season. “We definitely are begin-
ning to get a feel for what positions
guys are really going to succeed
in,” said Will Weidig ’10. “The at-
mosphere and competition is some
of the best we will play all year and
definitely some of the best in the
nation, and we really held our own
in the games.”
The Bears next play on Friday,
when they travel to face the Uni-
versity of South Carolina.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010 | Page 4
SOFTBALL
Retriever Classic to UMBC
By Ashley McDonnell
Sports Staff Writer
The softball team (2-2) began the
Retriever Classic at the University
of Maryland-Baltimore County on a
strong note, beating Morgan State
(4-6) and Fairleigh Dickinson (4-4)
on Saturday. But UMBC (9-1) beat
the Bears in both games on Sunday,
including the championship game.
Brown 9, Morgan State 8, 11
innings
Saturday began with Morgan State
scoring two runs in the top of the first
inning with two hits, a stolen base and
two errors on the Bears’ part. Brown
had a total of six errors in the game.
“We figured it would be a bit of a
rough start because it was the first
time we actually felt the dirt under-
neath us,” as the team has had to
practice indoors, said Head Coach
DeeDee Enabenter-Omidiji.
But the Bears managed to find
their footing. At the end of seven
innings, Brown tied the game, 4-4.
The game went to extra innings until
Katie Rothamel ’10 drove in Danielle
Comissiong ’11 for the winning run
in the 11th.
Brown 7, Fairleigh Dickinson 5
The Bears led the game, 4-0, after
the top of the third but allowed Fair-
leigh Dickinson to come right back
with three runs. Pitcher Liz DiMas-
www.DiamondsAndCoal.com
cio ’13 relieved Trish Melvin ’12 and
gave up just two more runs. The Bears
posted three more runs in the seventh
inning to win the game.
“The defense struggled and the
pitching wasn’t where it should’ve
been, but the team just came togeth-
er,” DiMascio said.
UMBC 4, Brown 2
The Bears jumped out to an early
1-0 lead in the first inning Sunday
morning against UMBC, but the
host team answered right away with
two runs of their own. UMBC scored
two more runs in the fourth inning to
clinch the game.
UMBC 6, Brown 5
Later that afternoon, the Bears
faced UMBC again in the champion-
ship game.
“We really wanted to beat them,”
Rothamel said. “This time we felt more
confident that we could beat them.
But they had good hitters and their
pitching was consistent.”
UMBC came out swinging, lead-
ing the Bears, 4-1, after two innings.
Though the Bears attempted to rally
back in the seventh, their two runs
were not enough to overcome the
deficit.
“If we’d had (the rally) earlier on,
we would’ve been much better off,”
Enabenter-Omidiji said. “But overall,
we were pleased with what we saw”
this past weekend.
Page 5 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Wednesday, March 10, 2010

S ports W ednesday “They were relaxed and confident.”

— Mike LeBlanc, head coach of the skiing team

W. hoops fall to Lions Cornell m. hoops ready to ‘March’

in last game of season
continued from page 1
players weren’t able to carry over the
success from the night before.
Only two Bears made it over the
five-point mark on the evening. Dan-
iels led the way with 14 while Court-
ney Lee ’10 netted six.
With 4:05 remaining in the first
half, Bruno went on a run and cut the
Lions’ 14-point lead down to just four
at the half. In the second half, Brown
came out with strong defense and tied
the game with 16:50 remaining.
Columbia (18-10, 9-5) slowly
pulled away behind a dominating
performance by Judie Lomax, who
SKIING
had 20 points and a school-record 27
rebounds on the evening.
It was a tough ending to the ca-
reers of seniors Lee, Natalie Bonds
’10 and Christina Johnson ’10.
“It is going to be really hard to see
our seniors go,” Nickel said. “I don’t
think it has actually sunk in yet that
they won’t be back on the court with
us next year. But all three have had
such an impact on the program in
their four years, and they will be truly
missed.”
The Bears finished the season
sixth in the Ivy League. Brown will
take a week off and begin postseason
training on Monday.
By Andrew Braca
Assistant Sports Editor
The Cornell men’s basketball team
could earn a No. 11 or No. 12 seed
in the NCAA Tournament, which
begins March 18, according to a
prominent analyst.
After clinching the Ivy League
Championship with a 95-76 win over
Brown on Friday, the Big Red fin-
ished the season with a 27-4 record
overall and a 13-1 mark against Ivy
foes, but that single conference blem-
ish may come back to haunt them.
ESPN college basketball analyst Joe
Lunardi told Bloomberg newswire
that the 79-64 loss to a lousy Penn
squad on Feb. 12 likely cost Cornell
a shot at a single-digit seed.
Only three Ivy teams have won
their opening round game in the
selected from mid-Atlantic Division I
schools, eight of them from the elite
Big East Conference.
On the women’s side, Princeton
completed an undefeated season in
the Ivy League to earn its first-ever
bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Three ECAC teams take on
field in women’s NCAA Ice
Hockey Championship
Three ECAC Hockey teams —
league champion Cornell, Clarkson
and Harvard — will be among the
eight squads competing for the 10th
National Collegiate Women’s Ice
Hockey Championship. No. 4 seed
Harvard will host Cornell on Fri-
day, while Clarkson travels to face
the No. 3 seed Minnesota Golden
Gophers on Saturday.
No. 1 seed Mercyhurst hosts
ECAC quarterfinal matchups
face off starting Friday
The ECAC Hockey men’s quar-
terfinals begin Friday, as the top
four teams come off a bye week to
face the four opening-round win-
ners in best-of-three series. No. 11
Brown will travel to New Haven
to face regular-season champion
Yale. The Bulldogs prepared for
the matchup by taking Monday off
to try curling, the obscure Olympic
ice sport, according to Yale Sports
Information.
No. 2 seed Cornell hosts No. 9
Harvard, No. 3 Union hosts No. 7
Quinnipiac and No. 4 Colgate hosts
No. 5 St. Lawrence this weekend.
Harvard dominates squash
championships
Har vard swept the College

Bears place third at

past 25 years — Penn in 1994 and Boston University and No. 2 seed Squash Association Individual
Princeton in 1996 and 1998. Cornell Minnesota-Duluth hosts New Hamp- Championships on Sunday, taking
will learn its opening-round matchup shire on Saturday. The winners “A” Division titles on both the men’s

Nat’ls, best in years

when the selections are announced will advance to the Frozen Four at and women’s sides.
Sunday evening, but the Big Red did Ridder Arena in Minneapolis. The Senior Colin West swept Princ-
get recognition in the interim. semifinals will be played on March eton’s Todd Harrity in the finals,
By Ashley McDonnell were relaxed and confident.” Senior forward Ryan Wittman 19 and the championship game on 11-9, 13-11, 11-1. Freshman Laura
Spor ts Staf f Writer Consiglio and Mosenthal were was named to the United States March 21. Harvard and Cornell each Gemmell beat Trinity’s Pamela
the Bears’ top performers in both Basketball Writers Association All- boast five all-Ivy selections. Hathaway in a tense final, 11-7, 5-11,
The ski team finished in third place slalom and giant slalom — and they District II team. Ten players were 13-15, 11-8, 11-9.
at the USCSA National Champion- both won All-America Honors for
ships — best among East Coast each event.
teams — on March 1-6 at Sunday
River Resort in Newry, Maine.
“It’s by far the best finish we’ve
Only Westminster College and
Sierra Nevada College placed high-
er than the Bears. Both teams “re-
Batty research yields clues on sound
had since I’ve been on the team,” cruit European skiers who are very continued from page 2 rina, and he said that one bat, Vlad, treatments for tinnitus and lack of
said captain Krista Consiglio ’11. fast” and “have access to snow all was the “meanest bastard I’d ever focus.
“It’s better than winning Regionals the time because they go to school involve tracking their motions in a met.” Massey and Horowitz have yet
or our division.” in the mountains,” Consiglio said. wind tunnel. to make a profit from the work, but
It was the best finish for the “It’s just really big to beat these Though she said she prefers “to
FEATURE Horowitz said recent publicity has
Bears since the 2004-05 season, teams from Europe,” LeBlanc said. maintain a certain professional dis- As he continues his bat work, increased orders for the NeuroPop
when the team claimed second Our team “has to travel for two tance” from her subjects, and there- Horowitz said that he hopes to ex- album.
place, according to Head Coach hours in one day to train, and they fore does not give them names, some pand NeuroPop to include CDs tar- Horowitz said that work and sci-
Mike LeBlanc. sometimes only train for one day of the 20 people involved in her lab geted to different age groups — he ence consume most of his time, and
“The level of competition just a week. If people could see what do have very personal relationships has a hard time staying awake to that even his hobby, NeuroPop, was
went up quickly” in the past few these girls did, how they’re so with the bats. work on the music targeting the 40- research-based.
years, LeBlanc said. “The fact that incredibly strong. It’s just mind- Horowitz’s subjects also have plus age bracket — and that he also “Some people collect stamps, I
we’ve fought our way back up to the boggling.” names, including Frosty and Ma- hopes to find other sound-related just keep doing science,” he said.
top is incredible.”
And given the team’s perfor-
mances this season, a third-place
finish at Nationals was even more
impressive. In the ECSC MacCo-
nnell Division, the Bears came
in fourth place and at Regionals
managed only a fifth-place finish
overall.
“It’s saying something to go to
Regionals and get fifth and then go
to Nationals and get third,” LeBlanc
said. “This was the first time in a
while that the team has just gone
out and executed like they can.”
In giant slalom, the Bears raced
out to a strong start and finished
third. Consiglio led the team with
an 11th-place finish. Her teammates
followed close behind — Kia Mo-
senthal ’12 finished in 14th and Em-
ily Simmons ’12 came in 16th.
However, it was the team’s
fourth-place finish in slalom that
clinched third for the Bears over-
all. It was one of the Bears’ best
finishes in slalom all season.
“That was definitely a big shock
to all of us,” Consiglio said. “It was
really, really close between all the
teams. The dif ference between
second and sixth was only a few
hundredths of a second.”
“All the girls finished with clean
runs,” LeBlanc said. “That’s only
happened once all season. They
Editorial & Letters
The Brown Daily Herald

Page 6 | Wednesday, March 10, 2010

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

Group’s use of ‘apartheid’

appropriate
To the Editor: illegal settlements, in which Israeli
settlers are subject to civilian law
The guest column by Roberta while Palestinians endure military
Goldman ’13 (“Brown Students for law. This dual system of law estab-
Palestine (and Israel),” March 4) lishes the condition of apartheid
misrepresents Brown Students for as defined by the United Nations.
Justice in Palestine, as well as their The illegal settler population can
use of the word “apartheid.” live freely, while limitations on
To be clear, I am not writing as a movement, confiscation of natural
member of Brown Students for Jus- resources, and restrictions on politi-
tice in Palestine. I attended BSJP’s cal freedom define the Palestinian
presentation on their campaign for experience.
University divestment from com- A sign on the main green asking,
panies profiting from Israeli apart- “Do you want your university profit-
heid in the Occupied Territories. I ing from apartheid?” leaves no room
learned that the goal of BSJP is not for objection. Whatever you label it
divestment from Israel itself; rather, (apartheid, occupation or plain old
it is divestment from companies that injustice), let’s not pay for it. If the
profit from the illegal military occu- use of a single word was the sole
pation of the Palestinian Territories. objection of BSJP’s detractors, then I
BSJP has demonstrated a precise see that as an endorsement of BSJP’s A le x Y uly
and responsible use of language. message of ending our complicity in
Anyone who attended their event Israel’s human rights violations.
or visited their table on the Main Currently, Brown University is e d i to r i a l
Green would know that they limit potentially invested in companies
their use of “apartheid” to refer to that facilitate the illegal militar y
the Occupied Territories only.
Misrepresenting BSJP by distort-
occupation of the Palestinian Ter-
ritories. Rejecting an unacceptable
One bigoted man
ing their language (down to their status quo through selective divest-
name and main goal) and then ac- ment is the true message of Brown The Herald reported Feb. 25 that Health Services made five months ago while campaigning offers a
cusing them of “cheapening” words Students for Justice in Palestine. It is plans to implement several new measures in order pretty good clue — and undercuts any credibility
demonstrates a refusal to engage in one that all of us should endorse. to be more welcoming to transgender students. he might have had in claiming he’s just enforcing
a factual debate about divestment These steps include training caregivers and staff the law.
and the reality of life under occupa- Malcolm Shanks ’11 on transgender issues, changing forms and signs to “Homosexual acts are wrong. They’re intrinsi-
tion. It would be nice, for example, March 7 reflect the range of gender identities and allowing cally wrong,” Cuccinelli said. “And I think in a
to hear Goldman’s perspective on students to state a different name or pronoun than natural law based country it’s appropriate to have
is listed on their medical forms. We support these policies that reflect that.”
efforts and we are glad to see that Health Services So while Cuccinelli now wants to be thought of
is trying to be as inclusive as possible. as a principled conservative defending the preroga-
These sorts of initiatives are important not just tives of the democratically elected legislature, it’s
t h e b r o w n d a i ly h e r a l d because they improve the experiences of students clear he is just a bigot intent on using his authority
here at Brown, but also because they set a positive as attorney general to do a little social engineer-
Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor Deputy Managing Editors Senior Editors
Ellen Cushing example for other institutions and policymakers. ing.
George Miller Chaz Kelsh Sophia Li
Emmy Liss Seth Motel Many critics of equality for gender and sexual mi- Cuccinelli apparently has not been persuaded by
Joanna Wohlmuth
norities speak as if giving these individuals rights the basic ideas of fairness and privacy that justify
editorial Business
General Managers Office Manager and protections is in some way socially destructive. equal treatment of gender and sexual minorities.
Anne Speyer Arts & Culture Editor
Suzannah Weiss Arts & Culture Editor Claire Kiely Shawn Reilly They’re just wrong. And not surprisingly, since The Still, we’re fairly confident that the 41-year-old will
Brian Mastroianni Features Editor Katie Koh Herald’s report two weeks ago, life at Brown has recant these views at some point in his lifetime. If
Hannah Moser Features Editor Directors
Brigitta Greene Metro Editor Kelly Wess Sales gone on just fine. he’s concerned about his political viability, he will
Ben Schreckinger Metro Editor Matthew Burrows Finance It’s highly regrettable when others choose not eventually be forced to take note of the fact that
Sydney Ember News Editor Margaret Watson Client Relations
Nicole Friedman News Editor Christiana Stephenson Alumni Relations
to go the full distance in making all individuals 58 percent of Americans between ages 18 and 34
Dan Alexander Sports Editor feel accepted, but it’s downright reprehensible support legalizing same-sex marriage, according to
Andrew Braca Asst. Sports Editor Managers
when public officials go out of their way to make a CNN poll conducted last year. If he is concerned
Han Cui Asst. Sports Editor Arjun Vaidya Local Sales
Marco deLeon National Sales life more difficult for marginalized groups. That’s about his social acceptability, he will want to keep
Graphics & Photos Aditi Bhatia University Sales why we’re outraged at Virginia Attorney General in mind that roughly half of all Americans report
Stephen Lichenstein Graphics Editor Jared Davis University Sales
Alex Yuly Graphics Editor Trenten Nelson-Rivers Recruiter Sales Ken Cuccinelli, who last week sent a letter to the having a close friend or relative who is gay.
Nick Sinnott-Armstrong Photo Editor Maximillian Barrows Business Operations state’s public universities telling them to end poli- Unfortunately, the state of Virginia is stuck with
Max Monn Asst. Photo Editor Jilyn Chao Sales Analytics
Jonathan Bateman Sports Photo Editor Alexander Carrere Special Projects cies that ban discrimination on the basis of sexual an attorney general whose views are backwards
Kathy Bui Staff orientation. and whose methods are frighteningly aggressive.
Production Opinions According to Cuccinelli, only Virginia’s General We can only express solidarity with the LGBTQ
Kelly Mallahan Copy Desk Chief Michael Fitzpatrick Opinions Editor
Jordan Mainzer Asst. Copy Desk Chief Alyssa Ratledge Opinions Editor Assembly has the authority to extend legally en- students, faculty and employees at Virginia’s uni-
Marlee Bruning Design Editor
Editorial Page Board forceable protections to certain classes of citizens. versities, who will actually have to deal with the
Anna Migliaccio Asst. Design Editor Matt Aks Editorial Page Editor It hasn’t, so universities cannot, Cuccinelli claims. direct effects of Cuccinelli’s willingness to permit
Julien Ouellet Asst. Design Editor Debbie Lehmann Board member
Neal Poole Web Editor William Martin
But the University of Virginia, for instance, has in- discrimination and oppression.
Board member
Melissa Shube Board member cluded sexual orientation in its non-discrimination
Post- magazine Gaurie Tilak Board member policy since 1991.
Marshall Katheder Editor-in-Chief Jonathan Topaz Board member
So why is the recently elected Cuccinelli mak- Editorials are written by The Herald’s editorial page board.
Marlee Bruning, Katie Wilson, Designers ing such a fuss all of the sudden? A statement he Send comments to editorials@browndailyherald.com.
Greg Conyers, Tiffany Hsu, Kelly Mallahan, Rajan Mittal, Copy Editors
Alex Bell, Sydney Ember, Sarah Mancone, Night Editors
Senior Staff Writers Ana Alvarez, Alexander Bell, Alicia Chen, Max Godnick, Talia Kagan,
C O R R E C T I O N S P olicy
Sarah Mancone, Heeyoung Min, Kate Monks, Claire Peracchio, Goda Thangada, Caitlin Trujillo
Staff Writers Anna Andreeva, Shara Azad, Nicole Boucher, Kristina Fazzalaro, Miriam Furst,
The Brown Daily Herald is committed to providing the Brown University community with the most accurate information possible. Correc-
Anish Gonchigar, Sarah Julian, Matthew Klebanoff, Sara Luxenberg, Anita Mathews, Mark tions may be submitted up to seven calendar days after publication.
Raymond, Luisa Robledo, Emily Rosen, Bradley Silverman, Anne Simons, Sara Sunshine C ommentary P O L I C Y
Senior Sales Staff Katie Galvin, Liana Nisimova, Isha Gulati, Alex Neff, Michael Ejike, The editorial is the majority opinion of the editorial page board of The Brown Daily Herald. The editorial viewpoint does not necessarily
Samantha Wong reflect the views of The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. Columns, letters and comics reflect the opinions of their authors only.
Design Staff Caleigh Forbes, Jessica Kirschner, Gili Kliger, Leor Shtull-Leber, Katie Wilson L etters to the E ditor P olicy
Web Staff Andrew Chen, Warren Jin, Claire Kwong, Michael Marttila, Jeffrey Matteis, Ethan
Send letters to letters@browndailyherald.com. Include a telephone number with all letters. The Herald reserves the right to edit all letters for
Richman
length and clarity and cannot assure the publication of any letter. Please limit letters to 250 words. Under special circumstances writers may
Photo Staff Qidong Chen, Janine Cheng, Alex DePaoli, Frederic Lu, Quinn Savit
Copy Editors Nicole Boucher, Sarah Forman, Claire Gianotti, Christine Joyce, Sara Luxenberg, 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.
Abigail Kersen, Alexandra Macfarlane, Joe Milner, Lindor Qunaj, Carmen Shulman, Carolina advertising P olicy
Veltri The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. reserves the right to accept or decline any advertisement at its discretion.
Opinions
The Brown Daily Herald
Grad school interviewing 101
Mary Bates
Opinions Columnist
It’s that time of year again: the applications
have been reviewed and a lucky few have
been invited to attend interview weekends
at their prospective grad schools. This is a
chance for both the faculty and the potential
students to evaluate each other and get a feel
for the “fit” between student and program.
And while it’s important for you, the student,
to learn about the program and professors
during your visit, you should not forget that
this is an interview, and to treat it as such.
As a grad student, I went to several
interviews before deciding to come to Brown.
Now, for the past several years, I’ve been in
the position of watching prospective students
interview with my department. I’ve seen some
pretty egregious interview mistakes that could
easily be avoided. So I have decided to share
some tips here on how not to screw up your
grad school interviews.
Don’t talk about how another school is
your top choice. Even if the school at which
you’re interviewing isn’t your number one
choice, don’t tell them that. A graduate pro-
gram can only admit a certain number of stu-
dents. If they think you’re going to decline an
offer of acceptance in favor of another school,
that’s an easy reason to eliminate you from
YUE WANG
Opinions Columnist
The Anti-Homosexuality Bill introduced in
Uganda last fall is deeply disturbing: it called
for the death penalty for “any form of sexual
relationship between persons of the same
sex,” which was later lightened to life im-
prisonment. However, capital punishment is
still applicable for “serial offenders” and HIV
positive individuals. Unsurprisingly, this bill,
reflective of the excessive homophobia and
ruthless suppression of gay rights in many
parts of the African continent, immediately
drew condemnation and protests from the
West which hoped to pressure the Ugandan
congress to stop its gruesome criminalization
of homosexual activities.
Among progressive minds, however, there
are also objections to the Western pressure and
interference. My colleague Dominic Mhiripiri
’12 noted “extremely one-sided takes on this
controversial issue” in a recent opinion column
(“Understanding the odd story of gay rights
in Africa,” March 5). Underlying the liberal
efforts to defend the basic human rights in
Uganda, Mhiripiri argues, is a lamentable want
of understanding of the ultra-conservative root
in African culture; correspondingly, stern at-
titudes of Western societies on this issue would
yield no positive outcomes. Such objections to
Western intervention in the Ugandan situation
are well-intentioned and laudable, but in this
particular case cultural relativism is a poor
excuse to support Western non-action in the
face of the anti-gay rights bill in Uganda.
To begin with, it is arguable that homopho-
their final list of accepted students.
Don’t be late to an appointment. If you
are late, apologize. Interview days can be mara-
thons of meetings with different professors,
many of whom will not be keeping an eye on
the time for you. If you can politely remind
someone that you have to meet with your
next appointment and leave, do so. If Profes-
sor X keeps you late, apologize and explain
the situation when you meet with Professor
Y. They know how it works, but you should
If you ask a professor about his or her research,
he or she will likely talk for the next twenty
minutes straight, giving you some time to collect
your thoughts and think of more interesting
things to say.
demonstrate that you realize how valuable
their time is.
Have questions ready, and ask them. I
have seen far too many prospective students,
when asked if they have any questions for
their interviewer, simply say, “No” and then
just sit there. This sends the message that
you are uninterested in the program and the
research that goes on there. Take charge! Ask
questions. Show them that you care about this
program and that you are an intellectually curi-
ous person. Plus, if you ask a professor about
What to do with Uganda?
bic sentiments in Uganda could be attributed
as much to indigenous culture as to colonial
import of Christian doctrines. In any event,
we must bear in mind that evangelical groups
from America had a hand in stirring up the
most recent waves of persecution of homo-
sexual people in Africa. It is certainly no co-
incidence that the bill was introduced shortly
after three American evangelical Christians
arrived in Uganda’s capital to teach about
“curing” homosexuals, which received a great
deal of publicity at that time.
If Africans’ hostility towards gays is West-
ern in origin — whether the fruit of past im-
In this particular case cultural relativism is a
poor excuse to support Western non-action in
face of the anti-gay right bill in Uganda.
perialism or modern evangelism — it is at
least a sign that a portion of African people are
already hugely susceptible to Western values
and influence. Thus, the real question posed is
not just giving the right amount of respect for
a different culture, but to propagate Western
values of liberalism to countervail an existing
culture of homophobia and intolerance that
unfortunately was also of Western origin. To
exert the right kind of Western influence is
therefore more relevant than the concern of
cultural relativists.
Second, we need to carefully discern the
sentiments of the populace and the ruling
his or her research, he or she will likely talk
for the next twenty minutes straight, giving
you some time to collect your thoughts and
think of more interesting things to say.
Research the department to which you
are applying and the professors who are inter-
viewing you. All this requires is looking at the
university’s Web site. See what the program
requires of graduate students so you get a
general idea about the department. When you
know which professors will be interviewing
you, look them up. See what they teach, what
their area of research is and what their most
recent publications have been about. It is a bad
idea to appear unaware of or uninterested in
the research of someone in the department
to which you are applying. By making a small
effort, you show that you are invested in the
program and will be an involved member of the
department. Looking over your interviewers’
Web sites is also a great way to come up with
incisive questions about their work, demon-
strating both that you did your background
elites in Africa. Despite the Ugandan public’s
determined antipathy towards homosexuality,
the political leaders there are clearly in a bar-
gaining mood with the Western countries who
implored for the cause of gay rights. So far, the
Ugandan government has backed down a little
bit and changed the death penalty provision to
life imprisonment for the homosexuals for the
sake of millions of dollars in foreign aid.
These changing positions likely point to a
very cynical circle of Ugandan leaders who
reason differently from their constituents, but
were willing to mobilize popular feelings and
cultural differences to barter for diplomatic
gains regardless of the cultural beliefs their
people have long held against homosexual
behaviors. This shocking cynicism and hy-
pocrisy of the political elites is obviously not
something that cultural relativism can account
for. Therefore, any moral objection to stronger
Western pressure on Ugandan leaders should
be removed.
Third, the anti-gay rights bill in Uganda
goes beyond the question of cultural relativ-
ism and reaches the jurisdiction of universal
human rights. Indeed, cultural differences
exist not only across national borders but
also within a country’s bounds. In the United
Wednesday, March 10, 2010 | Page 7
research and that you are capable of critical
thinking.
Don’t get sloppy with the current grad
students. It is likely that the current students
in the program to which you are applying will
take you out. Even though you have had a
very long day, and are probably exhausted
and maybe still nervous, don’t drink too much.
Professors ask the current students what they
think of the visiting prospectives. If, when
your name is mentioned, the overwhelming
response is, “Oh, you mean that guy who
threw up in the bushes and then got into an
argument with a stop sign?” chances are no
one will be very impressed. Use your time with
the current students to ask them questions
about the department, the social scene, the
city — not to get wasted.
That’s my humble advice, taken from
experience. Getting invited to interview at
a grad school is a great opportunity. If your
application was strong enough to get to that
point, it would be a shame to squelch your
chances by making a silly, preventable mis-
take. The takeaway message here is be aware
of how you are presenting yourself and make
an effort to show that you think the interview
is important. Showing enthusiasm, interest
and respect at an interview will always make
a good impression.
Mary Bates GS is a Ph.D. candidate in
the psychology department. She can
be reached at mary_bates@brown.
edu.
States, for instance, we can easily make an
legal argument for protecting diverse and even
exotic religious doctrines or cultural traditions
— insofar as the most fundamental rights are
protected within those religious or cultural
groups. For instance, some form of protec-
tion or legal exception is offered to peculiar
religious groups, but ultimately even in those
groups, the recognition of their special status
is contingent upon the principle that minimal
rights of the members are guaranteed.
We can reasonably compare the right to
autonomy of those groups and a nation’s right
to resist foreign interference: the anti-gay
bill in Uganda violated homosexuals’ right to
live; this must no longer be explained away
by cultural relativism. International condem-
nation and intervention in this case is not
just warranted but essential to African gays’
survival.
For all these reasons, we should not stop
at the concept of cultural relativism in de-
liberating our strategies in Uganda. True,
it is a complicated problem, one of clashing
Western values, crooked political calculations
of Ugandan political elites and, above all, the
urgent need to defend the basic human rights
of homosexual groups in Africa. Meanwhile, it
is also a case where strong determinations to
condemn and stop gross violations of human
rights must take precedence over enlightened
sensitivities towards different cultures and
values.
Yue Wang ’12 is a political science
and German studies concentrator
from Shanghai. She can be yue_
wang@brown.edu.
 Today
The Brown Daily Herald
1 1
c a l e n da r
Today, March 10
4:00 P.M. — It’s Not Too Late to Find
an Internship, J. Walter Wilson
7:00 P.M. — An Evening with Former
U.S. Surgeon General Dr. David Satcher,
Sayles Hall
menu
Sharpe Refectory
Lunch — Polynesian Chicken Wings,
Vegan Stir Fry Vegetables with Tofu,
Chocolate Frosted Eclairs
Dinner — Sweet ‘n’ Sour Shrimp,
Cheese Quesadillas, Lime Jello
crossword
1 Spring Weekend artists announced to day to m o r r o w
Baseball heads south for tough games
4 52 / 34
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
52 / 40
Page 8
t h e n e w s i n i m ag e s
6
comics
tomorrow, March 11 Dot Comic | Eshan Mitra and Brendan Hainline
5:30 P.M. — Professional Skills
Reception for Seniors, Maddock
Alumni Center
8:00 P.M. — Fusion Dance Company’s
27th Annual Show, Alumnae Hall
Fruitopia | Andy Kim
Verney-Woolley Dining Hall
Lunch — Italian Sausage and
Peppers Sandwich, Vegetable Strudel,
Molasses Cookies
Dinner — Spicy Herb Baked Chicken,
Vegan Veggie and Bean Stew, Frosted
Marble Cake
Cabernet Voltaire | Abe Pressman
Hippomaniac | Mat Becker
Island Republic |Kevin Grubb